The New York Times: F.D.A. To Weigh Over-The-Counter Sale Of Contraceptive Pills 
More than 60 years after the approval of oral contraceptives revolutionized women’s sexual health, the Food and Drug Administration has received its first application to supply a birth control pill over the counter — just as the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has put access to contraception more squarely at the heart of the clash over reproductive rights. A Paris-based company, HRA Pharma, announced on Monday that it asked the F.D.A. to authorize its pill, which is available by prescription, for over-the-counter-sales in the United States. Cadence Health, another pill manufacturer that has been in close dialogue with the F.D.A. about switching its pill to over-the-counter status, said it hopes to move closer to submitting an application in the coming year. (Stolberg and Kelly, 7/11)

AP: Over-The-Counter Birth Control? Drugmaker Seeks FDA Approval 
An FDA approval could come next year and would only apply to HRA’s pill, which would be sold under its original brand name, Opill. The company acquired the decades-old drug from Pfizer in 2014, but it’s not currently marketed in the U.S. (Perrone, 7/11)

Reuters: Perrigo Unit Submits Approval Application To FDA For OTC Birth Control Pill
The non-estrogen pill has been used with prescription since it was FDA-approved in 1973. Perrigo said scientific evidence has shown progestin-only pills like Opill are effective at preventing pregnancy and safe for most women to use. (7/11)

AP: Biden Says He's Mulling Health Emergency For Abortion Access
President Joe Biden said Sunday he is considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to promote abortion access even though the White House has said it doesn’t seem like “a great option.” He also offered a message to people enraged by the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that ended a constitutional right to abortion and who have been demonstrating across the country: “Keep protesting. Keep making your point. It’s critically important.” (Fingerhut, 7/10)

Roll Call: Biden Issues Executive Order Responding To Abortion Ruling
The White House on Friday announced a wide-ranging executive order aimed at protecting abortion rights — its most significant response to a recent Supreme Court decision overturning long-standing precedent guaranteeing the right to an abortion nationwide since the high court made the ruling two weeks ago. ... The multipronged order would mainly focus on actions to be taken through the Department of Health and Human Services. Specifically, Biden would instruct HHS to take additional actions to expand access to medication abortion, a two-pill regimen used to end pregnancies before 10 weeks — building on actions Becerra announced last week. ... It would also direct HHS to take actions to protect all forms of contraception, including emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception like intrauterine devices, or IUDs.(Raman, 7/8)

CBS News: Vice President Kamala Harris Stresses Need For "Pro-Choice Congress" To Protect Abortion Rights
Vice President Kamala Harris underscored the importance of voters casting their ballots in the November midterm elections for a "pro-choice Congress" that will enshrine the right to an abortion into law after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In an interview with "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday, Harris said the ruling from the high court last month cleared the way for states to enact new laws restricting or outright banning abortion. (Quinn, 7/10)

The Washington Post: Inside The White House Struggle To Respond To The Abortion Ruling 
To many increasingly frustrated Democrats, Biden’s slow-footed response on abortion was just the latest example of a failure to meet the moment on a wave of conservative rollbacks, from gun control to environmental protections to voting rights. ... This account of the administration’s 14-day struggle to craft a message and policy plan after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is based on interviews with 26 senior White House officials, Democratic lawmakers, abortion rights activists, Democratic strategists and other Biden allies, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share candid details. (Parker, Abutaleb and Pager, 7/9)

In related news from the Biden administration—

Politico: Dwindling Reproductive Rights Is "Single-Biggest Issue" For Economy, Commerce Secretary Says
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday explained that while she isn’t too worried about the overall health of the economy, she does have a bone to pick on one particular issue: women’s access to participating in the workforce. “If you’re serious about the labor shortage, lean in to making sure women can fully participate,” she said in an interview on “Meet the Press.” (Connell-Bryan, 7/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Doctors Struggle With State Abortion Restrictions At Odds With Federal Law 
Doctors and hospitals are rushing to reconcile laws in their states barring abortion with a federal law that may require the procedure as part of emergency treatment. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, laws have taken effect, or soon will, in several states that prohibit abortions except when necessary to save a pregnant women’s life. Yet under federal law, doctors and hospitals may need to perform the procedure in other medical emergencies, such as for women at risk of kidney failure from an infection. (Evans, 7/10)

Several states are doing battle over their state constitutions —

The Wall Street Journal: Lawsuits To Test Whether State Constitutions Protect Abortion Rights
In North Dakota this week, the only remaining abortion provider in the state challenged a ban on most abortions set to take effect later this month, arguing it violates provisions in the state’s constitution that protect life, safety and happiness. Other litigation is proceeding in more politically mixed states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina, which all have pending cases that could create state constitutional protections for abortion. Courts could play a decisive roll in all three states, which have Democratic governors and Republican-led legislatures and have in recent years been unable to enact significant laws either protecting or restricting abortion. (Kusisto, 7/9)

AP: Lawmakers Move State Abortion Amendment Closer To 2023 Vote 
A proposal to have voters decide whether to add a provision the Pennsylvania Constitution to say it does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions passed the Legislature on Friday and could be on the ballot next spring. The language was among five proposed Republican-written amendments that were approved by both the House and Senate after a pair of charged debates among state lawmakers who have promised their voters to fight for or against abortion rights. (Scolforo, 7/8)

In news from Iowa, Arizona, and Colorado —

Iowa Public Radio: A 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period Is Now Enforceable In Iowa
A 24-hour abortion waiting period is enforceable in Iowa as of Friday, according to the state attorney general. The law requires people seeking an abortion to get two separate appointments at least 24 hours apart. (Sostaric, 7/8)

AP: Arizona Says "Personhood" Abortion Law Can't Lead To Charges
An attorney with the Arizona attorney general’s office told a judge Friday that a 2021 state “personhood” law that gives all legal rights to unborn children can’t be used to bring criminal charges against abortion providers. The comment from Assistant Solicitor General Kate Sawyer came during a hearing where attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and an abortion rights group representing abortion providers were seeking an injunction blocking the law. (Christie, 7/8)

Colorado Sun: Abortion Bans Are Kicking In Across The U.S. It’s Already Affecting Colorado
Colorado reproductive health clinics say the number of patients from outside of Colorado has in some cases doubled in the two weeks since Roe v. Wade was overturned, triggering abortion bans in other states, and a fund that provides financial help for people seeking to terminate a pregnancy has provided money to 71 people, more than twice the number served in all of 2021. (Flowers, 7/8)

In news from Texas —

The Washington Post: Pregnant Woman Given HOV Ticket Argues Fetus Is Passenger, Post-Roe
A pregnant Texas woman who was ticketed for driving in the HOV lane suggested that Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court means that her fetus counted as a passenger and that she should not have been cited. (Bella, 7/10)

Houston Chronicle: A Floating Abortion Clinic? Medical Team Plans To Launch Ship In Gulf Of Mexico, In Federal Waters
A California doctor has a plan to launch a floating reproductive health clinic in the Gulf of Mexico, where care will be regulated by federal -- not state -- law. The plan -- currently in the fundraising stage -- hopes to make surgical abortions, contraception and other reproductive health services available to Gulf Coast patients living in states restricting such services. (Schuetz, 7/9)

AP: Floating Abortion Clinic Proposed In Gulf To Bypass Bans 
[Dr. Meg Autry, an obstetrician and gynecologist and a professor at the University of California San Francisco] said their legal team believes there is a swath of federal water where licensed providers could safely and legally provide abortions out of reach of state laws. For women in southern states with abortion bans, going to the coast and boarding a boat may be closer and easier than trying to travel to a state where abortion remains legal, she said. “This is closer and faster access for some people, particularly for working people that live in the southernmost part of these states,” she said. Autry said they are still trying to work out many of the details such as where the boat will launch and how women would get to the ship. (7/10)

On abortion technology and data —

Stat: Abortion Providers Embrace Technology To Prepare For New Flood Of Patients
As abortion clinics shutter across the country, providers in states where abortion is still legal are expecting an influx of patients — and they’re hoping technology can help them manage the deluge. (Ravindranath, 7/11)

CNBC: Why HIPAA Doesn't Always Protect Abortion Information
Legal experts note that search history, text messages, location data, and period-tracker apps could all potentially be used in court and in some cases already have been. (Yang and Feiner, 7/9)

Also —

Bloomberg: Abortion Bans Are Limiting What Some Doctors And Med Students Are Taught
“At the end of the day, we can't train people to provide abortion care if we can't provide abortion care,” said DeShawn Taylor, an obstetrician-gynecologist who is the owner and primary provider at Desert Star Family Planning in Phoenix. (Ceron, 7/10)

KHN: Journalists Explain The Effects Of ‘Dobbs’ Decision And New Insurer Price Transparency Rules 
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed how the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion affects contraception on NPR/WAMU’s “1A” on July 6. ... KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed insurer price transparency regulations on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday” on July 2. (7/9)

The Atlantic: The Vasectomy Influencers
“I’d like to be part of this massive wave that’s happening now,” Sarah Miller, an abortion provider and family doctor based in Boston, told me. It has long been her personal mission to make vasectomies more accessible and popular, and she sees the current climate as an opportunity. “What did you call me? A ‘vasectomy influencer’? I like that,” she said. As it happens, she’d just gotten an email from a graphic designer offering to help her turn vasectomy into a “mass movement” and “aggressively promote the fact that men should be stepping up and doing this publicly.” (Tiffany, 7/8)

AP: New Coronavirus Mutant Raises Concerns In India And Beyond
The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5. (Ungar and Ghosal, 7/11)

And a new strain of BA.5 has appeared —

Axios: New COVID Omicron Subvariant Discovered In Shanghai
Health officials in Shanghai announced on Sunday that they have discovered a new COVID-19 subvariant, Omicron BA.5.2.1, Reuters reports. (Saric, 7/10)

Bloomberg: Shanghai Outbreak Grows As First Sub-Variant Case Detected
Covid-19 cases in Shanghai continued to climb as parts of China’s financial hub face more rounds of mass testing, with new sub-variants providing a constant challenge to the country’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus. The city recorded 69 new infections for Sunday, the most since late May and up from 57 the day before. Cases have increased abruptly after a period of little to no trace of the virus, where officials declared victory over Covid and praised their handling of a crisis that left China’s most global city locked down for two months in May and June. (7/11)

More on the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 —

Fortune: Move Over, Measles: Dominant Omicron Subvariants BA.4 And BA.5 Could Be The Most Infectious Viruses Known To Man 
COVID was relatively deadly, but not ultra-transmissible when it burst onto the global scene in late 2019 and early 2020. These days, due a number of factors, the reverse is true: It's considerably less lethal, but more exponentially transmissible. Globally dominant Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are neck and neck with measles in the competition for the title of most infectious disease known to man, according to an Australian professor of biostatistics and epidemiology. (Prater, 7/9)

The Washington Post: As BA.5 Variant Spreads, Risk Of Covid Reinfection Grows
America has decided the pandemic is over. The coronavirus has other ideas. The latest omicron offshoot, BA.5, has quickly become dominant in the United States, and thanks to its elusiveness when encountering the human immune system, is driving a wave of cases across the country. The size of that wave is unclear because most people are testing at home or not testing at all. (Achenbach, 7/10)

The New York Times: What Are The Symptoms Of Omicron Subvariants BA.4 And BA.5? 
Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Cleveland Clinic, said people tend to experience upper respiratory symptoms “from the vocal cords to the tip of the nose.” Anecdotally, he said, he has seen more patients with painful sinus congestion and severe sore throats who have tested positive for Covid-19 while BA.4 and BA.5 have been circulating. Some of them thought they had strep throat because they were in so much pain, he said. (Blum, 7/6)

CIDRAP: Wastewater Surveillance Tool Detects SARS-CoV-2 Variants Earlier, Cheaper
Scientists at Scripps Research Institute and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed a wastewater surveillance tool that—with just 2 teaspoons of raw sewage—can identify the SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in a population and detect new variants of concern up to 2 weeks before clinical sequencing can. (7/8)

The Boston Globe: Boston Researchers May Have Found Biomarker For Long COVID
Researchers say they have found the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein circulating in the blood of long COVID patients up to 12 months after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital said the findings suggested the spike protein was a potential biomarker that could be helpful in diagnosing and treating long COVID patients. (Finucane, 7/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Long Covid Is An Elusive Target For Big Pharma
The drug industry developed Covid-19 vaccines and treatments at breakneck speed, saving millions of lives in the process. Yet treatments for the post-viral illness known as long Covid, which is afflicting millions, are nowhere close to being developed. The lack of urgency around developing treatments is both a missed opportunity for the healthcare industry and a drag on the economy as an array of conditions such as dizziness and chest pain force many Americans to at least temporarily stop working. (Wainer, 7/11)

In other news about the spread of covid —

AP: New York City Health Officials Urge Return To Indoor Masking
New York City public health officials on Friday urged residents to return to indoor mask-wearing, noting how they’re seeing high levels of COVID-19 infection. To help slow the spread, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommended in a tweet that “all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside.” (7/8)

Bloomberg: New York City Cuts Back On Covid Testing Amid US Surge In Infections
New York City is scaling back on Covid-19 testing sites despite omicron subvariants that are driving a nationwide rise in new case and hospitalization rates. The city’s public health system has been shutting down hundreds of testing sites as public attention to the virus fades, according to its website. Meanwhile, the rate of positive results to total tests, an indicator of the speed of spread, rose to 15.4% this week, about four times what it was in April. (Taylor, 7/9)

CIDRAP: Survey Shows Americans Souring On COVID-19 Response
Americans are not happy with the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center. The survey of more than 10,000 US adults, conducted in early May, found that 62% think the country's COVID-19 response has given too little priority to the needs of K-12 students, while significant shares say too little priority has been given to supporting overall quality of life (48%), business and economic activity (46%), and respecting individuals' choices (46%). (7/8)

CBS News: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Tests Positive For COVID-19
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has tested positive for COVID-19, his spokesperson confirmed Sunday night. Schumer, who is fully vaccinated and double boosted, is only experiencing "very mild" symptoms, the spokesperson said in a statement. The 71-year-old's positive test came as part of his regular testing regimen, according to the statement. Per CDC guidance, he will quarantine and work remotely this week. (Albert, 7/10)

In vaccine rollout news —

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID Vaccine Uptake For Bay Area Babies, Toddlers Outpaces State And US
In late June, when pediatrician Dr. Nelson Branco opened up COVID vaccine appointments for his youngest patients — babies and toddlers under 5 years old — parents raced to book some 250 slots within the first 48 hours. By late last week, nearly 20% of Branco’s roughly 1,500 patients in this age group had gotten their first shot. The doctor, who practices in Larkspur and Novato, anticipates that over the next few weeks, it will double to 40%. (Ho, 7/10)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Kids Getting Vaccines At Slightly Quicker Rate Than National Average
Caitlin Chmiel was furious and worried when her 2-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 the week the federal government approved vaccines for the nation’s youngest kids in mid-June — when quicker action meant her daughter might have been vaccinated and had more protection against the virus. (Harper, 7/11)

AP: Court: Health Care Workers In Lawsuit Must Reveal Identities 
Nine health care workers who sued Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate have until Monday to reveal their identities. (7/10)

Newsweek: Trump Avoids Word 'Vaccine' At Alaska Rally After Boos Over It In Alabama
Former President Donald Trump appeared to avoid saying the word "vaccine" during his rally in Alaska on Saturday after he was booed for encouraging his supporters to get vaccinated in past rallies. (Stanton, 7/10)

Fortune: Could A Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Be The Silver Bullet That Ends This Pandemic—And The Next?
First-generation vaccines were not the panacea hoped for in COVID-19’s early days. Nor did herd immunity swoop in and save the day. Could a so-called “pan-coronavirus” vaccine be the long-awaited silver bullet that ends the COVID pandemic—and the next one, too? Answer: It’s complicated. (Prater, 7/10)

The New York Times: The U.S. May Be Losing The Fight Against Monkeypox, Scientists Say
As epidemics go, the monkeypox outbreak should have been relatively easy to snuff out. The virus does not spread efficiently except through intimate contact, and tests and vaccines were at hand even before the current outbreak. Yet the response in the United States has been sluggish and timid, reminiscent of the early days of the Covid pandemic, experts say, raising troubling questions about the nation’s preparedness for pandemic threats. (Mandavilli, 7/8)

Axios: COVID Missteps Hang Over Monkeypox Response
The United States is applying some of the hard lessons it learned during the COVID pandemic to the monkeypox outbreak. But it's still playing catch-up. (Dreher, 7/11)

Fox News: WHO Committee To Reconvene Over Monkeypox Outbreak
The World Health Organization (WHO) will reconvene a meeting of an emergency committee regarding the global monkeypox outbreak and whether it should be declared a global health emergency. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the forum will be held in the week beginning July 18 or even sooner. (Musto, 7/7)

In updates on the spread of monkeypox —

AP: West Virginia Announces First Probable Case Of Monkeypox
The first probable case of monkeypox has been announced in West Virginia. The state Department of Health and Human Resources said Friday the case involves a resident of Berkeley County in the Eastern Panhandle. No additional information was released. (7/8)

Los Angeles Times: Monkeypox Spreads In L.A., But Vaccine Shortage Persists
As criticism grows from LGBTQ activists and others, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said it will expand eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine to certain patients with recent sexually transmitted diseases and to high-risk people at Men’s Central Jail. Still, eligibility will remain limited to the highest-risk people, and officials are reporting a severe shortage of the Jynneos vaccine that probably won’t be resolved for months. (Lin II and Toohey, 7/9)

Fox News: San Francisco Politicians On Monkeypox Response: Federal Government Has Another 'Public Health Failure'
Two San Francisco politicians are criticizing the Biden administration over its response to the U.S. monkeypox outbreak. In a joint statement, Sen. Scott Weiner and Assemblyman Matt Haney wrote that the federal government has had another "public health failure." (Musto, 7/9)

CIDRAP: Officials Note Multiple Sex Partners As Monkeypox Risk 
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published its first update to its rapid risk assessment of monkeypox, saying that the likelihood of disease spread in people with multiple sexual partners in Europe is high, but the risk to the broader population is very low. (Soucheray, 7/8)

NPR: Abbott Reopens Michigan Baby Formula Plant After Flooding
One of the nation's largest suppliers of baby formula has reopened its Sturgis, Mich., plant after severe flooding from heavy rains forced it to temporarily shut down in mid-June. The Abbott Nutrition facility reopened July 1 and began producing EleCare, its specialty baby formula, an Abbott spokesperson told CBS News and other outlets. Abbott is one of the four companies in the U.S. controlling roughly 90% of the multibillion-dollar infant formula market. (Miranda, 7/10)

In environmental health news —

Fox News: Beach In Iowa Closed After Brain-Eating Amoeba Confirmed In Missourian
A rare brain infection has led Iowa officials to close a Taylor County beach. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the temporary closure is a precautionary response to a confirmed infection of Naegleria fowleri in a Missouri resident who had recent potential exposure while swimming at the beach at Lake of Three Fires State Park. (Musto, 7/9)

Chicago Tribune: Forever Chemicals Found In Drinking Water Throughout Illinois
Something as simple as drinking tap water is exposing millions of Illinoisans to toxic chemicals that build up in human blood, cause cancer and other diseases and take years to leave the body. (Hawthorne, 7/10)

KHN: Colorado’s Efforts Are Not Enough To Solve Its Ozone Problem 
A year after health officials issued a record number of alerts for high ozone levels on Colorado’s Front Range, federal and state officials are trying to rein in the gas that can make outdoor activities a health risk. But new Colorado laws aimed at improving air quality along that urban corridor east of the Rocky Mountains aren’t expected to do much to directly reduce ozone, according to experts charged with bringing down the levels. “These are not the magic bullets that will bring us into compliance, but they will be helpful in reducing emissions,” said Michael Silverstein, executive director of the Regional Air Quality Council, the lead air-quality planning organization for nine counties of the Front Range. (Robbins, 7/11)

Newsweek: Texas Faces Rolling Blackouts As ERCOT Warns Not To Use Major Appliances
Texans have been asked to conserve power amid a heatwave on Monday as the state's power grid operator warned of potential rolling blackouts. The state faces a "potential reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available" on Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said in an operations message on its website Sunday night. (Rahman, 7/11)

In other public health news —

WMFE: As Deadly Meningitis Outbreak Worsens, Some Are Mourning Losses
More than 26 people have fallen ill, and at least seven have died in Florida from a deadly meningitis outbreak that is mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. (Prieur, 7/10)

CNN: Superbug Crisis: How A Woman Saved Her Husband's Life
In February 2016, infectious disease epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee was holding her dying husband's hand, watching him lose an exhausting fight against a deadly superbug infection. After months of ups and downs, doctors had just told her that her husband, Tom Patterson, was too racked with bacteria to live. (LaMotte, 7/8)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Price Data Reveals Wide Variation In Facility Fees
Larger, for-profit hospitals charged patients higher facility fees for emergency care than not-for-profit hospitals, a new study found. High-acuity patients who went to for-profit emergency departments were charged an average of $1,218 more for cash price facility fees than not-for-profit providers, according to an analysis of 2021 data from more than 1,600 hospitals. (Kacik, 7/11)

More on drug and medical costs —

Stateline.org: Drugmakers Cut Back Participation In Federal Drug Discount Program
Hospitals and community and rural health clinics that serve low-income patients say drug manufacturers have threatened their financial stability by dramatically cutting back their participation in a federal drug discount program that saves those health providers millions of dollars a year. (Ollove, 7/10)

KHN: In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt On Top Of Disease 
Jeni Rae Peters would make promises to herself as she lay awake nights after being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. “My kids had lost so much,” said Peters, a single mom and mental health counselor. She had just adopted two girls and was fostering four other children. “I swore I wouldn’t force them to have yet another parent.” (Levey, 7/9)

KHN: Medi-Cal’s Reliance On Prisoners To Make Cheaper Eyeglasses Proves Shortsighted
To dodge hefty costs for eyewear, California’s health insurance program for low-income people, Medi-Cal, has an innovative strategy: It contracts exclusively with the state’s prisons, and inmates make glasses for its beneficiaries. But the partnership that began more than 30 years ago has fractured. Medi-Cal enrollees, many of whom are children, and their eye care providers say that they often wait months for the glasses and that sometimes they arrive broken. (DeGuzman, 7/11)

In news about health care personnel —

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Hiring Surged In June, Jobs Report Shows
Healthcare hiring increased substantially in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Friday. Employers in the sector added an estimated 56,700 jobs, up from 15,300 in May, preliminary data show. The industry contributed 15.2% of the 372,000 hires made across the economy in June and added the third-most jobs among all categories. (Devereaux, 7/8)

Southern California News Group: Los Angeles Enacts $25 Minimum Wage For Healthcare Workers
Healthcare workers in Los Angeles just got a raise. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an ordinance Friday, July 8 that sets a $25-an-hour minimum wage for healthcare workers in the city. The law covers all private sector healthcare employees who work in hospitals, integrated health systems and dialysis clinics. (Smith, 7/9)

The CT Mirror: A Quarter Of CT Doctors Work For Big Hospitals. Is That Good For Patients?
In 1999, Kristie Schmidt, an internal medicine physician, opened a practice in Millerton, N.Y., just a mile from the Connecticut border. But after about a decade, the challenges of running a small business came to a head. (Golvala and Altimari, 7/10)

Politico: Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed? 
Minnesota just sorta, kinda, almost legalized weed. A law took effect earlier this month allowing anyone at least 21 years old to purchase edibles or beverages with up to 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC per serving. Those relatively low potency products with up to 50 milligrams per package still pack enough of a psychoactive punch to get most users plenty high. But some key lawmakers who approved the significant change in drug policy were seemingly confused about what they’d done. (Demko, 7/10)

In news about drug use in Kentucky and Florida —

AP: Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission To Meet 
A group selected last month to turn a massive settlement into action to combat opioid addiction will meet for the first time this week. The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission will hold its first meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Capital Complex East in Frankfort, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed. (7/11)

WFSU: A Mass Fentanyl Overdose Event In Gadsden Is Drawing Statewide Attention 
A mass fentanyl overdose event in Gadsden County over the Fourth of July weekend is deepening concerns about drug trafficking and the rising cost of drug abuse in the state. Nineteen people overdosed on the drug and nine died. (Hatter, 7/10)

In updates on transgender health in Texas, Montana, and Wisconsin —

Axios: Texas Officials Again Blocked From Investigating Families With Trans Children
A district court on Friday night temporarily blocked Texas officials from investigating two families for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care for their trans children. (Gonzalez, 7/9)

KHN: A 63-Year-Old Transgender Woman Is Caught In Montana’s Birth Certificate Dispute 
At 10 years old, Susan Howard knew she was a girl, even though her birth certificate said otherwise. It wasn’t until last year, at age 62, that the Montana resident came to terms with being transgender. Howard underwent hormone therapy, had gender-affirming surgery, and began changing her name and gender on official documents. “It has been a godsend for me,” Howard said. “I feel so right and at ease with myself for the first time in so many ways.” (Zurek, 7/11)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court Allows Madison Trans Student Policy To Stand
The Wisconsin Supreme Court chose not to block a Madison public schools policy that allows students to self-identify their names and pronouns without parental permission, in a 4-3 decision shared Friday that kicks the case back to circuit court. (Linnane, 7/8)

In news from Washington state and California —

AP: Caregiver Acquitted In Accidental Vinegar Death In Spokane
A former caregiver charged in connection with the 2019 poisoning death of a developmentally disabled woman has been acquitted of felony assault. Fikirte T. Aseged mistakenly gave cleaning vinegar instead of colonoscopy prep medicine to her 64-year-old client Marion Wilson. (7/9)

Los Angeles Times: How A California Mental Health Funding Plan Fell Apart
“No one who is mentally ill and now on the street will be on the street in five years,” promised the late Rusty Selix, who was executive director of the Mental Health Assn. of California and a co-author of the ballot initiative, Proposition 63. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be homeless. But you will see a measurable decline.” Since voters approved the tax in 2004, it has generated an escalating gusher of money — $29 billion in total, half of which has come in just the last five years. (Garrison, Gutierrez and Luna, 7/10)

The New York Times: Male Birth Control Is Needed Post-Roe V. Wade 
As researchers developing male hormonal contraception, we believe that to reduce unplanned pregnancy and the need for abortion, men need to become more engaged in contraception. Men are involved in 100 percent of unintended pregnancies, and most men remain fertile for much of their lives. (Stephanie Page and John Amory, 7/11)

The New York Times: The End Of Roe Doesn’t Need To Bring An Increase In Maternal Mortality 
It has been argued repeatedly that without access to abortion, the health of women will suffer and women will die. This fear is expressed overtly by the three dissenting justices in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last month. They cite experts who say that “a ban on abortions increases maternal mortality by 21 percent.” (David Albert Jones, 7/9)

The Atlantic: Make Birth Free
Immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs came down, anti-abortion groups began distributing press releases celebrating their victory and vowing to get around to something the movement has politically neglected for the past several decades: helping mothers afford children. For so many millions already distraught by the ruling, the ready promises of help on the way came not so much as a comfort but as an insult. (Elizabeth Bruening, 7/9)

Stat: Dobbs Decision Will Rob Many Medical Students Of Training On Abortion Care
As medical students — the next generation of physicians — we believe that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, undermines the health of our future patients and our ability to become competent physicians. (Kellen Mermin-Bunnell and Ariana M. Traub, 7/10)

Los Angeles Times: What Kind Of Monsters Would Force A Child To Have A Baby? 
You may have seen the shocking story: An abortion doctor associated with Indiana University was asked to provide care to a pregnant 10-year-old from Ohio, which has banned abortion after six weeks. (Robin Abcarian, 7/10)

Los Angeles Times: Think All Those State Bans On Abortion Are The Final Word? Maybe Not 
Now that Roe is overturned and states in half the country have banned abortion or are about to ban it, advocates are back — this time in state courts, attempting to block abortion bans. (7/11)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Were A Triumph But Reached Too Few
Stop and reflect on the success of the coronavirus vaccines. While most vaccines take five to 10 years to develop and manufacture, the remarkable mRNA shots appeared in less than a year. (7/8)

USA Today: Call 988: New Suicide Hotline Can Help As Mental Health Crisis Worsens
Before COVID-19, nearly 40 million people in the United States were identified in 2019 as having mental illness. Worse, fewer than half (45%) received treatment. The stress of the pandemic has exacerbated this crisis, with isolation, stress and worsening access to treatment. (Dr. Jerome Adams, 7/10)

Modern Healthcare: Medicine Needs To Stop Sending Patients To War 
"If cancer treatments won't help, how am I going to fight this?" The sheer emotion in this inquiry from a patient could fill an empty room. It's the distress of an irreconcilable paradox in care—a medical stalemate in a battle, void of victory. The perception is that the only remaining path forward is to "give up and let cancer win." (Dr. Joshua Jackson, 7/8)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Needs To Increase Investments In Children’s Mental Health Initiatives
In the aftermath of the killings of students and teachers in Uvalde, it is difficult to have a conversation about mental health that doesn’t morph into a call for hardening school buildings. However, Texas’ mental health system for children also needs significant additional resources. (7/11)

Dallas Morning News: We Have To Be Smarter In Our Approach To Veteran Suicide
It has been difficult to change the narrative surrounding veteran suicide. But to implement smarter policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs for suicide prevention initiatives, we have to do just that. Otherwise, the issue will remain a tired policy discussion that officials become numb to, and the lack of urgency and creativity in solutions will persist. (Cole Lyle, 7/11)

Stat: Secrecy: A Demon Of Gene Therapy's Past Bedevils Its Future
Twenty-three years ago, the field of gene therapy was bursting with the promise of breakthrough treatments. Then it was almost instantly derailed by the death of an 18-year-old clinical trial volunteer named Jesse Gelsinger after he received a genetically engineered virus that had been developed to treat his rare liver condition. (Eric B. Kmiec, 7/11)