CNN: Fauci: 'We're Going In The Wrong Direction' On Covid-19 Cases 
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the US is "going in the wrong direction" as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise, particularly among unvaccinated Americans. "If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the run-in to this interview, that it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50% of the country is not fully vaccinated, that's a problem," Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" when asked about a model projecting a worst case scenario of 4,000 deaths a day in the US from Covid-19, if vaccination rates do not improve. (Duster, 7/25)

Politico: Leaders In Under-Vaccinated Areas Should 'Speak Out' Amid Virus Surge, Fauci Says
Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, on Sunday said more leaders in areas that are lagging in vaccination against the coronavirus should "speak out" to persuade people to get inoculated as the Delta variant surges. Fauci's comments, made in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," came after Alabama's Republican governor, Kay Ivey, publicly blamed unvaccinated people for the disease's spread. (O'Brien, 7/25)

Fox News: Fauci Says Virus Has 'Peaked' For The Vaccinated: 'We Have Two Kinds Of America'
Dr. Anthony Fauci said there seem to be "two kinds of America" as some people remain skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines even in the face of the more severe delta variant. The delta variant has ripped through the unvaccinated population in America, with Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky claiming the variant is "spreading with incredible efficiency and now represents more than 83% of the virus circulating the United States."  (Aitken, 7/25)

In news about covid's origin —

Roll Call: Experts Weigh In On Risky Wuhan Study That Fauci, Paul Debated 
Several experts say Anthony Fauci was correct this week when he described an experiment funded by the National Institutes of Health in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, as not being “gain of function” research. But the reason is unlikely to reassure Americans concerned about the lab’s risky work. The virus under study in 2017 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology didn’t “gain the function” of becoming more deadly and contagious to humans through experimentation. That’s because that virus, known as WIV1, already posed a danger to humans before any of the Wuhan lab’s engineering. (Kopp, 7/23)

Politico: ‘The Virus Is Winning’: China’s Rebuff Of WHO’s New Covid Probe Alarms Experts 
Leading U.S. infectious disease experts are warning that China's rejection of a World Health Organization plan for another Covid-19 investigation inside the country threatens to deny the world critical data needed to identify and head off future pandemics. And experts told POLITICO that the denial of access to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus outbreak, deepens growing suspicion the Chinese government is attempting to cover up the possibility that the virus was intentionally engineered. (Kine, Paun and Heath, 7/25)

Also —

The New York Times: Fauci Wants To Make Vaccines For The Next Pandemic Before It Hits 
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is promoting an ambitious and expensive plan to prepare for such nightmare scenarios. It would cost “a few billion dollars” a year, take five years for the first crop of results and engage a huge cadre of scientists, he said. The idea is to make “prototype” vaccines to protect against viruses from about 20 families that might spark a new pandemic. Using research tools that proved successful for Covid-19, researchers would uncover the molecular structure of each virus, learn where antibodies must strike it, and how to prod the body into making exactly those antibodies. (Kolata, 7/25)

Axios: Fauci: New Masking Guidelines For Vaccinated Americans Under "Active Consideration" 
NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that health officials are considering revising masking guidelines for vaccinated Americans. Fauci said that the United States is "going in the wrong direction" as cases surge across the country, driven by the more contagious Delta variant. "If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the run-in to this interview, it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50% of the country that not fully vaccinated, that's a problem," Fauci said. (Saric, 7/25)

USA Today: CDC Considering Revising Mask Guidance As COVID Cases Rise In US
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are weighing revising their COVID-19 guidelines to recommend that even fully vaccinated individuals wear masks in public. Fauci, the nation’s top government infectious disease official, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he’s taken part in conversations about altering the guidelines, something he described as being “under active consideration. ”In the last two weeks, COVID-19 cases have increased 171% nationally, fueled by the delta variant. The death rate is up 19% over the week before. (Aspegren, 7/26)

The Washington Post: Why Some Experts Recommend Upgrading To N95 Masks To Help Fight The Delta Variant
The debate over masks is heating up again, with increasing calls for all Americans, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status, to return to wearing face coverings in indoor public places to help thwart the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. But some experts say the recommendations should specify the kind of masks people should be using. “Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don’t think we should just talk about masks,” Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said during a recent appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I think we should be talking about high-quality masks,” such as N95 respirators. (Chiu, 7/24)

Another health expert warns against going to bars, restaurants if you're unvaccinated —

CNN: If You Are Not Vaccinated Against Covid-19, You Shouldn't Go Into A Bar Or Restaurant, Expert Says 
Less than half of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 -- and with cases on the rise, experts are urging a return to precautions reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic. "What I would say bluntly is: If you are not vaccinated right now in the United States, you should not go into a bar, you should probably not eat at a restaurant. You are at great risk of becoming infected," CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield. (Holcombe, 7/26)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis, St. Louis County To Reinstate Mask Mandate, Some Of First In US 
Faced with a rising tide of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, St. Louis and St. Louis County leaders announced Friday that they will reinstate a mask requirement, for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents alike. It is one of a few regions in the country to mandate masks again. “We’ve lost more than 500 St. Louisans to COVID-19, and if our region doesn’t work together to protect one another, we could see spikes that overwhelm our hospital and public health systems,” St. Louis acting health director Dr. Fredrick Echols said in a statement. (Merrilees, 7/24)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Elected Officials Lead Backlash To Renewed Mask Mandate In St. Louis, St. Louis County
Political opposition to a new mask mandate in St. Louis and St. Louis County appears to be building, with several state and local elected officials vowing to stop the public health orders set to go into effect on Monday. ... Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin, and St. Louis County Councilmen Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Mark Harder, R-7th District, are among officials politicians voicing opposition to the new orders. (Robertson, 7/25)

In other news about mask-wearing —

The New York Times: Debate Continues Across U.S. About Requiring Covid Vaccinations
Many other local health authorities around the country are recommending that people mask indoors, as Philadelphia’s health department did on Thursday. New Orleans announced an “indoor mask advisory” the day before. Officials in other cities, including New York, have been more reluctant to call for greater mask use. One of the earliest U.S. epicenters of the pandemic, New York logged more than 33,000 deaths connected to the virus, and about two million adults there are still not vaccinated. A statewide mask mandate for vaccinated residents was lifted last month. (Paybarah, Slotnik and Jiménez, 7/25)

ABC News: Provincetown Implements Indoor Mask Mandate After COVID-19 Cluster Grows To 551 Cases 
Officials in Provincetown, Massachusetts, voted unanimously during an emergency town meeting Sunday night to reimplement the town’s indoor mask mandate, amidst rapidly rising COVID-19 infections and community spread. Since data was last updated last week, the cluster has grown to a cumulative total of at least 551 confirmed cases following a busy July Fourth weekend. Of these cases, 394 individuals are Massachusetts residents, 171 of whom reside in Provincetown, while the remaining individuals who tested positive reside in other states or jurisdictions. (Mitropoulos, 7/25)

Oklahoman: Stitt: No School Mask Mandates, 'Not Planning' COVID Emergency Order
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday said he won't implement another state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling out the possibility of mask mandates in Oklahoma schools. Despite calls from some health leaders to make the declaration, Stitt said he is "not planning on declaring an emergency," a measure that is now a prerequisite for public schools to require masks. "This is about personal responsibility," Stitt said at a press conference in Tulsa. "This is about freedoms." (Martinez-Keel and Branham, 7/23)

Newsweek: Pastor Greg Locke Vows To Remove Anyone Wearing Mask In Church, Blasts 'Godless Democrats'
Right-wing pastor Greg Locke used his Sunday morning sermon to ridicule any attempt by the government to vaccinate Americans or to enforce a "round two" of pandemic lockdown. He also declared he'll kick anyone out who wears a mask. The Tennessee-based Baptist pastor offered his latest tirade against "godless Democrats" and the Biden administration, claiming the federal government only wants "compliance," and not improved public health, among Americans. (Fearnow, 7/25)

Politico: Alabama Governor Says ‘It’s Time To Start Blaming The Unvaccinated Folks’ As Pandemic Worsens
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued an impassioned plea for residents of her state to get vaccinated against Covid-19, arguing it was “time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks” for the disease’s continued spread. “I want folks to get vaccinated. That’s the cure. That prevents everything,” Ivey, a Republican, told reporters in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday. “Why would we want to mess around with just temporary stuff?” she said. “We don’t need to encourage people to just go halfway with curing this disease. Let’s get it done. And we know what it takes to get it done.” (Forgey, 7/23)

USA Today: COVID-19 Surge Could Go On For Months, Projection Says
New projections released by a COVID-19 research consortium forecast the current surge of cases lasting through the fall and peaking in mid-October, accelerated in part by the rapid spread of the delta variant. Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist from the University of North Carolina who helps run the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, told NPR in the most likely scenario, of the four scenarios included in the ensemble projection, only 70% of eligible U.S. residents get vaccinated and the delta variant becomes 60% more transmissible. Lessler said this trajectory would climax with approximately 60,000 COVID-19 cases and 850 deaths each day in mid-October. (Santucci and Segarra, 7/24)

Stat: A New Way To Visualize The Surge In Covid-19 Cases In The U.S. 
The month of July has seen Covid-19 cases in the United States increase at the fastest pace since last winter, marking the start of the latest wave of infections to afflict the nation. A new STAT analysis of Covid-19 case data reveals this new wave is already outpacing the spring and summer waves of 2020. There are many metrics that governments, scientists, and media outlets have used to try and reckon with the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the most popular ways of visualizing Covid data has been to track the weekly average of new cases. This is pictured below. (Parker, 7/26)

AP: States Scale Back Virus Reporting Just As Cases Surge
Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities. The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift during a pandemic in which coronavirus dashboards have become a staple for Americans closely tracking case counts and trends to navigate a crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S. (Funk, 7/24)

In other updates on the covid surge across the U.S. —

The New York Times: 17 People Were Infected After Attending A Michigan Music Festival.
At least 17 people were infected with the coronavirus after they attended a country music festival in Michigan, health officials have said. The event, called the Faster Horses Festival, held July 16 to 18 in Brooklyn, Mich., was the state’s first major music festival since the pandemic began. Some of the people were at the festival while they were infectious, a statement from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said. (Delkic and Median, 7/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: An Unvaccinated Person Became Marin County's 1st COVID Fatality Since May
An unvaccinated Marin County resident who had been hospitalized with respiratory problems died on Wednesday, becoming the county’s first COVID-19 fatality in more than two months. Public health officials announced the death on Friday to underscore the virulent threat of the Delta variant and the importance of containing it through the one medical tool available. “This latest death has two lessons for us,” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County public health officer, said in a statement. “The first is how good the Delta variant is at finding unvaccinated people, and the second is that unvaccinated people lack protection against severe illness and death.” (Hosseini, 7/24)

AP: Arizona: More Than 1K New COVID-19 Cases For 7th Day In Row
Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported 1,508 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death. It marked the seventh consecutive day with at least 1,000 cases, the longest such streak since early March. The latest numbers pushed the state’s totals to 917,168 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago and 18,171 deaths. (7/25)

Houston Chronicle: COVID Hospitalizations In Texas Hit 4,000 For First Time Since March
The number of lab-confirmed COVID hospitalizations in Texas broke 4,000 on Friday for the first time since March, a worrying sign of the pandemic’s quick resurgence since the Delta variant was discovered in the state. The milestone comes amid rising COVID cases and hospitalizations across the country, especially in states with below-average vaccination rates. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that unvaccinated Americans were driving infection numbers “in the wrong direction.” (Gill and Schuetz, 7/25)

KHN: Journalists Dig In On Delta Variant Risks And Opioid Overdose Deaths 
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed outbreaks caused by the covid-19 delta variant in Missouri and elsewhere on Newsy on Thursday. ... KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed opioids and the rise in overdose deaths on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on July 16. (7/24)

Also —

AP: Man Who Made Fun Of Vaccination Efforts On Social Media Dies Of Covid
A man who mocked Covid-19 vaccinations died this week at a Los Angeles-area hospital after contracting the virus.Stephen Harmon was 34.Harmon died on Wednesday at Corona Regional Medical Center, about an hour's drive east of Los Angeles. Stephen Harmon posted photos of himself in his hospital bed, wrote that he had pneumonia and critically low oxygen levels and was going to be intubated. In a tweet Wednesday, Harmon wrote: “Don’t know when I’ll wake up, please pray,” KCBS-TV reported. Three days before his death, Harmon tweeted: “If you don’t have faith that God can heal me over your stupid ventilator then keep the Hell out of my ICU room, there’s no room in here for fear or lack of faith!” (7/24)

The Washington Post: Alabama Mother Who Lost Son Curt Carpenter To Covid-19 Says Not Getting Vaccine Is Her Biggest Regret 
These days, Christy Carpenter finds strength in her family and faith. But on some days, one question keeps ringing in her head: “Why?” After weeks of battling through oxygen treatments, her 28-year-old son died in the hospital two months after being diagnosed with covid-19. ... “It took watching my son die and me suffering the effects of covid for us to realize we need the vaccine,” the mother said. “We did not get vaccinated when we had the opportunity and regret that so much now.” (Paul, 7/25)

AP: Unvaccinated Snow Leopard At San Diego Zoo Catches Covid-19
An unvaccinated snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo has contracted Covid-19.Caretakers noticed that Ramil, a 9-year-old male snow leopard, had a cough and runny nose on Thursday. Later, two separate tests of his stool confirmed the presence of the coronavirus, the zoo said in a statement Friday. (7/24)

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Court Reverses Course On COVID-19 Cruise-Ship Regulations, Lifting CDC’s Safety Measures 
In a matter of days, things have changed again for the cruise industry in Florida. Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta reversed course Friday, siding with the state and ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot impose COVID-19 safety rules on cruises sailing from Florida ports this summer. The CDC wanted cruises to follow a list of measures in a four-phased approach in order to set sail again, including mass testing for staff and passengers, enforcing social distancing and conducting test trips if less than 95% of those onboard are fully vaccinated, among other things. (DiMichele and Perkins, 7/24)

Miami Herald: CDC Not Allowed To Enforce Cruise Rules In Florida 
Just before the 11th Circuit’s reversal, Florida asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and reverse the appeals court’s decision from last Saturday. The 11th Circuit judges — Judges Jill Pryor, Charles Wilson and Elizabeth Branch — did not provide an explanation for why they reversed their decision just six days after issuing it, saying only that the CDC “failed to demonstrate an entitlement to a stay pending appeal.” (Dolven, 7/23)

And in news about vaccine mandates —

The Washington Post: Doctors, Nurses And Other Health Groups Call For Mandatory Vaccinations For All Health Workers
Medical groups representing millions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers on Monday called for mandatory vaccinations of all U.S. health personnel against the coronavirus, framing the move as a moral imperative as new infections mount sharply. “We call for all health care and long-term care employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against covid-19,” the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association and 55 other groups wrote in a joint statement shared with The Washington Post. “The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.” (Diamond, 7/26)

AP: Sununu Signs 'Medical Freedom' Immunization Bill
New Hampshire residents can’t be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to access public facilities, benefits or services under a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu. Supporters say the bill signed this week establishes “medical freedom” by specifying that all residents have the “natural, essential and inherent right to bodily integrity, free from any threat or compulsion by government to accept an immunization.” (7/25)

Des Moines Register: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: Over 100 Rally At Iowa Capitol Against Them
As some hospitals in Iowa and nationwide are requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk termination, over 100  people gathered Saturday afternoon outside of the Iowa state Capitol for a rally against vaccine mandates. The rally was organized by Informed Choice Iowa — a group that advocates against mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports — and included multiple speakers like Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, who called vaccine mandates "a crime against humanity," and Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme, who said Iowans would become "mindless cattle" if "we don't stand up for freedom." (May Sahouri, 7/24)

Macon Telegraph: Atrium And Coliseum Hospitals To Require COVID Vaccine 
Coliseum Hospitals and Atrium Health will begin requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccination. On Aug. 1, Piedmont Healthcare’s purchase of Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital will go into effect, and Piedmont is requiring employees to be vaccinated by Feb. 1. Administrators, Piedmont-employed providers and new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated. All remaining employees will be required to be vaccinated at a date that has not been determined. (Baxley, 7/24)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana Hospitals, With Vaccine-Hesitant Employees, Are Wary Of Mandating Vaccines 
As coronavirus cases continue to climb, many hospitals across the United States are adopting policies that require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Louisiana hospitals are not, even as infection cases have skyrocketed more than any other state in the past two weeks. That has resulted in lower vaccination rates among hospital workers, a particular concern for medically vulnerable patients and children too young to receive a vaccine. And several Louisiana hospitals refuse to provide anything that might inform a patient’s risk level. (Woodruff, 7/24)

Axios: NFL Raises Vaccine Pressure 
In the latest attempt to encourage players to get vaccinated, the NFL is threatening forfeits and the loss of game checks if an outbreak occurs. If a game can't be played due to an outbreak among unvaccinated players/staff this upcoming season — and the NFL can't find "a suitable date to reschedule" — the team responsible will forfeit and both teams will lose their game checks. (Baker, 7/23)

Roll Call: GOP Pro-Vaccine Message Clouded By Emphasis On Choice And Privacy 
The tone of some Republican leaders on COVID-19 vaccines has shifted in response to the highly infectious delta variant, but a continued emphasis on values like personal liberty and privacy could muddle the message. The delta variant is proliferating, comprising 83 percent of cases in the United States and an even higher percentage in places with lower vaccination rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with repercussions for the country's most vulnerable people as well as the economy’s fragile recovery. (Kopp, 7/23)

The Washington Post: As Coronavirus Surges, GOP Lawmakers Are Moving To Limit Public Health Powers 
Across the country, GOP lawmakers are rallying around the cause of individual freedom to counter community-based disease mitigation methods, moves experts say leave the country ill-equipped to counter the resurgent coronavirus and a future, unknown outbreak. In some states, anger at perceived overreach by health officials has prompted legislative attempts to limit their authority, including new state laws that prevent the closure of businesses or allow lawmakers to rescind mask mandates. Some state courts have reined in the emergency and regulatory powers governors have wielded against the virus. And in its recent rulings and analysis, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its willingness to limit disease mitigation in the name of religious freedom. (Sellers and Stanley-Becker, 7/25)

Politico: In Alabama And Louisiana, Partisan Opposition To Vaccine Surges Alongside Delta Variant 
George Grabryan and Mike Melton have been helping people here on the bank of the Tennessee River survive devastating tornadoes, floods and other disasters for decades. Ask any local official in rural Lauderdale County, and they have the two emergency managers’ numbers saved in their phones — just in case. But Covid-19 has broken those bonds. Despite Grabryan and Melton’s best efforts, only 34 percent of county residents are vaccinated, even as the highly transmissible Delta variant has driven up new infections by 300 percent in the last two weeks. Three people have died, and health officials predict that many more will follow before the summer mist lifts off the cornfields. (Banco, 7/24)

The New York Times: The Delta Variant Is The Symptom Of A Bigger Threat: Vaccine Refusal 
After an all too brief respite, the United States is again at a crossroads in the pandemic. The number of infections has ticked up — slowly at first, then swiftly — to 51,000 cases per day, on average, more than four times the rate a month ago. The country may again see overflowing hospitals, exhausted health care workers and thousands of needless deaths. The more contagious Delta variant may be getting the blame, but fueling its rise is an older, more familiar foe: vaccine hesitancy and refusal, long pervasive in the United States. Were a wider swath of the population vaccinated, there would be no resurgence — of the Delta variant, or Alpha variant, or any other version of the coronavirus. (Mandavilli, 7/25)

In related news —

Modern Healthcare: Catholic Health Association Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
The Catholic Health Association on Friday joined the growing chorus of prominent healthcare associations and health systems supporting or implementing employee COVID-19 vaccination mandates. CHA said it "strongly supports" member health systems as they take necessary steps toward ensuring as many healthcare workers get vaccinated as possible. The organization's announcement comes after dozens of providers and several associations have backed vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. (Bannow, 7/23)

The Hill: House Republican Calls Second Bout Of COVID-19 'Far More Challenging'
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) announced on Facebook Sunday evening that he and his wife had contracted COVID-19 for the second time, calling it "far more challenging." “I have COVID, Becca has COVID, my son has COVID. Becca and I had COVID before, early on, in January 2020, before the world really knew what it was. So, this is our second experience with the CCP biological attack weaponized virus… and this episode is far more challenging. It has required all of my devoted energy,” he wrote, referring to a conspiracy that the virus was engineered to be a biological weapon. (Vakil, 7/25)

The New York Times: After Covid Diagnosis, A Conservative Radio Host Sends A New Message
Phil Valentine, who once wrote that he was not going to get the vaccine because his chances of dying from the virus were “way less than one percent,” is now hospitalized, attached to a ventilator at night, and to an oxygen mask during the day, so he can breathe. (Masters and Heyward, 7/25)

Politico: Arkansas Governor Blames 'Myths' For 'Hardened' Vaccine Resistance
The Republican governor of Arkansas on Sunday said resistance to the coronavirus vaccine "has hardened" in some areas of the state, blaming the hesitancy on "false information" and "myths." "I don't know if I underestimated it, but, certainly, the resistance has hardened in certain elements, and is simply false information," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union." (O'Brien, 7/25)

CNN: Arkansas' Governor Defends Decision To Approve A Statewide Ban On Mask Mandates
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday defended his decision to approve a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year, citing a low coronavirus case rate at the time -- a rate that is now rapidly rising. "Well, that was the will of the General Assembly. I signed it. At that point we had very low case rates in Arkansas and people knew exactly what to do. They were capable of making their decisions," Hutchinson, a Republican, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" when asked about his decision to approve the ban in April. (Cole, 7/25)

AP: New Arkansas COVID-19 Cases Top 2,000, 1st Time In 5 Months
COVID-19 continues to rage through Arkansas as new day-over-day cases topped 2,000 for the first time since February. State health officials reported 2,015 new cases Saturday as the highly contagious delta variant swept across the state, prompting the state to resume weekend daily updates. Another 1,022 were reported Sunday. (7/25)

The Hill: Huckabee Sanders Writes Op-Ed On Why She Got Vaccinated
Former White House press secretary and Republican Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in an op-ed that she has been vaccinated against the coronavirus and urged others to do the same. "Like many of you, I have had a lot of misinformation thrown at me by politicians and the media during the pandemic. And, like many of you, I spent a lot of time sorting through it all, trying to make the best decision I could for myself and my family," Sanders wrote in the entry published over the weekend in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Based on the advice of my doctor, I determined that the benefits of getting vaccinated outweighed any potential risks." The fact that former President Trump and his family had been vaccinated, Sanders said, helped her make her decision. (Mastrangelo, 7/25)

Sarah Sanders slams Dr. Fauci as "arrogant" and says he "misjudged the Trump vaccine plan" —
Sarah Huckabee Sanders: The reasoning behind getting vaccinated

Reuters: United States Buys 200 Mln More Doses Of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech said on Friday the U.S. government has purchased 200 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to help with pediatric vaccination as well as possible booster shots - if they are needed. A Biden administration official with knowledge of the contract said that as part of the agreement, Pfizer will provide the United States with 65 million doses intended for children under 12, including doses available immediately after the vaccine is authorized for that age group. The U.S. government also has the option to buy an updated version of the vaccine targeting new variants of the virus. (7/23)

Des Moines Register: Iowa May Have To Throw Out Tens Of Thousands Of Expiring COVID Shots
Iowa might have to throw out tens of thousands of doses of coronavirus vaccine over the next six weeks unless public demand for the shots rebounds. The Iowa Department of Public Health told the Des Moines Register Friday that 38,730 of the state's doses are set to expire by the end of July, and another 178,651 could expire by the end of August. Sarah Ekstrand, a spokesperson for the health department, said clinics and county health departments are trying to limit the number of doses that would have to be thrown out. (Leys, 7/23)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Universities Brace For Influx Of COVID Immunization Records From Students, Employees 
Maryland colleges and universities are adjusting computer software, hiring additional staff and considering third-party vendors to manage the influx of COVID-19 vaccination records from students and employees ahead of the fall semester. Since 14 schools across the state announced in the spring that they would require students and employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine before the fall, administrators have devised plans for verifying compliance to the mandates and processing exemption applications. (Reed, 7/26)

CNN: Vaccinating Children Of Hesitant Parents: Pediatricians Are Key
As back-to-school season approaches, parents are split when it comes to vaccinating their children against Covid-19. Of parents with unvaccinated children, 3 in 4 say the recommendation of their child's health care provider will be integral in their decision to vaccinate. However, 70% of parents with children ages 3 to 11 and 50% of parents with children ages 12 to 18 have not discussed the Covid-19 vaccine with their pediatrician, according to a new report. (Molano, 7/26)

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: Fort Benning General Urges COVID Vaccine Amid Spike In Cases 
Fort Benning’s commanding general is warning residents of the dangers of the COVID-19 Delta variant as one of the Army’s largest training posts sees a spike in cases among some soldiers. Major General Patrick Donahoe said in the tweet Thursday that Fort Benning has seen an increased number of “young trainees” in the intensive care unit and arriving positive for COVID-19. (McGee, 7/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Latino Philadelphians Are Getting Vaccinated More Quickly Than Any Other Group. It Hasn’t Been Easy
When the needle entered just below the left eye of the wolf tattooed on his left arm earlier this month, Fernando Rodriguez became one of the last in his family to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A few family members caught COVID-19, but recovered, the 32-year-old from Guatemala said in Spanish while visiting a health clinic for the Latino community at Garces Laboratories in Old City on July 17. Rodriguez, a butcher, never got sick, and didn’t feel much urgency to get vaccinated. (Laughlin, 7/24)

NBC News: Latino Group Uses Door-To-Door Election Tactics To Boost Covid Vaccinations
Guadalupe Torres of Mi Familia Vota stayed with Maria Cruz Meza for an hour at her doorstep, determined to get Covid-19 vaccinations for her and her husband and son. Just five days earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded the alarm that the country is entering a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” as the delta variant of the coronavirus drives up Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations.  (Gamboa, 7/24)

NBC News: Not Swayed By Experts — Or Dolly: Tennessee Vaccination Rates Stall As Delta Spreads
Best friends Emma Short and Rachel Nelson, both 18, disagree about the Covid vaccines. "I'm vaccinated. She's not," Short said, standing next to Nelson as they enjoyed a day at the Dollywood theme park. Both women, who are recent high school graduates, are heading to college in their hometown at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville this fall, where students won't be required to get vaccinated. (Kesslen, 7/24)

AP: Jill Biden Calls On Unvaccinated In Hawaii To Get Shots
First lady Jill Biden visited a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Waipahu, Hawaii, on Sunday to encourage unvaccinated Hawaiians to get their shots as the delta variant surges through much of the U.S. Biden in remarks at the clinic at Waipahu High School said the virus has become “more contagious than ever” and urged the unvaccinated to “help us move past this virus once and for all.” (7/26)

NPR: Doctors Worry That Memory Problems After COVID-19 May Set Stage For Alzheimer's
What scientists have found so far is concerning. For example, PET scans taken before and after a person develops COVID-19 suggest that the infection can cause changes that overlap those seen in Alzheimer's. And genetic studies are finding that some of the same genes that increase a person's risk for getting severe COVID-19 also increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's diagnoses also appear to be more common in patients in their 60s and 70s who've had severe COVID-19, says Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio. "It's downright scary," he says. (Hamilton, 7/26)

CIDRAP: Malnutrition Linked To Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
Adults and children with COVID-19 and a history of malnutrition may be more likely to die of their infections or need mechanical ventilation, according to a study yesterday in Scientific Reports. The researchers looked at 8,604 children (mean age, 6 years) and 94,495 adults (mean age, 53 years) hospitalized with COVID-19 across 56 US hospitals from March to June 2020 and compared those with a malnutrition history from 2015 to 2019 with those without. Twenty-one children and 4,706 adults died. (7/23)

KHN: Watch: More Long Covid Cases Seen In Kids
The vast majority of the pandemic’s 4.1 million covid infections in children have been mild. However, doctors are concerned about a growing number of long-haul covid cases and a rare but dangerous inflammatory disease, particularly among Black and Latino children. KHN correspondent Sarah Varney, in collaboration with PBS NewsHour, reports on the phenomena. This story aired on July 23, 2021. (Varney, 7/26)

CIDRAP: Side Effects After Pfizer COVID Vaccine More Common After COVID-19
Patients with a history of COVID-19 were more likely to have side effects after their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine than those who were never infected, according to a Vaccine study yesterday. The researchers conducted a prospective observational study consisting of 311 healthcare workers from a university tertiary care hospital in France. From Jan 27 to Feb 5, they self-reported demographics and symptoms 21 to 28 days after their first vaccination and before their second. 7/23)

Fox News: CDC Urges Labs To Use COVID Tests That Can Differentiate From Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged labs this week to stock clinics with kits that can test for both the coronavirus and the flu as the "influenza season" draws near. The CDC said Wednesday it will withdrawal its request for the "Emergency Use Authorization" of real-time diagnostic testing kits, which were used starting in February 2020 to detect signs of the coronavirus, by the end of the year. (McFall, 7/25)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Marchers See Medicare-For-All As Way To Improve Health Care
A group of marchers Saturday coursed through the streets of downtown Milwaukee to keep alive the discussion over national health care insurance. The movement, crystalized in legislation by U.S. Bernie Sanders, wants to establish a national single-payer insurance program, with the idea that equal access would end health disparities and control costs. Similar Medicare-for-all rallies took place in other cities across the country Saturday, including Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. (Bentley, 7/24)

WGN-TV: Over 100 People March In Support Of Medicare For All Downtown
More than 100 people marched from Maggie Daley Park to the Federal Plaza to draw attention to their fight for Medicare for All. “John Lewis said if you see something is not right, not fair and not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it,” registered nurse Martese Chism said. The rally was part of rallies in more than 50 other cities across the United States in support for a single-payer health care system. (Barnes, 7/24)

Portland Press Herald: Advocates In Portland Demand Medicare For All 
A crowd of about 60 gathered in Portland’s Lincoln Park on Saturday to call for federal action on legislation extending Medicare benefits for all Americans. Saturday morning’s event was one of many rallies around the country to push for universal health care coverage. Patty Kidder, a Maine People’s Alliance volunteer from Springvale, led the group in chants demanding “Medicare For All.” She applauded recent successes, including the Maine Legislature’s approval of dental coverage for MaineCare recipients this summer, but said much more needed to be done. (Wolfe, 7/24)

WHDH 7News: Demonstrators March In Boston For Medicare For All 
Protesters marched through Boston on Saturday to call on state legislators to approve Medicare For All. The demonstrators marched from Nubian Square to Boston Common as other protesters across the country also made demands on their local leaders. Organizers said that Medicare for All bills have been filed on Beacon Hill for years, and the measure needs to pass. (Dougherty, 7/24)

Truthout: Medicare For All Rallies In 50 Cities Show Big Support For Universal Health Care
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, yet its poverty rates are higher and its safety nets are far weaker than those of other industrialized nations. It is also the only large rich country without universal health care. In fact, as Noam Chomsky argued in Truthout, the U.S. health system is an “international scandal.” Why is the U.S. an outlier with regard to health care? What keeps the country from adopting a universal health care system, which most Americans have supported for many years now? And what exactly is Medicare for All? On the eve of scheduled marches and rallies in support of Medicare for All, led by various organizations such as the Sunrise Movement, Physicians for a National Health Program, the Democratic Socialists of America and concerned citizens throughout the country, the interview below with Peter S. Arno, a leading health expert, sheds light on some key questions about the state of health care in the United States. (Polychroniou, 7/23)

In related news about the availability of health insurance coverage —

Noticias Telemundo: Latino Children In The U.S. Twice As Likely To Be Uninsured As Non-Latino Children, Analysis Says 
Latino children in the U.S. are twice as likely to be uninsured as non-Latino children, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. More than 1.8 million Latino children in the U.S. have not had health insurance since before the pandemic, putting them at greater risk for COVID-19. The virus has hit Latinos especially hard, resulting in higher infection rates, hospitalizations and unemployment. (Franco, 7/24)

AARP: Black, Latino Workers Lost More Income During Pandemic
Although hiring has picked up in recent months, researchers are looking back to determine how widespread unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic affected working-age adults. According to at least one recent poll, “The Commonwealth Fund Health Care Coverage and COVID-19 Survey,” Black and Latino adults were more likely to experience income loss than white adults. The Commonwealth Fund, which focuses on ways to make the health care system more equitable and effective, surveyed 5,450 workers, ages 19 to 64, from March 9 through June 8, 2021. Among White respondents, 27 percent reported that their household income has dropped since March 2020, when the national pandemic emergency was declared. But Black and Latino respondents reported much higher rates of income loss, with 44 percent of African Americans and 45 percent of Latinos reporting a decline. (Terrell, 7/23)

Modern Healthcare: $25,000 Signing Bonuses To Hospital Workers? Whatever It Takes
Rachel Norton has been a critical care nurse for 14 years. She's worked as a staff nurse at a hospital, as a flight nurse and, currently on an as-needed basis for a system in Denver. And every so often, she takes on travel nursing assignments, sometimes spending a month at a new hospital when there's a need. Norton's flexible nursing career is one that's become more common in the past year as staff nurses have taken lucrative travel nursing contracts, reduced their hours or left the workforce altogether from burnout or for early retirement. And nurses aren't alone. (Christ, 7/23)

Modern Healthcare: The High Cost Of Temporary Nurses Forces Providers To Get Creative
Healthcare providers are finding new ways to adequately staff facilities in response to escalating costs for travel nurses and rising COVID-19 cases. The high demand for nurses has created a competitive market for temporary staffing, leading some healthcare companies to leverage internal resources and change up existing staff structures to meet patients' needs. The resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic driven by the Delta variant, especially in states with low vaccination rates, is burdening providers whose staffing shortages have worsened just as demand spikes. States including Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas are enduring significant increases in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths, triggering an urgent need for healthcare professionals. (Devereaux, 7/23)

Georgia Health News: State Has Paid Staffing Firm $434 Million As Pandemic Deal Continues 
Georgia’s tab for providing staffing help to hospitals and nursing homes in the pandemic has grown to $434 million. The payments have gone to Jackson Healthcare, a private firm based in Alpharetta. The company, after getting a no-bid contract, has supplied medical staff, from doctors to nurses to respiratory therapists, to dozens of hospitals and nursing homes across Georgia over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, through its subsidiary, HWL. (Miller, 7/23)

In decision-making and information tech in hospitals —

Stat: Shielded From Scrutiny, Epic Algorithms Deliver Inaccurate Information
Several artificial intelligence algorithms developed by Epic Systems, the nation’s largest electronic health record vendor, are delivering inaccurate or irrelevant information to hospitals about the care of seriously ill patients, contrasting sharply with the company’s published claims, a STAT investigation found. Employees of several major health systems said they were particularly concerned about Epic’s algorithm for predicting sepsis, a life-threatening complication of infection. The algorithm, they said, routinely fails to identify the condition in advance, and triggers frequent false alarms. Some hospitals reported a benefit for patients after fine-tuning the model, but that process took at least a year. (Ross, 7/26)

Stat: Most Research On Clinical Decision Support Tools Is Never Replicated
Clinical decision support is one of digital health’s great promises. Faced with a surplus of information about a patient’s history and symptoms, algorithms built into electronic health records can provide important alerts and reminders, automated prescription suggestions, and even diagnostic support — hopefully, helping patients receive the right care. But those systems don’t always hold up after their initial testing. Most recently, work pointed to flaws in an algorithm to predict the risk of sepsis, integrated into Epic’s electronic health record platform. A recent STAT investigation found those shortcomings extend to other Epic algorithms, including those used by hospitals to predict how long patients will be hospitalized or who will miss appointments. (Palmer, 7/26)

Also —

KHN: The Pandemic Made Telemedicine An Instant Hit. Patients And Providers Feel The Growing Pains. 
Crystal Joseph pays for two telemedicine video services to ensure that her small therapy practice in Silver Spring, Maryland, can always connect with its clients. She’s been burned before. During one hours-long service outage of SimplePractice in late May, PsycYourMind, which offers mental health counseling and group sessions for Black patients, lost about $600 because of missed appointments. Livid, Joseph requested a small credit from the telemedicine service, which costs $432 monthly for her team of clinicians and trainees. SimplePractice refused, she said. (Norman, 7/26)

Bloomberg: Big Pharma's Little Secret: Drug Cross-Contamination Is Rampant
Brady Ellison, a three-time U.S. Olympic medalist in archery, is going for gold in Tokyo, though he was almost disqualified. Pills he takes for a thyroid condition contained traces of a drug banned by anti-doping authorities. “I had absolutely no clue,” says Ellison, 32. While few have access to Olympics substance testing, many would find themselves in a similar situation if they did. The trillion-dollar prescription-drug industry has a problem it doesn’t like to talk about and doesn’t fully understand. Manufacturers stamp out pills for one condition on the same machines they use to stamp out pills for a different one, and while they’re supposed to clean between production rounds, trace contamination is common and, some argue, inevitable. (Edney, 7/26)

CNBC: How Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy With MDMA And Psilocybin Works
Investors are opening their minds and wallets to the possibilities of psychedelic-assisted therapies. Three biopharmaceutical companies aiming to make psychedelic drugs to treat mental health disorders have gone public in recent months: Peter Thiel-backed Atai Life Sciences IPO’d in June and now has a market cap of $2.6 billion; MindMed went public in April and now has a market cap of more than $1 billion; and Compass Pathways IPO’d in November, with a current market cap of nearly $1.5 billion. (Stieg, 7/24)

Stat: Microbiome Therapy Companies Face The Fallout Of Failed Seres Trial
A frost may be setting in across the microbiome therapeutics space after another clinical trial failure announcement from Seres Therapeutics, this time with an ulcerative colitis treatment. Not only has Seres’ share price fallen more than 60% since Thursday, the stock prices of rival microbiome therapy makers Finch Therapeutics, Evelo Biosciences, and Kaleido Biosciences were down by roughly 20%. (Sheridan, 7/26)

Axios: Synthetic Biology And AI Drug Discovery Platform Absci Goes Public 
Absci — a company that uses synthetic biology and machine learning to help pharmaceutical companies rapidly identify new drugs — went public Thursday. Discovering a new drug usually takes years of trial and error and huge amounts of investment. Also, more often than not, a candidate will never make it to market. Approaches that mine the intersection of AI and biology should help accelerate that timeline. (Walsh, 7/23)

CNBC: Large Shareholder Group Calls For A Board Overhaul At Pharma Company CytoDyn
CytoDyn is a late-stage biotechnology company. The company focuses on developing treatments for multiple therapeutic indications based on leronlimab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor. Its leronlimab is in a class of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies designed to address unmet medical needs in the areas of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cancer, immunology, and novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It has completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial with leronlimab in combination with antiretroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients, as well as completed a Phase 3 investigative trial with leronlimab as a once-weekly monotherapy for HIV-infected patients. (Squire, 7/24)

AP: Georgia Board Picks 6 Companies To Sell Medical Marijuana
A Georgia board tasked with overseeing the state’s efforts to get patients access to medical marijuana has approved the six companies that will be allowed to sell the drug, a major step to finally getting patients legal access to the medication. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission voted Saturday to pick six companies from 69 that had applied for licenses. Specifically they’ll be able to sell medical marijuana oil that contains no more than 5% of the THC compound that is found in marijuana and which makes users high. (7/25)

AP: Sparked By Pandemic Fallout, Homeschooling Surges Across US
Although the pandemic disrupted family life across the U.S. since taking hold in spring 2020, some parents are grateful for one consequence: They’re now opting to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to resume in-person classes. The specific reasons vary widely. Some families who spoke with The Associated Press have children with special educational needs; others seek a faith-based curriculum or say their local schools are flawed. The common denominator: They tried homeschooling on what they thought was a temporary basis and found it beneficial to their children. (Crary, 7/26)

In other public health news —

USA Today: Carrot Recall: Grimmway Farms Baby Carrots Pulled For Salmonella Risk
Grimmway Farms is voluntarily recalling select carrot products for possible salmonella contamination. According to the recall notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration website, six products are part of the recall under the brand names of Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, O Organics and Grimmway Farms. The company, which is based in Bakersfield, California, said no illnesses have been linked to the recall to date. (Tyko, 7/23)

The Washington Post: Patients Are Warned That IUDs Can Be ‘Uncomfortable.’ But Many Say The Pain Is Excruciating
Heather Williams walked into the doctor’s office feeling confident and calm. She had researched the intrauterine device that her obstetrician-gynecologist was about to place inside her uterus: People online told her to expect “major cramping” during insertion, but she figured it wouldn’t be worse than a period. As long as she took a few ibuprofen, she thought she’d be fine. Thirty minutes later, Williams was lying on the cold tile floor in the bathroom at the doctor’s office. “I don’t think I’d ever felt pain like that before,” she said. (Kitchener, 7/19)

CNBC: Disney Won't Attend CinemaCon In-Person As Delta Variant Rages In Las Vegas
Walt Disney executives won’t be traveling to Las Vegas next month to attend the National Association of Theatre Owners’ CinemaCon. The company cited growing concerns over the Covid-19 delta variant for why it’s skipping out on the annual gathering of cinema owners and Hollywood studios at Caesars Palace, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. Disney will screen one of its upcoming movies instead of holding a staged presentation. (Whitten, 7/24)

New York Post: 'Right-Handed Man' Almost Masturbates To Death: Medical Case Study
This fellow redefined "mind-blowing sex" after he suffered a life-threatening stroke while repeatedly masturbating. Now, medical experts are saying he’s lucky he escaped the ultimate unhappy ending. The unnamed "51-year-old right-handed man" from Japan admittedly enjoyed pleasuring himself several times a day, according to the new case study published in the medical Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases. (Cost, 7/24)

CNN: Colorado Plague: 10-Year-Old Dies As Health Officials Warn Of Plague Activity 
The death of a 10-year-old in Colorado has been linked to plague as state health officials warn they are investigating reports of the bacterial infection in animals and fleas. The 10-year-old resident of La Plata County "died from causes associated with plague," the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a news release Thursday. (Andone, 7/24)

In abortion news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Abortion Rate Increases For Third Consecutive Year
The number of abortions performed in Georgia grew slightly in 2020 — by about 2% over last year, according to new numbers from the state Department of Public Health. After declining over the past two decades, 2020 marked the third consecutive year the rate of reported abortions increased in Georgia. The latest figures, for 2020, were released earlier this month as Georgia continues to defend its restrictive anti-abortion law. The law would have banned the procedure in most cases when a doctor could detect fetal cardiac activity — typically about six weeks into a pregnancy. (Prabhu, 7/23)

NBC News: What U.S. Abortion Access Looks Like, In Graphics
The current landscape of abortion access in the United States came into focus in May after the Supreme Court decided to consider the legality of Mississippi's ban on nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi’s restriction was the first to reach the court from a wave of state laws intended to strike down Roe v. Wade, the decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide. The first major abortion case since the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett solidified a conservative majority comes as state legislatures around the country have brought a historic number of laws seeking to tighten abortion access. (Atkins, 7/25)

In news from North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and California —

AP: North Carolina Woman To Become Rare 2-Time Organ Donor
A North Carolina woman is set to join the elite ranks of two-time living organ donors. On Tuesday, surgeons in New York will take part of 54-year-old Stephanie Allen’s liver and transplant it into her brother, Eric Allen, The Wilson Times reported. Stephanie Allen, a delivery driver and mother of four, previously donated a kidney to her sister in 2006.“Right now, she is the sunshine in my world,” said Eric Allen, whose liver was failing after two years of battling primary sclerosing cholangitis and Crohn’s disease. (7/25)

North Carolina Health News: NC Pilots Peer Mentorship For People With Disabilities 
David Camilo is about to take a big step toward more independence as he moves into his own house soon. Camilo, 36, refers to himself as someone with “high-functioning” autism. Right now, he lives in Morrisville with his parents and works for his dad’s entertainment business as a DJ and an MC for weddings, birthdays and other events. He’s also part of the inaugural class of 15 people graduating from the NC Peer Mentor Training Pilot for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). (Knopf, 7/26)

KHN: As Holdout Missouri Joins Nation In Monitoring Opioid Prescriptions, Experts Worry 
Kathi Arbini said she felt elated when Missouri finally caught up to the other 49 states and approved a statewide prescription drug monitoring program this June in an attempt to curb opioid addiction. The hairstylist turned activist estimated she made 75 two-hour trips in the past decade from her home in Fenton, a St. Louis suburb, to the state capital, Jefferson City, to convince Republican lawmakers that monitoring how doctors and pharmacists prescribe and dispense controlled substances could help save people like her son, Kevin Mullane. (Berger, 7/26)

AP: 47 Nebraska School Districts Object To Sex Ed Standards
Nearly 50 Nebraska school boards have objected to proposed state health education standards that include lessons for young children on gender identity and gender expression. State Sen. Joni Albrecht said 47 school boards across the state have either adopted resolutions or sent letters opposing the first draft of the standards that the Nebraska Department of Education is considering. Albrecht was part of a group of 30 state senators who signed a statement urging school districts to object to the standards. (7/25)

AP: Trial Moved Involving US Marshals Charged In Vaccine Dispute
A federal contempt of court trial involving three members of the U.S. Marshals Service has been moved from Aberdeen to Sioux Falls, according to court documents. Three supervisory marshals, including the agency’s Chief of Staff John Kilgallon, were accused of allowing a deputy marshal to leave the courthouse in Aberdeen with prisoners in tow on May 10, after the marshal refused to tell the judge whether she had been vaccinated against COVID-19. (7/25)

Politico: Californians Tired Of Doing Their Part During Triple-Digit Heat
Californians are tired of turning off their appliances in the summer heat.For years, state officials have counted on residents to rescue the electric grid from collapse by sparing their energy use on the most blistering of days. But during a brutal July heat wave, Californians largely ignored repeat calls for conservation. ... There is a growing sense that the state is overusing Flex Alert, asking too frequently — and on days when easing air conditioner usage is most uncomfortable. The tool was once used sparingly, just 21 times between 2009 and 2019, but state officials called 10 alerts last year alone, and five so far this summer. (Bermel, 7/23)

NPR: Marlboro Maker CEO Says The Company Plans To Stop Selling Smokes In The U.K.
The top executive for tobacco giant Philip Morris International told The Daily Mail Sunday that the company will stop selling cigarettes in the United Kingdom in the next 10 years. The company's CEO Jacek Olczak said the company's iconic Marlboro brand of cigarettes will be taken off the shelves in the U.K. within the next decade. "It will disappear. The first choice for consumers is they should quit smoking," he told the outlet. "But if they don't, the second best choice is to let them switch to the better alternatives." (Diaz, 7/26)

In other global news —

Axios: EU Regulators Recommend Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine For Teens 
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday recommended the authorization of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 17. This is the first time that Moderna's shot has been approved for teens. Until now, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the only option for children in Europe. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not extended the use of Moderna's vaccine to children under 16. The Pfizer vaccine remains the only available option for that age group in the U.S. (Gonzalez, 7/23)

Axios: New Zealand Suspends Quarantine-Free Travel With Australia 
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that quarantine-free travel from Australia to New Zealand will be suspended as COVID-19 cases rise in Australia. The travel bubble, which opened in April, was supposed to boost the economy and serve as a model to safely allow international travel. More than 200,000 people have utilized the quarantine-free travel bubble since April, the Washington Post reports. (Frazier, 7/23)

Axios: Israel To Require Vaccine Certificates To Attend Social Events 
Israeli officials announced that citizens will be legally required to present vaccination certificates to attend many social events across the country. Israel has fully vaccinated 58% of its population, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the country needs to safeguard public health and maintain the Israeli economy by implementing the vaccination certification. (Frazier, 7/23)

AP: Some French Health Workers Resent, Resist Mandatory Vaccines
While most French health care workers are vaccinated against the virus, a small but vocal minority is holding out. With infections exploding, a new law requiring them to get the shots is exposing the divide. The French government, which has declared that the nation has officially entered its “fourth wave” of the pandemic, pushed the law mandating COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers, to protect hospitals and avoid a new lockdown. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal says the move isn’t meant to stigmatize reluctant health care workers but to limit risks to the vulnerable people they care for. (Gouvy, 7/26)

The New York Times: No Longer ‘Hidden Victims,’ Children Are Dying as Virus Surges in Indonesia
Hundreds of children in Indonesia have died from the coronavirus in recent weeks, many of them under age 5, a mortality rate greater than that of any other country and one that challenges the idea that children face minimal risk from Covid-19, doctors say. The deaths, more than 100 a week this month, have come as Indonesia confronts its biggest surge yet in coronavirus cases over all — and as its leaders face mounting criticism that they have been unprepared and slow to act. (Paddock and Suhartono, 7/25)

AP: Pandemic Leaves Indians Mired In Massive Medical Debts
Life has been tentatively returning to normal in India as coronavirus cases have fallen. But millions are embroiled in a nightmare of huge piles of medical bills. Most Indians don’t have health insurance and costs for COVID-19 treatment have them drowning in debt. ... The pandemic has devastated India’s economy, bringing financial calamity to millions at the mercy of its chronically underfunded and fragmented healthcare system. Experts say such costs are bound to hinder an economic recovery. (Pathi and Arthur, 7/26)

AP: The Faces Of Olympic Victory, Now Without Masks
The faces of victory will be a bit more visible for the rest of the Tokyo Olympics. On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee relaxed its health rules and said medalists can remove their masks on the podium for photos — for 30 seconds. This, says the IOC, acknowledges “a unique moment in their sporting career.” (7/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Tokyo’s Olympics Were Supposed To Be In 2020. Tokyo’s Covid Protocols Are Still There 
The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to be in 2020. Based on their pandemic protocols, organizers are behaving as if that’s still the case. Dining rooms are filled with plexiglass partitions. Microphones are sanitized between questions at news conferences. Even athletes supporting other athletes are advised, “Clap, do not sing or chant.” “We know now that this virus is primarily a respiratory virus,” said Deborah Roy, president of the American Society of Safety Professionals.  “Washing your hands and cleaning surfaces is still a good idea…but in a rational way, not in an obsessed way.” (Robinson, Hernandez and Beaton, 7/26)

Axios: Behind The Scenes At The COVID Olympics 
The COVID rule-breaking was obvious at Friday's opening ceremony, when athletes were clearly visible on TV with masks below their noses, but an athlete tells Axios that the rule-breaking has been going on well before that. It's been happening at least since athletes arrived in the Olympic Village, where masks were dropped below noses and different teams were forced to share buses. Even the official plan introduces risks, both via the flight to get to Tokyo as well as shared dining facilities, where people of course are unmasked. (Fried, 7/24)

In other Olympics updates —

Bloomberg: Tokyo Olympics Has 16 More Virus Cases, Including Three Athletes
Japanese Olympics organizers reported sixteen more coronavirus cases, including three infections among athletes, as the spectator-free Tokyo games continued under tight restrictions. Those who tested positive included contractors and employees of Tokyo 2020, according to a statement on the organizer’s website, as well as eight others connected to the Games whose exact roles weren’t made clear. Six of the total are residents of Japan, though the statement didn’t identify the nationalities of the athletes or the events they were scheduled to compete in. (Reynolds, 7/26)

Axios: Golf's Bryson DeChambeau Tests Positive For COVID 
Bryson DeChambeau has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Tokyo Olympic Games, USA Golf announced late Saturday. "I am deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA," DeChambeau said in a statement. "Patrick Reed will replace DeChambeau and is undergoing the requisite testing protocol" Sunday and Monday before his expected departure for Japan, per a USA Golf statement. (Falconer, 7/25)

The Washington Post: Lee Kiefer, An American Medical Student, Wins Historic Gold Medal In Fencing
For Lee Kiefer, who became the first U.S. man or woman to win a gold medal in individual foil Sunday in the Tokyo Olympics, fencing and medicine run deep. The daughter of two doctors, Kiefer, 27, is a medical student herself, studying at the University of Kentucky. She is married to Gerek Meinhardt, a 30-year-old fellow Kentucky medical student who is her partner in life, medicine and fencing. In Tokyo, he is competing in his fourth Olympics, having won a team bronze in foil in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Boren, 7/25)

AP: Gymnastics Team, Tired Of 'Sexualization,' Wears Unitards
The team’s outfits looked similar to the others in the room as the arena lights gleamed off crystals crisscrossing their chests and down their crimson and white sleeves. But the German gymnastics team’s new Olympic suits didn’t stop at their hips. For decades, female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards. In qualifying on Sunday, however, the German team instead wore unitards that stretched to their ankles, intending to push back against sexualization of women in gymnastics. (Galofaro, 7/26)

ABC News: This Doctor Helps Olympians With Their Sleep. Here Are His Tips To Sleep Like A Champion. 
Olympic teams often have coaches, trainers and physical therapists on their staff. But for the Tokyo Games, the U.S. Weightlifting team has added another role to help its athletes perform at the top of their game – a sleep performance director. Dr. Jeffrey Durmer is a neuroscientist who specializes in sleep. Since 2013, he has been helping athletes in various sports as a sleep consultant to optimize their performance through sleep programs. This year, he is one of the first staff members on an Olympic team that solely specializes in sleep. (McLellan, 7/26)

CNN: Unvaccinated Americans Under Mounting Pressure To Get Covid Shots 
Social, moral and political pressure is beginning to build on tens of millions of Americans who decline to take safe, effective vaccines against Covid-19, as even some conservative politicians join the persuasion effort amid a dangerous new wave. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top government infectious diseases expert, bluntly warned on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday the pandemic is "going in the wrong direction" because 50% of the country is not fully vaccinated. (Stephen Collinson, 7/26)

The New York Times: Biden Needs A Special Envoy On Covid. Enlist Bush
The Biden administration says it wants to end the pandemic in 2022. If it’s serious about that goal, President Biden should relieve George W. Bush of his paintbrush and easel and draft him as America’s vaccine envoy. The world remembers W. for Iraq. But Mr. Bush was also the first global health president. Millions of people know that they owe their lives, and the lives of loved ones, to PEPFAR — the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — the effort led by the Bush White House to try to end the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic in Africa and around the world. (James Harding, 7/26)

The Washington Post: Republicans Unleashed A Deadly Vaccine Skepticism. Can They Now Contain It? 
Bad news is leading to at least a bit of good news: The surge of the coronavirus delta variant seems to have lit a fire under many Republican politicians. As the virus spreads largely in GOP regions with low vaccination rates, leaders of a party where anti-vax sentiment has run rampant have started sounding the alarm: Not getting vaccinated really can kill you. One of the most unequivocal statements came from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “These shots need to get in everybody’s arm as rapidly as possible,” he said last week, adding a swipe at those pushing falsehoods about vaccines, who happen to include many in his own party: (E.J. Dionne Jr, 7/25)

Bloomberg: London’s Delta Covid Surge Should Jolt New York 
London is in a precarious position when it comes to Covid-19. Remaining restrictions were recently lifted in the city along with the rest of the U.K. even as the highly infectious delta variant drives cases higher. London’s delta wave won't be as bad as past outbreaks — hospitalizations and deaths remain low because of its high vaccination rate. But the trend is moving in the wrong direction. New cases are averaging about 5,000 a day, people are isolating at high rates, and hospitalizations are beginning to tick up. The reaction to loosened restrictions has been muted and often critical. A big question is whether New York, another large city that has reopened after having been through the Covid wringer in 2020, will face a similar resurgence of cases that could thwart its return to normal. The answer is likely yes — and there's a even chance it could be worse than London’s in some ways. (Max Nisen, 7/26)

Chicago Tribune: Why Vaccinating Children Is More Important Than Ever 
A patient with a high fever and forced breathing shakes uncomfortably in bed, chest rising and falling at irregular intervals. Saliva and mucus pool in the back of the throat, exacerbating labored breaths. To many practitioners treating both adults and children over the past 16 months, this description brings back all-too-familiar memories of distressed patients seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, this was also a common scene, albeit with a different cause: diphtheria, a bacteria that infects the back of the throat causing fevers, difficulty breathing and swallowing, and swollen lymph nodes, among other symptoms. Sound familiar? (Lucas Bruton, 7/23)

Los Angeles Times: Everyone Should Mask Up, Because Kids Aren't Vaccinated 
The official guidance for COVID-19 safety is becoming more chaotic by the day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that only the unvaccinated need to wear masks, but the American Academy of Pediatrics urges everyone to do so. California is requiring people to cover their faces at school, and Los Angeles County went even further with a full indoor mandate. Meanwhile, other states are banning or discouraging mask rules. As the school year approaches and children under 12 remain ineligible for vaccination, this chaos is downright dangerous. (Karolina Corin, 7/26)

Dallas Morning News: We Are In A Race Between The COVID Virus And Vaccinations
COVID-19 is not over yet. The more contagious delta variant is the dominant strain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and COVID cases have more than doubled in the past two weeks, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Only half of vaccine-eligible individuals over the age of 12 in Dallas and Tarrant counties are fully vaccinated, according to DSHS vaccine dashboard. Teens and young adults have much lower rates of vaccination compared to seniors, per the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation dashboard. We are far from achieving herd immunity. Health experts at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health estimate that will require at least 70% of the population to be fully vaccinated. (Hussain Lalani and Arthur Hong, 7/25)

Kansas City Star: KU, UMKC Professor’s Advice On Fighting Vaccine Conspiracies 
After a long, hard-won decline, COVID-19 cases are spiking again in Kansas City. Some days this month saw more new cases than the same time last year. Those ugly numbers show how hard it has been for experts to persuade our community to vaccinate, despite an overwhelming consensus among doctors and scientists that the inoculations are very safe and very effective. Our national vaccination campaign is stumbling in dangerous ways, as the drive to immunize our communities hits a disturbing partisan gap. More than 80% of Democrats have received at least one shot, compared to just half of Republicans — and Republicans are much more likely to say they don’t plan to get immunized. That split hits particularly hard in Kansas and Missouri, where some conservative communities have turned their backs on experts. (Colin McRoberts, 7/25)

USA Today: Improve Health Equity, Diversity And Clinical Trials: Pay Participants
When the Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA and in favor of compensating college athletes, I considered how this strategy could help solve the lack of diversity in clinical research and clinical trial enrollment. The two topics may seem unrelated, but they're strikingly similar. Collegiate athletes from low-income or working-class families often live financially strapped lives on campus. Even those who are compensated receive relatively small stipends that are a fraction of what they earn for their schools. (John Whyte, 7/24)

The Washington Post: Here’s What Makes Texas’s ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill Uniquely Dangerous 
Judges have struck down every law state legislatures have passed limiting abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy, declaring these restrictions, which stop just short of totally banning abortion, to be unconstitutional. Knowing this, but bent on passing one anyway, Texas leaders have devised a convoluted and dangerous workaround: a “heartbeat” bill that entirely outsources its enforcement to private citizens. It’s a call to arms for antiabortion zealots — or, really, anyone who’d like $10,000, the minimum bounty for those who successfully sue a clinic or individual for enabling an “illegal” abortion. (7/24)

Stat: A Turning Point For Children: Creating An AIDS-Free Generation 
Forty years after the first AIDS cases were reported, the harsh reality is that deep inequalities continue to exist in the global response to HIV and AIDS, with gaps in rights and services preventing real progress. And while it is painful to admit, one of the most overlooked segments of the population has been children. (Winnie Byanyima and Chip Lyons, 7/25)

Stat: Every State Needs To Establish A Rare Disease Advisory Council 
A powerful movement is taking shape in the U.S. rare disease community that could transform the lives of millions of people. That’s right — millions. Even though a single rare disease may affect only a few individuals, there are several thousand of these problematic diseases that are difficult to identify and treat. Since 2015, 21 U.S. states have passed legislation to create Rare Disease Advisory Councils that provide platforms for patients and family members to communicate with experts, policymakers, and the broader public. It’s critical to seize this hopeful moment because the needs of so many people living with rare diseases go unaddressed. (Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, 7/25)

NBC News: Am I Good Mom? My Anxiety Made Me Question How I Was Raising My Son — And Passing It On
Anxiety defined my parenting, and my child and I had already developed unhealthy patterns by the time he was in first grade. When I was feeling anxious about a freelance writing gig, the bills, my marriage or even the current state of the world, he would pick up on my energy and act out, amplifying my anxiety. We would do a dance, almost literally, where he’d run circles around me — he’d become more unruly and I’d become more stressed — until I lost control. In those moments, I became so many things I never wanted to be. I’d yell, sometimes loudly, and I’d hate myself afterward. Then I’d spend the next several hours apologizing. (Aileen Weintraub, 7/24)

NPR: Pandemic Memories Will Stay With Our Children 
A lot of Americans may feel this week like someone who's run a long race, sees the finish line and begins to counts each step and breath to the end, only to hear as we get close, "Oh, sorry. You've got another mile or two to go. "The costs of the pandemic have been staggering. More than 600,000 people in the United States alone have died from COVID-19. Thousands more may live with long term damage, to their health, their livelihood and emotional well-being. (Scott Simon, 7/24)

The Atlantic: To Address The Overdose Crisis, Listen To The People Who Know The Most 
On a street corner in Newark, Ohio, every Saturday, rain or shine, Trish Perry distributes harm-reduction supplies—syringes, Neosporin, saline, and the overdose-reversal drug naloxone—to people who use drugs. She also provides food, clothing, tents, and blankets to the more than 75 people who stop by each week. Set up in a grassy lot shaded by a scrawny hackberry and a silver maple, her outreach efforts are funded purely by donations. Sometimes health-care workers will check wounds; sometimes a stylist will offer free haircuts. The people who come here for aid know that Perry isn’t going to ask them for personal information or expect anything in return. (Jack Shuler, 7/24)

Newsweek: Public-Private Partnerships Lead The Way On Ending Health Care Disparities 
For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged communities across the nation. Vaccination levels are now on the rise in the U.S., which is much-welcome news giving hope to countless people across the country who eagerly await the end of this long struggle. In fighting the pandemic, however, the troubling inequities in health care that hurt some of our most vulnerable communities became even more pronounced. In vaccine distribution, stark disparities have emerged along racial and geographic lines in terms of getting communities the shots they need to effectively ward off the spread of COVID-19. These disparities amplified how hard-hit these communities were from the very start of the pandemic. Without targeted solutions, their journey back from the pandemic will be far longer than it should. (Merika Coleman, Assistant Minority Leader, Alabama House Of Representatives, 7/23)