CNN: Pandemic At Two Years: Covid News No Longer Dominates Front Pages
Remember "we are all in this together?" That's what we were saying to each other two years ago this week. Media outlets were shifting into public service mode as the Covid-19 pandemic upended life in the United States. Broadcasters and health reporters were educating the country about terms like "social distancing" and "flatten the curve." No one imagined that some pandemic-era interventions would still be in place two years later — no one, that is, except the public health experts who tried to warn us at the outset. The "togetherness" sentiment lasted about a minute. Arguably it was never true at all. The pandemic exacerbated partisan divides. It accelerated all sorts of things. It changed everyone. Have you thought deeply about how it changed you? (Stelter, 3/11)

AP: In America, A Few Days In March 2020 Echo Two Years Later
The conversations went like this: It will be just a few days. It can be kept at bay. There will be some inconvenience, sure, but the world will merely be paused — just a short break, out of an abundance of caution, and certainly not any kind of major grinding to a halt. Certainly not for two years. Certainly not for hundreds of thousands of Americans who were among us at that moment in mid-March 2020 — who lived through the beginning, watched it, worried about it (or didn’t), and who, plain and simple, aren’t here anymore. (Anthony, 3/13)

Vanity Fair: After Two Years Of Pandemic Life, A Sense Of Optimism, And Caution
It began, for most Americans, as reports of a “mysterious, pneumonialike illness” in China, buried deep in the news, under Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial and the Democratic primary campaign trail. The reality of the situation would set in suddenly and seismically, on one day —   March 11, 2020 — when, in rapid succession, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic; Trump announced a 30-day travel restriction from Europe in a primetime address; the NBA abruptly suspended its season; and Tom Hanks announced he and Rita Wilson had tested positive for the virus. Gradually, and then all at once, life changed: “It’s going to get worse,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told a House committee that day, exactly two years ago today. (Lutz, 3/11)

KHN: Listen: What We’ve Learned After Two Years Of The Pandemic 
CNN’s Brian Stelter marks the two-year anniversary of the pandemic on his “Reliable Sources” podcast in conversation with KHN Editor-in-Chief Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal and James Hamblin, a former staff writer at The Atlantic. The journalists discuss how society grappled with the trauma of the covid-19 pandemic and the governmental missteps that compounded that trauma. “Everyone has experienced the suffering of the pandemic in his or her or their own way,” said Rosenthal, “and so much of it feels unnecessary had we had a strong national response.” In particular, Rosenthal cited the failure to track health care workers lost on the front line and toxic politics that undermined public health agencies throughout the country. (3/11)

CNN: Here's What Could Lie Ahead For The Third Year Of The Pandemic 
Things seem to be looking up as the US crosses into year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccines still do a good job of keeping people alive and out of the hospital. There's increasing access to tests and treatments. The numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are heading in the right direction. If living in a Covid world has taught us anything, however, it's that the coronavirus can surprise even the smartest public health experts, and the world certainly isn't out of the woods yet. A new variant could easily develop and slip past the protection of current treatments and vaccines, setting us back to what life was like in 2020. That makes it hard to predict what happens next week, let alone in a few months. However, based on what they're seeing now, here's what the experts think could happen in the next year of the pandemic. (Christensen, 3/13)

In more news about returning to 'normal' —

NBC News: Covid Almost Killed Her. As Others’ Lives Return To Normal, She Wonders: Will Hers?
Tionna Hairston was on her third attempt to twist a cap off a bottle of water. It was a Friday morning in late February and the 26-year-old, still in her nightgown, needed to take her medication. The pills have become a part of her daily life since she had a heart attack and multiple strokes — complications of Covid-19. Hairston’s strokes ravaged her fine motor skills, making anything that demands a tight grip a source of frustration. (Chuck, 3/13)

AP: For Kids With COVID-19, Everyday Life Can Be A Struggle 
Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles fidgets on the hospital bed as she waits for the nurse at Children’s National Hospital. The white paper beneath her crinkles as she shifts to look at the medical objects in the room. She’s had coronavirus three times, and no one can figure out why. Brooklynn’s lucky, sort of. Each time she has tested positive, she has suffered no obvious symptoms. But her dad, Rodney, caught the virus — possibly from her — when she was positive back in September, and he died from it. (Long and Kaster, 3/14)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Pandemic Isolation Left Young Children Behind On Social Skills. How One Cincinnati Provider Is Catching Them Up
The woman fell into tears as she told a children's behavioral health expert that her 4-year-old son was no longer permitted to attend a preschool because he did not behave well. How could she keep working and care for her child? "We have families who literally have had to quit their job," said April Kandil, director of campus-based programs at Best Point Education and Behavioral Health. "They're told, 'Your child can't be in school right now because of their behaviors.'" (DeMio, 3/13)

Anchorage Daily News: Two Years After COVID-19 Reached Alaska, Many Are Ready To Move On. But The Pandemic Persists.
Two years ago, Alaska identified its first COVID-19 case. Now, as the pandemic enters its third year, many Alaskans are eager to shake off the long pall of anxiety, illness and shutdowns and get back to whatever passes for normal. Most government mandates are gone. Vaccines are widely available for those who want them. Case counts and COVID-linked hospitalizations are down. (Berman and Hollander, 3/13)

USA Today: COVID Cases Rising In Europe: What This Could Mean For The US
Just as the U.S. has finally turned the corner on a wave of COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant, multiple countries in Europe are showing an increase in infections – fueling concerns about the possibility of another global surge. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy were among those that saw an upswing in cases this past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Stanton, 3/13)

Forbes: New Covid-19 Coronavirus Wave In Europe May Have Already Begun, Data Suggests
When it comes to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, things may be looking up again in Europe, but not in a good way. The past week has seen yet another upswing in reported Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in countries such as the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy. On Saturday, Eric Topol, MD, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, tweeted, “The next wave in Europe has begun.” (Lee, 3/12)

NPR: What's The COVID Risk In Your Area? CDC Maps Leave Some People Confused 
Cindy Watson would like some clarity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Madison County, Iowa, where she lives, is categorized as having "low" COVID levels on the agency's new lookup tool for COVID-19 Community Levels – it's even colored an inviting green on the map. But when she looked at the agency's existing map of COVID transmission levels, the same county – and much of the country – was bright red and classified as "high." (Stone and Simmons-Duffin, 3/12)

In other news about the spread of covid —

CIDRAP: Kids With Asthma Not At Higher Risk Of COVID-19, Study Finds
Children and adolescents diagnosed as having asthma are at similar risk for COVID-19 infection as those without asthma, according to a study today in Pediatrics that controlled for factors tied to SARS-CoV-2 testing. (Van Beusekom, 3/11)

Miami Herald: Recall Of Counterfeit Flowflex COVID-19 Rapid Home Test 
ACON Laboratories wants U.S. consumers to use its “Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test,” not its “Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Self-Testing)“ because the latter is a counterfeit test — in the United States. As ACON explained in its FDA-posted recall notice, it knows about “the U.S. distribution of unauthorized, adulterated and misbranded counterfeit product” with the Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 packaging. “ACON Laboratories is not importing the “Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Self-Testing)” into the U.S. as it is only authorized for sale in Europe and other markets,” the alert says. (Neal, 3/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Engineers Are Hoping To Perfect Masks Before The Next COVID Wave Or Pandemic 
In the coronavirus pandemic’s early days, health care workers turned to bandannas and other makeshift protections because they lacked the official stuff. That gave engineers at the University of Maryland an idea. They called a niche company, ActivArmor of Pueblo, Colorado, that they were helping develop custom 3D-printed casts to help set broken bones. Could the company pause and make custom masks? It could. It could even go further and make them clear, reusable and form-fitting without any bruising. And they were a protective N95-grade. (Cohn, 3/14)

Also —

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Seeks To Expand Trump-Era COVID Data Collection Under CDC 
The Biden administration wants to expand a federal COVID-19 tracking system created during the pandemic to provide a more detailed view of how respiratory and other infectious diseases are affecting patients and hospital resources, according to a draft of proposed rules reviewed by Reuters. The plan would build upon a hospital data collection system designed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration. Management of the program was transferred last month to HHS's lead public health agency, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Steenhuysen and Taylor, 3/14)

The Hill: Barack Obama Tests Positive For COVID-19 
Former President Obama shared on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing some symptoms for "a couple days." "I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative," Obama tweeted. "It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down." (Choi, 3/13)

CNN: Barack Obama Tests Positive For Covid 
Obama, 60, had recently returned to Washington, DC, after spending much of the winter in Hawaii. He tested positive in DC, a person close to him said. The diagnosis makes Obama the second US President known to contract the virus after then-President Donald Trump announced he tested positive in October 2020, which was before vaccines were widely available in the US. (Saenz, 3/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Barack Obama Tests Positive For Covid-19
Mr. Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama were part of an ad campaign last year urging Americans to get vaccinated, along with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. “This vaccine means hope,” Mr. Obama said in one of the ads. “It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease.” Former President Donald Trump wasn’t part of the ad campaign, though he has urged supporters to get vaccinated. Mr. Trump tested positive for Covid weeks before the 2020 presidential election and was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. (Jamerson, 3/13)

CNN: A 4th Dose Of Covid-19 Vaccine Will Be Needed, Pfizer's CEO Says, But The Company Is Working On A Shot To Handle All Variants
To help fend off another wave of Covid-19, people will need a fourth dose of vaccine, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS on Sunday. "Many variants are coming, and Omicron was the first one that was able to evade -- in a skillful way -- the immune protection that we're giving," Bourla told CBS' "Face the Nation." "The protection we are getting from the third (dose) it is good enough -- actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths," Bourla said. But protection after three doses is "not that good against infections" and "doesn't last very long" when faced with a variant like Omicron. (Christensen and Yan, 3/13)

The Hill: Pfizer CEO Says A Fourth Booster Shot 'Is Necessary' 
During his interview on Sunday, [Pfizer CEO Albert] Bourla reiterated his company's goal of creating a vaccine effective against all variants of COVID-19 for longer periods of time. "We are working very diligently right now ... to make not only a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year," he said. "And if we be able to achieve that, then I think it is very easy to follow and remember so that we can go back to really the way used to live." (Choi, 3/13)

Full CBS News Transcript: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla On 'Face The Nation'

In other news about the vaccine rollout for children —

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine Uptake Low In Young US Kids In First Months Of Availability
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children 5 to 11 years old in the United States remained low during the first 11 weeks of vaccine eligibility, especially in high social vulnerability index (SVI) areas. The research was published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). (3/11)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Pediatricians Worry That Politics Is Driving State Guidance On COVID Vaccines For Kids 
Two leading Florida pediatricians say the state's official guidance that the risks of taking the COVID-19 vaccine "may outweigh the benefits" for healthy children is dangerous and politically motivated. "The data is very clear that the vaccine does provide protection against the virus. So we're rather confused as to why or how they could make these recommendations," Dr. Lisa Gwynn, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and public health sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine said on WLRN's The Florida Roundup. "In general, healthy children with no significant underlying health conditions under 16 years old are at little to no risk of severe illness complications from COVID-19," the state Department of Health wrote on March 8. Gwynn said that's not true, and that Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo's claim that the risk of myocarditis in older teens outweighs the benefit of the vaccine is "a totally false statement." (Klingener and Hudson, 3/13)

The New York Times: Which Coronavirus Vaccine Will Work In The Youngest Children?
Over the past 10 months, as tens of millions of children and teenagers received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the companies’ main rival, Moderna, sat on the sidelines, its shot limited to adults. But Moderna may now be poised for a comeback at a critical juncture in the nation’s vaccination campaign. The company is expected to send federal officials initial data this week on how well its coronavirus vaccine works for the nation’s youngest children. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 3/14)

Also —

WMFE: Dr. Raul Pino, Placed On Leave After Vaccine Email, Is Back As Orange County's Health Officer 
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings says county health officer Dr. Raul Pino will be returning to work after about two months on administrative leave. Pino works for the Florida Department of Health, which placed him on leave in early January after he sent an email to his staff that cited its low COVID-19 vaccine rates and encouraged employees to get vaccinations. The state opened an investigation and issued a statement saying getting vaccinated is a personal choice and employees should be “free from coercion.” (Byrnes, 3/14)

Bay To Bay News: Delaware Public Health: Still Plenty Of Vaccine Doses Available 
There is still a plentiful supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Delaware, more than a year after a shortage during the early stages of the rollout. More than 2 million vaccine doses have been delivered to the Delaware Division of Public Health’s warehouse or directly to pharmacies via the Federal Provider Program. DPH reported 1,699,832 doses have been administered as of Friday at 11:59 p.m. (Mastro, 3/13)

The Hill: Kevin Durant Rips NYC Mayor Over 'Ridiculous' Vaccine Mandate
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant calls New York City’s vaccine mandate “ridiculous” and accused Mayor Eric Adams of craving attention as his teammate Kyrie Irving remains unable to play home games. During a post-game press conference on Sunday, Durant vented about the city’s vaccine mandate as his teammate Irving, who is unvaccinated, was allowed to attend the game but couldn't suit up due to the city’s private sector vaccine mandate. (Oshin, 3/13)

AP: Texas Clinics’ Lawsuit Over Abortion Ban ‘Effectively Over’ 
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dealt essentially a final blow to abortion clinics’ best hopes of stopping a restrictive law that has sharply curtailed the number of abortions in the state since September and will now fully stay in place for the foreseeable future. The ruling by the all-Republican court was not unexpected, but it slammed the door on what little path forward the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed Texas clinics after having twice declined to stop a ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. (Weber and Stengle, 3/11)

The Texas Tribune: Remaining Challenge To Abortion Law Blocked By Texas Supreme Court
The law has a unique private-enforcement mechanism that empowers private citizens to sue anyone who, in the law’s language, “aids or abets” an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. The law is designed to evade judicial review, a goal at which it has been largely successful so far. Abortion providers have tried to argue that the law is actually enforced by state officials — the clerks who docket the lawsuits, the attorney general and medical licensing officials who could discipline doctors, nurses or pharmacists who violate the law — which would give them someone to bring a constitutional challenge against in court. (Klibanoff, 3/11)

The 19th: Abortion Providers’ Main Legal Challenge To Texas’ Six-Week Abortion Ban Is Effectively Over
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block the law. In December, it ruled that abortion providers could challenge the law, but only on very narrow grounds. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled abortion providers could sue state medical licensing officials — health boards, for example — that are empowered to penalize health care providers who violate the abortion ban. But in a loss for the providers, the justices said they could not sue state officials who helped process the civil lawsuits that constitute SB 8’s main penalty. At the time, legal experts suggested that the decision significantly weakened abortion providers’ odds of eventually getting the law blocked. And the Friday decision from the Texas Supreme Court suggests they were right. (Luthra and Rodriguez, 3/11)

And in abortion news from Colorado —

The Colorado Sun: Bill Affirming Abortion Access In Colorado Clears Second Hurdle After 24 Hours Of Debate On House Floor
A bill affirming access to abortion and contraception in Colorado cleared its second hurdle Saturday morning after 24 hours of nearly continuous debate on the state House floor. ... House Bill 1279, after passing on a 37-20 vote, now advances to a final, recorded vote in the House before moving to the Senate. The measure is expected to steadily march through the Democratic-controlled legislature and onto Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. The governor has already said he will sign the bill into law. (Paul, 3/12)

FOX31 Denver: House Advances Abortion Bill After Longest Debate In Colorado History 
According to the sponsors, “The bill, declares that every individual has a fundamental right to use or refuse contraception; every pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion; and a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state.” The bill would also prohibit state and local entities from denying, restricting or interfering with a person’s decision about contraceptives and pregnancy. (Whitley, 3/12)

In other updates on abortion rights —

AP: Maryland House Passes Constitutional Amendment For Abortion Rights
The Maryland House voted Friday to enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution and for a separate measure to broaden access to providers, as supporters cited the possibility that a conservative U.S. Supreme Court could overturn or weaken abortion-rights protections. The House voted 93-42 for the constitutional amendment. If approved by the Senate, voters would have the final say in November. (3/11)

Bloomberg: Missouri Anti-Abortion Bill Sows Confusion Over Ectopic Pregnancies
State lawmakers around the country are ramping up efforts to curtail abortion in all forms. But one Missouri bill in particular is drawing ire for criminalizing the use of certain drugs to treat ectopic pregnancies, which are not viable and potentially life-threatening. Here's a quick rundown on the medical issues associated with the condition and how it fits into the current abortion debate. (Ceron and Muller, 3/11)

VeryWell Health: WHO Guidelines Encourage Telehealth Abortion Care
For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend the use of telemedicine for abortion pill prescriptions in its abortion care guidelines. Some healthcare providers say the new guidance reinforces the message that all approved forms of abortion are safe and important. “​​The WHO recommendations confirm that unnecessary regulations placed on abortion care in many settings, including the U.S., do nothing to make abortion safer,” Melissa Grant, chief operations officer of FemHealth USA at carafem, an organization that provides telehealth and in-person abortion care across the United States, wrote in an email to Verywell. (Wolters, 3/11)

Quartz: 13 Phrases US Doctors Want Removed From Our Vocabulary About Abortion
Abortion is a gynecological matter, in that it pertains the functions and health of the biologically female body and as such, says the American College of Obstetricians (ACOG), it should be discussed in accurate scientific terms. “The language we use when discussing reproductive health has a profound impact on what people hear and learn,” wrote the organization in a statement, adding that many of the common terms used to discuss abortions are rooted in anti-choice rhetoric. (Merelli, 3/11)

AP: US Ends Asylum Restrictions For Children Traveling Alone 
Unaccompanied child migrants trying to enter the United States will no longer be denied a chance to seek asylum under new guidance announced by U.S. health authorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in announcing the change late Friday night, said “that expulsion of unaccompanied noncitizen children is not warranted to protect the public health.” (3/12)

In related news about public health restrictions on refugees —

NPR: Pressure To End Pandemic Restrictions Mounts As Ukrainians Reach The U.S. Border 
"The fact that we're using COVID as an excuse to keep out asylum seekers at this moment in time, it's just becoming more and more absurd and untenable for the administration," said Blaine Bookey, an attorney at the Center for Gender & Refugees Studies, who is representing the Ukrainian family. For more than a year, the Biden administration has quickly expelled migrants at the southern border under the controversial public health order known as Title 42 — despite repeated calls from Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates to end the Trump-era policy. (Rose, 3/12)

CNN: Refugees: Ukrainian Family Allowed Into US After Being Stopped At US-Mexico Border 
A Ukrainian woman and her three children crossed into the United States on Thursday after being turned away at the US-Mexico border a day earlier, according to the family's attorney. ... For nearly two years, the US southern border has largely been closed off to asylum seekers because of a public health order invoked under the Trump administration at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. (Alvarez, 3/10)

The New York Times: Biden Administration Fights In Court To Uphold Some Trump-Era Immigration Policies 
President Biden promised to unravel the “moral and national shame” of the immigration policies enacted by President Donald J. Trump. But that was hardly the position Mr. Biden’s lawyers took in a federal courtroom earlier this year. Appearing in January before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, government lawyers urged the court to let Mr. Biden enforce a restriction imposed by Mr. Trump that allowed migrants to be quickly turned away at the border. ... The government lawyers in Judge Walker’s courtroom were fighting to uphold a Trump-era public health rule allowing the United States to turn away migrants without providing them an opportunity to ask for asylum. (Kanno-Youngs, 3/13)

In other news about the Biden administration —

The 19th: Nursing Home Workers Praise Reforms Proposed In State Of The Union
President Joe Biden last week rolled out an ambitious set of proposals to improve the quality of America’s nursing homes. The plan, released in advance of the State of the Union address, promises to increase federal staff ratio requirements, tighten infection control and take other measures to improve conditions in the places that have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed reforms would affect not just the residents of nursing homes, but also the staff workers — the majority of whom are women, disproportionately women of color — who have kept these centers running through unprecedented times. (Luterman, 3/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Puff Bar, Other E-Cigarette Makers To Get More Scrutiny Under Spending Bill 
The Food and Drug Administration will gain authority over Puff Bar and other e-cigarettes made with synthetic nicotine under the government spending bill expected to be signed by President Biden. The bill closes a loophole that allowed Puff Bar to stay on the market—and soar in popularity among teenagers—despite an order from the FDA to stop selling its fruity, disposable vaporizers. After the agency’s order in 2020, Puff Bar reformulated its products to use nicotine that wasn’t derived from tobacco. The FDA regulates tobacco products and smoking-cessation devices such as nicotine gum, but synthetic-nicotine vaporizers haven’t fallen under its jurisdiction, until now. (Maloney, 3/13)

Politico: ‘You Will See The Wrath’ — Progressives Warn Biden Against Cutting Down Agenda 
President Joe Biden’s vision for building a vast “care economy” has collapsed — and Democrats fear their party’s political advantage with parents and caregivers could end up as collateral damage. More than a year into his term, Biden’s plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into child and eldercare programs is on the congressional backburner. An expanded tax credit that dramatically reduced child poverty expired and is unlikely to be revived. And the administration’s ambitions for guaranteeing free pre-kindergarten and paid family leave are struggling to gain widespread traction in Congress. (Cancryn and Daniels, 3/12)

In other news about the Democrats' health care agenda —

Politico: Email: Government Scientists Prep To Slash Covid Research In Funding Gap
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health are scrambling to decide whether all its coronavirus research and development can continue after Congress dropped new funding from its sweeping budget bill. There are immediate implications for government trials on Covid-19 therapies, tests and vaccines that run out of funds as soon as this month, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO. (Owermohle, 3/11)

Stat: CMS Administrator Pushes For Congress To Act On Drug Prices
When Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Biden official who oversees the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs, sat down with New York government officials and reporters on Friday morning it was already, perhaps, a historic event. “I don’t know if the CMS administrator has ever visited Washington Heights,” said Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president. Unfortunately, aside from the fact that the conversation was happening in the bustling neighborhood at Manhattan’s apex, little history was made. Instead there was broad agreement that high drug prices are a huge health problem, even if it isn’t clear what immediate steps can be taken to control them. (Herper, 3/11

Politico: Budget Deal Is Latest Sign Of Democrats’ Empty Weed Promises
On the brink of gaining control in Washington, Sen. Chuck Schumer said emphatically in 2020 that “I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to end the federal prohibition on marijuana” if Democrats took back the Senate. But 14 months since winning, Senate Democrats haven’t even succeeded at changing the little things. (Fertig, 3/13)

More from Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court —

The Hill: Lofgren Second House Dem To Test Positive For COVID-19 After Retreat
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) tested positive for a COVID-19 breakthrough case on Sunday, becoming the second lawmaker infected with the virus after attending the House Democratic retreat this past week. Lofgren, 74, wrote on Twitter that she got tested in accordance with post-travel protocol, and was experiencing mild symptoms. She said she is isolating and will work from home. (Schnell, 3/13)

AP: Justice Thomas Slams Cancel Culture, 'Packing' Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he's concerned efforts to politicize the court or add additional justices may erode the institution's credibility, speaking Friday in Utah at an event hosted by former Republican U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch’s foundation. (Metz, 3/12)

ABC News: Colorectal Cancer Screenings Urged As US Deaths Could Top 52,000 This Year
Colorectal cancer is expected to claim the lives of more than 52,000 Americans this year, according to the American Cancer Society. This is why, as the world tries to return to a sort of normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors say health screenings -- particularly for cancer -- should be made an urgent priority. (Sharma, 3/13)

In updates on Alzheimer's and dementia —

The Washington Post: The Most-Fit Are 33 Percent Less Likely To Develop Alzheimer’s, Report Says 
The more fit you are, the less likely you may be to develop Alzheimer’s disease — with those who are the most fit having a 33 percent lower risk for this dementia than the least fit, according to a report to be presented to the American Academy of Neurology at its annual meeting next month. (Searing, 3/13)

AP: Tulane To Study Estrogen's Contradictory Dementia Effects 
A five-year study by the Tulane University Brain Institute will focus on understanding why estrogen therapy helps protect some women from age-related brain problems, while other women do not benefit from the therapy. The $14 million study will be funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health, the university said in a Monday news release. The university notes that estrogen therapy may not benefit all women, especially those with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. (3/12)

And more public health news —

CIDRAP: Flu Activity Up Again In Most Of US
Activity is increasing again in most of the United States, with the highest respiratory test positivity rates in the central and south-central regions, the CDC said today. Flu activity as measured by flu test positivity had been declining in January and into February, but started rising slightly again in about the middle of February. The percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness increased slightly last week but is still below the national baseline. The CDC also said flu hospitalizations have been rising for the past 5 weeks. (3/11)

CNBC: Egg Freezing, IVF, Surrogacy: Fertility Benefits Are The New Work Perk
When Priya and her husband discovered they were infertile, it cost them $20,000 and years of intrusive treatment to conceive their daughter. A couple of years later when they had their son, it was free and relatively painless — thanks in large part to her employer who footed the bill and helped arrange the procedure. “The entire experience, between what we went through before ... and after, was night and day,” said Priya, a Seattle-based senior program manager whose company introduced a fertility treatment program after the birth of her first child. (Gilchrist, 3/14)

North Carolina Health News: Pandemic Shows School-Based Infractions Turn To Crimes 
As a former district court judge, state Rep. Marcia Morey has seen firsthand how children can get entangled in the state’s juvenile justice system. The path from school to the courtroom is similar for many kids, Morey said. They skip school, break the rules or act out in class, prompting a visit from the school resource officer. However, Morey says these are often children with learning disabilities or who come from “dire” home situations. ... Morey, a Durham County Democrat, has led legislative reforms to the juvenile justice system aimed at decreasing the number of referrals from schools that funnel kids into that system. (Thompson, 3/14)

AP: Officials: Legionella Detected At 2 Illinois Prisons 
Legionella bacteria has been detected at two Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. Routine water testing this week found legionella at the Stateville Correctional Center and Joliet Treatment Center, the Illinois departments of Public Health and Corrections announced Friday. (3/12)

AP: Invasive Ant That Can Deliver Painful Sting Found In Indiana
An invasive ant that can deliver a painful sting has been found in Indiana for the first time, a Purdue University insect expert says. The Asian needle ant has traveled southern states like Florida and Georgia for several years. But it was recently discovered in the Evansville area — the furthest north the ant has ventured, said Timothy Gibb, a Purdue University entomologist. (3/13)

Bloomberg: Sanofi Cancer Drug Fails Test In Blow To Possible Blockbuster 
Sanofi’s experimental cancer medicine amcenestrant failed in an intermediate clinical test for breast cancer, dealing a blow to one of the French drugmaker’s potential future blockbusters. The patients who got the drug, rather than endocrine treatment, didn’t live longer without the disease progressing -- a key benefit measure known as progession-free survival -- in the phase 2 trial, Sanofi said Monday. The stock fell as much as 6.2% in Paris trading, the steepest drop in almost two years. (Fourcasde and Loh, 3/14)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech industry news —

Stat: Will Medicaid Patients Be Able To Access Gene Therapies For Sickle Cell?
Gary Puckrein sees a dilemma coming that has him excited, and at the same time, worried. In the next year or so, U.S. regulators may approve gene therapies – one developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and another by Bluebird Bio – to treat sickle cell disease, an inherited group of blood disorders that affect an estimated 100,000 Americans. The condition is particularly prevalent among Black people, with 1 of every 365 Black individuals in the U.S. born with the condition, which can cause significant pain, infections, and lead to an early death. Any treatment would be welcome news, especially since a gene therapy holds the promise of eradicating the illness with potentially just one treatment. But gene therapies are widely expected to come with a high price tag — and it’s estimated that roughly 40% of sickle cell patients are covered by Medicaid. That is raising concern that state Medicaid officials may soon face a struggle for coverage. (Silverman, 3/14)

Stat: In Ukraine, He Was Creating The Building Blocks For Drug Developers 
It was just last month, with the Covid-19 situation having calmed down in Kyiv, that Ivan Kondratov had been able to return to his office a couple days per week. He managed a slew of medicinal chemistry projects, including the building of “target libraries” for clients, mostly large biopharma companies around the world. His employer, Enamine, had become a pillar of global drug development, its Rolodex of clients steadily growing along with its catalog of chemical compounds for drugmakers to test in creating potential treatments. But on Feb. 24, all of that came to a halt as Kondratov and hundreds of thousands of other Ukrainians were stunned awake by the sound of explosions. And everything changed for the chemists and scientists. (Cueto, 3/14)

CNBC: 30-Year-Old Female Founder's Billion-Dollar Bet On CRISPR Gene Editing
Along Highway 101 north of the San Francisco Airport, a break-out biotech start-up named Mammoth Biosciences co-founded by Nathan Chen’s sister Janice in 2018 is fast emerging in the revolutionary field of CRISPR technology. While not high profile like her gold medal-winning, ice skating brother — or Mammoth co-founder Jennifer Doudna, who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry for her work on CRISPR — Chen’s bioscience work in gene editing technology is in the forefront of medical discoveries from identifying bacterial and viral infections to early cancer detection. (Fannin, 3/12)

Stat: What To Know About Amylyx's ALS Drug And A Closely Watched Meeting
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals is one heck of an encore. On March 30, the Food and Drug Administration is bringing together outside experts in neurology to review an experimental drug from Amylyx for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The hearing is expected to be closely watched by ALS patients and their advocates, given the significant need for new treatments for the disease. But the hearing is likely to garner extra attention because it’s the first meeting of the FDA advisory group since it met in November 2020 and voted unanimously against the approval of Aduhelm, Biogen’s drug for Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA later ignored that recommendation and approved the medication, leading to the resignation of three members of the panel and an uproar over whether the agency had compromised its standards. (Feuerstein, 3/14)

And in news from the health care industry —

Modern Healthcare: Jury Sides With Sutter Health In Federal Antitrust Case
A jury sided with Sutter Health on Friday in the long-running federal lawsuit accusing the health system of anticompetitive business practices that drove up healthcare costs by more than $400 million. The unanimous verdict means Sacramento, California-based Sutter has successfully defended against claims that it illegally forced insurers to include all 24 of its hospitals in their contracts, a practice known as tying. The 10-member jury also found Sutter did not force health plans into contracts that prevented them from steering patients to lower-cost, non-Sutter hospitals. (Bannow, 3/11)

AP: IU Health, Facing Profit Questions, Gives Med School $416M 
Indiana University Health quietly donated $416 million to the Indiana University School of Medicine — a move that comes as the state’s largest hospital system faces pressure to lower its prices and profits. The donation wasn’t announced by either institution, which are separate organizations, but was noted as a “contribution to a related entity” made Dec. 30 in IU Health’s financial statements issued this month, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported. (3/13)

WJCT News: Legislature Earmarks $80 Million For Renovation Of UF Health Jax Trauma Center 
The Legislature is set to give $80 million to UF Health Jacksonville for "critical updates" to its trauma center. The allocation is part of the proposed $112.1 billion budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year that will receive a final vote from both chambers Monday before heading to the governor. The city-owned facility, which is nearly four decades old, partly houses the hospital's emergency department and acts as the only safety net hospital on the First Coast. (Troncoso, 3/13)

Bloomberg: Texas Rule Targeting Transgender Kids Blocked By Judge For Now 
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s effort to crack down on most health-care practices for transgender children was temporarily blocked statewide by a judge who ruled the Republican exceeded his authority. Abbott’s Feb. 22 directive to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to consider gender-affirming care for minors to be “child abuse” violates the separation of powers because it has the effect of a new law “without new legislation,” Judge Amy Clark Meachum said Friday in Austin. (Larson, 3/11)

In related news on transgender health care in Texas and Florida —

CBS News: Florida And Texas Governors Face Business Backlash Over Anti-LGBTQ Moves 
Another fight over LGBTQ rights is playing out in Texas, where companies including Apple, Alphabet, Johnson & Johnson, Macy's and REI have signed onto an ad condemning an order by Gov. Greg Abbott that equates gender-affirming health care for transgender teenagers to child abuse. "Discrimination is bad for business," declare the digital ads and full-page advertisement in Friday's Dallas Morning News. (Gibson, 3/11)

The Washington Post: Disney To Pause All Political Donations In The Wake Of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
Disney announced on Friday that it would pause all political donations in Florida in the wake of a controversial state bill that restricts discussion of LGBTQ issues in public schools. Over the last few weeks, the company had received criticism for remaining silent about what critics call the “don’t say gay” bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). In a statement sent to employees on Friday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek also announced that the company would increase support for advocacy groups fighting similar laws elsewhere (such as one recently introduced in Georgia) and would reassess Disney’s political donation policies. (Ables, 3/12)

The Texas Tribune: Jeff Younger’s Custody Battle Sparked Texas’ Anti-Transgender-Care Turn 
When some of the most powerful Republicans in Texas began targeting the transgender community in 2017, they found the notion — initially — hard to sell. The conservative grassroots were all for legislation regulating transgender people’s bathroom use, the first hard legislative push by state leadership to limit the rights of that community. But state House leaders didn’t seem to have the stomach for it, and efforts in the Capitol failed. Enter Jeff Younger. The North Texas dad was sounding the alarm on social media and his blog about his bitter public custody battle over 7-year-old twins with his estranged wife, a pediatrician. The dispute focused on the social gender transition of one twin, who was assigned male at birth but lived as a girl at the mother’s house. (Harper, 3/14)

The Texas Tribune: Trans Teen Fears Crackdown On Gender-Affirming Health Care
Like other high school seniors, Charlie Apple, 18, has a lot going on. He’s studying for an Advanced Placement exam in English literature. He leads the organization for queer students at his high school in Corpus Christi. After he graduates in June, he intends to study sociology at the University of North Texas in Denton. Apple, who came out as transgender at 13, testified before the Texas Legislature while in Austin in August, opposing a bill that would have classified certain kinds of gender-affirming health care as a form of child abuse. He returned to the capital on Sunday to speak on a panel at the South by Southwest festival. (Chan, 3/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Rent-Control Measures Are Back As Home Rents Reach New Highs 
Lawmakers across the U.S. are looking to enact rent control, reviving measures largely shunned in recent years in an effort to curb the surge in home rental prices throughout the country. These proposals, which would generally allow landlords to boost monthly rents by no more than 2% to 10%, are on the legislative agenda in more than a dozen states. Rental prices are up about 18% on average over the past two years, according to real-estate broker Redfin Corp. , hitting record levels across the U.S. (parker, 3/13)

In news from Florida —

Health News Florida: Telehealth Bill Expanding Doctor's Prescribing Powers Heads To Governor 
The Senate on Friday unanimously approved a measure that would expand the ability of doctors to prescribe controlled substances through telehealth. Senators agreed to changes made by the House, with the bill (SB 312) now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Telehealth, also known as telemedicine, has grown in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has allowed patients to receive treatment remotely. The bill would ease restrictions on doctors prescribing controlled substances through telehealth, though they would continue to be barred from prescribing what are known as Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances, which include highly addictive drugs such as morphine, according to a Senate analysis. (3/14)

Health News Florida: Legislature Passes Medicaid Bill After The House Drops A Proposal On 'Essential' Providers 
Florida lawmakers passed a plan Friday that will help set the stage for the Agency for Health Care Administration to award billions of dollars in Medicaid managed-care contracts. The bill (SB 1950) passed after the House agreed to drop a controversial proposal that dealt with disputes between managed-care plans and “essential” providers, such as children’s hospitals and teaching hospitals. The House proposal could have led to withholding what are known as Medicaid “supplemental” payments from essential providers that do not reach agreements to be part of managed-care networks. (3/14)

WFSU: Advocates Applaud Long-Desired Updates To Florida's Baker Act 
For years, mental health advocates have been trying to get the state to reexamine its laws around involuntary psychiatric commitment. Previous legislative sessions has taken some incremental steps, but this year marks the biggest change, advocates say. Still, the work to reduce the number of people being committed against their will isn’t over, according to some providers. The version of the bill that passed includes two issues that have continued to vex mental health advocates: how people are transported to facilities, and whether they can commit themselves. The Baker Act is the section of law written to allow a person to be involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation, while the Marchman Act is similar and deals directly with substance abuse. (Hatter, 3/14)

In news from Georgia —

Georgia Health News: CON Opponents Win A Round In Latest Legislative Fight Over Health Care Regulations
It wouldn’t be a Georgia General Assembly session without a fierce debate about the state’s health care regulatory apparatus. That system, known as certificate of need (CON), mostly governs how the health care industry functions in the state. It has been targeted annually by legislators proposing reforms to relax its rules. But these bills have been vigorously – and successfully — opposed by Georgia’s hospital industry. House Bill 1547, breaking late in this year’s session, isn’t just any CON reform bill. It aims to repeal the whole system in 2025. (Miller, 3/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Legislature Debates Pandemic Science Without State Scientist
Sen. Clint Dixon stood before the Georgia Senate last week, he said, to “fight for the well being of students.” His bill, the Unmask Georgia Students Act, was close to passage. And an ally’s proposal to expand its scope from one year to five years, he said, was backed by none other than the state’s top pandemic scientist, Georgia Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Kathleen Toomey. “The governor did discuss this with Dr. Toomey, and she is in favor of the bill,” as well as the proposed expansion, Dixon told the senators. That last part was not true, it turned out; Toomey had not vetted the expansion. But the exchange highlighted a glaring absence in hearings this year about bills on pandemic measures at the state Capitol: testimony from the state’s own public health pandemic experts. (Hart, 3/11)

In other updates from Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and California —

Cincinnati Enquirer: Facing Pushback, Cincinnati Council Members Drop Plan To Ban Soda On Children's Menus
A city of Cincinnati proposal that would have banned sugary drinks from being included on children's menus is being shelved for now, Councilman Greg Landsman told The Enquirer. The "healthy beverage" legislation was intended to combat childhood obesity and had support from the American Heart Association, the Cincinnati Health Department and the Ohio Restaurant Association. It wouldn't have banned the sale of sugary drinks by restaurants, just their inclusion on children's menus. Customers could have still requested sodas for their kids. Four other Ohio cities, and other across the country, have already passed similar legislation. (Coolidge, 3/10)

AP: Assisted Living Facility Worker Charged After Woman's Death 
An employee of an Iowa assisted living facility is now facing charges related to the Jan. 21 death of a 77-year-old resident. KCCI-TV reports that 30-year-old Catherine Forkpa of Ankeny has been charged with dependent adult abuse and intentional reckless abuse. (3/13)

AP: St. Louis County Man Awarded $20 Million In Asbestos Suit 
A south St. Louis County man who sued Ford Motor Co. over his exposure to asbestos has been awarded $20 million. In his lawsuit, William Trokey, 76, alleged that his exposure to asbestos while working on Ford brakes as a gas station mechanic in the 1960s led to him being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer. (3/12)

Omaha World-Herald: Omaha City Council Will Consider Stripping Health Director Of Pandemic Authority
A proposal heading before the Omaha City Council on Tuesday would strip decision-making powers from the city health director in the event of an epidemic. Under the proposed ordinance, the city health director would only have the power to certify the presence of an epidemic. After a threat is recognized, a newly established special epidemic health director would be responsible for coming up with a plan to manage it. (Stephens, 3/12)

KHN: Despite Seniors’ Strong Desire To Age In Place, The Village Model Remains A Boutique Option 
Twenty years ago, a group of pioneering older adults in Boston created an innovative organization for people committed to aging in place: Beacon Hill Village, an all-in-one social club, volunteer collective, activity center, peer-to-peer support group, and network for various services. Its message of “we want to age our way in our homes and our community” was groundbreaking at the time and commanded widespread attention. Villages would mobilize neighbors to serve neighbors, anchor older adults in their communities, and become an essential part of the infrastructure for aging in place in America, experts predicted. (Graham, 3/14)

KHN: Listen: An Unsettling Investigation Into The Closure Of A Chain Of Pain Clinics
Last spring, Lags Medical Centers, a sprawling chain of pain clinics serving more than 20,000 patients in California, abruptly shuttered amid a cloaked state investigation into “credible allegations of fraud.” Tens of thousands of patients were left scrambling for care, most of them low-income Californians covered by state and federal insurance programs. Many have struggled for access to their medical records and to find doctors who would renew long-standing opioid prescriptions. In the months since, the state has declined to elaborate on the concerns that prompted its investigation, which is ongoing. (3/14)

CBS News: Ukraine Says Power Has Been Restored To Chernobyl Plant 
Ukraine says it has restored a broken power line to the Chernobyl power plant, which in 1986 was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. The plant is currently held by Russian troops. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that "heroes" from the national power grid company managed to restore the connection. The power is used to run pumps that keep spent nuclear fuel cool to prevent radiation leaks. (3/13)

In other health news from Ukraine —

Axios: The Other Lurking Threat To America's Public Health
Former federal officials are warning that the U.S. isn't ready for the possibility of biological warfare, just as it failed to prepare for pandemics, and that it's time to invest more in countermeasures. Though there's no immediate threat, concern that Russia may use biological or chemical weapons against Ukraine underscores the need to prepare for worst-case scenarios. "We need to be prepared to be able to respond to the next crisis, whatever that might be. It may be another emerging infectious disease, it may be an intentional biochemical event ... we can't predict that," said Robert Kadlec, who was the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response during the Trump administration. (Owens, 3/14)

Reuters: Flow Of Health Supplies Is Reaching Ukraine, WHO Says 
A flow of medical gear and equipment, including trauma kits, is reaching Ukraine to prop up a health care system grappling with a shortage of supplies amid Russia's invasion, the World Health Organization said on Monday. Supply chains have been severely disrupted, with many distributors knocked out, some stockpiles out of reach because of military operations, supplies of medicine running low, as hospitals struggle to care for the sick and wounded, it said. ...WHO was working with partners to alleviate shortages of critical equipment and medication such as oxygen and insulin, surgical supplies, anaesthetics, and transfusion kits, it added. (3/14)

AP: Pregnant Woman, Baby Die After Russia Bombed Maternity Ward
A pregnant woman and her baby have died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth, The Associated Press has learned. Images of the woman being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomizing the horror of an attack on humanity’s most innocent. In video and photos shot Wednesday by AP journalists after the attack on the hospital, the woman was seen stroking her bloodied lower abdomen as rescuers rushed her through the rubble in the besieged city of Mariupol, her blanched face mirroring her shock at what had just happened. It was among the most brutal moments so far in Russia’s now 19-day-old war on Ukraine. (Chernov, 3/14)

Reuters: World Faces Food Crisis Due To Ukraine War, Russian Billionaire Melnichenko Says
A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Russian fertiliser and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said on Monday. Several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on Feb. 24, including Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska. (Faulconbridge, 3/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Russia-Ukraine War Threatens Wheat Supply, Jolts Prices 
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens a big portion of the world’s wheat supply and has sent prices on a dizzying ride to new highs as well as the sharpest weekly drop in years. Wheat stockpiles were already running low and prices were the highest in years thanks to two years of poor growing weather when Russia’s attack jammed up Black Sea trading and endangered nearly a third of the world’s exports. The invasion prompted fears of food shortages in countries fed with imported grain and pushed prices to new highs. (Dezember, 3/13)

In global covid news —

CNN: WHO Says War In Ukraine Could Make The Covid-19 Pandemic Worse 
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday it is concerned the war in Ukraine could worsen the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is trying to do more to limit the spread of infectious diseases. Cases in the region are down from the previous week, but there's significant risk there will be more severe disease and death due to low vaccination rates in Ukraine, as well as among the more than two million who've fled the country to surrounding areas, regions also with low vaccination rates. Ukraine's Covid-19 vaccination rate is around 34%, while neighboring Moldova's is around 29%, according to Our World In Data. There have been a total of 791,021 new cases of Covid-19 and 8,012 new deaths in Ukraine and in surrounding countries between March 3 and 9, a WHO situation report published Sunday said. (Christensen, 3/13)

Bloomberg: China Locks Down World’s Second-Tallest Building In Covid Fight 
Shanghai Tower was locked down Monday, trapping workers and visitors inside as authorities race to contain a spreading Covid-19 outbreak that’s ensnared China’s financial and tech hubs. China’s tallest building and the second-tallest in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the 128-floor skyscraper was locked down as required by virus control measures from health authorities, according to a statement from its property management firm. (3/14)

Scientific American: Ukrainians Face Lasting Psychological Wounds From Russian Invasion 
The unprovoked assault by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army on the sovereign nation of Ukraine has left the world in disbelief. While it is painful to see the direct impact of this war on human lives and livelihoods, this invasion will also produce less visible psychological wounds that could linger for generations. I am a psychiatrist with expertise in post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and stress. I research trauma and treat trauma-exposed civilians, refugees, survivors of torture and first responders and veterans. (Arash Javanbakht, 3/11)

The New York Times: Pro-Choice States Must Prepare For The Fall Of Roe V. Wade
A recently introduced Missouri provision would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident get an abortion in another state. The provision is part of a wave of state anti-abortion legislation, some of it quite radical, that’s being considered in the months ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — the case that’s expected to severely compromise, if not entirely jettison, the nationwide right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. The result of such an outcome would be that about half the states in the country would ban nearly all abortions. (David S. Cohen, Greer Donley and Rachel Rebouche, 3/13)

The New York Times: Latin America’s ‘Green Wave’ Offers Lessons For U.S. Abortion Advocates 
For decades abortion rights activists in Latin America looked to our counterparts in the global north to learn the best litigation and advocacy tools. We considered the incremental gains made in the years leading up to Roe v. Wade in the United States a blueprint for victory in our fight. (Catalina Martinez Coral, 3/14)

The Star Tribune: Helping U.S. Vets Exposed To Burn Pits 
Amie Muller courageously shouldered a new mission in the fleeting months before her 2017 death from pancreatic cancer. Somehow, the Minnesota Air National Guard veteran summoned the energy to warn of "burn pit" hazards. During two deployments to Iraq, Muller lived and worked near a 10-acre, open-air incineration site disposing of up to 200 tons of waste daily. (3/13)

The Washington Post: Disease Took My Brother. Our Health-Care System Added To His Ordeal. 
My brother Patrick died at the age of 67, after having beat the medical odds again and again, until he could beat them no longer. He lived 4½ years with Stage 4 glioblastoma, the deadliest of brain cancers, for which the survival is normally 12 to 16 months; his oncologist called him “Miracle Man.” This was on top of kidney failure, which required three-times-a-week dialysis, and a lifetime of struggle with Asperger’s syndrome, a disorder sometimes referred to as high-functioning autism. (Karen Tumulty, 3/11)

Newsweek: Despite The Harms, Social Media Is Still Critical To Gen Z's Mental Health
A coalition of state attorneys general recently announced a probe into TikTok to investigate how the platform harms young people's physical and mental health. President Joe Biden highlighted social media during his State of the Union address, calling for a ban of youth-targeted advertising, as well as enhanced data privacy protections. This issue has racked up bipartisan support, and for good reason. Recent security breaches have raised red flags about the potential for tech companies to exploit young people. (Katie Bannon, 3/11)

Modern Healthcare: President's Plans For Nursing Homes Don't Meet The Moment 
America's nursing homes are at a tipping point. The short-sighted policy proposals that President Joe Biden announced for these critical facilities in his recent State of the Union address may be what pushes them over the edge. (Seema Verma, 3/11)

Miami Herald: US Needs Long-Term Health Care For Older Americans 
We are getting older, we are getting sicker and we need more help. Our older population has been steadily increasing. Did you know that people over 65 are predicted to overtake children under 18 in population size by 2034? But we have health issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 85% of older adults have at least one chronic health condition and 60% have at least two chronic conditions. These conditions range from arthritis to cancer, diabetes to asthma. (Josefina Carbonell, 3/12)

The Washington Post: Covid Pandemic’s Death Toll Was Worse Than Official Numbers Show 
The pandemic was worse than the official numbers show, and how much worse is now becoming more evident after two years. A new study, based in part on statistical modeling, suggests the loss in lives was close to three times greater than the official data. It is important to understand what happened and why in the greatest public health catastrophe since the 1918 influenza pandemic, which is estimated to have killed at least 50 million people. (3/13)

The New York Times: How Can Public Health And The C.D.C. Regain Americans’ Trust 
At the end of February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a consequential turn in its mask guidance. The new recommendations meant that most of the country could stop requiring masks indoors — largely passing the decision on to local authorities, many of whom had already decided to roll back mask mandates. This was greeted with a mix of contempt and indifference. Depending on whom you ask, it was either too late (Masks? What masks? Fire Fauci.) or too soon and too cavalier. A unifying thread was that the C.D.C. is wrong, its rules are politically motivated and it needs to do … better. (Dr. James Hamblin, 3/12)

The Washington Post: Uncertainty Around Fourth Covid Vaccine Dose Invites Another Pandemic Surprise 
Spring — a time of hope — has arrived in the pandemic struggle. Daily cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all on the decline. Two very brutal winters are behind us. But a great deal of uncertainty hangs over the virus and the vaccines that saved the day. Will another variant emerge? Will people need a fourth dose of the remarkable mRNA vaccines — a second booster? (3/12)

CNN: This Is No Time To Drop The Ball On Covid-19 
The failure to include a $15.6 billion pandemic aid package in the omnibus spending bill the House passed on Wednesday is a collective mistake that could come back to haunt us. While the spending package includes funding for pandemic-related programs like a $140 million increase for the Strategic National Stockpile, these sums are not nearly enough. The White House warned that without adequate funding, the production of at-home rapid tests could slow, while monoclonal antibody drugs would run out by May. And in a letter notifying fellow Democrats that the package would be dropped on Wednesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the move "heartbreaking." (Julian Zelizer, 3/11)

Chicago Tribune: Take A Breath, Chicago, You Made It Through Two Years Of COVID-19 
Celebration would never have been the right word for anything to do with COVID-19: Too many Chicagoans were lost to the struggle against a virus that might well reemerge in yet another variant, especially as we approach next winter. But in an interview with the Tribune Editorial Board Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the current moment as “the best place we’ve been in” over the last two years and ticked off many communal achievements of which the city can be proud. All of us, together. “Our health care system didn’t buckle,” she said. And she’s right. (3/11)

The Atlantic: This COVID Summer Might Be More Freeing Than The Last
Call it what you want to—Hot Vax Summer 2.0, the Hot Vax Summer Redux—but you might be feeling it: A new phase of the pandemic is starting. With restrictions in the most COVID-cautious U.S. jurisdictions lifting, international travel picking back up, and large live events returning to American cities, the summer of 2022 stands ready to deliver some version of normalcy even if (when?) a new variant emerges. Millions of Americans can’t wait. (Christian Paz, 3/13)

Los Angeles Times: It's Been Two Years Of COVID. It's Time For A Full Accounting Of Our Response 
There’s no great way to mark the exact moment when the pandemic began in the U.S. Was it when the first domestic case of COVID-19 was confirmed? Was it the day when the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary declared SARS-CoV-2 a public health emergency? Or was it when the first death from COVID was reported on U.S. soil? (3/13)