NPR: American Life Expectancy Is Now At Its Lowest In Nearly Two Decades
The average life expectancy for Americans shortened by over seven months last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That decrease follows an already big decline of 1.8 years in 2020. As a result, the expected life span of someone born in the U.S. is now 76.4 years — the shortest it has been in nearly two decades. (Noguchi, 12/22)

The Washington Post: U.S. Life Expectancy Fell In 2021 As Covid, Drug Deaths Surged
Notably, every age group in the U.S. — from young children to seniors 85 and older — saw a rise in its death rate. Men, women and most racial groups lost ground. In some previous years, even when overall life expectancy declined, some groups advanced. “This one, it’s sort of across-the-board bad news,” said Eileen Crimmins, a professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California who studies life expectancy around the world. “We’ve gone since 1996 without improving. That’s incredible, given how much we’ve learned about medicine, how much we’ve spent.” (Bernstein, 12/22)

USA Today: US Life Expectancy Continues To Fall, Erasing 25 Years Of Health Gains
What's killing Americans? Causes of death remained largely the same between 2020 and 2021, led by heart disease, cancer and COVID-19, all three of which occurred more often last year. Eight of the top 10 causes of death saw statistically significant increases in 2021 over 2020, including unintentional injury and stroke. Only Alzheimer's disease and chronic lower respiratory diseases declined among the leading causes of death.(Weintraub, 12/22)

More on the link to drug overdoses —

Los Angeles Times: Declining U.S. Life Expectancy Fell Further In 2021 Due To COVID And Drug Overdoses
The year 2021 saw 106,699 drug overdose deaths in the United States, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said in a separate report released Thursday. That’s a dramatic spike from 2020, a year in which fatal overdoses had already reached a historic peak of 91,799. (Healy, 12/21)

Politico: Covid-19 And Overdose Deaths Drive U.S. Life Expectancy To A 25-Year Low 
The Covid-19 pandemic has had “a domino effect,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, by “exacerbating the already very severe problem that we have in overdose deaths. ”The two crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and rising drug addiction and overdoses, are “a wake-up call” for government, added Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “It clearly is what’s cutting into the health of our communities, unlike almost anything we’ve seen before.” (Mahr, 12/22)

Roll Call: Schumer: Senate Closing In On Omnibus Amendments Deal 
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer took to the floor at 2 a.m. Thursday to say an agreement was near to speed up passage of the massive fiscal 2023 omnibus spending bill, after senators spent the day Wednesday wrangling behind the scenes. The chief dispute was over pandemic-era asylum restrictions that the Biden administration wants to lift, a move that Republicans and some Democrats say would exacerbate chaos at the border. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has an amendment to bar the administration from ending the so-called Title 42 policy; Republicans want a simple majority threshold for adoption, while Democrats want to raise the bar to 60 votes. "It is my expectation we will be able to lock in an agreement on the omnibus tomorrow morning," Schumer said. "We are very close, but we're not there yet." (Quigley and Weiss, 12/22)

Politico: Senate Kicks Government Funding Drama Closer To Shutdown Deadline
Senators left the Capitol on Wednesday night without a critical deal allowing for votes on a $1.7 trillion government funding package, kicking the bill into Thursday and closer to a shutdown deadline. Lawmakers are at a standstill over a proposed GOP amendment tied to a Trump-era border policy, which could force Democrats to take a politically tricky vote. It’s a U-turn from earlier in the day when leadership hoped the strong pull of leaving for the holidays would speed up passage of the mammoth bill on Wednesday, checking the final item off the Senate’s year-end to-do list before the chamber departs Washington until late January. (Emma and Carney, 12/21)

The Hill: Mike Lee, Title 42 Drama Holds Up Omnibus Passage 
An effort led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to maintain Title 42 is threatening efforts to pass a sweeping government funding bill before a shutdown deadline later this week. Congressional negotiators on both sides say the biggest holdup is ongoing negotiations to decide what the voting threshold would be to pass the amendment. (Folley, Bernal and Weaver, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy Fight Over Spending Omnibus 
The spending legislation has laid bare a Republican schism. The House GOP and a group of Senate Republicans wanted the full-year spending plan delayed until after they take control of the House on Jan. 3. Kevin McCarthy, who is trying to shore up support for his bid to become House speaker, backed a threat from a small group of conservatives vowing to block any initiatives next year from Republican senators who vote for the spending legislation, including Mitch McConnell. “When I’m Speaker, their bills will be dead on arrival in the House if this nearly $2T monstrosity is allowed to move forward over our objections and the will of the American people,” McCarthy tweeted.

CBS News: Senate Struggles On Final Passage Of $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill 
Support from at least 10 GOP senators is needed for it to clear the Senate before the plan is taken up by the House, and 21 Republicans voted to begin debate on the measure Tuesday. In an 11th-hour attempt to deter Senate Republicans from voting in favor of the legislation, known as an omnibus bill, a group of 31 House Republicans sent a letter to their colleagues threatening to oppose the legislative priorities of any GOP senator who supported the package."Voting in favor of this bill is a dereliction of our duty on all counts," they warned. (12/21)

More on the spending package —

Stat: Can Medicare's Hospital At Home Program Prove Its Worth?
A Medicare program that allowed approved health systems to bill for hospital care delivered in people’s homes during the pandemic is on the cusp of a two-year extension, giving a boost to home care models many see as the future. (Aguilar, 12/21)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Stat: Pandemic Response Gets A Permanent Home At The White House
The era of the rotating cast of public health czars at the White House may finally be over. Presidents for decades have brought fresh faces to the White House to coordinate federal responses to threats such as Covid-19, mpox, Ebola, AIDS, and the bird flu. Now, Congress aims to give pandemic response a permanent home at the White House. (Cohrs, 12/22)

CNN: Biden Administration Offers To Release Tamiflu From Strategic National Stockpile 
With an early and severe flu season straining resources, the Biden administration says it will release the prescription antiviral Tamiflu from the Strategic National Stockpile to states and territories that request it. The US Department of Health and Human services said Wednesday this should help ease access to the medication – one of several types of medicines patients have sometimes struggled to find amid a surge of respiratory viruses, including flu, RSV, Covid-19 and others. (Goodman, 12/21)

AP: As Flu Rages, US Releases Medicine From National Stockpile
The administration is not releasing how many doses will be made available. Antiviral medications were released from the stockpile more than a decade ago during the H1N1, also known as swine flu, pandemic. Last week, the federal agency also announced it would allow states to dip into statewide stockpiles for Tamiflu, making millions of treatment courses available. Tamiflu can be prescribed to treat flu in people over the age of 2 weeks old. (Seitz, 12/22)

McKnights Long-Term Care News: U.S. Releases Tamiflu Doses From National Stockpile As Demand Surges
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a health advisory with interim guidance for clinicians on prioritizing oseltamivir (generic or Tamiflu) during this period of reduced availability. When availability of oseltamivir or other antivirals is limited, antiviral treatment should be given to flu patients at the highest risk of severe disease, such as older adults, and those who are hospitalized, the CDC guidance states. (Lasek, 12/22)

In related news —

Bloomberg: Paxlovid, Tamiflu Prescriptions Free At Mobile NYC Test, Treat Clinics
New Yorkers who are feeling sick can now go to one of the city’s mobile clinics to get tested for RSV, Covid-19 or the flu — and get a prescription for medicines like Tamiflu on the spot. (John Milton, 12/21)

Parents are warned not to stockpile medication —

CNBC: FDA Urges Parents Not To Stockpile Children's Flu Medications
The surge in flu cases and Covid-19 infections this month, along with elevated levels of childhood respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, infections has caused elevated demand for children’s over-the-counter cold and flu medications. The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration said his agency is working with producers to improve supply but the current demand is unprecedented. (Coombs, 12/21)

NBC News: Children’s Medication Shortages Strain Parents And Pharmacies
Hugh Chancy, the president of the National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents over 19,000 independent pharmacies, said member pharmacies are under tremendous pressure. Some, including one of his own five pharmacies in Georgia, also function as compounding facilities, where licensed pharmacists can create drugs to meet the needs of individual patients. (Samee Ali, 21/21)

Side Effects Public Media: If The Antibiotics Shortage Worsens, Children With Sickle Cell Risk Preventable Deaths
Mary Warlo has been extremely worried lately. Her baby Calieb, who is six months old, has sickle cell disease. In early December he went for a few days without liquid penicillin, a medication that he – and thousands of other children in the U.S. – rely on to prevent potentially life threatening infections. Warlo couldn’t easily find a pharmacy in Indianapolis that had the medicine in stock. She and her husband frantically drove around for hours, stopping at five different pharmacies before they were able to get their prescription filled. (Yousry, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Fewer Than Half Of Nursing Home Residents Have Received Bivalent Covid Boosters 
Fewer than half of all nursing home residents in the United States have received the latest coronavirus vaccine booster shot — and rates among nursing home staff are even worse — raising concerns that vulnerable elderly people face a spike in preventable covid-19 deaths this winter. ... As of Dec. 4, only 47 percent of residents in nursing homes have received the latest booster; the rate for nursing home staff was 22 percent. (Rowland, 12/21)

The New York Times: As Covid Deaths Climb, Even Seniors Skip The Latest Booster 
As the pandemic barrels into its third winter, and Covid hospitalizations and deaths climb once again, medical experts worry that there is no effective plan to update the immunizations of the most vulnerable Americans. Two years ago, when Covid shots were first introduced, the federal government sent teams into thousands of nursing homes and community centers to vaccinate seniors, curbing the devastation of the virus. But so far this fall, the White House has only offered grants to community organizations to get shots into the arms of older people, without the clear messaging strategy or logistical support that they need most, many caregivers and nursing home executives said in interviews. (Baumgaertner, 12/21)

North Carolina Health News: More Seniors Hospitalized For COVID Now Than Before Vaccines 
During the first week of December, hospitals were once again admitting hundreds of North Carolinians for COVID and other respiratory diseases. But while much of the media coverage has focused on pitiable small children coughing and struggling for air, it turns out many of the new admissions have really white hair: Nearly three in 10 of those being checked into hospitals were older than 80. That’s beyond the shrinking life expectancy, newly announced, for U.S. women at 79.3 years, and men at 73.5. (Goldsmith, 12/22)

In other vaccine news —

The Atlantic: Nasal Vaccines Are Here
Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, a niche subset of experimental vaccines has offered the world a tantalizing promise: a sustained slowdown in the spread of disease. Formulated to spritz protection into the body via the nose or the mouth—the same portals of entry most accessible to the virus itself—mucosal vaccines could head SARS-CoV-2 off at the pass, stamping out infection to a degree that their injectable counterparts might never hope to achieve. (Wu, 12/21)

AP: FDA Study Doesn’t Prove Pfizer COVID Vaccine Causes Blood Clots 
CLAIM: A study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proves that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine causes blood clots. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The study, conducted in part by researchers from the FDA, is being misrepresented. The research showed an association between elderly recipients of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and instances of pulmonary embolisms. However, the authors note that the findings do not prove a link to the vaccine. The FDA confirmed that the agency has not found any new causal relationships between the Pfizer vaccine and the potential adverse event. (Tulp, 12/21)

The Gainesville Sun: State Surgeon General Works With UF To Investigate Vaccine
After a discussion with health experts, the Florida surgeon general announced that the University of Florida will be assisting him in researching the effects of the COVID-19 vaccination. State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said he would conduct research through UF to look into the deaths of "healthy" people who died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. ... Dr. Nicole Iovine, UF Health Shands hospital system's chief epidemiologist, said she's unsure what the state surgeon general has planned, but she said it's been shown countless times that the COVID-19 vaccine works. (Harrell, 12/22)

Reuters: U.S. FDA Approves Roche's COVID-19 Antibody
Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved its monoclonal antibody for treating COVID-19 in hospitalized adult patients. The intravenous anti-inflammatory drug, Actemra, is a monoclonal antibody that reduces inflammation and was approved in 2010 to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It is the first FDA-approved monoclonal antibody to treat COVID-19, Roche said. (12/21)

And researchers may have found a cause for MIS-C —

Becker's Hospital Review: Researchers Find Possible Genetic Cause For MIS-C
A new study suggests there may be an underlying genetic cause for why some children develop a rare but serious inflammatory condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, after a COVID-19 infection. More than 9,000 MIS-C cases, including 74 deaths, have been reported to the CDC since the agency started tracking them in May 2020. A study published Dec. 20 in Science identified genetic mutations to the proteins OAS and RNase L that increased the inflammatory response in some immune cells. The mutations were found in five unrelated children with MIS-C. (Carbajal, 12/21)

KXAN: Most Children Hospitalized After Rare Post-COVID Illness Have No Long-Term Complications
Doctors at Dell Children’s Medical Center are sharing key takeaways after being part of an international study analyzing a rare post-COVID illness. ... “I think the great news is that once the kids are past the hospitalization, they seem to have done fantastic. There were a few patients who had the coronary abnormalities that we’re continuing to watch,” explained Dr. Keren Hasbani, pediatric cardiologist at Dell Children’s and Director of Cardiac Magnetic Imaging. (Doost, 12/18)

In other covid research —

The Guardian: Covid: Ongoing Loss Of Smell May Be Caused By Nasal Cell Destruction 
Millions of people who lost their sense of smell after contracting Covid may have an ongoing, abnormal immune response that destroys cells in the nose, researchers say. Doctors analysed nasal tissue from Covid patients and found that those with long-term problems with their sense of smell had inflammation-driving immune cells inside the delicate nasal lining, which were potentially wiping out vital sensory nerve cells. (Sample, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Regular Exercise Protects Against Fatal Covid, A New Study Shows 
Men and women who worked out at least 30 minutes most days were about four times more likely to survive covid-19 than inactive people, according to an eye-opening study of exercise and coronavirus outcomes among almost 200,000 adults in Southern California. The study found that exercise, in almost any amount, reduced people’s risks for a severe coronavirus infection. Even people who worked out for as little as 11 minutes a week — yes, a week — experienced lower risks of hospitalization or death from covid than those who moved about less. (Reynolds, 12/21)

Science: ‘We Made A Mistake.’ Omicron Origin Study Retracted After Widespread Criticism
A paper published earlier this month by Science claiming the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 arose gradually, across a broad area of Africa, before it was detected was retracted today by its authors. In a retraction notice, all 87 researchers involved in the paper acknowledged that crucial genome sequences on which the study based its conclusions were a result of contamination. “We made a mistake and that is bitter,” says senior author Felix Drexler of Charité University Hospital in Berlin. The paper drew criticism almost from the moment it was published, and some scientists say the problem could have been avoided if the study had been posted as a preprint first, allowing independent scientists to comment. “This would have been slaughtered on Twitter within a few days of being on preprints,” says Aris Katzourakis, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Oxford. (Kupferschmidt, 12/20)

Stat: Hospitals Should Stop Routine Covid Screenings For All: Report
An influential board of infectious disease physicians recommended Wednesday that hospitals and other health care facilities stop routinely screening asymptomatic patients for Covid-19, saying the potential risks of screenings now outweigh the benefits. (Mast, 12/21)

Fierce Healthcare: Asymptomatic COVID Screening No Longer Recommended For Hospitals
A major professional organization for healthcare epidemiologists announced Wednesday that it no longer recommends universal COVID-19 screening for asymptomatic patients entering the hospital due to care delays and testing’s “unclear benefit” when layered upon a healthcare facility’s other infection prevention measures. (Muoio, 12/21)

More on the spread of covid —

NBC News: Omicron Subvariant Symptoms: How Quickly Do Omicron Symptoms Appear?
Dr. Roy Gulick, the chief of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, said typical symptoms of the omicron subvariants include: Sore throat. Hoarse voice. Cough. Fatigue. Nasal congestion. Runny nose. Headache. Muscle aches. (Edwards, Kopf, Miller and Lewis, 12/21)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Flu, COVID-19, RSV Filling Ohio Hospitals, Health Officials Say 
The three main viruses in circulation this winter — influenza, COVID-19 and RSV — are placing Ohio hospitals under significant strain, the state’s top health official said Wednesday. And it’s possible that hospitals may see even more patients after the holidays, as germs spread and sicken people at gatherings, said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, in a media briefing. (Washington, 12/21)

Houston Chronicle: 'Mini-Surge' Of COVID-19 Raises Infection Risk Over Holidays
The spike of influenza and RSV in Houston has given way to a “mini-surge” of COVID-19, and experts predict that infections will continue to rise after a busy two weeks of travel and gatherings for the holidays. (MacDonald, 12/21)

Also —

San Francisco Chronicle: Contra Costa County Says Call Ambulance 911 Only For True Emergency
Contra Costa County is telling residents to refrain from calling 911 unless they have a real emergency, as health care providers and emergency ambulance services “are especially impacted because of COVID, flu and other respiratory viruses.” (Beamish, 12/21)

KHN: ‘Caged … For No Fault Of Your Own’: Detainees Dread Covid While Awaiting Immigration Hearings 
In October, Yibran Ramirez-Cecena didn’t alert the staff at Stewart Detention Center to his cough and runny nose. Ramirez-Cecena, who had been detained at the immigration detention facility in southwestern Georgia since May, hid his symptoms, afraid he would be put in solitary confinement if he tested positive for covid-19. “Honestly, I didn’t want to go spend 10 days by myself in a room — they call it the hole,” Ramirez-Cecena said. He is being held at the center as he waits to learn whether he will be deported to Mexico or can remain in the United States, where he has lived for more than two decades. (Rayasam, 12/22)

Mashable: Extreme Polar Cold Is About To Pummel The U.S. Over The Holidays
The National Weather Service expects that giant swathes of the nation will experience freezing or dangerous conditions over the coming week, with some places seeing their coldest temperatures in decades. Overall, cold polar air will drop south into the Central U.S. on Wednesday, Dec. 21 and continue driving into the Eastern U.S. on Friday and Saturday. What's more, a major blizzard will slam the Midwest between Dec. 21-25. Expect wild drops in temperature. For example, the NWS predicts the high temperature in Denver on Wednesday will be 46 degrees Fahrenheit. That will drop to around minus 1 F on Thursday. Meanwhile, temperatures in the New York City area will be in the 40s and 50s Friday morning, but will plummet to around 20 degrees or colder later that day. In some places, wind chill temperatures (the air temperature as it would feel blown on skin) are just bonkers: In Wyoming on Wednesday night through Thursday many temperatures will be well below minus 50 F. (Kaufman, 12/21)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp To Declare State Of Emergency Ahead Of Dangerously Cold Weather
Remember that scene in “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” where he’s wandering alone through a righteously windy storm? The Atlanta area and much of north Georgia will be a bit like that this weekend (minus the snow, probably). Overnight Thursday and perhaps all the way until Monday, wind chill temperatures are likely to approach zero or head into the negatives. (Estep, 12/21)

Unhoused people are urged to find shelter —

The Guardian: US Shelters See Influx Of Homeless Seeking Help Amid ‘Life-Threatening’ Winter
Buffalo uses an emergency weather safety plan, Code Blue, to provide warm food, shelter, transportation, and medical care to the city’s homeless. The program’s coordinator, Jean Bennett, said this weekend qualifies as an extreme weather event, one of a few the city sees every winter. The city will send a Code Blue van around to locate unsheltered people, pick them up, and bring them inside. “If they don’t want to leave whatever environment they are in,” Bennett said, “we will call the police. They aren’t making a good decision. This weather can be fatal, and they can pass away quickly. During extreme weather events, we don’t let them make that choice.” (Ryan, 12/22)

The Texas Tribune and The New York Times: Winter Storm, Increase In Migrants Pressure Cities Throughout Texas
With freezing temperatures expected across much of the state Thursday and Friday, Texas cities are turning their attention to their unhoused communities — the people most at risk from the single-digit temperatures. The impending freeze is not expected to bring conditions as severe as the 2021 winter storm, and the state power grid’s governing body said this week it expects the grid to stay online. But with temperatures in many parts of the state plummeting into single digits, unsheltered people will be especially vulnerable. (Tompkins and Salhotra, 12/22)

Tips for staying healthy and safe in freezing temperatures —

CNN: Winter Safety Checklist: Stay Safe And Warm With This Guide
When staying indoors during cold temperatures or a winter storm, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these tips: Make sure any infants younger than 1 year old are not sleeping in cold rooms and have adequate warm clothing, such as footed pajamas, one-piece wearable blankets or sleep sacks. Remove any pillows or other soft bedding from a baby’s crib, since they pose the risk of smothering or sudden infant death syndrome. If you have friends or neighbors older than 65, check on them frequently to ensure that their homes are adequately heated. Leave water taps slightly open to prevent freezing pipes. Eat well-balanced meals to stay warm. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, because they can cause your body to lose heat more rapidly. (Howard, 12/21)

WPBN: Important Safety Reminders For Emergency Winter Travel 
The National Weather Service stated that, between Thursday and Saturday, travel should be restricted to emergencies only as traveling will be "difficult to impossible at times." People can purchase a pre-made emergency kit or you can make one themselves. An emergency kit could include things like gloves, cat litter, a blanket, a flashlight, jumper cables and a car phone charger. (Bricca, 12/21)

Fox2Now.com: What Should You Do If Your Power Goes Out In Freezing Weather?
FEMA gave several tips on how to stay safe during a power outage: Wear layers of loose-fitting and lightweight clothes. These will keep you warmer than a bulky sweater. Never use a generator inside a home, basement, shed or garage, even if doors or windows are open. This is because of the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning. Do not use a gas stovetop oven, camp stove or charcoal grill to heat your home. Keep freezers and refrigerators closed. Refrigerators will keep food cold for around four hours, and a full freezer will keep the temperature for around 48 hours. Turn off or disconnect appliances, equipment and electronics. Seek medical attention immediately if anyone in your family experiences the symptoms of frostbite or hypothermia. (Jarpe and Nexstar, 12/21)

The Colorado Sun: What To Do If You Think You Have Frostbite
You’ve probably heard that the cells in your body are 70% water. But what happens when it gets so cold that all that water inside your cells starts turning into ice crystals? Hospitals across Colorado fear that more than a few people in the state are about to find out, as the coldest air to hit the Front Range in decades barged into the state overnight. (Ingold, 12/22)

In related news —

New York Daily News: Study Finds Link Between Chilly Weather, Severity Of Colds
The nose really does know, as it turns out. New research has revealed a physical link between chilly weather and the severity of colds, and it’s right under — or, rather, inside — our noses. (Braine, 12/21)

Fox News: Texas Federal Judge Rules Against HHS Program Allowing Teens Confidential Birth Control
A federal court ruling Tuesday could make it nearly impossible for Texas teens to access birth control without parental permission. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that Title X, the federal program that provides free, confidential contraception to anyone regardless of age, income or immigration status, violates parental rights and violates state and federal laws. (Rumpf, 12/21)

In other reproductive health news from Iowa and Connecticut —

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Republican Leaders Say They Want To Wait For Court Ruling Before Restricting Abortion
The top Republicans in the Iowa Legislature said they want to wait for a pending court case involving the “fetal heartbeat” law to be resolved before taking more action to restrict abortion in the upcoming legislative session. (Sostaric, 12/21)

The CT Mirror: Day Kimball Takeover Could Limit Health Care, CT Legislators Say
Sixteen Democrat state legislators have filed a letter opposing Massachusetts-based Covenant Health’s proposed acquisition of Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, citing concerns the Catholic system would force Day Kimball to eliminate an array of reproductive health and other services. (Phillips, 12/22)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

CBS News: Wisconsin Warns Against A Holiday Tradition: Raw Meat Sandwiches
Like rules, some holiday traditions were made to be broken. So say health officials in Wisconsin, where it's long been customary in some families to serve at festive gatherings an appetizer of raw, lean ground beef on rye cocktail bread with sliced onions, salt and pepper. 8Gibson, 12/21)

NPR: 'Health Freedom' Activists Gain Seats On Major Hospital's Board
A Florida hospital has become the latest front for political activists eager to challenge protocols for treating COVID. While most of the 6,000 hospitals in the United States are privately-run, about 200 are controlled by publicly-elected board members, according to Larry Gage, former president of the National Association of Public Hospitals. Typically, those elections usually have nothing to do with national politics or culture war issues. (Hirsch, 12/21)

NPR: Henrietta Lacks Statue Will Replace Robert E. Lee Monument In Virginia
A statue of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were taken without her consent and subsequently used in several major medical breakthroughs, will be built in her hometown in Roanoke, Va. (Heyward, 12/22)

ABC News: US Border Officer Suicides At 13-Year High: How Agency Is Focusing On 'Culture Change'
Sal, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee, was going through a difficult time in his life when he first started at the agency. His mother was being physically abused by her partner, he said -- and that was the tipping point. (Villarreal and Barr, 12/22)

Reuters: BioNTech Doses First Patient In Herpes Vaccine Candidate Clinical Trial
BioNtech has dosed the first patient with its BNT163 herpes vaccine candidate designed to prevent genital lesions as part of a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical research study, the German vaccine maker said on Wednesday. The vaccine candidate is meant to prevent HSV-2, the herpes simplex virus that causes genital herpes, and potentially HSV-1, which causes oral herpes and can lead to genital herpes. (12/21)

In updates on the HPV vaccine —

CIDRAP: WHO Supports 1-Dose HPV Vaccine Strategy
The World Health Organization (WHO), in a revised position paper, has updated its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine recommendations to include a single-dose schedule, an effort to expand vaccination amid a worrying global decline in coverage. Earlier this year, WHO vaccine advisers endorsed the one-dose strategy as an alternative to the standard three-dose regimen. (Schnirring, 12/21)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Bloomberg: A Tiktok Trend Sold Out Ozempic Leaving Diabetics Dizzy, Scared
For more than a month, Shane Anthony, a 57-year-old auto mechanic, hasn’t been able to get his diabetes medication. Ozempic, an injection that keeps blood sugar levels in check for patients with type 2 diabetes, has been in shortage for about four months, according to the database maintained by the US Food and Drug Administration, and is backordered at Anthony’s Seattle pharmacy. (Court, 12/21)

Stat: California Wants To Revoke A CVS Mail-Order License For Illegally Filling Opioid And ADHD Prescriptions 
California authorities are seeking to revoke a license held by a CVS Health mail-order pharmacy unit for violating several state laws that govern shipments of various controlled substances — including prescription painkillers and ADHD medicines — directly to patients. (Silverman, 12/21)

Stat: Gene Therapy Promising For Children With "Bubble Boy" Syndrome
H.T. Begay is a happy kid. He’s smiley, silly, and definitely trying to make you laugh. The four-year-old’s two neat braids of dark hair wave behind him as he runs among the dust, dogs, and sheep near his family’s ranch on their Navajo reservation in Arizona. On a table inside the family’s sweat lodge is a little altar. Next to a pair of tiny baby booties is a certificate that reads, “The first patient in the world to receive Autologous Gene Therapy for Artemis-deficient SCID 06/23/2018.” (Trang, 12/21)

Stat: Kids With Rare Diseases Get Mitochondria From Their Mothers
At a far distant point in Earth’s ancient past, two separate, single-celled life forms — an archaeon and a bacteria — became one in an act either of symbiosis or enslavement, depending on which microbiologist you ask. And over the next 2 billion or so years, that bacteria evolved to be the mitochondria that power nearly every cell in the human body. These capsule-shaped organelles don’t just turn oxygen and nutrients into chemical energy. They also metabolize cholesterol and synthesize hormones and neurotransmitters. (Molteni, 12/21)

WMFE: Study Finds That Hearing Aids May Reduce Dementia Risk For Senior With Hearing Loss
As we age, the frightful prospect of dementia is, in some respects, out of our hands. Simply getting older is the biggest risk factor, followed by genetics. There are factors we can address, like diet, lifestyle and managing blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. But a study published earlier this month in the journal JAMA Neurology looked at hearing loss, which is found in about two-thirds of adults over 70. (Byrnes, 12/21)

Fortune: They Live With Alzheimer's. Here's How They Want To Be Treated During The Holidays—In Their Own Words
Everyone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia experiences it differently and may need a host of accommodations that don’t require them to miss out on traditions they have cherished, like at the holidays. ... To make people living with Alzheimer’s feel more comfortable during the holidays, the Alzheimer’s Association encourages people to share their diagnosis so people can know the symptoms to better engage with that individual. Someone in the early stages may feel anxious or uncomfortable around noise or chaos, so having a quiet room during the holidays may be beneficial. Consider including that person in the conversation and asking yes or no questions if someone has difficulty speaking. (Mikhail, 12/21)

In other health and wellness news —

NBC News: Adults Say They're Expecting More Stress In 2023, Survey Finds
The American Psychiatric Association's Healthy Minds poll surveyed more than 2,200 U.S. adults Dec. 7 and 8. The results were compared to those of a similar poll from the group that ran in December 2021. Roughly 26% of the respondents reported that they expected to experience more stress in the New Year, up from 20% the previous year. (Lovelace Jr., 12/21)

The New York Times: An Overlooked Cure for Loneliness
Loneliness often stems from unwanted solitude. But it is also driven by a discrepancy between how you perceive your relationships versus what you want (or expect) from them. That disconnect is why you can be surrounded by family at Christmas and still feel like an outsider. A potential cure? Kindness toward others. Something as simple as volunteering can improve our health, ease feelings of loneliness and broaden our social networks, studies suggest. Opportunities to give back — both in person and virtually — are more commonplace than they were last year, and the need for volunteers hasn’t let up, especially at food pantries. (Caron, 12/21)

AP: US Starts Grappling With 'Travesty' Of Untreated Hepatitis C 
Too many Americans are missing out on a cure for hepatitis C, and a study underway in a hard-hit corner of Kentucky is exploring a simple way to start changing that. The key: On-the-spot diagnosis to replace today’s multiple-step testing. In about an hour and with just a finger-prick of blood, researchers can tell some of the toughest-to-treat patients — people who inject drugs — they have hepatitis C and hand over potentially life-saving medication. (Neergaard, 12/20)

NBC News: Bad Breath? Certain Types Of Probiotic Bacteria May Help
When it comes to persistent bad breath, the types of probiotic bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt, sourdough bread and miso soup may help ease the offending odor, a new study suggests. (Carroll, 12/21)

AP: New Label Law Has Unintended Effect: Sesame In More Foods
A new federal law requiring that sesame be listed as an allergen on food labels is having unintended consequences — increasing the number of products with the ingredient. Food industry experts said the requirements are so stringent that many manufacturers, especially bakers, find it simpler and less expensive to add sesame to a product — and to label it — than to try to keep it away from other foods or equipment with sesame. (Aleccia, 12/21)

Stat: New Startup Aims To Build Support For Serious Mental Illness
The number of startups focused on mental health has surged in the wake of the pandemic and a growing mental health crisis. They want to help people to meditate on their phones, or prescribe drugs that can be delivered right to their doors. But few focus on the most vulnerable patients, people with serious mental illness, in the real world. (Gaffney, 12/22)

USA Today: BD Medical Safety Advocate Sounds Alarms On Products, Gets Fired
A medical safety expert raised alarms a product could cause cancer to reoccur. Then he was fired. At the time, it seemed like the perfect fit — the right doctor for the right job at the right company. (Washburn, 12/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Apologizes For ‘Unethical’ Experiments With Mosquitoes And Pesticides On Prisoners Decades Ago
According to the newly released report, two UCSF dermatologists — one of whom remains at the university — experimented on “at least” 2600 people incarcerated at the California Medical Facility, a prison hospital in Vacaville. The report said that the experiments did not appear to have the green light from a UCSF committee that was supposed to approve any studies on human subjects. Records of the subjects providing informed consent, indicating they had full knowledge of the ramifications and were voluntarily participating, were also sparse. (Parker, 12/21)

On the costs of health care —

Stat: Private Equity Firm Catalio To Buy Hedge Fund HealthCor
Two veterans of the health care investing world — Art Cohen and Joe Healey — are planning to step back and sell their hedge fund to the fast-growing private equity firm Catalio Capital Management. Cohen and Healey’s firm, HealthCor Management, will be absorbed by Catalio in what three people with knowledge of the deal described as mainly a stock transaction. The deal is expected to close at the start of 2023. (DeAngelis, 12/21)

KHN: ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal And Seek To Ban Them 
A group of emergency physicians and consumer advocates in multiple states are pushing for stiffer enforcement of decades-old statutes that prohibit the ownership of medical practices by corporations not owned by licensed doctors. Thirty-three states plus the District of Columbia have rules on their books against the so-called corporate practice of medicine. But over the years, critics say, companies have successfully sidestepped bans on owning medical practices by buying or establishing local staffing groups that are nominally owned by doctors and restricting the physicians’ authority so they have no direct control. (Wolfson, 12/22)

KHN: Centene, Under Siege In America, Moved Into Britain’s National Health Service
In the final days of 2020, the U.S. health insurer Centene made a swift incursion into Britain’s prized National Health Service, one of the world’s largest employers. A Centene subsidiary, Operose Health, took over nearly three dozen medical practices in London — gateways for NHS care — in a deal worth tens of millions of dollars. The subsidiary became the largest private supplier of general practice services in the United Kingdom, with 67 practices accounting for 570,000 patients. (Spolar, 12/22)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Getting Insurance To Pay For Oral Surgery Is Like Pulling Teeth 
Health coverage generally does not cover dental work. But Susan Rice of Atlanta should have been the exception: She was hit by a speeding car, causing extensive damage to her own “grill.” She’s been fighting to get her oral surgery covered for 18 months and counting. The “An Arm and a Leg” podcast connected Rice with University of South Carolina law professor Jacqueline Fox, who, when she was practicing law, fought insurers on behalf of patients. Fox said Rice has “done everything right.” Her insurer’s refusal to pay may be tied to a bigger problem in the Affordable Care Act marketplace … one that’s led to a class-action lawsuit. (Weissmann, 12/22)

CIDRAP: Study Links COVID-Related Hardships To More Traumatic Stress Among Moms 
A multicenter study of nearly 11,500 US mothers finds a link between more COVID-19 pandemic-related hardships, coping mechanisms, and behavior changes and greater traumatic stress. (Van Beusekom, 12/16)

American Academy Of Pediatrics: Impact Of The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic On Mental Health Visits In Pediatric Primary Care
Eating disorder visits and mood disorder visits significantly increased, whereas alcohol and substance use disorder visits significantly decreased during the pandemic period among pediatric patients, highlighting the need to identify and manage mental health conditions in the pediatric primary care setting. (Gould et al, 12/1)

ScienceDaily: Acids Help Against Airborne Viruses 
A new study shows that aerosols in indoor air can vary in acidity. This acidity determines how long viruses remain infectious in the air -- with profound implications for virus transmission and strategies to contain it. (ETH Zurich, 12/21)

ScienceDaily: Common Food Dye Can Trigger Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Animal Study Suggests
Researchers using experimental animal models of IBD found that continual exposure to Allura Red AC harms gut health and promotes inflammation. The dye directly disrupts gut barrier function and increases the production of serotonin, a hormone/neurotransmitter found in the gut, which subsequently alters gut microbiota composition leading to increased susceptibility to colitis. The study suggests a link between a commonly used food dye and IBDs and warrants further exploration between food dyes and IBDs at experimental, epidemiological and clinical levels. (McMaster University, 12/20)

The Washington Post: Congress Can Help Prevent Another Pandemic With Prevent Pandemics Act
Among the many actions included in the $1.7 trillion budget deal Congress is looking to pass this week is a vital effort to make sure the United States never again responds to a pandemic as poorly as it did with covid-19. This legislation needs to make it across the finish line. (Amu Maxmen, 12/21)

Scientific American: COVID Vaccines Can Temporarily Affect Menstruation, And Studying That Matters 
For as long as there have been vaccines, there has been vaccine misinformation—and surprisingly often it has focused on fertility. The COVID vaccines have been no exception. (Viki Male, 12/21)

The Washington Post: In Pursuing Vaccine Makers, DeSantis Puts Pandering Before Governing 
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s petition for a statewide grand jury to investigate Pfizer and Moderna for “wrongdoing in Florida with respect to Covid-19 vaccines” is a political stunt, not a serious legal argument. This sort of pandering was probably inevitable, given still-simmering public anger over the pandemic. (Megan McArdle, 12/21)

Stat: The Deadly Combination Of Sepsis And Covid-19 
Sepsis, a deadly overreaction of the immune system to infection, has befuddled clinicians and researchers for decades. Covid-19 made things worse. (Richard Marfuggi, Aparna Ahuja and Rick A. Bright, 12/22)

Los Angeles Times: The Best Gift You Can Give Your Loved Ones? A COVID-Free Holiday Season 
By all indications, getting infected with COVID has ceased to be a frightening prospect for most. Few people wear a mask in public. Proof of vaccination is rarely required to visit most establishments. And the share of people who have received the latest booster shot is just 14%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (12/22)