AP: Judge Orders Halt To Texas Mask Mandate Ban In Schools
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a halt to the enforcement of Texas’ ban on mask mandates in the state’s schools. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled in Austin that the ban ordered by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott violated a federal law protecting disabled students’ access to public education. The nonprofit advocacy group Disabled Rights Texas argued that Abbott’s ban prohibited accommodations for disabled children particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. (11/11)

The Hill: Judge Knocks Down Abbott's Ban On Mask Mandates In Texas Schools
The ruling also barred Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) from carrying out the executive order in any way. “I strongly disagree with Judge Yeakel's opinion barring my office from giving effect to [the executive order], which prohibits mask mandates imposed by government entities like school districts," Paxton tweeted in response. "My Agency is considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision,” he added. (Vakil, 11/10)

The New York Times: Texas Schools Can Issue Mask Mandates, A Federal Judge Rules
The lawsuit was first filed in August, at the onset of the fall semester. Disability Rights Texas argued that school district leaders should make their own decisions about mask mandates based on the Covid transmission in their area and on their students’ needs. The order from the governor, Judge Yeakel said, excluded “disabled children from participating in and denies them the benefits of public schools’ programs, services, and activities to which they are entitled.” Several school districts had altered or undone their mask mandates since Mr. Abbott’s order. (Medina, 11/10)

AP: Federal Judge Blocks Texas Ban On School Mask Mandates
Disability Rights Texas litigation attorney Kym Davis Rogers said in a statement that, "No student should be forced to make the choice of forfeiting their education or risking their health, and now they won't have to." According to the Tribune, Rogers said she doesn't rule out the state appealing the decision in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because Texas has gone that route before, most recently over its strict new abortion law. The Tribune noted that, "A recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showed that 57% of voters support mask requirements in indoor public spaces based on local conditions, while 58% support mask requirements for students and staff in public schools. Forty percent oppose the requirements at indoor public places and 39% oppose the requirements at schools." (11/11)

Reuters: Fewer Than 1 Mln U.S. Kids Get COVID-19 Shot In First Eligible Week, White House Projects
More than 900,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 11 are expected to have received their first COVID-19 shot by the end of Wednesday, the White House said, as the government ramped up vaccinations of younger children. The United States began administering Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 on Nov. 3, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them. (Aboulenein and Alper, 11/11)

AP: Nevada Encouraged By Demand For COVID-19 Shots For Ages 5-11
Nevada health officials said Wednesday they are encouraged by initial demand for COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5-11 and local pediatricians are reporting strong interest. But some logistical issues and technical glitches in the state’s scheduling platform have slowed the rollout of the doses at county and community health clinics, they said. Experts also expressed concerns that a recent uptick in new coronavirus cases statewide could signal a similar trend as last November when the pandemic began a climb to its most serious level in December 2020. (Sonner, 11/11)

As shots began to be administered around the country —

AP: 'Strong' Start To Kids Vaccine Campaign, But Challenges Loom
The campaign to vaccinate elementary school age children in the U.S. is off to a strong start, health officials said Wednesday, but experts say there are signs that it will be difficult to sustain the initial momentum. About 900,000 kids aged 5 to 11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said, providing the first glimpse at the pace of the school-aged vaccination campaign. “We’re off to a very strong start,” said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients, during a briefing with reporters. (Miller and Stobbe, 11/10)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Vaccine Events For St. Louis Children Fill Up As City Officials Work To Leave No Kids Behind 
Jaidyn Johnson, 6, got a high-five from the mayor after receiving his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday at Affinia Healthcare, which has several clinics across the city that play a key role in getting families vaccinated. St. Louis Mayor Tishuara O. Jones was visiting the clinic near downtown to encourage the newly eligible age group to get vaccinated and explain how city government is working to remove barriers to getting the shots. (Munz, 11/10)

The Washington Post: As Children’s Coronavirus Vaccines Roll Out, Pediatricians Are Overwhelmed And Understaffed
The moment April Lowe learned that a coronavirus vaccine had been recommended for children ages 5 to 11, she called her kids’ pediatrician. Before federal health authorities gave the green light, Lowe, 36, of Jackson Springs, N.C., had tried unsuccessfully to persuade the doctor to vaccinate her oldest son, explaining that he was almost 12 and that his history with asthma and other respiratory issues put him at higher risk for severe disease. She also attempted to get her children into a clinical trial. So when she got the doctor’s office on the phone last week, she booked the earliest appointment and got her 7- and 11-year-old sons vaccinated. (Iati and Bever, 11/10)

Reuters: U.S. Postal Service Warns Vaccine Rules Could Affect Deliveries
The U.S. Postal Service raised concerns on Wednesday that the Biden administration's new rules requiring large employers to require vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 testing could result in "high levels of absenteeism" and affect deliveries. Last week, the Labor Department issued rules that require businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate weekly testing or vaccines by Jan. 4. The rules also require that employers ensure unvaccinated employees working in-person must wearing masks by Dec. 5. (Shepardson, 11/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Many Logistics Firms Are Avoiding Covid-19 Vaccine Requirements Amid U.S. Mandate Debate
Freight transportation companies are cautiously stepping around a Covid-19 vaccination requirement while trade groups fight the federal mandate in court. Companies including United Parcel Service Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and others that manage warehouse staffers, truck drivers and other employees across logistics networks in general aren’t requiring employees outside of some office workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Many firms say they are encouraging staffers to get vaccinated while mandating protection measures in workplaces. (O'Neal, 11/10)

CNBC: Retail And Trucking Trade Groups Sue Biden Administration To Overturn Vaccine Mandate
National industry groups representing retail, truckers and independent businesses sued the Biden administration Wednesday over its vaccine and testing requirements for private companies, claiming they would cause “irreparable harm.” The National Retail Federation, the National Federation of Independent Business and the American Trucking Associations, told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in their lawsuit that businesses would lose employees, incur “unrecoverable compliance costs” and face deteriorating conditions in “already fragile supply chains and labor markets.” (Kimball, 11/10)

The New York Times: States Sue U.S. Over Vaccine Mandate For Health Care Workers
Ten states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers, on the heels of a court decision that temporarily halted the broader U.S. requirement that workers of all large employers be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. The new suit, filed in U.S. District Court in eastern Missouri, claims the rule issued last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “threatens with job loss millions of health care workers who risked their lives in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to care for strangers and friends in their communities.” (Abelson, 11/10)

The White House notes vaccine rules are working —

CIDRAP: White House: COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements Are Working 
Today, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said vaccine requirements are working, as the nation is averaging 300,000 first shots per day, the highest rate since early this summer. This week, 9 million vaccines were administered in the United States. "The simple truth is vaccine requirements are working, reducing the number of unvaccinated Americans by 40% from this summer to under 60 million," Zients said. (Soucheray, 11/10)

Bloomberg: Fewer Than 1% Of NYC Workers On Leave Due To Vaccine Mandate, De Blasio Says
Fewer than 1% of New York City’s workforce is on unpaid leave for failing to comply with the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a briefing. There number of those off the job for failing to comply with the inoculation requirement dropped to 2,600 Wednesday. That’s down from 9,000 on Nov. 1 when the mandate took effect. Workers who submitted requests for accommodations from the requirement have been allowed to continue working while being tested. As of Wednesday, there are 12,400 such requests pending, the mayor said. Those are being reviewed and de Blasio said that once final decisions are made, “most people will ultimately make the decision to get vaccinated, and we welcome that.” (Chen, 11/10)

But hesitancy remains, and many seek exemptions —

The Wall Street Journal: California Scrutinizes Doctors As Parents Seek Exemptions From School Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
As some California parents scramble for ways around a new Covid-19 vaccine mandate for schools, the state is increasingly scrutinizing doctors issuing suspicious medical exemptions. Dr. M. Kelly Sutton is among them, accused by the Medical Board of California of improperly exempting several students from required school vaccines. She disputes the findings though acknowledges considering parent input when granting exemptions, not a recognized reason in the state. (Hobbs, 11/10)

The CT Mirror: Religious Exemptions To Vaccine Rules More Common Among State Workers
Health care workers in state agencies are claiming medical or religious exemptions to vaccine mandates at a higher rate than health care workers outside government, data show — an imbalance that some say raises questions about whether the state is handing out exemptions too easily. In general, 10% to 12% of health care workers in most executive branch agencies are getting tested for COVID after claiming an exemption, instead of getting vaccinated. By comparison, about 2% to 6% of health care workers at the state’s top hospitals are testing for COVID after claiming exemptions instead of being vaccinated, a CT Mirror survey of nine hospital systems found. (Pananjady, 11/11)

Dallas Morning News: One In Five Dallas Residents Is Opposed To Getting COVID-19 Vaccine, Study Shows
One in five residents in Dallas has no intention of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new study published this month in Scientific Reports. More than half of these people say that nothing will convince them. Even assurance from family members or their doctors was “unlikely” to be persuasive. (Wilkerson, 11/10)

Also —

Houston Chronicle: Black Clergy Promoted COVID-19 Vaccines Twice As Often As Evangelicals And Catholics, Study Finds
Clergy from historically African American denominations were more than twice as likely as Catholic and evangelical clergy to promote COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new study from the Hartford Institute for Religious Research. Researchers found about 62 percent of all clergy advocated for inoculations. But the report lays bare the stark denominational differences in approaches to the pandemic, which researchers also found caused “severe conflict” in seven percent of all churches. (Downen, 11/10)

The Hill: Colorado Implements Crisis Standards Of Care Plan Amid Staffing Shortages
Colorado activated its crisis standards of care plan on Tuesday to help hospitals determine how to allocate limited staff as emergency shortages and COVID-19 admissions rock health systems across the state. The state implemented the crisis standards specifically to allow hospitals to prioritize certain health workers for care, as almost 40 percent of hospitals expect shortages within the next week, according to state data. (Coleman, 11/10)

AP: Colorado Addresses Hospital Staffing Crisis, COVID Boosters
Colorado has reactivated crisis guidelines for staffing at healthcare systems across the state as COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections continue to rise, and state health officials said Tuesday that anyone 18 and older qualifies for a booster shot. "Crisis standards of care" allow hospitals to maximize the care they can provide in their communities with the staff they have available. (11/10)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Infections Rise In Northern States, Mountain West, As Holidays Near
At the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Tom Gonzales, director of public health in Colorado’s sixth-largest county, made a decision in mid-October that felt like a dismaying retreat in the battle against the coronavirus. He reinstated an indoor mask mandate. It was not a popular move, but Gonzales felt he had no choice. Hospitals in Larimer County, which stretches eastward from the Continental Divide to the high plains and encompasses Fort Collins, were overwhelmed with covid-19 patients. The uptick began slowly in August, plateaued for a while — and then exploded unexpectedly once the leaves began to turn. (Johnson, Achenbach and Dupree, 11/10)

AP: New Mexico Hospitals Struggle Amid Push To Vaccinate Youths
Hospitals in northwestern New Mexico were grappling Wednesday with a surge in coronavirus cases that has left only a handful of intensive care beds available and led to a rationing of care. State health officials said New Mexico’s health care system overall remains heavily burdened with high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Hospitals across the state had just eight intensive care beds available Wednesday, making it more difficult to attend to health emergencies such as heart attacks, said David Scrase, the state’s top health official. (Lee, 11/11)

AP: California Prepares For Possible Winter Pandemic Surge
California has begun positioning equipment and locking in contracts with temporary health care workers in preparation for another possible winter surge of coronavirus cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The most populous state in the country still is doing comparatively well with the rest of the U.S. in terms of cases and hospitalizations. But Newsom warned Californians should prepare for another harsh pandemic winter even though the state is among the nation’s leaders with about 74% of eligible people with at least one dose of the vaccine. (Dazio and Thompson, 11/11)

The Surgeon General thinks Americans need long-term thinking on covid —

CBS News: U.S. Surgeon General: Americans Could Get To The Point Where They "Learn To Live With" COVID-19
COVID-19 is likely to become a long-term issue for Americans to "learn to live with," according to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. "As we look to the future, I think what is likely to happen is that there will be coronavirus around for some period of time. But I do think we can knock it down in terms of its severity, and second, we can reduce the number of cases," Murthy told "CBS Mornings." (Novak, 11/10)

Meanwhile, the world's covid cases are down, except in the US and a few places —

AP: WHO: Coronavirus Cases Declining Everywhere Except Europe
The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that coronavirus deaths rose by 10% in Europe in the past week, making it the only world region where both COVID-19 cases and deaths are steadily increasing. It was the sixth consecutive week that the virus has risen across the continent. In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said there were about 3.1 million new cases globally, about a 1% increase from the previous week. Nearly two-thirds of the coronavirus infections - 1.9 million - were in Europe, where cases rose by 7%. The countries with the highest numbers of new cases worldwide were the United States, Russia, Britain, Turkey and Germany. The number of weekly COVID-19 deaths fell by about 4% worldwide and declined in every region except Europe. (11/10)

The Hill: Biden Admin Investing Additional $785M In COVID-19 Funding For Hardest Hit Communities
The Biden administration will invest $785 million to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in some of the nation's most vulnerable populations by building confidence in vaccines and helping to establish a more diverse public health workforce, officials announced Wednesday. The influx of money will be focused on communities of color, rural areas, people with disabilities and low income populations. (Weixel, 11/10)

Politico: Scoop: HHS’ Next Effort To Boost Covid-19 Testing
The Biden administration will spend $650 million to bolster domestic manufacturing of Covid-19 tests, ahead of an expected rise in demand driven by school testing programs, the administration’s own workplace vaccine-or-test mandate and increased holiday travel. The money will go toward making professional molecular point-of-care tests that providers can use to quickly confirm the results of more widely available — but less accurate — over-the-counter antigen tests, POLITICO’s David Lim reports. The point-of-care molecular tests generally perform similarly to lab-based PCR tests, according to a senior administration official. (Cancryn and Owermohle, 11/10)

In other administration news —

The Wall Street Journal: Biden’s Vaping Tax Sparks Concerns People Will Go Back To Cigarettes
Some public-health experts say that adopting an e-cigarette tax without raising the tax on cigarettes would push people back to cigarettes because it would eliminate the price differential that makes vaping a more attractive option financially. The House bill considers a 5% Juul refill pod to be equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, though users’ consumption patterns vary and the body absorbs nicotine from smoke and e-cigarette aerosol at different rates. A two-pack of the Juul refill pods sells for $9.99 on Juul’s website. The average pack of cigarettes in the U.S. costs $7.01 as of November 2020, including local, state and federal excise taxes, according to the economic consulting firm Orzechowski and Walker. (Maloney and Rubin, 11/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Sues Uber Over Charging Wait-Time Fees For Disabled People
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was suing Uber Technologies Inc. for charging wait-time fees to passengers with physical disabilities. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act for charging fees to passengers who, because of disability, need more time to enter a car. (Rana, 11/10)

The Washington Post: Data Broker Shared Billions Of Phone Location Records With D.C. Government As Part Of Covid-Tracking Effort
A data broker shared billions of “highly sensitive” phone-location records with the D.C. government last year that revealed how people moved about the city, public records show. The sharing of the raw phone location data was pitched as uniquely valuable for tracking the covid pandemic, the records show. But the provision of the records for six months to the D.C. government’s Department of Health also shows the potential for abuse of such data, which is generally collected without consumers’ knowledge and then resold to both public and private buyers. (Harwell, 11/10)

The NIH-Moderna patent legal battle continues —

The New York Times: The N.I.H. Says It Isn’t Giving Up In Its Patent Fight With Moderna
The National Institutes of Health is prepared to aggressively defend its assertion that its scientists helped invent a crucial component of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine — including taking legal action if government lawyers deem it necessary, the agency’s director said on Wednesday. Moderna’s vaccine, which appears to provide the world’s best defense against Covid-19, grew out of four years of collaboration with research scientists at the N.I.H.’s Vaccine Research Center. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the company has blocked three N.I.H. researchers from being named on a key patent application. (Gay Stolberg and Robbins, 11/10)

KHN: Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Switching seniors to Medicare Advantage plans has cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars more than keeping them in original Medicare, a cost that has exploded since 2018 and is likely to rise even higher, new research has found. Richard Kronick, a former federal health policy researcher and a professor at the University of California-San Diego, said his analysis of newly released Medicare Advantage billing data estimates that Medicare overpaid the private health plans by more than $106 billion from 2010 through 2019 because of the way the private plans charge for sicker patients. (Schulte, 11/11)

AP: Real Medicare Drug Savings In Dems' Bill — But Not Overnight
Medicare enrollees who take expensive medicines could save thousands of dollars a year under the Democrats’ sweeping social agenda bill, but those dividends won’t come overnight. Instead, they’ll build gradually over the decade. Unveiled late last week, the bill’s Medicare prescription drug compromise barely survived a pharmaceutical industry lobbying blitz. Experts who’ve analyzed the complex plan say it would also offer people with private insurance some protection from the escalating cost of their medicines. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/11)

WUSF Public Media: The Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options To Move Into Medigap 
Medicare’s annual open-enrollment season is here and millions of beneficiaries — prompted by a massive advertising campaign and aided by a detailed federal website — will choose a private Medicare Advantage plan. But those who have instead opted for traditional Medicare face a critical decision about private insurance. Too often the import of that choice is not well communicated. (Meyer, 11/10)

CNBC: Here’s How To Appeal Income-Related Charges For Medicare Premiums
Some older Americans may be all too familiar with sticker shock when it comes to their Medicare premiums. That is, instead of paying the standard premium for Part B (outpatient care coverage) and Part D (prescription drug coverage), their income is high enough for monthly “income-related adjustment amounts,” or IRMAAs, to kick in. However, the surcharge is typically based on their tax return from two years earlier — which may not accurately reflect their current financial situation. (O'Brien, 11/10)

On worries about Medicaid changes —

Modern Healthcare: Outpatient Facilities To See Financial Hit As CMS Reworks Inpatient-Only List
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is walking back its push to pay for more complex services without inpatient stays, a move that will dent revenues for health systems that have boosted investment in outpatient facilities. The agency announced during the Trump administration that it would phase out its list of around 1,700 services Medicare would only pay for on an inpatient basis due to the complexity of the procedure, the underlying physical condition of the patient or the need for at least 24 hours of postoperative recovery time. CMS began that phase-out in 2021 by removing 298 services from the list. (Kacik and Goldman, 11/10)

Modern Healthcare: Community Clinics Worry About Losing Medicaid Flexibilities
More than 12 million people have enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program since COVID-19 outbreaks began in the U.S., largely due to shifting eligibility requirements and increases in federal funding to make care more accessible. Now, community health centers are worried these flexibilities might not last once the public health emergency ends, leaving many without insurance. (Devereaux, 11/10)

Meanwhile, watch out for scams —

KHN: Medicare’s Open Enrollment Is Open Season For Scammers
Finding the best private Medicare drug or medical insurance plan among dozens of choices is tough enough without throwing misleading sales tactics into the mix. Yet federal officials say complaints are rising from seniors tricked into buying policies — without their consent or lured by questionable information — that may not cover their drugs or include their doctors. In response, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has threatened to penalize private insurance companies selling Medicare Advantage and drug plans if they or agents working on their behalf mislead consumers. (Jaffe, 11/11)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles County Records First Flu Death Of 2021-22 Season
Los Angeles County recorded its first influenza-related death of the 2021-22 season, public health officials announced on Wednesday. The middle-aged man had multiple underlying medical conditions and hadn’t gotten his flu shot, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. He tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times over the course of his illness. “Although most people recover from influenza without complications, this death is a reminder that influenza can be a serious illness,” the public health department said. Complications like pneumonia can develop, and the flu can aggravate underlying health conditions like heart disease and asthma, public health officials said. (Yee, 11/10)

Reuters: World At Risk Of Measles Outbreaks As COVID-19 Disrupts Infant Shots, Report Says
The risk of measles outbreaks is high after more than 22 million infants missed their first vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned. Reported measles cases fell by more than 80% last year compared with 2019, but a higher number of children missing their vaccine doses leaves them vulnerable, a joint report by the WHO and the U.S. CDC showed on Wednesday. About 3 million more children missed the shots in 2020 than the previous year, the largest increase in two decades, threatening global efforts to eventually eradicate the highly infectious viral disease. (11/10)

On the cost of health insurance —

Axios: Health Insurance Costs For Workers Rose 4% During Pandemic 
Health insurance provided by employers this year cost an average of $22,200 for families and $7,700 for individuals, a 4% increase from a year ago, according to new survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. While many people lost their jobs and health insurance during the pandemic, most companies didn't rock the boat heading into 2021. But even a relatively modest increase in the already high costs of job-based insurance means workers and families continue to pay a lot more for their health care. (Herman, 11/10)

The Wall Street Journal: A Family’s Health Insurance Cost More Than $22,000 In 2021, Survey Finds
The average cost of employer health coverage for a family plan passed $22,000 this year, according to a new survey, rising at a rate that indicates the Covid-19 pandemic had little impact on the total expense. Yet the pandemic did lead to some changes for workplace health benefits, including enhanced access to telemedicine and mental-health services, according to the yearly poll of employers conducted by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Annual family-plan premiums rose 4% to hit $22,221 for an employer-provided family plan in 2021, up from $21,342, according to the survey. Employees paid $5,969 of the total this year, with the rest of the cost borne by the employers. The amount of the employee contribution was statistically unchanged from 2020. (Wilde Mathews, 11/10)

Also —

KHN: As Workers Struggle With Pandemic’s Impact, Employers Expand Mental Health Benefits
As the covid-19 pandemic burns through its second year, the path forward for American workers remains unsettled, with many continuing to work from home while policies for maintaining a safe workplace evolve. In its 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released Wednesday, KFF found that many employers have ramped up mental health and other benefits to provide support for their workers during uncertain times. Meanwhile, the proportion of employers offering health insurance to their workers remained steady, and increases for health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health expenses were moderate, in line with the rise in pay. Deductibles were largely unchanged from the previous two years. (Andrews, 11/10)

Jobless figures fall —

AP: US Jobless Claims Drop To Pandemic Low Of 267,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low 267,000 last week as the job market recovers from last year's sharp coronavirus downturn. Jobless claims fell by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, dropped by nearly 7,300 to 278,000, also a pandemic low. (Wiseman, 11/10)

Big tech makes some public health moves —

Bloomberg: Instagram Tests ‘Take a Break’ Tool to Let Users Self Regulate
Instagram is testing a feature that will encourage its users to, well, stop using it. “Take a Break” will allow the social media app’s users to get a notification after they spend a certain amount of time on the Meta Platforms Inc. service. The feature is similar to Apple Inc.’s Screen Time tool that tracks and can set limits on how long users spend on apps and websites. “Take a moment to reset by closing Instagram,” a sample of the service says, encouraging users to do other things like “take a few deep breaths” or “write down what you’re thinking.” (McGrath, 11/10)

Bloomberg: YouTube Hides ‘Dislike’ Counts To Avoid Creator Pile-Ons
“We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior,” the company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. The button itself isn’t going away -- only the public view of the count. YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, needs to keep creators happy because it’s facing its first real competition for talent in years from rivals like Instagram, TikTok and Spotify. Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram let users hide their like counts on posts earlier this year, responding to criticism about the stress the feature places on young users. Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s chief executive officer, said in September that YouTube was a “really valuable resource” for teenage mental health. The company has pledged to provide more internal research on the subject to U.S. Congress. (Bergen, 11/10)

Bloomberg: Resistance To Antiviral Remdesivir Found In Samples From Covid Patient
Resistance to Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir was found in coronavirus samples collected from an immune-compromised patient treated with the drug for a persistent Covid-19 infection, researchers said. Similar mutations causing resistance have been generated in lab studies, but haven’t been previously reported in patients treated with the injectable medicine, Shiv Gandhi, Akiko Iwasaki and colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine said. The patient, a woman in her 70s who had been treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, caught Covid in May 2020. Remdesivir helped alleviate symptoms, but wasn’t able to completely clear the infection. It persisted for several months, affecting her sense of smell. (Gale, 11/11)

Reuters: UK Researchers Identify T-Cell Targets For Future COVID Vaccines
British researchers said on Wednesday they had identified proteins in the coronavirus that are recognised by T-cells of people who are exposed to the virus but resist infection, possibly providing a new target for vaccine developers. Immunity against COVID-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning antibody levels six months after vaccination, T-cells are also believed to play a vital role in providing protection. The University College London (UCL) researchers examined 731 health workers in two London hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that many had not tested positive despite likely exposure to the original coronavirus. (Smout, 11/10)

CIDRAP: Dexamethasone Tied To Lower Risk Of Death, Severe COVID-19
The corticosteroid dexamethasone was associated with a 56% lower risk of death and intensive care unit (ICU) admission among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and is safe to use in monitored diabetes patients, according to research presented at this week's Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The unpublished observational study involved data from 1,372 COVID-19 patients admitted to Imperial College NHS Trust hospitals during the second pandemic wave (Nov 1, 2020, to Jan 31, 2021), when dexamethasone was routinely used in COVID-19 patients, and 889 patients admitted during the first wave (Mar 9 to Apr 22, 2020), before the anti-inflammatory drug was used in these patients. (11/10)

In news on sleep disorders and covid —

CIDRAP: Some Sleep Disorders May Lead To Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
Adult COVID-19 patients with sleep-disordered breathing and related low oxygen levels had a higher risk of hospitalization and death, finds a study today in JAMA Network Open. A team led by Cleveland Clinic researchers conducted a case-control study of 5,402 patients who had a sleep study record and were tested for COVID-19 in health system sites in Ohio and Florida from Mar 8 to Nov 30, 2020. Average patient age was 56.4 years, 55.6% were women, 60.3% were White, 31.4% were Black, 15.2% were of other races, and 35.8% tested positive for COVID-19. The study backdrop was controversy over whether to continue positive-airway pressure (PAP) treatment for sleep-disordered breathing because of concern over virus aerosols. (Van Beusekom, 11/10)

Reuters: Sleep Apnea Severity Linked To COVID-19 Outcomes
The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus. While the chance of being infected did not increase with the severity of their problems, people with higher scores on the "apnea-hypopnia index" - a measure of the severity of their sleep-related breathing problems - had higher odds of needing to be hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, Drs. Cinthya Pena Orbea and Reena Mehra of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues reported on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. It is not clear if treatments that improve sleep apnea, such as CPAP machines that push air into patients' airways during sleep, would also reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, said Pene Orbea and Mehra. (Lapid, 11/10)

Also —

CIDRAP: Previous SARS Experience Does Not Assuage Healthcare COVID-19 Stress
A study today in PLOS One shows that healthcare workers' (HCWs') previous experience with the 2003 SARS outbreak neither prevented them from experiencing emotional distress nor increased their distress during the COVID-19 pandemick. The study was based on an online survey from May to July 2020 of 3,852 HCWs in the greater Toronto area, including 1,256 nurses, 345 physicians, 1,034 allied health staff, and 1,243 non-clinical staff. Almost 30% had worked in healthcare during the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in Canada. (11/10)

NPR: How SARS-CoV-2 in American Deer Could Alter the Course of the Global Pandemic
Scientists have evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spreads explosively in white-tailed deer, and the virus is widespread in this deer population across the U.S. Researchers say the findings are quite concerning and could have vast implications for the long-term course of the global pandemic. (Doucleff, 11/10)

Stat: 'Puzzling' Results In Alzheimer's Study Cloud Future Of Tau-Targeting Therapy
New clinical trial results may temper early hope for an experimental Genentech treatment that targets “tangles” of a protein called tau that’s thought to damage and kill neurons. In a mid-stage study involving patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, the anti-tau antibody treatment, called semorinemab, did slow the rate of cognitive decline by nearly 44% compared to placebo — achieving one of the primary goals of the study. But it did not improve the function of patients in the study compared to placebo — failing to achieve the other primary goal of the study. Likewise, the drug did not show any improvement on two other widely tracked measures of cognition and dementia that served as secondary goals of the study. (Feuerstein, 11/10)

Modern Healthcare: Google Taps AI For Breast Cancer Screening
Google is taking the next step towards putting its breast cancer screening technology into clinical practice, the company announced Tuesday. It's partnering with the U.K.'s National Health Service to study whether artificial intelligence can make breast cancer screening more accurate, safer, less expensive and improve patient experience compared to mammograms analyzed by doctors. Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St. George's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust will participate in the study. (Brady, 11/9)

CIDRAP: Project Focuses On Vaccines, Monoclonal Antibodies To Fight AMR
A coalition of academic researchers and industry partners yesterday announced a new public-private partnership to use artificial intelligence and big data to unlock the potential of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to fight AMR. The primary goal of PrIMAVeRa (Predicting the Impact of Monoclonal Antibodies & Vaccines on Antimicrobial Resistance) is to develop an open-sourced, web-based platform that combines mathematical models with health and economic data to predict how much vaccines and monoclonal antibodies could reduce AMR and help policymakers determine which specific vaccines and monoclonal antibodies should be prioritized. The initiative involves 19 partners in the European Union, United Kingdom, and Russia. (11/10)

In court cases —

Bloomberg: J&J Wins Halt To 38,000 Baby Powder Lawsuits Amid Bankruptcy
Johnson & Johnson won court approval to halt tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its baby powder caused ovarian cancer and other health problems in women, clearing a hurdle in front of its plan to pay $2 billion or more to end claims related to baby powder and other talc-based products. The plan is part of a legal strategy known as the Texas Two Step in which J&J created a unit in Texas to hold all of the lawsuits, then transferred that unit to North Carolina and placed it in bankruptcy. The proceedings halted suits against the unit in court protection, but still left Johnson & Johnson exposed to some 38,000 lawsuits, some of which are nearing jury verdicts. (Church, 11/10)

Reuters: Jury Orders Bayer To Pay $62 Mln Over Contaminated U.S. School Building
A U.S. jury on Wednesday ordered Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) to pay $62 million to students and others who say they were exposed to toxic chemicals made by the company's predecessor, Monsanto Co, in a school building in Washington state. The verdict was the second against Bayer over polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington. A trial involving three teachers ended in a $185 million verdict in July, including $135 million in punitive damages, which Bayer is appealing. (Pierson, 11/10)

On genome sequencing —

Stat: Sequencing Whole Genomes Helps Diagnose More Rare Diseases
When the U.K.’s National Health Service started to use whole genome sequencing, doctors were able to determine diagnoses for more people with rare diseases — including some for whom other genetic tests had failed to turn up an answer, researchers reported Wednesday. The new paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, described the results of a pilot study from what’s known as the 100,000 Genomes Project. Whole genome sequencing led to diagnoses for 25% of the thousands of participants in the study thought to have a rare genetic condition — 14% of whom would not have been diagnosed by different methods, the scientists said. (Joseph, 11/10)

Wall Street Journal: Health Care CFOs Expand Investment Plans, Strategic Partnering
Surveyed finance leaders project hospital revenue to grow significantly this year as volumes rebound compared to 2020, when elective procedures were cancelled, and consumers avoided care. At the same time, however, many of the interviewed leaders predicted that volumes may not reach pre-pandemic levels in the next 1–2 years. In addition, they were worried that a volume shift toward virtual visits may lead to lower payment rates, resulting in reduced profitability. Executives also pointed to increases in costs stemming from a pandemic-induced focus on physician and employee engagement, as well as compensation, supply chain challenges, and other fixed expenses. As a result, health system CFOs projected only a slight improvement in margins in the next year. For health plans, surveyed CFOs predicted bottom line headwinds from lower premium increases, pent-up demand for elective surgeries, and rebate pressures. (11/10)

The Boston Globe: Immunity Is Waning Among Nursing Home Staff And Few Have Received COVID Boosters, State Data Show
Nursing home leaders, still catching their breath from vaccinating staff ahead of a mid-October deadline set by the state, are now facing another sobering reality. Immunity is waning among many of their staff, and few have received a booster. That’s prompted a renewed push for the shots in nursing homes, which were ravaged early on in the pandemic and account for at least one-quarter of the nation’s pandemic deaths. As of Oct. 24, only 27 percent of eligible staff in Massachusetts nursing homes had received the extra shot, according to state data. (11/10)

Modern Healthcare: Employers Expanded Telemedicine Coverage Amid Pandemic
Employers increased access to telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic this year, according to survey results published Wednesday. Ninety-five percent of businesses with 50 or more workers offered at least some telemedicine coverage, up from 85% last year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey on employer benefits. Nearly half of employers surveyed expect telemedicine will continue to be an important access point. (Hellman, 11/10)

Modern Healthcare: Health Insurers' 2021 Looking Like A Rerun Of Last Year
This year is looking to be very similar to last year for health insurance companies: Older patients continue to defer care, COVID-19 costs are a burden and record profits are the end result. Reality isn't matching expectations. Health insurance companies predicted a flood of patients who'd gotten sicker as they put off care during the first year of the pandemic would rush back. The assumption that medical expenses would rise was built into higher premiums for this year. But insurance companies guessed wrong and utilization remains depressed. (Devereaux and Tepper, 11/10)

Georgia Health News: Patient Safety Ratings For Georgia Hospitals Show Decline Since Spring 
About 20 percent of Georgia hospitals got an “A’’ group in the Leapfrog Group’s autumn patient safety ratings, released Wednesday. That’s a lower percentage than in the spring, when 31.6 percent earned the top grade. The safety grades come out twice a year. They are meant to provide safety information to consumers so they can make informed decisions about where to seek care. Hospitals that get high grades heavily promote those results to potential patients and clients. (Miller, 11/10)

Stat: How A Virtual Mentoring Program Brings Care Closer To Rural Patients
By the time Sanjeev Arora’s patient had trekked the 200 miles to his office to treat the illness destroying her liver, it was too late. What had kept her away before — a long waiting list and monthly travel for the intensive hepatitis C treatment she needed — was now no match for the deep belly pain that had begun to interfere with her day job. But the disease had progressed too far, and the woman passed away months later. (Brodwin, 11/11)

Modern Healthcare: 5 Steps USPSTF Advises You Take To Address Racism
While industry stakeholders have issued statements and commitments about combatting racism in healthcare, few have provided clear guidance on curtailing the effects of bigotry. In a JAMA Network report published this week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force detailed steps to stop medical racism and ways to abate its impact when discrimination does happen. (Devereaux, 11/9)

On legal matters —

Stat: Kaleo To Pay $12.7 Million To Settle Charges Over Overdose Antidote
Kaleo, a small and controversial company, agreed to pay $12.7 million to resolve allegations that it used gifts to persuade doctors to prescribe its high-priced Evzio opioid overdose antidote, which led U.S. health care programs to overpay for the treatment. The federal government maintained that, from March 2017 through April 2020, Kaleo directed doctors to send Evzio prescriptions to certain pharmacies. In turn, the pharmacies submitted false paperwork to insurers suggesting patients had previously tried or failed less expensive alternative treatments. Kaleo also allegedly knew pharmacies dispensed its medication but did not collect co-payments from patients. (Silverman, 11/10)

CNBC: Elizabeth Holmes Theranos Fraud Case: Government Will Rest Next Week
In a surprise announcement, the government said Wednesday that it would likely rest its case next week against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes in her criminal fraud trial. “It is likely that the government will rest next week,” Jeffrey Schenk, an assistant U.S. attorney, said adding that the government would not have enough witnesses to fill the week. (Khorram, 11/10)

Also —

Kaiser Health News: Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units
As rural hospitals struggle to stay financially stable, their leaders watch other small facilities close obstetrics units to cut costs. They face a no-win dilemma: Can we continue operating delivery units safely if there are few births? But if we close, do we risk the health and lives of babies and mothers? The other question this debate hangs on: How few is too few births? (Huff, 11/10)

The Hill: Alabama Boy Sets World Record For Most Premature Infant To Survive
Guinness World Records on Wednesday announced that an Alabama boy has set the record for the most premature baby to survive. Curtis Means, who is now 16 months old, was born 132 days — almost 19 weeks — premature on July 5, 2020 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At birth, he weighed less than a pound (14.8 ounces). The boy had a twin who did not survive the birth, which took place when the mother was 21 weeks and one day pregnant. (Polus, 11/10)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Awards To Six Georgia Medical Marijuana Companies Delayed By Protests
Medical marijuana was supposed to be growing in Georgia for patients by now. Instead, a sluggish process of awarding marijuana licenses to six companies has stalled indefinitely amid protests filed by several losing businesses. (Niesse, 11/10)

In news from Flint —

The Hill: Judge OKs $626 Million Settlement In Flint Water Crisis
A Michigan judge approved a $626 million settlement for thousands of people in Flint, Mich. whose water was contaminated with lead, describing the agreement as a "remarkable achievement." The settlement will be paid to city residents, with most of the money being given to children who were affected by the contamination, but some also going to the adult population. The vast majority of the settlement will be paid by the state of Michigan. The rest will be paid out by the city of Flint, McLaren hospitals and a company called Rowe Professional Services. (Vakil and Frazin, 11/10)

Reuters: Federal Judge Approves $626 Million Flint, Michigan Water Settlement
A federal judge on Wednesday approved a settlement worth $626 million for victims of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in a case brought by tens of thousands of residents affected by the contaminated water. "The settlement reached here is a remarkable achievement for many reasons, not the least of which is that it sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant," U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said in a 178-page order. Earlier this year, the judge gave preliminary approval to a partial settlement of lawsuits filed by victims of the water crisis against the state. (Clifford and Singh, 11/11)

On covid —

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Students Want COVID Mental Health Help, Reliable Tech
Students in Los Angeles public schools said they have suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed a “non-negotiable” need for academic success: mental wellness. Yet 1 in 3 students of color say they don’t have an adult at school with whom they feel comfortable enough to talk about how they are feeling, according to a survey released Wednesday. The survey of middle school and high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District drives home their hardships and high-priority needs: access to technology and opportunities for tutoring, extra classes and extracurricular activities. (Blume, 11/10)

AP: Florida Sheriff Says Department Lost 9 Employees To COVID-19 
COVID-19 has had a staggering impact on the sheriff’s department in Broward County, Florida, where Sheriff Gregory Tony told a memorial service for nine employees who died from the virus that well over half the department's 5,600 employees had been exposed and 32% — or 1,800 employees — have contracted the disease. “We didn’t lose one, two, three — we lost nine,” the sheriff said, noting that the first death from the virus came in April 2020. (11/10)

Arizona Republic: Campaign Aims To Boost COVID-19 Vaccination Rate In Black Community
The Arizona Coalition for Change is launching a new campaign, "Sleeves Up Arizona," that addresses low COVID-19 vaccination rates in Black communities. The organization met on Wednesday at Eastlake Park in Phoenix and featured speakers state Rep. Reginald Bolding and former NBA All-Star and Phoenix Suns player Cedric Ceballos. Ceballos shared his story of battling the virus, spending "20 days on death row" in the intensive care unit. (Hassett and Ankrah, 11/10)

Meanwhile, in Texas —

Los Angeles Times: Texas Governor Orders Criminal Probe Into 'Pornography' In School Books
Conservative furor over what is taught in public schools reached a fever pitch in Texas on Wednesday, as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced a criminal inquiry into what he called “pornography” in school libraries, his third directive on the matter this month. “The fact that pornographic material that serves no educational purpose has been made available to students in Texas public schools is a clear violation of the law,” Abbott wrote in a Wednesday letter, directing the Texas Education Agency to “investigate any criminal activity in our public schools involving the availability of pornography” to minors and to refer cases for prosecution. (Hennessy-Fiske, 11/10)

Dallas Morning News: ‘Anybody Can Just File A Lawsuit’: Abortion Rights Groups Challenge New Texas Restrictions
Abortion rights groups urged a state district judge on Wednesday to declare Texas’ new six-week abortion ban unconstitutional, arguing that handing over enforcement to private citizens raises a host of legal problems. The plaintiffs are also asking the court to stop Texas Right to Life from suing them under the new law, known as Senate Bill 8. The anti-abortion group was behind a high-profile tipline that sought to ferret out potential violations, but it has not brought any private-citizen enforcement actions to date. (Morris, 11/10)

AP: Germany Set To Plan New Virus Measures As Numbers Spike
Germany’s national disease control center reported a record-high number of more than 50,000 daily coronavirus cases Thursday as the country’s parliament was set to discuss legislation that would provide a new legal framework for coronavirus measures. The Robert Koch Institute registered 50,196 new cases, up from 33,949 daily cases a week earlier. Infections have risen so quickly in recent days that hospitals in especially affected regions canceled planned surgeries again so medical personnel could focus on COVID-19 patients. (Grieshaber, 11/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Another Covid Winter Threatens Europe’s More Vulnerable Nations
Europe is divided as it enters another Covid-19 winter. In some countries, people are dying from the virus at record rates. Elsewhere, infections are rising—but from low levels that policy makers say are the result of a suite of restrictive policies. Winter is the time of greatest peril in the fight against Covid-19 as people move indoors, often into poorly ventilated spaces, helping the virus to spread. Health systems are also often strained by other seasonal ailments, such as flu. In Italy, Spain and much of the rest of Southern Europe and France, deaths, hospitalizations and confirmed infections from the virus are rising, but still relatively subdued. (Sylvers and Pancevski, 11/10)

The Hill: CDC Adds The Netherlands, Cayman Islands To Travel Warning List
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added the Netherlands and Cayman Islands to its travel warning list on Monday due to the “very high” levels of COVID-19 in both countries. The CDC said the spread of COVID-19 in the Netherlands and Cayman Islands reached the threshold for Level 4, the highest level on the agency's scale. The agency advised individuals not to travel to the two countries or to ensure they are fully vaccinated if travel is unavoidable. (Schnell, 11/10)

AP: In Russia, 83% Of COVID Hospital Beds Are Filled Amid Surge
Nearly 83% of hospital beds designated for COVID-19 patients are filled, Russian authorities said Wednesday, as daily tallies of new infections and deaths remain at all-time highs. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told a government meeting Wednesday that 82.8% of 301,500 hospital beds reserved for coronavirus patients were filled as of Tuesday morning. (Litvinova, 11/10)

In news from India and China —

AP: 'What Fear?': Hindus Bathe In Frothy, Polluted Indian River
One of India's most sacred rivers appears to be coated with a thick layer of snow. Except it isn't. A vast stretch of the Yamuna river is covered with white toxic foam, caused in part by pollutants discharged from industries ringing New Delhi. (Ganguly and Qadri, 11/11)

Bloomberg: China’s Population May Already Be Falling As Births Slow Further
China’s population may already be shrinking, with data so far this year showing a continued drop in the number of births, an independent Chinese demographer has predicted. There will be between 9.5 million to 10.5 million newborn babies this year, independent demographer He Yafu wrote on his personal social media account Thursday. “If the number of newborns is near the lower limit of the prediction, that means the population will register negative growth” as there’s been an average of about 10 million deaths a year recently, He wrote. (11/11)

The Washington Post: Now Is Not The Time For Biden To Back Down On The Vaccine Mandate 
For months, I have been making the case that vaccine requirements are necessary to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that has already claimed more than 755,000 American lives. We hold our individual freedom as sacrosanct, but the freedom to remain unvaccinated stops when people choose to be in public settings where they could infect others with a deadly disease. (Leana S. Wen, 11/10)

Stat: Health Care Consumer Preferences: Key To Vaccination Messaging 
Health care, like politics, is local. The performance of certain procedures or the prevalence of particular conditions vary from community to community. So do individuals’ preferences on how they choose to obtain care. One thing that doesn’t vary as much is the trust people have in their providers. That’s why throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from mandates, frontline clinicians broadly have had the greatest impact on influencing the adoption of Covid-19 vaccines. (Sanjula Jain and Jarrett Lewis, 11/10)

Bloomberg: Covid Has Changed Socialized Medicine In Britain Forever 
Socialized medicine did not, as some predicted, collapse during Covid. Britain’s National Health Service was stretched to the limit but never overwhelmed. It’s the current phase of the pandemic that’s proving to be the bigger stress test. (Therese Raphael, 11/11)

The Tennessean: Debunking Three Myths: The Common Misconceptions Of Hospice Care
In my years working of in hospice care, I’ve always been amazed by the courage and resiliency of our patients. It is hard not to be inspired by someone who’s facing the end of life but continues to find joy in everyday experiences: taking a bath and going for a walk are simple pleasures that can mean everything when time is running out. You realize how precious every moment really is. (Callie Rumsey, 11/9)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Making Health Care More Efficient, Responsive And Affordable
Few issues debated in Congress and state capitols are as divisive as health care, yet there are still areas where broad consensus exists. We saw a great example of that late last year, when Congress passed a law to stop families from receiving surprise medical bills that arise when out-of-network care is provided either during an emergency or at an otherwise in-network provider like a hospital. Patients have little control over these bills, but many have been forced into bankruptcy just the same. Thankfully, that will be less likely to happen starting in January. (Cherlynn Stevenson, 11/8)

Scientific American: Many Neuroscience Conferences Still Have No Black Speakers 
In the few years before the spring and summer of 2020, there were warning calls concerning race in science and medicine. Many of these warning calls were reminders of the long-standing racial troubles in science and medicine involving Black individuals, such as the pseudoscientific legitimization of Black inferiority and, by extension, slavery owing to the shape of the skulls of Black people; the disregard for consent from persons abused under the Tuskegee Syphilis Study experiments; and disregard for ethics and privacy when obtaining and monetizing tissue samples from Henrietta Lacks. (Lewis A. Wheaton, 11/10)

Stat: Overrepresented? I'm Always The Only Hmong Scientist In The Room
I grew up in a small, low-income community surrounded by diverse groups of people, including other Hmong like myself, and Lao and Cambodian refugees. My neighbors were my classmates, and I felt like I had community — a place of belonging — because it was never hard to find another Hmong person. The demographics of those who pursue postgraduate training like me, however, are a sharp contrast to the people I grew up with. (Kao Lee Yang, 11/11)

Newsweek: History Is Repeating The Marginalization Of Black Nurses 
The history of Black nurses in the United States is fraught with rejection and perseverance due to segregation and racism. Still, these nurses have consistently proven care to the Black community from slavery to the current pandemic. During the antebellum history of the United States, enslaved women and men would diagnose maladies, treat illness and injuries and deliver babies without the presence of a physician. These unsung nurses were responsible for the health care of slaves on plantations, their families and fellows, and often provided care for the plantation owners and families. (Denise Dawkins, 11/10)

Modern Healthcare: We Desperately Need The Civica Rx Model For Digital Health Transformation 
My office is full of travel mugs, brightly colored pens and various tchotchkes that I've accumulated from digital health companies over the last five years as chief innovation officer at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. It's not because I can't manage to keep my office clean. Rather, it's a symptom of a broken market, one that is burdened by a laborious implementation process that delays the adoption of new digital health tools. (Dr. Ries Robinson, 11/10)