The Hill: Moderna Requests Emergency Authorization For Booster Dose For All Adults
Moderna has submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize booster doses of its coronavirus vaccine for all adults, seeking to expand the number of people eligible for a third shot. The vaccine manufacturer announced that it asked the FDA to allow the 71 million adults initially vaccinated with Moderna’s shots to get a third dose, as emerging data shows boosters offer better protection. The 50 microgram dosage in Moderna’s booster is half of the 100 micrograms used for the first two shots for adults. (Coleman, 11/17)

NPR: Moderna Joins Pfizer In Bid For COVID Boosters For All Adults
People 18 or older who are already considered fully vaccinated could soon be eligible to get a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Moderna asked for that authorization on Wednesday, one day after Pfizer made its application.The Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce later this week that it will grant Emergency Use Authorization for all adults to get those extra shots. (Greenhalgh and Campbell, 11/17)

The New York Times: The F.D.A. Could Authorize Moderna Boosters For All Adults As Early As This Week
Moderna has asked federal regulators to authorize booster shots of its coronavirus vaccine for all adults, a request that the Food and Drug Administration could grant as early as this week along with a similar request from Pfizer, according to people familiar with the planning. If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also signs off every adult who was fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shot at least six months ago would not only be eligible for a booster, but could choose which vaccine. The agency’s committee of independent experts is set to meet Friday to discuss booster shots. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 11/17)

On the Biden administrations plans for boosting vaccine production —

The Washington Post: Administration To Invest Billions In Vaccine Manufacturing To Increase Supply For Poor Nations
Wednesday’s announcement marks the latest partnership between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies to bolster vaccine production during the pandemic. “The goal is to guarantee capacity to produce approximately 100 million mRNA vaccines a month against covid or other pandemic viruses upon demand for the United States or global use,” said David Kessler, the administration’s chief science officer who oversees vaccine distribution. “We are looking to enter into a historic partnership with one or more experienced pharmaceutical partners. This partnership will be used for covid and any future pandemic viruses with the goal of having enough vaccines available within six to nine months of the identification of the virus.” (Pager and Diamond, 11/17)

Roll Call: Administration Defends COVID-19 Boosters For All, Before Likely OK 
The Biden administration's top health experts said Wednesday that COVID-19 booster shots are necessary for even young and healthy adults, despite conflicting data, and hinted a decision on the matter would arrive by the end of the week. Although COVID-19 breakthrough cases are becoming more common as vaccine efficacy wanes over time, severe disease, hospitalization and death are rare for vaccinated and otherwise healthy adults. But the nation's leading voices on public health said they want to offer already vaccinated Americans as much protection as possible. (Cohen, 11/17)

Stat: Biden Plan To Boost U.S. Production Of Covid Vaccines Gets Mixed Reviews
Under pressure to widen global access to Covid-19 vaccines, the Biden administration plans to invest billions of dollars to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity with an eye toward producing at least 1 billion doses annually no later than the second half of 2022. But the effort was greeted with mixed reactions. Patient advocates lauded the move, but at the same time, they lamented such a step was not taken months ago and questioned some of the details. (Silverman, 11/17)

Bloomberg: As States Defy U.S. On Boosters, Health Experts Raise Concerns 
Currently, booster shots in the U.S. should be limited to those with pre-existing medical conditions and people 65 or older, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But so far, health departments in New York, New Jersey, California and six other states have independently broadened access to Covid-19 boosters, and that number is expected to grow. The diverging guidance has some health experts worried. “I think that it is a very bad idea and precedent for states and localities to jump the gun,” said Jesse Goodman, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University and former Food and Drug Administration chief scientist. “Even if well intentioned, acting locally injects politics and undermines the national system of expert and transparent vaccine assessment.” (Rutherford, 11/17)

In news on the FDA's moves on boosters —

Roll Call: FDA To Sidestep Advisers On Boosters-For-All Approval
The Food and Drug Administration’s committee of outside experts is not planning to meet to discuss the data on Pfizer’s request for authorization of boosters-for-all, which federal officials are expected to greenlight this week, as they have for other critical decisions on COVID-19 vaccines. The move signals that the Biden administration is willing to forge ahead without the signoff of the FDA’s scientific advisers, who twice voted to reject boosters for the young and healthy who don’t face high exposure risks, as pockets of the country show foreboding signs of a coming winter wave. (Kopp, 11/17)

On kids and vaccines —

The New York Times: The White House Estimates Nearly 10 Percent Of Younger Children Have Gotten A First Shot
The pace of vaccination against the coronavirus among newly eligible younger children is accelerating, and nearly 10 percent of the nation’s 5- to 11-year olds have already had their first shot, the White House estimated on Wednesday. Last week alone, 1.7 million young children were vaccinated, about double the previous week, Jeff Zients, President Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, said at a White House Covid-19 briefing. The administration estimates that by the end of Wednesday, 2.6 million of the 28 million children in that age group will have had their first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only one currently authorized for them. (Gay Stolberg, 11/17)

CNBC: White House: 10% Of 5- To 11-Year-Olds In U.S. Already Have First Covid Shots
More than 2 million children have already received their first dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, just two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized distribution of the shots for kids ages 5 to 11. “We estimate by the end of the day today 2.6 million kids ages 5 to 11 will have gotten their first shot; 2.6 million — that’s about 10% of kids,” Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters during a briefing Wednesday. (Kimball, 11/17)

The Washington Post: Lorton Pharmacy Issued Incorrect Vaccine Doses To Children Under 12
A Lorton-area pharmacy administered coronavirus vaccine dosages intended for children aged 12 and older to 25 younger patients during an eight-day period earlier this month, Fairfax County and Virginia health officials said Wednesday. KC Pharmacy staffers issued the incorrect doses of the Pfizer vaccine to children between the ages of 5 and 11 from Nov. 2 to Nov. 10, according to a statement released by the county. (Williams, 11/18)

Los Angeles Times: 14 Children In California Get Double Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine
On Saturday, Denise Iserloth took her two sons, ages 8 and 11, to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A few hours later, the older boy lost his balance and fell twice. Both boys complained of stomachaches and nausea. Soon, Iserloth found out why. The clinic, Sutter Health in Antioch, had given her sons twice the dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that children their age should receive. Twelve other children also received the double dose. (Solis, 11/17)

KHN: Schools, Pediatricians Look To Make Up Lost Ground On Non-Covid Vaccinations
Melissa Blatzer was determined to get her three children caught up on their routine immunizations on a recent Saturday morning at a walk-in clinic in this Denver suburb. It had been about a year since the kids’ last shots, a delay Blatzer chalked up to the pandemic. Two-year-old Lincoln Blatzer, in his fleece dinosaur pajamas, waited anxiously in line for his hepatitis A vaccine. His siblings, 14-year-old Nyla Kusumah and 11-year-old Nevan Kusumah, were there for their TDAP, HPV and meningococcal vaccines, plus a covid-19 shot for Nyla. (Ruder, 11/18)

AP: US Overdose Deaths Topped 100,000 In One Year, Officials Say
An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new data posted Wednesday, jumped nearly 30% in the latest year. President Joe Biden called it “a tragic milestone” in a statement, as administration officials pressed Congress to devote billions of dollars more to address the problem. (Stobbe, 11/18)

The New York Times: Overdose Deaths Reached Record High As The Pandemic Spread
Americans died of drug overdoses in record numbers as the pandemic spread across the country, federal researchers reported on Wednesday, the result of lost access to treatment, rising mental health problems and wider availability of dangerously potent street drugs. In the 12-month period that ended in April, more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses, up almost 30 percent from the 78,000 deaths in the prior year, according to provisional figures from the National Center for Health Statistics. The figure marks the first time the number of overdose deaths in the United States has exceeded 100,000 a year, more than the toll of car crashes and gun fatalities combined. Overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2015. (Caryn Rabin, 11/17)

CNN: Americans Are Overdosing On A Drug They Don't Know They're Taking
Illegal drugs are often made to look like prescription pills, available online and sold through social media, according to a US Drug Enforcement Administration warning in September. That same month the DEA announced more than 800 arrests and the seizure of more than 1.8 million pills as part of a two-month sweep. The agency noted fentanyl has been seized in every state and it issued an urgent warning in September about fake prescription pills laced with the drug. (Wolf, 11/18)

In other news on fentanyl abuse —

AP: Women Sue Yale Over Fentanyl Switch-Up At Fertility Clinic
Seven women who say they suffered excruciating pain after a nurse stole fentanyl for her personal use and replaced it with saline sued Yale University on Wednesday, alleging it of failing to safeguard its supply of the painkilling opioid at a fertility clinic. The women say they underwent painful and invasive procedures for in vitro fertilization and were supposed to receive fentanyl at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange, Connecticut, last year. Unbeknownst to them, they received saline instead of fentanyl, and when they told staff of their extreme pain during and after the procedures, their concerns were dismissed, according to the lawsuit filed in state court in Waterbury by the women and their spouses. (Collins, 11/17)

NBC News: Hospitalizations Rising Among Fully Vaccinated In U.S., Fauci Says
As cases of Covid-19 rise throughout the U.S., health officials warn that an increasing number of fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized or going to the emergency room. The concern about waning immunity against severe Covid infection comes as the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shot for all adults 18 and older. “What we’re starting to see now is an uptick in hospitalizations among people who’ve been vaccinated but not boosted,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, said Tuesday in an interview. “It’s a significant proportion, but not the majority by any means.” (Syal, 11/17)

Axios: COVID Cases Rising Again In The U.S. Ahead Of Thanksgiving 
Coronavirus cases are rising, nationally and in most states — an ominous trend heading into the week of Thanksgiving. Two-thirds of Americans plan to have Thanksgiving gatherings that resemble their pre-pandemic festivities, according to recent Monmouth University polling. But as cases rise, travel and indoor celebrations will put the millions of unvaccinated Americans at risk. (Owens and Beheraj, 11/18)

In news on where outbreaks are happening, straining hospitals —

The Boston Globe: With A Worrisome Winter Ahead, COVID-19 Cases Have Risen Around New England
After slowing to a trickle this summer, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Massachusetts and across New England, a worrisome trend as winter approaches. Massachusetts, the most populous state in the region, is seeing the greatest number of overall cases. But on a per capita basis, it is faring better than other New England states besides Connecticut, according to data on confirmed and probable cases collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Finucane and Huddle, 11/17)

Bloomberg: Colorado Hospitals ‘Threatened’ With Just 75 ICU Beds Open
The number of hospital intensive care unit beds available in Colorado, a state with a population of 5.7 million people, is just 75 as of Wednesday, a new pandemic low, officials said. The number of available medical-surgical unit beds also set a new low of 575, Scott Bookman, Covid-19 incident commander at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said during an online news briefing. Bookman noted bed availability data vary hour-by-hour, but warned “our health care system is so, so threatened right now” and staffing is low. (Del Giudice, 11/17)

AP: Defense Department Will Help Relieve 2 Minnesota Hospitals
The Department of Defense will send medical teams to two major Minnesota hospitals to relieve doctors and nurses who are swamped by a growing wave of COVID-19 patients, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday. The teams, each comprising 22 people, will arrive at Hennepin County Medical Center and St. Cloud Hospital next week and begin treating patients immediately, Walz said in a conference call from the Finnish capital of Helsinki. the latest stop on his European trade mission. (Karnowski, 11/17)

The Boston Globe: R.I. Health Care Leaders Warn Of ‘Crisis Level’ Staffing Shortages In Nursing Homes, Hospitals
Health care workers continue to quit the industry due to burnout and low wages, leaving nursing homes in the state understaffed by as much as 20 percent. According to a new survey conducted by the Rhode Island Health Care Association and LeadingAge Rhode Island, two organizations that together represent the state’s 77 nursing homes, there are about 1,920 open positions across the state’s nursing homes, including 983 openings for certified nursing assistants and 447 openings for registered and licensed practical nurses. (Gagosz, 11/17)

The Boston Globe: ‘COVID Positive From Vegas.’ Phish Concerts Leave A Long Trail Of Infections, Fans Say
Music fans from Massachusetts to California have been flooding social media with reports on a series of concerts they attended in Las Vegas over Halloween weekend. But instead of raving about the set list and extended jams, many are posting COVID-19 test results and seat numbers in a mass effort at grass-roots contact tracing. “Covid Positive from Vegas” reads one post on Facebook on Nov. 3 that has drawn more than 500 replies, many saying they or their friends tested positive after attending the shows by Phish, a band with deep Vermont roots and a Grateful Dead-like following. The band played four packed shows at the 16,800-seat MGM Grand Garden from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31. (Lazar, 11/17)

Lessons from abroad —

Bloomberg: New Covid Delta Sub-Variant Spreads Fast In U.K., Causes Fewer Symptoms
A more infectious new version of Covid-19’s delta variant is spreading fast in the U.K., accounting for about 12% of the samples gathered in the most recent government survey. That represents a 2.8% daily growth rate for sub-variant AY.4.2 over the course of the REACT survey, from Oct. 19 to Nov. 5, the researchers said. Still, the new sub-variant seemed less likely to cause symptomatic Covid.  (Kresge, 11/18)

The Wall Street Journal: The Ottawa Senators Have A 100% Vaccination Rate—And 40% Of The Team Has Tested Positive For Covid
The NHL announced the suspension of the Senators’ season through at least Nov. 20 after 10 players and one coach tested positive in recent days. The team says it is fully vaccinated, but hasn’t specified which shots players have received. After nearly two years in which sports have delivered some of the most vivid case studies in public health, the Senators are presenting yet another: just how much Covid can still spread when a vaccinated group of people gather in poorly ventilated places and get up in each other’s bare faces. That’s a problem for every sport that plays indoors—and a warning for every coming holiday party. (Radnofsky and Higgins, 11/17)

But Bill Gates has a more positive outlook —

Bloomberg: Gates Says Covid Deaths May Drop To Flu Levels By Mid-2022
Covid deaths and infection rates may dip below seasonal flu levels by the middle of next year assuming new dangerous variants don’t emerge in the meantime, Bill Gates said. Between natural and vaccine immunity and emerging oral treatments, “the death rate and the disease rate ought to be coming down pretty dramatically,” the billionaire founder of Microsoft Corp. said Thursday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. The constraints on vaccinating the world against Covid-19 will shift next year, Gates said, as supply issues are resolved and replaced by questions of how to logistically distribute them all. (Wallbank, 11/18)

Politico: Legal Brawl Over Biden's Vaccine Mandate Could Curb Other Workplace Safety Efforts
Some of the legal challenges argue, in part, that Congress didn’t give the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — the agency that issued the mandate — the authority to do so, and even if Congress did, then it shouldn’t have. If the Supreme Court were to embrace that line of thinking, it could “have serious implications on the constitutionality” of other OSHA rules and regulations, said Benjamin Noren, associate chair of the Labor and Employment group at the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. (Rainey, 11/17)

Bloomberg: Florida Legislature Clears Rules To Fine Employers For Vaccine Mandates
Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature approved rules on Wednesday to punish companies that enforce strict Covid-19 vaccine mandates for employees. In a special session this week in Tallahassee, lawmakers agreed with Governor Ron DeSantis that companies must give employees the chance to opt out of mandates. If a worker is fired for noncompliance, companies with fewer than 100 employees could face $10,000 fines and larger ones could be hit with penalties of $50,000. (Levin, 11/17)

AP: Florida GOP Limits Vaccine Mandates, Flouting White House
Florida Republicans approved a sweeping bill Wednesday to hobble coronavirus vaccine mandates in businesses, rejecting claims that they were sacrificing public health to hand Gov. Ron DeSantis a win in his fight against White House virus rules. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled statehouse expedited the measure, along with a package of virus bills, after hours of debate in which Republicans maintained they were protecting workers from onerous mandates by the federal government. (Izaguirre, 11/18)

AP: Idaho Legislature Adjourns After Senate Kills Vaccine Bills
The Legislature took a five-month break before returning Monday for three days that saw a final spasm of three dozen pieces of legislation. The bills mainly centered around COVID-19 vaccines and mask mandates. But the only one to make it through both chambers was a non-binding declaration stating opposition to President Joe Biden’s vaccine requirements for federal workers and contractors and vaccine requirements for large employers and health care employers. (Ridler, 11/18)

The Washington Post: Vaccine Mandate: Oklahoma National Guard Commander Defends Rejecting Order As Pentagon Warns Troops Who Refuse
The Oklahoma National Guard’s commanding general Wednesday defended his directive countermanding federal requirements that all U.S. military personnel be vaccinated against the coronavirus, telling troops in a private town hall event that he was following orders from the state’s Republican governor and meant no disrespect to his superiors at the Pentagon. Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, speaking to several dozen members of the Oklahoma National Guard in Oklahoma City, cast himself as an apolitical leader bound by law to answer to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who fired the state’s previous National Guard commander last week and ordered Mancino the next day to issue a policy allowing members to avoid the vaccine. (Horton and Lamothe, 11/17)

The Hill: Disney Cruises Will Require Vaccines For All Passengers Over 5 Years Old
Disney Cruise Line on Wednesday announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all passengers ages 5 and up. The new requirement goes into effect on Jan. 13. Prior to that date, children ages 5 through 11 who aren't vaccinated can instead complete a testing requirement. Starting on Jan. 13, all passengers over 5 must be fully vaccinated to board. Passengers under 5 will need to show proof of negative COVID-19 test results from between three days and 24 hours before the cruise departs. (Polus, 11/17)

But... Surprise! Vaccine mandates work —

Capital & Main: Surprise, Surprise. The COVID Vaccine Mandates Are Working
In San Francisco earlier this month, a 17-year veteran of the city’s police force died while on leave from his job. Jack Nyce tested positive for COVID-19 on a Tuesday and passed away four days later after being rushed to a hospital, his wife said. Nyce, 46, had been placed on leave for his failure to get vaccinated by Nov. 1 as required by the city. The tragic story obscures a larger point that ought to be examined on its own: As of Nov. 2, the day after the city-imposed deadline, 97.5% of the S.F. Police Department was fully vaccinated. That is 2,747 out of a possible 2,817 workers. Even by San Francisco’s robust standards, that’s more than 20% higher than the fully-vaccinated rate for the city’s residents at large. (Kreidler, 11/16)

In other covid protocol news —

The Hill: NFL Revises COVID-19 Protocols Ahead Of Thanksgiving
The NFL is revising its COVID-19 protocols for players and team staff ahead of its Thanksgiving slate of games. In a memo sent to teams Tuesday, the league said it would mandate that both vaccinated and unvaccinated team personnel wear masks indoors for a week beginning on Thanksgiving. Team personnel will also be required to undergo two COVID-19 tests on Monday, Nov. 29, and Wednesday, Dec. 1, according to the memo, obtained by The Hill. (Oshin, 11/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cobb County Lifts Mask Mandate, Doesn’t Renew Pandemic Order
Cobb County’s COVID-19 State of Emergency order expired Wednesday and county officials lifted its mask mandate at government facilities. Commission Chairperson Lisa Cupid did not sign another extension to the countywide declaration, which authorized Cobb to deploy personnel, resources and impose restrictions to combat the pandemic. (Bruce, 11/17)

Carroll County Times: Carroll Health Officer Requests Continued Mask Mandate While School Board President Calls For Its End In January 
On Tuesday, as Carroll County’s school board president testified in support of lifting the mask mandate in public schools starting in January, the acting county health officer submitted a letter to the Maryland State Board of Education stating why the mandate should remain. Public testimony at the state board meeting included statements from four board presidents, Marsha Herbert, Carroll’s president, among them. State board members are expected next month to make a decision about whether to change the mask mandate. (Griffith, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Officially Delays Drugmakers' Best Price Requirement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday gave drugmakers six more months to comply with the Trump-era regulation requiring them to calculate the "best price" for drugs under Medicaid's drug rebate program using discounts they offer patients. The new final rule will officially delay best prices reporting from Jan. 1, 2022, to July 1, 2022. (Devereaux, 11/17)

Stat: Moderate Dems Still Seek Changes To The Party’s Drug Pricing Package
Rep. Kurt Schrader, the Oregon Democrat who has played an outsized role in shaping his party’s new drug pricing compromise, is still pushing for changes to the proposal ahead of a key vote on the legislation expected as soon as this week. Schrader and a number of other Democrats are meeting Wednesday to discuss their proposed changes to the ultimate package, he said, hinting that moderates like Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) could be in attendance. He declined to lay out the full list of meeting attendees. (Florko, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: Feds Require Health Plans To Report Drug, Coverage Costs Under New Rule
Health insurers, employers and other group health plan sponsors must report prescription drug and health coverage costs for consumers under a federal regulation published Wednesday. The interim finale rule is the fourth regulation to date implementing the No Surprises Act. The Health and Human Services Department, Labor Department, Treasury Department and Office of Personnel Management promulgated the regulation. (Goldman, 11/17)

KHN: Public Opinion Is Unified On Lowering Prescription Drug Prices. Why Are Leaders Settling For Less?
Democrats and Republicans are crystal clear in polls that they want government to be allowed to negotiate down high drug prices. Americans pay nearly three times as much for drugs as patients in dozens of other countries. In the past two years, numerous Democratic candidates — including President Joe Biden — have campaigned on enacting such legislation. This year, the polling group at KFF asked respondents about support for drug price negotiations after giving them the commonly offered arguments, pro and con: On the pro side, lower prices mean people can better afford their medicines; on the con side, lower profits mean the possibility of less innovation and fewer new drugs. Large majorities supported the idea of Medicare negotiating with pharmaceutical firms to get lower prices for both its beneficiaries and people with private insurance: 83% overall, including 95% of Democrats, 82% of independents and 71% of Republicans. (Rosenthal, 11/18)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Congress Targets Uncompensated Care Pools In Non-Expansion States
Congressional Democrats are renewing a fight with states like Texas and Florida that haven't expanded Medicaid to low-income adults, targeting one of their key sources of funding for hospitals: uncompensated care pools. President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion domestic policy package, which the House could vote on as soon as this week, would limit federal payments for uncompensated care in states that haven't expanded Medicaid. (Hellman, 11/17)

Axios: Rep. Sewell: Expanding Health Coverage Could Be Key To Early Cancer Detection 
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) told Axios during an event Wednesday she hopes the extended premium tax credits from President Biden's social spending bill will be key to detecting cancers earlier, if the legislation passes. Sewell said some 300,000 people in her home state of Alabama fall into the "Medicaid gap" — meaning they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford their own insurance. Sewell said the tax credit would give such people more "ability to get covered," meaning they could access preventative cancer care. (Garfinkel, 11/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Reps. Greene, Clyde Rack Up Thousands In Mask Fines
Georgia U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde have logged tens of thousands of dollars in fines after refusing to wear masks on the House floor. Both are ultraconservative Republicans serving their first year in the House. Lately they have refused to wear masks on the House floor nearly every time a vote is called, defying precautions that Speaker Nancy Pelosi put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. (Mitchell, 11/17)

In news on abortion —

The Hill: More Than 100 Democrats Sign Onto Bill Ensuring Access To Birth Control
More than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate signed onto a bill aimed at ensuring access to birth control and preventing pharmacies from refusing to provide contraceptives. Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday reintroduced the bicameral legislation designed to protect people’s ability to get Food and Drug Administration-approved birth control, including emergency contraception and medication, from pharmacies. (Coleman, 11/17)

AP: Texas Abortion Ban Stays In Force As Justices Mull Outcome
More than two weeks have passed since the Supreme Court’s extraordinarily rushed arguments over Texas’ unique abortion law without any word from the justices. They raised expectations of quick action by putting the case on a rarely used fast track. And yet, to date, the court’s silence means that women cannot get an abortion in Texas, the second-largest state, after about six weeks of pregnancy. That’s before some women know they’re pregnant and long before high court rulings dating to 1973 that allow states to ban abortion. There has been no signal on when the court might act and no formal timetable for reaching a decision. (Sherman, 11/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Catholic Bishops Drop Effort To Ban Communion For Politicians Who Support Abortion Rights
The Catholic bishops of the U.S. ended a nearly yearlong debate Wednesday over whether to bar politicians who support abortion rights from receiving the Eucharist, passing new guidance on Communion that doesn’t address the issue. The measure passed by a vote of 222-8 and was followed by applause at a gathering here of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The vote was the culmination of a debate that has taken most of the year and exposed deep ideological divisions in the church—particularly between U.S. bishops and Rome. (Lovett and Rocca, 11/17)

And in administration news —

Modern Healthcare: Air Ambulance Trade Association Sues Feds Over Surprise Billing Law
The Association of Air Medical Services sued the federal government to block regulations shaping a new law that wouldn't make patients pay for unexpected out-of-network charges associated with emergency care. The air ambulance trade association alleged that the "overreaching" interim final rules unilaterally adopted by HHS, the U.S. Labor Department and other federal agencies would give insurers too much power in the arbitration process, force the air ambulance providers to accept "deflated" rates and limit access to emergency care, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in a Washington D.C. federal court. The No Surprises Act, which levels cost-sharing across in-network and out-of-network claims, holds patients harmless from balance bills and provides an independent resolution process, will go into effect Jan. 1. (Kacik, 11/17)

The Wall Street Journal: SEC Investigating Cassava Sciences, Developer Of Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating claims that Cassava Sciences Inc., SAVA -23.70% the sixth-best performing U.S. stock this year, manipulated research results of its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, according to people familiar with the matter. Cassava disclosed Monday in a securities filing that it is cooperating with government investigations, without naming any agency. Cassava said an investigation isn’t a sign that wrongdoing occurred. An SEC spokeswoman declined to comment. The National Institutes of Health, which awarded $20 million in grants to Cassava and its academic collaborators since 2015 for drug development, is also examining the claims, according to the company’s chief executive officer. (Michaels and Walker, 11/17)

Politico: Poll: Voters' Doubts Rising About Biden’s Health, Mental Fitness 
Voters have increasing doubts about the health and mental fitness of President Joe Biden, the oldest man ever sworn into the White House, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Only 40 percent of voters surveyed agreed with the statement that Biden “is in good health,” while 50 percent disagreed. That 10-percentage-point gap — outside the poll’s margin of error — represents a massive 29-point shift since October 2020, when Morning Consult last surveyed the question and found voters believed Biden was in good health by a 19-point margin. (Caputo, 11/17)

AP: Massachusetts Senate Approves Sweeping Mental Health Bill
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would guarantee Massachusetts residents are eligible for annual mental health wellness exams at no cost — akin to annual physical exams. The sweeping bill, which passed on a 39-0 vote, would also create an online portal to help smooth the transition from emergency to longer-term care; establish a panel to help resolve barriers to care for children with complex behavioral health needs who find themselves in an emergency room; and dedicate $122 million to support nearly 2,000 behavioral professionals. (LeBlanc, 11/17)

North Carolina Health News: State Budget Funds Some Mental Health Crisis Response 
Throughout the pandemic, more people have sought mental health crisis services or have gone to hospital emergency rooms in distress. Hospitals leaders say the COVID-19 pandemic has created a behavioral health emergency. Pandemic-related stressors caused more demand for mental health services and an increase in substance use and overdoses, advocates and the data say. The state budget released Monday, which the governor said he will sign into law, provides some funding to relieve some of the pressure the surge of mental health patients have put on hospitals. (Knopf, 11/18)

AP: Rittenhouse Trial Arguments Worry Mental Health Advocates
Joseph Rosenbaum had been on medication for bipolar disorder and depression, and he was trying to take Rittenhouse’s rifle, attorney Mark Richards said, suggesting there could have been more bloodshed if Rittenhouse hadn’t acted. “I’m glad he shot him because if Joseph Rosenbaum got that gun I don’t for a minute believe he wouldn’t have used it against somebody else,” Richards said during closing arguments in the 18-year-old Illinois man’s trial for killing Rosenbaum and another man and wounding a third during a chaotic night of protests in August 2020. To some legal experts and other observers, Richards’ remarks were a smart courtroom strategy and an accurate depiction of the threat faced by Rittenhouse, who says he shot the men in self-defense. But mental health advocates heard something different: a dangerous assumption that people living with mental illness are homicidal and need to be killed, and terminology such as “crazy” that they say is pejorative and adds to the stigma surrounding mental health issues. (Burnett, 11/18)

AP: Callers To Global Helplines Voiced Similar Pandemic Worries
Fears of infection. Loneliness. Worries about physical health. As the coronavirus spread across borders early in the pandemic, calls to global helplines showed a striking similarity in the toll on mental health — from China to Lebanon, Finland to Slovenia. An analysis of 8 million calls to helplines in 19 countries, published Wednesday in Nature, reveals a collective response to unprecedented, uncertain times. (Tanner, 11/17)

CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibodies Shown Effective For Breakthrough COVID-19 Cases
New research from the Mayo Clinic shows monoclonal antibodies reduce the risk of hospitalization 77% in 1,395 patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections. The research was published yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. To conduct the retrospective study, researchers compared outcomes of confirmed COVID-19 patients who were fully vaccinated treated with either bamlanivimab, bamlanivimab-etesevimab, or casirivimab-imdevimab, as single infusion from January to August 16, 2021, to those who did not receive treatment. (11/17)

Reuters: AstraZeneca COVID-19 Antibody Drug Offers 83% Protection Over Six Months
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) on Thursday cemented its lead in bringing a preventative COVID-19 shot for the non-infected to market for people who do not respond well to vaccines, saying its antibody drug cocktail offered 83% protection over six months. The injected therapy, called AZD7442 or Evusheld, had previously been shown to confer 77% protection against symptomatic illness after three months, in an earlier readout of the late-stage PROVENT trial in August. (Aripaka, 11/18)

Reuters: Antibody Protection After Mild COVID-19 May Not Last
Nearly everyone who had a mild case of COVID-19 still has antibodies to the coronavirus a year later, but that might not protect them from new variants, a small study suggests. Among 43 Australians who dealt with mild COVID-19 early in the pandemic, 90% still had antibodies 12 months later. But only 51.2% had antibodies that showed "neutralizing activity" against the original version of the virus and only 44.2% had antibodies that could neutralize the early Alpha variant, the research team at the University of Adelaide reported on Thursday on medRxiv ahead of peer review. (Lapid, 11/17)

CIDRAP: Study: Immune-Suppressed Not At Higher Risk Of Poor COVID Outcomes
A large US study finds that hospitalized COVID-19 patients taking medications that suppress the immune system, including cancer patients, are not at overall higher risk for dying of their infection or requiring invasive mechanical ventilation than those not taking these drugs. Early in the pandemic, immunosuppressed patients were thought to be at elevated risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes. Some damage to the lungs and other organs in severe infections are believed to result from overactivation of the immune system, and by summer 2020, physicians were treating severe COVID-19 with immunosuppressive drugs such as dexamethasone, the researchers noted. (Van Beusekom, 11/17)

Reuters: UK Study Suggests Delta Subvariant Less Likely To Cause Symptoms
A subvariant of Delta that is growing in Britain is less likely to lead to symptomatic COVID-19 infection, a coronavirus prevalence survey found, adding that overall cases had dropped from a peak in October. The Imperial College London REACT-1 study, released on Thursday, found that the subvariant, known as AY.4.2, had grown to be nearly 12% of samples sequenced, but only a third had "classic" COVID symptoms, compared with nearly a half of those with the currently dominant Delta lineage AY.4. (Smout, 11/18)

WUSF Public Media: Lung Transplants For COVID Patients Are Rising. So Are The Ethical Questions 
Vezna Hang was a healthy 40-year-old who liked adventure, travel and zip-lining. He wasn't yet vaccinated against COVID in early March 2021. At the time, Florida hadn't quite yet opened up vaccine access to people his age. But Hang admits, he was hesitant to get the shot due to “all the politics that got involved." Then, Hang tested positive for coronavirus. So did his girlfriend. She had many of the typical symptoms, while generally feeling fine. He just noticed losing his ability to taste and smell. "And then one day, I just looked in the mirror and saw that my lips and my fingertips were blue," Hang recalled. (Sheridan, 11/17)

CNN: Coronavirus Spreads In Deer. Scientists Worry About What That Means For People 
Scientists have found SARS-CoV-2 spreads like, well, a virus among white-tailed deer and other wild animals in the United States. People are the likely source, but that doesn't mean the virus can't evolve among these animals and then spill back into humans, and researchers are worried about what this spread means for the risk of future pandemics. (Fox, 11/17)

Meanwhile, science proves masks work against covid —

Axios: Mask-Wearing Reduces COVID Incidence By 53%, Study Shows 
Mask-wearing is the single most effective public health measure against the coronavirus, cutting incidence by 53%, according to a new global study published in the British Medical Journal. The findings come as parts of the world, including D.C., increasingly loosen masking requirements, citing vaccine efficacy. Experts have warned against lifting mask mandates too soon. (Chen, 11/17)

In non-covid science developments —

AP: New Research Offers Glimpse Into Early Human Development
Scientists have been able to get a rare glimpse into a crucial, early stage of human development by analyzing an embryo in its third week after fertilization — a moment in time that has been difficult to study because of both practical and ethical considerations. European researchers looked at a single embryo that was 16 to 19 days old, donated by a woman who ended her pregnancy. Until now, experts said, researchers have lacked a full understanding of this stage of development because human embryos at this stage are difficult to obtain. Most women don’t yet know they’re pregnant by this point and decades-old global guidelines have until recently prohibited growing human embryos in a lab beyond 14 days. (Ungar, 11/17)

The New York Times: The DNA Of Roma People Has Long Been Misused, Scientists Reveal
For decades, geneticists have collected the blood of thousands of Roma people, a marginalized group living in Europe, and deposited their DNA in public databases. The ostensible purpose of some of these studies was to learn more about the history and genetics of the Roma people. Now, a group of scientists has argued this research, which has made the Roma the most intensely studied population in Europe over the past 30 years in forensic genetic journals, is rife with ethical issues and may harm the Romani people. (Imbler, 11/17)

The New York Times: Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Is Unlikely To Win E.U. Approval
The drug maker Biogen said on Wednesday that a panel of drug reviewers in the European Union had indicated that its new Alzheimer’s drug was unlikely to be approved there, the latest setback for a medication that has been mired in controversy since it was approved in the United States in June. Biogen said a committee of experts that advises the European Medicines Agency had issued a “negative trend vote” — a preliminary signal that typically precedes a recommendation that the drug not be approved — on the company’s application for the drug, Aduhelm, this month. The panel will formalize its recommendation at a meeting next month. (Robbins, 11/17)

Stat: What A European Rejection Of An Alzheimer's Drug Would Mean For Biogen
In a potentially huge setback for Biogen (BIIB), a European regulatory panel signaled that it is unlikely to recommend the company’s controversial Alzheimer’s treatment should be approved. And while a final decision by the European Medicines Agency will not be known until next month, Wall Street is quickly discounting the possibility the medication will generate revenues from the vast European market. (Silverman, 11/17)

In health industry staffing news —

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer Searches For New CFO As Frank D’Amelio Retires
Pfizer Inc. is looking for a new chief financial officer following the retirement of its longtime CFO, Frank D’Amelio. The New York-based drugmaker said Wednesday that it is conducting an external search for Mr. D’Amelio’s successor. Mr. D’Amelio has served as CFO since joining the company in 2007 from telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent. He plans to remain with Pfizer until a successor is found. (Broughton, 11/17)

Stat: Alnylam’s Maraganore Reflects On His Successor And His Next Steps
John Maraganore’s decision to step down as Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ CEO after almost 20 years came as a shock to people outside of the company — enough to send the company’s stock tumbling by more than 16% that day. But it was a shock, too, to people within Alnylam, Maraganore recalled at the 2021 STAT Summit in Boston on Tuesday. Including, even, his successor as CEO, Yvonne Greenstreet. (Sheridan, 11/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Nurse Salaries Rise As Demand For Their Services Soars During Covid-19 Pandemic
Nurses are winning raises worth thousands of dollars a year from hospitals, the latest employer reckoning with a tight labor market. HCA Healthcare Inc., HCA 0.89% one of the nation’s largest hospital chains, increased nurse pay this year to handle heavy Covid-19 pandemic case loads and keep pace with rivals that are also trying to fill vacancies and hold on to existing staff, the company’s human resources chief said. Raises varied by market; an HCA spokesman declined to say by what amounts. (Evans, 11/17)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Former Pittsburgh Steel Mill To Become Biomedical-Manufacturing Plant With Mellon Grant 
The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced a $100 million grant to fund a center for biomedical manufacturing, the latest piece in a plan to redevelop a stretch of riverfront outside Pittsburgh nearly half the size of the city’s downtown. The 178-acre property known as Hazelwood Green is the site of a former LTV Steel mill that shut in the 1990s. The $100 million grant will fund a bio-manufacturing facility called the Pitt BioForge to be run by the University of Pittsburgh, with the aim of attracting companies that produce cell and gene therapies to treat cancer and other health conditions. (Maher, 11/17)

Los Angeles Times: Whistleblower Or Flamethrower? California Medical Board Member Calls Out His Colleagues
The pleas for help find him. They arrive by email or seep into his social media account. One showed up in a tightly sealed letter to his home. After years of feeling ignored by the Medical Board of California, the writers hope he’ll finally be the one who hears them. Eserick “TJ” Watkins can guess the types of allegations that could be waiting inside: the stories of a doctor’s misconduct that left an over-prescribed teen addicted, a father missing a limb, a daughter dead. He has heard hundreds of these cases as a member of the medical board, which oversees the discipline of doctors in the state. (Gutierrez, 11/17)

Stat: FDA Urged To Disqualify A Hospital, Two Doctors Over Clinical Trial Missteps
The Food and Drug Administration is being urged to disqualify a Minnesota hospital and two physicians from running clinical trials after the agency found studies that violated regulations on human research. In a petition, the Public Citizen advocacy group noted FDA inspectors recently warned Hennepin County Medical Center and two physicians for failing to obtain consent from subjects in trials that tested the safety and effectiveness of the medications for managing agitation. The studies involved antipsychotics and the potent anesthetic ketamine on patients in emergency rooms or prior to their arrival. (Silverman, 11/17)

NBC News: Some Firms Thrived During Covid And Then Got Their PPP Covid Relief Loans Forgiven
In late June, Sharps Compliance, a Houston-based medical waste management company, reported spectacular financial results. The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines had increased demand for the company’s services, Sharps said, and its earnings had more than quadrupled. The company’s board granted Sharps’ top three executives twice the compensation they’d received a year earlier based on the performance; the trio shared almost $1 million more than they’d received in fiscal 2020, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show. (Morgenson, 11/18)

On financial matters —

Modern Healthcare: Aetna Sues COVID-19 Testing Companies, Alleges Fraud
Aetna is taking a group of related radiology companies to court and accusing them of overcharging for unauthorized COVID-19 tests to the tune of at least $580,000. (Tepper, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Professional Data Startup H1 Reels In $100 Million In Funding
H1 Inc., a startup that pitches itself as a social network and database for healthcare professionals, raised $100 million in new financing, according to a company blog post on Tuesday. Altimeter Capital led the Series C funding round, with additional investments from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Flex Capital. H1 plans to use the new money to grow its existing business and expand into new markets, having primarily focused on helping life sciences companies connect with doctors for clinical trials to this point. (Brady, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: ProMedica, AAA Pilot Joint Venture For Aging Americans
ProMedica and AAA Club Alliance on Wednesday announced plans for a new healthcare joint venture targeting aging Americans. AAA HealthCONNECT powered by ProMedica will officially launch in early 2022 in Ohio and will be available to those 55 and older who sign up for a membership. The goal is for the offering to be a "one-stop shop" that will help people "navigate the aging process," said Tom Wiedemann, president and CEO of AAA Club Alliance. (Christ, 11/17)

KHN: Stranded By The Pandemic, He Had Only Travel Insurance. It Left Him With A $38,000 Bill
Duy Hoa Tran, a retired Vietnamese schoolteacher, arrived in Los Angeles in February 2020 to visit his daughter and 2-month-old grandson. Two weeks later, the door closed behind him. To prevent the spread of covid-19, Vietnam shut its borders. No commercial flights would be allowed into the country for the next 18 months. Tran’s daughter, An Tran, who has a doctorate in business administration and teaches marketing at the University of La Verne in California, did what she thought was necessary to ensure medical coverage for her then-65-year-old father during the pandemic. But the only option for a visitor on a tourist visa was travel insurance. In early March 2020, An Tran found and purchased a policy, for about $350 a month, from a company called Seven Corners. (Allen, 11/18)

In news about the Theranos trial —

CNBC: Theranos Patient Says Blood Test Came Back With False Positive For HIV
Erin Tompkins, who got her blood drawn from a Theranos device at a Walgreens in Arizona, said the test misdiagnosed her as having an HIV antibody, sending her into a panic. “I was quite emotional at the time,” Tompkins told jurors on Wednesday in the criminal trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Tompkins, a witness to the prosecution and the second patient to testify, said she first read about Theranos in Forbes. She later learned more about the blood-testing company on Facebook from a friend who was looking for affordable health-care options. (Khorram, 11/17)

CBS News: Rare Monkeypox Case Reported In Maryland
A Maryland resident who recently returned to the country on a flight from Nigeria has tested positive for monkeypox, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. It is the second confirmed case of the rare disease in the U.S. since an outbreak infected 43 people in 2003. The infected person is experiencing mild symptoms. They are not hospitalized but remain in isolation in Maryland, the Maryland Department of Health said in a press release. The CDC said lab tests confirmed the case is the same strain of the virus that has been re-emerging in Nigeria since 2017. The Nigerian strain is generally less severe, the state's health department said. (Powell, 11/17)

The New York Times: Second U.S. Case Of Monkeypox This Year Is Discovered In Maryland
A case of monkeypox, a rare but potentially serious viral illness, was identified in a Maryland resident who had recently returned from Nigeria, making it the second case in the United States this year, health officials said. They said the risk that the virus would spread was low. The person was in isolation with mild symptoms but was not hospitalized, the Maryland Department of Health said in a statement on Tuesday. The agency did not identify the traveler. (Lukpat, 11/17)

Stat: 5 Things To Know About Monkeypox After A New Case Appeared In U.S.
For the second time this year, the United States has an imported case of monkeypox. A traveler from Maryland who had recently returned from Nigeria has been diagnosed with the dangerous illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The unidentified person is in isolation in Maryland, the CDC said in a statement. The Maryland Department of Health said in a statement that the individual has mild symptoms and is not in the hospital. (Branswell, 11/17)

In news on flu, head lice outbreaks, plus antibiotic access and Flint's water crisis —

ABC News: State Health Department Raises Alarm As Campus Flu Outbreak Climbs To Over 500 Cases
Public health officials are investigating an influenza outbreak at a Michigan university that has resulted in more than 500 cases, as several schools have also seen surges in flu activity. The University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus in Washtenaw County has reported over 525 cases among students since Oct. 6 -- about three-quarters of them among people unvaccinated against the flu, school officials said this week. (Deliso, 11/18)

NPR: Head Lice Are Spreading Again, Despite Physical Distancing At Schools
The Marker family opened their door on a recent evening in Parker, Colo., to a woman dressed in purple, with a military attitude to cleanliness. Linda Holmes, who has worked as a technician with LiceDoctors for five years, came straight from her day job at a hospital after she got the call from a dispatcher that the Marker family needed her ASAP. (Bichell, 11/18)

Bloomberg: Millions Miss Out On Antibiotics In Echo Of Vaccine Inequity
Efforts to widen access to antibiotics and reduce the threat of superbugs are running into the same problems that have kept Covid vaccines out of reach in many lower-income nations, a report shows. Only a third of vital antibiotics and antifungals have strategies or licensing agreements to expand their availability, according to the Access to Medicine Foundation, based in Amsterdam. That’s limiting supplies in regions where the risk of drug-resistant infections is highest. (Paton, 11/18)

Stat: Lessons From A Flint Water Crisis Researcher About Building Trust In Science During The Pandemic 
Siddhartha Roy was only a graduate student in 2015 when he found himself in the unlikeliest of public battles: a fierce fight with the state of Michigan, the federal government, and the actor Mark Ruffalo. At the time, LeeAnne Walters, a local water activist, had already discovered that the city of Flint, Michigan was violating federal law and that residents were being exposed to dangerous levels of lead in their water. After repeated pleas from Walters and a whistleblower complaint from within the Environmental Protection Agency failed to spur a federal response, concerned residents turned to Roy and his then-Ph.D. adviser, Virginia Tech environmental engineering professor Marc Edwards, with a dire request for help. (Chen, 11/18)

AP: New Mexico Governor: Full Vaccination Means Boosters Too
Going a step beyond federal guidance, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Wednesday that she believes being fully vaccinated means three shots and she pushed for all adults in her state who are eligible to get their boosters. She made the comments during a virtual pandemic briefing, citing the increasing number of COVID-19 infections among residents who received their vaccinations more than six months ago. (Montoya Bryan, 11/18)

Houston Chronicle: River Oaks Doctor Says Houston Methodist 'Vilified' Her Over Views On Ivermectin, COVID
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden said during a press conference Wednesday that she feels targeted by Houston Methodist Hospital after it suspended her privileges for spreading COVID misinformation, which the hospital declared as “dangerous” and “harmful” in a statement. (Gill, 11/17)

Houston Chronicle: DA Issues Subpoenas Regarding Canceled $11 Million Harris County Vaccine Outreach Contract
The Harris County District Attorney has issued subpoenas seeking records related to the award of an $11 million contract for COVID-19 vaccine outreach services, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle declined to confirm they, too, had received subpoenas. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office staff said they were unaware of any. (Despart, 11/17)

Los Angeles Times: In South L.A., A Legacy Of Limbs Lost To Diabetes Tells A Larger Story
The loss of limbs embodies the enduring grief of generations in South L.A. — of entrenched poverty, the dearth of both supermarkets with fresh food and parks to promote exercise, and a deeply deficient primary healthcare system that relies on low payouts from the state’s Medi-Cal program and a scant number of qualified doctors. “The tragedy is our community lacks almost every type of healthcare that you can think of and that most of us take for granted,” said Dr. Elaine Batchlor, the chief executive of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. (Mozingo, 11/17)

Augusta Chronicle: Enrollment Slow In Healthcare Marketplace, Patients Still Have Deals
Despite generous subsidies, people aren't yet flocking to enroll in Marketplace health insurance plans either in Augusta or nationally. But those that have gotten coverage have scored some deals, including monthly premiums for about the price of a candy bar, assisters said. The American Rescue Plan passed earlier this year is providing enhanced subsidies for those who make up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level to the point where their premiums may be $0 per month, according to the Center on Health Insurance Reforms. (Corwin, 11/17) 

AP: WHO: Europe Is Only Region With Increasing COVID Deaths
The World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased. The U.N. health agency said confirmed cases jumped 6% globally, driven by increases in the Americas, Europe and Asia. In its weekly report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday, WHO said COVID-19 deaths in all regions other than Europe remained stable or declined, and totaled 50,000 worldwide last week. Of the 3.3 million new infections reported, 2.1 million came from Europe. (11/17)

CIDRAP: Global COVID-19 Cases Continue To Climb
For the fourth week in a row, the rate of new global COVID-19 cases rose, mainly led by surges in Europe but also influenced by spikes in the Americas and Western Pacific countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in its weekly pandemic update. Cases were up 6% last week compared with the week before, and though deaths were stable or declining in much of the world, fatality levels rose in Europe. Of the top five countries that reported the most cases last week, four are in Europe: Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. However, the United States continues to lead the world with the most weekly cases. (Schnirring, 11/17)

Bloomberg: Europe Returns To Work From Home To Stem Soaring Covid Cases
European countries are increasingly forcing reluctant companies to let employees work from home in an effort to break the rapidly spreading fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Germany is poised to agree on mandatory remote working as long as there are no “operational reasons” that stand in the way, while in Ireland people have been instructed to work from home where possible starting Thursday. The Belgian government on Wednesday agreed that employees should work from home four days a week into mid-December. (Rogers, 11/18)

CNN: Covid: Germany Cases Hit Record High With Merkel Warning Of 'Dramatic' Situation 
Germany reported its highest single day surge of Covid-19 infections as Chancellor Angela Merkel said the "dramatic" situation was the result of the fourth wave "hitting our country with full force." The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's disease and control center, has reported 65,371 new cases within the last 24 hours -- it is an increase of 12,545 new infections compared to the 24 hour period before. (John and Schmidt, 11/18)

AP: German Disease Control Head Warns Of 'Terrible Christmas'
The head of Germany’s disease control agency has warned that the country faces a “really terrible Christmas” unless steps are taken to counter the sharp rise in coronavirus infections. German lawmakers are debating measures Thursday that would replace the nationwide epidemic rules, which will expire at the end of the month. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control agency, said Thursday that 65,371 newly confirmed cases had been reported in a single day, continuing the upward trend that experts have been warning about for weeks. (11/18)

Bloomberg: Spain Plans Booster Shots For Health Workers, Elderly As Covid Cases Rise
Spain will roll out Covid-19 booster shots to health workers and people older than 60, as the country seeks to contain a surge in infections that’s hitting across Europe. The move, which will be discussed with authorities in autonomous regions, aims to protect vulnerable groups, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday. He said the country’s high vaccination rates of about 80% has so far shielded the former hot spot from the worst of the latest wave of the pandemic. (Soto, 11/17)

CNBC: Covid Update: Belgium PM De Croo Says He Wants To Avoid Lockdown
Belgium is toughening up social restrictions as Covid-19 cases surge, but Prime Minister Alexander de Croo tells CNBC the aim is still to keep society open. “It’s not the same virus anymore. This is a mutation of the virus, which is much more infectious,” the Belgian prime minister said in an exclusive interview Tuesday. (Amaro, 11/18)

Elsewhere around the world —

Politico: U.S. J&J Covid Vaccine Doses Will Be Sent To Thailand-Myanmar Border
Millions of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine doses will be directed to the border of Thailand and Myanmar in December as part of the Biden administration’s pledge to donate doses to conflict zones, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The doses will be sent through a vaccine-sharing program overseen by COVAX, the world’s vaccine distributor, that specifically facilitates immunizations for vulnerable individuals experiencing humanitarian emergencies because of conflict or living in areas inaccessible to governments because they are controlled by non-state armed groups.Many of the Johnson & Johnson doses will go to individuals in refugee camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border. Thousands more people fled to the region earlier this year after a military coup in Myanmar in February. (Banco, 11/17)

The Hill: South Korea Nears Record COVID Case Count After Relaxing Restrictions
South Korea is seeing in new COVID-19 cases after relaxing pandemic restrictions three weeks ago, the Washington Post reported. The country reported 3,187 new COVID cases on Wednesday, the second-highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported that 522 COVID patients are hospitalized with moderate to severe symptoms. The seven-day average for daily coronavirus deaths has risen to 20 in the country, according to Our World in Data. (Oshin, 11/17)

AP: SKorea Sees Record Virus Jump As Thousands Take College Exam
South Korea reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic as hundreds of thousands of masked students flocked to schools on Thursday for the country’s highly competitive college entrance exam amid growing concerns about the delta-driven spread. About 509,000 students were taking the one-day exam at 1,395 sites across the nation, including hospitals and shelters. (Tong-Hyung, 11/18)

Stat: Build Back Better Can Connect People To Health Care Via Medicaid 
Lawmakers are in the midst of deliberations over the Build Back Better Act, a landmark legislative package to transform the U.S. for the better. One piece of the bill that would have a huge impact is a provision that would provide health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans who live in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid by opening up coverage for people with incomes below a certain level. But with House lawmakers still waiting on financial details of the package, and the Senate still squabbling over a variety of provisions, it likely will take quite some time to get the bill finalized. Or worse, legislators could forgo the package entirely. (Vangela M. Wade, 11/17)

The Tennessean: Organ Donation: My Mother-In-Law Saved Lives After Her Death
My mother-in-law, Nolen Dollene Myles, was a petite and pretty lady who was called “Doll” by her close friends. Her doll-like stature was magnified when she stood next to her husband, Ronald Myles, who stands 6-feet, 4-inches tall. My wife and I, as well as Dollene’s grandchildren, affectionately called her “Mother.” She was no-nonsense, but very loving and selfless, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and a lifelong educator. (Vincent Dixie, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: It's Time To Measure What Actually Matters—The Social Drivers Of Health 
Every day, our healthcare system spends $11 billion. As a practicing physician, it is clear that what our system measures and pays for–via diagnosis and billing codes, "allowable services" and myriad quality measures—is a reflection of both what and who it values. (Dr. Gary Price, 11/17)

Stat: Why Is The CDC Missing In Action On Severe Mental Illnesses? 
In October, the CDC updated its list of medical conditions that contribute to worse outcomes with Covid-19 infection. It’s an essential list, used for prioritizing testing, treatment, and vaccination. For the first time it includes “certain mental health conditions.” Specifically, according to the CDC, “having mood disorders, including depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders can make you more likely to get severely ill from Covid-19.” (Andy Keller and Thomas R. Insel, 11/18)

Kansas City Star: Informal Caregivers Are Invaluable To US Health Care System 
In formal caregiving settings such as hospitals, each diagnosis and test brings health care systems more money. These systems bet and win on us being sick to function. The average length of stay in a hospital is about four and a half days, but people that the health care industry calls “informal caregivers” — often family members — operate 365 days a year. Informal caregivers handle everything before and after discharge. A patient’s continuous care needs may never end. Hospitals outsource the post-discharge and other health care work to these unpaid caregivers in the home. (Jennifer Lagemann, 11/18)

Bloomberg: Covid In Europe: France Nudged Vaccines. Austria Tries To Shove Anti-Vaxxers
Winter is drawing in, Covid-19 cases are rebounding and European Union countries with middling vaccination rates are tightening the screws. What began as an arm-twist in July, when France’s Emmanuel Macron rolled out a mobile health pass to control access to leisure venues, has become a headlock. In Austria, where intensive-care wards are filling up and 64% of the population is fully vaccinated (below the EU average), the government is implementing new restrictions, including what’s effectively a lockdown for those refusing to get their remaining jabs. Latvia has banned unvaccinated lawmakers from parliament. (Lionel Laurent, 11/18)

Stat: Vaccine Mandates Should Cover Prisoners, Too, Not Just Their Guards
Federal, state, and local vaccine mandates are being opposed by several high-profile groups, including firefighters, nurses, and corrections officers. Opposition of the latter to vaccine mandates highlights an illogical situation that has developed with little discussion: To date, neither the federal government nor any state or municipality has officially mandated the jab for their incarcerated populations. That doesn’t make sense: Prisoners, who are at higher risk for infection and death than corrections officers, aren’t required to get vaccinated while corrections officers, who are at lower risk, are being told they must get vaccinated. (Chandra Bozelko, 11/18)

NBC News: Covid Vaccines, Not Abortion, Should Be On Catholic Bishops' Agenda In Baltimore
The muddled messaging from U.S. church authorities creates confusion and has given license to Catholics to refuse to get the shots, increasing the likelihood of illness, death and Covid spread. From June through September, vaccines could have saved an estimated 90,000 lives in the U.S. (Celia Viggo Wexler, 11/17)

Kansas City Star: Johnson County Pharmacies Close, Leaving Customers Without Vaccines, Drugs, Answers
The Funari family of Olathe planned a big outing last week — to a Walgreens to get the two young sons vaccinated for COVID-19. The boys even got to miss some school for it. “Honestly, this is the one thing we’ve been waiting for. For us, this is the end of the pandemic, when we get our boys vaccinated. Our lives come back to normal,” said dad Anthony Funari. But as they walked into the store at 151st Street and Black Bob Road in Olathe they saw a sign that said the pharmacy was closed. It’s a scene playing out at other pharmacies here and around the country, with vaccine appointments out the window and patients struggling to get urgent prescriptions filled. (Lisa Gutierrez, 11/17)

The New York Times: I’m Elderly And Vaccinated, And Covid Can’t Stop Me 
Another Covid winter looms, but this moment of the pandemic feels hopeful. At age 87, I’m becoming reacquainted with the social life I had put on pause for many months. I’m going out to restaurants and museums, attending church and visiting my grandchildren who live in a neighboring town. I’ve always seen myself as a risk-taker and an optimist. But every day as I venture out, there’s a drumbeat in mind, a constant accompaniment: “Is this too risky for me?” (Katharine Esty, 11/17)