AP: FBI Warns Ransomware Assault Threatens US Healthcare System
In a joint alert Wednesday, the FBI and two federal agencies warned that they had “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.” The alert said malicious groups are targeting the sector with attacks that produce “data theft and disruption of healthcare services.” The cyberattacks involve ransomware, which scrambles data into gibberish that can only be unlocked with software keys provided once targets pay up. Independent security experts say it has already hobbled at least five U.S. hospitals this week, and could potentially impact hundreds more. (Bajak, 10/29)

NPR: U.S. Hospitals Targeted In Rising Wave Of Ransomware Attacks, Federal Agencies Say 
The agencies said hackers are using Ryuk ransomware — malicious software used to encrypt data and keep it locked up — and the Trickbot network of infected computers to steal data, disrupt health care services and extort money from health care facilities. Such data hijacking often cripples online systems, forcing many to pay up to millions of dollars to restore their services. The agencies warned health care providers to step up protections of their networks, including regularly updating software, backing up data and monitoring who is accessing their systems. (Bond and Romo, 10/29)

The Washington Post: Hospitals Being Hit In Coordinated, Targeted Ransomware Attack From Russian-Speaking Criminals 
Russian-speaking cybercriminals in recent days have launched a coordinated attack targeting U.S. hospitals already stressed by the coronavirus pandemic with ransomware that analysts worry could lead to fatalities. In the space of 24 hours beginning Monday, six hospitals from California to New York have been hit by the Ryuk ransomware, which encrypts data on computer systems, forcing the hospitals in some cases to disrupt patient care and cancel noncritical surgeries, analysts said. (Nakashima and Greene, 10/28)

The Hill: Federal Agencies Warn Hackers Targeting U.S. Hospitals With Ransomware Attacks 
The virus was also involved in an attack on Pennsylvania-headquartered hospital chain Universal Health Services, with all 250 of its U.S. healthcare facilities negatively impacted by a ransomware attack earlier this month. Multiple hospitals and healthcare groups in the U.S. have been targeted this week, including three hospitals in New York’s St. Lawrence County and Sky Lakes Medical Center in Oregon, which the medical center confirmed in a Facebook post on Tuesday. (Miller, 10/28)

Bloomberg: FBI, DHS Warn Hospitals Of ‘Credible Threat’ From Hackers 
The attack was carried out by a financially motivated cybercrime group dubbed UNC1878 by computer security researchers, according to Charles Carmakal, FireEye’s strategic services chief technology officer. At least three hospitals were severely affected by ransomware on Tuesday, he said, and multiple hospitals have been hit over the past several weeks. UNC1878 intends to target and deploy ransomware to hundreds of other hospitals, Carmakal said. “We are experiencing the most significant cybersecurity threat we’ve ever seen in the United States,” he said. “UNC1878, an Eastern European financially motivated threat actor, is deliberately targeting and disrupting U.S. hospitals, forcing them to divert patients to other health-care providers.” (Turton, Mehrotra and Tozzi, 10/28)

NBC News: FBI, Other Agencies Warn Of 'Imminent Cybercrime Threat' To U.S. Hospitals
With Trickbot, the malicious software typically is embedded in an email designed to fool the recipient into clicking on a link or document that then installs the malware. Ransomware is generally described as a family of malware that blocks access to a PC, server or mobile device, or encrypts all the data stored on that machine. To regain access, the user must pay a ransom. Typically, the payments are demanded in bitcoin. (Dilanian, Blankstein and Helsel, 10/28)

NBC News: Top Trump Health Official Warns Of 'Draconian Measures' If America Doesn't Mask Up
The Trump administration’s Covid-19 testing czar warned Wednesday that local governments may be forced to impose “draconian measures” if Americans don’t start taking safety precautions seriously and the coronavirus crisis worsens. “We still can control this” by wearing masks, social distancing and being careful around the holidays, Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health, said on NBC’s “Today” show. (Siemaszko, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Fauci Expresses Support For National Mask Mandate Amid Record-Setting Coronavirus Infections 
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said for the first time Wednesday that the United States needs a nationwide mask mandate to combat the rising tide of coronavirus infections. In interviews with CNBC and the Journal of the American Medical Association, Fauci expressed regret that masks haven’t been adopted more widely and suggested that doing so would be key to avoiding another round of shutdowns. (10/29)

The Washington Post: State And Local Leaders Order New Restrictions Amid Autumn’s Coronavirus Surge 
State and local officials in Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts and Texas are imposing new restrictions on schools, businesses and social gatherings, responding to the fall surge in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations that threatens much of the country with a health emergency resembling what struck the Northeast in the spring. Although this has been a highly politicized pandemic, some of the new restrictions are arising with no regard for local political inclinations: Liberal-leaning El Paso is under a nightly curfew, while conservative-leaning Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Tuesday passed a mask mandate. (Achenbach and Brulliard, 10/28)

The Hill: Study: Counties Without Mask Mandates Have Much Higher Hospitalizations 
A new study finds that coronavirus hospitalizations increased significantly more in areas without mask requirements, bolstering guidance from public health officials on the importance of wearing facial coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. The study by Vanderbilt University compared Tennessee counties with mask requirements to those without any. (Sullivan, 10/28)

In other news about mask-wearing —

The Hill: Police Called After Florida Moms Refuse To Wear Face Masks At School Board Meeting About Mask Policy 
Florida police on Tuesday forcibly removed a small group of moms refusing to wear masks at a county school board meeting about the potential extension of a mask mandate in schools. According to NBC’s Daytona Beach affiliate station, WESH, officials said that a group of moms refused to adhere to coronavirus guidelines requiring masks as the Volusia County School Board was preparing to discuss a mandatory mask policy that had been put in place in August. (Castronuovo, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Etsy Sales Lifted By Demand For Face Masks 
Etsy Inc. reported higher sales in the fiscal third quarter as online shoppers flocked to its platform looking for masks and home décor, making the e-commerce company a standout in a struggling retail sector. Etsy reported selling 24 million face masks in the September quarter. (Chin, 10/28)

The Hill: Trump Administration Agrees To Purchase $375 Million Of Lilly Coronavirus Antibody Drug 
The Trump administration will pay Eli Lilly $375 million to supply 300,000 doses of its experimental antibody drug to treat COVID-19, the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. If the Food and Drug Administration authorizes use of the drug, the federal government will allocate the doses to state and territorial health departments which, in turn, will determine which health care facilities receive the drug for use in outpatient care. (Weixel, 10/28)

NPR: Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Would Come With Hefty Infusion Costs
Eli Lilly has struck a deal with the federal government to provide 300,000 doses of a drug that's designed to keep people infected with COVID-19 out of the hospital. The cost per dose: $1,250. The federal government plans to distribute the 300,000 doses at no cost, but that doesn't mean treatment will be free. The Lilly drug, a type of monoclonal antibody, is given by intravenous infusion. Those infusions, typically given in hospitals or standalone clinics, can cost well over $1,000. People with health insurance are often required to pay hundreds of dollars in copayments. (Harris, 10/28)

In related news on COVID treatments —

Bloomberg: Regeneron Covid-19 Therapy Reduces Viral Load, Need For Care
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said data from a late-stage clinical trial suggest that its antibody cocktail therapy for Covid-19 significantly reduces virus levels and the need for further medical care. The results offer another encouraging signal in the race to find treatments for the deadly virus. Patients outside the hospital who got the therapy were 57% less likely to need medical care later, with 2.8% of those given the antibody and 6.5% of those on placebo seeing a health-care worker within 29 days. (Griffin and Cortez, 10/28)

Stat: Antibody Drugs Appear Effective. Now Can We Make Enough Of Them?
The Covid-19 pandemic teaches one lesson, over and over: The virus is moving faster than we are. That difficult message was driven home Wednesday evening with news that an antibody cocktail developed by the drug maker Regeneron — the same cocktail used to treat President Trump —  reduced infected patients’ need to visit the doctor, virtually or in person, or go to the hospital by 57%. (Herper, 10/29)

CNN: Immunity To Coronavirus Lingers For Months, Study Finds
Immunity to Covid-19 infection lingers for at least five months, researchers reported -- and probably longer than that. While the report may seem confusing and contradictory to a similar report out of Britain this week, it really isn't. People's bodies produce an army of immune compounds in response to an infection and some are overwhelming at first, dying off quickly, while others build more slowly. The new report out Wednesday shows 90% of people who recover from Covid-19 infections keep a stable antibody response. (Fox, 10/29)

Stat: It May Be Time To Reset Expectations On When We'll Get A Covid-19 Vaccine
The ambitious drive to produce Covid-19 vaccine at warp speed seems to be running up against reality. We all probably need to reset our expectations about how quickly we’re going to be able to be vaccinated. Pauses in clinical trials to investigate potential safety issues, a slower-than-expected rate of infections among participants in at least one of the trials, and signals that an expert panel advising the Food and Drug Administration may not be comfortable recommending use of vaccines on very limited safety and efficacy data appear to be adding up to a slippage in the estimates of when vaccine will be ready to be deployed. (Branswell, 10/29)

The Hill: Fauci: COVID-19 Vaccine Likely Not Available Until Next Year 
A potential COVID-19 vaccine will not likely be available until next year, Anthony Fauci said Wednesday. During a virtual Q&A with the editor in chief of the medical journal JAMA, Fauci said companies by December will likely have enough data for the independent safety monitoring board to recommend applying for emergency authorization, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may not grant that authorization until January at the earliest. (Weixel, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Inside Operation Warp Speed’s $18 Billion Sprint For A Vaccine
Operation Warp Speed isn’t an agency as such, but rather a mechanism to coordinate among private companies and an array of U.S. government bodies: the Department of Defense, HHS, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and beyond. More than 600 people in HHS and 90 people from the DOD are involved. “It’s a coordination activity that helps to cut through the bureaucracy faster,” says Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson. OWS has awarded more than $12 billion in vaccine-related contracts and has an overall budget of as much as $18 billion. (Baker and Koons, 10/29)

AP: UK Vaccine Chief Warns Of Over-Optimism, Early Imperfection
Warning that the first COVID-19 vaccines may be imperfect, the head of the U.K effort to develop a vaccine called Wednesday for immediate international cooperation to prevent the “largest global recession in history.” U.K. Vaccine Taskforce chair Kate Bingham also warned against over-optimism, saying there is no guarantee a successful vaccine against the novel coronavirus will ever be developed. (Kirka, 10/28)

In other COVID vaccine news —

CNBC: Moderna Says It’s Preparing Global Launch Of Covid Vaccine As It Takes In $1.1 Billion In Deposits
Moderna is prepping for the global launch of its potential coronavirus vaccine, already taking in $1.1 billion in deposits from governments awaiting the potentially lifesaving drug, the biotech firm said Thursday in its third-quarter earnings report. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said it was in ongoing talks with the World Health Organization-backed COVAX initiative on a tiered pricing proposal for its potential vaccine, which it’s tentatively calling mRNA-1273. It already has supply agreements in North America, the Middle East and in other regions of the world. (Lovelace Jr., 10/29)

The Hill: Washington, Oregon, Nevada Join California Plan To Review COVID-19 Vaccine 
Three Western states announced Tuesday that they would join California's workgroup set to independently review any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A press release from California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) office indicated that Washington, Oregon and Nevada would join the working group and identify experts in public health who could assist in the effort to verify the efficacy and safety of a vaccine approved under the Trump administration. (Bowden, 10/28)

Reuters: Next Crop Of COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Take More Traditional Route 
The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The next crop under development feature more conventional, proven designs. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. (Steenhuysen and Copley, 10/29)

The New York Times: Supreme Court To Let PA, NC Accept Absentee Ballots After Election Day 
In a pair of decisions welcomed by Democrats, the Supreme Court on Wednesday let election officials in two key battleground states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, accept absentee ballots for several days after Election Day. In the Pennsylvania case, the court refused a plea from Republicans in the state that it decide before Election Day whether election officials can continue receiving absentee ballots for three days after Nov. 3. In the North Carolina case, the court let stand lower court rulings that allowed the state’s board of elections to extend the deadline to nine days after Election Day, up from the three days called for by the state legislature. (Liptak, 10/28)

NPR: Supreme Court Allows Ballot Extensions In Pennsylvania, North Carolina, For Now
New Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not participate in either case. Her decision was particularly noteworthy because her vote might or might not have affected the outcome and because a Pennsylvania county had earlier this week filed, and then withdrawn, a formal request for the new justice to recuse herself. A highly unusual statement issued by the court press office said that Barrett did not participate because of the need for a "prompt resolution" of the question before the court, and because the new justice "had not had time to fully review" the written arguments submitted to the court. (Totenberg, 10/28)

AP: Supreme Court Ruling Spurs Wisconsin To Get Early Votes In
Democrats and Republicans in the battleground state of Wisconsin were pushing Tuesday to get 320,000 outstanding absentee ballots returned by the close of polls on Election Day, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend the deadline to receive and count ballots as Democrats had wanted. (Bauer, 10/27)

In related news on mail-in voting and voter safety —

Texas Tribune: Texas Voters Won't Be Required To Wear Masks While Voting, At Least For Now
A requirement that Texans wear face masks when casting ballots during the pandemic lasted less than a day after a federal appeals court halted an order that would have compelled voters to don the coverings. (McCullough, 10/28)

Stat: A New Challenge For Public Health: Making Voting Safe Amid A Pandemic
In their efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, public health departments are taking on a new responsibility: helping make voting as safe as possible. Normally, these agencies don’t get involved in election logistics, but now they’re collaborating with local elections officials to set up polling places and training poll workers and volunteers on what behaviors to encourage and what to caution against. After all, one of the key Covid-19 precautions we’ve been encouraged to take is to avoid crowds, particularly indoors. Voting can pose a challenge to that, and in turn, to the health of both voters and poll workers. (Joseph, 10/29)

KHN: Despite COVID Concerns, Teams Venture Into Nursing Homes To Get Out The Vote
Each time Beverly Tucker visited a nursing home or long-term care facility this fall, she brought along a rolling tote bag packed with supplies from the Durham County Board of Elections. Boxes of face masks and face shields. Latex gloves and cleaning wipes. Hand sanitizer from Mystic Farm & Distillery, a local facility that was among the first to switch from producing liquor to hand sanitizer in the early days of the pandemic. And most important — even if they were dwarfed by the cleaning supplies — the absentee ballots and ballot request forms that Tucker would help residents complete in time for the election. (Pattani, 10/29)

The Washington Post: Millions Of Mail Ballots Have Not Been Returned As Window Closes For Postal Service Delivery 
Amid a record surge in early voting, millions of mail ballots remained unreturned Wednesday, prompting a flurry of warnings from election officials that ballots sent via the U.S. Postal Service at this point may not arrive in time to be counted. With Election Day less than a week away, more than 42 million out of the 92 million mail ballots requested by voters nationally had not yet been returned as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from the U.S. Elections Project, a nonpartisan site tracking early voting. (Hawkins and Bogage, 10/28)

The New York Times: Trump’s Closing Argument On Virus Clashes With Science, And Voters’ Lives
As an immense new surge in coronavirus cases sweeps the country, President Trump is closing his re-election campaign by pleading with voters to ignore the evidence of a calamity unfolding before their eyes and trust his word that the disease is already disappearing as a threat to their personal health and economic well being. The president has continued to declare before large and largely maskless crowds that the virus is vanishing, even as case counts soar, fatalities climb, the stock market dips and a fresh outbreak grips the staff of Vice President Mike Pence. Hopping from one state to the next, he has made a personal mantra out of declaring that the country is “rounding the corner.” (Burns, 10/28)

The Hill: White House Seeks To Clarify Press Release Claiming Trump Ended The COVID-19 Pandemic
A press release claiming that President Trump ended the coronavirus pandemic was "poorly worded" and Trump does not believe the pandemic is over, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday. "The intent was to say that it is our goal to end the virus," White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah said during a Fox News interview. (Weixel, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Fact-Checking Trump’s Closing Arguments On Covid-19
In the final days of the campaign, President Trump continues to flood the zone with false and misleading claims about the coronavirus pandemic. Cases have been spiking across the country, while Trump insists “we’re rounding the turn.” The president continues to assert that U.S. infections are rising “because we do more testing than anybody else,” when experts say the main reason is the spreading disease. (Rizzo, 10/29)

And from Trump's rallies —

The Washington Post: Trump Supporters Stranded In Freezing Weather At Omaha Airport When Buses Can't Reach Site 
After spending about an hour walking the three-plus miles back to his car, Jonathon Sundet posted a tweet calling the situation “disheartening” and asking for an explanation from the Trump campaign. The 19-year-old South Dakota State University freshman and his girlfriend had driven four hours to attend the rally, only to be stranded. “There’s this belief that Donald Trump is for the common people, and that’s part of the reason why he won in 2016,” he told The Washington Post. “But the reason why I wanted to tweet it is because I do believe in part of his message; I believe in some of the things he said that night, and it was kind of disappointing that a campaign would treat you like that.” (Elfrink, Shammas and Griffiths, 10/28)

Politico: Biden Rips Trump For Stranding Supporters After Omaha Rally 
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump’s campaign for stranding supporters in freezing temperatures following a rally the previous evening — arguing that the episode was emblematic of the White House’s failed pandemic response. The remarks from the former vice president came during an address in his hometown of Wilmington, Del., on the day after hundreds of people who showed up for Trump’s rally Tuesday night in Omaha, Neb., were left waiting for buses to transport them from the event site at Eppley Airfield back to their cars parked several miles away. (Forgey, 10/28)

In other Trump campaign updates —

Ars Technica: Trump’s Website Defaced With Claim That Trump Admin Created Coronavirus
President Trump's website last night was briefly defaced by hackers who pitched a cryptocurrency scam and claimed that Trump has "criminal involvement" with election manipulation and that his administration was involved in creating the coronavirus. (Brodkin, 10/28)

NPR: Trump Has Weaponized Masculinity As President. Here's Why It Matters 
Trump has been blatant about amping up his particular, aggressive and pugilistic brand of masculinity. After four years, that machismo has manifested itself in seemingly every area of his presidency. And it matters — it has potential political and even policy impacts that may last well beyond his tenure in office. (Kurtzleben, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Attacks On Political Adversaries Are Often Followed By Threats To Their Safety 
The CIA’s most endangered employee for much of the past year was not an operative on a mission abroad, but an analyst who faced a torrent of threats after filing a whistleblower report that led to the impeachment of President Trump. The analyst spent months living in no-frills hotels under surveillance by CIA security, current and former U.S. officials said. He was driven to work by armed officers in an unmarked sedan. On the few occasions he was allowed to reenter his home to retrieve belongings, a security team had to sweep the apartment first to make sure it was safe. (Miller and Stanley-Becker, 10/28)

CNN: Biden Seeks To Demonstrate His Differences With Trump On Managing The Pandemic In 2020 Race's Closing Days 
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sought Wednesday to make the differences in how he and President Donald Trump have approached the coronavirus pandemic a part of his closing message, sitting for a briefing with health experts and addressing the crisis as Trump campaigned out West as if it was over. Wednesday's event was the latest in Biden's series of demonstrations of how he would handle the pandemic -- which have become a regular feature of his campaign, underscoring his aides' belief that the virus' spread on Trump's watch is the dominant factor in the November 3 election. (Bradner and Mucha, 10/28)

NPR: How Would Joe Biden Fight COVID-19? 
[Democrat Joe] Biden's campaign has a seven-point plan to beat COVID-19 and other proposals for health care and economic recovery that support that vision. NPR asked his advisers for details on his approach, which includes some familiar elements, as well as some less-expected ones. (Aubrey, 10/28)

In other news related to the Biden campaign —

Reuters: Biden, In LGBTQ Interview, Vows To Pass Equality Act In First 100 Days 
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to put top priority on passing the LGBTQ rights legislation known as the Equality Act, hoping to sign what would be a landmark civil rights law within 100 days, should he win Tuesday’s election. Biden, a leading voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights as vice president under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, also pledged in an interview with the Philadelphia Gay News to expand queer rights internationally by making equality a centerpiece of U.S. diplomacy if he assumes office in January. (Trotta, 10/29)

WebMD: A Closer Look At Joe Biden's Health
Uncertainty and contention surround the presidential election that is mere days away, but there is one thing we know for sure: No matter who wins, the next president of the United States will be the oldest to ever take office. President Donald Trump set the most recent record when he was sworn in at the age of 70. Now 74, he is only slightly younger than the soon-to-be 78-year-old Joe Biden. So just how healthy is Biden? Quite healthy, according to the most  recent medical assessment released by Biden’s doctor in December 2019. The report from Kevin O’Connor, DO, associate professor of Medicine at George Washington University,  called Biden “vigorous” and fit to successfully be president. (Kalter, 10/28)

NBC News: Latino Voters Targeted By Abortion Misinformation Campaigns
In the final days before the election, Spanish-language misinformation about Joe Biden's and running mate Kamala Harris' positions on abortion is specifically targeting religious Latinos on Facebook and its messaging service, WhatsApp. Several of the memes about their positions on abortion that are circulating are false. (Glaser, 10/29)

Fox Business: Zuckerberg 'Not Aware' That Facebook Election Integrity Official Worked For Biden 
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he was "not aware" that a Facebook election integrity official used to work as a policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden during the Senate Commerce Committee's Section 230 hearing on Wednesday. "My understanding is that the person that is in charge of election integrity and security at Facebook is a former Joe Biden staffer, is there someone closely associated with President Trump in the same role at Facebook?" Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., asked the CEOs. "How do you all respond to that argument that there isn't sufficient balance in terms of the political ideology or diversity in your companies, and how do you deal with the lack of trust that creates among conservatives?" (Fordham, 10/28)

The Hill: Medicare, Medicaid Will Cover Costs Of Future COVID-19 Vaccine Under New Policy 
Medicare will cover any potential coronavirus vaccine for free, under a new Trump administration policy officially announced Wednesday. The new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) means any vaccine that receives Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization will be covered under Medicare as a preventive vaccine at no cost to beneficiaries, which is a change from current policy. (Weixel, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Will Cover COVID-19 Vaccines At No Out-Of-Pocket Cost
The interim final rule also implements parts of the CARES Act "to ensure swift coverage of a COVID-19 vaccine by most private health insurance plans without cost-sharing from both in and out-of-network providers during the course of the public health emergency," CMS said in a statement. Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program beneficiaries can also receive cost-free vaccines. The Provider Relief Fund will pay vaccine administration costs for the uninsured. (Brady, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Releases Plan To Ensure Coronavirus Vaccines Are Free
In addition, the administration will require all providers of Covid-19 tests to post their cash prices for the tests online, and failure to do so could result in fines of up to $300 a day. Federal law requires private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid to cover tests—but doesn’t guarantee people without insurance get no-cost tests. The fines aim to ensure there is price disclosure around any possible out-of-pocket costs for tests. Insurers also use the cash price when determining reimbursement. (Armour, 10/28)

In other Medicaid and Medicare news —

KHN: The Trump Medicaid Record: Big Goals, Yet Few Successes 
President Donald Trump entered office seeking a massive overhaul of the Medicaid program, which had just experienced the biggest growth spurt in its 50-year history. His administration supported repealing the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which has added millions of adults to the federal-state health program for lower-income Americans. He also wanted states to require certain enrollees to work. He sought to discontinue the open-ended federal funding that keeps pace with rising Medicaid enrollment and costs. He has achieved none of these ambitious goals. (Galewitz, 10/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Medicaid Seeks Company To Oversee Treatment Of Children With Complex Mental Health Issues 
Ohio Medicaid on Wednesday announced it is seeking applications until Dec. 16 from insurers and other managed care organizations to oversee and coordinate the specialized treatment of these children in a new program called OhioRISE. One managed care company will likely win the contract, which Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Medicaid and other state officials designed with the aim of better coordinating children’s care among different health care providers, government agencies and health care systems – for example, if a child has a juvenile court case, is in special education and receives mental health treatment. The value of the contract will be announced later. Ohio RISE also aims to reduce the frequency of parents having to relinquish custody as well as the number of children who are sent out of state for help. (Hancock, 10/28)

South Bend Tribune: Feds Extend Indiana's Medicaid Expansion Alternative For 10 Years 
Indiana has received federal approval to continue its Healthy Indiana Plan for another decade, making Indiana the first state to receive a 10-year extension for its Medicaid expansion alternative. The extension comes as more Hoosiers than ever are enrolled in the health coverage plan. More than 572,000 Indiana low-income residents receive their health insurance through the plan, about 100,000 more than at this time last year, officials for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration said. Typically states receive only a two- or three-year extension of their Medicaid alternatives. (Rudavsky, 10/27)

The Washington Post: White House Called Off Investigation On Its Coronavirus Outbreak, Local Officials Say
Officials say the White House called off early efforts to get to the bottom of the outbreak, including sequencing the genomes of virus samples from infected individuals. This genetic analysis could have revealed shared mutations that linked cases in Washington and other affected communities. Had the administration done such an investigation, it would know whether infections among aides to Vice President Pence that were reported this past weekend bore the same genetic signature as earlier cases at the White House. That could indicate whether the virus was circulating among administration officials for weeks or had slipped through infection-control measures a second time. (Butler, Hamburger, Sun and Kaplan, 10/28)

Daily Beast: Donald Trump’s COVID Advisers: He’s Now Pushing Herd Immunity
Despite publicly downplaying it, President Donald Trump and his team of White House advisers have embraced the controversial belief that herd immunity will help control the COVID-19 outbreak, according to three senior health officials working with the White House coronavirus task force. More worrisome for those officials: they have begun taking steps to turn the concept into policy. (Banco, 10/28)

An HHS ad campaign comes under more scrutiny —

Politico: ‘Helping The President’: HHS Official Sought To Rebrand Coronavirus Campaign
The Trump appointee who steered a $300 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign to "defeat despair" about the coronavirus privately pitched a different theme last month: "Helping the President will Help the Country." That proposal, which came in a meeting between Trump administration officials and campaign contractors, is among documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee that further illustrate how political considerations shaped the massive campaign as officials rushed to get public service announcements on the air before Election Day. The committee shared the documents with POLITICO, which first detailed the campaign in a series of reports last month. (Diamond, 10/29)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Coronavirus Ad Campaign To ‘Defeat Despair’ Excluded Celebrities Critical Of Him
A top Trump administration official inserted “partisan political interests” into a $250 million advertising contract awarded just weeks before the election to “defeat despair and inspire hope” amid the coronavirus pandemic — excluding celebrities seen as critical of President Trump or his policies, according to documents obtained by Democratic House lawmakers. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, three high-ranking Democrats wrote that documents showed that HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo sought to use a taxpayer-funded campaign to boost the president only weeks ahead of his reelection bid. During a September meeting, for instance, he proposed that one of the themes be “Helping the President will Help the Country,” according to one document they obtained from a contractor. (Abutaleb, 10/29)

In other Trump administration news —

NBC News: Whatever Happened To Trump's 'Opening Up America Again' Task Force?
In April, as the coronavirus pandemic raged across the country and lockdowns shuttered businesses, the White House assembled a reopening task force to advise on how to safely reopen the country and stabilize the economy. "I'm going to surround myself with the greatest minds," President Donald Trump said at a news conference announcing the formation of the Opening Up America Again industry group, which included corporate giants from Amazon to General Motors to Merck. "I'm going to have to make a decision. It's the biggest decision I've ever had to make," he added. (Miranda, 10/28)

The Hill: Space Force's Second-In-Command Tests Positive For Coronavirus 
Gen. David Thompson, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Air Force announced Wednesday. Thompson took the test after being informed that a close family member had contracted the virus, the Air Force said in a statement, adding that the Space Force official is now isolating and working from home. (Castronuovo, 10/28)

The Hill: Kushner Told Woodward In April Trump Was 'Getting The Country Back From The Doctors' 
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner in April told journalist Bob Woodward that the country had progressed in its response to the coronavirus pandemic to the point where President Trump was "back in charge" and "getting the country back from the doctors." Kushner, who is also the president's son-in-law, told Woodward on April 18 that the country was moving into what he deemed the "comeback phase." The comments came one day after Trump tweeted out support for people protesting against coronavirus-related restrictions with calls to "liberate" Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia. (Samuels, 10/28)

The Guardian: Barack Obama Recalls Epic Battle For Healthcare Law In Excerpt From Memoir 
An advance chapter from Barack Obama’s first memoir of his White House years, published on Monday by the New Yorker, takes readers inside the epic political battle behind the passage of the Affordable Care Act at the end of his first year in office. ... The book, A Promised Land, is scheduled to be published next month, two weeks after election day. In the advance chapter, Obama describes how his team confronted an H1N1 flu virus outbreak in 2017, at the time seen as a pandemic threat – but now all but forgotten. “My instructions to the public-health team were simple,” he writes. “Decisions would be made based on the best available science, and we were going to explain to the public each step of our response – including detailing what we did and didn’t know.” (McCarthy, 10/26)

Vanity Fair: Obama’s Memoir Illustrates Why Trump Failed At Destroying The ACA 
It was the early days of Barack Obama’s presidency, and he was about to begin his push for healthcare reform. He knew he’d have to spend some political capital to get it through, but Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, two of his top advisers, were warning him just how much it would cost him. “We all think we should try,” Axelrod told him. “You just need to know that, if we lose, your presidency will be badly weakened.” “We better not lose, then,” Obama replied. (Lutz, 10/26)

In other news about the Affordable Care Act —

Politico: Attacks On Obamacare Threaten Coverage Gains Among Minorities
Threats to Obamacare could deal a new blow to communities of color that have been disproportionately ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic as the nation is reckoning with generations of inequity. The Affordable Care Act’s insurance subsidies, its expansions of Medicaid eligibility and its protections for preexisting conditions have especially helped Americans of color, narrowing historic disparities in access to health insurance and affordable care. (Wanneh, Goldberg and Luthi, 10/29)

KHN and Politifact: Sen. Graham Complains That 3 Blue States Get A Third Of ACA Funding 
Sen. Lindsey Graham has never been a fan of the Affordable Care Act — even though it’s helped dramatically lower the number of uninsured people in his home state of South Carolina. The Republican, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, attacked the law at the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Democrats have made the nomination a referendum on the health law, which will be the subject of a Supreme Court hearing on Nov. 10. They fear the court may overturn the entire law, which has led to huge expansions in coverage and blocked insurers from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions, among other consumer protections. (Galewitz, 10/29)

Reno Gazette Journal: ACA: Obamacare Under Siege Again As Nevada Health Insurance Exchange Enrollment Starts
After its troubled launch in 2013, Nevada’s health insurance exchange is kicking off its latest enrollment period on Nov. 1 with some long-sought stability and none of the drama that plagued the program in previous years. Underneath its calm waters, however, are some troubling undercurrents. More than 2,000 miles away at the U.S. Supreme Court, the healthcare law that serves as the linchpin behind Nevada’s exchange — the Affordable Care Act — is facing the biggest threat to its existence since the late Sen. John McCain’s dramatic thumbs down on the U.S. Senate floor three years ago. It’s a mixed-bag situation for Nevada’s Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. After spending many of its years stuck doing damage control, the program has finally notched a solid string of wins. (Hidalgo, 10/26)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Window Shopping Opens And Competition Blooms For 2021 ACA Health Plans
The marketplace is booming for Georgians who want individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. It may be the most contentious time in history for the ACA marketplace exchange in Georgia, which is open for window shopping now and starts open enrollment on Sunday. Gov. Brian Kemp is prepared to block Georgians' access to the healthcare.gov website in coming years and reroute consumers to private agents, and the whole system is on the chopping block at the U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 10. (Hart, 10/28)

KHN: Hospital Bills For Uninsured COVID Patients Are Covered, But No One Tells Them
When Darius Settles died from COVID-19 on the Fourth of July, his family and the city of Nashville, Tennessee, were shocked. Even the mayor noted the passing of a 30-year-old without any underlying conditions — one of the city’s youngest fatalities at that point. Settles was also uninsured and had just been sent home from an emergency room for the second time, and he was worried about medical bills. An investigation into his death found that, like many uninsured COVID-19 patients, he had never been told that cost shouldn’t be a concern. (Farmer, 10/29)

WBUR: How Mass General Brigham Plans To Dismantle Racism In And Outside Hospital Walls
Mass General Brigham is out with a plan to dismantle racism within its 12-hospital network. The project, called “United Against Racism,” includes changes in leadership, culture and patient care. It also expands efforts to address hunger, housing and job opportunities outside hospital walls. (Bebinger, 10/28)

Crain's Chicago Business: Blue Cross Of Illinois Launching Health Equity Programs
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois is piloting new programs to improve health outcomes for minorities and increase racial and ethnic diversity among medical professionals. The initiatives come amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected people of color and highlighted longstanding disparities in access to food, housing, education, safety and wealth. Such inequities led Illinois’ dominant insurer to develop the Health Equity Hospital Quality Incentive Program, said Salma Khaleq, vice president of provider strategy and partnerships for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois. (Goldberg, 10/28)

In other health care industry news —

CIDRAP: PPE Still Lacking In Nursing Homes As COVID Doubles Down
Two new studies detail US nursing home preparedness amid the COVID-19 pandemic, one finding that 20% of facilities had less than 1 week's supply of at least one type of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the other showing that homes owned by private equity firms performed on par with those under other types of ownership in terms of coronavirus cases and deaths but stored less PPE. (Van Beusekom, 10/28)

AP: Ex-Weatherman Who Threatened Health Director Gets Probation
A former Omaha TV weatherman and spokesman for a former mayor has been sentenced to two years of probation for emailing death threats to a local health department director over her handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Ronald Penzkowski, 58, was sentenced Tuesday, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Penzkowski pleaded no contest earlier this year to two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault. He initially had been charged with a felony count of making terroristic threats. (10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Providers' Campaign Spending Skews Toward Democrats
A greater share of hospitals' and nursing homes' political contributions have gone to Democrats in 2020 than in recent election cycles, according to campaign finance disclosures. The spending favoring Democrats comes as polls show they are likely to hold the House of Representatives and have a fighting chance to take the Senate. Big provider lobbying groups have also spent on behalf of candidates in both parties positioned to gain power, and some who are physicians. (Cohrs, 10/29)

Modern Healthcare: Baylor, Catalyst Health Network Partner To Drive Down Healthcare Costs
Baylor Scott & White's clinically integrated network and the Texas-based primary care network Catalyst Health Network have formed a partnership focused on reducing healthcare costs and improving access for northern Texas residents. The partnership, announced this week, will involve the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and the Catalyst Health Network working together to influence new services and cost of insurance by employers and insurers in the North Texas region. (Castellucci, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna To Pay $1 Million HIPAA Fine Over Three Incidents
Aetna has agreed to pay HHS' Office for Civil Rights $1 million to resolve alleged HIPAA violations stemming from three separate incidents the health insurance giant reported in 2017, the agency said Wednesday. Aetna has been a subsidiary of CVS Health since 2018. (Cohen, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Anthem To Pay $594 Million In Blues Antitrust Settlement
National health insurer Anthem said Wednesday that it will pay $594 million as part of a settlement reached by Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in a federal antitrust lawsuit. Anthem, a Blue plan that operates in 14 states, recorded the charge in the third quarter of 2020, though the settlement still must be approved by a federal court. Anthem said both the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member plans have signed off on the settlement. (Livingston, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Community Health Centers Argue 340B Rule Is Unnecessary And Harmful
The Trump administration's plan to lower insulin and Epi-Pen costs for community health center patients is unnecessary and could do more harm than good, according to comments on the proposed rule. The National Association of Community Health Centers said the proposed rule reflects "a fundamental misunderstanding" of Federally Qualified Community Health Centers and the 340B program. Providers argued community health centers already have to care for patients based on their ability to pay and usually have programs to help them afford their medication if they don't have enough money. (Brady, 10/28)

NBC News: Family Says Walter Wallace Jr., Killed By Philadelphia Police, Needed Mental Health Treatment
On Monday afternoon, police officers arrived at Walter Wallace Jr.'s West Philadelphia row home for a third time that day. Relatives said he was having "another one of his episodes." In the past, when emotions ran high, Wallace, 27, an aspiring rapper and father of eight, could be pacified with the mention of his young children or a song he liked. But he grappled with mental illness, including bipolar disorder, and he had been going to therapy as recently as last week, said Anthony Fitzhugh, a cousin. (Ortiz, 10/28)

AP: Philly Shooting Brings Policing, Racism Back Into Campaign
The fatal shooting of another Black man on America’s streets by police — with subsequent unrest — has brought the fraught issues of policing and racism in the nation back to the fore of the presidential election in its closing days. Philadelphia police say Walter Wallace Jr., 27, was shot earlier this week in the throes of a mental health crisis after he ignored officers’ repeated orders to drop a knife. The encounter, caught on video, spurred violent unrest in Philadelphia, and now has both President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden calibrating how to address some of the same questions that roiled American cities — and the presidential campaign — earlier this year as they negotiate the end game for a race in which Pennsylvania is a critical battleground. (Lauer, Madhani and Bumsted, 10/29)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Curfew, Protests After Police Shooting Of Walter Wallace Jr.
Mayor Jim Kenney on Wednesday announced a 9 p.m. citywide curfew and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw pledged to release 911 calls and body-worn camera footage of the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., steps in a bid to end the unrest that had plagued West Philadelphia for successive nights since Wallace’s death Monday. Although previous police shootings of Black men in Philadelphia have sparked protests, the department has never before released police footage of an officer’s shooting. Outlaw said she was committed to “a fair and thorough investigation,” and promised to release the materials in the coming days after showing them to Wallace’s family. (10/28)

Detroit Free Press: Mike Pence In Flint Downplays Systemic Racism, Urges Support For Trump
President Donald Trump supports law enforcement, does not believe in institutional racism and is the only right choice for the voters of Michigan, Vice President Mike Pence said during a speech in Flint on Wednesday evening. The speech came six days before polls open Tuesday. Although roughly 2.4 million Michiganders have already voted, at least that many are still expected to either cast absentee ballots or vote in person on Election Day. (Boucher, 10/28)

Also —

Stateline: Pandemic, Anti-Racism Protests May Boost Marijuana Legalization
The pandemic and nationwide protests against racism and police brutality have boosted pro-legalization tax and equity arguments this year, supporters say. Not only has the coronavirus caused a global recession and hollowed out state budgets, but voters may be more willing to see legal pot as a social justice issue. A heavy advantage in fundraising and the increasing nationwide support for legalization also are boosting the campaigns. But opponents argue that marijuana sales provide relatively limited tax revenue and pose public health risks, such as potential increased addiction and drugged driving. (Quinton, 10/29)

Modern Healthcare: Mayo, Google Want To Speed Radiation Therapy Planning With AI
Mayo Clinic and Google Health on Wednesday launched a joint research project to study whether artificial intelligence can automate aspects of radiation therapy planning. Radiation therapy is common cancer treatment that involves using X-ray, proton or other energy beams to kill cancer cells. A critical part of planning for the therapy is contouring, or segmenting healthy tissue and organs from nearby tumors. Mayo and Google Health officials think contouring could be helped with AI. (Cohen, 10/28)

Stat: Google And Mayo Clinic To Use AI To Better Target Radiation Therapy 
In the first project of their sweeping data partnership, Google and the Mayo Clinic will build an artificial intelligence tool to guide the targeting of radiation therapy in cancer patients, the organizations said Wednesday. The tool will draw contours around tumors in the head and neck, dividing them from healthy tissue, and help to determine radiation dosage and develop treatment plans for patients. (Ross, 10/28)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Stat: A MacArthur 'Genius' Will Likely Use His Grant To Support His Wife’s Work
There’s a rare and touching symbiosis in Damien Fair’s marriage. The prominent University of Minnesota neuroscientist was honored earlier this month with a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, but he likely will spend his earnings — a cool, no-strings-attached $625,000 — to support his wife’s life’s work. (Keshavan, 10/29)

Stat: Startup Spotlight: Encoded Eyes A Gene Therapy For Dravet Syndrome
Kartik Ramamoorthi started the gene therapy company Encoded in an unusual way: by pitching it during a job interview. In 2014, Ramamoorthi found himself interviewing for a position at the Gates Foundation’s venture investments group. He already had a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and some post-graduate experience as a founding member of Voyager Therapeutics, a Third Rock Ventures-backed neurodegeneration startup. (Sheridan, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Tiny Brain Implants Hold Big Promise For Immobilized Patients 
When Phil O’Keefe wants to open a document or click a link on his computer screen, he can think about tapping his left ankle. That brain activity is collected by sensors implanted in a blood vessel in Mr. O’Keefe’s brain and relayed to a computer through devices in his chest. The signals are converted to a mouse click or zoom-in on his screen with the help of machine-learning software. (Hernandez and Cherney, 10/28)

The New York Times: M.L.B. Says Justin Turner Refused To Stay Off Field After Dodgers’ Win 
The joy of the Dodgers’ long coveted World Series title was overshadowed when Justin Turner, the team’s veteran third baseman, joined his teammates in celebration on the field shortly after learning he had tested positive for the coronavirus. ... .M.L.B. said on Wednesday that the Dodgers’ entire traveling party had been tested after Tuesday’s game and that both they and the Tampa Bay Rays were tested again in the morning. It said “appropriate authorities” would determine whether the teams could travel or not, but did not specify which ones. The Dodgers flew home Wednesday evening, but it was unclear how many members of the team were on the flight. (Waldstein, Brassil and Wagner, 10/28)

The Washington Post: MLB Investigating Justin Turner's Actions After World Series Win 
On Wednesday afternoon, MLB said it was investigating the matter with the players’ union “within the parameters of their joint 2020 operations manual.” “Following the Dodgers’ victory, it is clear that Turner chose to disregard the agreed-upon joint protocols and the instructions he was given regarding the safety and protection of others,” MLB said in a statement. “While a desire to celebrate is understandable, Turner’s decision to leave isolation and enter the field was wrong and put everyone he came in contact with at risk. When MLB Security raised the matter of being on the field with Turner, he emphatically refused to comply.” (Sheinin and Dougherty, 10/28)

In other public health news —

The New York Times: People Are Still Having Sex. So Why Are S.T.D. Rates Dropping? 
For the first time in years, rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, which had been on track in 2020 to hit record highs in the United States, have taken an abrupt downturn. This should be good news. ... But the drop is more likely a harbinger of bad news, experts in reproductive and sexual health believe. They say the pandemic has seriously hindered efforts to mitigate sexually transmitted infections, [and] the upbeat numbers likely signal instead that they are now going largely undetected. (Hoffman, 10/28)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Less Exercise, More Snacking And Anxiety: Coronavirus Has Led To These Bad Habits 
Over the past seven months, the coronavirus has upended life, prompting widespread shifts in how people spend their days. What was hard to comprehend in March — virtual schooling, isolation, meetings through videoconference, plexiglass and masks — is now the norm. But according to a new study from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, some of those disruptions have turned into habits. And they might have long-lasting effects on health. (Woodruff, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Halloween Terror, Now On The Drive-Through Menu 
The Oaks Park Haunted Drive-Thru offers five frightening options to choose from, including one called “The Condemned.” “Fake blood and guts get smeared and strewn all over your car,” said Emily MacKay, marketing and events director. “But you get a carwash at the end of the drive. From a value standpoint, you could come just for that.” Or for the killer clowns or nuclear-disaster mutants featured in the other options at this mobile Portland, Ore.-based creep-show. This year, lots of haunted houses are closed. Yet there is a detour some haunt promoters are taking: drive-through attractions. (Garbarino, 10/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: As San Francisco Reopens, Facials Return With Science-Fiction Precautions
San Francisco moved into the state’s yellow tier for reopening on Oct. 20, and Tuesday was the first day in seven months that some nonessential personal services — including those that require the removal of masks, such as facials by estheticians — were allowed in the city. At spas across town, it became clear that while the serenity of soothing new age music and burbling fountains was the same as ever, treatments now included shades of science — and science fiction. (Zinko, 10/28)

The Salt Lake Tribune: Is Utah’s Home Football Opener Endangered By State’s COVID-19 Surge? Not Yet. 
COVID-19 cases are spiking and the positive-test percentage remains high in the state of Utah. That said, there is no indication that the University of Utah’s Nov. 7 season opener vs. Arizona is in danger of being canceled or relocated. However, the language inside a key Pac-12 document at least deems the topic worth exploring. (Newman, 10/28)

CNN: More Than 40 States Are Reporting An Increase In Covid-19 Cases And Many In The Midwest Are Seeing Record Hospitalizations 
The US is adding an average of more than 74,000 new Covid-19 cases to the national total every day -- a record high in a pandemic that experts say is likely to worsen. The seven-day average is part of a fall surge that has brought the national case count to more than 8.8 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Holcombe, 10/29)

The Hill: Wisconsin Reports Record Number Of COVID-19 Deaths, Hospitalizations And Cases 
Wisconsin on Tuesday reported record numbers of single-day COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 64 new coronavirus deaths, 220 new hospitalizations and 5,262 new cases since announcing Monday’s numbers. Ryan Westergaard, the chief medical officer for the department's Bureau of Communicable Diseases, labeled the record increases as a “nightmare” during a press conference, NBC affiliate TMJ4 in Milwaukee reported. (Coleman, 10/28)

Bangor Daily News: COVID-19 Is Spiking Like It Did In The Spring, But This Time It’s Hitting Most Of Maine
The coronavirus is again spiking in Maine as it did at the height of the pandemic in the spring, breaking a one-day record with 87 new cases on Wednesday and raising increasing alarm among state officials. Yet this new uptick has some key differences from last spring’s. That first surge was concentrated in three of Maine’s more populous and urban southern counties — especially Cumberland County, in Portland and its suburbs — and largely driven by deadly outbreaks in elder care facilities. (Eichacker, 10/28)

WBUR: Concerned About COVID-19 Resurgence, Boston Officials Urge All Residents To Get Tested
There are four sites across Boston where residents can get free coronavirus tests even if they have no symptoms, and Mayor Marty Walsh wants as many people as possible to take advantage of them. In particular, he says, people who have been traveling or socializing in groups. (Chen, 10/28)

In other news from New York and California —

CNN: A Long Island Country Club Was Fined $17,000 For Hosting A Wedding Where 30 Guests Contracted Covid-19 
Officials in one New York county have fined a Long Island country club $17,000 for hosting a wedding in which a third of guests later tested positive for Covid-19. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the county would fine North Fork Country Club for violating Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order that limits nonessential gatherings to 50 attendees. (Andrew, 10/28)

KHN: App-Based Companies Pushing Prop. 22 Say Drivers Will Get Health Benefits. Will They? 
App-based driving services such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are bankrolling California’s Proposition 22, which would keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, not employees. Leading into the Nov. 3 election, the ballot measure — which has become the most expensive in state history — is mired in controversy and the subject of a lawsuit from Uber drivers alleging that the company inappropriately pressured them to vote for the initiative. (Bluth, 10/29)

The New York Times: Protests In Poland Over Abortion Law Continue For Sixth Day
Tens of thousands of women took to the streets in dozens of Polish cities and towns for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest a top court’s decision to ban nearly all abortions, even as the nation’s leading politician urged his conservative supporters to “defend Poland.” The call by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the deputy prime minister and leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, to fight back against the protesters and his description of the opposition as “criminals” seeking to “destroy the Polish nation,” threatened to escalate an already tense moment in the deeply divided nation. (Santora, Pronczuk and Magdziarz, 10/28)

AP: Polish President Backtracks On Abortion View Amid Protests
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that women themselves should have the right to abortion in case of congenitally damaged fetuses, apparently breaking ranks with a conservative leadership that pushed a ban that has led to mass street protests. “It cannot be that the law requires this kind of heroism from a woman,” Duda said in an interview with radio RMF FM. He spoke after seven straight days of huge protests across Poland following a constitutional court ruling declaring it unconstitutional to terminate a pregnancy due to fetal congenital defects. The ruling effectively bans almost all abortions in a country that already had one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. (10/29)

The New York Times: How Poland’s New Abortion Law Became Such A Flash Point 
Doctors in Poland can refuse to perform a legal abortion and may also refuse to prescribe contraception on religious grounds. And there is very little financial and psychological support for families of disabled children, who are left to fend for themselves once the child is born. In the court ruling, the tribunal’s president, Julia Przylebska, said that allowing abortions for fetal abnormalities legalized “eugenic practices.” Because Poland’s Constitution guarantees the protection of human life, she added, termination based on the health of a fetus amounted to “a directly forbidden form of discrimination. ”Protesters are demanding that the court reverse itself and a growing number are also calling for liberalization of the abortion law. (Pronczuk, 10/27)

In other global developments —

AP: Short Of Medics As Virus Surges, Central Europe Sounds Alarm
Soldiers in Poland are giving coronavirus tests. American National Guard troops with medical training are headed to the Czech Republic to work alongside doctors there. A Czech university student is running blood samples to labs, and the mayor of the capital is taking shifts at a hospital. With cases surging in many central European countries, firefighters, students and retired doctors are being asked to help shore up buckling health care systems. (Janicek and Gera, 10/29)

The Washington Post: Melbourne Lifts One Of World’s Longest Lockdowns After 111 Days 
One of the world’s longest novel coronavirus lockdowns wound down Wednesday morning, allowing roughly 5 million people in the Australian city of Melbourne to leave home anytime they want, eat dinner at a restaurant and drink at bars for the first time in more than three months. Celebrations ensued. Bookings at low-capacity bars and restaurants quickly filled up for weeks ahead. Businesses popped bottles of champagne as shoppers flocked to stores. Some, including, Kmart, opted to remain open for 24 hours to meet demand, local media reported. (Noori Farzan and Berger, 10/28)

CIDRAP: Lower COVID-19 Viral Loads Found In Asymptomatic Children
In the first large study looking at SARS-CoV-2 viral loads (VL) in asymptomatic children, researchers found that VL were 3 to 4 logs lower compared with symptomatic children, which was consistent with the difference in median cycle threshold (Ct) values—10.3 cycles—between the two groups. This finding, published yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, held true across age (0 to 17 years old), race and ethnicity, sex, and institution, although the researchers found that both the magnitude of Ct difference and the VL lessened with older subgroups. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. (10/23)

CIDRAP: Studies Show Long-Term COVID-19 Immune Response 
A UK study in Nature Microbiology today examined 65 individuals with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 31 seropositive healthcare workers (HCWs).The study authors sampled patients—with symptoms ranging from asymptomatic to critical—for antibody responses in serum collected up to 94 days after symptom onset using enzyme-linked immunoassay. (Keubelbeck Paulsen, 10/26)

PLOS One: Global Impact Of Environmental Temperature And BCG Vaccination Coverage On The Transmissibility And Fatality Rate Of COVID-19
It is imperative to speculate the behaviour of COVID-19 in coming days as the climate will change largely in many countries in the coming months, which may directly affect the incidence and mortality associated with COVID-19 outbreak. The decision-making of governments could be framed for lock-down period of their respective countries if the effect of climatic conditions can be examined with the incidence and mortality rate associated with COVID-19 infection. Therefore, our study aims to determine the association of temperature and neonatal BCG vaccination coverage of respective countries with the spread of the COVID-19 infection and mortality across various countries around the world. (Kumar et al, 10/22)

PLOS One: Behavioral Practices Of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis During Covid-19 Pandemic
We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the Covid-19 pandemic in MS patients living in Saudi Arabia. This survey took place in June 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our study was conducted during the curfew in Saudi Arabia. We included MS patients who, during our study period, had been diagnosed with MS for at least one year. (Alnajashi et al, 10/22)

JAMA Network: Association Of Therapies With Reduced Pain And Improved Quality Of Life In Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis 
What is the association of therapies with reduced pain and improved quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia? In this systematic review, the effectiveness of most therapies for fibromyalgia was not supported. Strong evidence supported only cognitive behavioral therapy for pain, as well as antidepressants and central nervous system depressants for pain and quality of life, but these associations were small. (Mascarenhas et al, 10/26)

The Washington Post: The Shooting Of Walter Wallace Jr. Shows How Desperately Police Need Reform
When police arrived at the West Philadelphia home of Walter Wallace Jr. on Monday afternoon, it reportedly was the third time that police had gone to the address that day. Not a lot is publicly known about what happened the first two times police responded, but Mr. Wallace’s family said it was seeking help for the 27-year-old, who struggled with mental illness. Mr. Wallace was instead shot and killed by police, and the nation once again is confronted with agonizing questions about the treatment of a Black man. A joint investigation by police and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office into the death of Mr. Wallace is underway. (10/28)

Stat: Laws To Ban Gender-Affirming Care Could Increase Youth Suicides
Legislation proposed or under consideration in 19 states since early 2020 aims to prohibit access to gender-affirming care for minors. Several of these laws even threaten legal action against the clinicians who provide such care. (Kacie Kidd and Gina Sequeira, 10/29)

The New York Times: Er, Can I Ask A Few Questions About Abortion?
You know who really reduced abortion numbers in the U.S.? President Obama, with the Affordable Care Act. ...Millions of American Christians are likely to vote for President Trump on Tuesday because they believe it a religious obligation to support a president who will appoint “pro-life” judges. But as I’ve observed before, there is an incipient rethinking underway in evangelical and Catholic circles about what it means to be “pro-life,” and let me try to add to that ferment. For the truth is that the litmus test approach to abortion on the part of many conservative Christians is anomalous, both religiously and historically. (Nicolas Kristof, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Jared Kushner, Peggy Noonan And White Problems With Black Ambition
When you’re Black in America, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. You’re either shiftless or too ambitious. If you’re too ambitious, you better not for one moment show a sense of comfort in your own skin lest you be deemed not serious enough for your lofty ambitions. And the enforcers of these precepts usually look and sound exactly as Jared Kushner and Peggy Noonan did this week. (Jonathan Capehart, 10/28)

The Hill: Working Together To Effectively Address Patient Identification During COVID-19 
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on many areas of our health care and public health system and laid bare existing problems that are exacerbated during this crisis. One such area that must be addressed by policymakers is the issue of patient identification. Each year thousands of Americans lose their lives through administrative errors, including patient misidentification, but right now the U.S. lacks a national strategy to address this dire problem. (Reps. Bill Foster and Mike Kelly, 10/28)

Miami Herald: South Florida, Vote To Keep Your Heads Above Water
In less than one week, we, the people of the United States of America, are going to make a decision that will critically impact how we will spend the rest of our days on this planet, how future generations will live on this planet and how many more pandemics we will bring to it. Politicians focus on the here and now. On Election Day, let’s remind them that our lives continue beyond their terms of office. Unless they change our current course of action, skyrocketing carbon emissions will continue to heat the planet, melt polar caps and bring catastrophe to a peninsula defined by water: increased sea-level rise, more coastal flooding, saltwater intrusion into our freshwater aquifer, prolonged and record-breaking heat waves, extreme weather, including stronger, stalled and wetter hurricanes), ecosystem collapse, more pandemics and, eventually, a weakening of the Gulf Stream. (Xavier Cortada, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Europe’s Covid Lockdowns Return
Keep in mind that continental Europe was supposed to have done everything right to prevent another infection surge. The first lockdowns were extensive and prolonged. Governments mandated masks and social distancing. The new surges are due to the insidious nature of the virus, not to policy mistakes. That’s a lesson for Democrats who blame every new American infection on Donald Trump. The reality became clear months ago that the virus can’t be banished on government orders, especially as citizens suffer and chafe under the pain of lockdowns. Targeted closures that protect the vulnerable are better policy responses until better treatments and a vaccine arrive or some broader immunity is reached. U.S. policy makers should do their best to avoid following Europe into another tragic shutdown. (10/28)

Boston Globe: Messy Details About COVID-19 Don’t Faze Those In Trumpland
Ninety-nine percent. This was the number I heard repeatedly from those at President Trump’s campaign rally Monday in Allentown, Pa. As in, 99 percent of people who get COVID-19 don’t die from it. Never mind that the number is wrong and that the US mortality rate is estimated at 2.6 percent, according to Johns Hopkins University. Even if most people who test positive for the coronavirus survive, that ignores the fact that more than 227,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19 in the past seven months. Nearly 9 million have contracted the virus, and many are suffering long-term health consequences. (Michael Cohen, 10/28)

CNN: Trump Bet Against Science, And Voters Are Casting Judgment 
The failed bet laid by President Donald Trump to ignore science and prioritize his political goals early in the pandemic, revealed Wednesday in fresh detail by new Jared Kushner tapes, is backfiring in devastating fashion at the critical moment of his reelection bid. Dark warnings by scientists and new data showing a nationwide explosion in a virus Trump says is going away, crashing stock markets and real-time examples of the White House's delusions about its failed response are consuming the President as tens of millions of early voters cast judgment. (Stephen Collinson, 10/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Masks Are A Distraction From The Pandemic Reality 
A hallmark of Covid-19 pandemic policy has been the failure of political leaders and health officials to anticipate the unintended consequences of their actions. This tendency has haunted many decisions, from lockdowns that triggered enormous unemployment and increased alcohol and drug abuse, to school closures that are widening educational disparities between rich and poor families. Mask mandates may also have unintended consequences that outweigh the benefits. (Joseph A. Ladapo, 10/28)

Stat: Lessons From H1N1 For Monitoring Covid-19 Vaccine Safety 
As the country and the world eagerly await vaccines to curb the Covid-19 pandemic and allow us to return to normal social and economic activities, preparing to monitor these vaccines for safety is a critical task. Safety is a key consideration for any medical product that will be administered to millions of healthy people. To ensure that vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are very safe and that the public trusts the vaccine program, the U.S. needs a safety monitoring system that is rigorous, rapid, objective, and transparent. (Daniel Salmon and Joshua M. Sharfstein, 10/29)

Los Angeles Times: What Happens If A President-Elect Dies? 
President Trump’s brief hospitalization earlier this month for COVID-19 treatment spawned a flurry of “what if” discussions that, incongruously enough, proved to be a good thing for the country. How? By spotlighting how poorly prepared we are for some worst-case electoral scenarios, and in particular, what happens if a presidential candidate dies before election day, or if the apparent winner dies after the votes have been counted but before the electoral college meets? (10/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid And The Catholic Schools
As Gov. Baker suggests, the positive experience of the parochial schools in handling Covid-19 while reopening their classrooms clearly shows the unions have been wrong to fight school re-openings. But they get away with it because the public schools answer mostly to them and not to the families they are supposed to serve. More school choice is as much a public-health fix as it is an education reform. (10/28)

The Hill: A Pandemic Election Should Move America To Address Caregivers' Struggles 
Multiple news stories recount the same sad story. Lockdowns and social distancing are necessary public health interventions to prevent widespread COVID-19 infections that would overwhelm hospitals and run-up a sad tally of dead and disabled Americans. But these interventions mean America’s families struggle to balance multiple commitments: care for sick or disabled relatives, raise and educate children, and work. (Jason Karlawish, 10/28)

USA Today: Justin Turner Controversy Again Reveals Selfishness Of Broken Society
Justin Turner finally got his World Series title and Major League Baseball got its postseason TV riches, so to hell with everybody else. That’s how we’re doing it, right? Personal satisfaction and happiness over the collective good, science and common sense be damned. The appalling flouting of COVID-19 protocols at the World Series on Tuesday night might as well be a microcosm of the United States, bringing into sharp focus why this country has lost almost 230,000 of its mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends in the past seven months. (Nancy Armour, 10/28)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Public Health In Philadelphia Defines This Year’s Ballot
Public health is not just on the ballot. It is the ballot. Many of us in the field are very anxious about the coming election and its outcome. What will it mean to the communities we love, live in, and serve? As public health educators, we know that in a true democracy, politics reflect the values of the community and society. However, as public health researchers, we also know too well that true equality for individuals, and their voices, is still lacking in our city, region, and country, tied to an overall lack of equity in the policies and approaches of our governments. (Priya E. Mammen, Christen J. Rexing, and Rosemary Frasso, 10/28)

Charlotte Observer: As NC Virus Cases Rise, Surrender Is Not An Option - Even If The President Has Quit
Scientists and doctors warned it was coming if stronger action wasn’t taken and here it is – another wave of coronavirus cases. And this one, coming as colder weather keeps more people indoors, could exceed the spike of midsummer. North Carolina reported a record high of 2,716 new COVID-19 cases Friday. The numbers have averaged above 2,000 cases a day for much of the past two weeks. Hospitalizations are rising and positive tests are at 7.2 percent, above the 5 percent target level for controlling the spread. Nationally, new coronavirus cases are averaging 71,000 a day during the past week, the highest level of the pandemic. (10/28)