The Washington Post: Trump Acknowledges He Intentionally Downplayed Deadly Coronavirus, Says Effort Was To Reduce Panic 
President Trump acknowledged Wednesday that he intentionally played down the deadly nature of the rapidly spreading coronavirus last winter as an attempt to avoid a “frenzy,” part of an escalating damage-control effort by his top advisers to contain the fallout from a forthcoming book by The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward. Trump’s comments came hours after excerpts from the book and audio of some of the 18 separate interviews he conducted with the author were released, fueling a sense of outrage over the president’s blunt description of knowing that he was not telling the truth about a virus that has killed nearly 190,000 Americans. (Dawsey, Sonmez and Kane, 9/9)

The New York Times: Trump Admits Downplaying the Virus Knowing It Was ‘Deadly Stuff’
As part of the White House’s effort at damage control, Mr. Trump told reporters that his recorded remarks to Mr. Woodward were vastly different from what he was telling the public because he was worried about frightening people. “We don’t want to instill panic,” the president said on Wednesday. “We don’t want to jump up and down and start shouting that we have a problem that is a tremendous problem” and “scare everybody.” (Haberman, 9/9)

Fox News: Trump Defends Coronavirus Response After Woodward Interview Audio Published: 'I Don't Want To Scare People' 
President Trump defended comments he made earlier this year about the coronavirus pandemic in interviews with journalist Bob Woodward, telling Fox News' "Hannity" Wednesday that he wanted to "show a calmness." "I'm the leader of the country, I can't be jumping up and down and scaring people," Trump told host Sean Hannity. "I don't want to scare people. I want people not to panic, and that's exactly what I did." (Creitz, 9/9)

CNN: 'Play It Down': Trump Admits To Concealing The True Threat Of Coronavirus In New Woodward Book
In a series of interviews with Woodward, Trump revealed that he had a surprising level of detail about the threat of the virus earlier than previously known. "Pretty amazing," Trump told Woodward, adding that the coronavirus was maybe five times "more deadly" than the flu. Trump's admissions are in stark contrast to his frequent public comments at the time insisting that the virus was "going to disappear" and "all work out fine." (Gangel, Herb and Stuart, 9/9)

Politico: ‘This Is Deadly Stuff’: Tapes Show Trump Acknowledging Virus Threat In February 
Woodward conducted 18 on-the-record interviews with the president between last December and July to gather material for the veteran journalist’s forthcoming book on the Trump White House. Excerpts of those conversations were published Wednesday by the Post, including an exchange between Trump and Woodward in which the president revealed he was eager to downplay the coronavirus outbreak so as not to alarm Americans. “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down,” Trump said on March 19. “Because I don’t want to create a panic.” (Forgey and Choi, 9/9)

Listen to the Trump tapes and get more details from the book —

The Washington Post: Bob Woodward Book: In Trump Interviews For 'Rage,' President Says He Downplayed Coronavirus Threat
“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” Trump said in a Feb. 7 call. “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” “This is deadly stuff,” the president repeated for emphasis. At that time, Trump was telling the nation that the virus was no worse than a seasonal flu, predicting it would soon disappear and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control. It would be several weeks before he would publicly acknowledge that the virus was no ordinary flu and that it could be transmitted through the air. Trump admitted to Woodward on March 19 that he deliberately minimized the danger. “I wanted to always play it down,” the president said. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” (Costa and Rucker, 9/9)

USA Today: Bob Woodward Book Takeaways: Playing Down COVID, Nuclear Program
An admission by President Donald Trump that he was "playing" down the threat posed by COVID-19. A new secretive nuclear program. Copies of dozens of never-before-seen letters between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Those are just a few of the jarring details included in "Rage," a new book written by veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward about Trump's tenure. ... Here are some of the most extraordinary details included in the book, according to CNN and The Post, which obtained early copies. The book is set to hit shelves next week. (Hayes and Cummings, 9/9)

Politico: ‘He Knowingly And Willingly Lied’: Biden Rips Trump Over Woodward Book Revelations 
Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump over the revelation that Trump acknowledged how “deadly” the coronavirus could be back in February, accusing the president of “a life-and-death betrayal of the American people” that he contended was “almost criminal.““He knew how deadly it was. It was much more deadly than the flu,” Biden said during an event with autoworkers in the swing state of Michigan. “He knew and purposely played it down. Worse, he lied to the American people. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months.” (Oprysko, 9/9)

The New York Times: Biden Pushes A Jobs Plan And Tears Into Trump's Covid Response In Michigan 
“He had the information,” Mr. Biden said during a trip to the critical battleground state of Michigan. “He knew how dangerous it was. And while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job on purpose. It was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people.” “It’s beyond despicable,” Mr. Biden added, detailing the crises the nation faces as a result of the pandemic that go far beyond the staggering public health costs. “It’s a dereliction of duty. It’s a disgrace.” (Kaplan, Glueck and Tankersley, 9/9)

The Hill: Biden Says Trump Downplaying Coronavirus Threat Was 'Almost Criminal' 
“I truly don't get it,” Biden told [CNN's Jake] Tapper in response to clips of Trump’s interviews with Woodward about the virus, noting the tens of thousands of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. "It was all about making sure the stock market didn't come down, that his wealthy friends didn't lose any money and that he could say anything, that in fact anything that happened had nothing to do with him," Biden added. (Klar, 9/9)

Also —

Politico: Murphy Goes After Trump For Withholding Information About Severity Of Virus
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy went after President Donald Trump on Wednesday over the revelation that the president withheld information about the severity of the coronavirus, saying that fewer people would have died if the president had been more forthright. “If we knew, specifically, that it was transmitted airborne ... If we had known that earlier, we would have shut the state meaningfully earlier. We would have gotten to a mandatory masking policy meaningfully earlier. We would have had a stay-at-home mandate put in place,” Murphy said during an afternoon appearance on CNN. (Landergan, 9/9)

Boston Globe: ‘As An Epidemiologist, I Want To Vomit’: Health Experts Slam Trump Comments To Woodward On COVID-19 Threat
Public health experts on Wednesday slammed President Trump for acknowledging privately in February that COVID-19 was far more deadly than the flu and highly contagious, even as he played down the threat publicly and urged states to reopen businesses. (Andersen, 9/9)

Politico: Fauci Denies Hearing Trump Distort Facts On Coronavirus 
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, defended President Donald Trump on Wednesday after audio recordings revealed that the president wanted to downplay the severity of the coronavirus early in the pandemic. Speaking with Fox News’ John Roberts, Fauci denied that he ever heard the president “distort” the threat of the coronavirus and maintained that Trump’s presentations to the public were largely in line with discussions he’d had with medical experts. When asked whether he ever felt Trump was downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, Fauci said no. (Choi, 9/9)

The Hill: Fauci Says Trump Did Not 'Distort' Impact Of The Pandemic 
Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said he doesn't think President Trump was publicly distorting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview with Fox News's John Roberts, Fauci said Trump's public press conferences in the early spring mostly echoed what members of the White House coronavirus task force were telling him in private. (Weixel, 9/9)

The Hill: Meadows 'Would Not Have Recommended' Woodward's Access To White House In Early Virus Days 
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday he would not have recommended journalist Bob Woodward gain as much access to the White House as he did in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic had Meadows been in his chief of staff role at the time. “I’m not surprised that the president was on the phone with Bob Woodward. ... His access to the White House is probably something that I would not have recommended had I been in the chief of staff role very early on,” Meadows said on Fox News’s “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” when asked if he was surprised by how much time Trump spent talking to Woodward for his forthcoming book. (Klar, 9/9)

Author Bob Woodward faces criticism —

AP: Woodward Defends Decision To Withhold Trump's Virus Comments
Bob Woodward, facing widespread criticism for only now revealing President Donald Trump’s early concerns about the severity of the coronavirus, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he needed time to be sure that Trump’s private comments from February were accurate. (Italie, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Should Bob Woodward Have Reported Trump’s Virus Revelations Sooner? Here’s How He Defends His Decision. 
Two waves of outrage greeted the news on Wednesday of Bob Woodward’s latest White House chronicle, a book titled “Rage.” The first was Trump’s disclosure to Woodward that he knew as early as February — even as he was dismissing the novel coronavirus publicly — that the looming pandemic was far deadlier than the flu. The second was that Woodward, long associated with The Washington Post, didn’t reveal this to the public sooner. (Margaret Sullivan, 9/9)

Roll Call: Top Health Experts Try To Prop Up Public Confidence In Coronavirus Vaccine
Two of the Trump administration’s top medical experts tried to prop up shaky public confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine at a Senate hearing Wednesday amid questions of political interference in this campaign year. “We have unprecedented levels of vaccine hesitancy in our country and globally,” said Surgeon General Jerome Adams, appearing with National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “I think it’s also important to understand we have a once-in-a-century pandemic superimposed on top of a presidential election, and that’s made messaging even more difficult and concerning. (Kopp, 9/9)

The New York Times: N.I.H. Director Undercuts Trump’s Comments On Covid-19 Vaccines 
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, took issue on Wednesday with President Trump’s suggestion that a coronavirus vaccine would be available by Election Day, as he repeatedly sought to reassure senators and the public that a vaccine would not be made available to the public unless it was safe and effective. “Certainly, to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early November is well beyond anything that any scientist right now could tell you and be confident they know what they are saying,” Dr. Collins told a Senate panel at a hearing on the effort to find a vaccine. (9/9)

The Hill: Top Health Officials Pledge To Keep Politics Out Of COVID-19 Vaccine Process 
Top federal health officials tried to reassure lawmakers on Wednesday that politics will not play a role in determining whether a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, amid fears that President Trump is politicizing the process. “Science and science alone will be the way in which this decision is made, otherwise I’ll have no part in it,” Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (Hellmann, 9/9/20)

In related news —

Stat: Public Trust In CDC, Fauci, Other Officials Is Evaporating, Poll Finds
A new poll paints a bleak picture of Americans’ views toward the coronavirus pandemic. The poll, from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, finds that the public’s trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S.’s top doctors, like Anthony Fauci, is rapidly dropping, particularly among Republicans. It also finds that a sizable percentage of Americans still hold a number of incorrect beliefs about the pandemic, and that less than half of Americans surveyed would want to get vaccinated against Covid-19 if a vaccine was available before November. (Florko, 9/10)

Politico: Emails Show HHS Official Trying To Muzzle Fauci 
A Trump administration appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to prevent Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, from speaking about the risks that coronavirus poses to children. Emails obtained by POLITICO show Paul Alexander — a senior adviser to Michael Caputo, HHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs — instructing press officers and others at the National Institutes of Health about what Fauci should say during media interviews. The Trump adviser weighed in on Fauci’s planned responses to outlets including Bloomberg News, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and the science journal Cell. (Owermohle, 9/9)

Kaiser Health News: Most Adults Wary Of Taking Any Vaccine Approved Before The Election 
The public is deeply skeptical about any coronavirus vaccine approved before the November election, and only 42% would be willing to get a vaccine in that scenario, according to a new poll. The results of the poll by KFF reveal widespread concern that the Trump administration will bring pressure on drug regulators to approve a vaccine before the election without ensuring it is safe and effective. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.) (Rau, 9/10)

Yahoo News: Exclusive: White House Orders End To COVID-19 Airport Screenings For International Travelers
The U.S. government on Monday will stop conducting enhanced screening of passengers on inbound international flights for COVID-19, Yahoo News has learned. The screening operations have been held at select airports since January, when the first cases of the disease began to emerge from Wuhan, China. Since March, incoming international flights from select high-risk countries, including much of Europe, China and Iran, among other regions, have been funneled through 15 designated airports in the United States. (Winter, 9/9)

CNN: US To No Longer Limit International Arrivals From Certain Countries To 15 Airports
"Beginning September 14, 2020, the US government will remove requirements for directing all flights carrying airline passengers arriving from, or recently had a presence in, certain countries to land at one of 15 designated airports and halt enhanced entry health screening for these passengers," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an updated post on its website. "Currently, enhanced entry health screening is conducted for those arriving from, or with recent presence in, China (excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Iran, the Schengen region of Europe, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), Ireland, and Brazil." (Fox, 9/10)

Also Wednesday, President Trump added to his list of potential Supreme Court nominees —

Modern Healthcare: Trump's New Supreme Court Shortlist Has Several ACA Opponents
President Donald Trump on Wednesday added 20 names to his shortlist of potential Supreme Court nominees, including some fiery opponents of the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court next term will hear a high-stakes case in which Republican state attorneys general and the Trump administration are arguing that the Affordable Care Act should be struck down in its entirety. With the court relatively balanced between justices who generally vote conservative or liberal, the next vacancy will be crucial in determining the court's future. (Cohrs, 9/9)

The Hill: Tom Cotton After Trump Names Him Potential Supreme Court Nominee: 'It's Time For Roe V. Wade To Go' 
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday reiterated his support for overturning Roe v. Wade after President Trump named him a potential Supreme Court justice nominee. “It's time for Roe v. Wade to go,” Cotton tweeted. (Klar, 9/9)

The New York Times: Inquiry Begins Into AstraZeneca's Coronavirus Vaccine Trial 
Part of the review will include generating a timeline of the participant’s symptoms to see if they match up roughly with when the vaccine was administered. The committee will also investigate other potential causes of the symptoms, in a process of elimination. After determining whether AstraZeneca’s vaccine is the probable cause, experts will advise the company on whether to resume its trials. (Wu, 9/10)

Stat: AstraZeneca CEO Says Participant Had Neurological Symptoms, Could Be Discharged Today
The participant who triggered a global shutdown of AstraZeneca’s Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trials was a woman in the United Kingdom who experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis, the drug maker’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said during a private conference call with investors on Wednesday morning. The woman’s diagnosis has not been confirmed yet, but she is improving and will likely be discharged from the hospital as early as Wednesday, Soriot said. (Feuerstein, 9/9)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Says Should Know If Vaccine Works By Year-End If Trials Resume 
AstraZeneca’s chief executive Pascal Soriot said on Thursday that it should know before the end of the year whether its experimental vaccine would protect people from COVID-19, if the British drugmaker is allowed to resume trials which were paused this week. It suspended the late-stage trials after an illness in a study subject in Britain. The patient was reportedly suffering from neurological symptoms associated with a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis. (Miller and Burger, 9/10)

In related news about AstraZeneca's vaccine —

The Hill: Fauci: AstraZeneca Pause In Vaccine Production 'Not Uncommon' 
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Wednesday that AstraZeneca’s pause in its vaccine clinical trial due to a “potentially unexplained illness” is “not uncommon.” Fauci told “CBS This Morning” that the halting of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine clinical trials is “not uncommon,” noting the documented reaction to the vaccine is why trials are conducted. (Coleman, 9/9)

Politico: The Upside Of The Vaccine Slowdown 
AstraZeneca halted its coronavirus vaccine trials this week while it investigates whether a participant’s serious health problem — reportedly spinal cord inflammation — was caused by the shot. The company’s decision to pause the studies while it reviews safety data is encouraging, because it shows the system is working. But it’s a good reminder that developing safe and effective vaccines is a tricky process. And it’s rarely followed so closely by the general public as it has been during this pandemic. (Morello, 9/9)

ABC News: Pfizer May Win The COVID Vaccine Race. But Distributing It Could Be Another Matter. 
Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceutical company, may be the first in the United States to seek regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, but even if its vaccine is authorized, the company may face additional challenges in distributing it. That's because Pfizer's vaccine can't be stored in the refrigeration systems found at the typical doctor's office. Instead, it requires special ultra-low-temperature freezers that can store medicine at approximately 94 degrees below zero. (Harrison and Salzman, 9/10)

CNN: 8,000 Cargo Jets Needed To Transport Covid-19 Vaccines, Says IATA 
As global pharmaceutical companies race to complete their Covid-19 vaccine trials, the logistics that will be required to deliver them to all corners of the world are coming into focus -- and it will be a mission like no other. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), providing a single dose of the vaccine to 7.8 billion people will require the use of 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft -- and planning needs to begin now. (Cripps, 9/10)

In other vaccine news —

ABC News: Vaccine Developers Hustle To Meet FDA Data Requirements To Submit For Approval 
There is much uneasiness and many questions about a potential COVID-19 vaccine, among them the unprecedented speed of its development and worries about a rushed approval in a highly politicized atmosphere. Recent comments by vaccine manufacturers about data being ready as soon as October are only bringing those questions into greater light. (Mitropoulos, 9/10)

AP: HealthPartners Suspends Recruiting In COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
A Minnesota health care provider has suspended its successful recruitment of participants in a coronavirus vaccine trial while its maker investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot. The trial led by AstraZeneca and Oxford University was suspended while a review is underway of a participant in the United Kingdom who became ill. (9/9)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: COVID Vaccine Trials Lack Important Study Participants
Gwinnett County Transit driver Mikesha Walker talked to co-workers recently about whether they would participate in a COVID-19 vaccine research trial. They’re ideal participants, many researchers say. They spend more time with the public, which puts them at greater exposure to the disease. Many workers are Black, a demographic that is not adequately represented in trials. (Stirgus and Poole, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Mailed Prescription Drug Deliveries Via USPS May Have Had 'Significant' Delays, Senate Report Finds
Patients who rely on the U.S. Postal Service for their prescription drugs may have experienced “significant” delays in their deliveries, according to a Senate report released Wednesday, which accused Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of jeopardizing the “health of millions of Americans. ”Several major U.S. pharmacies told the two Democratic senators leading the investigation — Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.) — that average delivery times have ticked up since the spring, leading to a flood of angry calls from customers and costly requests to resend their medications. (Romm, 9/9)

AP: Dem Report: Postal Service Changes Delay Prescription Drugs
Prescription drug orders filled by mail have risen by one-fifth during the coronavirus pandemic, the report found, and delivery times for medications generally increased by as much as one-third. That means deliveries that previously took two days or three days now take an extra day, the report said. Some delays were much longer. One mail-order pharmacy, not identified in the report, said there was “a marked increase in July in the number of patients experiencing shipment delays of seven days or more.” A different pharmacy reported that orders taking over five days have “risen dramatically.″ (Daly and Izaguirre, 9/9)

In updates about the COVID-relief bill —

Politico: Senate Paralyzed Over Coronavirus Relief
With the coronavirus pandemic still battering the United States, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked his fellow senators on Wednesday whether they “want to do something? Or do you want to do nothing?” The answer looks to be … nothing. (Bresnahan, Levine and Desiderio, 9/9)

The Washington Post: White House Looks At More Executive Actions As Coronavirus-Relief Talks Appear Finished 
With the Senate poised to vote Thursday on a slender GOP coronavirus relief bill that’s certain to fail, chances for a bipartisan deal on new economic stimulus look more remote than ever. This impasse has prompted top White House officials to consider a new round of executive actions that they hope could direct funding to certain groups amid fears that the nascent economic recovery could fail to gain momentum. White House officials have discussed efforts to unilaterally provide support for the flagging airline industry while also bolstering unemployment benefits, according to two people aware of the deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal policy discussions. (Werner and Stein, 9/9)

The Hill: Pessimism Grows As Hopes Fade For Coronavirus Deal 
Lawmakers are growing increasingly pessimistic about the chances of passing another coronavirus relief package, warning they don’t believe there will be a deal in the final weeks before the election. The dimming hopes for a sweeping agreement come even as Senate Republicans plan to vote Thursday on their slimmed-down bill, which won’t garner the 60 votes needed to advance, and as stalled talks between congressional Democrats and the White House show no signs of a breakthrough. (Carney, 9/9)

Also —

Fox News: Pelosi’s San Francisco Salon Going Out Of Business, Owner Describes Receiving 'Nothing But Negativity' 
San Francisco hair salon owner Erica Kious is shutting her doors for good after controversy over a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week destroyed her business, she told “Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday. “I am actually done in San Francisco and closing my doors, unfortunately,” she announced. (Stabile, 9/9)

Politico: $2,933 For ‘Girl’s Night’: Medicaid Chief’s Consulting Expenses Revealed
The efforts were steered by Pam Stevens, a Republican communications consultant and former Trump administration official working to raise the brand of [Seema] Verma, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The prices were the amount a consulting company billed the government for her services, based on her invoices, which were obtained by congressional Democrats. They are among the revelations included in a sweeping congressional investigation chronicling how Verma spent more than $3.5 million on a range of GOP-connected consultants, who polished her public profile, wrote her speeches and Twitter posts, brokered meetings with high-profile individuals — and even billed taxpayers for connecting Verma with fellow Republicans in Congress. (Diamond and Cancryn, 9/10)

In other Medicaid news —

Modern Healthcare: Arkansas' Medicaid Work Requirement Didn't Boost Employment
Arkansas' Medicaid work requirement for people age 30-49 did not increase employment, according to a Health Affairs study released Tuesday. Researchers also found that most of the 2018 Medicaid coverage losses—about 18,000 people lost coverage after the work requirement went into effect—were reversed after a federal judge shutdown the state's work requirement in April 2019. (Brady, 9/9)

Fox News: Trio Of Antiviral Drugs Eyed As Possible Coronavirus Treatment 
Researchers at the University of Florida are studying a trio of antiviral drugs as a potential treatment against COVID-19. Galidesivir, remdesivir and favipiravir are under study because they’ve already been federally approved for other viral diseases or been tested as antiviral therapy, according to Ashley Brown, Ph.D., associate professor in the UF College of Medicine and affiliated associate professor in the UF College of Pharmacy, per a university news release. (Rivas, 9/9)

In other pharmaceutical developments —

CIDRAP: NSAIDs Like Ibuprofen Not Tied To Severe COVID-19, Death
Contrary to early reports, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen is not associated with severe COVID-19 disease or death, according to a cohort study published yesterday in PLOS One. Researchers analyzed data from all 9,236 Danish residents who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from Feb 27 to Apr 29, of whom 248 (2.7%) had filled a prescription for an NSAID in the 30 days before their diagnosis. In Denmark, a prescription is needed for obtaining NSAIDs, except for low-dose (200-milligram) ibuprofen. (Van Beusekom, 9/9)

Stat: 23andMe's Aim: Getting Customers Drugs Developed With Their Data 
23andme has long been known as a consumer genetic testing unicorn. But CEO Anne Wojcicki describes it differently, as “the people’s research company.” The California-based unicorn is now focused on a partnership with pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline to discover new drugs using data culled from millions of 23andMe customers, and Wojcicki said Wednesday at the STAT Health Tech Summit that she hoped the company’s customers would “feel proud” if a drug developed with their data reaches the market. (Sheridan, 9/9)

Stat: Grail, In Filing For IPO, Lays Out Investments And Plans For Growth
Liquid biopsy company Grail has filed for a $100 million initial public offering, according to SEC documents. The company, which has raised about $2 billion from investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, biopharma giant Johnson & Johnson, and even a Canadian pension plan, expects to trade on Nasdaq as “GRAL.” (Sheridan, 9/9)

CIDRAP: Groups Emphasize Pandemic Risk For Chinese Swine H1N1 Flu Subtype
Three global health groups today issued a joint statement that strongly urged countries to be aware of the pandemic potential for an H1N1 swine influenza subtype circulating in Chinese pigs. The statement is from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The 1C.2.3 ("G4") genetic clade of H1N1 swine influenza was first identified by Chinese researchers in 2016 and has become the dominant genotype circulating in China's pigs. Two variant H1N1 cases involving the subtype have recently been detected in humans, and a small seroprevalence study in Chinese swine workers suggested that 10% had been exposed to the virus. The WHO Collaborating Center in China has developed a candidate vaccine virus targeting the strain. (9/9)

Read the letter: FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite Statement on the Pandemic Risk of Swine Influenza

In other science and research news —

Reuters: Speak Softly And Scatter Fewer Coronavirus Particles, Say Researchers 
More quiet zones in high-risk indoor spaces, such as hospitals and restaurants, could help to cut coronavirus contagion risks, researchers have said, after a study showed that lowering speaking volume can reduce the spread of the disease. In efforts to rein in transmission, a reduction of 6 decibels in average speech levels can have the same effect as doubling a room’s ventilation, scientists said on Wednesday, in an advance copy of a paper detailing their study. (Swift, 9/10)

Fox News: Coronavirus Could Reverse Decades Of Progress On Reducing Child Mortality, Health Agencies Warn 
Disruptions to health services due to the coronavirus pandemic could reverse decades of progress in reducing child mortality, the United Nations said Wednesday. The number of infant deaths dropped to 5.2 million in 2019 – the lowest point on record – from 12.5 million in 1990, according to data jointly released by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other organizations. The disruptions, these organizations said, “are putting millions of additional lives at stake.” (Genovese, 9/9)

The New York Times: How The Coronavirus Attacks The Brain 
The coronavirus targets the lungs foremost, but also the kidneys, liver and blood vessels. Still, about half of patients report neurological symptoms, including headaches, confusion and delirium, suggesting the virus may also attack the brain. A new study offers the first clear evidence that, in some people, the coronavirus invades brain cells, hijacking them to make copies of itself. The virus also seems to suck up all of the oxygen nearby, starving neighboring cells to death. (Mandavilli, 9/9)

Fox News: Kids Use Both Brain Hemispheres To Process Language, Unlike Adults, Researchers Say
New findings suggest infants and young kids process language in both hemispheres of the brain, which could help compensate after a neural injury, researchers say. In nearly all adults, sentence processing only takes place in the left hemisphere, according to neuroscientists from Georgetown University Medical Center. Previously, with traditional scanning, it was unclear whether “strong left dominance for language [was] present at birth or [appeared] gradually during development,” said Elissa Newport, Ph.D., Georgetown neurology professor, in a news release. (Rivas, 9/8)

Fox News: Second Wave Of Coronavirus May Arrive In Spring, Not Winter, One Scientist Says 
A Texas scientist predicts a second wave of coronavirus will occur in the spring and not the winter months. Professor Ben Neuman, chairman of biological sciences at Texas A&M University-Texarkana said coronaviruses commonly “peak” in the spring months, according to a Yahoo report. (McGorry, 9/9)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Lower Case-Fatality Rate In COVID-19 Second Wave
A new study in Transboundary and Emerging Disease calculated the case-fatality rate (CFR) of COVID-19 infections in 53 countries or regions that experienced a second wave—or resurgence—of coronavirus activity, and found a significantly lower death rate among all confirmed cases than in the first wave. This is the first study to compare the CFR in the first and second waves of the pandemic. (9/9)

MarketWatch: Spain Virologists Say The Country’s Second Virus Wave Holds A Valuable Lesson For The Rest Of The World 
Just days away from the start of a new school year, Spain’s capital city rolled out fresh restrictions on Monday to cope with what’s becoming a relentless second wave of cases. But those measures — strict controls on the distance between seats rather than tables in food-service settings, reducing funeral attendance to 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors, and 10-person limits on social gatherings — seem modest as the country’s total infections close in on 500,000, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins. Official numbers indicate that threshold has already been reached. Spain’s is the highest infection total in Europe, though it pales against the 6 million–plus cases in the U.S., which has seven times Spain’s population. (Kollmeyer, 9/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Vaping Drops Among Young People In U.S. 
Youth vaping fell significantly this year, according to new government data, after federal restrictions raised the legal purchase age for tobacco products to 21 and took fruity-flavored e-cigarette cartridges off the U.S. market. About 20% of U.S. high-school students, or 3.02 million, said they had used e-cigarettes on at least one day in the past 30 days, down from nearly 28%, or 4.11 million, last year. The data are based on a national survey conducted between Jan. 16 and March 16. (Maloney, 9/9)

The New York Times: E-Cigarette Use Falls Sharply Among Teenagers, C.D.C. Finds 
The number of high school students regularly using e-cigarettes dropped significantly over the past year, after several years of soaring use, according to a new government survey of teenagers. But the data suggested that even greater progress may have been stymied by the growing popularity of a new product — disposable e-cigarettes, which, under a loophole in federal regulations, are still allowed to be sold in youth-friendly flavors. (Richtel, 9/9)

AP: Big Drop Reported In Vaping By US Teenagers
Experts think last year’s outbreak of vaping related illnesses and deaths may have scared off some kids, but they believe other factors contributed to the drop, including higher age limits and flavor bans. In a national survey, just under 20% of high school students and 5% of middle school students said they were recent users of electronic cigarettes and other vaping products. That marks a big decline from a similar survey last year that found about 28% of high school students and 11% of middle school students recently vaped. (Stobbe and Perrone, 9/9)

Fox News: Severity Of Coronavirus Infection May Be Determined By Face Mask Use, Study Suggests
Face masks may limit the severity of coronavirus cases, University of California San Francisco researchers said in a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Although face coverings are more effective in preventing droplets from being expelled into the air than they are in preventing droplets from being breathed in, masks still may be able to mitigate how severe an illness an individual gets if infected by COVID-19, researchers explained in the release. (McGorry, 9/9)

The New York Times: A New Theory Asks: Could A Mask Be A Crude ‘Vaccine’? 
As the world awaits the arrival of a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine, a team of researchers has come forward with a provocative new theory: that masks might help to crudely immunize some people against the virus. The unproven idea, described in a commentary published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, is inspired by the age-old concept of variolation, the deliberate exposure to a pathogen to generate a protective immune response. First tried against smallpox, the risky practice eventually fell out of favor, but paved the way for the rise of modern vaccines. (Wu, 9/8)

In other mask news —

AP: Scarcity Of Key Material Squeezes Medical Mask Manufacturing
Rachel Spray is still grieving the loss of her fellow nurse who died after being exposed to the novel coronavirus at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center. Now, as she stands in front of the gleaming glass and concrete hospital, she says she “dreads going in there” and fears she’ll be next. That’s because like those in many U.S. hospitals, management is rationing supplies, she says, keeping medical-grade masks under lock and key. (Mendoza, Linderman, Peipert and Hwang, 9/10)

The Washington Post: Masks Can Cause Dry Eye, Experts Say
When the elderly man came in to see Ohio-based ophthalmologist Darrell White in early May complaining of a burning sensation in his eyes and occasional blurry vision, White knew exactly what he was dealing with: another case of dry-eye syndrome. What didn’t entirely make sense, though, was that White, a dry-eye expert, had been caring for the man for 20 years, and not once had his patient shown any symptoms of the common condition. (Chiu, 9/9)

NPR: Can A Parade Of Coffins Scare People Into Wearing Masks? 
In one of the more macabre attempts at public health messaging, Indonesian officials had an idea: What if they build coffins, put dummies wearing masks inside them — then display them around the capital city of Jakarta? They hoped it would scare people into following the pandemic rules so they wouldn't end up ... in a coffin. (Renaldi, 9/9)

Also —

The Hill: Fauci: Lack Of Masks At Trump Rallies Frustrating 
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said Wednesday that the lack of masks at President Trump’s campaign rallies is frustrating. “Is that frustrating to you?” host Gayle King asked Fauci on “CBS This Morning,” noting the lack of masks among some attendees at Trump’s rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Well, yes it is, and I’ve said that often,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responded. “That situation is we want to set an example.” (Coleman, 9/9)

AP: NC: Trump Rally Exceeded Pandemic Limits, But Not Illegal
A crowed political rally hosted by President Donald Trump put people’s health at risk but was legal under state pandemic rules that exempt certain gatherings where people exercise free speech, a spokeswoman for North Carolina’s governor said Wednesday. Trump spoke at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem on Tuesday. Thousands of supporters crammed together without the 6 feet (1.8 meters) of social distancing the White House itself has recommended. An executive order issued by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper earlier this month mandated masks in public and limited mass outdoor gatherings to 50 people. (Anderson, 9/9)

AP: Teacher Deaths Raise Alarms As New School Year Begins
Teachers in at least three states have died after bouts with the coronavirus since the dawn of the new school year, and a teachers’ union leader worries that the return to in-person classes will have a deadly impact across the U.S. if proper precautions aren’t taken. AshLee DeMarinis was just 34 when she died Sunday after three weeks in the hospital. She taught social skills and special education at John Evans Middle School in Potosi, Missouri, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis. (Salter and Willingham, 9/9)

CNN: Demetria Bannister: Third-Grade Teacher Dies Of Coronavirus In South Carolina 
An elementary school teacher died of coronavirus complications a week into the start of the school year in South Carolina. Demetria Bannister was diagnosed with the virus Friday and died Monday. The 28-year-old had taught at the Windsor Elementary School in Columbia for five years, CNN affiliate WIS reported. She started her third year of teaching third-grade students on August 31. (Karimi, 9/10)

Boston Globe: Rhode Island Reports 54 New Coronavirus Cases As Raimondo Anticipates School Reopenings 
As public school teachers across Rhode Island began their first day of school in professional development on Wednesday, the state Department of Health continued to report a steady level of new cases of coronavirus. Governor Gina M. Raimondo has given the “green light” to nearly all of the public school districts to return to full in-person learning starting on Monday. The governor is giving the schools four weeks to ramp up that process. (Milkovits, 9/9)

In higher-education news —

CNN: US Coronavirus: Colleges In All 50 States Report Infections
As schools begin their fall semester, universities and colleges are struggling to contain coronavirus outbreaks with cases reported at campuses in all 50 states. There have been more than 40,000 cases of Covid-19 among students, faculty and staff at colleges and universities nationwide. The number represents cases that CNN has reported so far -- and is likely higher due to a lag from schools that update their data every few days. (Karimi and Grayer, 9/10)

ABC News: Inside University Of Illinois' Massive COVID-19 Testing Operation 
As schools attempt to bring students back to school safely, a game-changer might come out of central Illinois. The University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus has one of the most aggressive COVID-19 testing protocols among institutions of higher education in the country, as it aims to keep students on campus during the pandemic this fall. (Deliso and Bhatt, 9/10)

AP: UNL Suspends Sororities, Frats Over COVID-19 Violations
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has suspended six sorority and fraternity chapters on its campus after photos and videos showed students in those organizations violating local public health guidelines and university policies. The suspensions were handed down Tuesday, the Lincoln Journal Star reported, and include Alpha Omicron Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi Delta Thea and Sigma Phi Epsilon. During the suspensions, the Greek chapters may not host or participate in any activities or events, or participate in university-wide events as an organization. (9/9)

AP: Rutgers: 4 Student-Athletes Test Positive For COVID-19
Rutgers says four student-athletes and a member of its athletic staff have tested positive for COVID-19. The Big Ten university based in New Jersey said Wednesday evening the positive results were for student-athletes in men’s lacrosse, gymnastics, and wrestling. (9/9)

Fox News: Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Americans In 'Denial' Over Poor Mental Health: Survey 
A new survey revealed that nearly half of its respondents did not seek mental health treatment amid the coronavirus pandemic due to cost or lack of access and time. The small-scale survey from LifeStance Health, a behavioral healthcare services provider, gathered responses from 1,623 Americans in late August on the state of their mental health and outlook on the nation’s civil unrest, economy, and the upcoming election, among other topics. The results of the survey were exclusively provided to Fox News. The age of respondents tipped toward 45 to 60. Respondents’ race and ethnicity were not disclosed. (Rivas, 9/9)

The New York Times: The Pandemic Is A ‘Mental Health Crisis’ For Parents 
As we slouch into Month 7 of the pandemic, the mental health impact on parents remains significant and shows no signs of abating. Though the pandemic has certainly affected the mental health of all demographics, research from the American Psychological Association showed that in April and May, parents with children at home under 18 were markedly more stressed than non-parents. (Grose, 9/9)

NPR: Pandemic Financially Imperils Nearly Half of American Households, Poll Finds
The poll finds nearly half the households in America — 46% — report facing serious financial pain during the pandemic — a problem that is more acute in the four largest U.S. cities, and among Latino and Black households. Hundreds of billions in government stimulus and other support did not make an apparent dent in their struggles. In addition, over half, or 54%, of those with household incomes below $100,000 reported serious financial problems, compared to only 20% of those with incomes above that threshold. (Noguchi, 9/10)

In other public health news —

AP: Does My Employer Have To Say If A Coworker Has The Virus?
Does my employer have to say if a coworker has the virus? Employers are generally not required to tell workers when someone in the workplace has tested positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that companies monitor employees for symptoms and alert those who may have been in contact with an infected person. Some states may order businesses to follow such guidance. (9/10)

Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: What Is The Risk Of Catching The Coronavirus On A Plane? 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to alleviate fears of flying during the pandemic at an event with airline and rental car executives. "The airplanes have just not been vectors when you see spread of the coronavirus,” DeSantis said during a discussion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Aug. 28. “The evidence is the evidence. And I think it’s something that is safe for people to do.” Is the evidence really so clear? (Kim, 9/10)

ABC News: How Do Pandemics Usually End? And How Will This One Finish? 
Just over 100 years ago, a new strain of influenza infected a third of the world's population — but within just three years, the threat of this deadly flu had all but passed. This was a time before modern medical care and even before humans understood what viruses were. So what's changed since then? It's a question plenty of you have asked in recent months: how do pandemics end? And how will the one we're currently living through end? (Taylor, 9/8)

AP: In A Year Of Social Distancing, Virus Alters Sept. 11, Too
In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged. The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by dueling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade Center, reflecting a divide over the memorial’s decision to suspend a cherished tradition of relatives reading victims’ names in person. Vice President Mike Pence is expected at both those remembrances in New York, while President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden plan to attend a truncated ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. (Peltz, 9/10)

Also —

AP: Boy's Shooting Raises Questions About Police Crisis Training
A police shooting that wounded a 13-year-old autistic boy in Salt Lake City is revealing shortfalls in the way officers respond to a mental health crisis, an advocacy group said Wednesday, a part of policing that’s facing renewed scrutiny during nationwide protests over brutality by law enforcement. Similar questions are being raised in Rochester, New York, following the death of a Black man whose brother called police about his unusual behavior shortly after a mental health evaluation. It comes as demonstrators have urged cities to “defund the police” and shift money to social services instead. (Whitehurst and Eppolito, 9/9)

AP: Lawyer: Medical Workers Improperly Accessed Floyd's Records
Family members of George Floyd have been notified that multiple employees of a Minneapolis healthcare system have improperly accessed the man’s medical records sometime in the last 30 days, an attorney for the family said.Attorney Antonio Romanucci told KARE 11 that family members received a letter from Hennepin Healthcare, notifying them of the breach. (9/9)

USA Today: Black Women Dying In Childbirth; Race Plays Into Maternal Health Care
At six months pregnant, Iaishia Smith asked her nutritionist to recommend a snack high in protein to control her blood sugar level. The nutritionist's first suggestion? "Something left over from dinner such as fried chicken."“Here I am, 35 years old, pregnant, there's diabetes, history of stillbirth. And you're telling me, a Black woman, to eat fried chicken?" said Smith, a program manager at Cisco Systems who lives in Avenel, New Jersey. "I told her: 'I can't imagine that fried chicken is a good nighttime snack. Is that something that you'd recommend to all of your patients?'" (Ramaswamy, 9/9)

Stat: Covid-19 Is Taxing The Support System For Pregnant Women In Recovery
[Carrie] Diehl’s work as a doula includes what you might expect: talking pregnant people through aches and pains, providing labor support, helping parents learn how to breastfeed. But as a peer mentor doula for mothers in recovery, she also supports clients when they relapse, models sobriety coping skills, and celebrates recovery anniversaries. Most of Diehl’s work involves personal contact, often holding a newborn while a single mom takes a precious half hour to herself. But Covid-19 has complicated all of her work, from offering transportation to the physical closeness of postpartum doula care. (Proujansky, 9/10)

In other public health news —

The New York Times: Exercise May Make It Easier To Bounce Back From Stress 
Exercise makes it easier to bounce back from too much stress, according to a fascinating new study with mice. It finds that regular exercise increases the levels of a chemical in the animals’ brains that helps them remain psychologically resilient and plucky, even when their lives seem suddenly strange, intimidating and filled with threats. The study involved mice, but it is likely to have implications for our species, too, as we face the stress and discombobulation of the ongoing pandemic and today’s political and social disruptions. (Reynolds, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Why Stretching Is Important During The Pandemic 
Stretching doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Most exercisers absent-mindedly engage in just a few minutes of it before or after a workout, which certainly feels good but isn’t enough to promote flexibility or any of stretching’s other benefits. According to experts, stretching should be approached not only as a preview or addendum to other physical activity, but also as an essential stand-alone workout. And it’s especially important now. After months of quarantine inertia, stretching can be a low-impact, nonthreatening gateway to a more active lifestyle, either for those who have fallen out of a fitness routine or who are interested in starting one. (Heath, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: Medical Educators Propose New Climate Change Curriculum
For years healthcare experts have sounded the alarm over the public health threat posed by climate change. Now a new paper proposes what could be the first medical education curriculum designed to prepare future physicians for addressing climate change's impact on care delivery and health outcomes. (Johnson, 9/9)

Stat: Doctors Offer Guide For Teaching Effects Of Climate Change During Residency
As massive wildfires, hurricanes, and record-breaking temperatures hit parts of the U.S., a group of doctors is urging medical residency programs to implement standardized curricula on the health impacts of climate change. Their framework, published in a paper Wednesday in Academic Medicine, includes a breakdown of high-risk populations, including the elderly and low-income families, and a review of the current understanding on how climate impacts health — such as the relationship between air quality and respiratory illness. (Chakradhar, 9/10)

In other news about health care personnel —

Boston Globe: Nearly 60 Workers In Mass. Have Died Of COVID-19 After Potentially Being Exposed On The Job, According To A Safety Coalition Report 
At least 59 workers have died of COVID-19 after potentially being exposed on the job, according to a Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health report out Thursday. Of the 59 dead whose jobs could be identified, the vast majority were in health care, along with a handful of transportation workers, retail and grocery employees, and police officers. (Johnston, 9/9)

Stat: How Common Is Burnout Among Physicians? It Depends On How It's Defined
There’s a vast body of research showing that physicians and other health care professionals experience high rates of burnout, their roles leaving them exhausted, overworked, or detached. But a new study makes the case that it’s difficult to capture how common burnout actually is because how it’s defined varies so widely. (Gopalakrishna, 9/9)

CNN: A Travel Nurse's Life: Rewards And Risks During The Pandemic 
Two years into travel nursing, Sierra Levin had no plans to settle down. Working around three months at a time at hospitals in California, Massachusetts and Texas — and taking time off in between to explore France, Australia and New Zealand — the 26-year-old was enjoying the adventure too much to stop. Ryan Cogdill knows the feeling. "It's an addiction for me, the freedom I have," says Cogdill, who's cared for patients throughout his native California, in Denver and in Austin. He's even taken assignments in Maui and Guam. (Gottfried, 9/9)

In legal news —

The Washington Post: New York OB/GYN Robert Hadden Indicted On Federal Charges Of Sexual Assault 
The gynecologist accused of sexual assault by the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was indicted on federal charges for the sexual abuse of six women over nearly two decades, according to federal prosecutors. Former Manhattan doctor Robert A. Hadden is charged with six counts of enticing women to engage in illegal sex acts, Audrey Strauss, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Wednesday at a joint news conference with FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. (Kornfield, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: 4 Ways Hospitals Are Improving COVID-19 Testing Lab Efficiency
Clinical laboratories were quickly overwhelmed by increased demand as COVID-19 swept the U.S., leading public health departments and private labs to suffer long delays in returning results. Several hospitals decided to rely on their own in-house labs to expedite the process, and those decisions came with their own growing pains. (Johnson, 9/9)

Stat: Is The Covid-19 Pandemic A Tipping Point For Digital Health?
Covid-19 may turn out to be digital health’s tipping point, two Silicon Valley venture capitalists said Wednesday. The industry’s rapid shift could be beneficial for patients, providers, and some industry players — but it also might prove detrimental to companies that swerved toward Covid-19 and away from the bedrock of their businesses. (Cooney, 9/9)

In other health industry news —

Billings Gazette: Billings Hospitals Cope With Surge In Cases, St. V's Brings In Extra Nurses 
Just a week into September and Yellowstone County is still seeing high numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. More than half of all coronavirus cases in the county happened in August. St. Vincent Healthcare and Billings Clinic are both struggling to cope with the demand. (Sukut, 9/9)

Raleigh News & Observer: For The First Time In 28 Years, Chatham County Has Its Own Maternity Center 
Defying a national trend, the small hospital in rural Siler City has begun delivering babies again. Chatham Hospital’s new Maternity Care Center opened Tuesday morning, restoring a service the hospital discontinued 28 years ago. Chatham closed its maternity ward in 1992 in part because it had become too expensive to operate for such a small number of new mothers, said UNC Health spokesman Alan Wolf. (Stradling, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Partners With One Medical
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and One Medical have partnered to coordinate primary care for central Ohioans, the organizations announced Wednesday. Ohio State's physicians, ambulatory facilities and hospitals will support One Medical's primary care model, which employs a team-based, "high-touch" approach via same-day appointments, workplace clinics and telehealth, among other services. (Kacik, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: Zocdoc Co-Founder Sues Execs, Seeks Reinstatement As CEO
Zocdoc co-founder and former CEO Cyrus Massoumi wants to be reinstalled as the company's CEO, alleging a set of executives organized an "elaborate, multi-step scheme" to oust him from his leadership role in 2015, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Massoumi is suing Oliver Kharraz, the company's co-founder, CEO and a member of the board; Netta Samroengraja, chief business officer; and Nikhil Ganju, co-founder and a member of the board for alleged fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. The complaint was filed Tuesday in New York state court. (Cohen, 9/9)

In nursing home news —

Politico: Nursing Homes Fret Over Trump's Testing Mandate 
The Trump administration’s efforts to scale up rapid coronavirus testing in nursing homes is running into a set of hurdles – just as the White House moves to a new pandemic strategy that stresses shielding the most vulnerable. Machines that process rapid tests are sitting idle in some nursing homes because of confusion and fears the results are less accurate than widely used lab-based tests. Other nursing homes worry about being able to quickly obtain more of the fast-turnaround tests. And conflicts between state and federal regulations over which tests can be used on nursing home staff are complicating the situation. (Roubein, 9/8)

Kaiser Health News: Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail To Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others At Risk 
Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were on edge as early as March when patients with COVID-19 began to show up in areas of the hospital that were not set aside to care for them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised hospitals to isolate COVID patients to limit staff exposure and help conserve high-level personal protective equipment that’s been in short supply. (Jewett, 9/10)

KQED: Bay Area Residents Alarmed As Wildfire Smoke Blocks Sun 
Bay Area residents woke to ominous orange skies Wednesday, brought on by multiple wildfires across Northern California.  As a layer of heavy smoke all but blocked the sun, and as ash covered sidewalks, cars and houses, many are raising concerns about the health effects of going outside. We talk with a meteorologist and air quality expert about how long the darkened skies will last and the status of the region’s air quality. (Krasny, 9/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Calif. Supreme Court Lets 2018’s Prop. C Stand, Frees Up $300 Million In Homeless Funds For SF 
The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for San Francisco to fund programs for the homeless with hundreds of millions of dollars in business taxes approved by a majority of city voters in 2018 — it’s an important case for tax measures on local ballots throughout California. Proposition C, which would raise $250 million to $300 million per year with a tax on gross receipts of corporations with annual revenue above $50 million, received 61% of the vote in November 2018. It was immediately challenged by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and other business-supported groups, which argued that Proposition 218, a 1996 state ballot measure, required a two-thirds majority for any tax increase proposed by a local government for specific purposes. (Egelko, 9/9)

AP: Los Angeles Eases Up On Pandemic-Driven Halloween Guidance
A day after issuing guidelines that restricted trick-or-treating and other Halloween traditions because of the coronavirus pandemic, Los Angeles County health officials walked back some of the rules on Wednesday.The county Department of Health initially said Tuesday that trick-or-treating, haunted houses and parades would be banned because those activities make it difficult to maintain social distancing. Not letting kids trick-or-treat is “an overreaction,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, professor of medicine and public health at University of California, Los Angeles. “It doesn’t surprise me, but it’s disappointing that we continue to make policy recommendations that are not based on the evidence,” Klausner said Wednesday. (Weber, 9/9)

In news from New York, Massachusetts and Maine —

The Hill: Cuomo Says NYC To Allow Indoor Dining Later This Month 
Indoor dining can resume in New York City at limited capacity later this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Wednesday. Restaurants will be able to reopen indoors on Sept. 30 at 25 percent capacity with additional restrictions in place, the governor announced. All patrons must have their temperature checked at the door, and one member of each party will be required to provide the restaurant with information for potential contact tracing. Tables will need to be 6 feet apart, and patrons will have to wear masks when they're not seated. (Klar, 9/9)

Boston Globe: Healey Warns Medical Marijuana Nonprofit Over Failure To Disclose Finances 
The Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance (MPAA) has long held a special place among cannabis groups in the state. For one thing, it’s the successor to the coalition that sponsored the successful voter ballot initiative on legalizing medical cannabis here in 2012. It’s also the only non-government group besides the ACLU guaranteed a seat — actually, two seats — on the official Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, which advises the state’s Cannabis Control Commission on policy. Essentially, the MPAA is enshrined in state law as the emissary of medical marijuana patients. (Adams, 9/9)

Boston Globe: AG Healey Announces $1.5 Million Grant Program To Expand Opioid Treatment Access For People Of Color
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Thursday morning announced a new grant program intended to provide more equitable care for Black, Latino, and other people of color struggling with opioid use. The $1.5 million program, called Promoting Cultural Humility in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment, will “support more inclusive recovery programs and behavioral health services for communities of color,” Healey said in an interview Wednesday. (Fox, 9/10)

Bangor Daily News: Bangor Hotel To Serve As Homeless Shelter Through End Of Year
A Bangor hotel will serve as shelter space for the city’s homeless population for the rest of the year under an arrangement that will reserve half of the hotel for those suffering from COVID-19 and the other half for clients without the disease. Penobscot Community Health Care, which manages the Hope House shelter in Bangor, will manage the Ramada Inn on Odlin, which has been housing some homeless clients during the pandemic so they can remain socially distanced from others. (Sambides Jr., 9/9)

In news from Indiana, Georgia and Texas —

AP: Northern Indiana Prison On Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
A northern Indiana prison has been placed on lockdown after weekend testing found nearly 60 inmates and several prison workers were positive for COVID-19, a prison official said Wednesday. After new coronavirus cases were found last week at the Miami Correctional Facility, a team from the Indiana State Department of Health visited the prison over the weekend to do rapid testing, said prison spokesman James Frye. (9/9)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Family Of Man Who Died In Cobb County Jail Files Lawsuit
The family of a man who died while in custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center has filed a federal lawsuit alleging his constitutional rights were violated by sheriff’s deputies and medical staff who did not treat him while he was in medical distress. Kevil Wingo’s family filed the civil suit last week in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Wellstar Health System, six nurses and three Cobb County Sheriff’s Office deputies. (Dixon, 9/10)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Proposes To Cut Millions From Safety Net Programs As Officials Brace For COVID-19 Budget Impact
Health care and food assistance programs that benefit low-income Texans would be slashed under proposed budget cuts that top state leaders say are necessary to weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show state agencies are proposing to pull back money for women’s health programs, trim funds for food banks and slim the workforce that helps people sign up for health insurance, even as demand for those services grows amid the downturn. (McGoughy and Morris, 9/9)

The Guardian: Anger In China As Doctor Who Died Of Covid-19 Omitted From Citizen Awards 
In a lavish ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, recognised a select group of citizens for their contributions to the country’s fight against Covid-19 and praised his party’s resilience when faced with such “an extraordinary and historic test”. In front of hundreds of party officials, cadres and health workers, Xi carefully draped a heavy gold medal over the head of the senior epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan. He awarded medals to a traditional Chinese medicine expert, the head of a Wuhan hospital at the forefront of the outbreak, and a military biomedical expert. More than 40 medical workers, local officials and police who died during the outbreak were also commended. (Kuo, 9/9)

NPR: Whatever Happened To ... The Instant Hospitals Built In Wuhan For COVID-19 Patients?
In February, China pulled off an impressive construction feat that caught the world's attention: Amid surging cases of COVID-19, China built two hospitals in the pandemic's epicenter, Wuhan, in under two weeks to isolate and treat COVID-19 patients. Consisting largely of prefabricated rooms and components, the two-story structures were dubbed "instant hospitals." NPR reported on the facilities just as the first one opened. But now the virus is under control in Wuhan, and life has more or less returned to normal. So, what happened to these "instant hospitals?" (Lu, 9/10)

AP: Pope Uses Mask, Sanitizer As He Appeals For Public Health
Pope Francis wore a face mask and used hand sanitizer Wednesday as he appealed for the faithful to look out for the health of others as well as themselves during the coronavirus pandemic. Francis took off the mask as his car pulled into the San Damaso courtyard inside the Apostolic Palace, where last week he resumed his weekly public audiences after a nearly six-month COVID-19 shutdown. (9/9)

The Hill: Dozens Of Austrians With No US Affiliation Get Coronavirus Stimulus Checks: Report 
Hundreds of Austrians have received U.S. coronavirus stimulus checks despite being ineligible, according to The Washington Post. Several of the recipients were puzzled to get the checks, including pensioner Manfred Barnreiter, 73, who said he believed he was the victim of a scam at first. “We quietly went to the bank … where we were told they’ll see if it’s real,” Barnreiter told Austrian public broadcaster ORF. “Three days later, we had the money in our bank account.” (Budryk, 9/9)

Reuters: As Jakarta Heads Into Lockdown, Doctors Warn Of Buckling Health System
Doctors in Indonesia’s capital warned on Thursday the coronavirus pandemic is “not under control” with Jakarta intensive care units nearing full capacity and the city ordering new lockdown measures to stem a spike in infections. Jakarta has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases on average each day this month, with the rising caseload placing considerable strain on hospitals in the world’s fourth most populous nation. (Heru, Asprihanto, Da Costa, 9/10)

CIDRAP: No Benefit Found From Treating COVID Patients With Azithromycin
A randomized controlled trial in Brazil found that adding azithromycin to standard of care treatments did not improve clinical outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19, according to a study published late last week in The Lancet. In the open-label, randomized clinical trial, investigators at 57 Brazilian hospitals enrolled patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and at least one indication of severe disease, including the use of supplemental oxygen or invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation. All patients in the study were randomly assigned 1:1 to treatment with the standard of care, which included the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine, or standard of care plus azithromycin (500 milligrams once daily for 10 days). (9/8)

CIDRAP: Kids With COVID-19, Flu Equally Prone To Severe Illness 
A single-center study of 315 pediatric COVID-19 patients and 1,402 children with seasonal flu identified no difference in rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or mechanical ventilation between the two groups. The retrospective cohort study, published today in JAMA Network Open, compared the clinical characteristics of children diagnosed as having coronavirus from Mar 25 to May 15, 2020, with those diagnosed with flu from Oct 1, 2019, to Jun 6, 2020, at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC. (Van Beusekom, 9/8)

Also —

CIDRAP: Link Between Fluoroquinolones, Aorta Problems May Not Be As Strong As Thought 
Two studies published today in JAMA Internal Medicine suggest observed links between use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics and increased risk of a bulging or rupture of the largest artery in the body may not be as strong as previously reported. In one the studies, US and Canadian researchers found that patients receiving fluoroquinolones for pneumonia had an increased risk of hospitalization for aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection (AA/AD) compared with those who received azithromycin, while patients who received fluoroquinolones for urinary tract infection (UTI) were not at greater risk for AA/AD compared with those who received trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. The overall incidence of AA/AD in all patients studied was extremely low. (Dall, 9/8)

CIDRAP: Urinary Culture Intervention Linked To Lower Antibiotic Prescribing
An intervention to reduce antibiotic treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) at a Toronto hospital was safe and associated with reduced exposure to unnecessary antibiotics, Canadian researchers reported this week in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. In a prospective observational study conducted at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, which implemented an intervention in 2013 to stop processing midstream urine cultures (MSUs) from patients unless the laboratory was called, researchers interviewed 1,678 patients with an MSU order on days 0 and 4 to ask about urinary symptoms and any adverse events. From 2017 to 2019, day 30 follow-up was added. (9/4)

MSphere: Study Suggests Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks Not A CWD Vector
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging and fatal contagious prion disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, red deer reindeer, elk, and moose. CWD prions are widely distributed throughout the bodies of CWD-infected animals and are found in the nervous system, lymphoid tissues, muscle, blood, urine, feces, and antler velvet. The mechanism of CWD transmission in natural settings is unknown. Potential mechanisms of transmission include horizontal, maternal, or environmental routes. (Shikiya et al, 9/1)

The New York Times: Mr. Trump Knew It Was Deadly And Airborne
On Feb. 7, during a taped interview with Bob Woodward, President Trump acknowledged that the coronavirus could be transmitted through the air, that it was very dangerous and that it would be difficult to contain. “This is deadly stuff,” he told the investigative journalist.“You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed,” the president warned. Despite his apparent understanding of the severity of the disease and its method of transmission, over the next month, in five cities around the country, Mr. Trump held large indoor rallies, which were attended by thousands of his supporters. (9/9)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Unforgivable Sin: His Covid-19 Lies Killed Americans 
That President Trump lied to the American people about the danger of the novel coronavirus may not be shocking. More shocking is that he was willing to admit this to Bob Woodward, whose new book “Rage” includes damning new evidence of Trump’s contempt for the truth and American lives. ... Trump admitted to Woodward on March 19 that he deliberately minimized the danger. “I wanted to always play it down,” the president said. “Play it down,” in this case, means lie. (Jennifer Rubin, 9/9)

Fox News: Sean Hannity Shows How Biden, Democrats Downplayed Coronavirus While Trump Took Action
President Trump is being accused of lying to the public about the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, but Democrats were the ones who initially downplayed the crisis, Fox News’ Sean Hannity said Wednesday night. The "Hannity" host played video of Joe Biden speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Feb. 28, three weeks after Trump told journalist Bob Woodward that the virus was "deadly stuff." At the rally, Biden told supporters that it was "not a time to panic" about the virus, though he acknowledged it was a "serious public health challenge." (Angelica Stabile, 9/9)

Los Angeles Times: Forget Shooting Someone On Fifth Avenue. 190,000 Americans Are Dead
Trump knew. He knew, and he lied. New audio reveals that Trump knew back in March that the new coronavirus was airborne, contagious and significantly “more deadly” than the flu. But he publicly told Americans that the virus was no big deal and “going to disappear.” He wasn’t just unprepared to deal with a crisis. He wasn’t just incompetent. He wasn’t even ill-informed. He knew how bad it was, and he did everything he could to downplay the situation. We know because he admitted all this — not just on the record, but on tape — to Bob Woodward, the investigative journalist who helped break the Watergate story that brought down President Nixon. So, you know, he’s an idiot too. “I wanted to always play it down,” said Trump. (Mariah Kruetter, 9/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Never Trump, Now More Than Ever
When the crisis came as a pandemic, a different president, conscious of his limitations, might have stepped back to let Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx do the talking. But Mr. Trump has bluffed his way through life claiming to know more than the experts. He needs to be the groom at every wedding and the infant at every christening. Stories abound of how zany ideas are quietly tamped down, or ignored entirely, by appointees around the agencies. But that’s not a stable situation. In time he will insert more personal loyalists into agency jobs. (Walter Olson, 9/9)

CNN: Trump: Woodward Lays Bare Historic Dereliction Of Duty 
It matters who the president is. Millions of lives and livelihoods depend on the character, competence, altruism and integrity of the person in the Oval Office -- whatever their party or ideology. But President Donald Trump -- as he devastatingly revealed in his own voice to Bob Woodward -- met the great crisis of his age with ineptness, dishonesty and an epic dereliction of duty. (Stephen Collinson, 9/10)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: A New Book Exposes Trump's Dangerous Incompetency And Pandemic Complicity
Trump publicly minimized the risks and told Americans that the virus was “going to disappear.” He made fun of masks, including when former Vice President Joe Biden first appeared in public wearing one. He celebrated supporters who showed up at rallies without masks and went out of his way to convey a sense of disregard for a virus that has now infected 6.3 million and killed nearly 190,000. In short, Trump has massive amounts of blood on his hands. (9/9)

Bloomberg: Vaccine By November? Great For Economy, Less So For Jobs
Falling cases of the coronavirus imply that the U.S. economy could improve over the next month or two as lockdowns ease and Americans resume their normal lives. There is, however, an unexpected short-term risk: that a vaccine will be ready by November. To be absolutely clear, over the medium and long term a vaccine will be a godsend for economic growth. Even if it weren’t, a lower death rate is well worth a few more quarters of higher unemployment. Nonetheless, there is a possibility that the introduction of a vaccine could actually lead to a sharp if temporary deceleration in job growth. (Karl W. Smith, 9/9)

The Wall Street Journal: The Sturgis Statistical Misfire
Holy Hell’s Angels. Last month’s motorcycle rally among the deplorables in Sturgis, South Dakota, contributed to 266,796 Covid-19 cases and $12.2 billion in public-health costs—or so claims a new study widely flogged by the media. Here is another example of how flawed statistical models can generate grossly exaggerated projections. The annual 10-day rally with live performances, races and bike shows drew 460,000 Americans from around the country to the small town of Sturgis (population: 7,000). South Dakota is among the few states that never imposed a shelter-in-place order or face-mask mandate. It has also let restaurants and bars operate without restrictions. (9/9)

Stat: An Open Letter To AstraZeneca's CEO On Transparency
Dear Pascal Soriot, I’d like to talk to you about your priorities. Your company, AstraZeneca, is investing heavily in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine — and you have said you have no intention of turning a profit on any vaccine in the midst of a pandemic. But I have concerns about your commitment to transparency. When the news broke late Tuesday that a participant in your late-stage Covid-19 vaccine trial experienced a serious reaction, the company would only confirm the trial was put on hold in order to review safety data due to a “potentially unexplained illness.” (Ed Silverman, 9/9)

Seattle Times: Job No. 1 For President Biden: Scientific Integrity
Imagine, if you would, that it is Jan. 21, 2021, and that Joe Biden is president of the United States. The nation awaits his first executive order — a formal presidential decree, binding on the executive branch, that directs departments and agencies what to do. At 9 a.m., the executive order appears. Its name? “Scientific Integrity.” Here are its opening words:“Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy and other resources, mitigation of the threat of climate change and protection of national security.'' (Cass R. Sunstein, 9/9)

The Washington Post: The NFL Is Ready For Some Football In This Season Of Covid-19
As our league has prepared for the kickoff of its 101st season on Thursday night, we have encountered challenges shared by businesses, schools and places of worship as they contemplate reopening after the pandemic lockdown. The league’s eagerness to return in full force has been modulated by our primary concern: the health and safety of players, coaches, staff and the public. We have worked with players, teams and medical experts to build a comprehensive game plan. Our hope is that transparency about our operations will contribute knowledge and insights that will aid the country’s pandemic response. (NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Allen Sills, 9/9)

Detroit News: Data Shows COVID-19 Is Not As Deadly As We Thought
After the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an updated report regarding COVID-19 deaths in late August, which showed that only 6% of coronavirus deaths were solely due to the virus, some in the general public went ballistic. And rightfully so. Businesses have been shut down for months. Millions have become unemployed. Schools remain closed. Depression and suicides are rising. Since mid-March, life as we know it has been flipped upside down. And all of this was because we were told that COVID-19 was a super deadly virus that must be stopped at all costs, literally. (Christina Herrin, 9/9)

The Hill: With COVID-19 Receding, We The Patients Must Fix Health Care 
With the COVID-19 danger possibly receding, the U.S. economy is beginning to return to its pre-COVID-19 health and vigor. The U.S. health care system remains dysfunctional and massively wasteful, diverting more than 1 trillion "health care" dollars from patient care to pay for federal bureaucracy. For years, polls have consistently shown that Americans' top concern is our sick health care system, with affordable insurance and inaccessible care. It is time to turn the national focus from viral response back to our collapsing system. (Dr. Deane Waldman, 9/9)

CNN: Why Canada Flattened The Curve -- And The US Didn't
It seems an awfully long time since Canadians were last lectured by the state on sexual behavior. Just as folks were headed out for Labor Day long weekend frolicking, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, warned fellow citizens to wear a mask while having sex and to avoid kissing people in order to prevent passing along a Covid-19 infection. (Michael Bociurkiw, 9/9)

The Hill: We Must Take Appropriate Measures That Allow Kids To Get Back To School 
Labor Day has passed, and in most years, the entire country would now be back to school. Kids would be learning, catching up with old friends, and swapping stories from the summer. Teachers would have decorated and readied themselves for a year of struggles and smiles, learning and community. Traffic is always heaviest this time of year, because of school buses full of kids, and parents going to work, returning from summer vacations.But in far too many places, including much of Kentucky, this is not the reality. (Sen. Rand Paul, 9/9)

WBUR: This School Year, Low-Income Students Will Suffer The Most 
In June 2019, 17 parents and two community-based organizations filed Mussotte v. Peyser with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, arguing that the state had violated its constitutional duty to fund public education. This funding deficit disproportionately harmed low-income students, immigrant students and students of color, contended these families, the Chelsea Collaborative and the NAACP New England Area Conference. The lawsuit cited years of disinvestment and discrimination in the families' public schools. (Iván Espinoza-Madrigal and Lauren Sampson, 9/10)

Detroit Free Press: It Took A Lawsuit To Get My Special Needs Son The Help He Requires
The state’s failure to adequately invest in special education is just as fiscally shortsighted and tragic as the misguided decision to switch the city’s water source to the Flint River to try and save money — a decision that cost hundreds of millions and caused untold suffering. From the time he was 9 months old, I noticed developmental delays. First, it was the lack of eye contact. As he got older, he didn’t talk. He started hurting himself and others. Finally, when he was 3, we were able to have Jabari assessed. That’s when we learned he has autism. (Jeree Brown, 9/10)