Reuters: Biden To Deliver Six-Step Plan On COVID-19 Pandemic
President Joe Biden on Thursday will outline new approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, which rages on despite the wide availability of vaccines. In a speech, Biden will focus on six areas, including new plans to get more people vaccinated, enhancing protection for those who already have had shots and keeping schools open, according to a White House official.The speech would also cover increasing testing and mask-wearing, protecting an economic recovery from the pandemic-induced recession and improving healthcare for people infected with the disease, the official said. (9/9)

The Hill: White House Signals New COVID-19 Measures Coming For Unvaccinated Americans
President Biden will announce on Thursday new steps in his administration's COVID-19 response that involves testing, mandates, and school measures depending on a person's vaccination status, the White House said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that the new components would affect people across the country. “There are six steps the president’s announcing, there will be new components,” Psaki said. “Some of that will be related to access to testing, some will be related to mandates, some will be related to how we ensure kids will be protected in schools.” (Gangitano, 9/8)

Politico: Biden To Call For Global Summit On Covid Response
Among the topics up for discussion are ways to improve vaccine manufacturing and distribution and ramp up the supplies of oxygen to countries in need, and the possibility of international cooperation on research and development related to Covid-19. President Joe Biden is likely to call for the summit as part of a broader speech on Thursday detailing new initiatives designed to end the pandemic. Though Biden is expected to focus much of his speech on the domestic coronavirus response, people familiar with the matter said he will also emphasize the need for greater global cooperation and work toward addressing inequities in developing countries. (Cancryn, 9/8)

In related news  —

Axios: Fauci Warns COVID Infections In U.S. Are 10x Too High To End Pandemic 
Americans are now getting infected with COVID-19 at 10 times the rate needed to end the pandemic, which won't end until more people get vaccinated, NIAID director Anthony Fauci tells Axios. "The endgame is to suppress the virus. Right now, we're still in pandemic mode, because we have 160,000 new infections a day. That's not even modestly good control ... which means it's a public health threat." (O'Reilly, 9/9)

Politico: Covid-19 Testing System Struggles To Keep Up With Delta Demand 
The United States’ Covid-19 testing system is once again struggling to keep pace with surging infections, amid the monthslong push by the Biden administration and states to increase the country’s vaccination rate. Testing labs nationwide have capacity to spare, but the closure of mass-testing sites run by cities, states or the federal government has resulted in many people waiting longer or traveling further to get a test. Nor have many schools or businesses implemented the widespread rapid testing that President Joe Biden called for last year, and that has helped countries such as Germany reopen while limiting infection. (Lim, 9/8)

CIDRAP: US Data Show Child COVID-19 Cases Rising Exponentially
For the first time during the pandemic, children now account for more than one quarter of new weekly US COVID-19 cases, according to the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).Nearly 252,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending Sep 2, the largest number recorded for children during the pandemic, according to the report. Children accounted for 26.8% of reported weekly US cases. (Soucheray, 9/8)

CNN: Delta Variant In Kids: Child Covid-19 Hospitalizations Hit A Record High As Schools Reopen 
Just as doctors feared, more children are getting hit hard by Covid-19 as the Delta variant tramples across the country. And the school year just started. "What we're seeing now is extremely concerning," said Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "This virus is really going for the people who are not vaccinated. And among those people are children who don't qualify for the vaccine and children and teens who qualify but are choosing not to get it." (Yan, 9/8)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: 7th Mississippi Child Dies Of COVID, Eight Pregnant Women Lose Lives To Virus In A Month
Mississippi health officials have reported a seventh child, under age 1, is dead due to complications from COVID-19 and eight pregnant women in the state have lost their lives to the coronavirus since Aug. 1. All eight expecting mothers were unvaccinated, Mississippi State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said, adding that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous and problematic for pregnant women and can be potentially deadly for the fetus. Some of the women's babies were born premature and are alive, Dobbs said, but did not specify a number. Officials are still investigating the cases. (Haselhorst, 9/8)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

USA Today: Severe Breakthrough Infections Mostly On Elderly, Sick
Severe coronavirus breakthrough infections are not only rare, they mostly happen on older people with other underlying health conditions, a new Yale University study reveals. Yale researchers looking into nearly 1,000 cases of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 23 and July 1 of this year found 54 were fully vaccinated, and 14 had severe or critical illness (almost half had no symptoms and went to the hospital for an unrelated condition). The median age among the group of 14 was 80.5, and 12 of them had heart disease. Other comorbidities among them included excess weight, diabetes and lung disease. Three of the patients died. (Bacon and Ortiz, 9/8)

AP: Idaho Patients In Hospital Halls Amid COVID Rationed Care
Amid the Idaho coronavirus surge that prompted officials to authorize hospitals to ration health care, Army soldiers sent to one hospital have traded their fatigues for personal protective equipment to help treat a flood of infected patients. The conference center at Kootenai Health hospital in the city Coeur d’Alene has been converted into a field hospital of sorts — with some of its classrooms filled with hospital beds where patients receive oxygen or get monoclonal antibody treatment, hospital officials said. (Boone, 9/9)

AP: Military Medical Team To Help Arkansas With COVID-19 Battle
The U.S. Defense Department is sending a 20-member military medical team to Arkansas to help expand the state’s hospital capacity in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday. Hutchinson said the team of 14 nurses, four physicians and two respiratory therapists would be sent to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock. (9/8)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: UMMC Garage Field Hospital Being Dismantled As MS Continues To Struggle With ICU Capacity
A field hospital in a University of Mississippi Medical Center garage, which treated COVID-19 patients and had intensive care unit capacity, is in the process of being dismantled as state health officials say Mississippi only has 10 available ICU beds. On Aug. 15, Samaritan's Purse, a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization, deployed the additional field hospital in collaboration with UMMC, the governor's office, the Mississippi State Department of Health and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. According to the organization's initial press release, the makeshift unit could care for up to 32 COVID-19 patients. (Haselhorst, 9/8)

NBC News: Oscar De La Hoya Released From Hospital, Says Covid 'Hit Me Really Hard'
Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya said Wednesday that he is home after having been hospitalized with Covid-19. "I was in there for 3 days. Covid hit me really hard," De La Hoya, 48, said on Twitter. "I was in the best shape of my life, and I really can't wait to get back in the ring." (Fitzsimons, 9/8)

In updates on the delta and alpha variants —

North Carolina Health News: COVID Delta Variant Q&A With Virologist Lisa Gralinski 
Lisa Gralinski is a virologist who studies human coronaviruses. She’s an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s been studying human coronaviruses for close to 13 years and as such, has been a much sought after expert during the SARS CoV2 pandemic. Gralinski sat down to talk to NC Health News about what’s happening with Delta, what we can expect next during the pandemic and how to protect unvaccinated kids. (This conversation has been edited for length and clarity). (Hoban, 9/9)

Stat: How Delta's Remarkable Replication Threw New Twists Into The Pandemic
One of the key reasons the Delta variant has ignited new surges of Covid-19 infections across the United States is its remarkable ability to make copies of itself. That skill has helped make Delta far more transmissible than any other iteration of the coronavirus seen thus far. But its replication prowess could also be at the heart of the other twists Delta has thrown into the pandemic, including the increase in breakthrough infections with the variant and why it potentially causes severe Covid-19 more often. (Joseph, 9/9)

CIDRAP: Study Says Alpha Variant Doubled COVID Cases In Israeli Kids 
The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B117) variant spread faster and more efficiently than previous strains among children 9 years and younger in Israel in late 2020 and early 2021, even amid the concurrent immunization of adults against COVID-19, according to an observational study yesterday in JAMA Network Open. A team led by a researcher at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel in Petah Tikva compared the publicly available daily data of 21,615 children who tested positive for COVID-19 from Aug 1 to Oct 2, 2020, with those of 50,811 children who tested positive from Dec 3, 2020, to Feb 3, 2021. The researchers adjusted weekly incidence rates according to the number of COVID-19 tests performed. (Van Beusekom, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: All Eligible LAUSD Students Would Have To Be Vaccinated By January Under Board Proposal
All Los Angeles public school children 12 and older would have to be fully vaccinated by January to enter campus — sooner for students involved in many extracurricular activities — under a proposal to be voted on Thursday by the Board of Education. If approved as expected, the requirement would catapult the L.A. Unified School District into the forefront of school systems nationwide with the most sweeping and aggressive safety measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s second-largest school system has moved faster and more comprehensively than most others, testing all students and employees for infection every week, requiring masks indoors and outdoors and ordering employees to get vaccinated. (Blume, 9/8)

In updates from Florida —

Bloomberg: Florida Can Legally Require Masks In Schools Despite DeSantis Appeal, Judge Says
Florida schools can start legally requiring masks, a state court judge ordered in what he called an uncommon ruling, even as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis appeals a decision against his ban on mask mandates. It’s highly unusual to lift an automatic hold on a decision such as the one that kicked in when DeSantis filed his appeal, Leon County Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper said at a hearing held over Zoom on Wednesday. But “we’re not in normal times -- we’re in a pandemic,” he said. “We have children who can’t be protected by a vaccination.” (Levin, 9/8)

And from the Midwest —

Axios: Parents Of Kids With Disabilities Sue Iowa Over Ban On Mask Mandates 
Eleven parents of children who live with disabilities in Iowa are suing the state over the ban on mask mandates. Concerned school parents are piling some of the heaviest pressure against political leaders in red states that are defying the CDC's recommendation on mask requirements, per Axios Des Moines' Linh Ta. The Arc of Iowa, a disability rights group based in Iowa, is joining the lawsuit along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (Garfinkel, 9/8)

PBS NewsHour: Missouri Left Mask Rules Up To School Districts. Parents Say Their Kids Are At Risk
Over the summer, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued school reopening guidance, effectively allowing hundreds of school districts to decide whether or not to mandate masks and making Missouri one of more than 20 states to adopt such a policy. That guidance came after a spring lull of cases in the U.S., and just as COVID infections began to surge again nationally, driven by the increasingly dominant delta variant. Nearly two dozen school districts in Missouri have reported more than 41 new COVID cases among children age 5 and older in the last two weeks, state data shows. Since the start of the pandemic, the state has seen nearly 780,000 cases in total and more than 11,000 deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services. (Hays, 9/8)

Detroit Free Press: Unmasked Students Press Into Manchester High School, Violating Mandate
A crowd of unmasked students pressed into Manchester High School on Tuesday morning, violating a Washtenaw County Health Department mandate requiring all K-12 students to wear masks indoors to slow the spread of coronavirus. The incident was caught on video and shared Wednesday on social media. When questioned about how the mask mandate would be enforced, a sheriff's deputy who was overseeing the situation said: “I’m not going to force anybody. I’m not putting masks on anybody. That’s not my job. This is a county health department order.” (Jordan Shamus and Hall, 9/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS Administration Asking Board To Consider Vaccine Mandate For Staff
All employees of Milwaukee Public Schools could be required to be vaccinated by Nov. 1, with some exceptions, if school board members approve a plan shared by administrators ahead of a special board meeting Thursday. MPS has reported 115 students and 35 staff tested positive in a seven day period just before Labor Day weekend — the highest levels ever reported by the district. After Labor Day, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the district reported 71 new cases in students and staff since the morning. (Linnane, 9/8)

And from the West —

AP: Judge Halts Protests Near Schools In Vancouver, Washington
A judge in southwest Washington state has granted an injunction prohibiting protests, rallies or other gatherings that “disrupt educational services” near public schools in the district. Vancouver School District officials said they sought the injunction after people protesting a school mask requirement left the public sidewalk and came onto the Skyview High School campus Friday, prompting lockdowns at several schools. (9/9)

Salt Lake Tribune: Salt Lake City Superintendent Says His Only Option To Enforce Mask Mandate Is To Call Police On Students
The superintendent over Salt Lake City schools says the only way to more strongly enforce the mayor’s K-12 mask mandate would be to call the police on students who are not complying. And he won’t do that. “I just don’t think it should be the mission of an educational institution to criminalize misbehavior,” said Superintendent Timothy Gadson. “And that’s what it is: misbehavior.” Gadson addressed ongoing concerns Tuesday night during Salt Lake City School District’s board of education meeting. Some parents, he said, have been worried that the district isn’t doing enough to make sure all kids are wearing masks in accordance with the citywide order from Mayor Erin Mendenhall. (Tanner, 9/8)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: School Board Leader Tells Of Death Threats After Vaccine Mandate Vote
Clark County School Board President Linda Cavazos says she has received death threats and “nasty messages” following the board’s decision last week to move forward with mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for employees. Cavazos first posted about the threats Tuesday on Twitter, saying she had received messages saying she should be hanged or shot, “along with very disturbing images.” “I simply turn in the names and reports, and continue doing my job, as do my colleagues,” she wrote. “We have no time for the hate.” (Wootton-Greener, 9/8)

Billings Gazette: COVID Cases Among School-Age Kids Rising In Yellowstone County
The number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported among Yellowstone County's school-age population went up again last week, continuing an upward trend that stretches back to late July. Last week the county reported 180 COVID-19 cases among its school-age population, an increase from the 144 cases reported among the same population for the prior week ending Aug. 28. The most recent numbers were included in a COVID-19 report published by RiverStone Health Tuesday. School-age case numbers in Yellowstone County have gone up every week since the beginning of August, when for the week ending Aug. 7 a total of 39 cases were reported among the county's school-age population. (Kordenbrock, 9/8)

In higher-education news —

KHN: Even In Red States, Colleges Gravitate To Requiring Vaccines And Masks 
As students head to college this fall, hundreds of schools are requiring employees and students to be vaccinated against covid, wear masks on campus or both. But at some schools, partisan politics have bolstered efforts to stymie public health protections. Events at the University of South Carolina, in a deeply conservative state, demonstrate the limits of political pressure in some cases, even though “South Carolina is a red state and its voters generally eschew mandates,” said Jeffrey Stensland, a spokesperson for the school. (Andrews, 9/9)

The Washington Post: United Airlines Workers With Covid Vaccine Exemptions Must Take Temporary Leaves 
United Airlines employees who receive religious or medical exemptions from the company’s coronavirus vaccine requirement will be required to take temporary leaves of absence starting next month, company officials said Wednesday. “Given the dire statistics … we can no longer allow unvaccinated people back into the workplace until we better understand how they might interact with our customers and their vaccinated co-workers,” Kirk Limacher, United’s vice president of human resources, wrote in a memo to employees. (Aratani, 9/8)

Axios: COVID: Qantas To Ban Unvaccinated Travelers From International Flights 
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce confirmed the Australian airline will ban passengers not vaccinated against COVID-19 from international flights, traveller.com.au first reported Wednesday. Joyce indicated in November he planned for Qantas to require international travelers provide proof of vaccination. He aims to have the mandate in place by December, when the airline plans to resume global operations. All Qantas staff must be vaccinated by March 2022 unless they have a medical exemption. (9/9)

In other news about vaccine mandates —

The Oregonian: Portland Can’t Make Cops Get COVID-19 Vaccine Despite City Mandate, Mayor Says 
Mayor Ted Wheeler said Wednesday that state law prohibits Portland from making police officers get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite a new city mandate that requires municipal workers do so if they wish to keep their jobs. “I am disappointed that we can’t hold all of our city employees to the same vaccine requirement,” Wheeler told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an emailed statement. “I still am strongly encouraging police officers to get vaccinated.” (Kavanaugh, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: New Vaccine Mandates Falter In California Legislature
A drumbeat of chants criticizing vaccine and mask mandates carried into the unusually sparse hallways on Wednesday at the state Capitol, where lawmakers were wrapping up the final week of their legislative session without the bills that hundreds came to Sacramento to protest. A late push by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) to create a new workplace vaccine requirement failed to come together before a legislative deadline Tuesday evening. Another proposal by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), which fell apart last week, would have created sweeping new vaccine mandates in the workplace and to enter businesses. (Gutierrez, 9/8)

AP: Hawaii Creates Optional Digital Vaccination Record Program
The state of Hawaii this week plans to launch a program that will allow people to use their smartphones to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Hawaii Smart Health Card comes shortly before Honolulu and Maui begin instituting vaccine requirements for patrons of restaurants and other businesses. (McAvoy, 9/9)

The Washington Post: GOP West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice Is Done With All That Nonsense On Vaccines
If the coronavirus could be cured by a mixture of folksiness and exasperation, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) would be in line for a Nobel Prize. Many of Justice’s GOP colleagues have trodden gently around promoting the vaccines. Some have raised speculative and baseless allegations that the vaccines might be unsafe. Former president Donald Trump promoted them, but only after months of conspicuously declining to do so and not disclosing his own vaccination. Even many who have encouraged vaccination have focused more on their opposition to mandates. They have also made a point to frequently either attach qualifiers that it’s a choice or to suggest that it doesn’t really matter to the vaccinated. And they’ve occasionally suggested that they can’t do much about the vaccine misinformation from allies in their midst. (Blake, 9/8)

KHN: ‘Religious’ Exemptions Add Legal Thorns To Looming Vaccine Mandates 
In Northern California, the pastor of a megachurch hands out religious exemption forms to the faithful. A New Mexico state senator will “help you articulate a religious exemption” by pointing to the decades-old use of aborted fetal cells in the development of some vaccines. And a Texas-based evangelist offers exemption letters to anyone — for a suggested “donation” starting at $25. With workplace vaccine mandates in the offing, opponents are turning to a tried-and-true recourse for avoiding a covid-19 shot: the claim that vaccination interferes with religious beliefs. (Kreidler, 9/9)

NBC News: Patton Oswalt Cancels Shows In Florida, Utah After Venues Fail To Comply With His Covid Requests
Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt canceled his upcoming tour dates in Florida and Salt Lake City because the venues would not comply with his request that attendees either show proof of full vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test. Oswalt told fans in an Instagram video that he made the requests to protect people coming to his "Patton Oswalt Live: Who's Ready To Laugh?" tour. (Burke, 9/8)

AP: All Nevada Counties Will Be Subject To Indoor Mask Mandate
All 17 counties in Nevada will be subject to an indoor mask mandate by the end of the week, health officials said Wednesday. An emergency directive from Gov. Steve Sisolak requires counties adopt mask requirements for indoor public spaces and crowded outdoor spaces in line with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if they surpass thresholds for COVID-19 transmission. (Metz, 9/9)

AP: Columbus To Reissue Indoor Mask Mandate As COVID Cases Rise
Ohio’s capital and largest city announced plans Wednesday to reissue a mask mandate amid a rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as a result of the delta variant. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he’ll issue an executive order in the coming days that would require all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a face mask in indoor places across the city. (Amiri, 9/9)

USA Today: New COVID Safety Standards, Mask Rules For NY Employers
Employers in New York will soon be required to follow new COVID-19 safety standards, including mandatory mask wearing for many workers, under a newly enacted state law. Gov. Kathy Hocul’s administration this week designated COVID-19 a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the law approved in May, commonly called the NY HERO Act. (Robinson, 9/8)

Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Senate Advances Ban On Statewide Mask Mandate
A bill to ban statewide mask orders for the next 22 months and take steps to address medical staffing, vaccines, tests and treatments related to COVID-19 passed a Senate Committee Wednesday. Senate Bill 2, a companion to one passed by a House committee Tuesday, passed 8-2 with some members who voted for it protesting it doesn't do enough to address acute staffing shortages — especially among nurses — at hospitals and nursing homes. The bill allows paramedics to work in the facilities under supervision of medical personnel but doesn't provide other resources. (Yetter, 9/8)

In related news about sports and covid mandates —

NBC News: College Football Season Is Here. And So Is The Delta Variant.
There is no simple answer to just how much risk there is to a mass gathering like an outdoor college football game. A variety of factors play into the risk level: local infection rates, whether a stadium requires vaccination or a proof of a negative test and even what people do before and after the game. At one such game, University of Wisconsin's home opener against Penn State, no vaccination proof or negative test was required. Masks were required indoors but only "strongly encouraged" in outdoor spaces. More than 76,000 people attended. The Madison, Wisconsin, metro area, home to more than 660,000 people has seen a steady increase in cases since mid-July and a positive test rate of 3.4 percent, according to Public Health Madison and Dane County. (Chow, 9/8)

The Washington Post: NFL Confident In Coronavirus Protocols, Despite Differences With NFLPA
The NFL’s top medical officials expressed confidence Wednesday in the league’s coronavirus protocols and frequency of testing, saying they’re hopeful that those measures, and the league’s high vaccination rate, will make for a safe and uninterrupted season. Their comments came a day after the NFL Players Association reiterated its call for a return to daily testing of all players and staffers and said the absence of that leaves the league vulnerable to outbreaks and schedule disruptions. (Maske, 9/8)

KHN: Your Covid Game Plan: Are Stadiums Safe? 
The college football season is kicking into high gear, the National Football League season starts Sept. 9, and the baseball pennant races are heating up. For the first time since 2019, nearly all stadiums will be fully open to fans. In the so-called Before Times, sitting shoulder to shoulder inside a stadium with tens of thousands of boisterous spectators — after a few hours of pregame tailgating — was a highlight of many fans’ autumn. But with covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring from the delta variant, many fans are wondering if that is a wise idea. KHN talked to seven health experts to get their takes. (Galewitz and Miller, 9/3)

Axios: Elderly And Immunocompromised Marylanders Are Eligible For COVID-19 Booster Shots 
Governor Larry Hogan (R) announced on Wednesday that elderly people who live nursing homes and people who are immunocompromised are eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot effective immediately. Maryland is the first state to announce a plan for distributing boosters to a wider population of people, outside the immunocompromised. Hogan said "confusing and contradictory" guidance from the federal government forced him to act now. (Garfinkel, 9/8)

Axios: WHO Director Calls For Countries To Halt COVID-19 Booster Shots 
The World Health Organization on Wednesday doubled down on calls for wealthy countries with large supplies of coronavirus vaccines to forgo booster shots through the end of the year. The WHO director's comments come as the Biden administration weighs offering COVID booster shots later this month, and as a global vaccine disparity persists. (Doherty, 9/8)

The Washington Post: People Who Got Johnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus Vaccine Feel Left Behind In The Push For Boosters 
Janice Higgins isn’t the type to ignore advice from health professionals, especially when it comes to protecting herself from the coronavirus. When officials recommended masks, she wore them. When the vaccines arrived, she got the first one available to her. But the Biden administration’s plan for coronavirus booster shots is testing her faith in the process. Higgins is one of 14 million Americans who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which isn’t covered under the booster plan announced Aug. 18. (Hawkins, 9/8)

In other news about the vaccine rollout —

CBS News: State Vaccine Incentives Do Little To Boost Vaccination Rates, Research Shows 
While some vaccine holdouts may be swayed by free cash or other offers, such programs have not been shown to boost vaccination rates, new research from the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) at the University of Pennsylvania shows. The center compared daily vaccination rates in 24 states with rewards programs in June to inoculation rates in the 26 states without incentive programs. "At least for these statewide incentive programs, there was no effect on the daily vaccination rates, which means we did not see more people coming into get vaccinated in the immediate aftermath of the introduction of these statewide incentives," Harsha Thirumurthy, associate director of CHIBE, told CBSN. (Cerullo, 9/8)

Houston Chronicle: Hidalgo To Cancel Controversial $11 Million Vaccine Outreach Contract, Saying It Has Become Politicized
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday said she would cancel a controversial vaccine outreach contract after Republican commissioners had accused her of steering the work toward a Democratic firm with no public health expertise. “The way it’s being politicized is getting in the way of getting people vaccinated,” Hidalgo said. “It’s really sad, but it’s the truth of the matter. We need to focus on so many other efforts.” Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey on Tuesday said they failed to understand how Elevate Strategies had won the contract, despite submitting a more expensive bid and scoring lower than the University of Texas Health Science Center, which received the most points in a county scoring competition. (Despart, 9/8)

Also —

Stat: Moderna Turns To Biotech Startup To Ramp Up Covid Vaccine Manufacturing
Moderna will turn to a biotech startup, National Resilience, to manufacture additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. Moderna had previously said it would manufacture 800 million to 1 billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, ramping up to 3 billion doses in 2022.  A person familiar with the company said the collaboration might result in hundreds of millions more doses. Currently, the vaccine is given as a two-dose series, though Moderna has said at least some patients may need a third dose given many months later. (Herper, 9/8)

Axios: COVAX Cuts 2021 Forecast For Available COVID Doses 
COVAX, the UN-backed program aimed at addressing COVID vaccine inequality, cut its forecast for doses available in 2021 by roughly a quarter. The forecast led the World Health Organization (WHO) to double down on calls for wealthier nations to wait until at least the end of the year to administer booster shots so lower-income nations can vaccinate their populations. (Chen, 9/8)

Stat: In Another Sign Of RNA’s Growing Popularity, Replicate Is Relaunching
A California startup is putting a new spin on a now-familiar idea: using RNA as the foundation of a new therapy. Cancer-focused biotech Replicate Bioscience is hoping to take the same technology that underpins the Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer — with a bit of a scientific twist — and use it to help the body’s own cells attack cancer cells. The company is “relaunching” this week with what its key investor’s head of communications calls a “light rebranding;” it accompanies a $40 million Series A led by Apple Tree Partners. (Sheridan, 9/8)

Politico: Justice Department Planning To Sue Texas Over Abortion Law
The Department of Justice is planning to sue Texas as soon as this week, POLITICO has confirmed, a move that comes just days after Attorney General Merrick Garland said his department is exploring options to challenge the state’s strict abortion law. While the lawsuit could come as soon as Thursday, it’s possible the timeline will be pushed back, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the Justice Department’s preparations. The Biden administration has faced building pressure to act after the Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect in a 5-4 decision. (Ward and Gerstein, 9/8)

AP: Fighting Texas Abortion Law Could Be Tough For Federal Gov't
Foes of the new Texas law that bans most abortions have been looking to the Democratic-run federal government to swoop in and knock down the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the country. But it’s nowhere near that simple. President Joe Biden , who denounces the law as “almost un-American,” has directed the Justice Department to try to find a way to block its enforcement. And Attorney General Merrick Garland says his prosecutors are exploring all possible options. But legal experts warn that while the law may ultimately be found unconstitutional, the way it’s written means it’ll be an uphill legal battle. (Whitehurst and Balsamo, 9/9)

Dallas Morning News: White House Scoffs At Abbott’s Vow To Eliminate Rape In Texas, Now That Blanket Abortion Ban Is Law
The White House scoffed Wednesday at Gov. Greg Abbott’s assurance that Texas will eliminate rape, calling it an empty promise that does nothing to mitigate a new abortion ban that makes no exception for pregnancies that result from sexual assault. Arrests are made in just 23% of rape cases, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Vice President Kamala Harris accused Abbott of trying “to arrogantly dismiss concerns about rape survivors” with “empty words … fueled with not only arrogance but bravado.” (Gillman, 9/8)

The Hill: Harris Assails Texas Governor Over Abortion Comments 
Vice President Harris on Wednesday tore into Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for comments he made about rape and the state’s new restrictive abortion law as she campaigned for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in her home state. Harris began her remarks by expressing disgust at comments Abbott made on Tuesday in which he dismissed concerns about the new Texas law causing rape victims to carry a pregnancy to term and claimed that Texas would “eliminate rape.” (Chalfant, 9/8)

ABC News: How The Texas Abortion Law May Actually Be Enforced
Texas' new abortion ban is notable for several reasons -- chief among them how it is enforced. The statute, which is the most restrictive abortion law in the country, bars physicians from providing abortions once they detect a so-called fetal heartbeat -- technically the flutter of electrical activity within the cells in an embryo. ... The law -- which is enforced civilly, rather than criminally, by members of the public -- can potentially have very broad applications and could result in numerous lawsuits over one suspected illegal abortion, experts told ABC News. (Deliso, 9/9)

The Texas Tribune: Texans Likely Have Two Weeks Or Less To Get Abortion Under New Law
Texas’ new stringent abortion law has been described as a ban on abortions that kicks in as early as six weeks of pregnancy. It’s a characterization politicians have clung to, with Gov. Greg Abbott using it to defend why the law doesn’t exempt victims of rape or incest. ... But in reality, the time frame to get an abortion is much shorter, even if someone realizes they are pregnant right away. And in Texas, more than 80% of abortions happened after the six-week mark. (Waller, 9/8)

CBS News: Air Force Secretary Orders Investigation Into Domestic Violence Cases Following CBS News Report 
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has ordered an investigation into cases involving alleged domestic violence following a two-year investigation by CBS News anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and the investigative unit into the military's handling of such cases. "I am extremely troubled by the claims of inappropriate handling of domestic violence complaints highlighted in your broadcast and have directed the Department of the Air Force Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive review of those cases," Kendall said in a statement Wednesday. (Yilek, 9/8)

CBS News: Military's Domestic Violence Crisis Compounded After 20 Years Of War 
Deployment. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Self-medication with alcohol. Domestic abuse. And finally, in some cases, sexual assault. It's a cycle retired longtime Army attorney Captain Tony Hosein has seen many times. Hosein, who served as a legal assistance and special victims attorney for the Army before he retired in February, had helped dozens of domestic violence survivors — "I've seen the worst of the worst." But cases typically only got to his desk once an abusive situation had escalated. (O'Donnell, Steve, Tepper, Verdugo and Yilek, 9/8)

In news about the Supreme Court —

The Hill: Supreme Court Returning To Courtroom For Arguments 
The justices will return to the Supreme Court next month to hold their first in-person oral arguments since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Courtroom access will be limited to the justices, court personnel, legal counsel and journalists during upcoming arguments, though the court is expected to provide live audio of the proceedings. The court building remains closed to the public indefinitely due to ongoing health concerns, a court spokesperson said. (Kruzel, 9/8)

Politico: The Surprisingly Strong Supreme Court Precedent Supporting Vaccine Mandates 
Henning Jacobson, a 50-year-old minister, put his faith in his own liberty. Back in his native Sweden, he had suffered a bad reaction to a vaccine as an infant, struggling for years with an angry rash. Now he was an American citizen, serving as pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That gave him the full protections of the U.S. Constitution. So when the Cambridge board of health decided that all adults must be vaccinated for smallpox, Jacobson sought refuge in the Constitution’s promise that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The year was 1904, and when his politically charged legal challenge to the $5 fine for failing to get vaccinated made its way to the Supreme Court. (Canellos and Lau, 9/8)

Politico: Democrats Reopen Old Health Care Wounds With $3.5T Mega-Bill On The Line 
Hours after House Democrats launched a major, health care-focused piece of their pitch to turn $3.5 trillion of social spending dreams into law, it ran smack into a political brick wall. The party's growing problem is twofold: On one hand, the White House and Senate are keeping their distance from the House's proposal to divvy up hundreds of billions of dollars between a progressive push for a massive expansion of Medicare benefits and a leadership-driven quest to permanently strengthen Obamacare. On the other, progressives who got a lot of what they wanted in draft legislation the House Ways and Means Committee released Tuesday night are still unhappy with colleagues who would rather use the party's health care dollars on making expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage permanent. (Caygle and Ollstein, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Democrats Ready $450 Billion Plan To Expand Child Care, Pre-K As Broader Economic Package Hits New Political Snags 
Congressional Democrats this week are set to take their first steps toward adopting a $450 billion plan that could improve child care nationwide, marking an early attempt to lock in a major element of President Biden’s economic agenda at a moment when it is in political peril. The new spending could amount to the largest-ever investment in federally backed child-care programs, with Biden and other Democrats laboring to ease the financial burdens on parents, offer higher wages to caregivers and ensure all children ages 3 and 4 can enroll in free prekindergarten. (Romm, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Democrats Confront Numerous Hurdles As They Work To Advance $3.5 Trillion Economic Package 
The days ahead are likely to be grueling for the party’s lawmakers, who are about to embark on the tough task of translating President Biden’s broader economic agenda into law. To start, Democrats intend to focus their efforts on proposals to expand Medicare benefits, authorize new family and medical leave programs and make child care and community college more affordable. But Democrats are starting their legislative slog at a precarious time politically, as the party’s liberal and moderate factions increasingly snipe at each other over the price tag and policy scope of their still-forming bill. (Romm, 9/8)

The Hill: Schumer Rejects Manchin's Call For Pause On Biden Plan 
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is rejecting a call for Democrats to hit pause on President Biden's spending plan, indicating that they are sticking to an ambitious timeline. "We're moving full-speed ahead. ... We want to keep going forward. We think getting this done is so important," Schumer told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday. (Carney, 9/8)

NPR: Prosecutors Call Theranos Ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes A Liar And A Cheat As Trial Opens
Jurors in the fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes heard vastly different portrayals on Wednesday of the onetime whiz kid who amazed Silicon Valley with promises of biotech breakthroughs at her company, Theranos. In a stinging opening statement on Wednesday, federal prosecutors described Holmes as a manipulative fraudster who duped investors and patients alike and knew the whole time that she was hoodwinking them. "This is a case about fraud, about lying and cheating to get money," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach. "It's a crime on Main Street, and it's a crime in Silicon Valley." (Allyn, 9/8)

In other health care industry news —

Roll Call: Provider Groups Lobby HHS As COVID-19 Fund Deadlines Near 
Medical provider groups are pressuring the Biden administration to ease the rules for a $178 billion COVID-19 relief fund as the first deadline nears for doctors to report on how they spent the money. Hospital and physician groups are lobbying the administration to release the $24 billion remaining in the fund and extend deadlines for spending and reporting the money, in addition to a series of wonky requests with implications for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. (Clason, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: VC And Private Equity Firms To Face More Scrutiny, CMS Official Warns
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will turn a skeptical eye toward venture capital and private equity investments in healthcare and demand greater transparency, a key agency official said Wednesday. Officials worry patients won't get the care they need if investors are only in healthcare to collect government money, Pauline Lapin, director of the Center for Medicaid and Medicaid Innovation's Seamless Care Models Group, said during the Policies, Techies & VCs conference on Wednesday. (Brady, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Patients Burdened By Administrative Hassles That Delay Care, Survey Shows
Navigating the labyrinthine U.S. healthcare system is so challenging for patients that it leads to delayed or foregone medical care, new research shows. Twenty-five percent of insured, working age adults have either postponed or gone without necessary healthcare because of administrative obstacles, according to a study published in the journal Health Services Research Thursday. Nearly three-quarters of patients reported undertaking tasks like scheduling appointments, seeking health information, obtaining prior authorizations and resolving problems with bills and premiums. The researchers used data from the Urban Institute's March 2019 Health Reform Monitoring Survey. (Devereaux, 9/8)

Stat: Concert Health Delivers Mental Health Care To Those Missed By The Unicorns
The explosion of investor interest in behavioral health startups has minted an expanding list of unicorns focused on helping people access care through employer benefits or commercial insurance. Concert Health has its eye on the other part of the market. (Aguilar, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: LGBTQ+ Health Startups Grow To Meet Demand For Specialized Services
In the first half of this year, funding for LGBTQ-focused digital health tools already more than tripled compared to investments in all of 2020, according to digital health consultancy Rock Health. As the LGBTQ digital health space is relatively new, most companies in this category have received only seed investment and Series A rounds. Companies such as Denver-based Plume, Boston-based Folx, New York-based Included Health and others say their missions are to empower marginalized individuals by offering care from culturally competent staff, as opposed to forcing LGBTQ individuals to meet with providers who may not understand—or may be openly hostile—to their care needs. (Tepper and Devereaux, 9/8)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: How Charity Care Made It Into The ACA 
Charity care is one tiny provision in the giant Affordable Care Act, and it can make a big difference for patients who face huge bills. How did it get into the law? One Republican senator made sure the ACA required nonprofit hospitals to act more like charities — and less like loan sharks — but he still voted against the whole bill. The national requirement to offer charity care emerged from the Obama White House’s failed courtship of GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. In this episode, we hear how that political tango almost tanked the ACA — and how the battle over the ACA “broke America.” Featured are David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama; longtime health policy reporter and KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner; and a top Grassley aide. (Weissmann, 9/9)

KHN: Watch: Same Providers, Similar Surgeries, But Different Bills
Ely Bair had similar surgeries, at the same hospital, with the same insurer. But he received very different big medical bills. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins “CBS This Morning” to break down how this could happen to you and what you can do to avoid it. (9/4)

In obituaries —

San Francisco Chronicle: Arthur Ammann, UCSF Doctor Who Discovered AIDS Virus In Infants, Dies At 85
Before AIDS had a name and was still thought to be a disease primarily affecting gay men, Dr. Arthur Ammann at UCSF Parnassus discovered the same condition in a newborn who had undergone a blood transfusion. Further research by Ammann led to what he described as a “terrible discovery”: The illness could also be transmitted mother-to-baby during pregnancy. That finding put maternity wards, pediatric units and the entire blood donor industry on alert. (Whiting, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Premier And 11 Health Systems Buy Stake In Specialty Drugmaker
Eleven health systems and the group purchasing organization Premier have acquired a stake in a specialty pharmaceutical company to ensure steady supplies of key drugs. The group now owns a minority stake in Exela Holdings, the holding company of Exela Pharma Sciences, which makes proprietary and generic sterile injectable products. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Bannow, 9/8)

Stat: Sanofi Acquires Kadmon For $1.9 Billion, Adding Transplant Medicine Drug
French drug maker Sanofi said Wednesday that it will acquire Kadmon Pharmaceuticals for $1.9 billion, bolstering its transplant medicines business with a newly approved treatment for graft-versus-host disease. The all-cash transaction sees Kadmon shares worth $9.50 per share, or a 79% premium to Tuesday’s closing price. (Feuerstein, 9/8)

FiercePharma: Bristol Myers, Pfizer Score Another Win In Their Eliquis Patent Defense, Protecting The Blockbuster Until 2028 
As a top-selling drug worldwide, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis is a major target for generic players looking to steal branded sales. But with a new court win, the partners are set for many more years of exclusivity in the lucrative U.S. market. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a prior win for the companies covering two Eliquis patents—the drug’s composition of matter patent and a formulation patent. While the case is subject to another potential appeal, this appeals win sets the companies up to retain U.S. exclusivity until April 1, 2028. (Sagonowsky, 9/7)

KHN: KHN Quiz: Drug Or Not A Drug? 
Face it: Drug names can be kooky. And Comirnaty — the brand-new brand name for the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine — is a candidate for the kookiest. Who hasn’t stumbled over names of prescription drugs, even those you take daily, when put on the spot by a doctor or pharmacist? Take this tongue-in-cheek quiz to see how many brand-name drug names you can pick out from the decoys. (Byrne, 9/6)

Stat: Medical Cannabis Unlikely To Benefit Most Chronic Pain Patients 
Medical cannabis might be a helpful therapy for some people who have chronic pain, but it’s unlikely to benefit most, according to new clinical guidelines published Wednesday in the journal BMJ. The guidelines, crafted by an international group of researchers who analyzed three dozen medical cannabis studies, say there isn’t enough evidence that medical marijuana products help most patients suffering from chronic pain, so they shouldn’t be widely recommended for such people. (Cueto, 9/8)

USA Today: College Students' Marijuana Use Hit Highs In 2020, Alcohol Use Saw 'Significant' Decrease, Study Shows
Marijuana use among U.S. college students hit a historic high in 2020, while alcohol use might have taken a pandemic-induced dip, a new study shows. College students' marijuana consumption rose in 2020, continuing a "significant increase" over the past five years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's annual "Monitoring the Future" study. The recent surge has boosted college student marijuana use to its highest mark since 1983. Meanwhile, alcohol use was less common among college students than in previous years. The study showed decreases from 2019 in terms of binge drinking, getting drunk and overall alcohol use. (Cannon, 9/8)

In other public health news —

NPR: A Major Decision From The FDA Today Could Dramatically Reshape The Vaping Industry
A monumental set of decisions is expected Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration that could reshape the tobacco industry for years to come by limiting, or altogether blocking, the sale of millions of e-cigarette products. Though the FDA has long regulated the marketing and sale of traditional tobacco products like cigarettes, the agency had long not required the same scrutiny of vapes, allowing a market to flourish. (Sullivan, 9/9)

Stat: Study: Pandemic Lockdown Tied To Worse Metastatic Colon Cancer Outcomes
One of the most pressing questions during the coronavirus pandemic has been its impact on cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment. During the first Covid-19 surge, swamped health-care systems suspended cancer screenings and some in-person care while some people stayed away for fear of Covid-19 infection. Screening rates fell precipitously for cancers with common tests, including mammograms for breast cancer, Pap tests for cervical cancer, PSA testing for prostate, CT scans for lung cancer and colonoscopies for colorectal cancer. Those rates have rebounded somewhat, but another question may take longer to answer: Does the delay in screening matter? (Cooney, 9/8)

The Washington Post: USDA Study Shows Success Of Federal Food Safety Net Programs During Pandemic 
Despite a world-altering pandemic, the number of American households struggling with hunger remained nearly constant last year, buoyed by significant federal safety net programs, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Agriculture Department. However, food assistance programs may not have reached populations equally, according to the report, as food insecurity during the pandemic improved for some while worsening for others. Households with children were twice as likely to experience food insecurity as households without children, according to the report. (Reiley, 9/8)

Fox News: Fall Allergies Will Be In 'Full Force' This Year, Experts Say
As summer comes to a close, millions of Americans can reportedly expect the fall allergy season to be in "full force" this year. According to AccuWeather meteorologists, fall allergies are often triggered by ragweed and the presence of mold. "Fall allergies are typically triggered by ragweed, and the pollen from these types of plants that are common in North America can travel as far as the wind carries it," AccuWeather wrote. "Another cause of fall allergies is mold, which can grow in piles of damp leaves." The Philadelphia Inquirer said Monday that ragweed plants are expected to produce pollen to torment residents over the next couple of weeks. (Musto, 9/8)

In obituaries —

The Washington Post: Carl Bean, Minister And AIDS Activist Who Sang ‘I Was Born This Way,’ Dies At 77 
Carl Bean, a progressive minister, AIDS activist and singer who popularized the 1970s Motown song “I Was Born This Way,” an exuberant dance club staple and gay pride anthem that inspired one of Lady Gaga’s biggest hits, died Sept. 7 at a hospice center in Los Angeles. He was 77.His death was announced by the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, a Christian denomination that grew out of his ministry to LGBTQ African Americans in Los Angeles. The church said he had “a lengthy illness” but did not give a specific cause. (Smith, 9/8)

Georgia Health News: Lead-Contaminated Atlanta Neighborhood May Be Put On Federal Clean-Up Priority List 
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to add a westside Atlanta area that’s contaminated with lead to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL), which would allow more federal funding for clean-up. The Superfund program, created in 1980, has the responsibility of identifying dangerously polluted sites around the nation, cleaning them up and when possible, holding polluters financially accountable. There are thousands of Superfund sites, but a relatively small percentage are on the NPL, meaning they are especially dangerous. (Miller, 9/8)

Bangor Daily News: Bangor City Council Subcommittee Votes To Ban Flavored Tobacco Products
An ordinance banning the sale of flavored tobacco within city limits has passed its first hurdle after the city’s government operations committee unanimously voted Wednesday to send it to the Bangor City Council. If enacted by the council, the ordinance as currently drafted would ban the sale or marketing of all flavored tobacco products in the city —  including menthol cigarettes and e-cigarette flavors that have a taste or smell other than that of tobacco — on Jan. 1, 2022. (Marino Jr., 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: California Takes On Amazon, Advancing A Bill That Regulates Tough Warehouse Work Metrics
As amended, the bill would require warehouse employers such as Amazon to disclose productivity quotas for workers. It would prohibit any quota that prevents workers from taking state-mandated breaks or using the bathroom when needed, or that keeps employers from complying with health and safety laws. In negotiations, backers of the bill agreed to cut a provision that would require Cal/OSHA, the state’s workplace safety agency, to create a rule that would help to minimize musculoskeletal injuries among warehouse workers. (Hussain, 9/8)

AP: Vaccinated Florida Congressman Tests Positive For COVID-19
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto of Florida said Wednesday that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and believed he had only mild symptoms because he was vaccinated. Soto, an Orlando-area Democrat, tweeted that he had received monoclonal antibody treatment to reduce potential symptoms. “This treatment is helpful but not a substitute for the COVID-19 vaccine. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said. (9/8)

Bloomberg: Boris Johnson Wins Health Care Vote To Push U.K. Taxes To Highest Ever
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a mandate from the House of Commons to raise taxes to the highest level on record to fund health and social care. The result allows the prime minister to levy a new 1.25% tax on working Britons and their employers, as well as adding an extra 1.25% to dividend tax. The revenue is earmarked to pay for a post-pandemic catchup program in the National Health Service and to overhaul the country’s struggling social care system. It comes just a day after the plans were unveiled in Parliament. (Morales and Ashton, 9/8)

CNBC: WHO Chief Scientist On India Vaccine Targets And Potential Third Wave
India is better prepared to stop new Covid-19 waves from wreaking havoc on the country, according to Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization. The South Asian nation suffered a devastating second wave between February and early May, during which daily infection cases and death rates rose at an alarming pace, pushing the health-care system to the brink. Since then, cases have declined and are currently averaging to around 30,000 to 40,000 a day. The pace of vaccination has also climbed sharply. (Choudhury, 9/9)

AP: Virus Infects 99 Kids At Philippine Orphanage
As COVID-19 patients fill Philippine hospitals to the brim, officials say the virus has hit an orphanage and infected almost 100 children. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the outbreak in the orphanage could have been prevented and “the children could have been saved from the life-threatening risks of COVID” had minimum health standards been followed strictly. Of the 122 people infected, 99 are age 18 and younger while the rest are personnel of the Gentlehands Orphanage, the mayor said in a statement Thursday. (9/9)

Also —

Newsweek: Woman Who Invented McDonald's Happy Meal Dies At 87
A Guatemalan businesswoman who is considered to be the inventor of the McDonald's Happy Meal died on September 6 at the age of 87, after spending much of her life with the company. Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño and her husband, José María Cofiño, purchased the first McDonald's franchise in Guatemala in 1974 and she continued to run it until handing the franchise over to her children in 2018. ... When she noticed that portions on the McDonald's menu could be too large for children, Fernández de Cofiño began to offer a meal with smaller portions more suitable for children, calling it the "Ronald Menu." That meal included a hamburger, small fries and a sundae, all in a bag, making it easier for parents to buy their children a meal without spending too much time examining the restaurant's menu. (Roche, 9/8)

AP: France To Offer Free Birth Control To All Women Up To 25
France will offer free birth control to all women up to age 25 starting next year, the health minister announced Thursday. The measure will also include free medical visits about contraception, and will start Jan. 1, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced on France-2 television. Birth control was already free for girls up to 18 years old, but is being expanded to all women up to 25. (9/9)

CIDRAP: Study: Half Of COVID-19 Survivors Have At Least 1 Symptom A Year Later
Roughly half of 1,276 adult COVID-19 survivors in Wuhan, China, still had at least one symptom—with a third still reporting shortness of breath—a year after their release from the hospital, finds a single-center study yesterday in The Lancet. Led by researchers at Capital Medical University in Beijing, the study involved evaluating and interviewing COVID-19 survivors 6 and 12 months after symptom onset (Jan 7 to May 29, 2020). (Van Beusekom, 8/27)

CIDRAP: COVID Long-Haulers May Be At Risk For Severe Kidney Disease 
COVID-19 long-haulers—even those who experienced mild cases—are at significantly increased risk for substantial declines in kidney function, such as organ damage and chronic and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), according to a study today in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Long COVID-19 consists of lung and other organ dysfunction and symptoms for months after recovery from the initial infection. (Van Beusekom, 9/1)

CIDRAP: Study: Vaccines Slash Long-Haul COVID, Hospital Rates
The odds of long COVID-19 fall by more than half after two doses of vaccine, the risk of hospitalization drops by more than two-thirds, and breakthrough infections are nearly twice as likely to be asymptomatic, according to a UK study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 9/2)

CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Doubles Hospital Risk, Study Shows 
The SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B1617.2) variant poses twice the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization as the Alpha (B117) strain, according to a large study late last week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study, led by researchers at Public Health England, is the first to report the hospitalization risks of the Delta and Alpha variants and the largest whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequencing effort in a high-income country, the authors said. It involved 43,338 English COVID-19 patients of all ages infected with either variant from Mar 29 to May 23, 2021. (Van Beusekom, 8/30)

New England Journal of Medicine: Effectiveness Of Covid-19 Vaccines In Ambulatory And Inpatient Care Settings 
There are limited data on the effectiveness of the vaccines against symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) currently authorized in the United States with respect to hospitalization, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), or ambulatory care in an emergency department or urgent care clinic. (Thompson et al, 9/8)

CIDRAP: Vaccine Less Protective But Very Beneficial Vs Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variant
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the Delta (B1617.2) variant was 65% in those fully vaccinated, according to a population-based study in Norway. The results, published in Eurosurveillance yesterday, looked at 4,204,859 infected adults without previous COVID-19 from mid-April to mid-August. (9/3)

CIDRAP: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine 96% Effective In Pregnant Women, Study Says
Results from an observational cohort study of pregnant women indicated a 96% vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 infection and an 89% VE against hospitalization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in pregnant women, according to a study in Nature Medicine today. The researchers matched 10,861 Israeli pregnant women who received the Pfizer vaccine with 10,861 who weren't from Dec 20, 2020, to Jun 3, 2021. All women were 16 and older (median age, 30 years), and 26%, 48%, and 26% of pregnancies were in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. Almost one in five women (18%) had at least one risk factor for severe COVID-19, most commonly obesity. Median follow-up was 77 days. (9/7)

Also —

ScienceDaily: Scientists Distill Cow’s Milk Into Nano-Capsules For Drug Delivery
Exosomes are nano-sized biological capsules that cells produce to protect and courier delicate molecules throughout the body. The capsules are hardy enough to withstand enzymatic breakdown, as well as acidic and temperature fluctuations in the gut and bloodstream, making them a prime candidate for drug delivery. (Virginia Tech, 8/23)

ScienceDaily: Think Leisure Is A Waste? That May Not Bode Well For Your Mental Health
Feeling like leisure is wasteful and unproductive may lead to less happiness and higher levels of stress and depression, new research suggests. In a series of studies, researchers examined the effects of a common belief in modern society: that productivity is the ultimate goal and time's a-wasting if you're just having fun. People who most strongly agreed with this belief not only enjoyed leisure less, but also reported poorer mental health outcomes, said Selin Malkoc, co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. (Ohio State University, 8/23)

CIDRAP: Healthcare-Associated Infections Rose In 2020, CDC Says
A new study by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, after years of decline, US hospitals saw significant increases in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in 2020, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Published today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the analysis of National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data from acute care hospitals in 12 states found that rates of central-line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and ventilator-associated events (VAEs) saw significant increases in 2020 compared with 2019, particularly in the second half of the year. (Dall, 9/2)

USA Today: Inside A Texas Abortion Clinic: We Worked Until The Clock Ran Out
The past few days have been perhaps the most devastating for abortion care in nearly 50 years. To see the Supreme Court completely abandon all logic and compassion in favor of disempowering millions of people is the brutal reality we are now facing here in Texas. As the director of clinical services for Whole Woman’s Health, I stood with our patients and clinic staff in the hours, minutes and seconds leading up to Wednesday, Sept. 1. The collective fear, stress and heartbreak we were experiencing was overwhelming. (Marva Sadler, 9/8)

Seattle Times: Remove Religious Exemptions From Childhood Vaccines 
With in-person school starting, I have been inundated with well-child checks at the clinic. Previously, this was a laid-back, fun affair, catching up with kids on their summer adventures, ensuring their physical well-being to participate in sports, and identifying any changes in vision or hearing that might impair their ability to learn. This year, however, has been fraught with much greater tension. Not only are there questions and concerns about COVID-19 and safety protocols, but as the arrival of childhood COVID vaccines approach, I am being flooded with vaccine exemption requests. (Daniel Low, 9/7)

Stat: Digital Clinical Trials Can Improve, Accelerate Therapy Development 
Biopharmaceutical companies were conducting more than 9,000 clinical trials in the U.S. in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted trial operations with broad travel restrictions and concerns about patient safety and investigative site capacity. Many clinical trials that required repeated, in-person visits to a clinic or trial site were delayed or halted. But some researchers forged ahead, combining novel tactics like mailing medications and relying on digital technologies such as transmitting photos of home-based blood pressure readings via text message to conduct trials remotely. (Dawn Anderson, 9/9)

Bloomberg: Use The Opioid Settlements To Fight The Opioid Crisis 
Makers and sellers of prescription painkillers will soon begin paying out billions of dollars to settle lawsuits that have accused them of fueling the opioid epidemic. Most recently, more than 40 states have agreed to accept $26 billion from Johnson & Johnson and three big drug distributors, to be paid out over 18 years. It’s a considerable sum — except when measured against more than half a million lives lost this century to opioid overdose, or the tens of billions that state, local and tribal governments spend each year to address the painkiller-heroin-fentanyl scourge. (9/8)

The New York Times: Home Care Keeps Me Alive. It Should Be Fully Funded
Five years ago, I went to sleep each night thinking I was the luckiest and happiest person I knew. I was 32 and had a brilliant wife, an adorable infant son and a fulfilling career organizing for social justice. We owned a house in paradisiacal Santa Barbara, Calif. Then I was given a death sentence. I was told I had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., a mysterious neurological illness. I asked my doctor how long I could expect to live. He said three to four years. (Ady Barken, 9/8)

Seattle Times: Why Vaccine Skeptics Are All In On Ivermectin 
The family of Randy Clouse, a 61-year-old Auburn, Ill., man who has been on a ventilator for almost four weeks, asked a judge last month to order the hospital caring for Clouse to give him ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that has not been shown to help those infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. As his attorney told a local TV station, “They’ve given him remdesivir, they’ve given steroids. That’s their protocol, they’re done with the protocol. We’ve asked the court to allow ivermectin.” A different court in Ohio ruled last week that a hospital there had to give the drug to Jeffrey Smith after his wife sued to allow the treatment. (Jennifer Reich, 9/7)

The New York Times: Covid Zero Is No Longer Working For Australia 
Australia was, until recently, heralded for its effective suppression of Covid-19; through strict border closures, prolonged lockdowns and its fortune as a remote island continent, the country was able to avoid a large-scale outbreak. The Delta variant has, however, turned that success upside down. (Edward Cliff and Brian Fernandes, 9/8)

The Washington Post: It’s Time For Biden To Reset The Battle Against Covid-19 
It is time for President Biden to reset the battle against covid-19. The nation’s high expectations for recovery were dashed this summer by the onslaught of the delta variant and the irresponsibility of a large share of unvaccinated people who fell ill. The country has the tools to fight back; it is now suffering through a self-inflicted epidemic. In his planned address to the nation Thursday, Mr. Biden can launch a fresh campaign to use those tools, and the country must help him carry it out, aggressively and wisely. (9/8)

Los Angeles Times: Firefighters, Police Should Support COVID Vaccine Mandates 
It does not bode well for Los Angeles or the end of the pandemic that so many city firefighters and police officers have refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and are opposing the city’s vaccine mandate for employees. The Times recently reported that a group of city firefighters have launched a protest effort, Firefighters for Freedom, “to stop the mandated vaccinations for all city employees as well as the citizens of this great country.” Some 350 firefighters are working with an attorney to block the mandate. And “hundreds” of sworn and civilian Los Angeles Police Department staff have joined Roll Call 4 Freedom, a subgroup of the firefighters’ effort. (9/8)

The Baltimore Sun: As Schools Open And Delta Surges, Here’s What My Family Experienced When COVID Came Calling — So You Can Prep Your Own 
As schools in Maryland and across the country resume operation in-person amid the incredibly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus, parents of elementary school children are particularly anxious — and with good reason. Our kids are not yet eligible for vaccination, and in many cases, they’re returning to schools that are operating at full capacity, with packed classrooms, inadequate ventilation and poor pandemic protocols. My daughter’s Baltimore City school confirmed a case of COVID before the first day was even over, and they’re not even set to begin asymptomatic testing of students until next week. (Tricia Bishop, 9/7)

The Boston Globe: American COVID Boosters And Global Vaccinations — How To Ensure Both Get Done 
Over the next few months, the Biden administration will offer all fully vaccinated Americans a COVID-19 booster shot — assuming it can get approval, based on limited data, from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Meanwhile, about 47 percent of Americans — and over 70 percent of people around the world — are still not fully vaccinated. Can the United States boost the already vaccinated while vaccinating the unvaccinated? (Govind Persad, William Fiske Parker and Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: Florida CEO Urges Crucial COVID-19 Vaccine Conversations Amid Personal Loss And Protests 
COVID-19 hit home for me some time ago, but never as hard as it did on Friday the 13th. With 209 people battling COVID-19 and 574 other patients with serious to severe medical conditions in the hospital that day, the entire team at Sarasota Memorial Hospital was stretched beyond thin. Staff, space and supplies were reaching a critical tipping point. (David Verinder, 9/8)