The Washington Post: Pentagon Moves To Mandate Coronavirus Vaccination For All Troops 
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will seek to mandate coronavirus vaccination for all U.S. service members by mid-September and could begin requiring inoculation even sooner if a vaccine receives full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Pentagon said Monday. The effort is an acknowledgment that rising infection rates across the country pose a particular threat to military readiness, and it follows a months-long campaign by senior defense officials to cajole the nation’s 1.3 million active duty service members to get vaccinated voluntarily. The Biden administration, alarmed by continued spread of the virus’s delta variant and vaccination rates that remain low in several pockets of the country, has directed agencies throughout the federal government to devise such plans. (Lamothe, 8/9)

NPR: Pentagon Plans To Require COVID Vaccines For Active-Duty Troops
"To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo to employees Monday. "I strongly encourage all DoD military and civilian personnel — as well as contractor personnel — to get vaccinated now and for military Service members to not wait for the mandate." The Pentagon cannot take the step unilaterally because the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the vaccine. The move would require a presidential waiver, which Austin plans to ask for by mid-September. (Doubek, 8/9)

The New York Times: The U.S. Military Will Mandate Covid-19 Vaccines For Troops
About 64 percent of the 1.3 million active-duty service members are fully vaccinated. That rate is unacceptably low to the military because it is difficult to deploy troops who have not been inoculated to countries with stringent local restrictions and because a surge of the virus among troops can cripple readiness. (Cooper and Steinhauer, 8/9)

Also —

Politico: Mandatory Covid Vaccines For Troops Are Coming. What Happens If They Refuse?
Now that the Pentagon has said it will start requiring service members to get the Covid vaccine by mid-September through either a presidential waiver or approval from the Food and Drug Administration, what happens if troops refuse? Those military members should expect a range of penalties for doing so, military law experts said, ranging anywhere from a reprimand to confinement and getting kicked out of the military. (Custodio, 8/9)

USA Today: Won't Get A COVID Vaccine? Some Bosses May Charge You $20 To $50 More For Health Insurance On Every Paycheck
Tyson Foods, United Airlines, CNN, the U.S. military. A wide variety of employers such as those four are imposing COVID vaccine mandates on their workers, and experts believe they’ll have a lot more company soon after the Food and Drug Administration gives the shots its full approval. Some employers aren’t ready to impose mandates but may still penalize workers for not getting vaccinated, possibly by requiring them to pay an insurance surcharge costing several hundred dollars a year. (Bomey, 8/10)

CNBC: Covid Vaccine Mandates Sweep Across Corporate America As Delta Surges
The U.S. government may not require that everyone get Covid-19 vaccines, but large employers across corporate America are stepping into the void. More than a dozen large U.S. corporations, including Walmart, Google, Tyson Foods and United Airlines, have recently announced vaccine mandates for some or all of their workers. “With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among the U.S. unvaccinated population, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce,” Dr. Claudia Coplein, Tyson’s chief medical officer, said in a statement Tuesday. (Towey and Josephs, 8/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: In Conspiracy-Tinged Letters, 200 S.F. Employees Push Back On City's Vaccine Mandate
Nearly 200 San Francisco employees are attempting to rebuff the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and other protocols like testing and mask wearing for city workers, submitting identical, conspiracy-tinged letters suggesting the city is infringing upon their “God-given and constitutionally secured” rights. The letters, which began streaming into San Francisco’s human resources department in late June, came after city officials announced they would require city employees — with certain exceptions — to get inoculated or risk losing their jobs. (Cassidy and Allday, 8/9)

In other updates on vaccine and mask mandates —

AP: Oregon's Most Populous County Issues Indoor Mask Requirement
As COVID-19 cases in Oregon surge and hospitals fill up, officials in the state’s most populous county announced on Monday they are reimplementing an indoor mask mandate. People 5 and older — vaccinated and unvaccinated — in Multnomah County will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces including stores, restaurants and gyms. The mandate goes into effect on Friday. (Cline, 8/9)

The Boston Globe: Belmont Has Enacted An Indoor Mask Mandate. Will Others Follow Suit?
Massachusetts cities and towns are taking divergent paths as they try to stem the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, potentially leaving state residents to sort through piecemeal rules from one place to another. The town of Belmont on Monday became the second municipality in the state — after Provincetown — to mandate masks in all indoor public places, clarifying choices for people who live or do business in that wealthy suburb west of Cambridge. But elsewhere, the situation remains murky. On the heels of Belmont’s announcement, the mayor of Salem, Kimberley Driscoll, said she would ask her city’s Board of Health to impose a similar mandate. (Freyer, Ellement and Carlin, 8/9)

Axios: Washington Governor Jay Inslee Announces Vaccine Mandate For Most State And Healthcare Workers 
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Monday that the state is instituting a vaccine mandate for most state employees and healthcare workers. Inslee cited the state's surging COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations as impetus for the new policy. Workers affected by the mandate, including long-term care workers and state contractors, will have until Oct. 18 to get inoculated as a condition of employment. (Saric, 8/9)

Health News Florida: VA Mandates Vaccines For Health Care Employees, But Enforcement May Be A Challenge 
Every person who walks through the doors of San Antonio’s Audie Murphy VA Medical Center gets screened for COVID-19. A worker wearing a mask and face shield asks visitors about their possible exposure to the virus and if they're having symptoms, then verifies they have appointments before allowing them through. It’s part of a systematic approach to prevention that VA has honed since the start of the pandemic. But now, VA leaders have a new tool to prevent infections: a vaccine mandate for 115,000 of the agency’s 360,000 health care workers. (Frame, 8/9)

The Baltimore Sun: Seniors Remain A Risk For COVID, But Vaccine Mandates For Maryland Nursing Home Staffs Aren’t Universal 
Seniors and those who care for them have been a prime target for vaccination since the pandemic’s early days when the bulk of deaths from COVID-19 were reported in nursing and assisted living facilities. The push has taken on new urgency since the delta variant of the virus began fueling an uptick in cases that includes seniors, with some facilities requiring shots for caregivers who now make up the majority of their cases. (Cohn and Miller, 8/10)

KHN: A Quarter Of US Hospitals, And Counting, Demand Workers Get Vaccinated. But Not Here. 
Hospitals coast to coast are demanding their employees get vaccinated against covid as the highly contagious delta variant tears through populations with low vaccination rates. Nearly 1,500 hospitals — roughly a quarter of all hospitals in the U.S. —now require staffers to get a covid vaccine, said Colin Milligan, a spokesperson for the American Hospital Association. More follow suit every day as hospital leaders aim to head off staff shortages like those experienced last year and to keep employees from becoming vectors of the disease. (Houghton, 8/10)

In travel news —

North Carolina Health News: Lost Your Vaccine Card? Need To Verify? Here’s How. 
As cities in some states, such as New York and California, start to require proof of vaccine to enter public spaces like restaurants and gyms, North Carolina has made no indication that such proof will be required here just yet. When asked about whether North Carolina would have a statewide vaccine mandate at an Aug. 4 Coronavirus Task Force briefing, Gov. Roy Cooper instead encouraged businesses to get their employees vaccinated. (Thompson, 8/10)

CNBC: Hawaiian Airlines Will Require U.S. Employees To Be Vaccinated Against Covid
Hawaiian Airlines told U.S. staff on Monday that they will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, becoming the third major carrier to issue such a mandate in less than a week. CEO Peter Ingram told employees that they must receive their second shot, if they are getting a two-dose vaccine, by Nov. 1, though there will be exceptions for medical or religious reasons, according to a staff memo reviewed by CNBC. (Josephs, 8/9)

CNBC: Covid Vaccines Required For Travel, Unvaccinated People Don't Like It
Unvaccinated people are eager to travel again. But more and more, the rules make that harder. Travelers are increasingly required to show proof of vaccination before they can cruise, book group tours, avoid quarantines, or vacation to tropical islands. Beyond that, vaccines are needed for everyday activities including attending some universities, returning to the workplace or eating in restaurants. More cities and companies — from Paris to New York, from Disney to Fox Corp. — are issuing vaccine requirements of one sort or another, paving the way for others to follow. (Pitrelli, 8/9)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Booster Causes Similar Side Effects to Second Dose: Study
Most people who got a booster shot of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine had similar or fewer side effects than they did after the second dose, according to a preliminary study conducted by Israel’s largest health maintenance organization. Of the 4,500 respondents to the survey, 88% reported “a similar or better feeling” than their reaction to the previous dose, with 31% saying they had localized effects like pain or swelling in the area of injection, according to a statement from Clalit Health Services late Sunday. About 15% of people had other symptoms like tiredness, muscle aches or fever. Less than 1% reported difficulty breathing or chest pains. (Benmeleh, 8/9)

Stat: Scientist Debate Potential Benefits Of Intranasal Covid-19 Vaccines
As the world amasses experience with Covid-19 vaccines, something we should have known from the start is coming into sharp focus. Vaccines that are injected into arm muscles aren’t likely to be able to protect our nasal passages from marauding SARS-CoV-2 viruses for very long, even if they are doing a terrific job protecting lungs from the virus. If we want vaccines that protect our upper respiratory tracts, we may need products that are administered in the nose — intranasal vaccines. (Branswell, 8/10)

Louisville Courier Journal: CDC Study Disputes Rand Paul, Thomas Massie COVID-19 Immunity Claims
Two Republican members of Congress from Kentucky — Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie — have steadfastly refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying they have natural immunity because they had the viral infection. But a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from people in Kentucky who contracted COVID-19 a second time, says the vaccine boosts immunity in people who have had the virus. Unvaccinated people who contracted COVID-19 are more than twice as likely to catch it again than those who got vaccinated after contracting the virus, it said. (Yetter, 8/9)

In updates on the vaccine rollout —

Des Moines Register: Iowa Is Throwing Away Thousands Of COVID-19 Shots For Lack Of Demand
Iowa has started tossing out tens of thousands of expiring COVID vaccine doses as demand for the shots continues to sag. The state has discarded 81,186 doses of the vaccine so far, said Sarah Ekstrand, spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Health. That includes doses that expired, plus some that were wasted for other reasons, such as when a multiple-dose vial was opened and couldn't be used up quickly enough. (Leys, 8/9)

AP: California To Offer Vaccine Incentive To Medicaid Population
California announced another round of coronavirus vaccine incentives on Friday, offering up to $50 apiece to more than 11 million people in the state who get their health insurance through Medicaid. The money is part of a new $350 million plan to get more of the state’s Medicaid population vaccinated as the state is seeing a surge of new cases attributed to the delta variant, a more contagious and dangerous version of the coronavirus. Medicaid is the joint state and federal health insurance program for people who are disabled or have low incomes. (Beam, 8/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Is Trying County Fairs, Text Messages, And Door-Knocking To Raise The Vaccination Rate. Success Is Slow Coming
Nicole Diehl attended the Wayne County Fair in northeastern Pennsylvania last weekend, not for the livestock exhibitions, carnival games, demolition derbies, or tractor pulls. Instead, the registered nurse was on hand as part of an effort to make it as easy as possible to get vaccinated — a goal that’s become even more critical as new cases of COVID-19 creep up in Pennsylvania. “It’s right here, they know it’s free, let’s just do it and get it done with,” said Diehl, a 21-year veteran of the Wayne Memorial Health System, which is organizing the clinics. “I do believe convenience plays a big part in it.” (Martines, 8/10)

CNN: FDA Approval Of The Covid-19 Vaccine Could Mean More People Will Get Vaccinated For An Unexpected Reason 
Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine is currently only authorized for emergency use in the United States, but its full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration could happen within weeks. The ramifications could alter the course of the pandemic in several ways. First, full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine could persuade more people to get vaccinated. (Christensen, 8/9)

AP: Abbott Appeals For Out-Of-State Help Against COVID-19
Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help Monday to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas. The request came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their COVID-19 overflow. Private hospitals in the county already were requiring their staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. ... Abbott has directed the Texas Department of State Health Services to use staffing agencies to find additional medical staff from beyond the state’s borders as the delta wave began to overwhelm its present staffing resources. He also has sent a letter to the Texas Hospital Association to request that hospitals postpone all elective medical procedures voluntarily. (Wallace, 8/10)

Houston Chronicle: Gov. Abbott Is Recruiting Nurses To Texas As COVID Surge Overwhelms Hospitals
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced a series of emergency orders he said would help hospitals in the state respond to its latest COVID-19 surge. Abbott said health officials will begin recruiting out-of-state nurses to help fill a staffing gap in overwhelmed hospitals, similar to the state’s response during previous surges. Throughout the current hospitalization spike, the Texas Department of State Health Services had been directing cities and county judges to address the staffing shortage with federal money. (Blackman and Gill, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Texas Gov. Abbott Asks Hospitals To Halt Non-Urgent Procedures As Admissions Soar
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is asking hospitals to stop non-emergency medical procedures to free up space for covid-19 patients as the rise in new infections could threaten the availability of hospital beds to treat them.Yet as Abbott touted the move as “taking action" to combat coronavirus cases that are now averaging more than 10,000 each day in the state, his order to ban mask mandates is facing challenges. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat and elected official, on Monday evening said he filed a temporary restraining order against the ban, declaring the governor lacks the legal authority to impose it. (Pietsch and Knowles, 8/10)

Some residents and schools are fighting back against Gov. Abbott's orders —

The New York Times: Dallas School District Defies Governor’s Ban And Announces A Mask Mandate.
The Dallas Independent School District said on Monday that everyone — students, employees and visitors — must wear a mask while on school property, starting Tuesday. The mandate, which officials said was temporary, was imposed in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibits school districts from requiring masks. (Slotnik, 8/10)

Houston Chronicle: Opting Out: Texas School Districts React To Abbott's Mask Mandate Ban With Workarounds, Defiance
When Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa on Monday announced a mask mandate taking effect Tuesday for students and teachers in school facilities, he acknowledged penalties and pushback likely would follow, given Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on such mandates. The decision was still necessary, Hinojosa said. “We’re in a situation that has gotten significantly more urgent,” he said at a news conference Monday, citing what he called a “temporary surge” of COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant, combined with the lack of state funding for school districts to offer a virtual schooling option. Dallas ISD’s 150,000 students and 10,000 teachers Monday began in-person classes. (Perez and Zong, 8/9)

KXAN Austin: Austin ISD Parents, Teachers, Students Demand Mask Mandates, COVID-19 Safety For New School Year
In just one week, a group of over 100 Austin ISD parents, students, and teachers formed the advocacy group “Safe Schools for All” — to demand the district do more to stop COVID-19 spread during in-person learning in the new school year. Group members are railing against what they call Gov. Greg Abbott’s “dangerous” mask ban in public schools and “irresponsible” guidance by the Texas Education Agency. The new school year comes during an unfortunate surge in COVID-19 cases in the Austin-Travis County area, and state and nationwide. (Falcon, 8/9)

The New York Times: Abbott Criticized For Ban On Covid Mandates As Cases Soar In Texas 
The dilemma sounded familiar. A prominent, ambitious red-state governor, who had staked out a firm position opposed to mask mandates and other aggressive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, suddenly found himself on the defensive as cases and hospitalizations soared in his state. First, it was Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Now it is Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who is facing withering criticism as I.C.U. beds have dwindled to the single digits in Austin and health officials in San Antonio have labeled its risk level just a step below critical. But Mr. Abbott remains firm in his refusal to enact any statewide mandate while he prohibits local officials from doing so in their own communities. (Montgomery, Heyward and Sandoval, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Threatens To Withhold School Officials’ Salaries If They Impose Mask Mandates 
In a statement Monday, DeSantis said district-level officials who implement covid-19 policies requiring masks for students could be subject to “financial consequences.” “For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law,” said the statement from DeSantis’s office to CBS Miami and other news outlets. (Lipscomb, 8/9)

NPR: DeSantis Says Superintendents Could Lose Pay If They Order School Masks
As the majority of Florida's K-12 schools prepare to reopen campuses at full capacity this week — many of them on Tuesday — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the State Board of Education could withhold pay from school leaders who implement mask mandates for students. The move to potentially punish educators follows days of controversy during which school district superintendents and school board members seeking to comply with CDC guidelines ignored an executive order from DeSantis banning school districts from requiring students to wear face masks. (Romo, 8/9)

Some Florida schools are defying the governor —

ABC News: At Least 2 Florida School Districts Refuse To Allow Students To Opt Out Of Wearing Masks
Risking financial consequences from the state of Florida, two school district superintendents are refusing to allow parents to opt their children out of district-wide mask mandates without a medical reason. Doing so directly defies an emergency rule issued Friday by the Florida Department of Health, which mandates that parents be allowed to stop their children from wearing masks in the classroom. (McDuffie, 8/9)

AP: Florida Capital Schools Go Against DeSantis, Require Masks
The superintendent of the school district in Florida’s capital said Monday that he will require students to wear masks amid an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations fueled by the delta variant, defying the governor’s attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office responded by saying the state’s Board of Education could move to withhold salaries from the superintendent or school board members. Though the Leon County mandate allows exemptions for students with a physician’s or psychologist’s note, it doesn’t give parents the authority to opt out, as DeSantis wanted. (Licon, 8/10)

The Guardian: ‘I Don’t See How It Can Be Safe’: Florida Schools On Frontlines Of State’s Mask War 
With about two weeks to go until the start of a new school year, Miami father Jerry Greenberg is feeling anxious. With the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 causing record-breaking positive cases across Florida, Greenberg’s biggest fear is that his son and daughter will catch the deadly respiratory disease even if they are wearing masks. “They will be exposed to [other] kids not wearing masks and they could get sick,” Greenberg said. “I think they can safely go back in person, but only if they all wear masks. Without masks, I don’t see how it can be safe.” (Alvarado, 8/8)

In related covid news from Florida —

USA Today: As Kids Return To School, Most Florida Counties Report COVID Cases Four Times Higher Than Last Year
Most Florida children are returning to school in areas where COVID-19 outbreaks are far more intense than they were when school started last year. In most counties, cases are at least four times higher than a year ago, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Five counties report a more than tenfold increase. (Fraser and Stucka, 8/10)

Fox News: Florida’s Health Department Says CDC’s COVID Count For State Is Wrong, 'Anticipates' Correction
The Florida Department of Health took to Twitter on Monday to ask the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to update its COVID-19 case tracker for the state because it incorrectly combined "MULTIPLE days into one," which made the Sunday daily case count explode to the state's worst ever. The department said it follows the CDC’s guidelines for reporting cases. The CDC reported 28,317 new cases on Sunday, which WSVN reported would mark the most confirmed infections in one day in the state since the beginning of the pandemic. Multiple media organizations picked up on the number and the department corrected the stories online with some bite. (DeMarche, 8/10)

The Wall Street Journal: As Delta Variant Spreads, Florida Hospitals Race To Find Open Beds 
Nurse Darlene Andrews stood before a small crew responsible for stopping the latest pandemic surge from overrunning seven of AdventHealth’s Orlando-area hospitals. She quickly listed occupancy at each hospital. Six were beyond full capacity, with one at 123% for adults. Nearby wall-mounted screens streaming hospital data showed more than 90 patients—some with Covid-19, some seeking other care—needed beds. One had been waiting more than two days. (Evans, 8/9)

WUSF Public Media: Long Lines At Hillsborough County-Run Coronavirus Testing Sites 
With coronavirus cases spiking, people seeking tests overwhelmed Hillsborough County’s two new sites on Saturday and caused them to close early on Sunday. County officials had anticipated administering 500 tests at each of the locations, but completed more than 2,000 on Saturday. The demand created long lines at the walk-in sites, and officials said they anticipated the lines would be long all week. (Ochoa, 8/9)

AP: Unvaccinated Students Will Have To Pay $750 At WV Wesleyan
West Virginia Wesleyan College says it will charge a $750 fee to students who aren’t vaccinated for COVID-19 for the fall semester. The school in Buckhannon also said in its campus arrival guidance for the upcoming semester that students who come down with the virus and can’t quarantine off campus will be charged $250 to do so on campus, WDTV-TV reported. (8/10)

AP: University Of Minnesota Shifts, Will Require COVID Shots
The University of Minnesota shifted gears on coronavirus vaccinations on Monday, saying it would begin requiring the shots after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approves vaccines. University President Joan Gabel announced the mandate in a letter to students and employees on Monday, joining hundreds of colleges across the country in requiring vaccinations. The university’s Board of Regents will need to approve the measure, which would join the mask mandate for all indoor spaces already in place across the university system’s five campuses statewide. (8/9)

The Washington Post: D.C. Teachers Union Says It Would Support Vaccine Mandate, With Caveats
The Washington Teachers’ Union says it would support a coronavirus vaccine mandate for teachers if the union has input over how it is enacted — a slight shift from its previous stance that the mayor should allow unvaccinated teachers to continue working if they are tested weekly for the virus. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is expected to make an announcement soon about whether she will require that city employees, including teachers, receive a vaccine as a condition of employment. Her administration said Friday that it has been negotiating over how noncompliant employees might be disciplined, among other issues. (Stein, 8/9)

AP: Some Maine School Districts Will Require Masks, Others Won't
School districts in Maine are taking varied approaches to mask mandates for the coming school year. The superintendent of the Bangor School Department announced on Monday that all students and school employees will be required to wear masks while inside school buildings. Superintendent James Tager said the district felt the wise move was to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for universal indoor masking as the coronavirus pandemic stretches into another school year. (8/10)

Fox 5 Atlanta: Protests In Fulton County As Schools Begin Classes Amid Mask Requirement
Dozens of parents came to Milton High School over the weekend to protest Fulton County School System's decision to mandate mask-wearing. They call it an infringement of freedom. Some parents are going as far as withdrawing their children. The district, the fourth-largest in the state, began classes for 94.000 students on Monday in Fulton County. (8/9)

Also —

USA Today: Pediatric Hospitals Filling Up As Delta Variant Surges: COVID Updates
Pediatric hospitals are filling with coronavirus patients as schools start opening amid the latest surge in infections, this one driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Children's hospitals in Tennessee will be full by the end of this week, the state health department projected. The 94 children admitted to Florida's Wolfson Children's Hospital in July was more than four times the number admitted in June. Schools are allowing students, maskless or with masks, back into the classroom. And some schools are closing as soon they're opening their doors. A district in Mississippi reported 114 COVID-19-positive students for the week of July 24-30 and 608 students under quarantine, pushing two high schools and a middle school to virtual learning until Aug. 16. (Bacon and Ortiz, 8/9)

CIDRAP: Depression And Anxiety Doubled In Children, Pandemic Study Says
Around the world, children's depression and anxiety rates may have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a meta-literature review published in JAMA Pediatrics today. The researchers looked at 29 general-population studies, one of which was not peer reviewed, and found pooled depression and anxiety rates at 25.2% and 20.5%, respectively. Both depression and anxiety rates were associated with later stages in the pandemic and with girls, and higher depression was also associated with older children.  (McLernon, 8/9)

USA Today: 11 States Report 1 Million COVID Cases Since Start Of The Pandemic
Oklahoma and Kentucky each reported their 500,000th coronavirus case on Monday, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Now, half of America's states have each reported at least half a million cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. In all, 11 states have reported at least 1 million cases each: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan. In Kentucky on Monday, 1,139 people were hospitalized compared to a few hundred a day in June and early July. Numbers of patients in intensive care and on ventilators also have risen steadily. (Aspegren, 8/10)

AP: Beshear: GOP Speakers Put Politics Ahead Of Fighting Virus
Republican leaders had a duty to promote COVID-19 vaccinations at Kentucky’s marquee political event, and their failure to do so showed they put “politics above the very lives of our people,” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. GOP speakers at the Fancy Farm picnic last Saturday lambasted Beshear for his now-lifted restrictions on businesses and gatherings to combat the virus. Two Republicans who are expected to compete for Beshear’s job in 2023 accused the governor of infringing on individual liberties. (Schreiner, 8/19)

Hospitals everywhere are coping with a crush of patients —

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Has No ICU Beds, Saw Nearly 7,000 Cases Over The Weekend
There are no intensive care unit beds left in Mississippi due to climbing hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, state health officials said on various social media platforms Monday. In a tweet, State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said emergency rooms are bursting at the seams, with more than 200 people around the state waiting for a hospital bed. "Keep in mind - this will translate into around 500 new hospitalizations in coming days, and we have ZERO ICU beds at Level 1-3 hospitals, and...(more than) 200 patients waiting in ERs for a room," Dobbs tweeted. (Haselhorst, 8/9)

AP: Arkansas Reports New Record For COVID-19 Hospitalizations
Arkansas on Monday set a new record for the number of people in the state hospitalized because of COVID-19 as its coronavirus surge continued. The state reported its COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by 103, its biggest one-day increase, to 1,376. The state’s previous record during the pandemic for COVID-19 hospitalizations was in January when it reported 1,371 virus patients in the hospital. (DeMillo, 8/10)

The Advocate: Louisiana Hospitals See Hundreds More COVID Patients Over The Weekend As Delta Surges Continues
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Louisiana reached startling new heights over the weekend, as the number of new infections caused by the virus continued to climb at their fastest rate since the pandemic began. There were 2,720 patients hospitalized in Louisiana on Sunday, the most recent date for which data is available, an increase of nearly 300 patients over the numbers reported for Thursday .Hospitalizations during the latest surge topped levels in earlier waves of the pandemic on Aug. 2. Since then, patients have continued to arrive in emergency rooms, with numbers climbing by double or triple digits daily through most of the past week. (Paterson and Adelson, 8/9)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Rise In COVID-19 Cases Concerns Milwaukee Health Official
Ben Weston, director of medical services at the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, has been keeping a close eye on both county and state COVID-19 data and he's concerned. "We're trending in the wrong direction." Just a month ago the state Department of Health Services was reporting an average case total in the double digits. Now, the state reports a seven-day average of over 1,000 cases a day as the state deals with the onslaught of the delta variant. "All of us were kind of hoping that we were coming to a new normal not even a little over a month ago when our numbers were so low," said Weston. (Bentley, 8/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: In Philly’s Least-Vaccinated Zip Codes, Fighting The Delta Variant Is A Game Of Catch-Up
Philadelphia’s least-vaccinated zip codes at the beginning of the summer remain its most undervaccinated now, despite door-to-door outreach, targeted clinics, a lottery, and advertising to encourage people to get COVID-19 inoculations. As the delta variant spreads, and the threat of other variants looms, these parts of the city are the most vulnerable to serious illness and death. (Laughlin and Lai, 8/10)

The Oregonian: Oregon Sees 40% Jump In Weekly Coronavirus Cases, Nears Hospitalization Record 
The number of newly identified coronavirus cases climbed in Oregon for a fifth consecutive week, according to state data released Monday, reaching the highest levels since December. Oregon recorded 8,304 new confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections, up 40% from the previous week. That number includes 1,032 new known cases recorded Friday, 964 Saturday and 1,233 Sunday. The three days of numbers were announced Monday because the state doesn’t report data on weekends. (Green, 8/9)

Los Angeles Times: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rise Sharply Across Southern California As Surge Continues
COVID-19 hospitalizations have essentially doubled across much of California over the last two weeks — a troubling trend officials say illustrates the pandemic’s continued potency amid an ongoing surge in infections. Increases of that magnitude have been seen in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, state data show, straining healthcare systems to an extent not seen in months. (Money and Lin II, 8/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco's Coronavirus Case Rate Is Suddenly Higher Than The U.S.'s
San Francisco has been experiencing a surge in new infections since California reopened June 15 and the delta variant began spreading in the area. An increased number of cases among adults between the age of 25 to 39 has driven the surge. On August 7, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows San Francisco’s average daily new case rate at over 33 cases per 100,000 people over the last 7 days, compared with the U.S. rate of 32.7. (Data from San Francisco Department of Public Health show San Francisco have a slightly lower case rate at 31.3, but we chose to use CDC data for comparability to the U.S.). (Jung, 8/9)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Salt Lake Tribune: Study: Residents Of Poorer Neighborhoods Got COVID At 10 Times The Rate Of Those In Affluent Neighborhoods
Residents of Salt Lake County’s least-affluent zip codes contracted the coronavirus nearly 10 times more often, per capita, than residents of the most affluent areas, according to U. researchers Daniel Mendoza and Tabitha Benney. “We were shocked at the nearly tenfold difference in contagion rate increase when comparing the groups we had defined,” Mendoza said. “I think it was a very sobering moment when we realized how deep the disparities truly were in our own backyard,” added Benney. About one-quarter of Utah’s population are racial minorities, who have accounted for about one-third of the state’s COVID cases. “The first time our team crunched the numbers,” Benney said, “we were all dismayed to see how well income and occupation related to COVID incidence rates.” (Pierce, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Dick Farrel, Radio Host And Coronavirus Vaccine Skeptic, Dies Of Covid-19 Complications
A conservative radio host in Florida who vehemently criticized the coronavirus vaccine has died of complications following covid-19, his fiancee and life-partner Kittie Farley confirmed Monday. On Aug. 4, Farrel Austin Levitt, publicly known as Dick Farrel, died of “severe damage” caused by covid-19, Farley told The Washington Post. He was 65.Farrel, a vocal supporter of former president Donald Trump, had said on his Facebook page the inoculations had been “promoted by people who lied [to you] all along about masks, where the virus came from and the death toll.” (Suliman and Villegas, 8/9)

Also —

The Hill: Whistleblower Scientist Settles Complaint Over Trump COVID-19 Response
A former leading government scientist who says he was ousted from his job by the Trump administration has settled his whistleblower complaint against the federal government. Rick Bright led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) until he was removed in April 2020. Bright filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the Trump administration prioritized politics above science, and claimed his efforts to push back on the use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus contributed to his removal. (Weixel, 8/9)

Politico: Schumer Signals Tuesday Morning Final Vote For Senate Infrastructure Package 
After weeks of late nights, weekend work and angst, the Senate appears to be headed toward greenlighting its bipartisan infrastructure bill by Tuesday morning. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that the package is on a "glide path for passage tomorrow morning." (Snyder, 8/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Democrats Outline $3.5 Trillion Antipoverty, Climate Plan 
Senate Democrats released an outline of the $3.5 trillion antipoverty and climate plan on Monday, further detailing their ambitions for a major overhaul of the nation’s education and healthcare systems that they hope to advance alongside a bipartisan infrastructure bill. The antipoverty plan is set to offer universal prekindergarten, two free years of community college, and expanded Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care, among other provisions. (Duehren and Davidson, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Democrats Release $3.5 Trillion Budget Blueprint As Senate Prepares To Finish Infrastructure Debate 
Senate Democrats on Monday released a sweeping $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that proposes to expand Medicare, combat climate change, and boost federal child care and education programs as lawmakers prepare to take the next step toward advancing the central elements of President Biden’s economic agenda. The scope of the spending outlined by Democrats is vast, reflecting the party’s grand ambitions to grow the size and reach of the federal government to a level not seen in decades. The measure paves the way for new funding to enroll students in universal prekindergarten, help immigrants obtain legal residency and lower prescription drug prices for seniors, along with a slew of additional efforts that coincide with promises Biden and his allies made during the 2020 election campaign. (Romm, 8/9)

Politico: Dems Reveal $3.5T Budget That Sidesteps Debt Ceiling 
Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble by President Joe Biden's party, with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt. (Scholtes and Emma, 8/9)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Senate Democrats Outline Priorities In Reconciliation Bill
Here's what healthcare industry stakeholders should know about the resolution framework: 1. The Senate Finance Committee was instructed to reduce the deficit by $1 billion over 10 years. The committee will attempt to offset costs through revenue collected from a carbon polluter import fee, reforms to corporate and international taxes, and new taxes to high-income individuals. The committee also may see billions in healthcare savings as a result of plans to lower prices of prescription drugs, according to the memo. 2. There is a goal to expand Medicaid by urging the 12 remaining states that have not yet lowered eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. This would provide insurance to 2.2 million people. (Gellman, 8/9)

CNBC: Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan Calls For Medicare Expansion
Health insurance for America’s older population would be expanded under a $3.5 trillion budget plan released Monday by Senate Democrats. As part of the budget blueprint, Medicare — relied on by most Americans once they reach the eligibility age of 65 — would cover dental, vision and hearing. Additionally, the age when people can sign up for the insurance would also be lowered, although it’s uncertain whether it would be age 60 as President Joe Biden has said he supports. (O'Brien, 8/9)

The Hill: Here Are The Key Parts Of Democrats' $3.5T Budget Resolution
Democrats say the massive spending framework would unlock funding for universal pre-K and tuition-free community college while making investments in public housing and clean energy efforts and expanding health care. The budget resolution greenlights funding for those priorities and lets Democrats pass them later this year in a spending package they'll be able to advance along party lines — as long as Democrats don't have defections in the House and Senate. (Folley, Sullivan, Burdryk and Evers-Hillstrom, 8/9)

ABC News: Universal Pre-K, Free Community College Tuition: What's In $3.5T Budget Bill 
Unlike the bipartisan infrastructure plan, which focuses on "core" infrastructure needs such as roads bridges and waterways, the budget resolution includes many of Biden's social programs focusing on family, climate and health care. Key campaign promises, including universal pre-K, free 2-year community college, and paid family leave are included in the package, as are many of Biden's climate priorities. The bill, pushed by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also secures investments in public housing, invests in job training, adds new Medicare benefits and extends expansions of the Affordable Care Act. (Pecorin and Turner, 8/9)

CNBC: Just One Week Left To Get Free Or Low-Cost Private Health Insurance
There’s about a week left for anyone who’s uninsured to see if they qualify for free or low-cost private health insurance through the public marketplace. A special enrollment period that will end on Aug. 15 allows you to use healthcare.gov to sign up for a plan, which could come with major subsidies to reduce what you pay for coverage. Otherwise, unless you have a qualifying life event — i.e., job loss, birth of a child, etc. — after the current window closes, you’d generally have to wait until open enrollment this fall to sign up. (O'Brien, 8/9)

Georgia Health News: Insurers Flock To Offer Coverage In 2022 Exchange; This Year’s Still Open For A Week 
Plenty of shopping options, plus lower prices. That’s usually a winning formula for consumers. And that scenario describes how Georgia’s health insurance exchange is shaping up for individuals and families looking for coverage in 2022, according to initial filings by health insurers to the state’s insurance department. The filings were obtained by GHN through an open records request. (Miller, 8/9)

WPRI.Com: Thousands Who Use HealthSource RI May Be Overpaying For Health Insurance 
Thousands of Rhode Islanders who use HealthSource RI may be overpaying for their health insurance because they haven’t taken advantage of a recent change in federal law. “It’s historically affordable,” HealthSource RI director Lindsay Lang told Target 12. “It’s never been as affordable as it is right now.” Lang said that her team has reached out to roughly 2,900 Rhode Island enrollees to let them know that they may benefit from changing their coverage plan before the open enrollment deadline on Aug. 15. (Taylor, 8/9)

In other news about covid's economic toll —

CBS News: "I Feel Like I Will Be In Debt The Rest Of My Life": Medical Bills Are Weighing Down Americans 
Americans are drowning in medical debt. From 2009 to 2020, medical bills were the largest source of debt in the U.S., with a record $140 billion owed last year, according to a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. The record accounts only for the debt that has been sent to collections. Neale Mahoney, a Stanford economics professor and lead author of the study, said medical bills are often higher for people living in a dozen states that chose not to expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. (Werner, 8/9)

CNN: Pandemic Financial Stress: Effects And What We Can Do 
Since coronavirus shuttered the world in the early months of 2020, the financial impact has taken a significant -- and often invisible -- toll. Mental health has gone awry for many during the pandemic, but these experiences are especially more acute among people who are economically less fortunate. Among US adults age 18 or older, prevalence of depression symptoms was more than threefold higher during the Covid-19 pandemic than before, according to a September 2020 study. Additionally, having lower income, less than $5,000 in savings, and exposure to more stressors such as job loss were linked with a 50% higher risk of depression symptoms during the pandemic. (Rogers, 8/9)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Landlord Sues Over Eviction Law, Seeking $100 Million
One of the region’s most prolific apartment builders has sued the city of Los Angeles over its COVID-19 eviction moratorium, saying his companies have experienced “astronomical” financial losses and are legally entitled to compensation from the city. GHP Management Corp., owned by real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer, said in its lawsuit that 12 buildings it manages have experienced more than $20 million in lost rental income as a result of the measure. GHP, which filed the lawsuit along with several other Palmer companies, expects that number to triple by the time the moratorium’s provisions have expired. (Zahniser, 8/9)

Modern Healthcare: Providers Face Increased Legal Risk As FDA Ends Emergency Use
Providers face growing legal risk as the Food and Drug Administration winds down emergency actions related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Starting in February 2020, the FDA temporarily let providers use vaccines, diagnostic and antibody tests, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and antibody treatments under emergency use authorizations (EUAs). Emergency use authorizations allow the FDA to approve devices for uses that haven't gone through the full approval process when the agency determines that the potential benefits of the product outweigh potential risks. (Brady, 8/9)

Axios: The Technology Upside From The Coronavirus Pandemic 
A majority of doctors say the pandemic forced their organization to make tech upgrades that normally would've taken years, according to a Google Cloud poll provided exclusively to Axios. While health care has typically moved at a cautious pace when it comes to adopting new tech, COVID spurred a digital transformation. (Reed, 8/9)

Indianapolis Star: Eskenazi Health Still On Diversion Days After Ransomware Attack
Eskenazi Health remains on diversion for patients coming by ambulance nearly a week after an attempted ransomware attack that led the hospital to shut down its entire computer network. While the hospital is accepting patients who come on their own to the emergency department and delivering babies, ambulances are still being asked to go elsewhere, hospital spokesman Todd Harper said. The hospital’s outpatient clinics are open, he added. “We’re making progress,” Harper said. “When this happened we shut down the whole network just for protection purposes and now we’re bringing things back.” (Rudavsky, 8/9)

In news about health care personnel —

AP: Hospital Hit By Nurses' Strike Says It's Hiring Replacements
A Massachusetts hospital crippled by a nurses’ strike that’s now entering its sixth month says it’s hired more than 100 replacement nurses after talks aimed at ending the standoff stalled. St. Vincent Hospital said in a statement Sunday that it planned to post more jobs in the coming days. “Saint Vincent must take responsible action and hire as many nurses as possible to maintain access to ensure core services, as COVID numbers increase and the cooler weather approaches,” it said. (8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Short-Staffed Nursing Homes Linked To More Readmissions, GAO Reports
Skilled-nursing facilities that employ fewer registered nurses send patients back to hospitals or emergency rooms more frequently, a new federal report found. Short-staffed nursing homes, as measured by RN hours per resident day, sent 24% of their patients back to the hospital within 30 days of being admitted to SNFs in 2018, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The readmission rate was 21% among nursing homes that employed more RNs, even after adjusting for differences in medical conditions. That difference translates to 2,265 more hospital readmissions at facilities with fewer nurses. That trend persisted through 2019. Readmissions declined when staffing levels increased. (Kacik, 8/9)

Modern Healthcare: Nurse Practitioners Most Recruited Providers, Survey Finds
Nurse practitioners were the most recruited providers among physicians and advanced practitioners, according to a new report by search firm Merritt Hawkins. This marks the first time in the report's 27-year history that physicians did not hold the top spot. For the past 14 years alone, family physicians were the most recruited position, Merritt Hawkins said. "COVID-19 and other market forces are changing the dynamics of physician and advanced practitioner recruiting," Tom Florence, president of Merritt Hawkins, said in a statement. "NPs are coming into their own in a market that puts a premium on easy access to care and cost containment." (Christ, 8/9)

The Baltimore Sun: Nurse, Lawyer, And Navy Veteran Leads Johns Hopkins Center For Transgender Health 
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonemergency surgeries were suspended, delaying gender affirming procedures for months. Paula M. Neira and other nurses were redeployed to respond to the pandemic, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health had to put a moratorium on new patient intakes. “Paula is a clinical kind of leader in health care, because I really saw that in COVID,” said Dr. Deborah Baker, the Senior Vice President for Nursing for the Johns Hopkins Health System. (Garcia, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Tenet Healthcare CEO Rittenmeyer Is Stepping Down
For-profit hospital chain Tenet Healthcare announced Monday that its CEO, Ron Rittenmeyer, is transitioning to executive chairman, effective Sept. 1. Dr. Saum Sutaria, the Dallas-based company's chief operating officer, will take over as CEO effective Sept. 1. Rittenmeyer will continue to serve as executive chairman of Tenet and its board until 2022. He's served as CEO for almost four years. (Bannow, 8/9)

Bloomberg: Sunscreen Worries Grow As Another Potential Carcinogen Found
Researchers asked U.S. regulators to pull some sunscreens from the market, including brands such as Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena, saying they’ve found evidence of a potential carcinogen. Scientists petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to remove from sale all sunscreens containing the active ingredient octocrylene. Products made with the chemical may contain benzophenone, a suspected carcinogen that also can interfere with key hormones and reproductive organs, according to a group led by Craig Downs, executive director of the nonprofit Haereticus Environmental Laboratory that studies risks to health and the environment. A trade group called the report misleading. (Edney, 8/9)

Fox News: Scientists Look To Blood Tests To Spot Dementia Risk Early On
A recent study out of Mississippi indicated a blood test was useful in determining patients facing an increased risk in cognitive decline, decades ahead of symptom onset. Researchers have been looking to blood tests as an easier alternative to detect Alzheimer’s as opposed to pricey brain scans and spinal taps. The study from the University of Mississippi Medical Center comes after a blood test developed by C2N Diagnostics of St. Louis became the first to land on the market last December, and months prior, a team of researchers from Sweden made headlines when part of a three-cohort study across Colombia, Sweden and Arizona found signs of the cognitive disease 20 years before anticipated symptom onset, when using Eli Lilly's blood test. (Rivas, 8/9)

Stat: Will Controversy Over Alzheimer’s Drug Doom The FDA Faster Approval Path?
For most of its history, the Food and Drug Administration’s shortcut pathway for approving certain medicines was hardly contentious among anyone but the most diehard agency nerds; for years, only a handful of drug makers even used it. Now, however, just as the accelerated approval program is reaching peak popularity, key supporters, including Oncology Center of Excellence Director Rick Pazdur, are warning that it’s “under attack.” (Florko, 8/10)

Stateline: Laws For Prescription Drug Brokers Could Soon Have Teeth
Buoyed by a major, unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling, some states are pressing ahead with efforts to rein in one of the most obscure—but also most potent—players in the prescription drug supply chain. Pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs, are the companies that administer the prescription drug programs of health insurance plans. Since appearing in the 1980s, they have grown in influence. (Ollove, 8/9)

Stat: After Months Of Controversy, Pfizer Agrees To Sell A Discontinued Eye Drug
After months of controversy, Pfizer (PFE) has reached a deal to sell a decades-old eye drug that it recently discontinued over long-running manufacturing concerns, a move that prompted patients to complain they were left in the lurch. In a brief statement, the drug maker disclosed that it had transferred the rights to the eye drop — which is called phospholine iodide and is used to treat a rare form of glaucoma — to Fera Pharmaceuticals, a small privately held company run by a former executive at Sandoz, the generic unit at Novartis (NVS). Terms and a closing date for the sale were not disclosed. (Silverman, 8/9)

KHN: Surgeons Cash In On Stakes In Private Medical Device Companies
Several orthopedic surgeons who invested in Renovis Surgical Technologies made big money when a Japanese technology giant snatched up the small California medical device company. Kyocera Corp., which was eager to expand its U.S. spine and joint implant sales, bought Renovis’ assets in 2019. While the parties kept the sale price under wraps, Renovis’ physician stockholders held stakes valued at over $34 million by the end of that year, with nearly half that sum to company founder and chief executive Dr. John Steinmann, according to the federal government’s “Open Payments” database, which tracks payments to doctors from device and drug companies. (Schulte, 8/10)

The New York Times: The Ashes of the Dixie Fire Cast a Pall 1,000 Miles From Its Flames
Smoke from wildfires across western Canada, Oregon and California has stained the skies and fouled the air as far away as Iowa, Minnesota and even New York City. Recent research suggests that the smoke may actually grow more toxic as it ages, undergoes chemical changes and blows across the country, reacting with sunlight and other molecules floating in the air. Over time, smoke may form reactive compounds that can be especially damaging to the body once they are inhaled. (Albeck-Ripka, Fuller and Healy, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Triple-Digit Heat, ‘Dangerously Hot Conditions’ Brewing In Pacific Northwest
It’s been a summer marred by record-shattering, deadly heat in the Pacific Northwest and yet another significant heat wave is on the way. Triple-digit temperatures will roast cities like Portland, Ore., Medford and Spokane, while the risk of wildfires ramps up over the region. The forecast coincides with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest assessment review of climate science, which notes a firm link between human-caused global warming and top-tier heat events, like the late June episode that brought a high of 108 degrees to Seattle and 116 degrees in Portland. (Cappucci, 8/9)

In related news about heat waves and drinking water shortages —

The New York Times: A Hotter Future Is Certain, Climate Panel Warns. But How Hot Is Up to Us.
Nations have delayed curbing their fossil-fuel emissions for so long that they can no longer stop global warming from intensifying over the next 30 years, though there is still a short window to prevent the most harrowing future, a major new United Nations scientific report has concluded. Humans have already heated the planet by roughly 1.1 degrees Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit, since the 19th century, largely by burning coal, oil and gas for energy. And the consequences can be felt across the globe: This summer alone, blistering heat waves have killed hundreds of people in the United States and Canada, floods have devastated Germany and China, and wildfires have raged out of control in Siberia, Turkey and Greece. (Plumer and Fountain, 8/9)

Reuters: Once-In-50-Year Heat Waves Now Happening Every Decade -U.N. Climate Report
Extreme heat waves that previously only struck once every 50 years are now expected to happen once per decade because of global warming, while downpours and droughts have also become more frequent, a U.N. climate science report said on Monday. The report found that we are already experiencing those effects of climate change, as the planet has surpassed more than 1 degree Celsius in average warming. Heat waves, droughts and torrential rains are only set to become more frequent and extreme as the earth warms further. (Spring, 8/9)

Reuters: Lake Mead At A Low
About 25 million Americans depend on the reservoir at Lake Mead for their water, including residents of Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas. (Hart, 8/9)

AP: Dry California Tourist Town To Guests: 'Please Conserve'
Tourists flock by the thousands to the coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer are also finding public portable toilets and signs on picket fences pleading: “Severe Drought. Please conserve water.” Hotels have closed their lobby bathrooms and residents have stopped watering their gardens in the foggy outpost about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of San Francisco after two years of little rain sapped many of the wells Mendocino depends on for potable water. (Rodriguez and Daley, 8/10)

AP: US Investigates Latest Case Of A Rare Tropical Disease
U.S. health officials are investigating the latest fatal case of a rare tropical disease typically found in South Asia. The unidentified person, who died last month in Georgia, was the fourth U.S. case this year of melioidosis caused by a bacteria that lives in soil and water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. None of the cases from Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota or Texas traveled internationally, puzzling experts. The CDC said two died. (Stobbe, 8/10)

Fox News: CDC Reports Fatal Melioidosis Case In Georgia: What Is The Rare Bacterial Infection?
A person in Georgia has succumbed to a rare bacterial infection called melioidosis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday.  But what exactly is it and who is at risk? Sequencing suggested the case was linked to three prior infections across Kansas, Texas and Minnesota, and cases involved both children and adults, the CDC said. Two out of four cases resulted in death and two of the patients had no risk factors, which are considered to be underlying medical issues such as diabetes, liver or kidney disease, and cancer. (Rivas, 8/9)

In other news from Texas, California, Georgia and Oregon —

Houston Chronicle: Texas Is First State To Make Buying Sex A Felony
People who buy or solicit sex from prostitutes in Texas can soon be charged with state jail felonies under a new law that ramps up penalties for a host of crimes related to sex trafficking in an attempt to deter the practice. House Bill 1540, authored by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, also expands the definition of human trafficking — a first-degree felony in Texas — to include those who recruit trafficking victims from residential treatment centers that house homeless or foster children and minors who were previous victims of violence and assault. (Scherer, 8/9)

Bloomberg: As Homelessness Surges, Venice Beach Debates Solutions
The Los Angeles community of Venice Beach is rich with cultural touchstones: Muscle Beach, a seaside skate park, and the bustling boardwalk filled with street vendors and musicians. Amid the pandemic it’s also emerged as a microcosm of the homelessness catastrophe in the U.S.’s second-largest city — and a focal point for public anger over the issue in Southern California. The conflict over how to handle it has pitted an aggressive enforcement approach favored by many city leaders against a grassroots movement advocating for a more housing-first, humane way. It's also driving a wedge between neighbors with conflicting views on safety and the need to reclaim public space versus the plight, and rights, of the unhoused. (Sisson, 8/9)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Questions Raised Over The First Medical Marijuana Companies Given Licenses In Georgia
Patients and medical marijuana advocates are questioning how Botanical Sciences and other inexperienced companies could come out on top following a competitive but secretive selection process by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, with most information blacked out in heavily redacted applications. Fifteen of the 69 companies that applied for Georgia’s six licenses have filed protests, which could cause further delays for 20,000 registered patients with serious illnesses who lack a legal way to buy medical marijuana oil that state law allows them to use. “I’m very concerned that some people were awarded licenses who had better-looking applications, but are those same people going to be able to produce quality oil that’s going to save my daughter’s life?” said Beckee Lynch, whose daughter takes cannabis oil to prevent grand mal seizures that lasted up to six hours at their worst. (Niesse, 8/9)

Fox News: Oregon Governor Signs Bill Suspending Math, Reading Proficiency Requirements For HS Graduates
In June, state lawmakers voted to approve the bill that suspended the requirements for students for three years, KATU reported. Foundations for a Better Oregon said in a statement at the time that the bill is intended to "truly reflect what every student needs to thrive in the 21st century." Supporters of the bill insist that considering math and reading essential skills has been an unfair challenge for students who do not test well. The report said the requirement was first suspended at the start of the pandemic. The KATU report pointed out that Republicans have come out against the bill and claim that it lowers "expectations for our kids." But there was some bipartisan support. (DeMarche, 8/10)

The New York Times: Canada Reopens To Vaccinated Americans But Few Rush To The Border
When Heidi Linckh peered down at the border between Canada and the United States from the 400-foot-high sightseeing lookout she owns with her husband on Monday, she saw something that had been long been missing from the view: a string of passenger cars. Hours earlier, Canada had reopened its borders to nonessential travel by fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the United States for the first time since March 2020. (Austen, 8/9)

Axios: CDC Raises Travel Advisories For France And Israel To Highest Level 
The CDC raised the travel advisories for France and Israel to the highest level Monday, a result of surging COVID-19 cases in those countries. The recent rapid spread of COVID across the world is largely a result of the Delta variant, which is more contagious than the original strain of the virus. (Reyes, 8/9)

In other global covid developments —

AP: Mexico Seeks At Least 3.5 Million More COVID-19 Jabs From US
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that he discussed the reopening of the U.S.-Mexico border, immigration and cooperation in facing the COVID-19 pandemic in a call with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. The president did not provide additional details of their discussions in a brief message he put out on Twitter afterward. Earlier Monday, López Obrador had said Mexico would ask the United States to send at least 3.5 million more doses of coronavirus vaccine as the country faces a third wave of infections. (8/10)

The Washington Post: Despite Weeks Of Protests, France Implements Health Pass At Cafes And Train Stations With Little Drama
After weeks of protests, France saw relatively little drama on Monday as it expanded its national experiment with coronavirus mandates and began to require that people show a health pass to sit at cafes, eat at restaurants, board long-distance trains and access many other venues. (Noack and Pitrelli, 8/9)

CNBC: Vaccine Incentives: Asia Countries Give Away Land, Gold, Cattle, Homes
Businesses and local governments in Asia are coming up with creative ways to encourage vaccines among people still hesitant to get one — doling out everything from gold to farm animals. The Asia-Pacific region is battling a Covid resurgence as major cities in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia report rising daily cases, especially from the highly contagious delta variant of the disease. But most of Asia is struggling with low inoculation rates as vaccine hesitancy persists, and vaccine disinformation spreads. (Jacob, 8/9)

Bloomberg: China’s Covid-Zero Strategy Risks Leaving It Isolated For Years
As most of the world learns to live with Covid-19, China is tethering itself to eliminating the virus over the long term -- an approach that risks leaving the world’s second-biggest economy isolated for years to come. China this month saw the contagious delta variant pop up in more than half of 31 provinces despite water-tight border controls, triggering yet another round of targeted lockdowns, travel curbs and mass testing across the country. While the outbreak is the most widespread in China since the initial flare-up in Wuhan last year, the World Health Organization said total cases last Friday were 141 -- around .01% of the new infections that day in the U.S. (8/9)

Axios: Cabin Fever In "Fortress Australia" Due To Slow Vaccination Rate 
With the possible exception of North Korea, no country has gone to greater extremes to cut itself off from the world during the pandemic than Australia. Australia's approach of shutting down at the first hint of an outbreak and keeping the borders hermetically sealed — including to its own citizens — have proved both effective and popular, until now. With vaccinations lagging, some Australians are wondering how long they can go on like this. (Lawler, 8/9)

Also —

Bloomberg: Guinea Confirms First Marburg Fever Case After Beating Ebola
Guinea has reported its first-ever case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever, a close cousin to the Ebola virus, according to its government and the World Health Organization. Testing came back positive for the rare disease after samples were sent to neighboring Senegal’s Institut Pasteur last week, Sory Keira, a spokesman for Guinea’s National Health Security Agency, said by phone Monday. The samples were taken from the suspected case on Aug. 5 in the southern district of Gueckedou. (Camara, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Tiny Baby In Singapore, Just 7.5 Ounces At Birth, Goes Home After 13 Months In Hospital 
The newborn girl, Kwek Yu Xuan, weighed only 7.5 ounces at birth, barely half of the weight doctors had expected. Roughly the same weight as an apple or grapefruit, she appears to have been one of the smallest newborns on record to have survived. After just more than 13 months of medical care, Yu Xuan was released last month, the hospital announced this month, weighing nearly 14 pounds. (Taylor, 8/9)

USA Today: My Unvaccinated COVID Patients Never Stop Believing Misinformation
I still don’t believe in it. These words, punctuated with gasping breaths, were said to me by my patient infected with COVID-19 when asked why he hadn’t yet been vaccinated against the virus. Hospitalized and hooked to continuous oxygen, he was adamant that no vaccines or precautions would have made a difference in his catching this illness. Further down the hall, another patient requiring oxygen to stay alive and similarly unvaccinated told me that he did not receive a shot because the media told him it was dangerous and ineffective. I stared at him incredulously. I have been doing a lot of that in recent weeks. (Thomas K. Lew, 8/9)

The New York Times: Covid Vaccines For Kids Can’t Wait
A few weeks ago I posted, on Twitter, that I was increasingly furious with the F.D.A. for taking so long to authorize Covid vaccines for children under 12. Then I deleted the tweet, because I know that as desperate as I am to get my kids inoculated, I’m not qualified to make judgments about how the F.D.A. collects safety data. The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, is qualified, and last week it sent a letter essentially calling on the F.D.A. to speed things up. “What has concerned us is there hasn’t seemed to be the same level of urgency in authorizing a vaccine for younger kids as there was for adults,” Dr. Lee Savio Beers, the president of the group, told me. Everyone believes that the F.D.A. should be prudent in evaluating vaccine safety. But at some point, too much institutional risk aversion is a risk itself. (Michelle Goldberg, 8/9)

Stat: Children Under 12 Can't Be Overlooked In The Fight Against Covid 
“Vaxxed and waxed” may be the TikTok sensation of the moment, a rallying cry for plenty of Americans who — thinking the pandemic is at an end — are emerging from their homes and aiming to enjoy a carefree summer. But many families with children younger than 12 — ours included — continue to worry about wearing masks and social distancing, especially as the Delta variant continues to surge, increasing Covid-19 cases across the country. (Katie D. Schenk and Elizabeth A. Stuart, 8/10)

CNN: Kids Are Victims Of New GOP Bid To Politicize Pandemic
America is being forced yet again to learn the same, repetitive lesson of the pandemic: Fighting a raging, evolving virus with cynicism-laced politics rather than medical data only leads to the same result -- a prolonged national nightmare. School kids are the latest victims as Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, the Republican governors of Florida and Texas, prioritize ideology over public health guidance. The governors are clashing with local officials who are resisting their orders banning school mask mandates, which appear to directly contradict traditional conservative resistance to distant, centralized power. (Stephen Collinson, 8/10)

The New York Times: Universal Masking Can Protect Students From Covid 
Big questions loom over the upcoming back-to-school season: Should children be required to wear masks? Should children go to in-person classes at all? If we send children to school without masks, we increase their risk of acquiring Covid-19. Some could suffer illness or die. If we close schools, millions of children will suffer learning loss, and many of them may suffer lifelong effects on their physical and mental health. (Kanecia Zimmerman and Danny Benjamin Jr., 8/10)

The Boston Globe: When It Comes To COVID Vaccines, Look To The Founders For Answers 
While COVID-19 Delta variant cases rise and cities like Washington and Los Angeles return to mask mandates, many Americans remain persistently divided about the best tool we have to leave such measures behind: vaccines. The unifying example the Founders set almost 250 years ago, when a deadlier disease required riskier measures, should serve as a model for today. By inoculating themselves then, they may have saved the Republic. General George Washington was fighting two foes when the Continental Army encamped at Valley Forge: the British and smallpox. Washington had seen the disease devastate American troops during the Quebec Campaign, and he knew that the Revolution would be dead in its cradle if his own troops fell ill. So America’s future first president got his command inoculated in our first such large-scale, government-led campaign. Washington’s actions saved his army to fight another day. (Jared Cohen, 8/10)

Bloomberg: India Isn't Ready For New Covid-19 Wave
Memories of India’s devastating second wave of Covid-19 are slowly receding. The pandemic has once again fallen out of the headlines; malls and mountain resorts are crowded with shoppers and tourists. Business activity is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, as it had been just before the second wave hit in March. In fact, just like then, many Indians seem to believe the worst of the pandemic is over. But we can’t be sure about that at all. Epidemiological models that predicted the second wave suggest that another, shallower wave might hit India as soon as this month. And the country isn’t nearly as ready as it thinks. (Mihir Sharma, 8/9)

NBC News: America's Fertility Rates Are Falling. That's Cause For Celebration, Not Fearmongering.
Just like in other rich countries, fertility rates in the U.S. have been falling. A lot of this decline is probably because people are waiting until they feel ready to become parents. U.S. social policy has emphasized the importance of people's waiting to have children (until they are older, until they are financially stable) for decades. So why isn't the fact that people are delaying their fertility treated like the policy success that it appears to be? Instead, we've seen many news stories bemoaning falling fertility rates, warning of economic collapse and not-so-subtly blaming selfish women for not having enough children. (Amanda Jean Stevenson, 8/10)

Scientific American: Critical Care Doctors Are In Crisis 
As a critical care physician, Kelli Mathew knew her days were spinning in the wrong direction. For one thing, her well of empathy was dry. When unvaccinated people came to her, suffering the effects of COVID, Mathew began snapping back. She had run out of comforting or even neutral things to say. “In my mind, it was like, ‘This is your doing. You chose not to get vaccinated and here you are,’” says Mathew, who works at Deaconess Henderson Hospital in Henderson, Ky. “I would say, ‘You’re probably going to die and this could have been preventable—how sad is that?’ I would walk away. And that’s not who I am.” (Carolyn Barber, 8/9)

Stat: Digital Twins: Will Doubling Up Help Personalize Health Care? 
Two often-cited emerging trends in the health care space are personalized care and remote care. At first glance, these may sound like they are at odds with each other: How can care become even more individually tailored, if you’ll be spending less time with your care providers? The answer to that question may lie in the use of digital twins — virtual models of individuals that could revolutionize multiple facets of health care. (Ben Alsdurf, 8/10)

Newsweek: My Family Has Been Doctors In The Black Community For Generations. What If They're The Last? 
In 1911, when my great grandfather, Dr. Isaiah Allen Jackson, opened his primary care practice in Richmond, Virginia's Jackson Ward neighborhood, a Black person couldn't drink from most water fountains and likely lacked access to doctors. His practice started above a pharmacy and offered quality care to the Black community. My grandfather and then my father took over his practice, Dominion Medical Associates, and it has been serving low-income and primarily Black patients for over three generations. But practices like my family's face a dire prognosis. (Mia Jackson, 8/9)

The New York Times: Getting Old Is A Crisis More And More Americans Can’t Afford 
Growing old is an increasingly expensive privilege often requiring supports and services that, whether provided at home or in a facility, can overwhelm all but the wealthiest seniors. With Americans living longer and aging baby boomers flooding the system, the financial strain is becoming unsustainable. Consider the demographics. In 2018, there were 52.4 million Americans age 65 or older and 6.5 million 85 or older. By 2040, those numbers will hit 80.8 million and 14.4 million, respectively. From now until 2030, an average of 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day. Already, demand for care dwarfs supply. The Medicaid waiting list for home-based assistance has an average wait time of more than three years. (Michelle Cottle, 8/9)

Stat: Ridesharing Can Help Older People Remain Functionally Independent 
The United States has experienced a particularly rapid period of expansion of the older adult population since members of the baby boom generation began entering older adulthood nearly a decade ago. An aging population is the inevitable result of the steady advances that have been made in health innovations, medical research and discovery, and public health initiatives. But for many older adults — a population projected to increase to 80.8 million by 2040 — the reality is that aging co-occurs with gradual decreases in personal freedom and autonomy. (Laura Fraade-Blanar, Ryan Best and Vijeth lyengar, 8/10)