Stat: FDA Approves Pfizer's RSV Vaccine Designed To Protect Newborns
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a Pfizer vaccine that aims to protect newborns against RSV by vaccinating pregnant people in the latter part of pregnancy. The vaccine, Abrysvo, has also been approved for use in adults 60 and older to protect them against respiratory syncytial virus. (Branswell, 8/21)

The New York Times: RSV Vaccines: What To Know For Babies, Pregnant Women And Older Adults 
The two adult vaccines, which were created by Pfizer and GSK, are very similar, both in terms of how well they protect against symptomatic R.S.V. infection and in their side effects. They also work the same way biologically — targeting a protein the virus uses to fuse to human cells — and were developed based on the same decade-old scientific discovery, which is why they’ve emerged at the same time. (Smith, 8/21)

On the 'tripledemic' —

The New York Times: Three Shots For Fall: What You Need To Know
Most Americans have had one or more shots of the flu and Covid vaccines. New this year are the first shots to protect older adults and infants from respiratory syncytial virus, a lesser-known threat whose toll in hospitalizations and deaths may rival that of flu. Federal health officials are hoping that widespread adoption of these immunizations will head off another “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, like the one seen last winter. For people with insurance, all of the vaccines should be available for free. (Mandavilli, 8/21)

CNN: This Year’s RSV Season May Come At The Typical Time, Experts Predict, And New Tools May Help The Fight 
Last fall, children’s hospitals across the country dealt with an unprecedented early surge of patients with respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. By October, there were so many sick kids needing care that some states declared states of emergency, and some facilities set up tents with extra beds in parking lots. This year, experts think the timing of the RSV season will be closer to the pre-pandemic normal, but case numbers will probably be anything but — that is, if people embrace newly available tools to prevent RSV. (Christensen, 8/17)

In other news, the shingles and pneumonia vaccines may have added benefits —

Fox News: These Adult Vaccines Could Reduce Seniors’ Risk Of Alzheimer’s, Study Finds: ‘Heightened Immune Response’
Getting vaccinated against shingles, pneumonia and other illnesses could potentially reduce adults’ risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Researchers found that people who received shingles and pneumonia vaccines — along with tetanus and diphtheria — had as much as a 30% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia. (Rudy, 8/21)

CNN: Screen Time Linked With Developmental Delays, Study Finds
Handing your baby a phone or tablet to play with may seem like a harmless solution when you’re busy, but it could quickly affect their development, a new study has found. Having anywhere from one to four hours of screen time per day at age 1 is linked with higher risks of developmental delays in communication, fine motor, problem-solving and personal and social skills by age 2, according to a study of 7,097 children published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. (Rogers, 8/21)

The New York Times: More Screen Time Linked To Delayed Development In Babies, Study Finds 
One-year-olds exposed to more than four hours of screen time a day experienced developmental delays in communication and problem-solving skills at ages 2 and 4, according to a study published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. The research also found that 1-year-olds who were exposed to more screen time than their peers showed delays at age 2 in the development of fine motor and personal and social skills. But these delays appeared to dissipate by age 4. (Richtel, 8/21)

Firearm deaths among children reach a new high —

NBC News: Gun Deaths Among U.S. Children Rose Again In 2021, CDC Data Shows
Gun-related deaths among children in the U.S. reached a distressing peak in 2021, claiming 4,752 young lives and surpassing the record total seen during the first year of the pandemic, a new analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. The alarming statistic clearly indicated that America’s gun violence epidemic has gotten worse, experts say. More than 80% of the gun deaths were among males 19 and younger. Black male children were more likely to die from homicide. White males 19 and younger were more likely to kill themselves with guns. (Lovelace Jr., 8/21)

Science: COVID-19 Boosts Risks Of Health Problems 2 Years Later, Giant Study Of Veterans Says
Three-and-a-half years since SARS-CoV-2 spread around the world, scientists are still documenting the virus’ myriad effects on human health. What’s clear already is that those effects can continue long beyond the original infection. Now, researchers have attempted to quantify this long-term harm using a massive database of U.S. veterans’ health records. They found a dramatically increased risk of dozens of conditions including heart failure and fatigue, sometimes years postinfection. Overall, the team estimates, COVID-19’s public health impact is more than 50% greater than that of cancer or heart disease. (Oxford, 8/21)

More on the spread of covid —

Politico: CDC, Pharmacies Try To Speed Up Covid Vaccine Program For The Uninsured 
Just days after warning that pharmacies would not provide free Covid vaccines to the uninsured until October, the Biden administration and retail pharmacies are trying to accelerate the timeline. Biden health officials are now attempting to finalize contracts that would allow pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to offer the shot to uninsured Americans as early as mid-September, when the government plans to make an updated version of the vaccine available to the broader public. (Cancryn and Lim, 8/21)

Axios: COVID Boosters Still Weeks Away As Cases Surge
As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations creep up during a summer wave of heightened virus activity, updated vaccines are still likely weeks away. Americans have largely tuned out COVID, but the latest COVID uptick is a reminder that the virus continues to circulate and mutate — though the threat is far below pandemic-era levels. (Millman, 8/22)

Axios: COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates On Rise In CA 
COVID-19 hospitalization rates across California rose 8% between June and July amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country. With so little testing happening these days compared to the height of the pandemic, hospitalization rates are now one of the best proxies for estimating broader viral spread. (Dickey, Fitzpatrick and Beheraj, 8/21)

Health News Florida: Florida Continues To Add COVID Cases In Latest Health Department Report
A new report from the Florida Department of Health showed an increase in reported COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The state had 18,518 reported new cases during the week that started Aug. 11 and 18,556 new cases during the week that started Aug. 4 — the highest totals in at least 10 weeks. The increase is nowhere near the numbers of the past two years during the pandemic. Scientists say COVID is in an endemic phase, meaning it is always present in a population but remains fairly stable and predictable, with spikes. (8/21)

St. Louis Public Radio: Coronavirus Spreading More In Missouri After Monthslong Lull 
A growing number of people are testing positive for the coronavirus, but Missouri scientists say the virus still poses a smaller threat to residents than during the height of the pandemic. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Missouri — a key way to measure how the virus is spreading now that positive cases are not consistently reported — rose 6% in early August from the week before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Illinois, the number of new hospitalizations rose more than 25% during that same period. (Fentem, 8/21)

The New York Times: How Bad Is Getting Covid Multiple Times? What To Know About Reinfection
For many people who get Covid multiple times, subsequent infections will be as mild as or milder than their first, emerging data shows, likely because of partial immunity from previous infections, vaccination and the fact that the latest circulating variants generally cause less severe symptoms. There are a few exceptions — notably, among some people who are immunocompromised, older or had particularly severe previous infections. People who had a severe first infection are more likely to end up hospitalized or to require medical attention for a reinfection, said Emily Hadley, a research data scientist at RTI International who studies long Covid. (Blum, 8/17)

Also —

Stat: Republicans Love RFK Jr. What's That Tell Us About Health In 2024?
Republican presidential candidates are polishing off their best barbs and attack lines for each other, President Biden and even elephant-in-the-room Donald Trump during their first debate this week. But one increasingly popular candidate isn’t likely to catch any flak. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime face of the anti-vaccine movement, has seen a swell of popularity among conservatives and particularly Covid-19 conspiracy theorists. (Owermohle, 8/22)

KFF Health News: Few Firm Beliefs And Low Trust: Americans Not Sure What’s True In Age Of Health Misinformation 
Around 3 in 10 Americans still believe ivermectin is an effective treatment for covid. What’s more, few place significant trust in any form of news media or official institution to accurately convey information about health topics, from covid treatments and vaccines to reproductive health issues, a new poll from KFF shows. The confusion about what’s true — and who’s telling the truth — is of critical importance to public health, experts in political science said. “Misinformation leads to lives being lost and health problems not being resolved,” Bob Blendon, a professor emeritus of public health at Harvard, said in an interview. Blendon was not associated with the survey. (Tahir, 8/22)

AP: Indiana's Near-Total Abortion Ban Set To Take Effect As State Supreme Court Denies Rehearing 
Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is set to take effect within days after the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday denied a rehearing in the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. The denial of the rehearing means the ban will take effect once a June 30 ruling upholding the ban is certified, a procedural step expected to take just days, court spokesperson Kathryn Dolan said in an email to news media. (8/21)

More abortion news from Texas, Kansas, and Idaho —

NPR: Shh! Don't Say 'Abortion.' Texas Quietly Softens Its Ban On The Procedure
Texas's Republican Governor Greg Abbott addressed a rally earlier this year, celebrating the abortion bans that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ... So it may be surprising that just a few weeks ago, Abbott signed a law giving doctors leeway to provide abortions in Texas when a patient's water breaks too early and for ectopic pregnancies. There was considerably less fanfare for that signing. (Simmons-Duffin, 8/22)

Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Gets Four Bidders For $2 Million Alternatives To Abortion Fund
Kansas pregnancy centers are one step closer to getting their shares of a $2 million fund established to provide support for pregnant women and girls who might otherwise choose abortion. The Kansas Treasurer's Office now has four options to run the $2 million Alternatives to Abortion Program. It was created by the Legislature as a way to send taxpayer money to anti-abortion counseling centers, commonly referred to as pregnancy resource centers or crisis pregnancy centers. (Alatidd, 8/21)

The Guardian: No OB-GYNs Left In Town: What Came After Idaho’s Assault On Abortion 
In Sandpoint, Idaho, the maternity ward closed down. Within months, medical care for women in the rural community was hollowed out. (McLaughlin, 8/22)

Also —

Time: New CDC Director Mandy Cohen On Abortion, COVID-19, And More
Dr. Mandy Cohen is the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The former health secretary for North Carolina, she led the state’s COVID-19 response and improved Medicaid access for eligible residents. Just one month into her new job, Cohen spoke with TIME about what we can expect next in the ongoing government response to COVID-19, the tumultuous legal battles currently surrounding women’s health, and her vision for the embattled public health agency. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. (Park, 8/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Some Americans Take On Side Hustles For Fertility Benefits 
When Courtney Lorenz found out she needed fertility treatments to have a shot at motherhood, the 37-year old software program manager took a second job. Not for the money, but for the benefits.  Lorenz worked 10 hours a week over six months as a cashier at home-improvement retailer Tractor Supply for $16 an hour, for which she received insurance that paid for four rounds of egg retrieval, a procedure that wasn’t covered by her primary health insurance. (Torry, 8/21)

In election news —

NPR: Planned Parenthood's First Ad Of The 2024 Campaign Targets Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood is launching its first campaign ad of the 2024 presidential election cycle in Wisconsin, just ahead of the first Republican primary debate Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The new ad, airing on social media and streaming platforms, includes a collage of past statements from several Republican presidential candidates expressing support for national legislation restricting abortion. (McCammon, 8/22)

Axios: Abortion's Next Big Litmus Test
Democrats are mobilizing for what they widely view as the next major referendum on abortion rights: this fall's Virginia state legislature elections. Virginia is the lone southern state that hasn't banned or restricted abortion since the Supreme Court struck down federal protection of the procedure and provides another off-year test of its potency as a campaign issue following Ohio's special election this month. (Owens, 8/22)

The 19th: Why Republicans Are Talking So Much About ‘Late-Term Abortions’
Republican presidential candidates championing abortion restrictions — and contending with voter discontent over the end of federal abortion rights — are rebuffing criticism of their positions by arguing Democrats support abortions “up until the moment of birth.”  Within the Republican Party, the debate isn’t generally about the later stages of pregnancy but rather which restrictions in the first or second trimester they support and whether they would back national restrictions on the procedure. Honing in on abortions in the latter stages of pregnancy shifts the focus to procedures that are either extremely rare or that don’t happen at all — but that are generally less popular with the American public. (Barclay and Luthra, 8/21)

Stat: Eli Lilly CEO Gives To Mike Pence Presidential Super PAC 
David Ricks, who leads Eli Lilly, made a major early donation to a super PAC in support of former vice president Mike Pence — one of the first big 2024 donations from a major player in the pharmaceutical industry. (Cohrs, 8/22)

Politico: Generic Drug Giants Settle Federal Price-Fixing Charges 
Two generic drug giants agreed Monday to settle long-running criminal price-fixing charges with the Justice Department, including the unusual move to sell off the drugs involved. The U.S. arms of Israel-based Teva and India-based Glenmark are paying $225 million and $30 million, respectively, according to court filings. The companies agreed to enter into deferred prosecution agreements, a resolution in which charges are suspended but a company must admit wrongdoing. It can later face charges if it does not follow the terms of the deal. (Sisco, 8/21)

A German drugmaker is suing the U.S. over drug price negotiations —

Reuters: Boehringer Latest To Sue US Over Drug Price Negotiation Plan 
Boehringer Ingelheim sued the U.S. government in an attempt to block a program that gives the Medicare health insurance plan the power to negotiate lower drug prices, joining other drugmakers and business groups claiming that it would stifle development of new medicines. In a complaint filed on Friday in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, the privately-held German drugmaker said the program violates the U.S. Constitution by giving federal regulators too much power to dictate drug prices. (Pierson, 8/21)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Reuters: Indivior To Pay $30 Million To Settle Health Plans' Suboxone Claims
Indivior has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by health plans accusing the drugmaker of illegally suppressing generic competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. The settlement, disclosed on Saturday in a filing by lawyers for the health plans in federal court in Philadelphia, must still be approved by a judge. Indivior is still facing claims by drug wholesalers that bought Suboxone from the Virginia-based company directly, with a trial scheduled in October. (Pierson, 8/21)

Reuters: US FDA Puts Gilead Sciences Blood Cancer Drug Studies On Hold
Gilead Sciences said on Monday the U.S. health regulator placed a clinical hold on studies of its blood cancer drug, just a month after the company scrapped a late-stage trial due to efficacy concerns. (8/21)

Stat: FDA Advisory Panel To Debate High Blood Pressure Devices
An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration will convene on Tuesday to evaluate the benefits of renal denervation, a one-time surgical procedure that works to reduce blood pressure. The promise — and the potential market — is enormous, but the data on how well the procedure works remains contentious. (Lawrence, 8/22)

Stat: Intellia Plays Down Concerns On Accidental Germline Transmission
Earlier this month, Intellia Therapeutics announced it was scrapping plans to include U.S.-based sites in one of its mid-stage CRISPR trials after the Food and Drug Administration requested additional data to support including female patients of childbearing potential. The move left many researchers wondering whether the specter of accidental germline transmission — which haunted early gene therapy trials — had now risen over the field of gene editing. (Molteni, 8/21)

Modern Healthcare: Allina Health Minnesota Investigation Targets Debt Practices
Minnesota authorities are investigating Allina Health over reports that the nonprofit provider refused to treat some patients who owed medical debts, state Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) announced Friday. ... Allina Health continues to work with Minnesota authorities about its compliance with state billing and debt collection rules and offers “comprehensive support for patients with financial needs,” the company said in a statement. (Kacik, 8/21)

In other health industry news —

AP: Virginia Judge Largely Sides With Ex-Patients In Hospital's Effort To Pare Down Lawsuit Abuse Claims
Most of the claims of sexual abuse and other mistreatment made in a lawsuit by dozens of former patients of a Virginia children’s hospital can move forward, a judge has ruled, rejecting arguments that many of the allegations were time-limited under the state’s medical malpractice law. Judge Bradley Cavedo issued the ruling Aug. 14 in favor of most of the dozens of plaintiffs who are suing publicly traded health care company Universal Health Services Inc. and its co-defendants. His decision came two weeks after a hearing on the matter in Richmond Circuit Court, where attorneys for UHS, related corporate entities and the doctor at the center of many of the allegations urged him to whittle down the claims. (Rankin, 8/21)

Connecticut Public: Board Asks Why CT Didn't Act Sooner In Doctor's Disciplinary Case
A state board that disciplines physicians is asking the Department of Public Health to explain why it didn’t respond sooner to malpractice allegations filed against a doctor in another state. That doctor was the subject of a recent report by The Accountability Project, which found key information was missing about discipline and felony charges from some of the state’s licensing records. (Lloyd, 8/21)

Modern Healthcare: Corewell East President Ben Schwartz Steps Down After A Year
Corewell Health has parted ways with the president of its metro Detroit hospitals a year after his hiring. Dr. Ben Schwartz was hired in July last year to lead the eight former Beaumont Health hospitals, now called Corewell Health East, succeeding former president and CEO John Fox, who departed the system as part of Spectrum Health's merger with Beaumont. Schwartz left the role effective Monday. (Walsh, 8/21)

Modern Healthcare: Cano Health CEO Dr. Marlow Hernandez Replaced With Mark Kent
Membership-based primary care provider Cano Health named Mark Kent as its permanent CEO on Monday. Cano struck the interim title from Kent making him CEO and also elected him to the board of directors. The company also announced that former CEO Dr. Marlow Hernandez was stepping down from the board of directors, effective immediately. (Turner, 8/21)

Also —

Roll Call: Families, States Chart Path Forward On Paid Caregiving 
For Paige Hall, a single mother living in Eugene, Ore., getting paid by Medicaid to care for her son James during the pandemic was life-changing. She no longer had to worry about finding a reliable, qualified caregiver who could care for James, a nonspeaking 11-year-old with autism and severe drug-resistant epilepsy. (Hellmann, 8/21)

Stat: Diversity In Medical Illustrations Gets Boost From Chidiebere Ibe
Medical illustration is both an art and a science. But it can have a huge cultural impact, too, as medical student and illustrator Chidiebere Ibe discovered when his illustration of a pregnant Black woman and her fetus went viral in 2021. The image was groundbreaking precisely because it shouldn’t have been. People have a wide range of skin colors, and everyone develops medical conditions; it’s common sense that medical illustrations should feature a diverse range of bodies. (Merelli, 8/22)

Stat: How The First Native Hawaiian Psychiatrist Helped Diversify Medicine
Benjamin Young didn’t set out to be the first Native Hawaiian psychiatrist. Nor did he go looking to be the first physician on board what would become a landmark epic voyage from Tahiti to Hawaii back in 1976, using only the stars, sun, moon, and cloud and wave patterns as guides. And Young had no clue that, toward the beginning of his career, he would be called on to start up a first-of-its-kind program at the University of Hawaii to diversify the number of Pacific Islanders and other underrepresented groups in medicine. (Castillo, 8/22)

KFF Health News: Life In A Rural ‘Ambulance Desert’ Means Sometimes Help Isn’t On The Way 
Annie Jackson can’t know whether her sister Grena Prude might have survived had an ambulance been more readily available when she went into cardiac arrest on May 10. But Jackson is convinced her sister would have at least had a chance. Prude, 55, died at the steps of Carrollton City Hall, less than a half-mile from her county’s only ambulance station. When someone called 911 to get her help, two ambulances were on duty: One was transporting a patient to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 45 minutes away, and the other a patient to Columbus, Mississippi, a 30-minute drive. (Sisk, 8/22)

USA Today: Listeria Outbreak: 3 Dead From Tainted Milkshakes In Tacoma, Wash.
Three people are dead and three others were hospitalized after drinking milkshakes sold at a Washington restaurant that were contaminated with listeria bacteria, health officials said. Investigators linked the outbreak back to Frugals – a restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, about 30 miles from Seattle – after two of the six people hospitalized said they drank the milkshakes before getting sick, the Washington State Department of Health said in a news release Friday. (Guzman, 8/21)

In other health and wellness news —

Bloomberg: American Exposure To Smoke Pollution Reached 17-Year High In 2023
On the EPA’s air quality index scale, these days correspond with the highest levels of public health concern. Extensive exposure to PM2.5 particles, the main pollutant found in smoke, can increase the risk of a variety of problems, including heart and respiratory disease, as well as premature death. (Poon and Milton, 8/21)

CBS News: Study Finds Virtual Reality Exercises Could Help Ease Back Pain
In a study published in the Archives of Physiotherapy, researchers studied 82 clients with low back pain and/or neck pain who received exercise therapy delivered solely in the metaverse using virtual reality. They found that the treatment was both safe and effective at improving disability from both low back and neck pain. (Marshall, 8/21)

Military.com: Commissaries Bringing Healthier, Fresh Food Closer To Home For Army Soldiers 
Soldiers at 10 Army posts have better access to healthy snacks and fresh deli items as part of a new program that puts commissary kiosks and outposts near their barracks or workspaces, according to the Defense Commissary Agency. Through a partnership with the Army, commissaries have installed kiosks in locations "convenient to soldiers on duty in the middle of the day" and stocked them with items such as sandwiches, salads, sushi, fresh fruit, drinks and other wholesome foods, DeCA officials told Military.com in a recent interview. (Kime, 8/21)

Stat: Kellogg’s Is Going To War Over Mexico’s Nutrition Label Rules
Kellogg’s is waging a war here over Tigre Toño and Sam el Tucán. A 2019 policy requires companies that make unhealthy foods to include warning labels on the front of any boxes they sell in Mexico to educate consumers about things like excess sugar and fat. Any food with a warning label — like Kellogg’s Fruit Loops or its Frosted Flakes, which typically contain more than 37 grams of added sugar in a 100-gram serving — is also banned from including a mascot on its packaging. (Florko, 8/21)

Axios: This Kennedy Scion Is Investing In Disability-Focused Startups
A Kennedy family scion is raising a venture capital fund to invest in startups that serve people with disabilities, plus their caregivers and family members. An estimated 1.3 billion people have a significant physical or mental disability, representing 16% of the global population, according to the World Health Organization. This includes an estimated 20% of U.S. children with a learning disability. (Primack, 8/21)

KFF Health News: Doctors Advocate Fresh Efforts To Combat Chagas Disease, A Silent Killer
When Maira Gutiérrez was diagnosed with Chagas disease in 1997, neither she nor her primary care physician had even heard of the malady. She discovered her illness only by chance, after participating in a Red Cross blood drive organized by her employer, Universal Studios. The Red Cross tests donated blood for a range of diseases, including Chagas, which is caused by a parasite and can develop silently for decades before causing symptoms. The test detected Chagas in her body, and an MRI years later, in 2013, confirmed it had reached her heart. (Andalo, 8/22)

On aging —

The New York Times: Jimmy Carter Is Still ‘Very Much’ Himself In Hospice Care, Grandson Says
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, are still holding hands and making memories together in their Georgia home six months after he entered hospice care there, one of the couple’s grandsons said on Monday. The former president, 98, is “still very much Jimmy Carter,” his grandson Josh Carter said in a telephone interview. “He’s still opinionated, he’s still strong-willed, he’s still him. And that’s great to see.” (Patil, 8/21)

The Washington Post: At Age 114, Here’s Her Advice: ‘Speak Your Mind And Don’t Hold Your Tongue’
Not many 94-year-olds still have their mothers around, but Dorothy Williams does — and the two women live together in Houston. Her mother, Elizabeth Francis, just turned 114. “I guess I would have to say the Lord has blessed me in my young age,” joked Francis, whose birthday was July 25. (Free, 8/18)

Reuters: Court Revives Alabama Ban On Transgender Youth Treatment, Judge Blocks Georgia Law 
A U.S. appeals court on Monday revived a Republican-backed Alabama law banning the use of puberty blocking drugs and hormones to treat gender dysphoria in transgender minors, a day after a judge blocked a similar Georgia law. A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the families and physicians challenging the law "have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right" for parents to treat their children with "transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards." (Raymond and Pierson, 8/21)

Axios: Freeze Of Georgia Law Adds Twist To State Efforts To Ban Trans Care
A federal judge's decision to block part of Georgia's ban on most gender-affirming care for minors is throwing a new legal wrinkle into state efforts to restrict care for transgender youths. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Geraghty, a Biden appointee, wrote the state's hormone-therapy ban likely violates the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and carries imminent risks of depression, anxiety, disordered eating, self-harm and suicidal ideation for transgender youths. (Bettelheim, 8/21)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

Crain's New York Business: DocGo New York Migrant Care Contract Scrutinized
Since early May DocGo has provided shelter and services to 4,000 people in 28 hotels, according to city officials. Reports surfaced in late July that migrants had been misled with promises about finding work and mistreated once they arrived at hotels upstate. In addition to the no-bid contract awarded by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Health + Hospitals system this summer extended an existing migrant services contract with DocGo for $311 million. (Spivak, 8/21)

Washington State Standard: How Washington State Is Treating Housing As Health Care
Washington state is trying something new when it comes to housing: treating it as health care. Apple Health and Homes is a multi-agency state program launched last year that focuses on providing housing to people with health and behavioral health challenges. What’s unique is that the program taps Medicaid dollars to pay for housing subsidies, tenant services and more. (Demkovich, 8/21)

The CT Mirror: Amid Proposed CT Health Insurance Rate Hikes, Residents Fight Back
Frustrated residents, advocates and elected officials demanded Monday that state insurance regulators turn down double-digit rate hikes recommended by insurance companies for 2024 health plans on and off Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act Exchange. Carriers have asked for an average increase of 12.4% on individual health plans and an average hike of 14.8% on small group policies next year. The filings collectively cover about 188,000 people. (Carlesso, 8/21)

On the heat wave —

The Texas Tribune: Death Toll In Stifling Texas Prisons Climbs, Democrats Seek Investigation
At least 41 people have died in stifling, uncooled prisons of either heart-related or unknown causes during Texas’ relentless and record-breaking heat wave this summer, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Relatives of those who died and prison rights advocates insist at least some of those deaths were caused by the heat. More than a dozen of the prisoners were in their 20s or 30s, with at least four people 35 and under reportedly dying of cardiac arrest or heart failure. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says no prisoner has died from the brutal heat in its facilities since 2012, around the time the agency began being bombarded with wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits over the heat. (McCullough, 8/21)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida’s Heat Takes A Toll On Health. Shade Provides Relief — But Not For All
If it weren’t for the traffic along South MacDill Avenue, Javonne Mansfield swears you could hear the sizzle of a frying pan. The sun is scorching with such violent intensity that even weathered Floridians can’t help but take note. In a hard hat, Mansfield pushes a shovel into the earth. Heat radiates from the road, the concrete parking lots. It’s around 10:30 a.m., and his crew is starting a 10-hour shift fixing traffic lights in West Tampa during the hottest week recorded in Tampa Bay history. Cloud coverage is minimal, thin and wispy. There’s no greenery or trees to shield them, no refuge from the blistering sun. Outside, it’s 91 degrees — but feels like 104. (Peace and Prator, 8/22)

North Carolina Health News: It's Too Hot. How Can Schools Protect Students, Athletes? 
Many children across North Carolina are heading back to school, returning to classes and other activities even as weather forecasters caution about temperatures in the 90s with heat indexes topping 100 degrees. That can have an impact on football, cross country, tennis and other sports teams that practice and compete in August. It also can have an effect on the mental health and physical well-being of people — from the youngest among us to those with chronic ailments to the older population. (Blythe, 8/22)

Chicago Tribune: Give Asylum-Seekers Access To Pediatric Care Before More Kids Die
As a pediatric critical care physician, I have witnessed the heartache caused by the sudden death of a child. It takes years of specialized training to recognize the differences between a sick child and a sick adult. Children have different physiology than adults: They use more energy, their heart beats faster, they breathe faster and they are more likely to get severely dehydrated. Because children have different vital signs at baseline from adults, it can be more difficult for a provider to recognize when they are sick. (Deanna Behrens, 8/20)

The Washington Post: As I Turn 85, Is Alzheimer’s Coming For Me? 
In less than a month, I’ll celebrate my 85th birthday. This is a poorly wrapped gift. Proportion of Americans 85 or older with Alzheimer’s disease: 33 percent. The number only increases with age. (Elaine Soloway, 8/22)

Dallas Morning News: Reimbursement Gap Is Hurting Community Clinics And Patients
In the complex world of health care, one thing is simple: More competition means more choices, higher quality and lower prices. Yet, over the past decade, the health care industry has rapidly consolidated as hospital systems have acquired physician practices — forcing patients to pay more and travel farther for care. Unfortunately, misguided Medicare policy is encouraging this consolidation. (Ralph Heaven, 8/21)

Miami Herald: Post-9/11 Veterans Can Get The Healthcare They Earned And Deserve
I trust the VA for all my healthcare needs and have for more than 18 years. I feel safe, connected and know my providers have my best interest at heart. They strive to deliver positive health outcomes. Further, as I age, I know that VA will be positioned, ready, and capable of caring for me when I need them most. (David B Isaacks, 8/21)

The Tennessean: Humanism And Empathy Improve Health Care For Marginalized Communities
As a medical student, entrepreneur, future clinical researcher, and first-generation American, the need for a humanistic approach to healthcare disparities sticks out to me, because this approach values the importance of an individual’s culture, experience, and common needs. It’s my mission to help develop this paradigm. (Jonathan Low, 8/21)

Stat: National Associations That Represent Hospice Owe An Apology
“How has the clinical work you do affected you personally?” We’d come to the Q&A part of the evening in an historic church in eastern Pennsylvania. I had traveled there at the request of a local hospice to talk about my perspective as a doctor with a long career of caring for seriously ill and dying patients. I smiled at the casually dressed older man who asked the question. It’s one I’d asked myself many times. I told him that my work has taught me the importance of apologies. (Ira Byock, 8/22)

Stat: Trans Patients At The End Of Life Deserve Respect And Dignity 
In the United States, more than 1.6 million people identify as transgender. Of these, more than one-fifth are over the age of 65, the vast majority of whom transitioned in the latter part of their lives. Transgender Americans are both living and dying among us: precisely why we health care providers must improve our approaches to ensuring dignified and respectful care for transgender elders, especially at the end of life. (Dallas Ducar and Cathy Campbell, 8/22)