Bloomberg: Thanksgiving Travel Data Point To Surge In Covid Infections And Deaths
Coronavirus infections are already reaching unprecedented levels throughout the U.S. Now with Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror and Christmas and New Year’s just around the curve, the question is: Just how much worse is the pandemic going to get? The latest travel data out Monday suggest that things are looking grim. Between 800,000 and 1.1 million people flew in the days leading up to and after the holiday, according to data released by the Transportation Safety Administration. Though those numbers are a fraction of typical Thanksgiving travel patterns, they are far higher than public health officials and epidemiologists hoped to see. (Brown, 11/30)

The Hill: US More Than Doubles Highest Number Of Monthly COVID-19 Cases 
The U.S. more than doubled its highest number of monthly new COVID-19 cases in November, according to data from NBC News. As of 9 a.m. on Monday, the country has confirmed more than 4.2 million coronavirus cases this month, easily topping the record from October of almost 1.95 million, according to NBC News’s count. Before the fall, July had the most confirmed new cases with almost 1.93 million. (Coleman, 11/30)

Houston Chronicle: Why You Should Wait A Few Days Before Getting That After-Thanksgiving COVID Test
Those considering getting a COVID-19 test after celebrating Thanksgiving with a group should wait about five days before taking the test in order to get accurate results, according to Harris County Public Health officials. That’s about how long it takes for the virus to become detectable on a test. (Dellinger, 11/30)

NPR: So You Traveled Over Thanksgiving. Now What? 
Despite the repeated warnings of public health experts and officials, millions of people traveled for Thanksgiving. Perhaps you're one of them. So what should you do now to keep from creating the "surge upon a surge" of coronavirus cases that Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning the U.S. could soon face? (Wamsley, 11/30)

In related news from Wisconsin and Texas —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin COVID-19 Cases Down Monday Following Testing Site Closures For Holiday Weekend
As Wisconsin reported lower-than-usual COVID-19 numbers Monday following testing site closures over the holiday weekend, a Madison high school announced one of its students died of a "COVID-related illness." (Carson, 11/30)

Houston Chronicle: White House Report Calls On Texas To ‘Intensify’ COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts
The White House Coronavirus Task Force says Texas is in the swing of a “full resurgence” of COVID-19 and the state’s mitigation efforts “must intensify,” while Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders decline to take some of the steps the Trump administration is recommending. A report issued by the task force before the Thanksgiving holiday calls for Texas to significantly reduce maximum occupancy for public and private indoor spaces and to conduct weekly coronavirus testing of teachers, college students, county workers, hospital personnel and others. (Wermund and Blackman, 11/30)

CNN: Officials Worry About Hospital Capacity As US Hits Record Number Of Covid-19 Patients Hospitalized
As the crush of incoming Covid-19 patients continues to strain hospitals across the US, officials across several states are worried their hospitals will be overwhelmed as the holiday season approaches. A record-high 96,039 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in the US as of Monday evening, according to the Covid Tracking Project. (Almasy, Yan and Holcombe, 11/30)

The Hill: Hospitals Brace For COVID-19 Surge 
Hospitals are facing rising pressure from a surge of coronavirus cases that is threatening to overwhelm their capacity, as the country braces for further escalation following Thanksgiving. Over 93,000 people are in the hospital with coronavirus, a record level, and the number is only continuing to rise, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. (Sullivan, 11/30)

AP: At Tiny Rural Hospitals, Weary Doctors Treat Friends, Family
The coronavirus pandemic largely hit urban areas first, but the autumn surge is devastating rural America, too. The U.S. is now averaging more than 170,000 new cases each day, and it’s taking a toll from the biggest hospitals down to the little ones, like Scotland County Hospital. The tragedy is smaller here, more intimate. Everyone knows everyone. (Roberson and Salter, 12/1)

NPR: California Hospitals In COVID-19 Surge. ICUs May Soon Be Overwhelmed 
California hospitals are in a new surge of COVID-19 cases, and if trends continue, state intensive care units could be overwhelmed by Christmas Eve. The state saw a new daily high for coronavirus cases, reaching 14,034 and an overall total of 1,212,968. An additional 20 deaths were reported for a total of 19,141.As of Monday, 8,578 people are in California hospitals with COVID-19. Overall, 75% of ICU beds are occupied — and without intervention could reach 112% by Dec. 24, according to projections shared by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday. (Oxner, 11/30)

Boston Globe: Field Hospitals Open In Rhode Island As COVID-19 Cases Surge
Rhode Island is opening two field hospitals and public health officials are pleading with residents to stay home as a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases pushed hospitalizations to near-record levels. A 335-bed field hospital run by Care New England opened Monday in Cranston, while a 594-bed facility at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence will begin receiving COVID patients Tuesday. Fewer than a dozen patients were expected to be admitted in Cranston on Monday, while the Providence site anticipates about two dozen on its first day. (Fitzpatrick and Freyer, 11/30)

Philadelphia Inquirer: With Rising Hospitalizations And Thanksgiving Over, Officials Warn Public Not To Travel In December
More than 4,400 Pennsylvania coronavirus patients were in hospitals on Monday morning, a record increase that the state’s top health official called “a concerning milestone,” while New Jersey sharply cut the number of people allowed to gather outdoors and nixed high school ice hockey until January. While too early to know how much the virus had spread at Thanksgiving celebrations, officials advised anyone who traveled to quarantine and were already asking people to begin preparing to stay home for Christmas, Hanukkah, and other winter celebrations. (McDaniel, Steele, McCarthy and Laughlin, 11/30)

Idaho Statesman: Idaho COVID-19 ICU Admissions Hit Record High As State Adds 12 Deaths, 1,200-Plus Cases
Idaho hit a record high number of patients admitted to intensive care units because of COVID-19 on Friday and Saturday, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare data published Monday. The department reported a record 110 ICU patients with COVID-19, breaking the previous record of 108 patients set on Nov. 23. In the last two weeks, as ICU admissions have increased, the average number of patients in intensive care reached 94.9 per day. (Blanchard and Scholl, 11/30)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Has More People Per Capita Hospitalized For Coronavirus Than Any Other State But One
Indiana now ranks second in the nation for COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita, according to an IndyStar analysis of available data. Roughly 50 out of every 100,000 Hoosiers are now hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from last week that builds on an alarming trend that is straining the state’s hospital system. (Rudavsky and Hopkins, 12/1)

ABC News: Who Gets The Vaccine First And Who Decides? 3 Things To Know 
With the Food and Drug Administration set to evaluate the two COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the coming weeks -- good news for a country fatigued by what seems to be a never-ending pandemic -- who will get the first doses? On Tuesday, independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will weigh in on that very question. (Ebbs and Rivas, 11/30)

USA Today: First Responders? Long-Term Care Patients? CDC Committee Considering Who's In Group '1a' For COVID-19 Vaccine.
The committee that decides who gets the coronavirus vaccine first meets virtually Tuesday as officials prepare for distribution that could potentially come within two weeks. Look for discussion of two questions: Where should people in long-term care facilities be in the vaccine line and the power of states and governors to shift priorities for who gets immunized first. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is an independent group convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer advice on who should get specific vaccines and when. (Weise, 12/1)

In related vaccine news —

CNN: US Coronavirus: Fauci Asks Americans To Be 'Part Of The Solution' And Get Vaccinated As States Prepare For Distribution 
As the US prepares for the first round of vaccinations to tackle Covid-19, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called on the public to "be part of the solution" and get vaccinated once it is available. "Say, 'I'm not going to be one of the people that's going to be a steppingstone for the virus to go to somebody else. I'm going to be a dead end to the virus,'" Fauci told Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Monday. (Holcombe, 12/1)

CNN: When Can I Get A Coronavirus Vaccine?
Federal government officials are promising coronavirus vaccines soon -- some even before Christmas -- and states are gearing up to begin vaccinating Americans sometime in December. It almost sounds as if people will be lining up everywhere before New Year's to get a vaccine. But while millions of health care workers may be able to get immunized against the virus before the end of the year, the rest of the population is going to have to wait for months. (Fox, 11/30)

Courier-Journal: Kentucky Readies To Provide First Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine To Most At Risk By Mid-December
Calling it "incredible news," Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday Kentucky expects to get its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-December, followed by a second, larger batch of vaccine by the end of the month. "The light at the end of the tunnel's brighter than it's ever been," Beshear said at a news conference. The first doses will be given to those considered at greatest risk, such as nursing home residents and staff and some health workers. (Yetter, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Moderna, Pfizer Vaccines Head To FDA Review, Setting Speed Records 
No vaccine can arrive soon enough to blunt an anticipated blitz of coronavirus cases seeded by Thanksgiving travels and gatherings — a surge expected to materialize in the coming days and weeks. But less than a year after a novel virus began hopscotching around the world, U.S. government officials project an unprecedented scientific accomplishment: Approximately 40 million doses of two remarkably effective vaccines could be available by year’s end, enough for 20 million people to receive full protection. Manufacturing will continue to ramp up through early next year, and other vaccines are expected to follow to steadily increase the supply available each month. (Johnson, 11/30)

NPR: A COVID-19 Vaccine Has Come Quick, But Expert Says That's No Reason To Fear It 
Two COVID-19 vaccines are moving toward an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, and both have been found to be more than 94% effective. Yet despite progress on the vaccine front, misinformation continues to spread, fueling doubts among skeptics who may decide not to take the vaccine at all. Heidi Larson, the director of the Vaccine Confidence Project and author of the book Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away, has seen this before. As an anthropologist who has spent years traveling the globe studying vaccine misinformation, she says "any news about vaccines always raises questions." (Silva, 11/30)

NPR: Some Health Care Workers Are Wary Of Getting COVID-19 Vaccines
Health care workers are expected to be first in line to be offered a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available. It makes sense: Getting a safe, effective vaccine would help keep them and their patients healthy. Seeing doctors, nurses and medical aides getting COVID-19 vaccines would also set an example for the community. But the speed of COVID-19 vaccine development, along with concerns about political interference with the process, has left some health care workers on the fence about COVID-19 vaccines. (Huang, 12/1)

And Europe might win the race to market —

The Washington Post: Britain Races To Become The First Western Country To Approve A Coronavirus Vaccine 
Britain could become the first Western country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, with the highest hopes resting on Pfizer's candidate and the homegrown offering from Oxford University and AstraZeneca. Those hopes persist, accompanied by much flag waving, despite questions about the Oxford vaccine’s trials and effectiveness. (Bpoth and Adam, 11/30)

Bloomberg: Pfizer, BioNTech Seek Clearance to Sell Covid Vaccine in Europe
Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE sought regulatory clearance for their Covid-19 vaccine in Europe, putting the shot on track for a potential approval there before the end of the year. The formal application submitted on Monday caps a rolling review process that started on Oct. 6 and allowed Europe’s drugs regulator to examine data on the vaccine as it emerged. In November, a study of almost 44,000 people showed the shot prevented 95% of symptomatic coronavirus cases. There were no significant safety problems. (Kresge, 12/1)

In related news —

AP: Beware Of COVID-19 Scams As Vaccine Approaches FDA Approval
The coronavirus vaccine inching toward approval in the U.S. is desperately anticipated by weary Americans longing for a path back to normal life. But criminals are waiting, too, ready to use that desperation to their advantage, federal investigators say. Homeland Security investigators are working with Pfizer, Moderna and dozens of other drug companies racing to complete and distribute the vaccine and treatments for the virus. The goal: to prepare for the scams that are coming, especially after the mess of criminal activity this year with phony personal protective equipment, false cures and extortion schemes. (Long, 11/3)

The New York Times: Scott Atlas, A Trump Coronavirus Adviser, Resigns 
Dr. Scott W. Atlas, the former Stanford University radiologist who espoused controversial theories and rankled government scientists while advising President Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, resigned his White House position on Monday. The move was not entirely unexpected. Dr. Atlas joined the White House in August as a special government employee for a limited term after he caught Mr. Trump’s eye with his frequent appearances on Fox News over the summer. Dr. Atlas’s term was set to expire this week. (Gay Stolberg, 11/30)

Politico: Scott Atlas Resigns As Trump's Coronavirus Adviser
A radiologist with no previous experience fighting infectious disease, Atlas joined the White House in August after TV appearances on Fox News where he decried fears about Covid-19 as overblown. But the doctor — who won Trump's favor by repeatedly pitching the president on a rosier outlook about the worsening pandemic — clashed with the administration's public health experts, who warned that Atlas was misleading Trump about the severity of the crisis. Deborah Birx, an infectious disease specialist who had been tapped in February to serve as the White House's coronavirus coordinator, was increasingly marginalized this fall in favor of Atlas. (Diamond, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Scott Atlas Resigns As Trump’s Coronavirus Adviser 
Atlas had become widely disliked in the White House — even among aides who shared his view that the country should reopen and that officials should not worry about young, healthy people contracting the virus, according to two senior administration officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Atlas’s resignation was first reported by Fox News on Monday evening. The White House declined to comment. (Dawsey and Abutaleb, 11/30)

CNN: Dr. Scott Atlas Resigns From Trump Administration 
A source close to the task force told CNN on Monday that Atlas' departure comes as welcome news, as his discredited theories will no longer have a seat at the table. A separate official said the task force remains intact following Atlas' departure. Atlas' months-long stint in the White House was marked by controversy as he became a close adviser to Trump on the pandemic, adopting public stances on the virus much closer to the President's -- including decrying the idea that schools cannot reopen this fall as "hysteria" and pushing for the resumption of college sports. (Collins, Acosta and Cole, 11/30)

NPR: Dr. Scott Atlas, Special Coronavirus Adviser To Trump Resigns 
Throughout his tenure, he has insisted all of the guidance he's offered was based on scientific research. "I worked hard with a singular focus—to save lives and help Americans through this pandemic," Atlas wrote in a resignation letter posted to Twitter. He added that he "always relied on the latest science and evidence, without any political consideration or influence." (Romo, 11/30)

Politico: Trump Administration Leaves States To Grapple With How To Distribute Scarce Vaccines 
The Trump administration is shunting to the states hard decisions about which Americans will get the limited early supplies of coronavirus vaccines — setting up a confusing patchwork of distribution plans that could create unequal access to the life-saving shots. Federal and state officials agree that the nation’s 21 million health care workers should be first in line. But there is no consensus about how to balance the needs of other high-risk groups, including the 53 million adults aged 65 or older, 87 million essential workers and more than 100 million people with medical conditions that increase their vulnerability to the virus. (Owermohle, Roubein and Brennan, 11/30)

The Washington Post: White House Planning A Packed Season Of Holiday Parties 
The White House began the annual holiday party season on Monday afternoon, officials said, kicking off a spate of indoor holiday parties that commemorate various religious traditions over the season. While many public health professionals have asked Americans not to congregate in large group settings and avoid travel over the holidays because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 266,000 Americans and infected 13 million more, the White House is expected to throw more than a dozen indoor parties, including a large congressional ball on Dec. 10, officials say. (Dawsey, 11/30)

In news from the Pentagon —

The Hill: Pentagon Reports 12th Military COVID-19 Death 
The Defense Department has reported a 12th service member killed by the coronavirus, the fourth such military death reported this month. The latest fatality was included in Monday’s update of the online chart the Pentagon maintains of COVID-19 connected to the department. (Kheel, 11/30)

ABC News: How State Health Departments Might View Joe Biden's COVID Response Plan 
With the novel coronavirus surging in states across the country, state leaders are scrambling to develop plans to contain the outbreak as many critics say the Trump administration remains largely disengaged. But former health officials and experts told ABC News that those offices may have a stronger ally in their fight next year -- the incoming Biden administration. (Pereira, 11/29)

The Hill: Hispanic Leaders Coalesce In Support Of Lujan Grisham As HHS Secretary 
Hispanic political leaders are banding together in support of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who they see as the most qualified candidate to be President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a letter to Biden on Sunday, a broad majority of Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members called on Biden to appoint Lujan Grisham, who led the CHC as a member of Congress before becoming governor, and was New Mexico's top health care official. (Bernal, 11/30)

Stat: Burr Could Be A Key Public Health Champion In 2020 — Or A Major Obstacle 
Ask some key public health officials, and they’ll warn you that next year, President-elect Biden’s public health agenda could face a formidable roadblock: an empowered Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican with a long history of antagonizing the Food and Drug Administration and other key agencies. (Florko, 12/1)

Also —

NPR: What Joe Biden's Election Means For Abortion Rights
Like many abortion rights opponents, Tom McClusky is feeling good about battles won under President Trump during his four years in office. "He has probably done more pro-life things than many Republicans who have had two terms," McClusky said. McClusky, vice president of government affairs at the March for Life, points to Trump's reinstatement and expansion of the Mexico City policy, which forbids foreign aid groups who provide or refer patients for abortion from receiving U.S. funds, and similar rules for domestic family planning providers who receive funds through the federal Title X program. (McCammon, 12/1)

Politico: Biden, After The Fall 
Even if [Joe] Biden’s broken foot is forgotten by Inauguration Day, the episode may be remembered as the first of many in the Biden era, when political reporters are likely to find themselves scrutinizing a medical report, thanks to a simple reality: Aging Americans tend to need more health care. (Diamond, 11/30)

NPR: More Americans Pay Rent On Credit Cards As Lawmakers Fail To Pass Relief Bill
With their savings running out, many Americans are being forced to use credit cards to pay for bills they can't afford — even their rent. Housing experts and economists say this is a blinking-red warning light that without more relief from Congress, the economy is headed for even more serious trouble. There's been as much as a 70% percent increase from last year in people paying rent on a credit card, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. (Arnold, 11/30)

Lawmakers try to jump-start COVID-relief talks —

Politico: Bipartisan Senate Group Revives Coronavirus Relief Talks 
A bipartisan group of senators is trying to jump-start stalled coronavirus stimulus talks during the lame duck, with congressional leaders still at odds over providing more relief as cases and deaths spike ahead of the coming winter. The effort is an uphill battle given the entrenched positions of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP conference and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. So whatever this collection of senators can achieve is likely to be modest, if they can accomplish anything at all. (Everett, 11/30)

The Hill: Bipartisan Senate Group Holding Coronavirus Relief Talks Amid Stalemate 
A bipartisan group of senators is holding discussions to try to get a deal on a fifth round of coronavirus relief amid a months-long stalemate between congressional leadership and the White House. The talks, confirmed to The Hill by four sources, are one of the first signs of life for a potential coronavirus agreement as congressional Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the White House have remained far apart on both the price tag and the policy details. (Carney, 11/30)

CNN: Stimulus: Don't Expect A Second Check This Year. But Here's What Congress Could Do 
Even with coronavirus spiking and new restrictions taking effect, Congress remains stalled on fresh relief for Americans in need. While there's support from both Republicans and Democrats for sending out another round of payments, it's unlikely Americans will get a second round of stimulus checks before the end of the year -- and lawmakers have been unable to come to any agreement on a broader economic aid package. (Lobosco, 11/30)

In related news about the pandemic's economic toll —

The Washington Post: GAO Report Says Unemployment Numbers Have Been Inflated By Backlogs During Pandemic
The nation’s weekly unemployment statistics have been plagued by backlogs, fraud and inconsistent data reporting state by state, making them a seriously flawed measurement that has likely overstated the number of individuals claiming unemployment during the pandemic, according to a federal report released Monday. The Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan auditing agency that works for Congress, was unsparing about the problems with unemployment statistics, as part of a lengthy report that looked at the country’s response to the coronavirus. (Rosenberg, 11/30)

Politico: DeSantis Urges Congress To Pass Unemployment Relief
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday urged Congress to move quickly to pass an unemployment relief package for people left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis made his remarks to reporters Monday in Kissimmee, a central Florida city that is home to thousands of Walt Disney World workers. The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to lay off more than 30,000 employees, including 18,000 at the Orlando theme park. (Dixon, 11/30)

Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘I Feel Stuck’: Philadelphians Struggle With The Effects Of Unemployment On Mental Health
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is 7.3% as of October, 2.7 percentage points higher from the same time last year. Unemployment rates spiked in April at 16.1%, and have gradually decreased since, although certain sectors such as hospitality and retail are still struggling to recover jobs lost in the spring. And last month Philadelphia introduced new restrictions to manage the rising number of COVID-19 cases, causing some employees in those industries to go through a second round of layoffs. (Ao, 12/1)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Hunger Relief Group Philabundance Lost Nearly $1 Million In Cyberattack
The Philadelphia region’s largest hunger-relief group was nearing completion of its $12 million Philabundance Community Kitchen in July when the nonprofit’s finance office wired $923,533 to pay a construction bill. At least employees thought they did. “Weeks later we realized it was sent to a fraudulent account,” Loree Jones, who took over in June as Philabundance’s chief executive, said Monday. (Brubaker, 12/1)

The Hill: Poll: Democrats Nearly Twice As Likely As GOP To Call Pandemic 'Extremely Serious' 
Nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans describe the coronavirus as “extremely serious,” according to polling released Monday from the de Beaumont Foundation. Sixty-two percent of Democrats called the current state of the pandemic “extremely serious,” while 33 percent of Republicans said the same. Eighty-six percent of African Americans said the pandemic was "very serious" or "extremely serious," compared to 74 percent of adults overall. (Budryk, 11/30)

Lawmakers grapple with their own COVID cases —

The Hill: Georgia GOP Lawmaker Tests Positive For COVID-19 
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to his office. Scott is the third Georgia GOP lawmaker to contract COVID-19 and the 26th House member to test positive for the coronavirus. Two other House members have tested positive for having antibodies, suggesting they had COVID-19 at one point. (Brufke, 11/30)

AP: Maine Lawmaker To Miss Swearing In Because Of COVID-19
The Maine Legislature will be missing at least one member because of COVID-19 when lawmakers convene this week. Republican Sen.-elect Rick Bennett, of Oxford, announced Sunday on social media that he tested positive for the virus, and will be quarantining at least through Dec. 12. He said he’s experiencing mild symptoms including a sore throat, aches and fatigue. (Sharp and Whittle, 11/30)

AP: GOP Aide Sent Home From Colorado Legislature Had COVID-19
As Colorado’s Democrat-led Legislature convened Monday for a special session, a GOP staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 attended a morning House session and was sent home. In response to the incident, Colorado House Speaker KC Becker, a Democrat from Boulder, called it a “reckless breach” of the Capitol’s safety protocols. (Nieberg, 12/1)

The Hill: Grassley Returns To Capitol After Having Coronavirus 
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) returned to the Capitol on Monday after testing positive for the coronavirus earlier this month. Grassley, 87, did not experience symptoms and was cleared by his doctor to return to the Capitol, according to a statement from his office. “While I continued working from home during my quarantine, I’m glad to be back in the office working for Iowans," Grassley said. (Carney, 11/30)

In other legislative news —

Politico: Why The Next Congress Is Unlikely To Legalize Marijuana 
On Election Day, two staunchly conservative states legalized recreational marijuana. A third of Americans now live in a state where weed is legal for adult use. Fresh Gallup polling says 68 percent of the country favors having legal access to marijuana. But the Senate operates under a different reality. Many of the Senate’s older, conservative members are still resistant to any path to legalization for marijuana. (Fertig, 11/29)

Stat: The PPE Crisis Didn’t Go Away: Across The U.S., Grassroots Supply Networks Are Trying To Fill The Void
Christine Garcia was scrambling. As the San Francisco regional director at an agency for children with mental health and behavioral issues, Garcia and her colleagues had seen the latest guidelines from local health agencies mandating the use of masks at facilities like theirs. It seemed like common sense, except for one thing. “There were no masks to be had,” Garcia recalled. (Hwang, 12/1)

CIDRAP: COVID-Related Nursing Shortages Hit Hospitals Nationwide 
COVID-19–related shortages of personal protective equipment and drugs continue to plague the US healthcare system, but now in the third US pandemic wave, nursing and other staffing shortages are sweeping the country. An Associated Press report found that at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, the nurse-to-patient ratio went from its recommended 1:1 to 1:4, and Andrew Pavia, MD, chief of the pediatric infectious disease division at the University of Utah School of Medicine said it's the same in his state. (McLernon, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: California Urges Weekly COVID Testing For Hospital Workers
After months of rallies, protests and pleas by healthcare workers for better coronavirus protection, California has unveiled some of the nation’s strongest COVID-19 testing guidelines for hospital personnel, many of whom are bracing for a post-Thanksgiving virus surge. The guidelines, announced in an all-facilities letter from the California Department of Public Health, stipulate that all workers at general acute-care hospitals — the kind most people go to for short-term care — be tested weekly for the coronavirus. Tests must also be administered to all newly admitted patients. (Smith, 11/30)

Also —

Boston Globe: Doctors Have Message For Patients: Don’t Skip Non-Urgent Appointments
Health leaders, even as they confront a tidal wave of COVID-19 infections, are urging anxious patients not to defer critical screenings and appointments as they did during and in the weeks after the spring surge of the virus. Across the country, non-urgent surgeries and other medical appointments were halted in March to free up health care workers to treat COVID-19 patients and to conserve precious protective equipment like masks and gowns. But when the surge ebbed in May, droves of patients still shied away from doctors’ offices and outpatient hospital visits for such things as childhood vaccines and cardiac care, fearful of being infected with the virus by other patients or caregivers. (Lazar, 11/30)

The Washington Post: He Was ‘Doctor Of The Year’ For Helping Thousands Of Women Get Pregnant. But DNA Tests Unraveled A Dark Secret.
After a nearly 13-year career as a detective with the Clackamas County, Ore., Sheriff’s Office, Wendi Babst thought a genealogy kit was the perfect Black Friday gift for herself following her retirement. As she scrolled through her results in March 2018, she discovered she had matched with a large group of first cousins. There was just one problem: Babst didn’t have any cousins, aunts or uncles. Her suspicions grew deeper when she also found matches for numerous half-siblings. Babst had been conceived after her mother, Cathy Holm, was artificially inseminated at a Las Vegas fertility clinic — supposedly with her husband’s sperm. (Bella, 12/1)

ABC News: Meet The ICU Doctor Who Is Going Viral For Embracing A COVID-19 Patient 
Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of staff at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, was on his 252nd consecutive day working during the coronavirus pandemic when he took time to comfort a patient on Thanksgiving Day. Varon, who leads the hospital's coronavirus unit, was dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE) when he stopped to wrap his arms around a man being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). (Cirone and Griffin, 11/30)

NPR: Coronavirus Was In U.S. Weeks Earlier Than Previously Known, Study Says
The coronavirus was present in the U.S. weeks earlier than scientists and public health officials previously thought, and before cases in China were publicly identified, according to a new government study published Monday. The virus and the illness that it causes, COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, but it wasn't until Jan. 19 that the first confirmed COVID-19 case, from a traveler returning from China, was found in the U.S. However, new findings published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest that the coronavirus, known officially as SARS-CoV-2, had infected people in the U.S. even earlier. (Diaz, 12/1)

Bloomberg: U.S. Covid Cases Found As Early As December 2019, Says Study
Testing has found Covid-19 infections in the U.S. in December 2019, according to a study, providing further evidence indicating the coronavirus was spreading globally weeks before the first cases were reported in China. The study published Monday identified 106 infections from 7,389 blood samples collected from donors in nine U.S. states between Dec. 13 and Jan. 17. The samples, collected by the American Red Cross, were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing to detect if there were antibodies against the virus. (12/1)

In other science and research developments —

CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 May Enter The Brain Through The Nose
A small German autopsy study of COVID-19 victims in Nature Neuroscience today demonstrates the presence of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in nasal structures and the brain, suggesting that the virus crosses into the central nervous system (CNS) via nasal surfaces that contain nerve endings for smell. (11/30)

CIDRAP: Estradiol Hormone Therapy May Protect Against COVID-19 Death
A study late last week in BMC Medicine found that pre-menopausal women with higher natural levels of the sex hormone estradiol are 15% more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 than men but less likely to become seriously ill or die, pointing to a potential protective role of sex hormones in COVID-19 outcomes. The study also found that estradiol hormone therapy for peri- and post-menopausal women significantly improves survival rates for infected women. (11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: For Covid Long-Haulers, A Little-Known Diagnosis Offers Possible Treatments—And New Challenges 
Some patients with long-term Covid symptoms are getting more potential treatment options as doctors diagnose them with a little-known syndrome called POTS. It’s a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that can have a variety of causes, and it existed before Covid. One common trigger is an infection, such as a virus. Now some doctors believe that the coronavirus is triggering the disorder in some people, providing an explanation for debilitating symptoms including dramatically elevated heart rates from small movements, dizziness and extreme fatigue after even minor physical activity. (Reddy, 11/30)

CIDRAP: Black Kids Bear Brunt Of Severe COVID-Linked Syndrome
A study of 223 patients younger than 20 years hospitalized with the rare but serious COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in New York City found that black children were disproportionately affected. The population-based cohort study, published as a research letter today in JAMA Network Open, involved analysis of the medical records and lab data of all pediatric MIS-C patients reported to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from Mar 1 to Jun 30. (Van Beusekom, 11/30)

AP: First Blood Test To Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Goes On Sale
A company has started selling the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, a leap for the field that could make it much easier for people to learn whether they have dementia. It also raises concern about the accuracy and impact of such life-altering news. Independent experts are leery because key test results have not been published and the test has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — it’s being sold under more general rules for commercial labs. But they agree that a simple test that can be done in a doctor’s office has long been needed. (Marchione, 11/30)

The Hill: First Blood Test To Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Hits Market 
A U.S. firm has announced the first diagnostic blood test designed to help detect Alzheimer’s disease, although it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the company has not yet published accuracy data. The test, produced by C2N Diagnostics, measures amyloid particles as well as forms of a protein indicating increased genetic risk for the disease, The Associated Press reported on Monday. It combines them in a formula with other data such as individual patients’ age to determine their risk of amyloid buildup in the brain. (Budryk, 11/30)

In related news about dementia —

The Washington Post: Money Trouble Can Precede Dementia Diagnosis By Years, Study Finds 
The anecdotes Lauren Nicholas was hearing were all similarly alarming: People with dementia were experiencing “catastrophic financial events” — often before they or their loves ones knew there was anything wrong with them. “Once you miss a bunch of payments, the bank owns your house or you can’t get credit anymore, so I think we were kind of concerned about why this is able to happen,” said Nicholas, a health economist and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Deteriorating financial capabilities have long been considered one of the earliest signs of cognitive decline, but Nicholas noted that experts still had “relatively limited understanding of how frequent it is and when it’s happening.” (Chiu, 11/30)

The Washington Post: 10-Minute Exercising May Slow Progression To Dementia For Those With Mild Cognitive Impairment 
People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who engage in as little as 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a few times a week may be helping to slow the progression to Alzheimer’s or similar dementia, new research suggests. MCI, a decline in memory and thinking skills beyond what occurs normally with aging, is considered an early steppingstone to more serious dementia, although not everyone with MCI progresses to Alzheimer’s. (11/29)

McKnight's Senior Living: ‘Gossip Bots’ May One Day Serve As Personal Caregiver Assistants To Older Adults With Dementia 
A robot named Pepper is being eyed as a solution to addressing overwhelmed frontline healthcare workers and older adults living in assisted living facilities experiencing loneliness due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A University of Minnesota Duluth professor is researching the use of social robots — or gossip bots — to interact with and monitor assisted living residents. Pepper is a social robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics based in Tokyo, Japan. Using human-like behaviors, the robots can maintain eye contact with older adults and encourage them to be more active.  (Bonvissuto, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Surge Threatens Hospital Finances
Hospital operating margins are poised to fall as COVID-19 cases increase, new data show. Although the federal relief funding buoyed hospitals, the median hospital operating margin still dropped 1.2 percentage points (8.5%) year over year, and 1.7 percentage points (18.7%) for January through October compared to the same prior-year period, according to Kaufman Hall's analysis of around 900 hospitals. (Kacik, 11/30)

Crain's Cleveland Business: Ohio Hospitals Had Healthy Profit Margins Before Pandemic
The Ohio Health Market Review 2020 offers a snapshot of where hospitals in the state stood before the pandemic, as well as a glimpse into how health insurers fared in the first half of 2020. Hospital profitability increased last year in the Cleveland/Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati/Dayton areas, according to the review, which is the 15th report from Allan Baumgarten, a Minnesota-based independent healthcare analyst who publishes reports on the markets in Ohio and a few other states. (Coutré, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Physician Fee-Schedule Changes Could Upend Compensation, Experts Say
Providers are struggling to predict how changes to primary- and specialty-care payments will shake out, because nobody knows how COVID-19 will affect their practices in the next two quarters. They have a month to prepare. The proposed rule would lower the fee schedule's conversion factor from $36.09 to $32.26, a decrease of $3.83 or 10.6%. It would also make several changes to evaluation and management services and codes, including increases in their relative value and changes to coding criteria. Those moves would probably help clinicians that deliver a lot of those services, but proceduralists will see their revenues decline if CMS doesn't make significant changes in its final rule. (Brady, 11/30)

360Dx: Labs Face Turnaround Challenges, CMS Billing Complications
With COVID-19 case numbers rising and CMS set to implement new reimbursement rules at the start of the year, managing test turnaround times will become even more urgent for clinical laboratories. Last month, CMS announced that as of January 1, 2021, it would pay its highest reimbursement rate, $100 per test, to labs that complete high-throughput testing within two calendar days of specimen collection. For tests taking longer than two days, the reimbursement rate will be $75 per test. (Bonislawski, 11/30)

Also —

AP: Teladoc Eyes Several New Phases Of Growth For Telemedicine
Fresh off a big acquisition and riding a wave of customer growth, Teladoc Health is ready to do more for patients. CEO Jason Gorevic said the telemedicine provider can play a big role in helping people manage high blood pressure, diabetes or other chronic conditions. Plus he wants customers to think well beyond primary care when they consider telemedicine, which involves care delivered remotely, often with a live video connection through smartphones or tablets. (Murphy, 11/29)

Stat: FDA Spikes A Drug Approval Program That Inadvertently Led To Price Hikes
After years of mounting criticism, the federal government is planning to end a controversial program that forces drug makers to win regulatory approval for medicines already on the market that were never actually approved. The Unapproved Drugs Initiative was launched in 2006 to gather data on numerous medicines that had been available for years on a grandfathered basis because they predated stricter approval requirements. More recently, the initiative generated complaints that some companies established monopolies after winning regulatory approval for a medicine, which in turn, led to big price hikes or shortages in some cases. (Silverman, 11/30)

In HIV drug news —

The New York Times: Berry-Flavored H.I.V. Medication Is Ready For Babies 
The first infant formulation of dolutegravir, an important first-line H.I.V. medication, will be available soon under an agreement between several pharmaceutical companies and global health initiatives. The new formulation will be strawberry flavored and come in a tablet that dissolves in water or juice so babies can swallow it. (McNeil Jr., 11/30)

Stat: Medicines Patent Pool Expands Deal For Access To Key HIV Drug
In a bid to expand access to a key AIDS drug, ViiV Healthcare and the Medicines Patent Pool reached an agreement that will allow generic manufacturers to provide the Tivicay treatment to four upper-middle-income countries by 50% to 70% off existing pricing. The arrangement will make it possible for lower-cost versions to reach Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia after the countries balked at being excluded from a 2014 licensing agreement that covers dozens of lower and middle-income nations. (Silverman, 11/30)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Reuters: AstraZeneca Sells Former Blockbuster Cholesterol Drug For $320 Million
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it would sell rights to its erstwhile blockbuster cholesterol drug, Crestor, to German pharmaceutical company Gruenenthal GmbH for an upfront payment of $320 million as the British drugmaker focuses on its cancer treatments portfolio. (B, 12/1)

Stat: In Big Bet, Biogen Pays $1.5B For Rights To Once-Failed Depression Treatment
Biogen, placing a major bet on a once-failed treatment, is paying $1.53 billion for the commercial rights to a Sage Therapeutics’ oral depression drug that disappointed in its last major clinical trial. Under the agreement, announced Friday, Biogen will give Sage $875 million in cash and buy $650 million worth of its stock at a 40% premium. In exchange, Biogen is entitled to 50% of the U.S. profits from zuranolone, a depression drug that could win approval in 2022 if proven safe and effective, and an earlier-stage treatment for movement disorders. (Garde and Feuerstein, 11/27)

Stat: Bullish On Its Asthma Treatment, Kinaset Forges Ahead In Unusual Times
Launching a clinical trial for a drug intended to treat severe asthma during a respiratory pandemic — particularly one that seems to hit people with some types of asthma particularly hard — could be a risky move. But that’s precisely what Kinaset Therapeutics is planning to do early next year. (Sheridan, 11/30)

Stat: DeepMind's Protein-Folding AI Tackles One Of Biology's Biggest Challenges
At the start of a biennial contest to predict the structure of proteins, the expectations for Google’s artificial intelligence unit DeepMind couldn’t have been higher. Think Mike Tyson in the mid-1980s: Everyone was expecting a knockout. (Ross, 11/30)

AP: Study: Students Falling Behind In Math During Pandemic
A disproportionately large number of poor and minority students were not in schools for assessments this fall, complicating efforts to measure the pandemic’s effects on some of the most vulnerable students, a not-for-profit company that administers standardized testing said Tuesday. Overall, NWEA’s fall assessments showed elementary and middle school students have fallen measurably behind in math, while most appear to be progressing at a normal pace in reading since schools were forced to abruptly close in March and pickup online. (Thompson, 12/1)

NPR: 'Some Good News': Student Reading Gains Are Steady, While Math Slows Down
A sweeping new review of national test data suggests the pandemic-driven jump to online learning has had little impact on children's reading growth and has only somewhat slowed gains in math. That positive news comes from the testing nonprofit NWEA and covers nearly 4.4 million U.S. students in grades three through eight. But the report also includes a worrying caveat: Many of the nation's most vulnerable students are missing from the data. "Preliminary fall data suggests that, on average, students are faring better than we had feared," says Beth Tarasawa, head of research at NWEA, in a news release accompanying the report. (Turner, 12/1)

In related news about remote learning and how it affects children's health —

Politico: California Families Sue State Over Distance Learning Inequities
Seven families took California to court Monday, accusing the state of failing to ensure "basic educational equality" during a prolonged period of remote learning brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs say the state isn't providing the equipment, training and support that low-income families desperately need and that it has left it up to districts and teachers to navigate the challenges on their own, providing scant guidance or oversight. Meanwhile, they say, families have been forced to pay for basic school supplies or make do without a computer for each child or reliable internet access. (Murphy, 11/30)

The New York Times: Ways To Get Your Kids Moving 
As any parent overseeing homeschool knows: Zoom P.E. is hardly a hard-driving Peloton class. It’s more like your kid lying on the floor of the living room doing halfhearted leg-lifts by the light of her laptop. Many students, particularly tweens and teens, are not moving their bodies as much as they are supposed to be — during a pandemic or otherwise. (60 minutes per day for ages 6 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) A March 2020 report in The Lancet offers scientific evidence as to why your kids won’t get off the couch: As children move through adolescence, they indeed become more sedentary, which is associated with greater risk of depression by the age of 18. Being physically active is important for their physical health as well as mental health. (Levin, 11/28)

The New York Times: New Guidelines Cover Opioid Use After Children’s Surgery
Opioids are very effective drugs for managing pain, but they can also be scary drugs, with their potential for misuse and abuse. Given the current opioid epidemic in the United States, some parents worry about whether they are safe for children, while many pain experts worry that fear of opioids among parents and among physicians may contribute to the undertreatment of pediatric pain. In new guidelines published in November in the journal JAMA Surgery, a panel convened by the American Pediatric Surgical Association Outcomes and Evidence-based Practice Committee set out some guidelines for how to think about — and prescribe — opioids for children to relieve pain after surgery. (Klass, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Assistance Programs Not Enough For Children Affected By Opioid Crisis
Researchers say the opioid epidemic has resulted in a rise in children living with unmet social needs that any aid programs are ill-equipped to address. An estimated 8.7 million children ages 17 and younger currently live in households with at least one parent with a substance use disorder, according to a new report released Monday by the Urban Institute. Among those with substance use disorder, about 623,000 parents had an opioid use disorder and lived with children. (Ross Johnson, 11/30)

In testing and tracing news —

ABC News: Nonpartisan Report Warns Of COVID-19 Testing Shortages In Over Half US States, Territories 
Rapid tests and reagents -- the medical devices used to process COVID-19 tests -- are in short supply as the U.S. heads deeper into the winter months, according to a survey of 47 states and territories conducted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office in their latest report on the CARES Act. The report also looks ahead to vaccine distribution and administration concerns. (Haslett, 11/30)

KHN: How COVID-19 Highlights The Uncertainty Of Medical Testing 
Dr. Jacqueline Chu considered the man with a negative coronavirus test on the other end of the phone, and knew, her heart dropping, that the test result was not enough to clear him for work. The man was a grocery store clerk — an essential worker — and the sole earner for his family. A 14-day isolation period would put him at risk of getting fired or not having enough money to make rent that month. But he had just developed classic COVID-19 symptoms, and many others around him in Chelsea, Massachusetts, had confirmed cases. Even with the negative test, his chances of having the disease were too high to dismiss. (Ganguli, 12/1)

KHN: Where COVID Is On The Menu: Failed Contact Tracing Leaves Diners In The Dark
COVID-19 outbreaks have affected restaurants throughout Los Angeles County, from a Panda Express in Sun Valley to the University of California’s Bruin Cafe. If you live in Los Angeles, you can access health department reports about these outbreaks online. But in most of the country, diners are left in the dark about which restaurants have been linked to outbreaks of the virus. (Almendrala, 12/1)

In other public health news —

The Hill: Health Experts Warn Of Tough Holiday Season For Seniors 
Health experts are warning that the holiday season poses an increased COVID-19 threat to older Americans, who are already one of the most vulnerable demographics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 million coronavirus cases have been reported since Nov. 23, despite recommendations that people forgo traveling for Thanksgiving and limit celebrations to members of their household. But many are still holding family gatherings outside the CDC guidelines with people in the high-risk 65-and-up age group. (Baker and Bautista, 11/30)

The Washington Post: No Game Days. No Bars. The Pandemic Is Forcing Some Men To Realize They Need Deeper Friendships.
For more than a decade, psychologists have written about the “friendship crisis” facing many men. ... Male friendships are often rooted in “shoulder-to-shoulder” interactions, such as watching a football game or playing video games, while women’s interactions are more face-to-face, such as grabbing a coffee or getting together for a glass of wine, said Geoffrey Greif, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work who wrote a book about male friendship. ... Because of this, many men have probably had a harder time than women figuring out how to adapt their friendships in a pandemic that is keeping them apart. (Schmidt, 11/30)

NPR: Why Our Brains Struggle To Make Sense Of COVID-19 Risks
Millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving despite pleas not to do so from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force says if you're one of them, assume you're infected, get tested and do not go near your friends or family members without a mask on. Because COVID-19 is a largely invisible threat, our brains struggle to comprehend it as dangerous. Dr. Gaurav Suri, a neuroscientist at San Francisco State University, explains how habits can help make the risks of the virus less abstract. (11/30)

The Atlantic: Are COVID-19 Bubbles A Good Idea?
Americans’ social lifelines are beginning to fray. As the temperature drops and the gray twilight arrives earlier each day, comfortably mingling outside during the pandemic is getting more difficult across much of the country. For many people, it’s already impossible. To combat the loneliness of winter, some of us might be tempted to turn to pods, otherwise known as bubbles. The basic idea is that people who don’t live together can still spend time together indoors, as long as their pod stays small and exclusive. And pods aren’t just for the winter: Since March, parents have formed child-care bubbles. Third graders have been assigned to learning pods. Some NBA teams were in a bubble for months. A July survey of 1,000 Americans found that 47 percent said they were in a bubble. (Gutman, 11/30)

Des Moines Register: How COVID-19 Is Affecting Iowans' Mental Health, And How To Get Help
Here’s the most important thing mental health therapists tell Iowans who have been anxious and sad about the coronavirus pandemic: It’s normal to feel that way. “A lot of people who haven’t really struggled with their mental health before are struggling now,” said Rochelle Honey, a therapist who is helping answer calls to a hotline as part of the state’s COVID Recovery Iowa program. (Leys, 11/29)

KHN: Amid COVID And Racial Unrest, Black Churches Put Faith In Mental Health Care
Wilma Mayfield used to visit a senior center in Durham, North Carolina, four days a week and attend Lincoln Memorial Baptist Church on Sundays, a ritual she’s maintained for nearly half a century. But over the past 10 months, she’s seen only the inside of her home, the grocery store and the pharmacy. Most of her days are spent worrying about COVID-19 and watching TV. It’s isolating, but she doesn’t talk about it much. (Pattani, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Rockefeller Center Limits Christmas Tree Viewings To 5 Minutes 
Holiday revelers, take note: You can still see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree this year, but don’t plan on gazing for long. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Tishman Speyer, the real-estate company that owns and manages Rockefeller Center, announced a series of coronavirus pandemic-related safety protocols Monday for visitors planning to take in the tree. Chief among them: a five-minute viewing limit. (Passy, 11/30)

Politico: Cuomo Unveils 5-Point ‘Winter Plan’ To Combat Covid-19 In New York
With more than 3,500 New Yorkers hospitalized for Covid-19, health systems across the state must begin preparing to increase their bed capacities, balancing patient loads and identifying staff — including retired nurses and doctors — to work at emergency field facilities if they are needed, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. The governor announced the actions as part of a new five-pronged “winter plan” that seeks to combat Covid-19 through a new Department of Health initiative on hospital capacity, enhanced testing, K-8 in-person learning, a public education campaign on small gatherings and vaccine distribution. (Young and Gronewold, 11/30)

ABC News: New York Bar Declares Itself 'Autonomous Zone' To Skirt COVID-19 Restrictions 
Bucking government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions, the owners of a bar in a virus hot spot of New York City said they've declared their watering hole an "autonomous zone" offering food and booze on the house, but asking visitors for tips and telling authorities they're not welcome. (Hutchinson, 11/30)

The Hill: New Jersey To Halt Indoor Sports, Cap Outside Gatherings
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said on Monday the state plans to halt indoor youth and adult sports and cap outdoor gatherings to 25 people by the end of the week. Murphy said during a press conference that the state was canceling indoor youth and adult sports starting on Saturday at 6 a.m. through Jan. 2. Collegiate-level and professional sports teams are the only exceptions to the new rule, he said, adding that he hopes and intends for winter sports to start in January. (Coleman, 11/30)

In news from California and Washington —

The Hill: Newsom Considers New California Stay-At-Home Orders, Warns Hospitals Could Be Overwhelmed By Christmas 
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Monday that California is considering new stay-at-home orders to prevent hospital intensive care units from being overwhelmed by Christmas. The governor suggested during a briefing that if hospitalizations and intensive care unit statistics continue to jump, the state is “going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic action.” (Coleman, 11/30)

The New York Times: Los Angeles Reverses Decision To Close Virus Testing Site For A Film Shoot 
The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, said early Tuesday that the city would reopen a coronavirus testing site at Union Station, a major transit hub, after residents criticized a decision to temporarily close the site during a film shoot. The movie, “He’s All That,” which features the TikTok star Addison Rae and is a reboot of the 1999 romantic comedy “She’s All That,” had received approval to film inside and outside the station on Tuesday, the city and county’s film office said. About 170 cast and crew members were expected to take part in the movie scenes, the film office said. (Vigdor and Opam, 12/1)

AP: Washington Launches Statewide COVID-19 Notification App
Washington state on Monday launched a statewide coronavirus exposure app, joining more than a dozen states that have already enlisted the use of smartphone technology in the ongoing effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People with iPhones can now enable the ‘exposure notifications’ feature that is already in their phone’s settings, and Android devices can download the app, called WA Notify. Use of the app is voluntary and users can opt out at any time. The statewide expansion comes after a monthlong pilot project used by 3,500 participants — including students, faculty and staff — at the University of Washington. (La Corte, 12/1)

In news from Ohio, Michigan and Iowa —

The Hill: Articles Of Impeachment Filed Against GOP Ohio Governor Over Coronavirus Orders 
A group of Ohio Republicans has officially filed articles of impeachment against Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in response to his coronavirus orders. GOP state Rep. John Becker of Clermont County led a group including fellow Republican state Reps. Nino Vitale, Candice Keller and Paul Zeltwanger in filing 12 articles of impeachment against DeWine, calling it an "effort to restore the rule of law." (Seipel, 11/30)

The Hill: Michigan Restaurants Urged To Defy Governor's COVID-19 Restrictions 
The two owners of a Michigan restaurant chain reportedly wrote a letter asking other restaurateurs to continue operations regardless of whether or not state Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and state health department officials implement stricter lockdowns on indoor dining. The Detroit Free Press reports that Joe and Rosalie Vicari, the owners of Andiamo restaurants in Detroit, penned a letter asking restaurants to fight any closures issued following the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association that seeks to halt the state’s attempts at shutting dining operations down to prevent COVID-19 transmission. (Kelley, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Michigan Couple Dies From Covid-19 In The Same Minute 
For a couple who had spent five decades by each other’s sides, Leslie and Patricia McWaters couldn’t have been more different. Patricia, 78, was punctual, no-nonsense and to the point, her family said. She had to be, as a nurse for 35 years in a Jackson, Mich., hospital’s operating room. Retired truck driver Leslie, 75, or LD as he was known to friends (which was pretty much anyone he met), cracked jokes, appreciated one-liners and was always fun-loving, according to the family. ... Shortly before he died, LD told Sisk that he wished other people understood how excruciatingly painful the symptoms of the disease caused by the virus were. He was completely different from his grinning self of the day before, when he assured his daughter that he would overcome the virus. (Kornfield, 11/30)

Des Moines Register: COVID-19 In Iowa: More Long-Term Care Facilities Report Coronavirus Outbreaks
Coronavirus infections are swelling in Iowa's nursing homes, with another three facilities reporting outbreaks Monday. Statewide, 156 nursing homes in Iowa had outbreaks Monday morning, up from 153 on Sunday. The total has increased by about 10 in the past week and is up from 114 on Nov. 19, when Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that 20 more facilities had outbreaks. (11/30)

CNN: China's Mishandling Of The Early Stages Of Covid-19 Pandemic Revealed By Leaked Documents 
A group of frontline medical workers, likely exhausted, stand huddled together on a video-conference call as China's most powerful man raises his hand in greeting. It is February 10 in Beijing and President Xi Jinping, who for weeks has been absent from public view, is addressing hospital staff in the city of Wuhan as they battle to contain the spread of a still officially unnamed novel coronavirus. (Walsh, 12/1)

The Hill: Leaked Documents Show China Mishandled Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Report 
Leaked documents from China show the country mishandled the early COVID-19 pandemic through misleading public data and three-week delays in test results, CNN reported Monday. A whistleblower, who worked in the Chinese health care system, provided 117 pages of internal documents from the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to CNN. (Coleman, 11/30)

In other global developments —

Reuters: China Gave COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate To North Korea's Kim: U.S. Analyst 
China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources. Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated. (Shin, 11/30 )

Reuters: COVID-19 Drives 40% Spike In Number Of People Needing Humanitarian Aid, U.N. Says 
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a 40% increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance around the globe, the United Nations said on Tuesday, as it appealed for roughly $35 billion to help many of those expected to be in need next year. “If everyone who will need humanitarian aid next year lived in one country, it would be the world’s fifth largest nation,” U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock said. (Nichols, 12/1)

The New York Times: After 4 Years Of Trump, Medicare And Medicaid Badly Need Attention 
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to “marshal the forces of science” in his administration. Undoubtedly he needs to start by bolstering the credibility of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a third health agency, central to the lives of older Americans, low-income families and the disabled, is sorely in need of his attention. Science has also been under assault at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which provides federal health insurance to more than 130 million Americans at a cost of more than $1 trillion, nearly twice the Pentagon’s budget. (Peter B. Bach, 12/1)

Fox News: Fauci Admits What We All Knew Months Ago -- Schools Must Stay Open
In case you missed it over the Thanksgiving weekend, the country's public health establishment admitted it has tortured your children for eight months for no apparent reason. Sixty million American children have been languishing in their rooms since spring, sitting in front of screens, learning nothing, isolated from human contact, in many cases driven to mental illness -- and there was no reason for any of that. The experts were wrong. They had no idea what they were doing. But the most amazing part is that they knew they were wrong when they did it, but they kept lying about it, even as American children began to kill themselves. (Tucker Carlson, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: De Blasio Gets Schooled On Reopening
Perhaps New York City parents didn’t know their own strength. In less than two weeks, Mayor Bill de Blasio went from shutting down in-person learning in the city’s public schools to reopening it for a large share of students. The reversal shows how public pressure can curb the power of the teachers union. (11/30)

The New York Times: On Pandemic Schooling, De Blasio Is Actually Leading
Sometimes it seems like the single point of consensus in America’s fractured politics is contempt for New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio. Even before Covid, animus against him was a widely recognized phenomenon. (“Why Bill de Blasio is so hated, explained,” said a Vox headline from last year.) During the protests set off by the killing of George Floyd, the left — including many of the mayor’s current and former staff members — excoriated him for refusing to stand up to the New York Police Department. In a failed bid to save his House seat in a pro-Trump district, the Democrat Max Rose ran an ad in which he simply faced the camera and said, “Bill de Blasio is the worst mayor in the history of New York City.” But if de Blasio has often been a bad mayor, when it comes to educating kids during the pandemic, he’s been one of the best big city leaders in the country. That’s both to his credit and to others’ disgrace. (Michelle Goldberg, 11/30)

Stat: The U.S. Must Support Innovation As Well As Access To Care For All 
The deadly spread of Covid-19 around the world has highlighted the importance of innovation and cooperation between the various actors in the U.S. health care system. It has shown what can be achieved in an environment that rewards innovation and promotes scientific advances. But it has also exposed that the system does not work for everyone. (Giovanni Caforio, 12/1)

USA Today: COVID Turns Everyone Into A Potential Serial Killer Just By Breathing
As coronavirus burns an exponential path of destruction across the American terrain, an insidious blanket of shadow damage is quietly unfurling in its name. It’s not just the death and scarred lungs. COVID-19 has turned every man, woman and child into a potential serial killer. So far, I’ve been fortunate. But not a day goes by that I don’t wonder whether my streak of good luck is about to end, because the person in front of me in the grocery line is wearing a mask below his nose — expelling a cloud of radioactive COVID dust that I cannot escape, short of dropping $50 on the conveyor belt and trying to outrun the security guard. (Michael J. Stern, 11/30)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Politicians Chose Votes Over Saving Lives. Hospitals Confront The Aftermath.
Republican opponents of Obamacare tried hard to derail the health insurance law by invoking the image of “death panels” that determine who lives and who dies. That very reality now looms at hospitals here in St. Louis, in large part because of Republican leaders’ own lax management of the pandemic response. Emergency rooms and intensive care units are so overwhelmed that doctors are bracing for the moment their triage choices must include deciding which patients receive care and which ones must be allowed to die because hospitals are running out of beds, equipment and staff. (11/30)

Arizona Republic: A National Coronavirus Strategy Is My Top Priority
It’s clear that the lack of a national strategy is still hurting our response and recovery. And yet, Washington hasn’t provided the additional support that Arizonans need now. As cases spike yet again, programs to help Arizonans make ends meet are facing deadlines that, if not met, could damage our economy even further. (Sen. Mark Kelly, 11/30)

Houston Chronicle: Gov. Abbott Must Act To Counter Holiday Virus Surge In Texas 
Despite warnings from elected officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, millions of Americans traveled to visit friends and family for Thanksgiving. While many will come home renewed, their spirits cheered by shared food and conversation, many will also return with an unseen, potentially deadly companion. As experts forecast a spike in COVID-19 cases after the holiday, piling on top of what are already record numbers of infections and deaths throughout the country, Texas must be ready to meet the public obligation that comes when personal responsibility turns out to not be enough to slow the virus. (11/30)

Boston Globe: Governor Baker Shouldn’t Enact Price Setting Legislation On Life-Saving Medicines 
As COVID-19 continues to present enormous public health challenges here and around the world, America’s biopharmaceutical companies remain committed to ending this pandemic. While scientists and researchers at many companies — including more than 90 in Massachusetts — work around the clock to develop new tests, therapies, and vaccines, Governor Charlie Baker is once again targeting these companies with a dangerous proposal in the state budget that would enact government price setting on life-saving medicines and potentially slow the type of innovation patients need now more than ever. (Stephen J. Ubl and Robert Coughlin, 12/1)