Stat: FDA Proposes Annual Covid Shot Matched To Current Strains
Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration propose making Covid vaccination a regular, once-a-year shot that is updated to match current strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to documents posted by the FDA on Monday. For people who are older or immunocompromised, the FDA would recommend two annual doses of the revised shot. (Herper, 1/23)

Bloomberg: FDA Lays Out Annual Covid Shot Plan Similar To Flu
The plan would have health officials meet each June to review which strains of the virus should be included in Covid shots to be deployed no later than September of the same year, according to documents released by the US Food and Drug Administration ahead of the Jan. 26 meeting. Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are the biggest makers of doses for the US. (Muller and Rutherford, 1/23)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Outlines A Plan For Annual Covid Boosters 
The proposal took some scientists by surprise, including a few of the F.D.A.’s own advisers. They are scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the country’s vaccine strategy, including which doses should be offered and on what schedule. “I’m choosing to believe that they are open to advice, and that they haven’t already made up their minds as to exactly what they’re going to do,” Dr. Paul Offit, one of the advisers and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said of F.D.A. officials. (Mandavilli, 1/23)

Fortune: The FDA Is Proposing A Move To Annual COVID Shots. Some Experts Worry It’s Too Soon, And Too Simple Of An Approach 
But it may be too soon to commit to annual boosters, some experts tell Fortune. The virus has not yet fully settled into a pattern of seasonality and may never. ... Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, doesn’t think a “one-size-fits-all booster policy” makes sense at this point in the pandemic, he tells Fortune. (Prater, 1/23)

More on the covid vaccine rollout —

CIDRAP: Only 1% Of Immune-Impaired US Adults Have Gotten The Recommended 5 COVID Vaccine Doses
Only 41% of US adults with impaired immune systems, who are at high risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes, have received four doses of mRNA vaccine, and less than 1% had received the recommended five doses as of August, according to a study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 1/23)

Fox News: Service Members Forced To Pay Back Signing Bonuses After Being Fired Over COVID Vax: ‘Kick In The Face’
U.S. service members who were fired for refusing to comply with the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate are now being forced to pay back their original recruitment bonuses, which they tell Fox News Digital is a "kick in the face" after years of dedicating their lives to protecting the country. (Laco, 1/24)

Slate: 'Died Suddenly' Is Anti-Vaxxers’ New Favorite Phrase
Mis- and disinformation have been prevalent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but in recent months anti-vax activists and conspiracy theorists have latched on to a new phrase to help their cause: “died suddenly.” Anti-vaxxers hoping to convince people that COVID vaccines are linked to sudden deaths among younger people have invoked the term while trying to exploit tragic events like the death of soccer journalist Grant Wahl, or Damar Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest during an NFL game. Though that theory has no scientific evidence to support it, the “died suddenly” rhetoric has gained a lot of traction on social media. What makes COVID misinformation so spreadable, and how can public health officials combat the rumors? (O'Leary, 1/23)

USA Today: Ron DeSantis Is Courting Anti-Vax Voters. Florida Surgeon General's Podcast Appearances Help
Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis opened his second term with a combative speech blasting federal COVID-19 policies as based “more on ideology and politics than on sound science,” Florida’s surgeon general was a guest on a podcast called Liberty Lockdown. “Isn’t it a beautiful day to be unvaccinated? It feels so good,” host Clint Russell said before starting into his conversation with Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the state’s top doctor who also is a tenured faculty member at the University of Florida. (Kennedy, 1/24)

KHN: Latino Teens Are Deputized As Health Educators To Sway The Unvaccinated 
Classmates often stop Alma Gallegos as she makes her way down the bustling hallways of Theodore Roosevelt High School in southeast Fresno, California. The 17-year-old senior is frequently asked by fellow students about covid-19 testing, vaccine safety, and the value of booster shots. Alma earned her reputation as a trusted source of information through her internship as a junior community health worker. She was among 35 Fresno County students recently trained to discuss how covid vaccines help prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death, and to encourage relatives, peers, and community members to stay up to date on their shots, including boosters. (de Marco, 1/24)

Los Angeles Times: Half Moon Bay Shootings: Gunman Kills 7 People In The Second California Massacre In 3 Days
At least seven people were killed in a pair of related shootings that have rocked the beach-side community of Half Moon Bay, an act of violence that comes just two days after 11 people were killed in another mass shooting in Monterey Park. A 67-year-old resident of the community is suspected of opening fire at two rural locations about a mile distant, shooting some of the victims in front of children who lived nearby and had recently been released from school. “This kind of shooting is horrific; it’s a tragedy we hear about too often,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said. “For children to witness this is unspeakable.” (Hernandez, Lin, Rust and Mejia, 1/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting: 7 Dead And One Injured
“For children to witness this is unspeakable,” Corpus said. “This is a devastating tragedy for this community and the many families touched by this unspeakable act of violence.” The sheriff opened a family reunification center at IDES Hall at 735 Main St. Inside, about 35 people, including a group of children, waited for word more than six hours after the shootings, the room quiet except for one woman sobbing in a corner. Volunteers handed out food and cans of soda as well as blankets. (Umanzor, Michanec, Tucker, and Swan, 1/23)

The Wall Street Journal: We Never Expected This To Happen Here, Says Half Moon Bay City
The mayor of Half Moon Bay, where two related shootings left seven people dead on Monday, said her community was completely shocked by events of a kind it would never have expected in the coastal Californian city. “My colleagues and I on the Half Moon Bay City Council are appalled and saddened at this terrible incident, which has completely shocked our community,” said Mayor Deborah Penrose. A statement on behalf of the city said that the shootings had shaken everyone there to the core. “It’s something that we would never expect to happen here,” the statement said. (Sugden, 1/24)

Both gunmen were older than the typical mass shooter —

Reuters: California Staggered By Deadly Back-To-Back Mass Shootings 
The two latest shootings were notable for the age of the suspects, one in his late 60s, another in his early 70s. A database of 185 mass shootings between 1966 and 2022 maintained by the nonprofit Violence Project includes just one carried out by someone 70 or older - a retired miner who killed five people in Kentucky in 1981. (Reid and Trotta, 1/24)

NPR: The Suspected Monterey Park Attacker Was 72. Here's Why Older Shooters Are Rare
Identifying the average age of mass shooters in the U.S. is tricky given there's no set definition of what a "mass shooting" entails and trackers vary in how far back their data reaches. But no matter which measure you look at, the age of shooters tends to skew lower. The RAND corporation, a government-funded think tank, says that between 1976 and 2018, 82% of all mass shooters in the U.S. were under the age of 45. (Olson, 1/24)

In updates on the Monterey Park massacre —

KTLA: Monterey Park Gunman Was Making Silencers, Had Stockpiled Ammunition, Sheriff Says
The man accused of gunning down 11 people and wounding nine others in Monterey Park, California had been stockpiling ammunition and was making homemade gun silencers inside his home, authorities revealed Monday. ... Inside, investigators found a .308 caliber rifle, items indicating he was manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors, “numerous electronic devices” including cell phones and computers, and unknown amount of .308 and 9mm caliber ammunition, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at news conference. (DuBose and Sternfield, 1/23)

Los Angeles Times: Not Invited To The Dance: Possible Monterey Park Shooting Motive
The investigation into the Monterey Park mass shooting is focused on previous interactions the gunman had with the two dance studios he targeted and whether jealousy over a relationship was a motive, according to law enforcement sources. ... Law enforcement sources also believe 72-year-old Huu Can Tran was having unspecified emotional problems that had been getting worse in the weeks before the shooting. He showed up at the Hemet Police Department lobby twice this month, on Jan. 7 and 9, making allegations of fraud and theft and saying that his family had tried to poison him in the L.A. area 10 to 20 years ago, Hemet police spokesperson Alan Reyes said. (Winton, Fry, Tchekmedyian, Smith, Lin, Park, Goldberg and Martinez, 1/23)

At least 39 people have died in six mass killings in fewer than three weeks —

AP: 7 Dead As California Mourns 3rd Mass Killing In 8 Days 
The new year has brought a shocking string of mass killings in the U.S. — six in less than three weeks, accounting for 39 deaths. Three have occurred in California since Jan. 16, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The database tracks every mass killing — defined as four dead not including the offender — committed in the U.S. since 2006. (Chiu and Rodriguez, 1/24)

CBS News: Gavin Newsom After Monterey Park Shooting: 'Second Amendment Is Becoming A Suicide Pact'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is renewing his calls for stricter gun control measures following the mass shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park on Saturday that killed at least 11 people and injured nine others. "Nothing about this is surprising. Everything about this is infuriating," he told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell on Monday. "The Second Amendment is becoming a suicide pact." Newsom clarified that he has "no ideological opposition" against people who "responsibly" own guns and get background checks and training on how to use them. But he told O'Donnell that current regulations are falling short. (Yilek, 1/23)

Vox: Why California’s Strict Gun Control Laws Didn’t Stop The Monterey Park Shooter
The shooting in Monterey Park, California has led to new calls to tighten Califonia’s gun laws. The gun used in the Saturday attack was likely illegal to possess in California, however, and it’s not clear whether the gunman obtained it by legal means. ... It’s not clear how the shooter obtained the gun, which was a Cobray M11 9mm semi-automatic weapon compatible with 30-round magazines, CNN reported. It’s also not clear whether the shooter legally obtained a second weapon recovered from inside his van — a handgun that he used to fatally shoot himself. The second weapon can be bought in California; the first has been banned in the state for more than three decades. (Narea, 1/23)

Politico: California Lawmakers Face Supreme Court Limits As They Weigh Response To Lunar New Year Shooting
Calls for legislative action following the mass shooting at a dance hall outside Los Angeles were tempered Monday by a hard reality: The legal landscape for gun laws has never looked so bleak. A Supreme Court decision in June voided New York’s concealed carry law while also encouraging challenges to restrictions elsewhere — including California’s ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. (Korte, White and Nieves, 1/23)

The Hill: Biden Lauds Senate Democrats Who Introduce Bill To Ban Assault Weapons
President Biden on Monday praised a contingent of Senate Democrats who earlier in the day introduced a pair of bills to ban military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as raise the age of purchasing them to 21 years old. ... Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) introduced bills one day after a gunman shot and killed 11 people at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park. (Sforza, 1/23)

The New York Times: Biden Pushes For Assault Weapons Ban After California Shootings 
As Californians were dealing with a mass shooting in Monterey Park, the White House on Monday said it had reintroduced sweeping gun control measures in the Senate that seek to renew the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. ... The 1994 ban, which passed as part of a broader crime bill championed by Mr. Biden, then a senator, blocked the sale of 19 specific weapons that have the features of guns used by the military, including semiautomatic rifles and certain types of shotguns and handguns. It also outlawed magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. People who already had such weapons were allowed to keep them. (Yoon, 1/24)

The Hill: Newsom Blasts Fox News Primetime Over Gun Coverage: ‘It’s A Disgrace’  
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) criticized Fox News primetime hosts over coverage of mass shootings and gun violence in the U.S., calling it a “disgrace.” “It’s a disgrace what they say, what these people say every single night,” Newsom told reporters, according to ABC 10. “There’s xenophobia, they’re racial priming, what they have done to perpetuate crime and violence in this country, by scapegoating, and by doing not a damn thing about gun safety, not a damn thing for decades.” (Sforza, 1/23)

Salon.com: What Gun Control Studies Tell Us About How To Stop Violence, According To Experts 
The fact that many research studies do suggest that certain laws stop gun violence might seem like a regulatory slam dunk. But experts also warned that there's an enormous caveat: First, that there are many different ways in which firearms can be used to commit crimes; and second, as fervent gun rights absolutists might point out, the studies which analyze firearm control legislation by their nature study correlation rather than causation. (Rozsa, 1/24)

In related news about gun control in Colorado and Illinois —

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Bill Banning So-Called Assault Weapons Would Outlaw Sale — Not Possession — Of Such Guns
The sale and attempted sale of so-called assault weapons would be banned in Colorado under a bill set to be introduced by Democrats in the legislature this year. But possession of such firearms in the state would still be allowed. (Paul and Wenzler, 1/23)

The New York Times: Illinois Passed A Sweeping Ban On High-Powered Guns. Now Come The Lawsuits
When Illinois legislators passed a far-reaching ban recently on selling certain high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines, the Democrats who run the state celebrated it as a lifesaving law that would help prevent mass violence. But on Friday, in the law’s first judicial test, a state judge in Effingham County temporarily blocked it from being enforced against hundreds of people and several gun dealers who sued. That ruling, a preliminary step and one of several legal tests the law is likely to face, came amid broad uncertainty about whether sweeping gun controls like those in Illinois can withstand judicial scrutiny following a Supreme Court decision in a New York case last year. Within days of Gov. J.B. Pritzker signing the Illinois legislation, at least three lawsuits were filed challenging it in state and federal courts. (Smith, 1/20)

Fox News: Illinois Sheriff Refuses To Enforce New Gun Control Law: ‘Clear Violation Of The 2nd Amendment’
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick has come under attack from Illinois state lawmakers after he issued a statement refusing to enforce a gun control law in favor of his higher oath to the U.S. Constitution. He also said that he would not apprehend "law-abiding individuals that have been arrested solely with non-compliance of this Act." (Clark, 1/24)

CNN: At Least 7 Dead, 1 Injured And Suspect In Custody In Half Moon Bay Shootings, Official Says
Ray Mueller, a San Mateo County supervisor, said the Half Moon Bay community needs to come together in healing as well as support each other to address gun violence. “There were farm workers affected tonight; there were children on the scene at the incidents. This is a truly heartbreaking tragedy in our community,” Mueller said. Mueller spoke to the mental health toll the violence has unleashed in the community and urged people to seek help. “Please take advantage of the mental health crisis counseling that is available,” he said, adding that anyone can reach out to the county’s hotline. “You are not alone.” (Sutton, Waldrop and Elamroussi, 1/24)

How to get mental health services in San Mateo County, California —

Mental Health Services hotline

The Conversation: Horror And Anguish Are Playing Out On Repeat Following The Latest Mass Shooting – And The Mental Health Scars Extend Far Beyond Those Directly Affected
When the trauma is caused by people, as in a mass shooting, the impact can be profound. The rate of PTSD in mass shootings may be as high as 36% among survivors. Depression, another debilitating psychiatric condition, occurs in as many as 80% of people with PTSD. ... Children and adolescents, who are developing their worldview and deciding how safe it is to live in this society, may suffer even more. Exposure to horrific experiences such as school shootings or related news can fundamentally affect the way people perceive the world as a safe or unsafe place, and how much they can rely on the adults and society in general to protect them. (Javanbakht, 1/23)

Los Angeles Times: You May Feel Secondary Trauma From Mass Shooting Coverage. Therapists Discuss Ways To Cope
When we read and watch the news after a mass shooting, we can experience what experts call secondary and collective trauma. Last year, we asked four psychologists about secondary and collective trauma, how it affects us and what we can do to healthily process and cope. Here are their responses.(Valdez, 1/23)

KPBS: Mass Violence Impact On Mental Health 
After the recent shooting in Monterey Park, a local psychologist talks about the impacts mass violence has on mental health. (1/24)

ABC10.com: Mental Health For AAPI Discussions Held In Light Of Mass Shooting 
The deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park is raising discussion about mental health care and the stigmas and pressures embedded in Asian American Pacific Islander cultures. "The assumption is they don't need help when, in fact, they do," said Cirian Villavicencio, commissioner with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. ... The American Psychological Association says Asian American college students had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than White college students. The concept of "saving face," or avoiding humiliation, is also strong in many AAPI cultures. (Painter, 1/23)

11alive.com: Georgia Lawmaker, Activists Discuss 'Fear Factor In The Asian Community' Following California Mass Shooting
A mass shooting in a predominantly Asian community in California is now stoking fear in metro Atlanta's communities that share a similar culture. Some people are meeting this fear with immediate action. (Nunez and Schneider-Bray, 1/23)

Politico: Florida Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Challenge To 15 Week Abortion Law 
The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to take up a legal challenge to Florida’s 15-week abortion ban, which was one of the most controversial measures passed during the 2022 legislative session. The case the high court agreed to take up centers on a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a handful of abortion providers challenging the recently-passed law. They argued that the Florida Constitution protects the right to an abortion. (Dixon, 1/23)

Abortion updates from New Mexico, Connecticut, Utah, Maine, and Montana —

AP: New Mexico AG Seeks To Codify Abortion Rights, Nullify Bans
New Mexico’s top prosecutor on Monday asked the state Supreme Court to nullify abortion ordinances that local elected officials have passed in conservative reaches of the Democratic-led state. Attorney General Raúl Torrez urged the court to intervene against recent ordinances he said overstep local government authority to regulate health care access, and violate state constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. (Bryan and Lee, 1/24)

The CT Mirror: Lamont Proposes Allowing CT Pharmacists To Prescribe Birth Control
Connecticut would join the growing list of states that allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptive pills under a proposal Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday on the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The legislative proposal came on the first anniversary of the landmark abortion-rights ruling since it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, returning control over access to abortion to the states. (Pazniokas, 1/23)

Salt Lake Tribune: ‘Expression Of Unchecked Power’: Court May Be Forced To Reconsider Hold On Utah’s Abortion Ban Soon
Republicans in the Legislature are one step closer to ending a hold placed on their abortion trigger law in district court after the Utah House voted to change the rules regarding when a judge can issue an injunction. The joint resolution, introduced by Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, aims to retroactively eliminate a judge’s ability to grant a preliminary injunction unless a case has a “substantial likelihood” of success. (Anderson Stern, 1/23)

Bangor Daily News: Janet Mills Said She Didn't Want Abortion Law Changes, Then Proposed Them
Both the Democratic governor and former Gov. Paul LePage were quizzed often on the first subject after the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer decision to overturn federal abortion rights. But it was LePage, an anti-abortion Republican, who created the most memorable exchanges, including when he vowed to veto a 15-week ban if his party brought one to him. (Shepherd and Marino Jr., 1/23)

KHN: As States Seek To Limit Abortions, Montana Wants To Redefine What Is Medically Necessary 
Montana’s conservative leaders, stymied by the courts from passing laws that impose significant statewide abortion restrictions, seek to tighten the state’s Medicaid rules to make it more difficult for low-income women to receive abortions. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is proposing to define when an abortion is medically necessary, limit who can perform such services, and require preauthorization for most cases. (Houghton, 1/24)

CNN: Justice Department To Monitor New Anti-Abortion Bills In State Legislatures 
Upcoming state-level pushes to further restrict abortion access will be on the radar of the US Justice Department, top DOJ officials said Monday as they touted the work the Biden administration has sought to do to shore up abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade reversal last year. “We’ve obviously been very active in monitoring what’s happening in the states and locally, and given that most state legislatures now are coming back into session, we’ll be continuing to do so and looking at any laws that may get passed that infringe on federal protections,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who leads a department task force on reproductive rights that was launched after the Supreme Court’s decision. (Sneed, 1/23)

From Oregon, Missouri, Idaho, and elsewhere —

AP: Oregon Launches Abortion Hotline Offering Free Legal Advice 
Oregon is launching a new abortion hotline offering free legal advice to callers, moving to further defend abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer and eliminated federal protections for the procedure. The state’s Department of Justice announced the initiative Monday. It is modeled on similar hotlines launched by the attorneys general of New York and Delaware, as states where abortion remains legal have seen an increase in the number of patients traveling from areas where the procedure has been banned or restricted. (Rush, 1/24)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Metro East Center Served More Than 5,000 Abortion Patients In First Year, Report Says
A year ago, on what was the 49th anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade decision, the two abortion providers in the Metro East announced an initiative to assist patients forced to travel long distances because of increasingly restrictive policies in their own states. The new Regional Logistics Center would help patients cover costs for child care, travel and missing work, Planned Parenthood and the Hope Clinic said. (Munz, 1/20)

ABC News: Idaho Woman Shares 19-Day Miscarriage On TikTok, Says State's Abortion Laws Prevented Her From Getting Care 
An Idaho woman who documented her 19-day miscarriage on social media said it was days before she could receive care due to the state's strict abortion laws. Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa -- 20 miles west of Boise -- a mother-of-one was just six weeks pregnant when she began miscarrying on Dec. 8. However, she said it took eight days before she was given any medicine to manage her pain and to expel embryonic tissue, and several more days for the miscarriage to end. (Kekatos, 1/21)

KHN: Watch: Fifty Years After ‘Roe,’ Abortion Rights Battle Shifts To The States
Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, granting federal constitutional protection for the right to seek an abortion. Last year, a very different Supreme Court overturned Roe, erasing that federal right for women across the United States and, instead, giving individual states broad authority to regulate and restrict abortion within their borders. In this report co-produced by PBS NewsHour, KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney joins “PBS News Weekend” anchor John Yang to discuss how abortion opponents and supporters are taking their campaigns to the states, the impact of abortion bans on medical care for women, and the emerging conflicts over medication abortion pills. (Varney, 1/24)

Modern Healthcare: AHCA Jobs Report: Nursing Home Staffing Lowest Since 1994
Nursing homes have 210,000 fewer workers than before the pandemic, bringing workforce levels to the lowest they have been since 1994, according to a trade group representing nursing homes. The long-term care jobs report, released last week by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, outlines the sector’s dire staffing conditions. (Devereaux, 1/23)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Dollar General Opens Mobile Healthcare Clinics At 3 Tennessee Stores
Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General has opened mobile healthcare clinics at three stores in Tennessee, partnering with DocGo, which provides mobile medical and transportation services. The mobile clinics will offer onsite services including annual physicals, vaccinations, urgent care and lab testing a couple of days per week at each location. (Hudson, 1/23)

Bloomberg: CVS Health Names New Top Executives David Joyner, Amy Bricker
CVS Health Corp. will name a new head for the company’s pharmacy services business and fill a new position, chief product officer for consumer businesses, according to a person familiar with the matter. David Joyner, a former CVS executive, will return to the company as head of the pharmacy services segment after leaving three years ago. He’ll replace Alan Lotvin, who is retiring in April. The area he’ll lead includes pharmacy benefit manager Caremark. (Tozzi, 1/23)

Modern Healthcare: Elevance Health To Buy Blue Cross Of Louisiana
Elevance Health plans to add Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to its family of health plans for an undisclosed price, the companies announced Monday. Elevance Health’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans will operate in 15 states if the transaction is completed. The for-profit company has partnered with the Louisiana Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate for the five years. The Pelican State company will remain headquartered in in Baton Rouge and retain its 3,000 employees, according to a news release. (Berryman, 1/23)

Axios: New Rural Hospital Model: Lifeline Or Gamble?
The Biden administration is offering struggling rural hospitals a new financial lifeline starting this month, but with an unusual twist: Facilities that opt in have to agree to close their non-emergency inpatient services. (Dreher, 1/23)

In obituaries —

AP: Noted Orthopedic Surgeon J. Richard Steadman Dies At 85 
Dr. J. Richard Steadman, an orthopedic surgeon who founded the renowned Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, where many of the world’s elite athletes have gone for career-saving treatment, has died at age 85. Steadman died in his sleep Friday at his home in Vail, said Lynda Sampson, vice president of external affairs at the Steadman Clinic and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute. (1/23)

Modern Healthcare: Amazon Launches RxPass To Expand Healthcare Footprint
Amazon is expanding its push into healthcare with the introduction of a generic drug subscription service aimed at consumers with common conditions like high blood pressure, acid reflux or anxiety. The medication delivery service, RxPass, costs $5 per month for Amazon Prime members. Amazon Prime costs either $14.99 per month or $139 annually. (Turner, 1/24)

AP: Amazon Launches A Subscription Prescription Drug Service 
The company said the flat fee could cover a list of medications like the antibiotic amoxicillin and the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen. Sildenafil also made the list. It’s used to treat erectile dysfunction under the brand name Viagra and also treats a form of high blood pressure. Amazon sells a range of generic drugs through its pharmacy service. Some already cost as low as $1 for a 30-day supply, so the benefit of this new program will vary by customer. (Murphy and Hadero, 1/24)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: Despite Court Ruling, FDA Will Continue With Its Approach To Approving Orphan Drug Exclusivity
In an unexpected move, the Food and Drug Administration will continue to apply exclusive marketing rights for so-called orphan drugs under its existing regulations, rather than take a broader approach suggested by a federal court in a highly controversial case involving one such medicine. (Silverman, 1/23)

USA Today: Black Kidney Failure Patients Now Can Get On Transplant Lists Sooner
Black people are almost four times as likely to be diagnosed with renal failure as white people — but many are often diagnosed late and it takes longer to get on transplant lists. That’s because of an antiquated kidney function test that can overestimate kidney function in Black patients, masking the severity of their kidney disease and resulting in late diagnosis and delayed transplant referrals. (Hassanein, 1/23)

Stat: Predictive Biomarkers Could Ease Trial-And-Error Of Antidepressants
When a patient is suffering from depression and considering medication, practically all physicians have the same go-to treatment: a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Patients start on a low dose and slowly increase it. It may take weeks for the drug to work, if it works. If not, a cycle begins. Wean off the SSRI, wean onto a new medication. All the while, the patient must manage depressive symptoms along with any side effects of a medication, which, counterintuitively, can include suicidal thoughts. (Gaffney, 1/24)

AP: Promising Gene Therapy Delivers Treatment Directly To Brain
When Rylae-Ann Poulin was a year old, she didn’t crawl or babble like other kids her age. A rare genetic disorder kept her from even lifting her head. Her parents took turns holding her upright at night just so she could breathe comfortably and sleep. Then, months later. doctors delivered gene therapy directly to her brain. Now the 4-year-old is walking, running, swimming, reading and riding horses — “just doing so many amazing things that doctors once said were impossible,” said her mother, Judy Wei. (Ungar, 1/24)

CIDRAP: Arguments Begin In Case Over Use Of Medically Important Antibiotic On Citrus Trees
Oral arguments begin today in a lawsuit challenging the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its approval of the antibiotic streptomycin for use as a pesticide on citrus trees. ... In addition to worries about the effect on citrus workers, insects, and mammals that forage in treated fields, there are concerns that spraying streptomycin in citrus trees could select for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. (Dall, 1/23)

In obituaries —

The Washington Post: David Allis, Biologist Who Found Protein Pathways For Genes, Dies At 71 
David Allis, a molecular biologist whose research greatly advanced scientific understanding of how proteins interact with genes and helped set the foundations for potential new drug treatments for lymphomas and other diseases, died Jan. 8 at a hospital in Seattle. He was 71. His wife, Barbara, said Dr. Allis had been treated for cancer. (Murphy, 1/21)

In updates from the World Health Organization —

Reuters: Exclusive: WHO Investigating Links Between Cough Syrup Deaths, Considers Advice For Parents 
The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating whether there is any connection between manufacturers whose contaminated cough syrups it has linked to the deaths of more than 300 children in three countries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Rigby, 1/24)

Reuters: WHO Seeks $2.5 Billion To Battle Health Emergencies
The World Health Organization on Monday launched a funding appeal for $2.54 billion to help people facing health emergencies across the world. ... The organization is responding to what it says is an unprecedented 54 health emergencies around the world including 11 which it classifies as the highest Grade 3 level including the war in Ukraine; outbreaks of cholera and mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo and malnutrition in Somalia. (1/23)

Axios: How Opioid Misuse Is Costing Health Systems
The addiction crisis is increasingly eroding health systems' finances, with the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) costing hospitals more than $95 billion a year, new data from Premier Inc. AI Applied Sciences shows. That's 7.86% of all hospital expenditures, according to the data, which was released first to Axios. (Goldman, 1/24)

AP: Ky. Gov Touts Program To Strengthen Drug Epidemic Fight
Kentucky communities can apply for certification through a program that evaluates the services being offered to residents seeking help for drug or alcohol addiction, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The governor announced the creation of the Recovery Ready Communities program last year. (1/24)

USA Today: What Is Xylazine? Animal Tranquillizer Shows Up In US Drug Supply
A new threat has emerged in the United States' illicit drug supply: an animal tranquilizer called xylazine. The drug is showing up in synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, leading to more overdoses and alarming side effects, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control. (Rodriguez, 1/24)

On marijuana and mushrooms —

Chicago Tribune: 'Alarming’ Jump In Illinois Kids Eating Marijuana Edibles Prompts Warning
Medical workers in Illinois are warning adults to keep marijuana edibles away from kids, after an “alarming” jump in the number of accidental consumptions. The number of exposures to edible cannabis among children 5 and younger from 2017-2021 reported in Illinois increased from 5 to 232 cases — a 4,500% increase. Most of the increase was during the pandemic years of 2020-2021. Illinois legalized recreational marijuana in 2020. (McCoppin, 1/23)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Lawmakers Propose Cannabis Reforms, Decriminalization Of Psychedelics
In advance of a late-Friday deadline for filing bills, state legislators last week submitted dozens of marijuana-related measures, including proposals to ban employers from firing workers over flunked THC tests, make it easier to wipe away old marijuana-related criminal charges, and require licensed cannabis facilities to allow workers to vote on unionizing. (Adams, 1/23)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Could Spend $30M To Study Psychedelic Mushrooms
Arizona would spend $30 million to research psychedelic mushrooms as a treatment for a host of medical conditions under a bipartisan proposal at the state Capitol. House Bill 2486 is groundbreaking not only because it would allow for such research, but also because it would lead to peer-reviewed research on the effects of natural psilocybin mushrooms, rather than a synthetic version of the drug commonly used in such studies. (Randazzo, 1/23)

CNN: A Few Minutes Of Brisk Activity Can Help Your Brain, Study Finds
People who spent “even small amounts of time in more vigorous activities — as little as 6 to 9 minutes — compared to sitting, sleeping or gentle activities had higher cognition scores,” said study author John Mitchell, a Medical Research Council doctoral training student at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at University College London, in an email. (LaMotte, 1/23)

NBC News: Skipping Exercise In Favor Of Sitting Can Worsen Brain Function, Study Finds
Skipping out on exercise in favor of less demanding activities — such as sitting or lying down — was linked to a slight decline in memory and thinking abilities, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. (Lovelace Jr., 1/23)

Also on weight —

CNN: Midriff Bulge Linked To Later Physical Decline, Study Says
If you are a man or woman approaching 50, look down at your middle. If you’re like many people, you might have to lean over a bit to see your feet. Yes, it’s the dreadful midriff bulge — that expanding waistline that can often creep up on you as you age, much like a receding hairline or extra wrinkles. Tough to combat, it almost seems like a rite of passage, just part of the cycle of life, right? But a new study has found that allowing your middle to expand will do more than send you shopping for the next size up in britches -— it can also harm your physical abilities later in life. (LaMotte, 1/24)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Many Women Underestimate Breast Density As A Risk Factor For Breast Cancer, Study Shows
Dense breast tissue has been associated with up to a four times higher risk of breast cancer. However, a new study suggests few women view breast density as a significant risk factor. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, surveyed 1,858 women ages 40 to 76 years from 2019 to 2020 who reported having recently undergone mammography, had no history of breast cancer and had heard of breast density. (Chavez, 1/23)

Reuters: Consumer Reports Urges Dark Chocolate Makers To Reduce Lead, Cadmium Levels
Consumer Reports on Monday urged four chocolate producers to commit by Valentine's Day to reduce the amounts of lead and cadmium in their dark chocolate products, after testing revealed harmful levels of the heavy metals. In letters to Hershey Co, Mondelez International Inc, Theo Chocolate and Trader Joe's, Consumer Reports said long-term exposure to the metals can result in nervous system problems, immune system suppression and kidney damage. (Stempel, 1/23)

Stat: Chatbots Create Questions About Transparency In Mental Health Care
The mental health field is increasingly looking to chatbots to relieve escalating pressure on a limited pool of licensed therapists. But they’re entering uncharted ethical territory as they confront questions about how closely AI should be involved in such deeply sensitive support. (Ravindranath, 1/23)

CIDRAP: More Salmonella Cases Reported In Outbreak Tied To Pet Bearded Dragons 
A pair of Salmonella outbreaks linked to pet bearded dragons, first announced in October, has sickened at least nine more people in five more states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a Jan 20 update. The added cases bring the total to 32 infections from 20 states. Ten people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported. The outbreaks involve two Salmonella serotypes: Vitkin (12 cases) and IIIb 61:z52:z53 (20 cases). (Schnirring, 1/23)

AP: West Virginia Senate Passes Mandate On Rape Kit Training 
Victims of sexual assault in West Virginia may have an easier time finding health care providers to conduct forensic examinations and collect rape kits if a bill passed Monday by the state Senate becomes law. Currently, some sexual assault victims have to travel hours to find a provider properly trained to complete forensic examinations, Republican Sen. Michael Maroney said. There are only a few hospitals in northern West Virginia with personnel who are properly trained to collect evidence from rape victims. (Willingham, 1/23)

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

The CT Mirror: CT Health Care Worker Shortage Impels Lawmakers To Find Solutions
Leaders of the legislature’s Public Health Committee said Monday they are committed to tackling a health care worker shortage by exploring mandated nurse staffing ratios, closing a loophole that allows hospitals to impose mandatory overtime, and examining recruitment and retention strategies to boost employee numbers. (Carlesso, 1/23)

Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming’s Version Of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Advances To Senate Floor
A bill working its way through the Wyoming Senate could forbid teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. Opponents say it stifles free speech and puts queer youth at risk. The bill closely resembles the famed "Don't Say Gay" bill passed in Florida last year. According to research, trans youth are at a much higher risk for depression and suicide than their cisgender peers. It's been found that risk is higher in communities where trans youth are not accepted. (Victor, 1/20)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Middle And High Schoolers Could Begin Receiving Annual Mental Health Checks
The Colorado legislature is aiming to make it easier for youth across the state to access free therapy by creating a program in which kids sixth through 12th grade can get an in-school mental health assessment. If approved by state lawmakers, House Bill 1003 would allow public schools to opt into the program, which would be run by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. (Wenzler, 1/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: UC Berkeley Agrees To Safety Measures After Cheerleader Concussion Lawsuit
High-flying cheerleaders at UC Berkeley sporting events will receive new protection and training under a $695,000 settlement with a former student who suffered three concussions in five months during acrobatic cheerleading in 2017-18. (Egelko, 1/23)

Bangor Daily News: Wastewater Contaminated With PFAS Is Flowing Into Maine's Rivers
Statewide results are still being compiled, but many individual wastewater treatment plant operators have said they are finding the chemicals in their treated waste, which gets discharged into waterways that sustain fish and other aquatic life, and sometimes feed communities’ drinking water wells. (Rhoda, 1/23)

Anchorage Daily News: Senior Clinic At Alaska Regional To Close In February, Leaving Vulnerable Patients With Limited Options For Care
A longtime Anchorage medical clinic for seniors has announced it’s closing at the end of February, prompting concern from patients and providers about dwindling health care options locally for some of Anchorage’s most vulnerable residents. (Berman, 1/23)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Cancer Deaths Spur Worries About Decades-Old Native School
Leilani Thorpe has always been concerned about cancer, as three of her family members have died from the disease. But after her mother died from stomach cancer in 2017, she was in shock. Thorpe, who lives in the small town of Owyhee on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, knows many fellow residents who had family members die of cancer since the 1970s. (Hill, 1/23)

The New Yorker: Gun Violence Is America’s Never-Ending Plague 
Attempting to attribute a common motive or underlying psychological explanation to such a multifaceted phenomenon is a fool’s errand. But as the CNN commentator Andrew McCabe, a former deputy director of the F.B.I., pointed out on Monday, there is one thing that ties many of the most deadly mass shootings together: the ready availability of highly deadly weapons, such as the semi-automatic pistol that police say was used in the massacre in Monterey Park. It is this commonality that distinguishes the United States from most other advanced countries, where mass shootings are rare. (John Cassidy, 1/23)

New York Daily News: Editorial: Another Notch In The Grim Tally: Monterey Park Shooting Was A Choice We’ll Keep Making
Each time this happens in this gun-mad country, the victims, the survivors, the weapons, the shooters and the motivations are different. Yet, as with every such shooting, two things are always true: it was an abomination that cut down the lives of those who wanted just to live in safety, and it was a choice, one we collectively made. It is a choice to make it catastrophically simple to purchase semiautomatic long guns for personal use. It is a choice to allow civilians to waltz into a gun store and walk out with multiple magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, ready to be fed into a machine whose only purpose is to maim and kill. (1/23)

Also —

The Washington Post: Let's Leave The Covid Origin Mystery To Scientists 
One of the world’s most sensitive and consequential scientific questions will soon be grist for discussion among the members of a congressional subcommittee. The question is this: Where did the virus that causes covid-19 come from? (David Quammen, 1/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID Is Endemic. Here’s How Monica Gandhi Says We Keep It That Way
On Sept. 18, President Biden famously said “the pandemic is over.” He very quickly followed that up by saying: “We are doing a lot of work on it.” These notions may sound contradictory, but they are indeed the way to approach the concept of endemicity; combating COVID-19 will take ongoing and hard work. (Monica Gandhi, 1/21)

Stat: It's Time To Retire 'Poor Historian' From Clinicians' Vocabularies 
Should we pity the “poor historian” — the individual or family member who can’t give a clear accounting of their illness or symptoms — or embrace them? They have important stories to offer their clinicians, but can’t tell them. Who is really to blame here? And should the term poor historian ever be part of an individual’s permanent record? (Steven Server and Samuel Schotland, 1/24)

The Washington Post: Canada Edges Toward Creating A Right To Suicide 
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada thanks to the country’s mercurial judiciary, which has, over the years, slowly constructed a constitutional right for Canadians to die by suicide. (J.J. McCullough, 1/23)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Is Spending Less Than Half The Amount Recommended By The CDC To Deter Tobacco Use. We Must Invest More
Given all the billions of taxes collected from sales of tobacco products, not to mention the billions more provided through a 1998 settlement over the cost of tobacco-related illness, one would think that states like Maryland would fully fund programs that deter young people from using tobacco (or encourage them to quit). (1/23)