AP: Biden To Launch Ambitious Overhaul Of Nursing Home Quality
President Joe Biden will use his State of the Union speech to launch a major overhaul of nursing home quality, including minimum staffing levels and steps to beef up inspections while continuing to keep COVID-19 at bay. White House officials on Monday outlined more than 20 separate actions, many of them sought by advocates and opposed by the industry. One major missing element: New sources of federal financing to pay for the ambitious upgrade. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/1)

Modern Healthcare: Biden To Announce Nursing Home Reforms In State Of The Union Address
Under Biden's directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will publish regulations addressing safety and quality. That will include minimum staffing requirements, standards to reduce overcrowding, rules to address the overuse of antipsychotic medications and stepped up inspections and enforcement, including financial penalties for noncompliant nursing homes. Biden previously proposed minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, along with a requirement that a registered nurse be on duty at all times. The administration wants Congress to empower CMS to publicly hold nursing home chain owners—with histories of safety and quality failures—to account. CMS also will investigate the consequences of private equity firms owning nursing homes, which has been linked to poorer care. (Hellmann and Goldman, 2/28)

The Washington Post: Biden Vows To Crack Down On Poorest-Performing Nursing Homes 
The White House on Monday announced plans to boost nursing home staffing and oversight, blaming some of the 200,000-plus covid deaths of nursing home residents and staff during the pandemic on inadequate conditions. Officials said the plan would set minimum staffing levels, reduce the use of shared rooms and crack down on the poorest-performing nursing homes to reduce the risk of residents contracting infectious diseases. The White House also said it planned to scrutinize the role of private equity firms, citing data that their ownership was linked with worse outcomes and higher costs. (Diamond and Roubein, 2/28)

In related news about covid deaths among the elderly —

USA Today: COVID-19 Lockdowns Linked To 26% Surge In Dementia Patient Deaths
Deaths among older adults with Alzheimer’s disease accelerated at a faster pace during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic as routine care was disrupted for many with memory and cognitive problems, according to a study published Monday by the journal JAMA Neurology. In a study of nearly 27 million adults enrolled in Medicare from March through December 2020, deaths among patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia surged 26% compared with the same period in 2019. Deaths among Medicare-age patients without the disease increased 12% during the first year of the pandemic, the study found. (Alltucker, 2/28)

USA Today: COVID Death Certificates In New England More Accurate, Analysis Shows
It was the tail end of a cold Massachusetts winter when many of Dr. Larissa Lucas' nursing home residents stopped eating and drinking. Others were sleeping more than usual, or especially groggy during their waking hours. There were no high fevers or coughs – no obvious symptoms. And yet, starting in March 2020, Lucas would check on her residents and find they’d died quietly. A test result returned too late or a post-mortem swab would confirm it: they were positive for COVID-19. (Barndollar and Bergin, 3/1)

And more about President Biden's State of the Union address —

AP: Biden Steps To State Of The Union Lectern At Fraught Moment 
Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at a precipitous moment for the nation, aiming to navigate the country out a pandemic, reboot his stalled domestic agenda and confront Russia’s aggression. The speech Tuesday night had initially been conceived by the White House as an opportunity to highlight the improving coronavirus outlook and rebrand Biden’s domestic policy priorities as a way to lower costs for families grappling with soaring inflation. But it has taken on new significance with last week’s Russian invasion of Ukraine and nuclear saber-rattling by Vladimir Putin. (Miller and Long, 3/1)

Politico: State Of The Union 2022: What To Know Ahead Of Biden's Speech 
President Joe Biden is scheduled to appear before a joint session of the 117th Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives to deliver the 2022 State of the Union address at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday. (Benson, 2/28)

Politico: Biden Wants To Declare A New Chapter In The Covid Fight. He’s Trigger Shy
Coronavirus cases are plummeting. Mask mandates are coming to an end. And for the first time in months, the pandemic threat that hung over Joe Biden’s presidency appears to be receding. But as he readies his first State of the Union address, Biden isn’t planning a victory declaration — at least not yet. (Cancryn and Owermohle, 2/28)

Poynter: The State Of COVID-19 In The State Of The Union 
It might be tempting for President Joe Biden to declare victory over COVID-19 in his State of the Union speech tonight, but that would be premature. He can, however, claim progress. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released most of the United States from mask-wearing but, by its original metrics, most of America still has a high rate of COVID-19 transmission. Members of Congress will sit maskless in front of the president, some of them applauding, some not, but the visual message if they were masked would be that the pandemic remains in full bloom. (Tompkins, 3/1)

Are Americans "over" covid? —

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Americans Are Over COVID, But Give Biden Little Credit 
Americans are abandoning COVID-19 fears and precautions, a sea change in the past few weeks as severe illnesses fell, states dropped mandates and the CDC relaxed guidelines, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. As President Biden gives his State of the Union address tonight, more people feel the worst is behind them — but they aren't giving him credit. That's a devastating miss for a leader who won election on his promises to move the nation beyond the pandemic. (Talev, 3/1)

AP: Pandemic Fears Are Fading Along With Omicron: AP-NORC Poll
Omicron is fading away, and so are Americans’ worries about COVID-19. As coronavirus pandemic case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to plummet, fewer people now than in January say they are concerned that they will be infected after the rise and fall of the wildly contagious virus variant, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (Rubinkam and Fingerhut, 2/28)

In testing news —

AP: White House: 40% Of Free COVID Tests To Low-Income Areas 
The White House says 40% of COVID-19 tests ordered through its program to distribute free at-home rapid tests have gone to Americans in distressed areas. That’s an upward revision from an estimate of around 20% of free tests ordered by people in “high vulnerability Zip Codes” that White House officials had earlier provided to The Associated Press. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/28)

Stat: Pfizer Covid Vaccine Is Far Less Effective In Kids 5 To 11, Study Finds
Newly emerging data suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine works substantially less well at preventing infection and hospitalizations in children aged 5 to 11 than it does in those aged 12 to 17 — a finding that is raising questions about whether the companies chose the wrong dose for the younger children. The data, from New York state, show a rapid and substantial decline in protection after vaccination in children in the younger age group, with efficacy against infections dropping off more quickly and dramatically than the declines seen in children aged 12 to 17. The study also found a significant, but less steep, decline in protection against hospitalizations. (Branswell, 2/28)

CNBC: Pfizer Vaccine Was Just 12% Effective For Kids In Omicron Surge: Study
Pfizer and BioNTech’s two-dose Covid vaccine provided very little protection for children aged 5 to 11 during the wave of omicron infection in New York, according to a study published Monday. The New York State Department of Health found that the effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid infection plummeted from 68% to 12% for kids in that age group during the omicron surge from Dec. 13 through Jan 24. Protection against hospitalization dropped from 100% to 48% during the same period. The study has not yet undergone peer review, the academic gold standard. Due to the public health urgency of the pandemic, scientists have been publishing the results of their studies before such review. (Kimball, 2/28)

NPR: Pfizer Vaccine Is Less Effective Against Infection For Kids 5-11, Study Says 
In all cases, the vaccine proved to provide strong protection against becoming seriously ill. The preprint study looked at data collected from more than 1.2 million fully vaccinated children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17 from Dec. 13 to Jan. 30. Researchers from the New York State Department of Health found the ability of the vaccine to protect children who got the lowest dose — kids ages 5 to 11 — from catching the virus dropped the most, falling from 68% to just 12%. Those children received an injection containing just 10 milligrams, one-third of the dose given to older children, adolescents and adults. (Romo and Stein, 2/28)

In other vaccine development news —

Stat: Pfizer Made Trump’s Vaccine Push Harder, Per New Warp Speed Book
Pfizer may have been the first company to deliver on the promises of former President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, but it was an exceedingly rocky road for the drugmaking giant and the administration’s team, according to a sweeping new book from a former official. “Of all the companies in which we invested, Pfizer was both the least transparent and least collaborative,” writes Paul Mango, the federal health department’s deputy chief of staff under Trump. (Florko, 3/1)

The Washington Post: Moderna Faces New Lawsuit Over Lucrative Coronavirus Vaccine 
Moderna faces yet another patent challenge over its coronavirus vaccine after Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences, both small biotechnology companies, filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging Moderna hijacked its technology to develop the multibillion-dollar vaccine. Arbutus and Genevant said in their lawsuit that Moderna infringed on their patent for what is called lipid nanoparticle technology, which they say was key in the development of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine and took scientists from Arbutus and Genevant “years of painstaking work to develop and refine.” The suit had been expected after Moderna lost a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling last year in the protracted patent battle. (Abutaleb and Rowland, 2/28)

And more on the vaccine rollout —

The Aegis: Harford County Volunteer Fire And EMS Association Members Help Deliver COVID-19 Vaccines To Homebound Community Members 
Since May 2021, over 200 COVID-19 vaccinations have been provided to homebound or infirmed Harford community members by Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association members, according to a news release from the HCVFA. Homebound people can contact the Harford County Health Department to receive a vaccine in their home. But once the word got out, the number of calls increased and the partnership between the county health department and HCVFA began, according to a spokesperson for the county health department. (Fontelieu, 3/1)

KHN: J&J-Vaxxed, MRNA-Boosted, And Pondering A Third Shot 
Yes, we are all exhausted by the covid pandemic. Flummoxed by the constantly shifting science and guidelines. Worried about a succession of scary new variants, each with its own name, like hurricanes. But a sizable minority — nearly 17 million U.S. residents, including me — has its own special quandary. Our initial vaccine was Johnson & Johnson, which was just one shot, and that has many of us confused. Are we fully vaccinated, even with a booster, or should we get a third shot to catch up with the 92 million vaccinees who got two doses of Pfizer or Moderna early on and have since been boosted? Since J&J has largely disappeared from the public eye, actionable information is in scarce supply — not to mention that the guidance is constantly shifting, for everybody. (Wolfson, 3/1)

In global vaccine news —

AP: 1 Million Sputnik Coronavirus Vaccines Expire In Guatemala 
Health authorities in Guatemala say over a million doses of the Russian Sputnik coronavirus vaccine have expired, because nobody wanted to take the shot. Francisco Coma, the country’s health minister, said Monday that there was a “rejection” among the population toward the vaccine, even though a lot of Guatemalans remain unvaccinated. (3/1)

The Washington Post: 140 Million Americans Have Had Coronavirus, According To Blood Tests Analyzed By CDC 
More than 140 million Americans have had the coronavirus, according to estimates from blood tests that reveal antibodies from infection — about double the rate regularly cited by national case counts. The estimates, compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that about 43 percent of the country has been infected by the virus. The study shows that the majority of children have also been infected. (Keating, 2/28)

More mutations are popping up —

Bangor Daily News: New Variant Of Omicron Detected In Maine
Maine health officials have identified a new “lineage” of the COVID-19 omicron variant called BA.2 in two instances. Early data suggest the BA.2 variant is more contagious than the original omicron variant, identified as BA.1, according to Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Shah, the differences in transmissibility appear to be smaller than the difference between the original strain of omicron and delta. (Whaley, 2/28)

CIDRAP: New Lineage Of SARS-CoV-2 Detected In Canadian Deer
An investigation led by Canadian Food Inspection Agency scientists has identified a new and highly divergent lineage of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in white-tailed deer (WTD) in that country. The findings, which are not peer-reviewed, are published as a preprint study on bioRxiv. (2/28)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin COVID-19 Hospitalizations Continue To Drop To New Lows
Fewer than 100 patients remain in intensive care with COVID-19, according to Wisconsin Hospital Association data Monday. This is the lowest level this year and the lowest since last summer. The WHA also reported that just more than 500 total patients remain hospitalized with COVID-19, which is the lowest total this year and fewest since last summer. (Bentley, 2/28)

AP: Kentucky Health Chief Warns Of COVID Complications In Kids
Kentucky parents should be aware of the risk of developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children who have been infected with COVID-19, Kentucky’s public health commissioner says. “This condition is rare but serious, ” Dr. Steven Stack said Monday at a news conference. It occurs about two to six weeks after the COVID-19 infection itself, he added, and can occur after mild or even asymptomatic COVID-19. (3/1)

The Washington Post: What Is Long Covid? Current Understanding About Risks, Symptoms And Recovery
The condition known as long covid continues to frustrate its sufferers, baffle scientists and alarm people who are concerned about being infected by the coronavirus. The term, a widely used catchall phrase for persistent symptoms that can range from mild to debilitating and last for weeks, months or longer, is technically known as Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, or PASC. But scientists say much remains unknown about long covid, which is also referred to colloquially as “long-haul covid,” “long-term covid,” “post-covid conditions” and “post-covid syndrome,” among other names. (Chiu, 2/28)

On covid treatments —

CIDRAP: Study: 90% Of Young ECMO-Eligible COVID Patients At A US Hospital Died Amid Rationing
Nearly 90% of adult COVID-19 patients who were eligible for—but didn't receive—extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during the height of the pandemic died in the hospital owing to a lack of resources, even though they were young and had few underlying health issues, according to a natural experiment published late last week in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 2/28)

Florida Times-Union: UF Health Jax Seeks COVID Patients For A Clinical Trial On Ivermectin And Two Other Drugs 
UF Health Jacksonville is part of a nationwide COVID-19 clinical trial studying whether three drugs approved to treat other conditions — including the controversial ivermectin — may help prevent hospitalizations and deaths in people with mild to moderate coronavirus symptoms. About 200 people are expected to be enrolled in the UF Health component of the trial, with about 15,000 participating nationwide, according to Carmen Isache, the study's principal investigator in Jacksonville and associate professor at UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville. (Cravey, 2/28)

AP: Nevada Emphasizes Therapeutics As New COVID-19 Cases Plummet
As Nevada’s COVID-19 case rates plummet to their lowest levels since last summer, state health officials are turning more attention to therapeutic treatments for those who can’t get vaccinated or are most at risk of severe illness or death. It’s the latest step in the evolution of a nearly two-year effort to combat the virus after the omicron variant pushed caseloads to new highs in January, said Julia Peek, deputy administrator for Nevada’s Division of Public and Behavioral Health. It comes as governments across the country lift restrictions and move away from emergency measures. (Sonner, 2/28)

AP: California, Oregon, Washington To Drop School Mask Mandates
Schoolchildren in California, Oregon and Washington will no longer be required to wear masks as part of new indoor mask policies the Democratic governors of all three states announced jointly on Monday. “With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the West, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance,” the governors said in a statement. There are more than 7.5 million school-age children across the three states, which have had some of the strictest coronavirus safety measures during the pandemic. (Gecker and Beam, 3/1)

AP: Illinois COVID-19 Mask Mandate Ending For Most Indoor Spaces 
The need for face coverings in most indoor spaces in Illinois was ending Monday as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic eases. Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier announced that he would lift the mandate for masks to slow the spread of the deadly virus as the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations fall. The Democratic governor intended that the requirement remain in effect for schools, where students and staff are more closely congregated, but other government action has invalidated that order. (3/1)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Rescinding Mask Mandate For Most State Employees
Michigan is rolling back its rule requiring state employees to wear masks while working indoors, according to a letter issued to all state employees Monday. The letter from Liza Estlund Olson, head of the State Office of the Employer, indicates most people working in "standard office and outdoor settings" can ditch their masks starting Thursday. The decision comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials drastically changed guidance on masking amid improving COVID-19 trends. (Boucher, 2/28)

Bloomberg: New Yorkers Should Make Their Own Covid Choices, Hochul Says
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Monday that choices about masks and vaccines should shift from the state back to individuals and localities as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations ebb. “Individuals should make their own decisions,” Hochul said following a weekend decision to lift an indoor school mask mandate on March 2. “Any locality can have stricter requirements than the state.” (Diaz, 2/28)

Chicago Tribune: Masks No Longer Required At Daycare Centers In Illinois 
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday added child care centers to the list of public places where masks are no longer required, a move that his office said was the result of new federal guidelines issued late Friday. Pritzker announced Feb. 9 that he would lift the mandate for most indoor public places at the end of the month, and he added schools to that list Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new recommendations and the Illinois Supreme Court overturned a lower court order that blocked enforcement of mask rules in schools. (Petrella, 2/28)

Oklahoman: What Does New CDC COVID Guidance For Masking Mean In Oklahoma?
About half of Oklahoma's counties are still seeing a high enough burden of COVID-19 in their communities that residents should continue to wear masks, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new recommendations take into account the strain COVID-19 is putting on the health care system in a given community as well as new cases and hospital admissions. (Branham, 2/28)

Fox News: CDC 'COVID-19 By County' Tool Helps You Look Up Guidelines By Local Areas
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that face masks might be optional for Americans who are in areas where COVID-19 infections are a "low" or "medium" risk. Knowing which areas have a "community level risk" can be a challenge for commuters and domestic travelers, but the CDC has launched an online COVID-19 by County tool that aims to help people keep track of coronavirus infection data and determine local health and safety guidelines, and prevention methods. "Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area," the CDC wrote about its tool. "Take precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 based on the COVID-19 Community Level in your area." (Moore, 2/28)

In updates on vaccine mandates —

AP: Honolulu To End Vaccine Proof Mandate For Eateries, Gyms
Honolulu will no longer require businesses including restaurants and fitness centers to verify employees and customers are fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test. Mayor Rick Blangiardi said Monday he will allow the emergency order that mandated vaccination proof or negative tests to expire on Saturday. (2/28)

Miami Herald: Hospitals Face Penalties If Don’t Comply With Vaccine Mandate
After months of paying bonuses to persuade employees to get vaccinated or hitting them with extra training and penalties if they didn’t, Florida hospital leaders say their institutions are well on the way to complying with a federal mandate to inoculate their workers against COVID-19. As of Monday, hospitals were required to have all workers fully vaccinated or to grant them an approved exemption, though federal regulators are giving facilities more time to comply with the mandate without being penalized — as long as they have achieved at least a 90% compliance rate. (Chang, 2/28)

Also —

Axios: The Limits Of "Following The Science"
Two years into the pandemic, the idea of "following the science" has oversimplified what's actually a complex array of factors that policymakers must weigh in formulating a response. Science has been weaponized time and again to justify or defend positions held by both policymakers and public health experts. Even when data is irrefutable, people can disagree on the application of that data and how much value to give other factors. The CDC's decision to loosen masking guidance is the latest example of a pandemic policy rooted in science, but that is ultimately a judgment call. (Owens and Snyder, 3/1)

Politico: Democrats’ Signature Abortion Rights Bill Falls Short As SCOTUS Ruling Looms
The Senate failed to advance the Women’s Health Protection Act on Monday night — leaving Democratic advocates and lawmakers wondering what else, if anything, the party can do to protect abortion rights as they come under attack from federal courts and Republican-led states. The 46-48 vote comes just a few months before the Supreme Court is to rule on half-century old protections for the procedure and before the midterm elections, when many expect Democrats to lose control of one or both chambers of Congress. (Ollstein, 2/28)

CNN: Senate Republicans Block Bill That Would Preserve The Right To Abortion 
The bill, dubbed the Women's Health Protection Act, aimed to "protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services." The House had passed the legislation in a nearly party-line vote in late September -- even though the bill was not expected to have the necessary votes to pass the 50-50 Senate, as legislation in the chamber requires Republicans to join Democrats to get at least 60 votes to break a filibuster. The bill's failure to advance in the Senate comes as Republican-led states have introduced and advanced bills across the nation that make it harder for women to access abortions and threaten health-care providers who perform the procedure. (Mizelle, Zaslav and Barrett, 2/28)

The New York Times: Republicans Block Abortion Rights Measure In Senate 
Lawmakers said it was the first time that the Senate had voted on a separate bill to enact the constitutional protections of Roe v. Wade into law. The outcome was anticipated, but Democrats were determined to hold the vote as members of both parties draw battle lines over what is expected to be a major election-year issue. The conservative-dominated Supreme Court is set to rule later this year on a case that could undermine or overturn the landmark abortion decision. “We want Americans to know where their legislators stand on this important issue,” said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the No. 3 Democrat and a leading backer of the abortion rights bill. (Hulse, 2/28)

Dallas Morning News: Women’s Health Protection Act, Pushed In Response To Texas’ New Abortion Law, Fails In U.S. Senate
Though the bill wouldn’t legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, it would prohibit states from enacting restrictions — such as waiting periods and ultrasound requirements — on abortions before the fetus is viable outside the womb and in post-viability cases when the patient’s life or health is at risk. “This is by far the most extreme pro-abortion bill that has ever been put in front of Congress, ever,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said on the Senate floor. (Caldwell, 3/1)

In related news about the abortion fight —

Louisville Courier Journal: Planned Parenthood CEO Vows To Keep Up Fight For Abortion Rights
Battling for abortion rights might seem a tough slog, especially in state like Kentucky where lawmakers have enacted multiple restrictions in recent years, including a "trigger law" to outlaw abortion should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. But Rebecca Gibron, interim CEO of a six-state Planned Parenthood group that includes Kentucky, said her organization will keep fighting for reproductive rights even as she predicts the Supreme Court will overturn the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. (Yetter, 2/28)

AP: Noem's Abortion Pill Limit Headed To South Dakota Senate 
South Dakota Republican senators on Monday advanced a proposal from Gov. Kristi Noem that aims to make the state one of the hardest places to get abortion pills, though its actual enactment depends on a federal court ruling. Every Republican on the Senate Health and Human Services committee voted to advance the bill for a vote in the full chamber, even as one GOP lawmaker cautioned the Legislature on getting involved in the practice of medicine. The lone Democrat on the committee opposed it. (Groves, 2/28)

The Texas Tribune: Six Months In, “No End In Sight” For Texas’ New Abortion Law 
When Texas’ restrictive new abortion law went into effect Sept. 1, clinics, advocates and even some who supported the legislation thought it might quickly be blocked by the courts. Six months later, the law is still standing. The law, passed as Senate Bill 8, prohibits abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. While other states have tried and failed to ban abortions this early in pregnancy, Texas’ law relied on a unique private enforcement mechanism that made it extremely difficult to challenge in court. The law empowers private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” a prohibited abortion. Those who sue could be awarded at least $10,000 if they win. Since it isn’t enforced by state officials, the law is difficult to challenge on constitutional grounds. (Klibanoff, 3/1)

ABC News: Births Decreased In First Half Of 2021, Likely Linked To Pandemic: CDC
The number of births declined in the U.S. in 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic played a role, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday. Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics -- a branch of the CDC -- compared provisional data from the first half of 2021 to final data from the first half of 2020. (Kekatos, 3/1)

And the infant formula recall expands —

CBS News: More Abbott Baby Formula Recalled After Reports Of Illnesses 
Abbott has issued a recall for another lot of baby formula after an additional child who is believed to have consumed the formula fell ill and later died, the FDA said Monday. The recall affects one lot of Similac PM 60/40 that was made at Abbott Nutrition's Sturgis, Michigan, facility. Parents should check any purchased formula for the lot code # 27032K80 (can) or # 27032K800 (case) and throw it away if it matches, the FDA said. Consumers can also use this link to check if they should throw away their formula. (Jones, 2/28)

USA Today: Similac Recall: Specialty Baby Formula Recalled After Infant Death
Abbott Nutrition's baby formula recall has been expanded to include one lot of Similac PM 60/40. The Food and Drug Administration said in an update Monday that health officials were investigating an additional illness of Cronobacter sakazakii with exposure to powdered infant formula produced at the company's Sturgis, Michigan facility. That baby also died of Cronobacter. "The most recent patient was reported to have consumed Abbott Nutrition’s Similac PM 60/40 product with the lot code 27032K800 prior to Cronobacter sakazakii infection," the FDA said. (Tyko, 2/28)

In other news about births and adoption —

Oklahoman: Bill To Ban Nonbinary Gender On Oklahoma Birth Certificates Moves Ahead
Oklahoma Republican legislators moved on Monday to no longer allow nonbinary designations on state-issued birth certificates. After a 7-3 vote in the Senate's Health and Human Services committee, Senate Bill 1100 passed despite procedural and legislative opposition by Senate Democrats. The bill is intent on removing the ability of the Oklahoma State Department of Health to accept requests and amend birth certificates to reflect a person's gender preference. As part of a legal settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed in 2020, Kit Lorelied, 46, is the recipient of the state's first gender-neutral birth certificate, where an "X" denotes their sex designation instead of a male or female gender marker. (Gore, 2/28)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court To Review Indian Child Welfare Act, Which Prioritizes Adoptions By Native American Parents Or Tribes
The Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a federal law intended to rectify past abuses of Native American children being removed from their homes and tribes, the justices announced Monday. The court consolidated four cases about the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which prioritizes placement of Indian children with relatives, other Native Americans or a tribe. The act was intended to stop past practices in which hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their homes by adoption agencies and placed with White families or in group settings. (Barnes, 2/28)

PolitiFact: What To Know About The CDC’s Updated Developmental Milestones For Infants And Young Children
In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released developmental milestone checklists for infants and young children to help parents track their child’s development and intervene if it seemed a child was delayed. The benchmarks, part of the CDC’s "Learn the Signs. Act Early" developmental monitoring program, remained unaltered for decades. But that changed on Feb. 8, when the agency, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, announced that the milestones had been revised. (Putterman, 2/28)

KOLD: Experts Concerned After CDC Changes Developmental Milestone For Kids
For the first time in 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its developmental milestones for kids to help parents spot delays sooner. However, some experts are raising concerns as the new guidelines pushed back some benchmarks. “With all the developments we have in the medical field, in everything, it feels we should be farther ahead instead of going backwards,” said mother of four Jacqueline Vaughn. (Ramirez, 2/28)

Newsweek: Fact Check: Did CDC Lower Speech Standard For Children Because Of Masking?
A discussion is raging on social media regarding whether mask mandates and isolation as a result of COVID measures have caused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lower speech standards for children. Several social media users are misleadingly linking a recent CDC guidance update to face masks and other virus-countering restrictions introduced in the U.S. since the COVID pandemic began. (Lea, 2/24)

In related news about autism —

USA Today: ADHD, Autism Test: Why Neuropsych For Special Education Costs So Much
When Ann Civitareale’s father passed away in 2009, she little fathomed that she would spend thousands of her inheritance on medical and educational testing for her two sons. Yet the boys, 12 and 14, have struggled with multiple disabilities — including developmental and speech delays and profound challenges learning to read — that she did not feel the schools could sufficiently diagnose. “Usually when you get a report back from the school, it’s just a few pages, not a comprehensive report,” she says. “I’ve always gotten them more than what the school offers. … I want them to have the best possible start in life.” (Carr, 3/1)

Autism Research News: Early Language Loss In Autistic Children Not Tied To Later Communication Problems 
Autistic children who show language regression — a loss of language skills in early childhood — do not necessarily have communication problems later on, a new study finds. In fact, in terms of both speaking and understanding words, these children follow the same overall developmental trajectory as autistic children without language regression, and the two groups display similar communication skills by about age 10. (Choi, 2/28)

SciTechDaily: New Stanford Research Shows Differences Between Brains Of Girls And Boys With Autism
Brain organization differs between boys and girls with autism, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The differences, identified by analyzing hundreds of brain scans with artificial intelligence techniques, were unique to autism and not found in typically developing boys and girls. The research helps explain why autism symptoms differ between the sexes and may pave the way for better diagnostics for girls, according to the scientists. (2/26)

Healthline: Autism And Epilepsy: What You Need To Know If They Occur Together
Autism spectrum and epilepsy frequently occur together. Both conditions affect brain function and behaviors. However, researchers do not yet fully understand why the two conditions share such a strong link. Autism spectrum disorders, or autism, are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders. Autism can affect a person’s social behavior, speech, cognition, and attention. (Holland, 2/28)

The Washington Post: Humanity Has A ‘Brief And Rapidly Closing Window’ To Avoid A Hotter, Deadly Future, U.N. Climate Report Says
In the hotter and more hellish world humans are creating, parts of the planet could become unbearable in the not-so-distant future, a panel of the world’s foremost scientists warned Monday in an exhaustive report on the escalating toll of climate change. Unchecked greenhouse gas emissions will raise sea levels several feet, swallowing small island nations and overwhelming even the world’s wealthiest coastal regions. Drought, heat, hunger and disaster may force millions of people from their homes. Coral reefs could vanish, along with a growing number of animal species. Disease-carrying insects would proliferate. Deaths — from malnutrition, extreme heat, pollution — will surge. (Kaplan and Dennis, 2/28)

The New York Times: Time Is Running Out to Avert a Harrowing Future, Climate Panel Warns
The report released Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, is the most detailed look yet at the threats posed by global warming. It concludes that nations aren’t doing nearly enough to protect cities, farms and coastlines from the hazards that climate change has already unleashed, such as record droughts and rising seas, let alone from the even greater disasters in store as the planet keeps heating up. Written by 270 researchers from 67 countries, the report is “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” said António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general. “With fact upon fact, this report reveals how people and the planet are getting clobbered by climate change.” (2/28)

In related news about greenhouse gas emissions —

Politico: Supreme Court Justices Lean Toward Hobbling EPA's Climate Authority
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to narrow the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, a move that could further derail President Joe Biden’s ambitious plans to fight climate change that have already suffered a setback in the Senate. The court’s conservative majority spent much of Monday’s arguments probing the extent of EPA’s authority, with Justice Samuel Alito at one point arguing that EPA essentially sought unfettered power over major parts of the economy. (Guillen, 2/28)

In other environmental health updates —

Detroit Free Press: Consultants Shift Blame As Flint Water Crisis Lawsuit Trial Begins
Two companies with expertise related to engineering and drinking water issues should be held responsible for professional negligence for their roles in the lead poisoning of Flint's drinking water supply, an attorney told a federal jury Monday. Officials at both companies knew the water was not safe to drink but they either said nothing or falsely told city residents the water was safe, Corey Stern told a jury of seven women and three men in U.S. District Court in Ann Arbor. (Egan, 2/28)

AP: Navy Tests Detect Elevated Petroleum In Pearl Harbor Home 
The U.S. Navy said it detected high levels of petroleum in the tap water of a home while preparing Pearl Harbor military housing for the return of families who evacuated when jet fuel poisoned their water. The Navy said testing found a petroleum compound at a level of 460 parts per billion in one Halsey Terrace home north of Honolulu’s airport. That’s more than the 211 parts per billion limit the state Department of Health set for total petroleum hydrocarbons. (McAvoy, 2/28)

Houston Chronicle: Fifth Ward Residents Urge Union Pacific To Clean Up Rail Yard Near Cancer Cluster At Protest
Activist Sandra Edwards didn’t want Black History Month to pass her by without again calling attention to Union Pacific’s failure to remove all the toxic creosote that seeped into the groundwater and soil at the end of her street in Fifth Ward. Residents in this historically Black community are tired of fighting for change — but still they press on, promising they’re not going to stop. About a dozen gathered on a sunny but cold Monday morning to hold signs by the site and publicly ask yet again for the company to clean up its contamination. “Our voices still need to be heard,” Cookie Straughter said. “It needs to be a continuous thing, to let them know we mean business.” (Foxhall, 2/28)

KHN: ‘American Diagnosis’: From Church Rock To Congress, Uranium Workers Are Still Fighting For Compensation
People living on and near the Navajo Nation have been grappling with the legacy of 40-plus years of uranium mining. According to Environmental Protection Agency cleanup reports and congressional hearings, mines were abandoned, radioactive waste was left out in the open, and groundwater was contaminated. This episode is the second half of a two-part series about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. Part I discusses the history and economic forces that brought mining projects to Indigenous land. It also explores working conditions uranium miners faced, and the response of the federal government when workers exposed to harmful radiation spoke out. (3/1)

Also —

Bloomberg: Ukraine Seeks Safe Zone As Russian Military Nears Biggest Nuclear Plant
The head of Ukraine’s nuclear-power utility called on international monitors to intervene to ensure the safety of the country’s 15 atomic reactors as an advancing Russian invasion nears Europe’s largest nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency will convene an emergency session on Wednesday in Vienna to assess the situation. The watchdog has been warning for days that the war threatens to trigger a wider tragedy by damaging nuclear power infrastructure. (Tirone, 3/1)

Modern Healthcare: Duke Estimates 15% Of Breast Cancer Cases Are Overdiagnosed
One in seven women who are diagnosed with breast cancer after a mammogram with no previous symptoms are overdiagnosed and likely overtreated, according to a new estimate from researchers at Duke University. The new estimate published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday provides doctors and their patients a closer estimate of how likely women will end up dying of other causes than their diagnosed breast tumors. (Gillespie, 2/28)

Stat: New Research Sheds Light On How Often Breast Cancer Is Overdiagnosed
Catching cancer early in a mammogram can be life-saving — smaller tumors are  easier to remove surgically, and therapy often has a much greater effect. But paradoxically, breast cancer screening also sometimes picks up tumors that would have caused less harm if they’d remained hidden. These cases, known as “overdiagnoses,” may never go on to pose a threat to a patient’s health for a number of different reasons. A new study, published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests they occur in 1 of 7 breast cancer cases detected during screening. That new estimate comes as a relief to breast cancer clinicians, who say that the study should reinforce the idea that the benefits of mammography generally outweigh its risks. Still, experts said, it doesn’t minimize the real danger of overdiagnosis or the need to effectively communicate the risks and benefits of screening to patients. (Chen, 2/28)

In cancer treatment news —

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves Cell-Based Multiple Myeloma Therapy Discovered In China 
U.S. drug regulators approved a new customized, cell-based treatment for blood cancer from Johnson & Johnson that is the first such therapy in the U.S. to be developed initially in China. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the therapy, named Carvykti, for the treatment of multiple myeloma in adult patients whose disease has worsened despite prior treatments with other drugs. (Loftus, 2/28)

Stat: FDA Approves Second CAR-T Cancer Therapy To Treat Multiple Myeloma
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a new CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma, a move that could ease strain on limited supplies of potentially lifesaving cancer therapies. The treatment, called cilta-cel and developed by Janssen and Legend Biotech, involves taking immune cells from a patient’s own body and engineering them in a lab to fight a patient’s cancer. Since the first such treatment for multiple myeloma was approved last year, manufacturing challenges have severely hamstrung supply — leaving eligible patients waiting for weeks or months to receive the engineered cells. (Chen, 2/28)

Stat: Oregon Withdraws A Waiver Request To Run A Closed Medicaid Formulary 
In response to a raft of concerns, Oregon has withdrawn a request made to federal officials to restrict medicines covered by the state Medicaid program, which is currently required to provide coverage for all treatments. However, state officials are still seeking to exclude certain drugs from Medicaid when effectiveness evidence is lacking. By seeking a so-called closed formulary, the same approach to coverage taken by private health insurers, Oregon officials had hoped to lower expenses by only covering one drug for each therapeutic class. So far, though, only Tennessee has been granted a waiver to use a closed Medicaid formulary and the Biden administration is reviewing that decision, which was issued by the Trump administration. (Silverman, 2/28)

In other Medicaid news —

AP: Ohio Medicaid Managed Care Plan Enrollment Begins Tuesday 
Medicaid enrollees in Ohio can begin selecting from among a new slate of managed care plans beginning Tuesday. As part of the Ohio Medicaid Next Generation initiative, millions of enrollees in the government health care program for low-income Americans must choose from seven managed care plans or be assigned one. (2/28)

Mississippi Today: Republican Legislators Oppose Medicaid Expansion, But Want Federal Dollars To Pay For Prisoner Healthcare
State Republicans have balked at expanding Medicaid, but are embracing legislation that would take advantage of the federal program to pay for healthcare for very sick incarcerated people — and likely create a money-making opportunity for nursing homes. Senate Bill 2448, which passed the Senate with little opposition and is now with the House Medicaid Committee, would allow “medically frail” inmates to be paroled to “special care facilities.” These would be specially licensed nursing homes where Medicaid could help pay for their care. (Taft, 3/1)

Georgia Health News: Prescription Drugs: Ga. Legislature Considers Changes For Medicaid Insurers
One House bill would make Georgia’s Medicaid managed care insurers face stricter requirements on how they spend their government dollars. There’s a second bill that has also captured their attention – an attempt to wrest control of patients’ prescription drugs from those health plans. House Bill 1351 would remove the function of the three managed care companies — Peach State, Amerigroup and CareSource — to oversee the dispensing of medication, instead placing it under state supervision. The goal of the bill is to improve care for patients and save the state money, said its lead sponsor, Rep. David Knight, a Griffin Republican. (Miller, 3/1)

North Carolina Health News: The Good And The Bad Of The Managed Care Transition 
North Carolina’s transition to managed care hasn’t yet proved to be the disaster some feared, nor the panacea others hoped for, according to a new survey from the coalition North Carolina for Better Medicaid. The organization includes two managed care organizations — Healthy Blue and Unitedhealthcare — in addition to community groups, such as the YMCA and Mountain Projects, a community development non-profit that focuses on the western part of the state. The coalition worked with Health Management Associations, a national health care research and consulting firm, to design and implement the evaluation. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 3/1)

Also —

CBS News: Medicaid Enrollment Is At An All-Time High. Millions May Soon Get Kicked Off. 
Medicaid coverage swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost one in four Americans now covered by the health insurance plan for low-income people. But as many as 15 million people may be at risk of losing coverage this year as a pandemic rule winds down. Before the public health crisis, U.S. states regularly reviewed Medicaid recipients' eligibility to verify they still qualified for coverage based on requirements such as state residency and income. The latter varies by state, but is typically about 138% of the federal poverty rate. For instance, a single person in California can't earn more than $17,609 a year to qualify. (Picchi, 3/1)

Denver Post: Eligibility Of Half-Million Coloradans On Medicaid To Be Reviewed When Pandemic Emergency Ends
If you or a family member gets health insurance through Medicaid, it’s a good time to make sure the state has your current address on file. During the public health emergency, states were ordered to stop regularly assessing whether members had become ineligible. Usually, that happens when a family’s income increases above a certain threshold. Once the emergency ends, the process will restart, and people who haven’t proven they’re eligible could lose coverage. (Wingerter, 2/28)

Modern Healthcare: Teladoc Telehealth Services Roll Out On Amazon's Alexa
Patients in the U.S. are now able to access some virtual healthcare services from Teladoc Health through Amazon's Alexa, the telehealth giant said Monday. The partnership with Purchase, New York-based Teladoc is the latest example of Amazon adding health services to its Alexa voice assistant, through which patients can acquire information about common medications, refill prescriptions and schedule visits with certain hospitals. (Kim Cohen, 2/28)

AP: Amazon's Voice Assistant Alexa To Start Seeking Doctor Help 
If there is no doctor in the house, Amazon’s Alexa will soon be able to summon one. Amazon and telemedicine provider Teladoc Health are starting a voice-activated virtual care program that lets customers get medical help without picking up their phones. The service, for health issues that aren’t emergencies, will be available around the clock on Amazon’s Echo devices. Customers can tell the voice assistant Alexa that they want to talk to a doctor, and that will prompt a call back on the device from a Teladoc physician. (Murphy and D'Dinnocenzio, 2/28)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Sicker Patients Meant Higher Operating Income For Mayo Clinic
Sicker patients, who had to be hospitalized longer, drove Mayo Clinic's larger operating surplus last year, when compared with 2020's financial figures. The Rochester, Minnesota-based health system posted a 7.7% operating margin in calendar year 2021, which is higher than many of its not-for-profit peers. Mayo generated $1.2 billion in operating income on $15.7 billion in revenue last year—compared with $728 million on $13.8 billion in operating revenue in 2020, a 5.3% operating margin. (Bannow, 2/28)

Modern Healthcare: Study: Private Equity Linked To Higher Anesthesia Costs
Insurance companies are seeing significantly higher anesthesia bills from private equity-backed physician management companies than from practitioners who keep their staffing and management services in house, according to a study published Monday in JAMA. Researchers found physician management companies with private equity funding charged over 16.5% higher prices than those without. The study reviewed data from over 2.2 million privately insured patients at over 3,600 facilities who received anesthesia services from Jan. 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2017. (Abrams, 2/28)

Modern Healthcare: ONC: 77% Of Info-Blocking Complaints Accuse Providers
The Health and Human Services Department has received nearly 300 complaints of healthcare entities allegedly blocking access to patient data since new regulations that required such information exchange went into effect last year, according to data released Monday. Beginning in April 2021, the first phase of a data-sharing rule from HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology went into effect, which requires healthcare providers, health information exchanges and developers of health IT certified by an ONC program to share data with patients and one another if requested, unless they meet one of eight exceptions. (Kim Cohen, 2/28)

CNBC: Why Health-Care Costs Are Rising In The U.S. More Than Anywhere Else
Health-care spending is rising around the world, but the U.S. is the worst performer. The United States accounts for more than 40% of all global health spending. Health-care spending made up 5% of total U.S. GDP in 1960. In 2020, spending hit almost 20% of total U.S. GDP. “Health care almost always outpaces inflation, and so health-care costs grow faster than the economy,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “That’s why it’s representing a larger and larger share of the economy.” (Morabito, 2/28)

KHN: Biden’s Blanket Statement — ‘No More Surprise Billing’ — Doesn’t Quite Cover It 
During a Feb. 10 speech about lowering health care costs, President Joe Biden made a sweeping declaration that Americans would no longer need to worry about surprise medical bills. “No more surprise billing. No more,” said Biden. “Millions of hardworking Americans will no longer have to worry about unexpected medical bills.” (Knight, 3/1)

Also —

The Boston Globe: Nurses Union Survives Vote To Remain At Saint Vincent Hospital After Bitter 9-Month Strike
Nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester fought off an effort to oust their union from the hospital and voted overwhelmingly Monday to remain members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The decision is a victory for the union, which held a historic nine-month strike at Saint Vincent last year before winning a new labor contract. “The honor and integrity of our union is strong, as the Saint Vincent nurses have reaffirmed our right to maintain a powerful voice in our advocacy for our patients and our work life,” Marlena Pellegrino, a nurse and co-chair of the bargaining unit, said in a statement. “We now look forward to working with all our colleagues to truly begin the healing process and to build a positive future for Saint Vincent Hospital.” (Dayal McCluskey, 2/28)

Dallas Morning News: TCU Announces Site Of New Medical School In Fort Worth
Texas Christian University is opening a new campus in Fort Worth’s medical district for its School of Medicine.TCU originally launched the school in 2015 as a partnership with the University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine. But the institutions split in January. The school will soon be located in the city’s Near Southside neighborhood and will house 240 medical students as well as hundreds of faculty and staff. It aims to drive economic development and biomedical advances through partnerships with hospitals, health care organizations and biotech industries, school officials said. (Olivares, 2/28)

The New York Times: Viatris Settles EpiPen Antitrust Litigation For $264 Million 
Viatris, the drugmaker previously known as Mylan, announced on Monday that it had agreed to pay $264 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company was involved in an illegal scheme to monopolize the market for epinephrine auto-injector devices known as EpiPens, which are used to treat severe allergic reactions. The proposed settlement, which needs to be approved by a judge, would resolve a legal battle that began after Mylan, in 2016, raised the price for a pack of two EpiPens to $608 from $100, the price since 2007, according to court documents. (Jimenez, 2/28)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: UC Berkeley Loses CRISPR Patent Case, Invalidating Licenses It Granted
Ending the latest chapter in a years-long legal battle over who invented CRISPR, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled on Monday that the revolutionary genome editing technology belongs to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. The decision is a blow to the University of California and biotech companies that had licensed the technology from the university for use in developing treatments, including Intellia Therapeutics and CRISPR Therapeutics. They will now have to negotiate with the Broad Institute for the right to use CRISPR for human therapies. (Molteni, 2/28)

Stat: Why A Big Compounding Pharmacy Recently Recalled All Its Products
Last December, a little-known compounding pharmacy recalled all of its products due to “process issues that could lead to a lack of sterility,” according to a statement issued at the time by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Now, the extent of those problems has been made clear after the agency posted a 28-page report by its inspectors, who last fall found a plethora of filthy conditions at a facility run by Edge Pharma, which compounds numerous medicines for hospitals, surgery centers, and clinics for more than a dozen different therapeutic areas including urology, ophthalmology, and neurology. (Silverman, 2/28)

Axios: Health Tech Developers Want To Help You Sleep
Venture capitalists are amping up their bets in sleep and movement tracking, according to a new PitchBook report. Startups and tech giants have been working on fitness and sleep devices for roughly the past decade, and today, affluent consumers have their pick of Oura rings, Whoop bands, Apple Watches and Google Nests. Wearables have been popular for ages, but Amazon and Google began investing in bedside sleep trackers last year. (Brodwin, 2/28)

The New York Times: Dr. Bronner’s, The Soap Company, Dips Into Psychedelics 
Dr. Bronner’s, the liquid soap company best known for its teeny-font labels preaching brotherly love and world peace, would like you to consider the benefits of mind-altering drugs. The sentiment is promoted on limited-edition soap bottles that sing the praises of psychedelic-assisted therapies, and through the trippy pronouncements of David Bronner, grandson of the company’s founder and one of its top executives, who is not shy about sharing details of his many hallucinogenic journeys. (Jacobs, 2/28)

The Washington Post: Virginia GOP Pushes Legal Recreational Marijuana Sales Timeline 
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee on Monday killed efforts to accelerate recreational marijuana sales in the state, leaving its budding cannabis industry in limbo for at least another year. The GOP-controlled House panel voted along party lines to float a nearly 200-page bill until next year’s legislative session. The bill had become this year’s vehicle for nearly all marijuana-related measures, outlining everything from enforcement and regulation to tax revenue and reinvestment. (Elwood, 2/28)

In other news about marijuana and CBD —

Stateline: Workers Who Legally Use Cannabis Can Still Lose Their Jobs
So far, 14 states and Washington, D.C., have banned employers from discriminating against workers who use marijuana for medical reasons. New Jersey and New York ban employers from discriminating against workers who legally use marijuana medically or recreationally. And Nevada bans employers from refusing to hire someone solely because they fail a marijuana test. The laws generally make exceptions for certain employers and occupations. But bills have stumbled elsewhere because of opposition from business groups and disagreements over how to measure marijuana intoxication. A bill filed in Washington state this session already has been tabled. A California bill faces an uphill battle. And, in light of opposition, a Colorado bill will be softened to studying the issue. (Quinton, 2/28)

Kare11.Com: Medical, Smokable Marijuana Is Now For Sale In Minnesota
Legalized medical marijuana in its purest form, dried flower, is now for sale in Minnesota. Starting Tuesday, March 1, everyone who is registered for medical marijuana use can apply to obtain flower. But a few patients who were already vetted got their hands on some of Minnesota's first legal bud. (Molmud, 2/28)

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota Lawmakers Stop Recreational Marijuana Legalization
Anti-cannabis lawmakers at the state Capitol have thwarted momentum building toward legal marijuana in South Dakota. And the same committee in the South Dakota Legislature that killed a proposal to legalize recreational pot use for adults Monday also advanced a separate measure that repeals portions of the medical marijuana law adopted by voters in 2020."The provisions that past in IM26 were just a backdoor way to recreational marijuana," said Rep. David Anderson, R-Hudson. (Sneve, 2/28)

AZFamily.com: Arizona Marijuana Lab Fined Nearly $500K For Intentional, Inaccurate Results
OnPoint, a laboratory that tests marijuana in Arizona, has been fined nearly a half-million dollars for repeated violations. OnPoint Laboratory reached the agreement after the state threatened to pull the lab’s certification. Inspections show violations go back to September 2020. A report prepared by the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) states deficiencies and violations were “committed intentionally” and “are a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the public and medical marijuana qualifying patients.” (Pickel, 2/28)

CNN: CBD Products For Children Remain A Mystery For Most Parents, Report Says 
Some 80% of parents say they know little to nothing about CBD products, according to a new poll by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan Health. The term CBD stands for cannabidiol, a chemical compound found in marijuana and hemp, the report said. Unlike marijuana, CBD only has 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The THC is the psychoactive part of marijuana that makes people feel high. Of the 7% of parents who gave or considered giving a CBD product to their child, only 29% said they talked with their child's pediatrician about using it. Of the 1,992 parents polled nationwide, 35% thought CBD and marijuana are more or less the same thing. The parents had children who ranged from newborns to 18 years old. (Marples, 3/1)

In news about the opioid crisis —

Columbus Dispatch: Medical Expert: Husel's Painkiller Doses 'Astounding,' 'Mind-Boggling'
Ryan Hayes came into Mount Carmel Health System's intensive care unit in April 2017 with swelling in his brain after overdosing at home. Then, a medical expert testified Monday, Dr. William Husel gave Hayes, who was 39, 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl, enough of the powerful opiate "to take out an elephant." Thirty-three minutes after that medication was given, Hayes was dead. And the medication is what killed him, Dr. Wes Ely, of Vanderbilt University, testified on Monday. (Bruner, 2/28)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Moves Forward With Low-Cost Drug Program
Nevada is moving ahead with joining a multi-state consortium for prescription drug purchasing that could help Nevadans save on generic and brand name drugs. The state is joining the Northwest Prescription Drug Consortium operated by Oregon and Washington, the stater Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday, following Gov. Steve Sisolak’s preview of the move in an address last week. “This is a great opportunity for the people of Nevada who face high costs for their vital prescription medications,” said Dr. Beth Slamowitz, the department’s senior policy adviser on pharmacy, in a statement. Enrollees can save an average 80 percent on generics and up to 20 percent on on brand name drugs, the department said in announcing the action. (Dentzer, 2/28)

In other news from across the U.S. —

AP: New Mexico Bill Allows Testing To Prevent Fentanyl Deaths 
New Mexico is allowing broad access to test strips that can detect the presence of the potent opiate fentanyl and potentially help avoid deadly overdoses, under legislation signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill from Democratic legislators in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos lifts restrictions on public access to devices that can test for drug impurities. It also gives state health health officials new authority to intervene and rein in the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis that can be transmitted through intravenous drug use. (3/1)

Missouri Independent: Missouri Paid SLSCO $25M To Aid Hospitals During COVID Surge 
SLSCO, a Texas-based construction company, made lofty promises to Missouri’s state health department over the summer that, if hired, it could immediately send hundreds of healthcare workers to aid struggling hospitals. As evidence, the company pointed to filling a request within 36 hours for 200 intensive care unit nurses and staff in California, and indicated their “bench is deep” with hundreds of staff exclusive to the company. “We have deployed 1,000s of medical staff with a 72 hour notice,” wrote Janna Contorno, a project manager with SLS, in July pitching Missouri officials on its services. (Weinberg and Ladyzhets, 2/28)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Debates Lowering Threshold For Providing Alcohol To Minors
Parents "who turn a blind eye" to underage drinking would be easier to prosecute if a bill proposed by two Ohio Republicans becomes law. House Bill 418 would lower the legal threshold for charging the owner or occupant of a home or business with allowing underage drinking from knowingly to recklessly because it is "easier for a prosecutor to prove that a person acted recklessly." "With the knowingly standard, people are gaming the code," state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said. "I may have let 10 teenagers into my basement, and I may have stocked the fridge downstairs with beer. I may have taken keys at the front door, but I didn't know what they were doing down there. I didn’t know they were drinking." (Staver, 2/28)

Miami Herald: GOP Senator Tries To Alter Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill, Fails 
A Republican state senator offered an amendment to the so-called “don’t say gay” bill Monday in an attempt to reduce partisan tensions over one of the most controversial measures of the legislative session. His GOP colleagues voted the idea down, then voted to move the bill to a full Senate vote. Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, argued that his amendment would fix the most contentious portion of House Bill 1557, which would bar schools from teaching lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade — or in ways that are not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate in other grades. (Wilson and Ceballos, 2/28)

Salt Lake Tribune: Bill Spurred By 10-Year-Old Izzy Tichenor’s Suicide Would Require Utah Schools To Track Race Of Bullied Students
After the recent death of a 10-year-old Black girl by suicide, a Utah lawmaker is proposing that all public schools be required to track demographic data on cases of bullying to determine whether students of color in the state are being targeted. Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, said during an emotional committee hearing Friday that as a Black mother, she was devastated to hear of Izzy Tichenor’s death, which drew national attention. She attended the funeral in November, where she said she promised Izzy’s mother that she would work to prevent another case like hers. “It just tugged at me,” Hollins said. “We have a problem with racism in our schools. … And we cannot lose another life as a result.” (Tanner, 2/28)

KHN: A Dog Day At The Dentist’s: North Carolina Regulates Pups In Dentistry
The first time 11-year-old Levi McAllister had a tooth pulled, he screamed, kicked, and struggled so much that his mom had to hold him down. So when Levi returned to Charlotte Pediatric Dentistry in January to get two more teeth pulled, dental hygienist Barb Kucera had a surprise for him: a friendly yellow Labrador retriever named Atkins. (Crouch, 3/1)

The New York Times: There's Smarter Statistics For The Under-5 Vaccine 
As a parent of three children under 4, I was hit hard by last month’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration was delaying its review of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children under 5. Like many caregivers guarding young children against the coronavirus, my winter has been full of rapid tests, mask reorders and outdoor play dates in borderline frostbite conditions. I’m able to manage this because I believe it’s temporary; we just need to hold out a little longer until our children can get vaccinated. (Aubrey Clayton, 3/1)

The New York Times: New York City Can End Mask Mandates And Lead On Covid-19 
New York City, one of the nation’s first epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, is on the cusp of stepping into the next hopeful chapter of this crisis, and Mayor Eric Adams is leading the way. On Sunday, Mr. Adams announced that he would eliminate school mask mandates and vaccine requirements for restaurants, gyms and movie theaters by next Monday, as long as case numbers remain low. (2/28)

Also —

The Star Tribune: The First Treatment For Alzheimer's Taught Us Some Hard Lessons 
The Food and Drug Administration's surprise approval of Aduhelm for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease last year was a mess on practically every level. Three agency advisers resigned, and skeptical doctors such as myself were left to advise patients — all desperate for hope — that, yes, it is a treatment option but, no, we have no idea whether it will work. And by the way, it is extraordinarily expensive. (Keith Vossel, 2/28)

Newsweek: The Shameless Cruelty Of Medicare's Top Bureaucrats 
I have been living joyfully and purposefully with Alzheimer's disease for over nine years. And I'm doing so well, in large part, because I've been fortunate to participate in Biogen's clinical trial of the drug aducanumab, now FDA-approved as Aduhelm, for the last seven years. I have no doubt that the medication has slowed my cognitive decline—providing me additional years to enjoy my grandchildren, family and my role as a national Alzheimer's advocate. (Geri Taylor, 2/28)

The Boston Globe: Latin America Moves Forward In Legalizing Abortion As The US Rolls Back Access. What Gives? 
In a remarkable turn of events, Latin America is opening up abortion access to more and more women while the United States is moving backward. And it’s been happening fast: In just over a year, three of the most populous countries in Latin America — Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia — have decriminalized abortion, breaking with decades of precedent and powerful religious influence from the Catholic Church and the growing evangelical movement. (Marcela Garcia, 2/28)

The Tennessean: Playing Politics With Tennessee's Opioid Epidemic Hurts Everyone
Our state and our nation is struggling with a crisis that lurks below the surface of everyday life, mostly out of sight impacting Tennesseans from Memphis to Knoxville. I’m talking about the opioid crisis, which killed 3,032 of our fellow Tennesseans in 2020 and over 100,000 Americans last year, costing the nation a staggering $1 trillion annually. (Dr. Benjamin Miller, 2/28)

Miami Herald: Heart Disease Kills More Americans That Cancer Does 
February is Heart Disease Awareness Month. It is recognized during the shortest month of the year, and now it’s almost over. Sadly, I’ve heard next to nothing about the topic during the month dedicated learning more about heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease accounts for more deaths than any other disease, killing about 690,000 people a year in this country. It’s a staggering number, that merits more attention. (Liliam M. Lopez, 2/26)

Stat: Systems Thinking Can Improve Access To Digital Health Innovations 
Over the last decade, the dawn of digital health has accelerated biopharmaceutical innovation, the pace of which has only quickened since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet within this tech-enabled health ecosystem, a glaring inequity exists in access to digital health tools. Technology applications of the biopharmaceutical industry, including sensors, wearables, and digital therapeutics, are largely inaccessible to disadvantaged segments of the population who stand to benefit from these tools the most. (John J. Doyle, Anam M. Khan and Jowanna R. Malone, 3/1)

Stat: The Future Of Pharma And Health Care: Small Molecule Drugs 
Rightful accolades to Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for the Covid-19 vaccines they created and developed in less than a year, along with plans to use their technologies to fight other infectious diseases, such as AIDS, and even to treat cancer, have renewed enthusiasm for complex therapies. But I believe that complex therapies, for all their wonders, represent only part of the future of medicine. (Neil Dhawan, 3/1)

The CT Mirror: Prioritize Affordable Health Services That Meet People 'Where They’re At'
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “meeting people where they’re at.” At Mental Health Connecticut (MHC), the phrase is spoken often in our values and also in how we deliver services. For most residents in Connecticut who are living with complex health issues, where they’re “at,” literally, is their home and that’s where they wish to stay. Through MHC’s in-home services program, Mental Health Concierge, we are seeing the needs of individuals and their families expand. A whole health approach is no longer “nice to have,” it’s essential. Luckily, private pay coverage for in-home care is also expanding, but we’re not where we need to be. (Marisa Russo, 3/1)

Stat: To Be Serious About Diversity, Academic Medicine Needs To Pay Up 
As I began interviewing for my first post-fellowship position as a neuro-oncologist, I immediately realized that I could work in private practice and earn a great salary or make a lot less by opting to work in a teaching hospital where I could do research and help train new doctors. In the end, I took a job in a teaching hospital that gave me the time, resources, and support to pursue a career in health equity. But as a first-generation Guyanese physician, the decision wasn’t easy — especially about the salary. (Joshua A. Budhu, 2/28)