AP: Loneliness Poses Risks As Deadly As Smoking: Surgeon General
Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic. About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in an 81-page report from his office. “We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It’s like hunger or thirst. It’s a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing,” Murthy told The Associated Press in an interview. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that’s not right. That’s why I issued this advisory to pull back the curtain on a struggle that too many people are experiencing.” (Seitz, 5/2)

ABC News: US Surgeon General Calls For Action Regarding The Ongoing 'Epidemic Of Loneliness And Isolation'
The report cites recent research showing that approximately half of U.S. adults experienced loneliness daily, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... According to the report, insufficient social connection has also been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression and dementia. Additionally, loneliness was reported among the primary motivations for self-harm, according to a systematic review cited in the advisory. (Egan, 5/2)

Surgeon General's Guest Essay In The New York Times: We Have Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That.

Also —

The New York Times: Emergency Room Visits Have Risen Sharply For Young People In Mental Distress, Study Finds
Mental health-related visits to emergency rooms by children, teenagers and young adults soared from 2011 to 2020, according to a report published on Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The sharpest increase was for suicide-related visits, which rose fivefold. The findings indicated an “urgent” need for expanded crisis services, according to the team of researchers and physicians who published the report. (Richtel, 5/1)

CIDRAP: More Depression, Especially In Girls, Seen In Kids During Pandemic
A longitudinal meta-analysis today in JAMA Pediatrics surveyed studies published in 12 countries about the rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents and children before and after the pandemic and found that rates of depression increased, especially among female youth in high-income counties. (Soucheray, 5/1)

Houston Chronicle: 41% Of LGBTQ Youth Seriously Considered Suicide In 2022, New Survey Finds
LGBTQ youth, and particularly those who are transgender and non-binary, continue to be at high risk of attempting suicide, according to a new survey. The fifth annual survey published by The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, found that 41 percent seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including half of transgender and nonbinary young people. That’s down slightly from last year’s 45 percent of LGBTQ youth who seriously considered suicide. (Goldenstein, 5/1)

Stat: Survey: Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Takes Alarming Mental-Health Toll On Queer Youth
Across the U.S., anti-LGBTQ legislation — and especially anti-trans legislation — is limiting queer youth’s access to everything from bathrooms to gender-affirming surgery. A new national survey from the Trevor Project paints a stark picture of the mental-health toll of these forces: LGBTQ youth consider and attempt suicide at alarmingly high rates, and nearly one-third say their mental health was poor “most of the time or always” due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation. (Gaffney, 5/1)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

In other news about transgender health care —

CNN: Oklahoma Governor Signs Legislation Banning Gender-Affirming Care For Minors 
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law Monday banning gender-affirming care for minors with the possibility of a felony charge for health care professionals who provide it. (Forrest and Sutton, 5/2)

St. Louis Public Radio: Judge Again Temporarily Blocks Missouri Transgender Care Limits
A St. Louis County judge on Monday put a statewide emergency rule that would limit health care for transgender Missourians on hold for at least another two weeks. Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo granted a request from the Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and their plaintiffs to extend the pause on the rule from Attorney General Andrew Bailey, originally scheduled to go into effect April 27. (Fentem, 5/1)

AP: Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr Sues Over Removal From House Floor
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr asked a court Monday to allow for her return to the House floor after she was silenced and barred for chiding her Republican colleagues over legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and for encouraging protesters. (Beth Hanson and Brown, 5/2)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Whistleblower Pushes Back On St. Louis Transgender Center Findings, Reiterates Claims
The whistleblower who accused a transgender clinic of harming its young patients is standing firm in her claims of medical negligence after an internal review by Washington University found them to be unsubstantiated. In a pair of statements on April 22, ex-employee Jamie Reed’s legal team called the oversight committee’s summary of conclusions, released the day before, “little more than the expected self-serving finding.” (Schrappen, 4/29)

Also —

The Texas Tribune: Transgender Texas Teen Plots His Future As Anti-LGBTQ Bills Progress
Randell and his family are bracing for the worst-case scenario.Over the past few months, the 16-year-old North Texas boy has watched Senate Bill 14 — which would bar transgender youth like himself from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy — sail through the Senate and a House committee. The legislation would also ban transition-related surgeries, but they are rarely performed on kids. And on Tuesday, the bill could be up for a key vote in the lower chamber, where the legislation has more than enough support to pass. (Nguyen, 5/1)

AP: Feds: Hospitals That Denied Emergency Abortion Broke The Law
Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found. (Seitz, 5/1)

Abortion news from Indiana, Montana, Oregon, and New Mexico —

Reuters: US Supreme Court Spurns Challenge To Indiana Abortion Cremation Or Burial Law 
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the legality of an Indiana requirement that abortion providers bury or cremate embryonic or fetal remains following the procedure, sidestepping another dispute involving a contentious Republican-backed state policy concerning abortion. (Chung, 5/1)

AP: Rule Requiring Prior OK For Medicaid-Paid Abortions Halted
A judge in Montana temporarily blocked a new rule Monday that would have required physicians in the state to provide prior documentation showing that an abortion is medically necessary before the state’s Medicaid program will authorize payment for the procedure. (5/2)

AP: Oregon Lawmakers Advance Bill On Abortion, Trans Health Care
Oregon lawmakers have advanced a sweeping bill intended to protect abortion and gender-affirming health care for transgender people by boosting legal safeguards and expanding access and insurance coverage. Democratic representatives on Monday night passed the bill along party lines in a House floor vote that stretched for roughly six hours after Republicans sought to stall it. (Rush, 5/2)

AP: National Groups Rebut Abortion-Ban Ordinances In New Mexico
National and regional advocacy groups have urged the New Mexico Supreme Court to strike down recent abortion-ban ordinances in several cities and counties, in a legal filing Monday. The Supreme Court has not said yet whether it will consider legal arguments from independent parties, including a professional society for obstetricians and gynecologists, and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. The court blocked local abortion ordinances while it deliberates. (Lee, 5/2)

Also —

Axios: Red State Providers' New Abortion Dilemma
Providers in states where abortion is banned may find themselves forced to navigate conflicting state and federal laws when pregnant patients come to emergency departments for care — and face serious consequences for noncompliance with both. (Gonzalez and Owens, 5/2)

KFF Health News: After Idaho’s Strict Abortion Ban, OB-GYNs Stage A Quick Exodus
At a brewery in this northern Idaho city, hundreds of people recently held a wake of sorts to mourn the closure of Sandpoint’s only labor and delivery ward, collateral damage from the state’s Republican-led effort to criminalize nearly all abortions. Jen Quintano, the event’s organizer and a Sandpoint resident who runs a tree service, called to the crowd, packed shoulder to shoulder as children ran underfoot, “Raise your hand if you were born at Bonner General! Raise your hand if you gave birth at Bonner General!” Nearly everyone raised their hand. (Varney, 5/2)

NPR: Long COVID Clues Point To Viral Reservoirs As Key Target
Brent Palmer's first inkling about long COVID started in the early days of the pandemic, before the term "long COVID" even existed. Some of his friends had caught the virus while on a ski trip and returned home to Colorado with the mysterious, new illness. It was a frightening time — and an irresistible opportunity for Palmer, who studies the immune response to infectious diseases like HIV. (Stone, 5/2)

CIDRAP: Data Show Omicron Common Cause Of COVID-19 Reinfections
A study of 541 children and young adults in Ohio with two or more SARS-CoV-2 infections finds that the median interval between two infections was 229 days, and reinfection counts were higher during the Omicron era. The study is published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. (Soucheray, 5/1)

On the covid vaccine rollout —

The Washington Post: Most Federal Covid Vaccine Mandates To End May 11
The Biden administration will end its requirements that most international travelers, federal workers and contractors, health-care workers and Head Start educators be vaccinated against the coronavirus effective on May 11 — the same day it terminates the pandemic-related public health emergency. (Diamond, 5/1)

The Boston Globe: Boston To Close Three COVID-19 Vaccination And Testing Sites
The Boston Public Health Commission will close three of its COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites on May 13, citing “a sustained decline in site utilization and patient volumes.” The three sites are located at a Boston Centers for Youth and Families facility in Hyde Park, the Josephine Fiorentino Community Center in Allston, and the Lena Park Community Development Corporation offices in Dorchester, city officials said. (Andersen, 5/1)

The Texas Tribune: Ken Paxton To Investigate COVID-19 Vaccine Makers
Long an opponent of COVID-19 safety mandates, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday he will investigate three major pharmaceutical companies for deceptive practices, arguing that they may have misrepresented the effectiveness of vaccines and the likelihood of becoming infected after receiving a vaccine. (Barragan, 5/1)

CIDRAP: Study Of Novavax COVID Vaccine Estimates 100% Efficacy Against Hospitalizations
A post hoc analysis of a phase 3 randomized, controlled trial estimates that two doses of the Novavax (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine were 100% effective against hospitalization by 95 days during a period dominated by the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant. (Van Beusekom, 5/1)

The Washington Post: Inhaled Steroids For Asthma May Offer Some Cancer Protection, Study Says
People with asthma were found to be 36 percent more likely to develop cancer than people who do not suffer from the chronic respiratory disease, according to research published in the journal Cancer Medicine. The study tracked 360,084 participants, ages 18 to 65, for eight years, including 90,021 people with asthma. In that time, those with asthma had a higher risk for developing five types of cancer — lung cancer, blood cancer, melanoma, kidney cancer and ovarian cancer — from the 13 types of cancer the researchers analyzed. (Searing, 5/1)

The Hill: People With Asthma Have Higher Risk Of Cancer, And Not Just In Lungs: Study 
The cancer risk was elevated with statistical significance in 5 of 13 cancers analyzed in the study, not merely in cancers related to the respiratory system: lung cancer, blood cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma and ovarian cancer. The study, researchers assert, is the first “to report a positive association between asthma and overall cancer risk in the US population.” (Mueller, 5/1)

On cardiac care —

Axios: Cardiac Care Is More Intense In Hospitals, Study Finds
Heart patients were more likely to receive a high-intensity, hospital-based intervention when their doctor was employed by a hospital compared to patients whose care was managed by an independent cardiologist, a study published Monday in Health Affairs found. The study signals more evidence that hospital consolidation may lead to more risky — and costly — care. (Reed, 5/2)

Stat: One-Third Of Black Americans Live In 'Cardiology Deserts'
Many Black Americans would have to travel across county lines just to find an open spot with a cardiologist, a new analysis found. About 16.8 million Black Americans — roughly 1 in 3 — live in counties with little or no access to heart specialists, according to a report from GoodRx, a telehealth company that provides drug discounts and also researches health trends. (Chen, 5/2)

In other health and wellness news —

USA Today: Breast Cancer Screening At 42? Study Says Black Women Should
More and more, Dr. Ryland Gore has been diagnosing Black women with breast cancer at younger ages. Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive, fast-growing breast cancer subtypes. The Atlanta-based breast surgical oncologist said that by the time many of her patients reach her, the cancer is advanced. (Hassanein, 5/1)

CNN: Cognitive Decline, Dementia Common After Stroke
Up to 60% of all stroke survivors develop memory and thinking problems within a year, and one-third go on to develop dementia within five years, according to a new American Stroke Association scientific statement. (LaMotte, 5/1)

CBS News: New AI System Could Help People Who Lost Their Ability To Speak
"Currently, language encoding is done using implanting devices that require neurosurgery. Our study is the first to decode continuously, meaning more than single words or sentences, from non-invasive brain recordings, which we collect using functional MRI," Jerry Tang, one of the researchers, said during a press conference about the study, the findings of which were published Monday in Nature Neuroscience. (Moniuszko, 5/1)

Military.Com: Military Expanding The Use Of Fitness Trackers To Detect Disease Outbreaks Such As COVID-19 
The Pentagon is expanding the use of wearable fitness trackers to help predict outbreaks of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 as use of the technology, such as watches and rings, spreads in the military despite early security concerns. The Defense Innovation Unit, an entity within the Pentagon focused on pairing commercially available technology with military uses, says that it had success during the pandemic in identifying infections by marrying an artificial intelligence algorithm with a commercial device. (Lawrence, 5/1)

The Washington Post: Dog Walking Is A Reason For Common Injuries Seen In ERs
Fractured fingers, shoulder sprains and head injuries are common reasons people visit the emergency room. Now new research has identified a potential culprit — the family dog. Johns Hopkins University researchers found that over a period of nearly two decades, more than 422,000 U.S. adults were treated in ERs for injuries suffered while walking leashed dogs. Women and people ages 40 to 64 made up most of the patients. (Bever, 5/1)

In environmental health news —

CBS News: Freshwater Fish Contaminated With Toxic "Forever Chemicals" Found In Nearly Every State
Health experts have been sounding the alarm about PFAS, human-made toxic chemicals that last so long in the environment and people that they've been called "forever chemicals. The compounds have been linked to cancer and other illnesses, and more than 95% of all Americans who have been tested have detectable levels in their blood. (Saberi, 5/1)

Politico: Federal Study Details Extent Of PFAS In Firefighters' Gear
Concentrations of "forever chemicals" were found in every textile sample of firefighters' protective gear, according to a federal report that could add fuel to a yearslong battle to get the hazardous chemicals out of firefighters' personal protective equipment. The report, published Monday by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, tested 20 new samples from firefighters' gear for 53 types of PFAS and found traces of 26 types. (Borst, 5/1)

USA Today: DEA Tightens Rules For Buprenorphine, Opioid Epidemic's Lifeline Drug
Doctors and advocates are concerned a federal proposal to roll back a pandemic policy allowing remote prescribing of a common opioid substitute medicine could jeopardize those recovering from addiction. With the public health emergency set to end May 11, the Drug Enforcement Administration proposal would require people to visit a doctor or clinic within 30 days of getting a telehealth prescription for buprenorphine. (Alltucker, 5/2)

More on the opioid crisis —

AP: Wisconsin Legislators To Consider Opioid Settlement Payout
Wisconsin legislators are poised to accept the state’s share of a settlement stemming from another multistate lawsuit accusing drug manufacturers and distributors of contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis. A coalition of states and local governments secured settlements in November and December with opioid manufacturers Teva and Allergan as well as with pharmaceutical chains Walmart, Walgreens and CVS totaling $19.2 billion. (5/2)

KFF Health News: Listen: How Are States Spending Money From The Opioid Settlements? It’s Not Easy To Know
KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani appeared on NPR’s “1A” on May 1 to discuss issues related to how opioid settlement funds are being distributed.

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: A Battle Between Gilead And The U.S. Government Over Patents On HIV Prevention Pills Goes To Trial
After years of sparring, the federal government and Gilead Sciences will square off in a Delaware courtroom this week in a bid to settle dueling claims over the rights to a pair of groundbreaking and lucrative HIV prevention pills. (Silverman, 5/2)

Stat: Why Do Tobacco Control Groups Oppose A Bill On Disposable Vapes?
There’s a new bill in Congress meant to crack down on the cheap disposable vapes, like Puff Bar, that are increasingly popular with kids. But nearly all of the leading tobacco-control groups don’t want anything to do with it. They say the bill is being pushed by the makers of competing vapes, namely RJ Reynolds, the maker of Vuse e-cigarettes, to take attention off of its products’ growing popularity, and to push competition out of business. (Florko, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: In The Fight Against Aging, A Drug Called Rapamycin Captures Attention
A kidney transplant drug has become the latest fixation of people trying to fight aging. Some people looking to extend their lifespan have for years turned to a decades-old diabetes drug, metformin. Now, rapamycin, an immunosuppressant medication, is capturing their attention because some aging researchers believe it holds more promise. (Janin, 5/1)

Bloomberg: Ryan Breslow Of Bolt Fintech Fame Debuts New Health Startup Called Love
Wellness startup Love, the latest company co-founded by Silicon Valley’s favorite provocateur Ryan Breslow, is open for business. On offer: tongue cleaners, productivity gummies and herbal pills for menopause symptoms. (Chapman, 5/1)

NPR: Crisis In Nursing: Nurses Say Staffing Shortage Is Worse Than Five Years Ago
Close to a third of nurses nationwide say they are likely to leave the profession for another career due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey from AMN Healthcare shows. This level is up at least seven points since 2021. And the survey found that the ongoing shortage of nurses is likely to continue for years to come. (Diaz, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Nurses Flock Back To Hospitals After Leaving In The Pandemic
Many nurses who left hospital staff jobs during the pandemic out of exhaustion or for lucrative temporary jobs are coming back. Their return in recent months, spurred by falling pay from the temp agencies and new hospital perks, is helping ease shortages that have crowded emergency rooms and forced hospitals to turn away patient referrals. (Evans, 5/1)

On home health care —

The CT Mirror: After 50 Years, West Hartford Nursing Home Closes – With A Warning
For the last six years, Jeannette Crowe has called the Hughes Health and Rehabilitation Center home. The 84-year-old with multiple sclerosis expected to die at the five-star facility, surrounded by the staff that has become like family. But all that changed last month, when Sam Flaxman — the grandson of the man who bought the West Hartford building in 1961 and turned it into a 170-bed long-term care home — walked into a meeting with the 81 residents still living at Hughes to make a stunning announcement: The nursing home was closing. (Altimari and Carlesso, 4/30)

KFF Health News: Community Paramedics Don’t Wait For An Emergency To Visit Rural Patients At Home
Sandra Lane said she has been to the emergency room about eight times this year. The 62-year-old has had multiple falls, struggled with balance and tremors, and experienced severe swelling in her legs. A paramedic recently arrived at her doorstep again, but this time it wasn’t for an emergency. Jason Frye was there for a home visit as part of a new community paramedicine program. (Zionts, 5/2)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Virtual Reality Reimbursement May Be Coming From CMS
Reimbursement from payers will increase usage of virtual reality headsets in healthcare but experts say the process will take time. Healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to virtual reality technology to complement care. Virtual reality companies in this area have three options as the market becomes more defined: They can appeal to providers on the clinical impact and cost savings of their solutions, market products directly to consumers or seek regulatory and payer approvals. Getting regulatory approval will be a time-consuming process, experts say. (Turner, 5/1)

The Baltimore Sun: New Pediatric Guidelines Aim To Treat Obesity Without Stigma. Critics Say They’ll Make Bias Worse
From the time Alexandra Slick was little, she knew that when she went to the doctor’s office, at least one person was probably going to tell her that she needed to lose weight. She remembers sitting in an examination room as a middle schooler, watching her mother cry as a nurse practitioner asked her if she wanted her daughter to die. At that point, while Slick’s weight was considered obese by the body mass index, she already had been dieting for about four years and practiced karate every week. (Lora and Roberts, 5/1)

Stat: How Spanish-Speaking Latinas Face Discrimination During Labor
The research question that pursued Jessica Valdez, an OB-GYN resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco, stemmed from her mother’s womb: How important is it to a birthing woman’s experience to be seen by health care providers who share her primary language? (Castillo, 5/2)

KFF Health News: The Nation’s Health Secretary Has This Doctor On Call
Carolina Reyes, a Harvard-trained physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, got into medicine to help women obtain health care, especially underserved or marginalized people who face systemic racism. She’s seen progress, albeit slow, over three decades, yet the number of maternal deaths each year continues to rise. Luckily, she’s got the ear of President Joe Biden’s health secretary. (Young, 5/2)

AP: Low-Income New Yorkers Win The Right To A Root Canal
For millions of low-income New Yorkers, access to routine dental care has long hinged on whether or not they still have eight crucial teeth. A mouth with just four pairs of matching back teeth is considered “adequate for functional purposes,” according to the state’s rules for Medicaid recipients. And those considered functional, no matter how many other teeth they’re missing, aren’t covered for root canals and crowns, two of the field’s most common procedures. (Offenhartz, 5/1)

In other Medicaid news from Kentucky —

AP: GOP Candidates Discuss Medicaid Work Requirements In Debate
Several Republican gubernatorial candidates offered support for imposing work requirements for some able-bodied Kentucky adults receiving Medicaid health coverage as they met in a high-stakes debate on statewide television Monday night, about two weeks before the state’s primary election. (Schreiner and Lovan, 5/2)

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

Tampa Bay Times: Florida Bill Protecting ‘Conscience’ Allows Doctors To Deny Treatment
Florida medical professionals would be able to refuse to perform nearly any health care service if they have moral objections under a bill passed by the Senate on Friday and moving in the House this week. Under SB 1580, medical health providers could not be held liable in a civil case if they turn away a patient on conscience grounds. Insurance companies could also refuse to pay for a service if it goes against their written, conscience-based guidelines. (Ellenbogen, 5/1)

North Carolina Health News: Bill Would Give UNC Health Green Light To Restructure
Big changes could be ahead for the UNC Health system if a bill approved Monday by  the state Senate wins support from the state House of Representatives. The Chapel Hill-based health care giant is one of two academic research hospital systems in North Carolina that exist under the umbrella of state government — Vidant Health based out of East Carolina University is the other such system. (Hoban, 5/2)

Los Angeles Times: California College Students Demand Free Transportation To Sexual Assault Exams
Weeks before UC Irvine opened its sexual assault forensic exam site, a student needed it. She walked into the nearest emergency room after her attack only to find out that it did not offer rape test kits. By the time she was rerouted, it was 2 a.m., and the student, exhausted in the throes of trauma, declined to make the trip to Anaheim to the nearest facility offering an exam — more than 19 miles off campus. (Mays, 5/1)

CNN: More Than 100 Cases Of Rare Fungal Infection Linked To Michigan Paper Mill
Health officials in Michigan said 109 cases of the rare fungal infection blastomycosis have been linked to a paper mill in Escanaba, an increase of five cases since the last update a week ago. Among the 109 cases, 13 have been hospitalized, and one death was previously reported. (Gumbrecht, 5/1)

New Hampshire Public Radio: How To Protect Yourself During Tick Season In NH 
As New Hampshire’s weather begins to warm up, tick season is getting underway. Staying safe from their bites, and illnesses like Lyme disease, can require some precaution. “You have to be more persistent and do your due diligence to do your tick prevention during the time when most of the ticks are out, which is now,” said Katilyn Morse, the executive director of BeBop Labs, a New Hampshire-based organization that tracks ticks and tick-borne diseases. (Hoplamazian, 5/1)

USA Today: New Parkinson's Test Is 'Monumental Leap Forward'
This week in New York City, 300 of the world’s top neuroscientists are meeting to chart the future of Parkinson's disease research. They are the leaders of the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a major international study designed to help cure Parkinson's disease faster. (Michael J. Fox, 5/2)

Dallas Morning News: Removing Texas Physicians From The Health Care Team Would Be Harmful, Costly
Would you support a health care reform that worsens patient outcomes, increases medical costs and undermines access to quality medical care? Of course not. But this would be the consequence of several misdirected pieces of legislation currently before the Texas Legislature, including Senate Bill 1700 and House Bill 4071. (Gary W. Floyd and G. Ray Callas, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Biden Is Right To End Coronavirus Vaccine Requirements 
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it will end most coronavirus vaccine mandates, including for federal workers and international travelers. This is the right decision, as it aligns health policy with updated science and evolving circumstances. (Leana S. Wen, 5/1)

Modern Healthcare: Issues Facing Doctors Treating Young Patients 
Our practices continue to see more and more children and adolescents with mental health issues. ... Of course, part of the challenge with their treatment has been the shortages in the behavioral health workforce. So pediatricians and family physicians have to fill in the gaps. In some areas, there are so few child and adolescent psychiatrists that [pediatricians] often have no one to refer their patients to. (Dr. Sandy Chung and Dr. Kara Odom Walker, 5/1)

Stat: Do Masks Work? RCTs Can't Tell Us
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, before we had vaccines and effective medical procedures, the only ways to prevent transmission of the virus were behavioral measures like face masks and social distancing. There was (and continues to be) a desperate hunger for definitive studies telling us how well specific measures would work, with specific publics, in specific settings, for specific strains of the novel and changing virus. Although the scientific community mobilized at record speeds, it could not produce studies with the desired surety. (Baruch Fischhoff, Martin Cetron and Katelyn Jetelina, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Transgender Biology Debates Should Focus On The Brain, Not The Body 
In the past decade, there has been some fascinating research on the brains of transgender people. What is most remarkable about this work is not that trans women’s brains have been found to resemble those of cisgender women, or that trans men’s brains resemble those of cis men. What the research has found is that the brains of trans people are unique: neither female nor male, exactly, but something distinct. (Jennifer Finney Boylan, 5/1)

Stat: Doctor Appointment Wait Times Are Getting Worse 
In 2004, the physician search firm Merritt Hawkins first issued their Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times. That year, the national average wait to get in to see a new physician was 21 days, an unacceptable amount of time to wait to access care. But that number has only gotten worse. In their 2022 survey, the wait for a new patient appointment increased to an average of 26 days. (Oliver Kharraz, 5/2)