Reuters: U.S. Calls For 'Transparent' New Investigation Into COVID Origins
The United States called on Tuesday for international experts to be allowed to evaluate the source of the coronavirus and the “early days of the outbreak” in a second phase of an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. U.S. intelligence agencies are examining reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, according to U.S. government sources who cautioned on Monday that there is still no proof the disease originated at the lab. (Nebehay, 5/25)

The Washington Post: U.S. Health Secretary Calls For Follow-Up Investigation Into Pandemic’s Origins
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, speaking in a video message, urged an annual ministerial meeting of the World Health Organization to establish a second stage of the investigation that took place in the Chinese city of Wuhan earlier this year. (Ang and Cunningham, 5/25)

The Hill: White House Pushes For Independent Investigation On COVID-19 Origins
The White House on Monday said that officials cannot draw a conclusion about the origins of COVID-19 without an independent investigation and more data from China. “We are and we have repeatedly called for the [World Health Organization] WHO to support an expert-driven evaluation of the pandemic’s origins that is free from interference and politicization,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing Monday. (Chalfant, 5/24)

CNN: WHO Coronavirus Investigators Pinpoint Overlooked Chinese Data For Further Study, Source Says
Previously overlooked Chinese data on extensive screening of animals for coronavirus around the time the pandemic erupted is among several areas identified for further study by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists investigating the origins of Covid-19, a source close to the team told CNN. The source said the records are contained in a nearly 200-page annex posted alongside the WHO panel's March report that received little attention among global experts at the time. But the data may add weight to calls from China's critics for more transparency and to the WHO team's desire to return to the country for further studies. (Walsh, 5/25)

The Wall Street Journal: The Wuhan Lab Leak Question: A Disused Chinese Mine Takes Center Stage
On the outskirts of a village deep in the mountains of southwest China, a lone surveillance camera peers down toward a disused copper mine smothered in dense bamboo. As night approaches, bats swoop overhead. This is the subterranean home of the closest known virus on Earth to the one that causes Covid-19. It is also now a touchpoint for escalating calls for a more thorough probe into whether the pandemic could have stemmed from a Chinese laboratory. In April 2012, six miners here fell sick with a mysterious illness after entering the mine to clear bat guano. Three of them died. (Page, McKay and Hinshaw, 5/24)

CNBC: U.S. Should Dig Deeper Into Theory That Covid Originated In A Wuhan Lab, Ex-Clinton Official Says
The U.S. should be playing a larger role in getting to the bottom of the theory that Covid-19 first leaked from a virology lab in Wuhan, China, Atlantic Council senior fellow Jamie Metzl told CNBC on Monday. “Right now, the World Health Assembly is meeting, and the United States should be doing everything possible with our allies to demand a comprehensive investigation into Covid origins with full access to all the records, samples, and personnel in China and beyond,” Metzl, a former national security official in the Clinton administration, said on “The News with Shepard Smith.” (DeCiccio, 5/24)

More from WHO —

The Hill: WHO Director-General Calls For Countries To Vaccinate At Least 10 Percent Of Their Populations By September
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general on Monday called for all countries to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their populations by September and at least 30 percent by the end of 2021 in a “Drive to December”. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared during a speech to the annual World Health Assembly that WHO member states should back the “massive push” to reach these COVID-19 vaccination goals. (Coleman, 5/24)

CIDRAP: World Health Assembly Kicks Off With Pandemic Issues At Fore
In an address to the group today, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, warned the group that the world remains in a very dangerous situation and as of today, more COVID-19 deaths have been reported in 2021 than in all of 2020. "Since our Health Assembly started this morning, almost 1000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. And in the time it takes me to make these remarks, a further 400 will die," he said. Though global cases have dropped for the past 3 weeks, the world remains in a fragile situation, Tedros said. (Schnirring, 5/24)

AP: Merkel, Macron Back Efforts To Improve WHO As Meeting Opens
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday were among leaders rallying around efforts to strengthen the World Health Organization and the world’s ability to prepare for and defend against pandemics. It came as the U.N. health agency opened its annual assembly, with a draft resolution in the works that acknowledges missteps in the response to COVID-19. The sweeping proposal would seek to boost pandemic response, stabilize WHO’s funding and ensure greater access to health care — including to vaccines, tests and treatments linked to the coronavirus. (Keaten, 5/24)

CIDRAP: WHO, Switzerland To Launch First BioHub Lab To Share Pathogen Samples
In a step designed to speed pathogen risk assessment and countermeasure development, as well as to broaden access, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Switzerland today signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the first WHO BioHub facility, part of the WHO BioHub system first announced in November. The biosafety lab in Spiez will safely receive, sequence, store, and prepare pathogen samples for sharing with other laboratories, the WHO said in a press release. It said the current system is slow and done bilaterally on an ad hoc basis, which leaves some countries without access to the resulting benefits and tools. (5/24)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Americans Are Re-Emerging From The Pandemic, But Don't Trust Others' Honesty 
Americans are taking off their masks and re-engaging publicly at levels not seen since the start of the pandemic, with the most dramatic shifts in people over 50 and those who've been vaccinated, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. It's happening despite significant distrust over strangers' honesty about their COVID-19 vaccination status and amid major confusion over Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on mask use and social distancing for those vaccinated. (Talev, 5/25)

Fox News: Despite CDC Mask Guidance, Biden Admin May Still Issue Workplace Mandate
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may still issue a workplace mask mandate consistent with a January executive order from President Biden despite new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines that vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks indoors. Biden's Jan. 21 executive order directed his administration to "consider whether any emergency temporary standards on COVID-19, including with respect to masks in the workplace, are necessary." The order set a deadline of March 15, which was missed. (Olson, 5/24)

NBC News: They're Keeping Their Masks On. Their Reasons Extend Beyond Their Health.
As mask mandates ease across the country, many people are finding that their affinity for face coverings extends beyond health reasons. Even with no requirement to wear their masks, some people are continuing to do so — having come to appreciate the reprieve they provide from stifling social expectations while out in public. These mask-wearers say they see a multitude of benefits to covering up. No one can tell you to smile when you don’t feel like it. It gives you a break from putting on makeup. And it provides a degree of anonymity. (Chuck, 5/25)

Democrat and Chronicle: NY Ends New COVID Policy Requiring Children In Day Care To Wear Masks
Kids in day care will not have to wear masks to protect against COVID-19, state agencies said late Monday, reversing a widely derided policy put in place last week. The joint announcement from the state Office of Children and Family Services and Department of Health comes after day care facilities and lawmakers ripped a change in a state mandate last week that required those over the age of two to wear masks while at child care. (Spector, 5/24)

WKAR: Mask Or No Mask? Confusion Persists As Businesses Decide On Policies
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Michigan has been at the center of the mask-wearing debate, and it intensified after hundreds of residents flooded the Michigan State Capitol to protest the governor's stay-at-home orders and mask mandates. Today the decision to wear or not wear a mask is seen in Michigan by many as a political statement. But it's one that Michigan restaurant owner Travis Stoliker is not interested in making. (Jokisch Polo, 5/25)

NJ Advance Media: N.J. Mask Mandates Mostly Going Away. But Here’s Where Masks Will Still Be Required.
The indoor mask mandate New Jersey installed to battle the coronavirus pandemic effectively ends Friday for a vast majority of settings — including restaurants, stores, movie theaters, and dozens of other venues. But there are still some places where masks will be required in the state, most notably in schools and public transportation. (Arco, 5/24)

AP: Conservative Lawmakers In Maine Lose Posts After Confrontation Over Masks
Maine’s Democratic house speaker stripped seven conservative lawmakers of committee assignments on Monday after the group had a confrontation with Capitol Police about mask rules in the Maine State House. Republican Representative Laurel Libby released a video of the confrontation, in which the lawmakers entered the state house without masks on. A Capitol Police officer approached the group, and members said they weren’t required to wear masks and continued on. (Whittle, 5/24)

CNN: Young Americans Are Lagging Behind With Covid-19 Vaccines. And These Threats Have Experts Pushing For Their Vaccination 
Experts are turning their focus in the fight against Covid-19 to vaccinating young Americans -- warning that though they may not face high risk for serious illness, they may still have to contend with long-term symptoms. Vaccines have been praised as the key to getting the pandemic under control in the US, and strides have been made in vaccinating the adult population. (Holcombe, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: Vaccination Rates Up Among Latino, Black Californians
There’s a promising sign in California’s efforts to get more Latino and Black residents vaccinated: They’re now getting shots at a relatively faster rate than other racial and ethnic groups. The overall disparity in the percentage of Latino and Black Californians who are at least partially vaccinated is still troubling: Only about 35% of Latino and 36% of Black residents are at least partially vaccinated, while 52% of white, 49% of Native American/Alaska Native and 63% of Asian American/Pacific Islander residents are at least partially vaccinated, according to a Times analysis of state data. (Greene and Lin II, 5/24)

Roll Call: Public Health Officials Target Vaccine-Hesitant Via Dating Apps 
The Biden administration is partnering with top dating apps to encourage young and healthy people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and other popular dating apps will add special vaccination badges and benefits to users’ profiles after they receive the vaccine. For example, any person on Tinder who adds a sticker to their profile promoting the COVID-19 vaccine receives a free “Super Like.” The apps will also provide information about vaccines and help people schedule appointments. (Cohen, 5/24)

AP: EU Leaders Agree To Donate 100 Million Doses Of Vaccines
EU leaders agreed Tuesday to donate at least 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to poorer nations by the end of the year as supplies steadily rise across Europe. Gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit, the 27 leaders backed a text in which they pledge to continue efforts “to increase global vaccine production capacities in order to meet global needs.” Leaders also called “for work to be stepped up to ensure global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines” and reiterated their support for the U.N.-backed COVAX program. COVAX aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 shots for low-and middle-income countries. (Petrequin, 5/25)

KHN: Corporations Encourage Employee Vaccination But Stop Short Of Mandates
Many of the companies with the largest number of employees say they’ll do almost anything to encourage their employees to get vaccinated. But a survey of some of them found that none would be inclined to mandate shots as a condition for holding a job. Almost all 15 companies surveyed — among the largest and most influential Fortune 500 companies — have strong pro-vaccine messages from their corporate leadership, emphasizing that the shots can both help protect individuals and bring the pandemic to a close. (Almendrala, 5/25)

Politico: Death-Certificate Omissions Stymie FEMA Funeral Assistance Program
Thousands of Americans seeking federal funeral assistance for coronavirus victims can’t collect because their family members’ death certificates do not list Covid-19, according to two senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the situation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency rolled out the $2 billion pandemic funeral assistance program in April, modeling it on similar efforts it has run after major hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. The funding came from a $2.3 trillion spending package that former President Donald Trump signed in December 2020, making it the largest funeral assistance program FEMA has ever handled. (Banco, 5/24)

CNBC: Biden Doubles FEMA Spending On Extreme Weather Preparedness
resident Joe Biden on Monday announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would double the funding available to help cities and states prepare for extreme weather disasters, to $1 billion this year from $500 million in 2020. Biden also announced the launch of a new NASA initiative to more closely track how the climate is changing, and the impact of these changes on local communities, both in the near term and farther into the future. (Wilkie, 5/24)

The Hill: Biden Doubling FEMA Funds For Extreme Weather Preparations
The budget increase will go to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which provides support for local, state and tribal government preparation efforts. The increase, and the program in general, are part of an effort to “categorically shift the federal focus” from responding to individual disasters on a case-by-case basis to “research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience,” the White House said. “As climate change threatens to bring more extreme events like increased floods, sea level rise, and intensifying droughts and wildfires, it is our responsibility to better prepare and support communities, families, and businesses before disaster — not just after,” the administration said in a statement. “This includes investing in climate research to improve our understanding of these extreme weather events and our decision making on climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation. It also means ensuring that communities have the resources they need to build resilience prior to these crises.” (Budryk, 5/24)

In other administration news —

CBS News: Biden Administration Scraps Plans To House "Tender Age" Migrant Children At Texas Army Base
The Biden administration is scrapping plans to house "tender age" migrant children at a military base in the Texas desert amid concerns about subpar conditions and prolonged stays there, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed to CBS News on Monday. As of May 13, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was planning to house up to 5,000 migrant children under the age of 12 at the Fort Bliss Army base, one of 13 sites the Biden administration has set to house unaccompanied minors, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News. (Montoya-Galvez, 5/24)

AP: US Warns Against All Travel To Japan As Olympics Loom
U.S. health officials and the State Department on Monday warned Americans against travel to Japan because of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, which is preparing to host the Olympics in just two months. The twin alerts don’t ban U.S. citizens from visiting the country, but they could have an impact on insurance rates for travelers and may factor into decisions by Olympic athletes and spectators on whether to compete in or attend the games, which are due to start in July. There was no immediate indication as to what effect the warnings might have on would-be Olympic-goers. (Lee, 5/24)

AP: Japan Says US Travel Warning For Virus Won't Hurt Olympians
The Japanese government Tuesday was quick to deny a U.S. warning for Americans to avoid traveling to Japan would have an impact on Olympians wanting to compete in the postponed Tokyo Games. ... Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference Tuesday that the warning does not prohibit essential travel and Japan believes the U.S. support for Tokyo’s effort to hold the Olympics is unchanged. (Yamaguchi, 5/25)

In other travel news --

CBS News: United Airlines Offers Vaccinated Customers Shots At Free Travel
United Airlines is offering vaccinated customers a shot at winning free travel as the carrier joins a national effort to get more Americans immunized against COVID-19 and derail a pandemic behind the deaths of nearly 590,000 Americans. New or existing members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program who upload their vaccination records to United airline's mobile app by June 22 can be entered to win free flights for a year's worth of travel, the Chicago-based company announced on Monday. (Gibson, 5/24)

NBC News: FAA Proposes More Than $60,000 In Fines Against Unruly Passengers Amid Mask Fights
Five unruly passengers are facing fines totaling more than $60,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency announced Monday. The passengers face fines of $9,000 to $15,000 for interfering with flight attendants who either instructed them to obey cabin crew instructions or follow federal regulations like wearing a mask, the U.S. Department of Transportation agency said in a release. Two of the passengers are accused of assaulting flight attendants on different flights. (Wong, 5/24)

Axios: Report Finds Racial Segregation Common In Urban Hospital Markets 
Some of the least racially inclusive hospitals in the U.S. are located in the same cities — even within blocks, in some cases — as some of the most inclusive hospitals, according to a new report from the Lown Institute. In a year that has highlighted racial inequities in healthcare, the analysis shows the segregation still playing out at hospitals across the nation. (Reed, 5/25)

Fierce Healthcare: In Many U.S. Cities, Most And Least Racially Inclusive Hospitals Are Neighbors, Lown Institute Says
Further, Lown’s analysis placed more than twice as many “elite hospitals” named to U.S. News’ Honor Roll in the bottom third of the racial inclusivity ranking than it did in the upper third. “The difference between the most and least inclusive hospitals is stark, especially when they are blocks away from each other,” Vikas Saini, M.D., president of the Lown Institute. “As the nation reckons with racial injustice, we cannot overlook our health system. Hospital leaders have a responsibility to better serve people of color and create a more equitable future.” (Muoio, 5/25)

Read the Lown Institute Hospitals Index rankings

NPR: Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse
When cases of COVID-19 began rising in Boston last spring, Pooja Chandrashekar, then a first year student at Harvard Medical School, worried that easy-to-understand information about the pandemic might not be available in the many languages spoken by clients of the Family Van, the health services and health literacy program where she was working at the time. So Chandrashekar recruited more than 175 multilingual health profession students from around the U.S. to start the COVID-19 Health Literacy Project. Its aim: Create clear, understandable information about the virus in more than 40 languages, including English. The group's COVID-19 fact sheets, vetted for accuracy and readability by faculty members who speak and read those languages (the first Urdu effort was deemed too formal), were shared with community organizations around the world. They've been downloaded more 250,000 times so far in over 150 countries. (Kritz, 5/24)

And a year after George Floyd's death —

Politico: White America: Awakened?
One year after the death of George Floyd, there is widespread recognition that America’s national reckoning on race still has a long way to go. But another thing is becoming clear: data suggests public opinion on racial justice issues has changed dramatically, powering a sustained and historically significant wave of activism among white Americans. It’s a development with wide-ranging political and policy implications, creating the conditions for rethinking approaches to policing, criminal justice, housing and health care disparities, to name a few. President Joe Biden’s unprecedented acknowledgment of — and frequent references to — systemic racism is but one reflection of the altered dynamics. (Payne, 5/25)

The Hill: Black Families Experience 'Year From Hell'
Many Black parents remain on edge amid police killings of Black Americans that have continued since Floyd’s killing, which sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. Black Americans separately have endured a disproportionate burden during the pandemic, with recent data showing higher death rates for Black people and Black women in particular. There are also fears that Blacks are being left behind in the nation’s economic recovery.  (Folley, 5/25)

CNN: The Abortion Fault Line Is About To Start Rumbling 
One of the original culture war conflicts may be poised for a resurgence -- with potentially explosive political consequences. The Supreme Court's recent decision to consider the legality of Mississippi's restrictive law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy could trigger the most serious and sustained political debate over the procedure since the final decades of the 20th century. And that could dramatically widen the already gaping demographic and geographic fissures between red and blue America. (Brownstein, 5/25)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Senate Advances Bill To Outlaw Abortions If Roe. V. Wade Overturned
The Republican-led Legislature advanced a bill to almost immediately outlaw abortions in Texas if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion. Called a “trigger” law, House Bill 1280 would take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision or after a court ruling or constitutional amendment gave states the authority to prohibit abortions. (Najmabadi, 5/24)

Cincinnati Enquirer: SW Ohio City May Vote To Ban Abortion Tuesday, Declare 'Sanctuary City For The Unborn'
A Southwest Ohio city will vote on whether to ban abortion Tuesday night. The proposed ordinance in Lebanon would also declare the city of 20,000 in Warren County, north of Cincinnati, a "sanctuary city for the unborn." The president of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio described the measure as "reprehensible." (Wartman, 5/24)

Stat: Lawmakers Pitch Bill To Create $30 Billion In Drug Development 'Biobonds'
In a bid to jumpstart drug development, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill for the U.S. government to back so-called “biobonds,” which would be used to fund small companies and universities that are researching treatments for unmet medical needs. The LOANS Act, which would authorize a total of $30 billion over an upcoming three-year period, is designed to reduce what the lawmakers called a “perennial shortage of funds” and to help restart research stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Silverman, 5/24)

Bloomberg Law: AstraZeneca Loses Bid To Postpone HHS’s Drug Discount Deadline
A judge denied AstraZeneca’s request for two extra weeks to present a plan to resume giving steep drug discounts to certain pharmacies. Judge Leonard P. Stark of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware instead expedited on Monday a hearing originally set for June 9, which has now been rescheduled for May 27. AstraZeneca requested a speedier hearing as an alternative to pushing back the deadline for a discount plan.The case tests the government’s enforcement power under the federal 340B program, which requires drugmakers to give discounts to health centers with low-income patients. (Kramer, 5/24)

KQED: Fentanyl Is Killing More People During The Pandemic. In Santa Clara County, Victims Are Getting Younger
In 2020, the number of fentanyl deaths in the county more than doubled, and the victims were younger, on average, than in the previous two years, according to an analysis by KQED and the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation. The Documenting COVID-19 project and KQED obtained data from the county medical examiner that showed 11 people died from a fentanyl overdose in 2018. That number grew to 27 people in 2019 and then shot up to 73 people in 2020. The increase mirrors a surge in drug overdoses in California and around the country during the pandemic. What’s notable about the victims in Santa Clara County is their youth. One was a 12-year-old girl. (Small and Chatterjee, 5/24)

AP: Substance Abuse Prevention Group Gets $200K Federal Grant
A group fighting substance use addiction in ground zero of the opioid epidemic in one of West Virginia’s largest cities will receive a $200,000 federal grant. West Virginia’s U.S. senators announced that Recovery Point of Huntington will receive the funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program offers no-cost services for people with substance use disorder, a press release said. The grant will specifically help target recidivism among those struggling. (5/25)

AP: Saban, Others Join West Virginia Opioid Prevention Effort
Alabama coach Nick Saban is set to join current and former athletes and coaches from West Virginia and Marshall universities this week as part of an effort to fight the opioid epidemic. They’re coming together at the Greenbrier Resort for a group called West Virginia Game Changer. It’s a community initiative designed to educate and support youth to make healthy choices. (5/24)

Reuters: Mallinckrodt Opioid Claimants Call For More Reorg Plan Disclosures
The group representing individuals and government entities with opioid-related claims against Mallinckrodt Plc say the pharmaceutical company needs to provide more information and time for them to determine whether they will vote in support of its proposed restructuring plan. (Chutchian, 5/24)

NPR: Children's Risk Of Serious Illness From COVID-19 Is As Low As It Is For The Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a strong statement about the effectiveness of vaccines when it decided that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks in most circumstances. But it left some parents concerned about how the change might affect children too young to be vaccinated. Dr. Paul Offit, who heads the vaccine education center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says that the new mask guidance is mostly good news. "But I think that has made this world a little less safe for young children," he says. (Harris, 5/25)

The New York Times: Small Study Looks At Children With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome
Children who get sick from the rare but serious Covid-related inflammatory syndrome may surmount their most significant symptoms within six months, but they may still have muscle weakness and emotional difficulties at that time, a new small study suggests. Published in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health on Monday, the study appears to be the first detailed look at the health status of children six months after they were hospitalized with the condition, called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The syndrome typically emerges two weeks to six weeks after a Covid-19 infection that is often quite mild, and it can result in hospitalizations for children with severe symptoms involving the heart and several other organs. (Belluck, 5/24)

CNN: MIS-C: Most Severe Effects In Children Typically Resolve Within Six Months, New Research Suggests 
The most severe symptoms that come with MIS-C, the rare but serious Covid-19 related condition, seem to resolve within six months after hospitalization, according to a new small study of patients at one hospital in London. The study published Monday in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health looked at half a year's worth of results from nearly 46 children who were treated for MIS-C, or what is also known in the UK as PIMS-TS, which stands for Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome. (Christensen, 5/25)

The CT Mirror: Children With Psychiatric Needs Are Overwhelming Emergency Departments
The night before 11-year-old Ella was admitted to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in early May, her father Sean thought his daughter’s mood seemed “wonderful.” Ella had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and their nightly strolls, which helped her relax before bed, were a chance to reflect on the day and talk to her parents about how she was feeling. “She was bubbly. She was talking about her animals — she recently got a fish she loves, and we have cats and a dog,” Sean said. “So it was a really pleasant, positive seeming, really encouraging walk.” (Watson, 5/25)

CNN: Children Are At Increased Risk Of Accidental Poisoning From Marijuana Edibles, Study Finds 
Children are at increased risk of accidental poisoning from edibles and other products made from marijuana, according to a new study analyzing calls to poison control centers from January 2017 through December 2019. Calls about poisoning as a result of consuming products such as weed concentrates, extracts, beverages, vape juice and edibles more often involved children under 10 years old, the study found, compared to calls about dried or pre-rolled cannabis plant poisonings. (LaMotte, 5/24)

Stat: A Gene Therapy Opens A New Chapter For Children, But Challenges Endure
When Rachael and Pat Brown rattle off all that their daughter Kate can do, their voices are imbued with an astonishment that eclipses even the usual parental pride. Never mind that the skills might seem meager for a 3½-year-old. Kate can pick up toys. She can scooch herself along the floor. She’s strong enough to sit and hold her head up, and that means she can join them at the dinner table and needle her older siblings. She can talk, well enough that she can ask her parents to turn on Genesis’ “Invisible Touch.” “And,” Rachael said, “she’s alive.” (Joseph, 5/25)

On schools —

Health News Florida: Advocates Cheer Passage Of Bill Requiring Baker Act Parental Notification 
Parents have long fretted about schools’ ability to circumvent them in critical health decisions regarding their children. Now, those loopholes are getting smaller after the Legislature approved provisions requiring parents be notified before their child is sent for an involuntary psychiatric exam. It's part of a years-long effort by parents rights groups and mental health advocates to curb the use of the state's Baker Act on children. (Hatter, 5/24)

WSB-TV: Parent Group Takes Out Full-Page Ad To Urge Gwinnett BOE To Drop Mask Mandate For Students 
The mask or no-mask controversy is growing in Gwinnett County. One group of parents bought a full-page newspaper ad over the weekend to try and convince administrators to drop the masks requirement for their kids in schools. The same group interrupted the school board meeting last week, refusing to put on masks when asked to do so. (Thomas, 5/24)

Axios: New York City Schools Will Have No Remote Option This Fall 
New York City public schools "will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote," Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday. Some 1 million students in the country's largest public school district will return to class for five days a week in the city that was once the epicenter of the pandemic, where de Blasio now says "COVID is plummeting." (Allassan, 5/24)

The Washington Post: NYC And LA School Systems Will Return To Full-Time In-Person Learning In Fall
The two largest school systems in the United States will fully reopen for in-person learning this fall, officials announced Monday, a major step in the country’s pandemic recovery. The public school districts in New York City and Los Angeles — which together educate more than 1.6 million students — became the latest to announce their planned transitions away from virtual learning, which will also allow parents who have been supervising their children’s online classes to go back to work. (Thebault, Dou, Cunningham, Schemm and Shammas, 5/25)

North Carolina Health News: “I Figured You Were OK”: Black Patients’ COVID Symptoms More Often Dismissed, Downplayed
As the number of COVID-19 cases ticked up last fall, Douglas McClain’s wife and mother convinced him to take a flu shot for the first time ever, believing it might offer him an extra measure of protection against the coronavirus. A few days later, the 53-year-old Charlottean developed typical flu symptoms that got progressively worse and forced him to take a few days off from his finance job. Out of an abundance of caution, McClain took a COVID-19 test. The results were positive. (Newsome, 5/24)

CIDRAP: Age, Health Conditions Are Linked With COVID Severity In Pregnant Women
Increased age and underlying medical conditions were associated with a greater likelihood for more severe COVID-19 infections in pregnant women, according to a study late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers used the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network to identify 7,950 pregnant women, 20.9% of whom had moderate-to-severe or critical illness. Mothers were identified from Mar 29, 2020, to Mar 5, 2021. Most were 20 to 39 years old (91.2%) and had Medicaid (54.5%). About one in three (36.4%) had at least one underlying condition, with the most common being pre-pregnancy obesity (28.2%). (5/24)

Reuters: Immune System Has Long-Term Defenses After Mild COVID-19
Months after recovery from mild COVID-19, when antibody levels in the blood have declined, immune cells in bone marrow remain ready to pump out new antibodies against the coronavirus, researchers reported on Monday in Nature. Upon infection, short-lived immune cells are generated quickly to secrete an early wave of protective antibodies. As the immune cells die out, antibody levels decline. But a pool of these immune cells, called long-lived plasma cells, is held in reserve after infection. Most of them migrate to the bone marrow, explained coauthor Ali Ellebedy of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Lapid, 5/25)

The New York Times: Blind Man's Sight Partially Restored With 'Optogenetics' Gene Therapy
A team of scientists announced Monday that they had partially restored the sight of a blind man by building light-catching proteins in one of his eyes. Their report, which appeared in the journal Nature Medicine, is the first published study to describe the successful use of this treatment. “Seeing for the first time that it did work — even if only in one patient and in one eye — is exciting,” said Ehud Isacoff, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study. (Zimmer, 5/24)

Stat: Optogenetics Used For The First Time To Help A Blind Patient See Again 
Somewhere in Paris, in a white room, seated at a white table, a man wearing a headset reminiscent of those worn by VR gamers reached out with his right hand and placed his fingers on a black notebook. This simple motion, which he executed with confidence, was notable for one very important reason: The man had been blind for close to four decades. (Molteni, 5/24)

The New York Times: Scientists Drove Mice To Bond By Zapping Their Brains With Light
Late one evening last March, just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the country, Mingzheng Wu, a graduate student at Northwestern University, plopped two male mice into a cage and watched as they explored their modest new digs: sniffing, digging, fighting a little. With a few clicks on a nearby computer, Mr. Wu then switched on a blue light implanted in the front of each animal’s brain. That light activated a tiny piece of cortex, spurring neurons there to fire. Mr. Wu zapped the two mice at the same time and at the same rapid frequency — putting that portion of their brains quite literally in sync. Within a minute or two, any animus between the two creatures seemed to disappear, and they clung to each other like long-lost friends. (Hughes, 5/25)

CIDRAP: Rapid Test Linked To Quicker Optimal Therapy For Blood Infections
Implementation of a test that provides rapid bacterial identification and susceptibility results from positive blood cultures shortened the time to optimal antibiotic therapy and reduced unnecessary antibiotic exposure in hospitalized patients with bacteremia, researchers reported late last week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The Improving Outcomes and Antibiotic Stewardship for patients with gram-positive bloodstream infections (IOAS) study, led by scientists from Accelerate Diagnostics (which also provided funding), evaluated clinical and antimicrobial stewardship metrics at two hospitals in Arkansas and Iowa following implementation of the Accelerate PhenoTest BC Kit (AXDX), a diagnostic platform that can identify bacteria from blood cultures and provide antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results up to 40 hours faster than conventional methods. (5/24)

The New York Times: Stop Kissing And Snuggling Chickens, C.D.C. Says After Salmonella Outbreak
A salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry has prompted U.S. health officials to issue a stern warning: Don’t kiss or snuggle your ducks and chickens. There have been 163 illnesses and 34 hospitalizations reported across 43 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week. North Carolina had the most reported cases, with 13, followed by Iowa, with 11. About a third of the cases were in children under 5, the agency said. (Bryson Taylor, 5/24)

The Hill: Alabama Governor Signs Bill To Prohibit Vaccine Passports
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Monday signed a bill banning private businesses and public institutions from requiring COVID-19 “vaccine passports.” As the Montgomery Advertiser reports, the bill passed the Alabama state House 76 to 16 a week ago. The legislation states that public entities such as schools "may not issue vaccine or immunization passports, vaccine or immunization passes, or any other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying the immunization status of an individual, or otherwise require the publication or sharing of immunization records or similar health information for an individual.” (Choi, 5/24)

Politico: Legalization Push Faces Crunch In Rhode Island
Rhode Island lawmakers are running short on time to craft a deal on marijuana legalization. With less than six weeks remaining in the legislative session and budget negotiations poised to take center stage in Providence, cannabis supporters are hoping a new proposal from Democratic Rep. Scott Slater will spur lawmakers to take action. “I definitely think there’s enough time to address this,” Slater, a longtime champion of establishing a regulated, adult-use market in the state, said in an interview this week. “It’s not like this is something that's coming out of the blue. We've debated this and had hearings on it for a number of years.” (Demko, 5/24)

NBC News: Wisconsin Catholic Pastor Who Preached Against Covid-19 Vaccine Ordered To Step Down
The pastor of a Roman Catholic parish in Wisconsin who told his congregation to shun the Covid-19 vaccine and preached right-wing politics from the pulpit has been asked to step down by his bishop. The Rev. James Altman, of the St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in La Crosse, made the announcement during his sermon at Sunday Mass, calling himself a victim of the “cancel culture.” (Siemaszko, 5/24)

The Washington Post: D.C., Maryland, Virginia Vaccinations Outpacing Nation As A Whole
Coronavirus vaccination rates in the D.C. area are rising, and covid-19 metrics continue to fall: Case counts, hospitalizations and deaths are now a small fraction of what they were during the height of the pandemic this winter. But the threat of infection still looms among the unvaccinated, and public officials and health experts warn that the risk is growing as mask mandates and other pandemic restrictions are eliminated. (Fadulu, 5/24)

WUSF Public Media: Florida Passes Milestone Vaccination Mark, But Still Lags Behind Other States 
About five months after shots began, more than 10 million people in Florida have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to a report released Sunday by the state Department of Health. The report showed that 7,965,477 people who had received shots — or nearly 80% of the 10,005,987 total — were considered fully vaccinated, as they had received two doses of vaccines produced by the drug companies Pfizer or Moderna or the one-dose vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson. (Saunders, 5/24)

AP: Maryland Holding 1st Lottery Drawing In Vaccine Promotion
Maryland is holding the first of its $40,000 lottery drawings for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The drawing Tuesday is the first of 40 consecutive days of drawings for a $40,000 prize. On July 4, a final drawing will be for a $400,000 prize. The total prize pool is $2 million to encourage people to get vaccinated. The drawings will be conducted using a computer program that randomly selects a number from within the range of numbers provided to the lottery by Maryland’s health department. (5/25)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Sullivan County Nursing Home's COVID-19 Outbreak Widens 
The COVID-19 outbreak at the Sullivan County Health Care nursing home facility in Unity continues, now with 21 positive cases among the residents. County Manager Derek Ferland said Monday that nearly all of the resident population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. “We’re not the first ones in the world to have people catch COVID after being vaccinated,” Ferland said. “That’s what comes with being in the middle of a pandemic.” (Fisher, 5/24)

The Oregonian: Coronavirus In Oregon: 25% Drop In Weekly Cases; Multnomah County Prepares To Ease Restrictions 
The Oregon Health Authority on Monday reported two COVID-19 deaths and 284 coronavirus cases as the state’s most populous county prepares to ease business restrictions this week. Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday is expected to announce that Multnomah County can relax capacity limits effective Thursday, the same day the Portland Trail Blazers host their first playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. The county qualifies for increased capacity across many businesses because 65% of residents 16 and older are now at least partially vaccinated. (Schmidt, 5/24)

WUSF Public Media: Florida's COVID-19 Positivity Rate Remains Under 4%
On a day Florida reported passing the 10 million mark for coronavirus vaccination, the positivity rate for new cases remained below 4%. Sunday's positivity rate was 3.91% on 61,949 tests. It's the 13th straight day that the positivity rate was under 5%. Saturday's rate of 3.55% was the lowest since Oct. 11. Health experts say rates consistently below 5% could indicate community transmission is under control. (Schreiner, 5/24)

North Carolina Health News: Public Comments On Cone-Sentara Merger Roll In
As North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein considers whether to intervene in the proposed merger between homegrown Cone Health of Greensboro and Virginia-based Sentara Healthcare, he has gotten plenty of input on both sides of the issue. The state Department of Justice’s month-long public comment period drew more than 40 responses between late March and April 28, including one from a Cone Health physician telling Stein the proposed marriage of the two major health systems is a bad idea. (Wireback, 5/25)

The Baltimore Sun: How Danielle Torain, Director Of Baltimore’s Open Society Institute, Fights Disparities In COVID Vaccine Distribution 
Baltimore native Danielle Torain, 37, knew that she wanted to give back to the city that shaped her. Torain, who lives in West Baltimore, is the director of the Open Society Institute, a foundation that aims to meet the needs of marginalized neighborhoods and communities of color. When she started as director of OSI in January 2020, Torain wanted to tackle initiatives that address economic inequality and the digital divide, but within two months, her focus was forced to shift to COVID-19 relief. (Turner, 5/25)

KHN: Colorado Lawmakers Wage Multifront Assault On High Drug Costs
Tired of waiting for federal action to reduce prescription drug costs, Colorado is acting on its own — even if it must do so with one arm tied behind its back. Unable to set prices or change patent protections, the state is exploring creative legislative and administrative approaches to lower out-of-pocket costs on medications. While none of the efforts alone would result in broad-based, deep cuts, state officials estimate the combined impact of the various measures could save Coloradans between 20% and 40% in out-of-pocket costs. (Hawryluk, 5/25)

AP: Chicken Plant In California Cited Over Past Virus Outbreak
California has cited and fined a Foster Farms chicken processing plant that saw a deadly coronavirus outbreak last year, saying the company failed to protect its workers. The state Division of Occupational Health and Safety’s penalty of $181,500 is one of the steepest citations issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday. A representative for Foster Farms told the newspaper that the company “does not have a comment” on the citations. (5/25)

AP: In NYC's Furthest Flung Neighborhood, Vaccine A Tough Sell
If there’s one place where people could fear the coronavirus more than a vaccination needle, it’s the Far Rockaway section of Queens: Nearly 460 residents of the seaside neighborhood have died of COVID-19. That’s one out of every 146 people who live there, making for one of New York City’s highest death rates. And yet, no other place in the city has a lower percentage of vaccinated people. (Lajka, 5/25)

The Washington Post: India Gears Up To Fight ‘Black Fungus’ Infections As New Covid Cases Dip Below 200,000
India on Tuesday reported fewer than 200,000 new covid-19 infections for the first time since mid-April, in a respite for the coronavirus-ravaged country. On Monday, it had become the third country in the world to record more than 300,000 covid-linked deaths, a number that experts consider a vast undercount. The latest pandemic wave has left Indian hospitals overwhelmed, but as pressure from new cases is easing, a rise in the number of cases of mucormycosis, which is also known as “black fungus,” has become a growing concern. The infection is significantly more lethal than covid-19, doctors say. (Masih, 5/25)

CNBC: India Covid Crisis: People Use Social Media To Find Hospitals, Medicine
As India’s devastating second wave of coronavirus outbreak overwhelmed the health-care system, desperate users turned to social media to seek help from the public as hospital beds and oxygen supplies ran out. People in need of assistance, either for themselves or their relatives, posted requests on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Others collated information on the availability of beds in hospitals as well as contact details of vendors with oxygen cylinders and other resources in short supply. In many instances, the efforts helped save lives. (Choudhury, 5/24)

The New York Times: Delhi Considers Lifting Covid Limits, Despite Vaccine Shortage
Delhi is considering relaxing its Covid-19 restrictions six weeks after a devastating coronavirus surge rocked the Indian capital, with a pledge to ramp up vaccinations to protect the city’s more than 20 million people from another wave. But the vow came after a weekend in which city officials were forced to close vaccination centers for lack of supply, a problem plaguing the entire country as the coronavirus continues to spread. India does not have the vaccine manufacturing capacity to inoculate a big portion of its population anytime soon, while the prospect of importing new supplies from abroad has bogged down amid squabbling between the central and local governments. (Deep Singh, 5/24)

The New York Times: A Variant First Detected In India Is Spreading Fast In Britain, Highlighting The Dangers Of Faltering Global Vaccinations
A new and potentially more contagious variant of the coronavirus has begun to outpace other versions of the virus in Britain, putting pressure on the government to shorten people’s wait for second doses of vaccines and illustrating the risks of a faltering global immunization drive. The new variant, which has become dominant in India since first being detected there in December, may be responsible in part for a virus wave across Southeast Asia, including Nepal. (Mueller, 5/25)

CNBC: Covid: Argentina, Nepal And Others See Cases Rising Rapidly Like India
India is currently at the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic — but it is not the only country with a worsening Covid-19 outbreak. From Argentina in Latin America to Nepal in Asia, many other countries have also reported record increases in Covid cases in the last few weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Lee, 5/25)

Stat: European Regulatory Body Plans 'Joint Action' To Boost Clinical Trial Reporting
The Heads of Medicines Agencies, an umbrella group for regulators in 30 European Union countries, plans to launch a “joint action” with the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency to bolster required clinical trial reporting by drug makers and universities. The move, which emerged from an HMA meeting last week, follows ongoing criticism that too many clinical trial sponsors fail to report study results, an issue that has embroiled drug makers, universities, and policy makers in the U.S. and Europe. (Silverman, 5/24)

AP: Haiti Imposes Curfew, Orders Mask Use For Pandemic Emergency
Haiti’s government imposed a nightly curfew and other restrictions Monday under an eight-day “health emergency” meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. All outdoor activity will be banned from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. under the decree issued by President Jovenel Moise .... The decree also makes the use of face masks mandatory for anyone out in public, while temperature checks and handwashing stations are required for all public or private buildings such as banks, schools, hospitals and markets. (5/24)

Reuters: Masks, Social Restrictions Return To Australia’s Melbourne After Fresh Outbreak
Australia’s second largest city Melbourne reinstated COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday as authorities scrambled to find the missing link in a fresh outbreak, prompting New Zealand to pause a “travel bubble” with the state of Victoria. Amid worries the cluster, which has grown to nine cases in two days, could spark a major outbreak, Victoria imposed social restrictions and made face masks mandatory in hotels, restaurants, and other indoor venues from 6 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Tuesday until June 4. (Jose, 5/25)

Dallas Morning News: Mask Guidance Is Clear. Why Are We Confusing It?
The nation that put a man on the moon now struggles with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest guideline on mask wearing. Pardon the pun, but the advisory isn’t rocket science. Since the CDC recently loosened mask guidelines, the hand-wringing over when and where to wear a mask has escalated to farcical levels with late-night television comics, serious news reporters and commentators lamenting that we don’t know what to do. Saturday Night Live recently lampooned the absurdity in a cold open sketch that featured a faux Anthony Fauci noting that “a lot of people had questions, such as what does this mean? ... Is this a trap?” It set up a series of ridiculous scenarios that only the willfully dopey would even contemplate. (5/25)

Bloomberg: Covid Might Come Surging Back This Fall As A Seasonal Disease 
All across the U.S., people are hugging, talking in each other’s faces, going to the office, attending indoor sports events and not wearing masks in the Walmart. Yet the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 continues its retreat, with confirmed cases down by more than 50% over the past month. Most of the credit for this wonderful turn of events has — correctly — gone to vaccines .... But there is another factor behind the case decline that’s getting less attention than it probably should. ... As with influenza and the coronaviruses that cause common colds, there appears to be a seasonal element to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. Which means that, as the days shorten and temperatures cool in a few months, there’s a good chance that case numbers will start rising again. (Justin Fox, 5/24)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: In 1991, Philly Vaccinated 6,000 Kids Against Measles In A Weekend. Let’s Do It Again
Philadelphia’s badly botched COVID-19 immunization response has a chance to right itself now with the eligibility of teens, and soon younger children, to be among those inoculated. As adolescents in the region begin to get shots in what has been described as “patchwork” efforts, the success of the city’s 1991 coordinated measles vaccination campaign offers valuable lessons for today’s COVID-19 crisis. The threats are different but the responses can be similar. In 1991 a strong public/private partnership resulted in a national model for a community action. We can do it again now. (Bettina Hoerlin, 5/24)

The New York Times: How Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Spread In My Prison 
“Everyone’s being offered the vaccine. It’s Johnson & Johnson — one and done,” a bald administrator announced as he walked through the block. “It’s not mandatory! The officer is coming around with a list. Let him know — yes or no!” It was early April at Sullivan Correctional Facility, the maximum security prison in the Catskills where I am incarcerated. In late March, a judge ruled that New York needed to offer vaccines to all prisoners. But even when we became eligible, many were not exactly eager to get the vaccine. (John J. Lennon, 5/24)

CNN: What Rand Paul Gets Wrong On Vaccines 
Rand Paul has no plans to get vaccinated against the virus that causes Covid-19. He made that quite clear in a radio interview Sunday, explaining: "Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I'm not getting vaccinated because I've already had the disease and I have natural immunity." ... But is he right that having had the virus means he shouldn't get vaccinated? Science says no. (Chris Cillizza, 5/24)

The Oregonian: Wear A Mask To Protect Kids And Community
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the landmark announcement that individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear a mask indoors with the exception of public transportation and medical facilities. Oregon quickly followed suit, placing the onus on local businesses to create mask policies and on vaccinated individuals to decide for themselves if they will continue masking. As a doctor practicing in Portland, my heart sank at this news. Families with young children, Oregonians with weakened immune systems and public-facing workers are now more exposed and anxious as Oregon becomes a checkerboard of mask policies and questionable enforcement. (Dr. Wendy Hasson, 5/23)

The Baltimore Sun: Is Immigration The Answer To America’s Nursing Shortage? 
Maryland, like much of the United States, has wrestled with a nursing shortage for decades — a seemingly incurable affliction — but a historic rate of burnout after treating patients through a grueling pandemic is about to make our nursing crisis much, much worse. Even before the first coronavirus wave hit, health systems in Baltimore and virtually every corner of the state were already approaching collapse under the weight of too many patients and too few nurses. One pre-pandemic forecast estimated a local shortfall of 10,000 nurses and as many as 200,000 nationally. Now, worrying new data from a nationwide nurse survey shows that 36% of nurses are considering quitting. (Shari Constantini, 5/24)

Modern Healthcare: Companies Can Do More To Support Employee Mental Health
Economic and food insecurity, family obligations, home schooling and the ongoing pandemic sent stress, anxiety and depression to all-time highs. Calls to help centers and suicide assistance lines are up. So are alcohol and cannabis sales, and opioid deaths are accelerating. More than 40 states have reported increased deaths from opioids since the epidemic began. Then there are residual symptoms from COVID-19 itself. According to a recent report in Lancet Psychiatry, nearly 1 in 5 with COVID-19 is diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder like anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months. People recovering from COVID-19 were about twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder as compared with someone who had the flu. (Terri L. Rhodes, 5/25)

Georgia Health News: Risking Crisis In Mental Health 
“How are you?” is taking on a new meaning in this lingering pandemic state. We know many people aren’t doing well — beyond the physical impact of COVID-19 — because they’ve shared that. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study showed that during the pandemic, one in four adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, up from one in 10 in 2019. That’s not surprising in a year where the pandemic and other stressors, like social injustice, elections and the economy, shared the same stage. (Dr. Timothy Kennedy, 5/24)

Stat: Medicare Should Cover Amyloid PET Scans To Diagnose Alzheimer's 
One morning in 2012, my wife Geri looked in the mirror and failed to recognize her own face. Our neurologist diagnosed Geri, a former health care executive and nurse, with early dementia (also known as mild cognitive impairment) but could not confirm if she had Alzheimer’s disease or give us a clearer diagnosis. (Jim Taylor, 5/25)