AP: Medicare Recipients To See Premium Cut — But Not Until 2023
Medicare recipients will get a premium reduction — but not until next year — reflecting what Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Friday was an overestimate in costs of covering an expensive and controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. Becerra’s statement said the 2022 premium should be adjusted downward but legal and operational hurdles prevented officials from doing that in the middle of the year. He did not say how much the premium would be adjusted. (5/27)

Stat: Biden Administration Won’t Lower Seniors’ Medicare Premiums This Year
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in January publicly announced he was ordering Medicare to consider dropping older adults’ premiums in the middle of this year, which would have been an unprecedented move. But the administration decided against a change due to “legal and operational hurdles,” the department said Friday afternoon. The overpayments will instead be factored into next year’s premiums. (Cohrs, 5/27)

Modern Healthcare: CMS To Adjust Medicare Premiums In 2023 Due To Lower Aduhelm Costs
Projections for how much Aduhelm, also known as aducanumab, would cost the government in 2022 were the primary reason for a 14.5% Medicare Part B premium hike that brought the monthly cost to $170.10 this year, CMS disclosed in November. Circumstances have changed since then. CMS has limited Aduhelm coverage to beneficiaries enrolled in clinical trials. And Biogen, the drug's manufacturer, halved the original $56,000 yearly price. ... CMS concluded that delaying the adjustment until next year is the only practical method, the agency wrote in a notice. The agency expects Part B premiums to be lower in 2023 because Adulhelm spending won't meet projections this year. (Goldman, 5/27)

In related news about CMS and the Affordable Care Act —

Politico: America’s Hospital Regulator Wasn’t Designed For A Pandemic 
Cathy Kornman is a nurse in Atlanta who cares for patients recovering from surgery. She is unvaccinated against Covid-19 despite a federal requirement for health workers. Opting out was easy: With the click of a button, Kornman said she lied to her employer, claiming on a one-sentence administrative form that her religion prohibited vaccination. “I don’t really truly have a religious exemption,” Kornman, 62, told POLITICO. “Taking the vaccine, for all intents and purposes, has been optional.” (Levy, 5/30)

Side Effects Public Media: Fixing The Obamacare 'Glitch' That Pushed One Couple To Divorce 
The scene seems straight out of a movie: A young couple stands solemnly before the judge. They’ve been married just a year, and they're here – for the second time – to ask for a divorce. A month ago, the same judge gave them a hard time, then said no. He still thinks there is something fishy about their request. And he’s right. The young people want to be together. But the only way they can afford that is to legally split up. It isn’t about love. It’s not about employment or family pressure. It’s about health care. (Gorenstein and Levi, 5/28)

The Hill: Bipartisan Senate Working Group On Gun Violence Will Meet Tuesday 
Republican and Democratic senators negotiating over a legislative proposal to respond to mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, will hold a Zoom call Tuesday in hopes of reaching a deal on a basic framework by next week.  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who has been tasked by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Democrats, said the talks have been ongoing on the phone and in person.  (Bolton, 5/30)

CBS News: Cornyn And Murphy To Meet Virtually To Attempt "Basic Framework" For Gun Proposals
President Biden told reporters on Monday it's hard to say what one element Republicans might support because he hasn't been negotiating with any of them yet. The president spent Sunday in Uvalde, Texas, grieving with the family members who lost loved ones. "Look, I don't know, but I think there's a realization on the part of rational Republicans -- and I think Senator McConnell is a rational Republican; I think Cornyn is as well," Mr. Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn on Memorial Day. "I think there's a recognition in their part that they -- we can't continue like this. We can't do this." (MacFarlane and Watson, 5/30)

New York Times: In The Senate, Chasing An Ever-Elusive Gun Law Deal
The decision of the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, to try for a negotiated compromise on new gun laws in the wake of the latest pair of mass shootings may prove to be a high-stakes bet on representative democracy itself, made at a time when faith in Congress — and the Senate in particular — is in tatters in both parties. President Biden’s promise on Sunday to the families of the shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas — assuring them that “we will” do something about gun violence — raised the pressure on a Senate in which filibusters and disunity have been the watchwords of the past year. (Weisman, 5/30)

Bloomberg: Democrats Seek Swift Action On Limited Gun-Control Proposals
US lawmakers are setting a tight timetable to negotiate new gun laws, with Democrats signaling they would accept limited progress in exchange for some action that would reduce gun violence in the nation. Republicans and Democrats are working through the weekend to prepare a proposal before Congress returns from recess in a week, Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “We’ve got a short time frame.” (Mohsin and Cavaliere, 5/29)

The Texas Tribune: Analysis: History Suggests Attention On Gun Policy Will Fade 
Time is the enemy. A week has passed since 21 people were murdered in an elementary school in Uvalde, an atrocity still at the center of public and private attention and concern. Gov. Greg Abbott and other politicians bound to gun culture are squirming, but history tells us public attention will subside, that voters will move on to other issues and that the Texas pols can relax into their ardent deregulation of guns, the No. 1 cause of death by injury for kids in the U.S. The elected officials who have done little to protect Texans and other Americans after any of the mass shootings that came before Uvalde have something in common with the dumbfounding inaction of the 19 first responders who idled in a hallway at Robb Elementary for more than an hour last Tuesday while a gunman killed 21 children and teachers. (Ramsey, 5/31)

The Washington Post: Inside Mitch McConnell’s Decades-Long Effort To Block Gun Control
Mitch McConnell was just finishing up his first term as the junior senator from Kentucky when a mass shooting rocked his hometown of Louisville. On Sept. 14, 1989, a disgruntled employee entered the Standard Gravure printing plant in downtown Louisville and, armed with an AK-47 and other guns, killed eight and wounded 12 others before taking his own life .... McConnell said he was “deeply disturbed,” declaring, “We must take action to stop such vicious crimes.” But he also added: “We need to be careful about legislating in the middle of a crisis.” And in the days and weeks after, he did not join others in calling for a ban on assault weapons like the AK-47 used by the shooter. (Parker and Scherer, 5/28)

More on the gun violence epidemic —

Bay Area News Group: Guns Overtake Cars As Leading Cause Of Death For U.S. Youth
For decades, the biggest threat kids faced growing up came from the automobiles they happily hopped into every day for a trip to school, the store or soccer practice. Now, it’s gunfire. As the country mourns its latest school shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, it also has reached a grim milestone: Guns now kill more kids and teens in the U.S. than auto accidents do. The trend has been building in recent years as automobile deaths have fallen with improved safety measures, while gun violence among the young has taken a growing toll. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2020, the most recent year available, firearms passed motor vehicles as the leading killer of those ages 1-19. (Woolfolk and Blair Rowan, 5/30)

Houston Chronicle: In Uvalde's Wake, Houston Doctors Stress More Funding, Policy Change
The federal government was already playing catch-up when it started funding gun violence research again in 2019 following a long, politically driven freeze. But as the money trickles in, Houston researchers and physicians say more is needed to inform common-sense laws and practices that could prevent the next mass shooting, like the one in Uvalde that killed 19 children and two teachers. “Even with partial funding, we could really fill gaps,” said Dr. Sandra McKay, a Houston pediatrician and gun violence researcher at UTHealth Science Center at Houston. “Our clinics could be handing out gun locks in their clinics for free, but we don’t because there’s no funding for that. We could be partnering with our local schools (for research opportunities), but there’s no funding for it.” (Gill, 5/27)

ABC News: Harris Addresses 'Epidemic Of Hate' As Final Victim Of Buffalo Mass Shooting Laid To Rest
The final victim of the supermarket shooting massacre in Buffalo, New York, was laid to rest Saturday, as the country reels from another mass shooting. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff attended the memorial service for Ruth Whitfield Saturday afternoon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo. Whitfield, 86, was one of 10 people killed at Tops Friendly Market on May 14 in what authorities are calling a "racially motivated hate crime." "I do believe that our nation right now is experiencing an epidemic of hate," Harris said during the service. (Deliso, 5/28)

AP: Delaware Lawmaker Suggests Mask Opponents Kill Themselves
House leaders in Delaware on Friday chastised a fellow Democrat who suggested in an online discussion that those who don’t support mask wearing amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases but do support gun rights should kill themselves with their guns. House leaders gave no indication, however, that they want to pursue formal disciplinary action against Rep. John Kowalko. Kowalko made the comment in a post following the Texas school shooting but later deleted his Facebook comments and apologized. (Chase, 5/27)

Bloomberg: Republicans Push Unfounded Mental Health Claim For US Gun Violence
Republican politicians from Senator Ted Cruz to Texas Governor Greg Abbott have been quick to blame mental illness following a deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers. The problem with that thinking is that the evidence doesn’t support it -- even if common sense suggests a mass shooting, especially of children, is not the act of a person who is mentally well. While reporting from Texas following the May 24 shooting makes clear the Uvalde gunman, Salvador Ramos, was a deeply troubled individual, state officials have said he had no documented mental health issues. Research shows that only a very small percentage of violent behavior is connected to mental illness. (Court, 5/27)

Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds Focuses On Mental Health, Training After School Shooting
In the wake of a Texas shooting that left 19 children and 2 adults dead, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, called for more mental health programs, law enforcement trainings and school security measures. When asked whether she would consider new gun control laws, including the banning of assault rifles, Reynolds said there isn't "one single answer." "There is evil that exists in the world," she said. "And if you're determined to do something like this, you're probably going to find the means to do it." (Akin, 5/27)

Axios: Tennessee Republicans Tell Axios What They'd Do About Mass Shootings 
Tennessee's top Republican politicians are emphasizing investments in mental health treatment and beefing up school security as the best tools to prevent more mass shootings. No Republican leader from Tennessee supported firearm restrictions. (Rau, 5/31)

Politico: 'It's Straight Out Of A Playbook': At NRA Convention, Conspiracy Theories Abound
The protesters who raised their middle fingers and shouted “shame” outside the National Rifle Association’s big gathering here on Friday had assumed — like much of official Washington — that the timing of a school shooting three days earlier might somehow be problematic for the NRA.For gun enthusiasts and the Republican politicians courting them, it was only more reason to come. ... “It’s not a gun control problem. It’s a demon control problem,” said Joe Chambers, who had traveled to the conference from Porter, Texas. (Siders, 5/27)

On the trauma that follows a shooting —

NBC News: Broken Heart Syndrome: What Are The Symptoms And Causes?
Two days after fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia was killed in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, her husband, Joe Garcia, suddenly died as well. Family members attributed his death to a broken heart. Irma Garcia’s nephew, John Martinez, said Joe collapsed at home on Thursday shortly after delivering flowers for Irma's memorial. Doctors said a sudden death following a tragedy could be evidence of broken heart syndrome, a rare condition that mimics a heart attack. (Bendix, 5/27)

The Washington Post: What School Shootings Do To The Kids Who Survive Them, From Sandy Hook To Uvalde
The children and adults who die in school shootings dominate headlines and consume the public’s attention. ... Those tallies, however, do not begin to capture the true scope of this epidemic in the United States, where hundreds of thousands of children’s lives have been profoundly changed by school shootings. There are the more than 360 kids and adults who have been injured on K-12 campuses since 1999, according to a Washington Post database. And then there are the children who suffer no physical wounds at all, but are still haunted for years by what they saw or heard or lost. (Cox, 5/28)

Fortune: We're Living In An Era Of Daily Trauma: Here's How To Cope
With so much loss running through America's veins today (and for many days to come), one question feels particularly pressing: How do we mourn those lost and cope with the multilayered grief that's become a foundational part of living in the U.S.? Bereavement researcher Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D., has spent more than two decades studying the emotional effects of losing a loved one. Her work has revealed a lesson that's worth remembering as we forge a way forward: "Grieving is a form of learning." (McPhillips, 5/27)

North Carolina Health News: Edgecombe Works To Heal Local Trauma Through Training, Understanding NC Health News
Students in the Honor Opportunity Purpose and Excellence — HOPE — program start each morning by breathing. The alternative high school, nested within Tarboro High in Edgecombe County, is led by Quarry Williams, a man who’s moved up the public school food chain from bus driver to school counselor to administrator and nearly everything in between. Once the students are settled, Williams comes to the front of the room and asks them to think of a place where they feel safe. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 5/31)

Axios: The Parents Aren't All Right
Parenting is hard. Parenting in a pandemic that has taken 1 million American lives, through an unpredictable economy, in a country where school shootings aren’t rare, baby formula is hard to come by and classrooms are political battlegrounds can feel borderline impossible. There are 63 million parents in the U.S. with kids younger than 18 at home. They work; they volunteer; they’re raising the next generation of Americans — and stress and strain are hindering them from doing all of those things. “There’s almost not a word to express the stress parents are under right now,” says Gloria DeGaetano, a parenting expert and founder of the Parent Coaching Institute. “‘Overwhelmed’ doesn’t cut it. It’s beyond anything we’ve ever experienced.” (Snyder, Cai and Pandey, 5/31)

AP: Exception Added To New Hampshire's 24-Week Abortion Ban 
New Hampshire’s ban on late-term abortion no longer applies in cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with “abnormalities incompatible with life.” Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill Friday adding an exception to the ban on abortions after 24 weeks gestation that took effect Jan. 1. The ban, which Sununu had signed into law as part of the state budget, previously had exceptions only for pregnancies that threaten the mother’s life or health. It also required ultrasounds to be performed before any abortion, but the bill signed Friday limited that requirement. (Ramer, 5/27)

Politico: Austin Pushing To Effectively Decriminalize Abortion Ahead Of Ruling On Roe 
The city of Austin is attempting to shield its residents from prosecution under a Texas law that would criminalize almost all abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned — the first push by a major city in a red state to try to circumvent state abortion policy. Councilmember Chito Vela is proposing a resolution that would direct the city’s police department to make criminal enforcement, arrest and investigation of abortions its lowest priority and restrict city funds and city staff from being used to investigate, catalogue or report suspected abortions. (Messerly, 5/30)

Bloomberg: Wyoming’s Only Surgical Abortion Clinic Will Open Despite Arson
The only abortion clinic in Wyoming to offer surgical procedures will open as planned after a suspected arson fire damaged the premises, its sponsoring agency said Friday. The clinic -- located in Casper, the state’s largest city -- was set ablaze May 24. There were no injuries. “Based on our initial assessment, we expect the necessary repairs to delay our opening by at least several weeks,” said Julie Burkhart, founder of Wellspring Health Access. (Del Giudice, 5/27)

Stateline: State Courts Could Overturn Abortion Bans In Red States
If the federal right to abortion is erased by the U.S. Supreme Court in a few weeks as expected, the legal spotlight will shift immediately to state courts, where experts say judges in some conservative states could surprise everyone and uphold the right to abortion. “Hundreds of attorneys for abortion advocates across the country are no doubt poised to go into state courts to block enforcement of multiple state abortion laws the minute the decision comes down,” said Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel at Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion. “There will be attempts in all but a few states to create the equivalent of Roe v. Wade.” (Vestal, 5/27)

Dallas Morning News: Some North Texas Clergy Say Helping Abortion Patients Travel A ‘Powerful’ Experience
Months before the U.S. Supreme Court leak revealed that the nation’s highest court was poised to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe vs. Wade, the Rev. Daniel Kanter was among the Texas faith leaders working to help those grappling with the state’s own restrictions on abortion. In wake of Senate Bill 8, the six-week ban that went into effect on Sept. 1, some North Texas clergy have sought to help those in the region obtain abortions. The new Texas law was considered the nation’s most restrictive until Oklahoma enacted a tougher law last week. For Kanter’s First Unitarian Church of Dallas, the history of abortion rights actvisim can be traced back to the beginings of Roe vs. Wade, which was decided in 1973. All along, the church has helped continue the tradition of providing a haven to those who believe abortion is a fundamental right. Six years ago, Kanter created a multifaith chaplaincy program in which chaplains would go to Southwestern Women’s Surgical in Dallas to provide spiritual counsel and affirmation to those who obtained abortions there. (Hollers, 5/31)

AP: US State Legislators Praise Abortion Access In Mexico
A group of U.S. state legislators from Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and North Carolina toured Mexico and said this week they are impressed by efforts to expand abortion access south of the border. The legislators visited the country’s three largest cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey to meet with activists and Mexican legislators. (5/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Baby-Formula Shortage Worsened By Drop In Breast-Feeding Rates
One of the contributing factors in the U.S. baby-formula shortage is a significant shift in the way parents feed their babies: Breast-feeding declined during the pandemic, reversing a decadeslong trend, health practitioners say. Since 2020, the share of breast-fed one-year-olds has plummeted from an estimated 34% to an estimated 14% this year, according to surveys conducted by Demographic Intelligence, a forecasting firm that specializes in births and works with formula manufacturers including Abbott Laboratories and Nestlé SA. Because of the small sample size, the firm’s 2022 estimate has a range of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points. (Maloney, 5/29)

NPR: The Baby Formula Shortage Is Prompting Calls To Increase Support For Breastfeeding
Parents are scrambling to find baby formula. Factories are working around the clock to make more. And military cargo planes are airlifting formula from overseas. Often overlooked, though, in the race to fill the gap left when a big formula factory closed due to suspected contamination is the most natural alternative: mother's milk. "If we did more to support breastfeeding, we wouldn't be in this mess," says Dr. Melissa Bartick, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most babies be fed exclusively with breast milk for the first six months. But in 2018, only about one in four babies born in the U.S. met that target. (Horsley, 5/30)

Homemade formulas are dangerous, experts say —

Insider: TikTok Doctors Say DIY Formula Recipes Are 'Dangerous'
Viral social media posts offering supposed alternative recipes for baby formula have spread during the ongoing shortage of the product in the US, but medical experts with online followings are speaking out against the trend, calling the DIY substitutes dangerous. Amateur baby formula recipes have spread across numerous platforms including on Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, Bloomberg reported. While social media platforms have removed some videos that violate their rules prohibiting medical misinformation, the platforms haven't removed such videos consistently, the report said. (Perrett, 5/28)

Fox News: Breast Milk Bought Online Amid Baby Formula Shortage Could Harm Infant Health, Pediatric Dietitian Warns
A pediatric dietitian cautioned parents against purchasing breast milk from independent sellers online amid the nationwide baby formula shortages and instead recommended going through a milk bank. "This can be very, very risky if it's not found from a reliable source," Katie Boss, a pediatric dietitian at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Michigan, told Fox News. Abbott Nutrition recalled its baby formula products and closed a plant following a Food and Drug Administration investigation, leading to a nationwide shortage. Abbott and the federal government have taken steps to alleviate the problem, but it could take up to two months before shelves are stocked again, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said Thursday. (Sahakian, 5/27)

More formula will soon hit the shelves —

NPR: Goat's Milk And Other Baby Formula Product Arrives In U.S.
The U.S. will distribute another 1.25 million cans of baby formula in effort to replenish the country's dire supply in the coming weeks, the Food and Drug Administration says. That stock will bring the total imported supply of baby formula product to the equivalent of 30 million 8-ounce bottles, since the Biden administration began its effort to alleviate the national shortage. During the first week of May, the average out-of-stock rate for baby formula at retailers nationwide was 43%, according to data from Datasembly. (Bowman, 5/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Danone To Fly Formula To The U.S. For Babies With Allergies 
Danone SA is to send the equivalent of about five million bottles of specialist infant formula to the U.S. as part of a broader push to alleviate shortages faced by babies with allergies. The French food giant said about half a million cans of specialized medical formula made by its Nutricia business will be flown into the U.S. in the coming weeks. Danone said the formula will come from its factory in Liverpool, England, which makes the Neocate line of amino acid-based products used for babies allergic to cow’s milk and other proteins. (Chaudhuri, 5/30)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Buys Baby Formula To Distribute During Shortage
Los Angeles County has purchased $750,000 worth of baby formula that it will soon start handing out at food distribution sites and through outreach programs for new mothers, officials said. The county purchased the formula to help feed babies as the nation grapples with a severe infant formula shortage, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said in a news release. For weeks now, parents have been scrambling to find formula following supply chain disruptions and a safety recall at the nation’s largest formula producer. (Esquivel, 5/28)

New Hampshire Public Radio: From Encouraging Breastfeeding To Expanding Product Options, How N.H. WIC Workers Are Responding To The Formula Shortage 
Amid the ongoing nationwide shortage of infant formula, New Hampshire workers with the Division of Public Health Services are making phone calls and trips to local formula vendors to figure out where families can go to find the product. “We never thought that it would come to this,” said Lissa Sirois who oversees New Hampshire WIC, or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Nationally, WIC participants under 12 months of age consume over half of all infant formula in the U.S., according to an estimate from the USDA. (Fam, 5/29)

CNBC: WHO Can’t Rule Out Monkeypox Pandemic Risk, Says There’s A Window Of Opportunity To Stop Outbreak
The World Health Organization said Monday that it is too soon to tell whether a recent monkeypox outbreak could lead to a global pandemic, but noted that there is currently a window of opportunity to curb rising cases. The public health body said there are “still many unknowns” related to the spike in cases in non-endemic countries outside of Africa. The WHO said the virus should not be mistaken for Covid-19 and that the risks to the general public remain low. “We don’t want people to panic or be afraid and think that it’s like Covid or maybe worse,” Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said during a briefing on the outbreak. (Gilchrist, 5/30)

CNN: Monkeypox: Plans Underway To Ramp Up Testing If Outbreak Grows Quickly
As more cases are uncovered in a global monkeypox outbreak, biotech companies and health officials are looking to make PCR testing for the virus more widely available in the US. Dozens of public health labs across the country now use a more generalized test for orthopoxvirus, a larger category that includes monkeypox, smallpox and other viruses. Two biotechnology companies, Roche and Abbott, have announced plans to roll out monkeypox PCR tests, although right now, their test kits are for research only. (Howard and Nedelman, 5/30)

Fox News: WHO: Nearly 200 Cases Of Monkeypox Virus Across More Than 20 Countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been tallied globally. The cases have been found in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the virus. The agency still described the reported monkeypox outbreaks as "containable," although there are still many unknowns about what triggered the infections and the reported cases are likely an undercount. Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO’s director of pandemic and epidemic diseases, explained that numbers may increase in the coming days and that the event is "unusual." (Musto, 5/27)

BBC News: Monkeypox Infections Rise As Guidance Advises Cases To Abstain From Sex 
Another 71 cases of monkeypox have been identified in England over the weekend bringing the UK total to 179, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says. New guidance is advising anyone with the virus to abstain from sex while they have symptoms. They are also told to use condoms for eight weeks after an infection as a precaution. (Reed, 5/30)

Reuters: People Infected With Monkeypox Can Isolate At Home - UKHSA
People infected with monkeypox can isolate at home if they remain well enough, whilst following measures to limit close contact with others, the UK's health security agency (UKHSA) said on Monday, part of guidance designed to curb the country's rise in cases of the viral illness. (Grover, 5/30)

The Atlantic: Gay Men Need A Specific Warning About Monkeypox
A disproportionate number of cases in the recent monkeypox outbreak have shown up among gay and bisexual men. And as public-health authorities investigate possible links to sexual or other close physical contact at a Pride event in the Canary Islands, a sauna in Madrid, and other gay venues in Europe, government officials are trying hard not to single out a group that endured terrible stigma at the height of America’s AIDS crisis. “Experience shows that stigmatizing rhetoric can quickly disable evidence-based response by stoking cycles of fear, driving people away from health services, impeding efforts to identify cases, and encouraging ineffective, punitive measures,” Matthew Kavanagh, the deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, recently said. For many years, following the outbreak of HIV, the fear of being judged or shamed has dissuaded some gay men from being tested. (Downs, 5/28)

Also —

The Boston Globe: How A Boston Doctor Diagnosed The First US Case Of Monkeypox
The doctor was puzzled. His patient had ordinary symptoms that many infections could cause – fever, sweating, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash. But the usual tests yielded no answers. And the usual medications didn’t make him better. Concerned about his worsening condition and the lack of a diagnosis, Dr. Benjamin Davis admitted his patient to Massachusetts General Hospital, where a team led by Dr. Nesli Basgoz, an infectious disease specialist, took over his care. Now he was Basgoz’s puzzle to solve. What happened next would challenge the team’s diagnostic skills and test two decades of preparations for the spread of new and exotic diseases around the globe, diseases like COVID-19. (Freyer, 5/29)

CIDRAP: Asymptomatic COVID-19 May Not Spread As Easily As Symptomatic
Symptomatic COVID-19 cases are responsible for more viral transmission than asymptomatic infections, suggests an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 130 studies published yesterday in PLOS Medicine. ... In 46 contact-tracing or outbreak studies, the total share of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases was 19%. Relative to symptomatic infections, the rate of viral spread from asymptomatic index patients to contacts was about two-thirds lower. (5/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID Symptoms Charted By New Coronavirus Study
A yearlong study of more than 60,000 people tested for the coronavirus in San Francisco found intriguing shifts in COVID-19 symptoms over three different surges — including fewer reports of loss of smell, once considered a trademark of the illness — probably because of changes in the virus itself as well as individuals’ immunity. More people with COVID reported symptoms of upper respiratory infection — including cough, sore throat and congestion — during the omicron surge than earlier waves, researchers found. Patients also experienced fewer instances of systemic issues such as fever and body aches. Loss of smell was reported by 20% of those who tested positive during the delta surge, but only 5% during omicron. (Allday, 5/29)

The Atlantic: You Are Going To Get COVID Again … And Again … And Again
“I personally know several individuals who have had COVID in almost every wave,” says Salim Abdool Karim, a clinical infectious-diseases epidemiologist and the director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, which has experienced five meticulously tracked surges, and where just one-third of the population is vaccinated. Experts doubt that clip of reinfection—several times a year—will continue over the long term, given the continued ratcheting up of immunity and potential slowdown of variant emergence. But a more sluggish rate would still lead to lots of comeback cases. Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told me that her best guess for the future has the virus infiltrating each of us, on average, every three years or so. “Barring some intervention that really changes the landscape,” she said, “we will all get SARS-CoV-2 multiple times in our life.” (Wu, 5/27)

The New York Times: Can I Stop Isolating If I’m Still Testing Positive For The Virus? 
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus moves fast. Symptoms typically appear just a few days after infection, with viral levels peaking less than five days after the pathogen first becomes detectable. But for some people, the virus seems to linger, with at-home tests coming back positive day after day, even after other people in the household return to work or school. So why do some people test positive for the virus for 10 or 12 or even 14 days — and are they still infectious after so long? (Anthes, 5/29)

In covid updates from California, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Louisiana —

Los Angeles Times: Gov. Newsom Tests Positive For COVID-19, Has 'Mild Symptoms'
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday, making him the latest government official to contract the virus that relentlessly continues to challenge healthcare systems across the nation and around the world. “This a.m. I tested positive for COVID-19,” Newsom, who is vaccinated and has received two booster shots — the most recent on May 18 — announced in a tweet, “and am currently experiencing mild symptoms.” “Grateful to be vaccinated, and for treatments like Paxlovid,” he added, referring to the Pfizer antiviral medication. “I am following health guidelines and will be isolating while I work remotely.” (Sahagun, 5/28)

WUSF Public Media: Health Officials Urge Caution And Mask-Wearing As Florida Coronavirus Cases Climb 
Federal health officials are recommending more Floridians wear masks indoors as the coronavirus spreads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a number of counties across Florida are now categorized as "at a high risk" of COVID-19 as cases continue to climb across the state — and hospitalizations increase as well. Counties on the CDC lists are Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Sarasota, Alachua, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. The CDC's "COVID Community Level" measure is different from one that tracks transmission — and factors hospitalizations in as well. (Colombini, 5/27)

WFSU: A State Probe Finds Rebekah Jones' Claims Of Data Manipulation Is Unsubstantiated And Unfounded 
A state investigation into allegations that the Florida Department of Health fudged COVID-19 case numbers to support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ effort to reopen the state after a shutdown in April 2020, has found no evidence of wrongdoing. Fired department analyst Rebecca Jones claimed she was let go from her job managing the state’s COVID-19 dashboard after she refused to manipulate the data. Jones gained national media attention for her claims, even starting a rival dashboard system. She also became a high-profile critic of DeSantis amid his efforts to restart the state’s economy and reopen schools. The investigation, done by Department of Health Chief Inspector General Michael Bennett, found there wasn’t enough evidence to support or disprove many of Jones’ accusations. Other claims were unfounded, meaning that the issue raised did not occur. (Hatter, 5/28)

Bangor Daily News: Funding That Boosted Maine’s Pandemic Response May Not Be There For The Next One
Maine was among those catching up. When Gov. Janet Mills took office in 2019, her administration moved to fill dozens of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention positions left empty by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, raising the workforce from 174 to 230 by the time the pandemic began. Federal funding has helped grow the ranks to more than 300. But public health is more than its emergencies, experts warn. They say the boom-and-bust nature of crisis spending can leave out the everyday services that make a population more resilient and that the state and federal governments should continue to focus on preventing COVID-19 and improving other services. (Andrews, 5/31)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Hospitals Adjust To Changes In COVID Data 
For Dr. Matt Dunn, Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, data has been an essential tool in the fight against COVID-19. Every day, he consults global data on new variants and other data modeling from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. He also religiously checks New Hampshire’s online COVID-19 dashboard. Having reliable numbers about how COVID-19 is spreading — and how the virus is evolving — helps Dunn and other hospital leaders make decisions about staffing and plan for potential strains on their health system. But that data is becoming trickier to navigate. (Fam, 5/27)

AP: State Suspends In-Person Visits At Juvenile Facilities 
The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice says it is temporarily suspending in-person visits at all secure care facilities due to confirmed COVID-19 cases. State health officials report 1,279 new cases of COVID in Louisiana with four new deaths and 197 people hospitalized with the virus as of Friday. Those not fully vaccinated account for 65% of the COVID hospitalizations, the Louisiana Department of Health said. (5/28)

CIDRAP: Vaccines Lower Risk Of Long COVID 15%, Death By 34%, Data Show 
Long COVID-19 symptoms can affect even fully vaccinated people after mild breakthrough infections, but their risk of serious complications such as lung and blood-clotting disorders is much lower than that of their unvaccinated peers, finds a study of more than 13 million US veterans published this week in Nature Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 5/27)

Fortune: Do I Have Long COVID? As Many As 23 Million Americans Want To Know, As More Than 200 Symptoms Emerge 
One Long COVID patient complains of fatigue, loss of smell, and a persistent cough weeks after his initial COVID infection. Another experiences hallucinations and an inability to record new memories, and begins speaking unrecognizable words. It gets stranger. Among the 200-plus symptoms identified so far are ear numbness, a sensation of “brain on fire,” erectile dysfunction, irregular menstrual periods, constipation, peeling skin, and double vision, according to a landmark July study published in British medical journal The Lancet. (Prater, 5/29)

Fortune: Kids Get Long COVID, Too. Experts Are Racing To Understand It 
A year ago this month, Dr. Alexandra Brugler Yonts opened a clinic with hopes to shutter it quickly. “When we started, we weren’t sure how long we’d be open—we thought only a couple of months,” says Brugler Yonts, an infectious disease specialist at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She’s the head of the hospital’s new Pediatric Post-COVID Program, launched in May of last year to treat children who developed a slew of mysterious symptoms after COVID infection—and those whose symptoms never stopped. (Prater, 5/28)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Long COVID And Heart Conditions — Even Mild Cases Can Cause Long-Term Problems
Chadwick Knight weathered a rough bout of COVID-19 back in January 2021 without being hospitalized, but he never bounced back to his former healthy self. He got winded all the time. He experienced brain fog. Then, well over a year since catching the coronavirus, the 47-year-old collapsed on his living room floor last month. He was rushed to an emergency room with a new, life-threatening post-COVID complication: a blood clot in an artery going from his heart to his lungs. “You get sick, and you think you’re pretty much better and then you are still having issues. And now, it just seems like more things on top of things, and you don’t know what the future holds,” said Knight, who lived in metro Atlanta for several years before recently moving to Dothan, Alabama. “It causes you to worry a lot and weighs you down a lot mentally.” (Oliviero, 5/27)

KHN: Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, And Seniors Should Prepare To Go Slow
Older adults who have survived covid-19 are more likely than younger patients to have persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, muscle aches, heart palpitations, headaches, joint pain, and difficulty with memory and concentration — problems linked to long covid. But it can be hard to distinguish lingering aftereffects of covid from conditions common in older adults such as lung disease, heart disease, and mild cognitive impairment. There are no diagnostic tests or recommended treatments for long covid, and the biological mechanisms that underlie its effects remain poorly understood. (Graham, 5/31)

In updates on the vaccine rollout —

USA Today: COVID Vaccine Kids Under 5: What To Know About Pfizer, Moderna Doses
An FDA advisory committee plans to meet on June 15 to discuss both vaccines for kids as young as 6 months. Pfizer and BioNTech have not yet provided their complete data to the FDA but expect to within about a week, according to the companies. Moderna said it completed its application for the youngest children last month. Assuming the committee recommends one or both vaccines and the FDA authorizes them, an advisory committee with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will evaluate the data before it would need to be signed off by the agency's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. If federal agencies follow a timeline similar to previous COVID-19 vaccine authorizations, health experts say parents should be able to vaccinate their little ones by the end of June or earlier. (Rodriguez, 5/29)

Stat: A Physician And Parent Weighs The Covid Vaccine Options For Kids Under 5
After months of delays and setbacks, there finally appears to be hope that there will be Covid-19 vaccine authorized for children under 5. Next month, the Food and Drug Administration plans to convene its vaccine advisory panel, known as VRBPAC, to review both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s shots for the youngest kids. The vaccines are not identical: Moderna’s is two doses of 25 micrograms each, a quarter of Moderna’s adult dose. Its efficacy was between 37% and 51% in a trial against symptomatic Covid during the Omicron wave. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine is three doses of 3 micrograms each, a tenth the adult dose. A preliminary efficacy figure based on only 10 cases seen in the trial was 80%, although that could change once more cases accrue. (Feuerstein and Tirrell, 5/27)

KHN: Politics And Pandemic Fatigue Doom California’s Covid Vaccine Mandates
In January, progressive California Democrats vowed to adopt the toughest covid vaccine requirements in the country. Their proposals would have required most Californians to get the shots to go to school or work — without allowing exemptions to get out of them. Months later, the lawmakers pulled their bills before the first votes. (Bluth, 5/31)

The Conversation: How Nasal COVID-19 Vaccines Can Help Prepare For Infection Where It Starts
Imagine inhaling just a few drops of liquid or mist to get protected from COVID-19. That is the idea behind nasal COVID-19 vaccines, and they have been getting a lot of attention recently as a spray or liquid. These nasal vaccines would be based on the same technology as normal vaccines given by injection. But as Mayuresh Abhyankar, a University of Virginia researcher who studies infectious diseases and works on nasal vaccines, explains, vaccinating someone right where the coronavirus is likely to start its attack comes with many immunological benefits. (Abhyankar, 5/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Paxlovid Becomes Household Name For Covid-19 Patients
Pfizer’s antiviral drug, called Paxlovid, totaled more than 412,000 prescriptions through May 6, compared with about 110,000 prescriptions of molnupiravir, an antiviral from Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, according to drug-data firm Iqvia Holdings Inc. (Hopkins, 5/30)

Stat: AMA Fights Popular Bill Requiring Training Doctors About Opioid Use Disorder
The American Medical Association wants doctors to have more training on treating people with opioid use disorder. The group’s Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force has recommended it. The AMA website regularly lauds doctors who integrate addiction treatments into their practice. One past president even issued a nationwide “call to action” for doctors to get training on the topic. But the AMA is opposing an otherwise popular bipartisan bill that would mandate doctors be trained on treating people with opioid use disorder, according to a letter from the powerful lobbying organization obtained by STAT. (Florko, 5/31)

More news from the health care industry —

CIDRAP: Emergency Medical Staff Report High Levels Of Burnout Amid COVID-19
Two-plus years into the pandemic, an online survey of emergency-medicine professionals in 89 countries reveals that 62% reported one or more symptoms of COVID-19–related burnout syndrome, and 31% reported two. In a study published today in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine, the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) surveyed 1,925 emergency-medicine physicians (84%), nurses (12%), and paramedics (2%) in January and February 2022. (Van Beusekom, 5/27)

Houston Chronicle: Six Texas Doctors Received More Than $1 Million In Kickback Scheme, DOJ Alleges
Six Texas doctors received more than $1 million in kickbacks for their referrals to two laboratories for diagnostic testing, the Department of Justice alleged in a civil complaint. True Health Diagnostics of Frisco and Boston Heart Diagnostics of Framingham, Mass. allegedly conspired with small Texas hospitals to pay physicians to make referrals to the two labs for tests, according to the complaint. The complaint named one hospital, Rockdale Hospital, which was located in Rockdale, a city in central Texas with a population of about 5,000 people. (Carballo, 5/27)

Modern Healthcare: Cleveland Clinic Records Q1 Operating Loss As Labor Costs Rise, Admissions Lag 
Cleveland Clinic reported a $104.5 million operating loss in the first quarter as labor expenses rose and inpatient admissions declined. The 20-hospital not-for-profit health system's revenue rose to $3.04 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from $2.81 billion in the prior-year period, when it posted $61.7 million in operating income. Cleveland Clinic's labor costs jumped 16.6% over that span while supply and pharmaceutical expenses rose 7.8% and 11.2%, respectively. The system recorded $212.5 million in investment losses in the first quarter, down from $243.2 million in investment income in the first quarter of last year. (Kacik, 5/27)

KHN: Bill Of The Month: Her First Colonoscopy Cost Her $0. Her Second Cost $2,185. Why? 
Elizabeth Melville and her husband are gradually hiking all 48 mountain peaks that top 4,000 feet in New Hampshire. “I want to do everything I can to stay healthy so that I can be skiing and hiking into my 80s — hopefully even 90s!” said the 59-year-old part-time ski instructor who lives in the vacation town of Sunapee. So when her primary care doctor suggested she be screened for colorectal cancer in September, Melville dutifully prepped for her colonoscopy and went to New London Hospital’s outpatient department for the zero-cost procedure. (Andrews, 5/31)

In updates on the Theranos scandal —

Fox Business: Disgraced Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Asks Judge To Overturn Convictions
Convicted healthcare tech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes is asking a judge to overturn jurors’ decision, arguing that there was "insufficient" evidence for them to reach their "guilty" verdicts, according to recent court papers. Holmes, the 38-year-old founder and former CEO of Theranos, was convicted in January on three counts of wire fraud and one counts of conspiracy to commit fraud. But the jury’s decision should be thrown out because "the evidence is insufficient to sustain the convictions," Holmes’ attorneys argued in a motion on Friday. (Pagones, 5/30)

NPR: FDA Investigates Hepatitis A Outbreak Potentially Linked To Strawberries
The FDA and other agencies are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak in the U.S. and Canada potentially linked to organic fresh strawberries. The agency says the strawberries were sold under the FreshKampo and HEB brands and purchased between March 5 and April 25. The FDA is investigating 17 cases — 15 in California and one apiece in Minnesota and North Dakota. Canada's public health agency has identified 10 cases across two provinces: Alberta and Saskatchewan. HEB and FreshKampo strawberries were sold at a number of retailers, including Trader Joe's, Kroger, Safeway, Aldi, Walmart and HEB, according to the FDA. (Torchinsky, 5/30)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: Uterine Cancer May Be Added To The List Of 9/11-Related Health Issues 
The World Trade Center Health Program, a government program that monitors and treats WTC-related health conditions, covers nearly every type of cancer. But a single type has never been added to its list: uterine cancer. That could soon change. Officials have proposed adding uterine cancer to the list of cancers covered by the program, and the rule change is in its final stage. (Blakemore, 5/30)

Axios: Coffee Associated With Lower Mortality Risk
Coffee drinkers were less likely to die than abstainers over a seven-year window, according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Previous studies have observed coffee is associated with a lower risk of death but didn't distinguish between unsweetened java and coffee consumed with sugar. The jury is still out on artificial sweeteners. (Reed, 5/31)

AP: Young Caregivers 'Exist In The Shadows,' Offer Crucial Help 
Ronan Kotiya leans over his father, fingers wrapped around a plastic tube he’s about to slide from a tracheostomy hole in dad’s neck.“3, 2, 1, go,” the 11-year-old says as he removes the tube. His mom slips a padded neck brace on her husband and lifts him into a sitting position on their bed. Ronan’s 9-year-old brother, Keaton, waits nearby, ready to connect their dad, Rupesh Kotiya, to a portable ventilator. .... So begins another weekend for the brothers — two Harry Potter fans with mouths full of braces, a knack for building with Legos and some heavy caregiving responsibilities. (Murphy, 5/31)

In environmental health news —

The Boston Globe: Water Quality At Boston Area Beaches Declined In 2021, Report Says
The overall water quality safety rating for beaches in Greater Boston declined in 2021, according to a new report by environmental group Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, which gave the region’s beaches a rating of 86 percent — a 7 percentage point decrease from 2020 and a six-year low. The decrease in water quality safety, determined by the amount of bacteria in a sample, is a result of “far more” rainfall events, which have a “significant impact on water quality on many beaches,” occurring in 2021 than in 2020, the organization said. In all, 19 storms exceeded a half-inch of rainfall, while 12 exceeded one inch of rainfall, the report said. (McKenna, 5/30)

AP: Deaths Of 3 Women In Early Heat Wave Raise Questions, Fears 
Temperatures barely climbed into the 90s and only for a couple of days. But the discovery of the bodies of three women inside a Chicago senior housing facility this month left the city looking for answers to questions that were supposed to be addressed after a longer and hotter heat wave killed more than 700 people nearly three decades ago. Now, the city — and the country — is facing the reality that because of climate change, deadly heat waves can strike just about anywhere, don’t only fall in the height of summer and need not last long. (Babwin, 5/28)

Detroit Free Press: Detroit Public Schools To Dismiss Classes 3 Hours Early Tuesday
Detroit Public Schools Community District will dismiss students three hours early on Tuesday, as temperatures are expected to hit 90 degrees for most of metro Detroit. "All indoor after school activities are canceled," the district announced. "Please contact your school regarding the athletic schedule." The National Weather Service office in White Lake said the expected high in Detroit tomorrow is 90 degrees. The heat should subside the rest of the week, with a forecast high of 80 degrees on Wednesday and 70 on Thursday. (5/30)

New Hampshire Public Radio: New England Psychiatrists, Pediatricians Say More Kids Are Experiencing Climate Change Anxiety 
Psychiatrists and pediatricians from New England say that children they see in their practice show increased anxiety around climate change. At a webinar Thursday, hosted by the National Alliance of Mental Illness of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Health Care Workers for Climate Action, Elizabeth Pinsky, a child, and adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital, said her family's personal experience with these emotions brought her to study climate change-related anxiety more deeply. Pinksy recounted that she was consuming too much news on social media and waking up at night worrying about the environment. “I thought I was doing a good job of keeping that anxiety contained,” she said. But she noticed one day that her kids were feeling that anxiety too. (Lozada, 5/27)

USA Today: Drug Overdoses Led To Sharp Increase In US Homeless Deaths, Not COVID
In Los Angeles County, nearly 2,000 homeless people died during the first year of the pandemic in 2020, an increase of 56% from 2019. Of those, 715 were from drug overdoses. L.A. was not alone. Those experiencing homelessness have been dying in greater numbers across the nation throughout the pandemic, reaching new highs in several U.S. cities, according to a USA TODAY review of data in 10 U.S. cities and counties with some of the highest numbers of homeless people.  And drugs, not the virus, are largely to blame, the data shows. (Hayes, 5/28)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma's Cannabis Regulations May Stop Black Market Marijuana Sales
Oklahoma's cannabis regulator  was busy last week working on final implementation of a "seed-to-sale" tracking system, the latest major update as it prepares to be reformed as a standalone agency this fall. The changes represent a watershed moment for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority in its nearly four-year history. After launching in 2018 the agency struggled to keep up with the exploding industry that quickly boasted more dispensaries than any other state in the country and has been plagued with black market activity, while also supporting over 380,000 licensed cardholders that regularly purchase more than $64 million of medical marijuana products monthly. (Denwalt, 5/30)

WJCT News: Northeast Florida's Health Care Concerns: From Substance Abuse To Food Deserts 
Substance abuse, lack of affordable housing, transportation needs and even groceries all are pressing concerns that must be addressed to improve the health of Northeast Floridians, according to a new study from Jacksonville-area health care providers. The Community Health Needs Assessment is conducted every three years by the Jacksonville Nonprofit Hospital Partnership, utilizing focus group data, select interviews and regional surveys across the region's five counties. Nine concerns listed in the study include cancer treatments, substance abuse, housing, maternal care and transportation. (Troncoso, 5/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis To Spend $2 Million On Disabled Accessibility 
St. Louis is poised to spend $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to make more of its public buildings and spaces accessible to people with disabilities. The money was part of a COVID-19 relief bill Mayor Tishaura Jones signed earlier this month and represents one of the largest one-time investments the city has made in boosting compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. “I think it's wonderful that our city has identified this as a need and prioritized this money to help make St. Louis as accessible as possible with the resources that we have,’ said Kim Lackey, senior director of programs at Paraquad, an advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities. (Lippmann, 5/31)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Ocean Rescue Officers In Miami Put Trauma Care Skills To The Test
Groups of ocean rescue teams circle around tan mannequins with bloody limbs splayed on the shores of Haulover Beach in Miami. One has a shark bite on its upper thigh. Gauze covers gashes on a few of the arms. Some had lumps of flesh where limbs should have been. These simulated injuries call for a specific response by trauma care professionals. When timing is everything, one swift action could mean the difference between life or death. Throughout the year, staff members from the Jackson Health Ryder Trauma Center teach various Miami-Dade County agencies about appropriate trauma care aimed at improving patient outcomes. (Ramos, 5/27)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Ex-St. Louis Health Director, City Reach Settlement But Details Aren’t Released 
A settlement agreement reached this month between the city and its former health director, Dr. Fredrick Echols, includes no explanation for why he was put on forced leave and no indication whether he was paid to drop his appeal. The agreement, which was released by the city on Friday, states “The parties and their counsel agree that their only comment to any media regarding the disposition of the dispute will be that ‘The matter has been resolved to the parties’ satisfaction.’” (Schlinkmann, 5/27)

Scientific American: Pregnancy Is Far More Dangerous Than Abortion
In my medical practice, where I treat people with high-risk pregnancies, I recently treated a young woman with pulmonary hypertension. Unfortunately, this diagnosis was made late into her second trimester, well after most states allow pregnancy termination. We had to have the difficult conversation that, despite all modern medical advances, as many as one in three women with this condition will die during pregnancy. Based on that information, who should decide what level of pregnancy risk is acceptable for her? Should she? Should her government? Her case illustrates some of what’s at stake, should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. (Adebayo Adesomo, 5/30)

Bloomberg: Baby Formula Crisis: The History Of Hunting For Breast-Milk Substitutes 
At first glance, the acute shortage of baby formula seems like an advertisement for breast-feeding. If only women did what came naturally, the thinking might go, maybe there wouldn’t be a problem at all. This argument would draw on evidence that multinational corporations like Nestle did much to persuade women to give up breast-feeding in favor of formula. Their 20th-century marketing campaigns ended in consumer boycotts and public disgrace for the formula makers and contributed to the deaths of infants. (Stephen Mihm, 5/29)

The Atlantic: Locking People Up Is No Way To Treat Mental Illness 
Mental illness has touched nearly every family in America in one way or another. Recent reports suggest that the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated this situation, particularly for young people and children, as well as for health-care workers. Despite the ubiquity of mental illness, our ability to help those who have behavioral disorders recoup lives interrupted by them is deeply inadequate. (Norm Ornstein, 5/30)

USA Today: Mental Health Clinics, Addiction Treatment Centers Aid Police Officers
President John F. Kennedy signed a revolutionary piece of legislation into law on Oct. 31, 1963. No longer would Americans with behavioral health issues be warehoused in asylums. Instead, the Community Mental Health Act would fund clinics so that people with mental health issues and addiction could receive help right in their own communities. Less than a month later, Kennedy was tragically assassinated in Dallas. And, sadly, his goal never came to pass. But thanks to our bipartisan work in the Senate, we're getting closer and closer to finally seeing Kennedy’s vision of comprehensive, community-based care become reality. (Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Roy Blunt, 5/28)

Chicago Tribune: I See Distressed Children Come Into My ER. I Wonder About Their Paths — And My Son’s
On the afternoon that the world found out about the brutal slayings of 19 elementary schoolchildren in Texas, I was trying to sleep. I work nights as a physician in a children’s emergency department, and I had a shift later that evening. When I awoke and checked my phone before starting the bedtime routine for my two young children, I saw the news. Fifteen dead. Later, that number ballooned to 19 children plus two beloved teachers. The weight of it was sickening, and I knew that soon, 19 little faces would begin to show up on my social media feeds, faces that would be reflected back to me in the kids I would see that night in the emergency department. I couldn’t bring myself to read more, and so I turned off my phone and turned up the music as I drove into work that night. (Sabreen Akhter, 5/30)

USA Today: Daniel Prude Death Shows Police Act Like Mental Illness Is A Crime
Two years ago, just months after George Floyd was murdered, body cam footage of Daniel Prude's gruesome death came to light and furthered demands for racial justice. He had been experiencing a mental health crisis and had gone missing in the middle of the night when his brother, Joe Prude, called 911 desperately seeking help. As a Black man, he had concerns about calling the police but didn't know where else to turn. (Mary Crowley and Christina Sparrock, 5/30)

Stat: Factoring In Patients' Experiences Is Essential To Eliminate Health Disparities
Three years ago, when cancer turned my life upside down, I never imagined I’d have to fight to receive high-quality care at one of the country’s best hospitals. But I did. From being butchered during a biopsy and then later receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer by email, my health care experience was a nightmare from start to finish. It led me, a Black person with broad multidisciplinary expertise in research and innovation, to pivot my career to improve cancer care for underserved patients by bringing their voices into research and design. (Sylvie Leotin, 5/31)

Bloomberg: Mixing AstraZeneca And Pfizer Vaccine Doses Means Better Omicron Immunity
Could the UK inadvertently have given some of its population the best immunity possible against SARS-CoV-2? After reported side effects among some populations with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the UK and much of Europe decided to use Pfizer shots as a second shot in certain age groups, creating a natural mix-and-match dosing experiment. New data from the UK suggest that this particular mix offered extra immunity from the omicron variant compared to those who had other platforms. (Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli, 5/31)

The Atlantic: Coronavirus Cases Are Being Undercounted. What Should You Do? 
Coronavirus cases are up more than 25 percent in the United States over the past two weeks—and those are just the ones we know about. Experts warn that the true size of the current outbreak could be 10, or even 14, times worse than the official counts suggest. (Caroline Mimbs Nyce, 5/29)

The Boston Globe: Questions Surrounding The Origins Of COVID-19 Remain Unanswered 
It’s not yet clear whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 was created in a laboratory or emerged from nature; there is still no decisive evidence for either alternative. To find out, we have recently called for an independent and transparent investigation into the possible role that US biotechnology played in the emergence of the virus. (Jeffrey D. Sachs and Neil L. Harrison, 5/31)

The New York Times: Omicron Reveals The Need For Better Sick Leave 
On a recent Thursday, my wife and daughter tested positive for the coronavirus (despite my wife’s getting a negative test the day before). I felt fine, but I stayed home from work and spent the weekend in the house tending to my isolating family members. By early Sunday morning, my throat felt sore. I tested negative, but stayed home from work on Monday even though I tested negative again that day. On Tuesday, I was positive. (Aaron E. Carroll, 5/30)

Also —

NBC News: Why The Big Meat Menace May Be Even Worse Than We Thought
During the first year of the pandemic, over 59,000 meatpacking workers were infected with the coronavirus and at least 269 lost their lives to it, according to lawmakers. These infections spilled over into workers’ homes, driving deadly spikes in their communities. According to a study last year from the University of California, Davis, coronavirus transmission rates were double the national average in counties with large beef and pork processing plants and 20 percent higher in counties with large poultry processors. Another study, from 2020, estimated that 3 percent to 4 percent of all Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. from March to July 2020 were tied to meat or poultry plants. (Matt McConnell, 5/30)

Stat: It's Time For A Social Business Model For Patent-Free Global Drug Production
The World Health Assembly, which is meeting in Geneva for the first time since the pandemic began, has agreed to set a framework to begin preparing for future pandemics. But this decision-making body of the World Health Organization, with its many delegates from middle- and low-income countries, faces a difficult reality: Even as the world only begins to comprehend the scale of our devastating failures responding to the coronavirus pandemic, the rich countries of the world want to move on from the pandemic. (Muhammad Yunus, 5/28)