NPR: Supreme Court Justices Seem To Tilt Toward Abortion Providers In Texas
The Supreme Court appeared inclined Monday to allow abortion providers to challenge a controversial Texas law that in effect bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women know they are pregnant. But if the clues from the three-hour argument are correct, it's still unclear when the court will rule or whether it will temporarily block the law while the lower courts consider it. (Totenberg, 11/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Questions Texas Abortion Law - WSJ
During nearly three hours of oral arguments, justices across the ideological spectrum explored how they might allow abortion-rights advocates to challenge the law in federal court—with some expressing concern that other states could follow the model of the Texas law to target religious expression, access to guns or other rights defined by the court. The Supreme Court’s focus Monday wasn’t directly on abortion rights, but rather the anomaly of the law, known as SB 8 or the Texas Heartbeat Act: State officials aren’t allowed to enforce it, a feature designed to thwart legal challenges. Under Supreme Court precedents, abortion-rights plaintiffs would sue such officials and ask a judge to block them from enforcing the law. Texas instead limited enforcement to private parties, who are offered financial incentives to sue abortion providers and other people who aid abortions. (Kendall and Bravin, 11/1)

Politico: Kavanaugh, Barrett Air Skepticism Of Texas Abortion Law 
Two appointees of President Donald Trump — Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — raised the hopes of abortion rights advocates with their questions in Monday’s arguments. Both aired concerns that Texas’ abortion ban was designed to evade federal law and constitutional review. Kavanaugh seemed troubled by the possibility that allowing the Texas law to remain in effect could lead other states to pass laws that would intrude on various rights protected by the Constitution — one of the key arguments the abortion clinics challenging the law put forward when asking the court to strike it down. (Gerstein and Ollstein, 11/1)

AP: Supreme Court Questions Controversial Texas Abortion Law
The justices sounded less convinced that the Justice Department lawsuit should go forward, and Justice Elena Kagan suggested that a ruling instead in favor of the providers would allow the court to avoid difficult issues of federal power. In neither case argued Monday is the right to an abortion directly at issue. But the motivation for the lawsuits is that the Texas law conflicts with landmark Supreme Court rulings that prevent a state from banning abortion early in pregnancy. (Sherman and Gresko, 11/1)

More details and takeaways from the first abortion hearings of this session —

Politico: Takeaways From SCOTUS Arguments On Texas Abortion Ban 
Two Trump-appointed justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, surprised Supreme Court watchers on Monday by sounding receptive to the arguments that opponents have leveled against Texas’ novel abortion ban. Normally, word on where Kavanaugh and Barrett actually come down on the cases would be months away. But because the court scheduled arguments on the issue faster than any it has heard in decades, a decision is expected within days or weeks. (Ollstein and Gerstein, 11/1)

KHN: High Court Hears Cases On Novel Texas Law, But Outcome May Not Affect Abortion Access 
The Supreme Court, whose conservative majority is considered poised to overturn decades-old decisions guaranteeing abortion rights, heard its first two abortion cases of the 2021-22 term Monday. But the court could decide this case without deciding the fate of abortion rights in America. At stake is the future of a Texas law, which severely limits the procedure, that the high court refused to block from taking effect in September. The state law has cut the number of abortions in the state by half. (Rovner, 11/1)

SCOTUSblog: Two Cases. Three Hours Of Arguments. Four Sets Of Lawyers. Fifty Mentions Of Abortion. One Pair Of Red Socks.
A minute-by-minute look at what happened inside 1 First Street during Monday’s back-to-back arguments on the Texas abortion law. (Walsh, 11/1)

Also —

NPR: More Activists Who Have Had Abortions Are Saying So Out Loud. Here's Why
Telling personal abortion stories has increasingly become central to the abortion-rights movement in recent years. There's a number of reasons why advocates believe this strategy might work. One is the hope that telling stories will normalize the procedure, making Americans more sympathetic. (Kurtzleben, 11/2)

The Washington Post: CDC Expected To Sign Off On Vaccine For Children 5 To 11 
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting Tuesday to discuss giving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 and are expected to recommend moving forward. The Food and Drug Administration has already authorized the shots, which deliver about one-third of the vaccine dose given to adults. (Jeong, Suliman and Sun, 11/2)

AP: COVID Vaccine For Younger Kids Already Being Packed, Shipped
Anticipating a green light from vaccine advisers, the Biden administration is assembling and shipping millions of COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11, the White House said Monday. The first could go into kids’ arms by midweek. “We are not waiting on the operations and logistics,” said coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/1)

In related news about vaccines for children —

Bloomberg: Pfizer Covid Vaccine Approval For Kids Will Close Hispanic Vaccine Gaps In U.S.
Emergency authorization for the Pfizer Inc. vaccine for kids five and up will almost certainly help boost vaccinations of minority populations in the U.S., which have continued to lag in recent months, particularly among Hispanic people. More than half the 48 million U.S. children ages 5 to 11 are children of color — one of the most diverse age groups in the country. Hispanic people are particularly over-represented among kids those ages. While they make up 18% of the total U.S. population, a quarter of 5- to 11-year-olds are Hispanic. An additional 13.3% of the age group are Black, 4.7% are Asian, and the remaining 6.7% are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or multiracial. (Biekert, 11/1)

KHN: ‘Not Quite On Board’: Parents Proving A Tough Sell On Covid Vax For Teens 
Even as the U.S. prepares to roll out a covid-19 vaccine to elementary school-aged kids, its efforts to inoculate teenagers — who have been eligible for the shot since May — continue to meet with a lackluster response. So far, about half of kids 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated in the U.S., compared with nearly 70% of Americans 18 and older. Pediatricians expect it will be even harder to persuade skeptical parents of younger children to get their kids inoculated. Many are concerned about the potential unknowns of a relatively new vaccine compared with the low risk of serious illness covid poses for children. (Gold and Young, 11/2)

The New York Times: How Often Do Covid Vaccines Cause Heart Problems in Kids?
Federal regulators are reviewing data on the link between Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine and a rare heart problem in adolescents, the company announced on Sunday. That side effect — myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle — has also worried advisers to federal agencies in deliberations regarding use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in younger children and teenagers. Scientists advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review the latest data on the condition at a meeting on Tuesday before deciding whether to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for younger children.So how common is myocarditis, really? And should parents be concerned about vaccinating their children? (Mandavilli, 11/1)

The Washington Post: CDC Finds Immunity From Vaccines Is More Consistent Than From Infection, But Both Last At Least Six Months 
It’s a question that scientists have been trying to answer since the start of the pandemic, one that is central to the rancorous political debates over coronavirus vaccine policies: How much immunity does someone have after recovering from a coronavirus infection, and how does it compare with immunity provided by vaccination? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has weighed in for the first time in a detailed science report released with little fanfare Friday evening. Reviewing scores of research studies and its own unpublished data, the agency found that both infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity are durable for at least six months — but that vaccines are more consistent in their protection and offer a huge boost in antibodies for people previously infected. (Sun and Achenbach, 11/1)

CIDRAP: Large Study Shows High Protection Of 3 Vs 2 Pfizer COVID Vaccine Doses
A third Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose is 92% more effective in reducing severe COVID-related outcomes than two doses of the same vaccine received at least 5 months previously, according to a large real-world study late last week in The Lancet. The study, conducted by researchers with the Clalit Research Institute in Israel and Harvard University, took place from Jul 30 through Sep 23, during Israel's fourth COVID-19 wave, when the Delta (B1617.2) variant was overwhelmingly predominant. (11/1)

KHN: What Do We Really Know About Vaccine Effectiveness? 
The politicization of covid vaccines — and, well, just about everything else having to do with the pandemic — has led to confusion, if not utter fatigue. And some posts circulating on social media — this slickly edited piece on YouTube, for example — seem to build on these feelings, attempting to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines. This one intersperses comments from White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci extolling their protectiveness with screenshots of news headlines, starting with those citing 100% effectiveness, then moving through others reporting sharply lower percentages. Set to the rapidly increasing tempo of the orchestral piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” the video ends with headlines about drug company profits. (Appleby, 11/2)

In other vaccine development news —

Dallas Morning News: COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections May Be More Serious In Communities Of Color, Researchers Warn
While fully vaccinated people are a small percentage of those who contract COVID-19, some researchers are worried that racial disparities may persist among so-called “breakthrough” infections. One major challenge, these experts said, is that many state and county health departments do not track breakthrough cases. And even when they track breakthrough cases, they often don’t track those cases by race. Last month, in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, two researchers at Boston University and a prominent New York physician warned that the lack of data could hinder public health officials’ efforts to combat the coronavirus, particularly in communities of color that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. (Canales, 11/1)

Axios: The Vaccines Have Kept Older Americans Out Of The Hospital 
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans dropped significantly since the vaccine rollout at the start of the year, new federal data show. The vaccines have worked extremely well for one of the most vulnerable demographics. Roughly 97% of people 65 and older have at least one vaccine dose, and more than 85% of that age group is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. (Herman, 11/2)

Politico: Pregnant People Were Shut Out Of Covid Vaccine Trials — With Disastrous Results 
The decision to exclude pregnant people from the first wave of Covid-19 vaccine trials created a data gap that inadvertently fueled vaccine hesitancy — in some cases, with deadly consequences. With a lack of concrete data on the vaccines’ safety in pregnant and lactating people when they first became available, trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists hedged on recommending the shots for those groups, instead advising patients to consult with their doctors. (Gardner, 11/1)

And in updates on the vaccine rollout —

AP: Judge Limits New California Law Protecting Vaccination Sites
A federal judge has thrown out California’s new 30-foot buffer zone designed to restrict protests at coronavirus vaccination sites, though his ruling left in place other parts of a new state law despite arguments that it infringes on free speech. The law that took effect Oct. 8 makes it illegal to come within 30 feet (9.14 meters) of someone at a vaccination site “for the purpose of obstructing, injuring, harassing, intimidating, or interfering with that person.” (Thompson, 11/1)

North Carolina Health News: NC’s Latinos More Vaccinated Than Non-Latinos 
At the beginning of North Carolina’s vaccine rollout, the rate of Latino people getting the shot lagged behind other groups. In March, just 2.5 percent of all vaccines administered were given to Hispanic residents, even though the group accounts for nearly 10 percent of the state’s population and was hit disproportionately hard by the virus. But now, Latino residents are vaccinated at a higher rate than the non-Latino population, according to the most recent data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Statewide, 67 percent of Hispanic residents 12 and older are vaccinated, a rate 10 percent higher than that of North Carolina’s non-hispanic population. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 11/1)

Charleston Gazette Mail: With Few Residents Getting COVID-19 Booster Shots, Justice Says State Will Need More Body Bags
While West Virginia has long held the dubious distinction of having the nation’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state officials on Monday discussed a new form of vaccine hesitancy in the state: Low numbers of fully vaccinated individuals getting booster shots. “A great many people think, ‘I got my two doses, and I’m safe,’ and for a good while they were safe,” Gov. Jim Justice said Monday of the low percentage of West Virginians getting booster shots. “If they don’t get their booster shots, we’re going to need more body bags,” Justice asserted during the state COVID-19 briefing. (Kabler, 11/1)

Stat: Throwing Spaghetti At The Wall To Overcome Covid Vaccine Hesitancy 
One or two donuts, a car, one million dollars, $25, Super Bowl tickets, french fries. There’s a remarkable range of incentives and other methods devised to overcome Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy. While some of these ideas have stuck like spaghetti thrown against a wall, it’s not clear which are most effective. Even when researchers have demonstrated the success of certain strategies, they haven’t been widely adopted. (Gaffney, 11/2)

NPR: 'Vax' Is Oxford's 2021 Word Of The Year
It would have been pretty difficult to get through 2021 without hearing the word "vax" at least once. If last year was marked by the emergence of COVID-19 on a global scale, this one has been all about the new solution to end the pandemic: the vaccines. That's why Oxford Languages, the creator of the Oxford English Dictionary, chose "vax" as its 2021 Word of the Year. "A relatively rare word in our corpus until this year, by September it was over 72 times more frequent than at the same time last year," Oxford said. (Hernandez, 11/1)

USA Today: Mandatory Vaccination For Employees Of Large Companies Draws Closer
The controversial Biden administration plan to require companies with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccination for their workers or require weekly testing cleared another hurdle Monday when the Office of Management and Budget completed its regulatory review. The plan also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects. The Federal Register will publish the emergency temporary standard "in the coming days," the Labor Department said in a statement. It's not clear when the mandate would become effective. (Bacon and Ortiz, 11/1)

Roll Call: Biden Gives Contractors Leeway On COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate 
Federal contractors can use their discretion in deciding how to handle an employee who refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to guidance released by the White House on Monday. If a government contractor's employee refuses to get vaccinated and does not have a pending request for an accommodation, there is no one protocol for the employer to follow. The administration suggests counseling and education, followed by additional disciplinary measures, if necessary. Firing an unvaccinated employee should occur only after additional noncompliance, the White House says. (Cohen, 11/1)

Dallas Morning News: U.S. Employers Must Give Paid Time Off, Sick Leave To Vaccinate Workers Under Pending Emergency Rule
The federal government will require companies with at least 100 workers to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and paid sick leave to recover from effects of the shots, a Biden administration official said Monday. Those requirements will be part of a pending federal rule that will spell out how large employers will meet a requirement that workers be vaccinated or tested regularly for the virus. The White House budget office has completed its review of the rule being written by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is expected to be released this week. (11/1)

In updates about the military mandate —

AP: Military Weighs Penalties For Those Who Refuse COVID Vaccine
As deadlines loom for military and defense civilians to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, senior leaders must now wrestle with the fate of those who flatly refuse the shots or are seeking exemptions, and how to make sure they are treated fairly and equally. The vast majority of the active duty force has received at least one shot, but tens of thousands have not. For some it may be a career-ending decision. Others could face transfers, travel restrictions, limits on deployments and requirements to repay bonuses. (Baldor, 11/1)

American Homefront Project: As Deadlines Near For Service Members To Get COVID Vaccines, The Vast Majority Have Complied
After Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered America’s 1.4 million active duty service members to get COVID-19 vaccines, the service branches set their own deadlines for compliance. The Air Force set the most ambitious deadline - Nov. 2. The deadline in the Navy and the Marine Corps is Nov. 28, and the Army's cutoff date is Dec. 15. The Department of Defense says more than 90 percent of active duty troops have received at least one vaccine dose. Some of the rest have requested medical or religious exemptions. Others face possible punishment for disregarding the order. (Frame, 11/1)

Also —

Fox News: Alabama DA Files Suit To Block Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate
Steve Marshall, Alabama’s district attorney, announced on Twitter Monday that he filed a lawsuit to block a key part of President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate he called "flagrantly unconstitutional." Marshall, a Republican, focused on the federal-contractor mandate. He called the scope vague and wide, and said under the guidelines, contractors who work from home--with no chance of infecting a colleague, are forced to take the jab. (DeMarche, 11/2)

AP: Judge Suspends Deadline For Chicago Cops To Get Vaccinated
A judge on Monday suspended a Dec. 31 deadline for Chicago police officers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but didn’t interfere with a requirement that they be regularly tested. Disputes over vaccinations should be handled as a labor grievance with an arbitrator, Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell said. “The effect of this order is to send these parties back to the bargaining table and to promote labor peace by allowing them to pursue” remedies under Illinois law, Mitchell said. (11/1)

In updates from New York City —

NPR: 9,000 New York City Workers Are On Unpaid Leave For Refusing To Get Vaccinated
Thousands of New York municipal workers, including police officers and firefighters, have chosen unpaid leave rather than getting inoculated against COVID-19, as the city's vaccine mandate went into effect. Speaking on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said he expected no disruptions as a result of some 9,000 city employees, or about 6% of the 378,000-strong workforce, getting put on unpaid leave for failing to get a shot. Those workers must show proof of at least one dose of a vaccination to return to work, according to the Oct. 20 order. (Neuman, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Staten Island Anti-Vax Protester Threatens To Burn Schools And Town Halls Over Vaccine Mandate 
Hundreds of Staten Island residents holding anti-vaccine signs and waving American flags gathered on Sunday across the street from where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was scheduled to speak at a campaign event for local Democrats. The crowd was angry about New York City’s vaccine mandate for municipal workers, which takes full effect on Monday. But one attendee had another worry — that the city, like the state of California, will force children to get the coronavirus vaccine. So he offered an unnerving warning. (Peiser, 11/1)

In updates from Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Missouri, Maryland and Ohio —

AP: State Employees Who Get Vaccinated To Get 5 Paid Days Off
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration told more than 70,000 state employees on Monday that it is offering five days of paid leave for getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year, quickly drawing opposition from the state treasurer over the potential cost. The administration told employees that five days of “verification leave” can be used between Dec. 20 and March 31. Employees who don’t use the days by then will be paid for them and an employee who has verified their fully vaccinated status to the administration will automatically receive the days, it said. (11/1)

The Boston Globe: R.I. Reports 94 Percent Of Healthcare Workers Are Vaccinated Against COVID-19
The deadline for Rhode Island’s vaccine mandate for health care workers passed on Sunday, and 94 percent of the state’s health care workers have been fully vaccinated, according to a random audit for vaccination status conducted by the state health department. When Governor Dan McKee announced this summer that there would be a vaccine mandate for all health care workers in the state, he said that any employee who went unvaccinated wouldn’t be allowed in the building. (Gagosz, 11/1)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: About Three-Fourths Of St. Louis City Workers Get COVID Shots 
Slightly more than three-fourths of the city’s civil service employees have gotten COVID-19 shots, the city announced Monday. The 76.4% figure was as of Friday, the revised deadline for St. Louis workers to declare whether they had been vaccinated. Nick Dunne, a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, said the city is “encouraged” by the total vaccinated so far but “it is not 100%. We’ve just got more work to do.” (Schlinkmann, 11/1)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Hospital Workers Face Deadlines For COVID Vaccinations; Thousands Could Resign
Hundreds of workers at the University of Maryland Medical System may have run afoul of the mandate by the state’s largest hospital system for them to be vaccinated by Monday. The system reported a high rate of compliance — over 99% — by the middle of last week. But that leaves close to 200 employees and more than 460 contract or irregular workers who will have to leave their jobs if they don’t show proof of their first shot or receive an exemption on medical or religious grounds. (Cohn and Miller, 11/2)

Crain's Cleveland Business: MetroHealth Says It Has 99.9% Employee Compliance With COVID Vax Mandate
MetroHealth back in August said all its employees would have to receive COVID-19 vaccinations or request an exemption by Oct. 30. And now that October is over, the results are in — and the health system came about as close as conceivably possible to meeting the goal. In a news release issued Monday afternoon, Nov. 1, MetroHealth said 99.94% of its 7,700-member workforce is in compliance with the COVID-19 vaccination policy. (Suttell, 11/1)

In news about mask-wearing —

AP: Schools Face Strict Hurdles For Mask Mandates Under New Bill
Tennessee schools will have to jump through even more hoops if they want to implement mask mandates to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under legislation recently approved by the state’s GOP-controlled General Assembly. The strict new rules are part of a sweeping bill Republicans signed off on in the middle of the night over the weekend as they worked to undermine numerous COVID-19 protective measures. (Mattise and Kruesi, 11/1)

AP: A Look At What's In Tennessee's Far-Reaching COVID-19 Bill
Sprawling legislation against COVID-19 prevention measures is awaiting Gov. Bill Lee’s decision on whether sign on to efforts to undercut vaccine requirements, mask mandates and more. Republican lawmakers passed the final bill during the dead of night over the weekend, capping a three-day session called by lawmakers. (11/2)

CNN: Face Masks: Why The World Is Still Arguing About Them, 20 Months Into The Pandemic 
At the start of the pandemic, much of the Western world followed a similar playbook for tackling Covid-19.Spikes in transmission were met with lockdowns; international travel was heavily restricted; and though domestic constraints frequently proved controversial, hygiene measures like social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing were strongly encouraged -- if not legally mandated. But those days are behind us. Pandemic management now differs widely from country to country -- with the face mask just one example of the world's increasingly fractured approach to Covid-19. (Picheta, 11/2)

Axios: Uninsured Rate Holds Steady Amid COVID Pandemic 
The rate of uninsured Americans in 2020 remained relatively stable — between 8.6% and 9.7% — despite pandemic-related job losses and other economic challenges, according to data released by HHS. Biden administration officials released the numbers just ahead of the start of open enrollment in the federal health insurance marketplaces today as evidence of the Affordable Care Act's impact. (Reed, 11/1)

And open enrollment begins —

AP: Covered California Begins Open Enrollment Period For 2022
Open enrollment for the nation’s largest state-run health insurance marketplace began Monday and runs through the end of January. Covered California sells individual health insurance plans to people who can’t get coverage through their job. Some people, depending on how much money they make, are eligible for deep discounts on their monthly premiums. Even families making more than $100,000 per year are eligible for discounts. (11/1)

WUSF Public Media: Florida Health Care Marketplace Enrollment Reopens And Could Grow For 2022 
More than 2 million Floridians got insurance coverage through the federal health care marketplace in 2021 - a number some expect to increase during the open enrollment period that starts today. Florida is one of 12 states that did not expand Medicaid programs when the Affordable Care Act passed more than a decade ago. That leaves many low-income residents looking to the marketplace for plans - and subsidies to help pay for it. (Manna-Rea, 11/1)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Open Enrollment Period Begins For State Health Insurance Exchange
“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of access to affordable health care,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said during a virtual news conference. “It’s a matter of education and getting the word out. There are options that are available for everyone if they just pursue that. No one should go without health insurance, and I think that the pandemic has brought that to light that it’s necessary for everyone to have.” Heather Korbulic, executive director of the exchange, said 90 percent of Nevadans qualify for discounted rates offered through American Rescue Plan funding. The tax credits help lower monthly premiums for people making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or an annual income of $51,520 for one person. (Ross, 11/1)

The CT Mirror: Here's What You Need To Know About Open Enrollment, Which Begins Today
Open enrollment for 2022 health plans on Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange is now underway. With additional subsidies available for many who joined qualified health plans, the exchange, known as Access Health CT, has held special enrollment periods throughout much of this year. Beginning Monday, consumers will be able to enroll or re-enroll in policies for 2022. With the pandemic still lingering, Access Health is trying to reach Connecticut’s uninsured population. (Carlesso, 11/1)

In other news about the health insurance industry —

Stat: New Insurer Partnerships Signal Next Steps For Buzzy Biotech EQRx
EQRx — the buzzy biotech company with a lofty mission of making far less expensive look-alike versions of blockbuster drugs — is finally starting to sign deals with insurance companies, a key step toward launching drugs that could shake up the market for medicines. But the deals are light on details, raising questions about just how meaningful that shake-up might eventually be. (Sheridan, 11/2)

360Dx: Insurers Look To Cut Lab Costs Through Benefit Management Firms
Working with laboratory benefit manager Avalon Healthcare Solutions, insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina cut $112 million in laboratory spending in 2020. Notably, much of those savings came from management of routine lab testing, a segment that has traditionally received less attention than higher-cost areas like genetic testing, said Rahul Singal, Avalon's chief medical officer. Genetic testing is growing, but still accounts for only around 10 percent of lab spending, with routine testing making up most of the remainder, Singal said. The high prices of individual genetic tests, however, have made them a priority for insurers and the lab benefit management companies they work with. (Bonislawski, 11/1)

Modern Healthcare: Jefferson Health Takes Full Ownership Of Health Partners Plans
Jefferson Health paid $305 million for Temple University Health System's 50% ownership stake in Health Partners Plans, the not-for-profit health system announced Monday. Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health now owns all of a health plan that covers nearly 290,000 Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Medicare-Medicare dual-eligible Special Needs Plan, and Children's Health Insurance Program beneficiaries. Temple University Health System will continue to participate in Partners Health Plans' network. (Kacik, 11/1)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Need Surgery To Save Your Life? Tips For Getting Insurance To Pay
Laurie Todd calls herself the “Insurance Warrior.” She helps people get their health insurance companies to pay for treatment and has written books sharing her knowledge. Hers is a wealth of knowledge that was hard-won. In 2005, Todd was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Although she found a doctor who could treat it, her health insurance said it wouldn’t be covered. But Todd didn’t accept that refusal and got her insurance company to pay for a lifesaving surgery. (Weissmann, 11/2)

Stat: In A First, A California Judge Rules Drug Makers Are Not Liable For The Opioid Crisis
For the first time, drug makers won a court victory in the massive litigation over the opioid epidemic, defeating local governments in California that claimed the company created a public health crisis through misleading marketing of the prescription painkillers. In a tentative decision on Monday, Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson rejected arguments that Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, and Endo International had deceived the public about the addictive risks of the opioids, promoted them for unintended uses, and encouraged overprescribing by physicians. (Silverman, 11/1)

NPR: A California Court Says Drug Companies Aren't Liable For The State's Opioid Crisis
The companies denied any wrongdoing. If found liable, they would likely have been forced to pay for a wide range of costly public health and drug treatment programs. In his 41-page ruling, however, Judge Peter J. Wilson said it was unclear the drug industry's marketing efforts led to directly to a rise in illegal use of prescription opioid painkillers. "The Court finds that plaintiffs have failed to prove an actionable public nuisance for which defendants, or any of them, are legally liable," Wilson concluded. (Mann, 11/1)

Bloomberg: J&J, Teva Beat $50 Billion Opioid Case In First Industry Win
Officials in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Orange counties and the city of Oakland sought as much as $50 billion to beef up policing and treatment budges depleted by the epidemic. It’s the first time a judge or jury has rejected claims by states or local governments that ex-opioid makers should be held liable for the fallout from the U.S. opioid epidemic, which has claimed the lives of almost 500,000 Americans over the last two decades. (Feeley, 11/1)

AP: Manchin Wavers On Biden's Plan, Democrats Vow To Push Ahead
Pivotal Sen. Joe Manchin wavered on his support for President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion domestic policy proposal, but Democratic leaders vowed to push ahead, with initial voting possible on the bill and a related $1 trillion infrastructure package in the House this week. The West Virginia Democrat’s announcement Monday came as Democrats wanted assurances from Manchin that he will support Biden’s big package. He’s one of two key holdout senators whose votes are needed to secure the deal and push it toward passage. Instead, the conservative Manchin rebuffed progressive Democrats, urging them to quit holding “hostage” the smaller public works bill as negotiations continue on the broader package. (Mascaro and Amiri, 11/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Manchin Criticizes Democrats’ Revised Social Spending And Climate Bill 
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) criticized Democrats’ $1.85 trillion healthcare, education and climate-change bill and withheld his support for a legislative framework that the White House had cast as a consensus acceptable to all members of the Senate Democratic caucus. “I’m open to supporting a final bill that helps move our country forward,” he said at an afternoon press conference. “But I’m equally open to voting against a bill that hurts our country. (Duehren, 11/1)

Also —

The New York Times: Democrats’ Bill Would Cover Poor Uninsured Adults, Up To A Point 
After giving up on their goal of creating a new Medicaid program to cover two million poor adults, Democrats are aiming to provide them with free private coverage as part of the party’s social policy bill. But there is a catch: The benefits would last only four years. Even with that expiration date, the legislation cannot come fast enough for people like Evelyn Davis, who suffered two heart attacks and has high blood pressure and diabetes. A former home health care aide, she lost coverage when she got divorced two years ago. She has chest pains and heart palpitations but said she cannot afford to see a cardiologist. (Stolberg, 11/1)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Horsford, Lee Demanding Affordable Prescription Drug Prices
Nevada Reps. Susie Lee and Steven Horsford are among 15 Democrats urging House leaders to include cuts to prescription drug prices in a $1.7 trillion spending bill. The bill championed by President Joe Biden — known as Build Back Better — could come up for a vote as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that the House continues to “move forward” on the sweeping legislation, but did not address specific programs or disagreements that could delay passage of the bill. One proposal being considered would limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs to seniors under Medicare. (Martin, 11/1)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Fox News: Ernst's 'FAUCI Act' Bans US Funding For 'Gain-Of-Function' Research In China 
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is introducing legislation aimed at banning funding "gain-of-function" research in China while calling for a "full accounting" of how U.S. tax dollars were spent on the research. "For years, American tax dollars were funneled into Communist China, funding dangerous experiments on coronaviruses at the Wuhan Lab, while the head of the division funding those activities, Dr. Fauci, failed to tell the truth to Congress," Ernst said in a press release Monday. (Lee, 11/1)

ProPublica: Syphilis Is Resurging In The U.S., A Sign Of Public Health's Funding Crisis 
When Mai Yang is looking for a patient, she travels light. She dresses deliberately — not too formal, so she won't be mistaken for a police officer; not too casual, so people will look past her tiny 4-foot-10 stature and youthful face and trust her with sensitive health information. Always, she wears closed-toed shoes, "just in case I need to run." Yang carries a stack of cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show what happens when the Treponema pallidum bacteria invades a patient's body. There's a photo of an angry red sore on a penis. There's one of a tongue, marred by mucus-lined lesions. And there's one of a newborn baby, its belly, torso and thighs dotted in a rash, its mouth open, as if caught midcry. (Chen, 11/1)

USA Today: COVID: Screen Time Among Teens Doubles During Pandemic, Study Finds
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans relied on technology to continue working, going to school, checking in with health care providers and connecting with family and friends.  But a recent study found recreational screen time for teens skyrocketed, too. According to the study, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, screen time outside of virtual school among teenagers doubled from pre-pandemic estimates of 3.8 hours per day to 7.7 hours. (Rodriguez, 11/1)

CIDRAP: Multistate Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Onions Tops 800 Cases
Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added 156 new cases to a multistate Salmonella Oranienburg onion outbreak. There are now 808 cases reported in 37 states and Puerto Rico. The outbreak is linked to onions from ProSource Produce LLC and Keeler Family Farms and imported from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, from Jul 1 to Aug 31. (11/1)

Bloomberg: Racial, Social Factors Raise Pregnancy Risks: UK Study Of 1 Million Women
Race and socioeconomic factors play a key role in many adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirth, according to a U.K. study of more than one million women. Socioeconomic inequalities account for a quarter of stillbirths, a fifth of preterm births, and a third of births with fetal growth restriction, the research, published Monday in The Lancet medical journal, found. South Asian and Black women living in the most deprived areas in England experienced the largest inequity in pregnancy outcomes, the authors said. (Ring, 11/1)

NPR: 2020 Census Likely Undercounted Black People, Latinos, Study Says
Last year's approximately $14.2 billion census likely undercounted people of color at higher rates than those of the previous once-a-decade tally, an Urban Institute study released Tuesday suggests. Researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank say that while the Census Bureau may have continued to overcount people who identified as white and not Latino, it also likely failed to count some 2.5 million people in other racial and ethnic groups. The Urban Institute estimates that nationwide, the net undercount rates by race or ethnicity were highest for Black people (2.45%), Latinx people (2.17%) and Pacific Islanders (1.52%). The estimated net undercount rates for Asian Americans and Native Americans were each less than a percent. (Lo Wang, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Alliance For Connected Care Telehealth Letter To Governors
More than 230 organizations want state governors to preserve and expand state medical licensure flexibilities for telehealth until the public health emergency ends, according to a letter led by the Alliance for Connected Care, ALS Association and National Organization for Rare Disorders. Nearly 30 states have allowed their emergency declarations to lapse in recent months, according to the Alliance. That’s led many people to suddenly lose access to telehealth services delivered by out-of-state providers as exceptions to state medical licensing rules expired alongside the emergency declarations. (Brady, 11/1)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Why The Change In Hospital Margins Dropped By Double Digits In September
U.S. hospitals saw a median operating margin decline of 18.2% between August and September, a new report found. A confluence of lower volumes and rising expenses made September a difficult month for hospitals, according to healthcare consultancy Kaufman Hall, which reports monthly on the finances of more than 900 mostly not-for-profit hospitals. "It's almost a perfect storm," said Erik Swanson, Kaufman Hall's senior vice president and the report's author. (Bannow, 11/1)

Axios: The Future Of Hospitals Will Be Outside Of Hospitals 
Hospitals in the future will look far more tech-enabled and consumer-focused — when patients are actually even getting care in a hospital building itself. Hospitals were already pushing more care outside their four walls before the pandemic. COVID accelerated that shift, forcing hospitals to reimagine what's possible to deliver in patients' homes, experts say. (Reed, 11/2)

KHN: Labs With No One To Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing The Field 
There were days, nights and weekends in the early months of the pandemic when Denise Von Bargen was the only person running covid tests at the public health lab in Ventura County. She once had eight or nine employees to assist her, but, one by one, they had all retired or left for other jobs. Like other public health laboratories in California charged with broad-scale disease testing and surveillance, the Ventura lab received federal and state money for new equipment and short-term hires to bolster its response to covid-19. But the funding was temporary, and Von Bargen, the director, could not use it to increase the salaries of her employees, who could earn more money doing less work in the private sector. (Barry-Jester, 11/2)

Connecticut Health I-Team: Ranking Of Connecticut Medical Board’s ‘Serious Disciplinary Actions’ Echoes Members’ Concerns
The state Medical Examining Board ranked 37th in the nation in the annual rate of serious disciplinary actions the board took against physicians accused of wrongdoing from 2017 to 2019, according to a Public Citizen report issued earlier this year. Connecticut’s board averaged about 13 serious disciplinary actions a year in 2017, 2018 and 2019, according to Public Citizen. The rankings are based on the number of serious disciplinary actions taken by states per 1,000 physicians. Connecticut’s rate was .65 per 1,000 physicians compared to Kentucky, which had the highest rate of serious disciplinary actions at 2.29 per 1,000 physicians, the report said. Public Citizen defines a “serious disciplinary action” as one that has a clear impact on a physician’s ability to practice. (Backus, 11/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Transgender Man's Suit Against Dignity Health For Surgery Refusal Allowed To Go Forward
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a Northern California transgender man to sue a Catholic hospital chain for refusing to perform surgery on him. The justices voted 6-3 to deny review of an appeal by Dignity Health of a discrimination suit by Evan Minton. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch voted to hear the case, one short of the number needed to grant review. Minton, who lives in Sacramento County, was born female and said he had “rejected” himself for 29 years before starting to transition in 2011. Five years later, his surgeon arranged a hysterectomy at Dignity’s Mercy San Juan Medical Center in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael. (Egelko, 11/1)

Also —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia-Based Kaiser Permanente Workers Vote To Authorize Strike
Health care workers from Kaiser Permanente’s Georgia locations voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as unions continued to butt heads with management over pay and other benefits. Some 96% of nurses, pharmacists and other health care and technical staff who are members of the Suwanee-based United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1996 voted over the last week to authorize the work stoppage, the union announced Monday. The strike authorization does not mean Georgia workers will walk off the job — at least not yet. The union is required to give Kaiser 10 days notice before a work stoppage, though officials can call for a strike at any point during the bargaining process. (Hallerman, 11/1)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: 'We Are Burnt Out And Do Not Feel Valued Or Supported': Frustrated Nurses At VCU Health Threatened A Walk Out. It Never Happened. 
After they were notified their bonuses would be smaller this year, nurses at Virginia Commonwealth University Health, one of the region’s largest employers, threatened to walk out last week. But the move never materialized. Frustrated with a pandemic that has stretched nearly two years and hospital staffs that are suddenly depleted, medical workers across the country feel bleary. That frustration was compounded last month when VCU Health employees were told their bonuses would be smaller this year. “There’s a high level of frustration, and all hospitals in the country are short-handed,” said Dr. Art Kellermann, CEO of VCU Health, in an interview. (Kolenich, 11/1)

AP: Trial Starts Over Quality Of Health Care In Arizona Prisons
An incarcerated woman who testified at a trial Monday over the quality of health care in Arizona prisons tearfully recalled her frustration about the length of time it took to be diagnosed and treated for multiple sclerosis. Kendall Johnson detailed her repeated attempts to get help for what started as numbness in her feet and legs in 2017 and was diagnosed as multiple sclerosis in 2020. (Billeaud, 11/2)

The Marshall Project: Arizona Privatized Prison Health Care To Save Money. But At What Cost? 
In 2017, Walter Jordan wrote a memo to a federal judge from the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. “Notice of Impending Death,” it said in a shaky hand. Jordan told the judge that Arizona corrections officials and Corizon Health, the state prison system’s private health care contractor at that time, delayed treating his cancer for so long that he would be “lucky to be alive for 30 days.” Jordan, 67, had a common form of skin cancer that is rarely life-threatening if caught early, but said he experienced memory loss and intense pain from botched care. Other men in his unit were also denied treatment, he wrote, “all falling, yelling, screaming of pain.” Jordan was dead eight days later. (Schwartzapfel and Jenkins, 10/31)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Prison Health Care Trial: Jensen V. Shinn
The landmark trial Jensen v. Shinn began Monday in Phoenix, the latest chapter in an almost decade-long struggle to determine whether Arizona’s prisoners are getting the basic health care they are entitled to under the law. The federal trial pits Arizona against the people held in its prisons, who argue in a class-action lawsuit that the medical services they receive are so poor, they constitute cruel and unusual punishment. (Jenkins, 11/1)

In other news about health care in the prison system —

The Marshall Project and AP: US Prisons Face Staff Shortages As Officers Quit Amid COVID
At a Georgia state House of Representatives hearing on prison conditions in September, a corrections officer called in to testify, interrupting his shift to tell lawmakers how dire conditions had become. On a “good day,” he told lawmakers, he had maybe six or seven officers to supervise roughly 1,200 people. He said he had recently been assigned to look after 400 prisoners by himself. There weren’t enough nurses to provide medical care. “All the officers … absolutely despise working there,” said the officer, who didn’t give his name for fear of retaliation. (Blakinger, Lartey, Schwartzapfel, Thompson and Sisak, 11/1)

Bangor Daily News: Aroostook Will Distribute Lifesaving Naloxone To Every Inmate Leaving County Jail
One of the best places to intervene in the opioid epidemic is at the exit doors of jails and prisons. Aroostook County Jail is launching a pilot program to give a naloxone kit, naloxone training and opioid recovery resources to every person leaving incarceration. Sheriff Shawn Gillen and organizers at Aroostook Mental Health Center are targeting January 2022 to begin the project. The initiative is funded by a $1 million federal grant to combat substance use disorder stigma and prevent overdose deaths. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration awarded the grant to the AMHC last month. (Catlin, 11/1)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Medical Board Takes 'Corrective Action' Against Dr. Stella Immanuel Over Hydroxychloroquine Prescription For COVID Patient
The Texas Medical Board last month took a “corrective action” against Houston’s Dr. Stella Immanuel after she prescribed hydroxychloroquine to treat a patient’s COVID-19 infection without adequately explaining the health consequences, according to medical board records. Immanuel, who gained national attention last year for pushing the drug as a “cure” for COVID, previously told the Chronicle that she used hydroxychloroquine to treat hundreds of patients. In numerous studies, COVID patients have experienced no meaningful benefit from the medication, and some research points to a greater risk of heart rhythm problems. (Gill, 11/1)

In other covid news from Montana and Michigan —

Billings Gazette: COVID-19 Again Poised To Be 3rd-Leading Cause Of Death In MT
Calling deaths from COVID-19 “almost entirely preventable,” the state health department said Monday the virus was the third-leading cause of death in Montana last year. A new report from the state Department of Public Health and Human Services indicates 2021 will be the second year in a row COVID-19 is the third-ranked cause of death, following heart disease and cancer. The report also notes the disproportionate effect the pandemic has had on Montana’s Native population. The mortality rate for Natives was four times greater than white Montanans, and Natives also died younger than non-natives. The median age of death for Natives was 68, compared to 80 among whites, according to the report. (Michels, 11/1)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan's New Top Doc On Pandemic Response: 'None Of This Should Be Political'
Born in India and raised in England and Ann Arbor, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian brings a global view of the coronavirus pandemic to her new job as Michigan's chief medical executive. Bagdasarian was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in September to temporarily replace Dr. Joneigh Khaldun as the state's top doctor in the midst of a pandemic that has killed about 5 million people globally and more than 22,000 in Michigan. She was living in Dubai when the first reports of an alarming novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. (Jordan Shamus, 11/1)

In news from Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina and California —

AP: Illinois Governor Calls Gun Violence A Public Health Crisis
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared gun violence a public health crisis on Monday, saying $250 million in state and federal money will be directed toward the issue over the next three years. Public health experts and medical groups have called gun violence a public health crisis for years. Over the summer, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order declaring a “disaster emergency ” on gun violence in the state. (11/2)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Woman Loses Second Leg After Botched Evacuation Of Bob Dean's Nursing Homes
Lisa Renard worked with kids most of her adult life, first as a New Orleans school teacher, then as the director of a day-care center in the 7th Ward. To her nieces and nephews, she is their beloved Nanny Lisa. “I helped raise my sister's kids, cause I didn't have any,” Renard said. Renard took a medical leave from her day-care center, Fun For Life Learning Center, in the summer of 2020 due to complications from diabetes. Those complications ultimately led to the amputation of her right leg below the knee. Determined to return to work, Renard was fitted for a prosthetic leg. She was undergoing rehabilitation at the Marrero Health Care Center when Hurricane Ida took aim at southeast Louisiana. (Perlstein, 11/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Association Of Counties To Push For Inclusion Of Health Officers In State Law Protecting Public Officials 
A Maryland organization that advocates for county-level needs in the state legislature will push to include local health officers in a law that protects public officials from intimidation. Michael Sanderson, who directs the Maryland Association of Counties, told members of the Baltimore City Council on Monday that the current laws should be broadened to combat the barrage of intimidation tactics, hateful messages and threats directed at county health officers and commissioners, who have been tasked with steering their jurisdictions’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic since the coronavirus landed in Maryland early last year. (Miller, 11/1)

North Carolina Health News: Afghan Refugees In NC Need Mental Health Support 
Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro and Raleigh are starting to see Afghan refugees, who were displaced from their home country in August, resettle in North Carolina. As they arrive, other Afghan residents already in this state have lessons in some of the mental health challenges that often accompany refugees fleeing turmoil who are suddenly thrust into a new life in a foreign place. (Dougani, 11/2)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Clears Homeless Encampment Outside VA Campus; Vets Offered Shelter Inside
A bulldozer roared outside GemBob Brookhyser’s tent Monday morning as he yanked on an extension cord caught in a tangle of his belongings. Half a dozen veterans in the Veterans Row homeless encampment along San Vicente Boulevard scrambled to get their possessions into bins and onto moving vans driven by volunteers. Tensions were high on moving day at the encampment, which sits along the perimeter of the historic Veterans Affairs campus near Brentwood. Roughly 4,000 veterans in the county are homeless, and about 40 have been living at the Veterans Row encampment for the last several months. (Solis, 11/1)

The Wall Street Journal: China Locks 30,000 Visitors Inside Shanghai Disneyland After One Guest Got Covid-19 
More than 30,000 visitors to the Shanghai Disneyland theme park were kept within the park’s gates on Sunday and forced to undergo Covid-19 testing after a customer tested positive for the virus, a move that underscores China’s eradication efforts. With fireworks exploding above them as they awaited nasal swabs, the Disney visitors became the latest Chinese residents to experience life under a “zero tolerance” policy for the virus enforced by their country’s government. Leaders there have taken stringent measures to contain pockets of the coronavirus in the country, despite criticism from business groups and a close to 80% vaccination rate. (11/1)

Bloomberg: Beijing Quarantines School Children In Pursuit Of Covid Zero
Parents gathered outside a primary school in Beijing late into the night on Monday, anxiously waiting for their children who were caught in a snap lockdown triggered by a teacher diagnosed hours earlier with Covid-19. The principal came out a little past midnight, telling them some of the kids would have to quarantine. Each could have one parent accompany them through the two weeks of isolation. For students whose test results hadn’t yet come back, parents were asked to bring quilts and pillows to spend the night at school. (11/2)

In other global news —

The Wall Street Journal: Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine Gets First Authorization, In Indonesia
Indonesia became the first country to authorize the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc. and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Novavax said Monday that Indonesia’s drug regulator cleared use of the new vaccine, called Covovax, in adults 18 years and older. (Loftus, 11/1)

Bloomberg: Where Did Covid Come From? WHO Calls More Experts To Study Disputed Origins
The World Health Organization reopened a search for experts to join a committee to study Covid-19’s origins to add more specialists in areas such as biosecurity. Applicants have until Wednesday to express interest, and the WHO said Monday it’s looking for experts in social science, anthropology, ethics, political science and biosafety. In October, the WHO proposed a fresh team of 26 experts to lead an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and other diseases after an earlier effort was beset by controversy. The list was subject to a two-week public consultation process. (Mulier, 11/1)

Politico: US Health Care System And State Of Democracy Perceived Negatively Abroad: Survey 
American health care systems, including their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the state of the country’s democracy, are seen negatively abroad, according to the latest Pew Research Center report released Monday. The survey, carried out in 17 advanced economies with 18,850 respondents, shows that the U.S. health care system is perceived as below average or as the worst among developed nations, and that very few respondents believe American democracy, in its current state, serves as a good model for other nations. (Gijs, 11/1)

Chicago Tribune: If We Want Cures To Diseases Like COVID-19, We Should Stop Vilifying Drug Companies 
Drugmaker Merck just shared stunning data on molnupiravir, an oral antiviral it developed to combat COVID-19. In molnupiravir’s phase three clinical trial, it cut COVID-19 patients’ risk of being hospitalized or dying by 50%. The company is now seeking emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. (Craig Garthwaite, 11/1)

Los Angeles Times: Texas Abortion Law May Go Too Far For Supreme Court Conservatives 
After oral arguments in two cases involving the Texas abortion law Monday morning, it appears that a majority of the justices will rightly say that if a state adopts an unconstitutional law, there must be some way to challenge it in federal court and have it enjoined. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 11/1)

San Jose Mercury News: The Texas Abortion Law 
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether to allow a Justice Department suit to proceed against Texas' near ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The final outcome is pivotal not only to women's basic right to an abortion but also to sanctioning an unwelcome new era of citizen law enforcement. The Texas law empowers private citizens, rather than the government, to enforce the ban. It allows private citizens to bring civil litigation against providers or anyone who helps a woman access an abortion after six weeks. The $10,000 bounty creates a Wild West approach to law enforcement that will only further widen the nation's political divide. (11/1)

USA Today: Supreme Court's Texas Abortion Decisions Put Women's Lives At Risk
The Supreme Court listened to arguments on Monday about SB-8, the Texas bill that all but bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That's before most women know they're pregnant. The Texas law is in direct conflict with Supreme Court rulings such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which established and reaffirmed that a woman's right to decide what happens to her body during a pregnancy stems from the constitutionally protected right to privacy. (Carli Pierson, 11/1)

The Washington Post: The Supreme Court’s Second Thoughts About Texas’s Antiabortion Law 
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a challenge to the notorious Texas abortion law, which has effectively banned all abortions in the state later than six weeks after a woman’s last period. And although five conservative justices allowed that law to go into effect two months ago, the arguments Monday suggested that Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett might be having something resembling a change of heart. (Paul Waldman, 11/1)

Modern Healthcare: Advocating For Advanced Practice Providers
During PA school and early in my career, balancing multiple projects or passions has required me to be as efficient as possible, and that work ethic has continued with me to this day. Once I set a goal, my first step is to prioritize it based on the level of impact and the effort required. I live off to-do lists, so once its prioritized and makes the list, I will do everything in my power to check it off. (Clair Kuriakose, 11/2)

Stat: Shift Covid Testing From Draconian Punishment To Empowerment 
Public health is at its best when it is pragmatic in the face of complex problems fraught with stigma and uncertainty, like moving in the direction of full vaccination in the face of many Americans’ entrenched or even defiant anti-vaccination sentiment. It is neither insightful nor actionable to so singularly promote vaccination to decision makers who must confront the here and now of various attitudes toward it. Viewing Covid-19 testing as a complementary harm-reduction approach can address the well-being of unvaccinated people while slowly building trust and confidence in Covid vaccines. (Amy Lauren Fairchild and Samuel S. Malloy, 11/2)

USA Today: Family Doctors Are Poised To Get COVID Vaccines To Kids Quickly
The United States is preparing to vaccinate approximately 28 million children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19. And amid a strained public health system, misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, this will be no easy task. Fortunately, the best resources available to move us toward this goal already exist: our nation’s family physicians. As federal, state and local governments prepare for the next phase of the vaccine rollout, it is critical that public health officials and policymakers further engage family physicians and their primary care colleagues to help increase vaccination rates and ultimately stop the spread of COVID-19. (Dr. Sterling N. Ransone Jr., 11/2)

The Tennessean: Parents Should Welcome COVID-19 Vaccine For Their Children
The Food and Drug Administration voted last week to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, after the company reported that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in children. As a pediatrician, I have spent months preparing for the task now at hand: vaccinating children whose parents have been eagerly awaiting a decision about vaccine approval. (Susan Hata, 11/1)

The New York Times: No, Vaccine Mandates Aren’t An Attack On Freedom
The Delta surge in Covid-19 seems to be receding. That’s good news, and not just because fewer people are dying. Fear of infection was one reason the economic recovery hit an air pocket in the third quarter. Resuming normal life will be a huge relief. But the U.S. right is, in effect, trying to keep the pandemic going. (Paul Krugman, 11/1)