Stat: FDA Approves Updated Covid Vaccines
The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that it had greenlit two updated Covid-19 booster shots in people as young as 6 months old, triggering a process that could see the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines become available in doctors’ offices, clinics, and pharmacies later this week. The updated approvals relate only to the two messenger RNA vaccines on the U.S. market. An application for an updated vaccine from Novavax is still pending. (Branswell and Herper, 9/11)

The New York Times: What to Know About the New Covid Booster Shots
Unlike the bivalent shots from last fall, the latest mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are monovalent, meaning they are designed to protect against just one variant: XBB.1.5, a recent descendant of Omicron that emerged earlier this year. (Sheikh, 9/11)

Who might be eligible for the new shots? —

The Washington Post: New Covid Vaccine Booster Could Be Available This Week After FDA Approval 
If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off Tuesday, injections could be available in pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices by the end of the week. ... The CDC is leaning toward a broad recommendation that covers almost all ages, mirroring the FDA approach, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But it is possible that some on the agency’s panel of outside experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will push for a targeted recommendation focused on those at greatest risk — older Americans or people with weakened immune systems or other illnesses. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday on the matter and CDC Director Mandy Cohen is expected to weigh in shortly afterward, the final step in allowing the new shot to be administered. (McGinley and Sun, 9/11)

Roll Call: FDA Greenlights New COVID-19 Shots For This Fall
The FDA fully approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as a single shot for individuals 12 years and older. The agency granted emergency authorizations for use in children between 6 months and 11 years old. Children aged 5 years and older are eligible for one shot, while children aged 6 months to 4 years are eligible for one or two shots depending on which vaccine they received previously. Unvaccinated children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years are eligible for either two doses of the new Moderna shot or three doses of the new Pfizer shot.(Clason, 9/11)

How much will the Pfizer and Moderna shots cost? —

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves Newest Covid-19 Boosters 
The boosters will be the first that their manufacturers sell commercially, rather than to the federal government.  ... Moderna said it would price its vaccine at $130 a dose. Pfizer hasn’t specified a price to date, though it has said it was considering up to that sum. The expected prices are significantly more than the U.S. government paid, but the vaccine makers will probably offer discounts to health plans. Many people with health insurance will be able to get boosted without having to pay anything out of pocket. People without insurance should be able to get the shots—at a retail pharmacy and certain government sites—at no cost under a federal program. (Whyte, 9/11)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Approves New Covid Shots
Also of concern in the handoff to the private market: the nation’s 23 million adults with no health insurance. The Biden administration has made plans to cover costs and offer the Covid vaccine through local clinics and major pharmacies, but some experts are worried about whether people who lack insurance will be aware of the new shots — or where to get them. ... Vaccine manufacturers are expected to donate doses for the uninsured. Kelly Cunningham, a spokeswoman for Moderna, said the company had no cap on the number. (Jewett and Weiland, 9/11)

Novavax doesn't expect its protein-based shot to be cleared just yet —

Reuters: US FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech And Moderna's Updated COVID Shots 
A third shot, made by Novavax, is still under review by the FDA. Novavax said it did not expect its shot to be authorized in the United States before a meeting of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Tuesday to recommend who should receive the updated vaccines. (Erman and Roy, 9/11)

CIDRAP: FDA Approves Updated MRNA COVID Vaccines
In a statement, Novavax said doses of its vaccine arrived in the United States today and will be ready for release as soon as the FDA grants approval. The company added that it will present the latest data on the vaccine at tomorrow's meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). (Schnirring, 9/11)

The New York Times: As Covid-19 Cases Tick Higher, Conspiracy Theorists Stoke New Fears 
As Covid-19 cases have climbed as part of a late-summer uptick, right-wing influencers and conspiracy theorists have responded by stoking fears about mass lockdowns and spreading unsubstantiated new ideas about Covid-19’s links to world events. “Do they want Covid measures back to put us on war footing in preparation for the war with Russia?” Jack Posobiec, a right-wing personality, said to more than 150,000 followers on his Telegram channel. ... The use of “plandemic” and “scamdemic” — two terms describing Covid-19 as a ruse — rose sharply in August on right-wing websites, according to data from Pyrra, a company that monitors threats and misinformation on alternative social networks. (Thompson, 9/11)

The Washington Post: Threads Blocks Searches For ‘Covid’ And ‘Long Covid’ 
Instagram’s text-based social platform Threads last week rolled out its new search function, a crucial step toward the platform’s expansion and one that would give it more parity with X, formerly known as Twitter. Not even 24 hours later, the company was embroiled in controversy. When users went to Threads to search for content related to “covid” and “long covid,” they were met with a blank screen that showed no search results and a pop-up linking to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lorenz, 9/11)

More on the covid surge —

ABC News: Why Florida Is Seeing The Highest Proportion Of Counties With 'Moderate' COVID Hospitalization Rates 
As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise across the country, Florida is seeing higher admissions levels than other states. As of Monday, 43 of Florida's 67 counties reported moderate levels of weekly new hospital admissions for COVID-19 -- a higher proportion than any other state in the U.S., data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. (Kekatos, 9/12)

Quartz: How Worried Should We Be About The Uptick In Covid Cases?
Quartz spoke with Shaun Truelove, an associate scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, to understand what’s happening now. Truelove is an infectious disease epidemiologist who runs a team that updates the covid scenario modeling hub, which builds on previous Johns Hopkins covid tracking efforts to create long-term scenario projections in the US. The projections help decision makers determine the impacts of covid for the next four to six months. (Diaz, 9/11)

Wired: Yes, There’s A New Covid Variant. No, You Shouldn’t Panic
The Pirola Covid variant has an alarming number of mutations, but it doesn’t seem to be taking hold or causing severe illness. (Browne, 9/11)

The New York Times: In Schools, An Invisible Threat Becomes Clear 
Apoorva Mandavilli, a health and science reporter for The New York Times, traveled across the country to learn how educators are preparing for the next pandemic. (Ocampo, 9/7)

On covid's link to diabetes —

CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 Infections May Trigger Islet Autoantibodies In Kids At Risk For Diabetes
Children with a high genetic risk of developing type 1 diabetes see an increase in islet autoantibodies, which develop against pancreatic β-cell proteins, shortly after infection with SARS-CoV-2, illustrating a temporal relationship between COVID-19 and islet autoantibodies not seen with influenza. The study was published in JAMA. ... Of 885 children who agreed to participate in the study, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies developed in 170 children at a median age of 18 months, and islet autoantibodies developed in 60 children. Six of the 60 children tested positive for islet autoantibodies and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the same time, and six tested positive for islet antibodies after having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 2 to 6 months earlier. (Soucheray, 9/11)

The Washington Post: Seven Arrested In Protest At McCarthy’s Office Over HIV Program 
Seven people were arrested after occupying the office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Capitol Hill and demanding that Congress reauthorize the PEPFAR global initiative to fight HIV and AIDS. The provisions of PEPFAR — which stands for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — are set to expire Sept. 30. The program has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives. (Silverman, 9/11)

Axios: Why A Longtime HIV Relief Program Has Higher Stakes For Funding This Year
The HIV/AIDS community is also concerned about increased scrutiny of federal HIV programs, and that that House Republicans' 2024 budget proposal called for eliminating the CDC's Ending the HIV Epidemic program started under the Trump administration. "These culture wars are now leaking into and harming public health," Kyle McGowan, of consulting firm Ascendant Strategic Partners, who served as chief of staff at the CDC during the Trump administration, told KFF Health News. (Reed, 9/7)

More about the cost of HIV drugs —

Health Payer Intelligence: Medicare Part D Patients With HIV May See Lower Drug Costs Under IRA
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Part D redesign may improve affordability for beneficiaries with HIV, but stakeholders will need to take steps to ensure beneficiaries get the most out of these cost breaks, an Avalere analysis found. “The IRA’s Part D redesign provisions aim to reduce affordability challenges and may significantly affect PWH,” the analysis stated. “HIV stakeholders hope that addressing affordability challenges could increase access to antiretrovirals and potentially improve antiretroviral adherence.” (Waddill, 9/11)

Fierce Healthcare: Blue Cross NC Removes HIV Drugs From Costly Price Tiers
Following accusations in December of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina violating a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by discrimination through health insurance plan design, the state’s largest insurer has removed 48 drugs from its costliest drug tiers. The change is expected to allow patients to pay for HIV drugs at more affordable prices. In its midyear drug formulary (PDF), no HIV drugs remain on the costliest tiers of drugs, Tiers 5 and 6. The insurer also moved 19 generic HIV drugs to Tier 2 and removed quantity limits previously imposed on HIV drugs. (Tong, 9/6)

In HIV/AIDS research —

aidsmap: Antibodies That ‘Wait And Pounce’ Generated By Promising HIV Vaccine Candidate 
An HIV vaccine candidate has proved it can guide B-cells, the part of the immune system that makes antibodies, into being able to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) with the ability to block the entry into T-cells of many strains of HIV. Dr Wilton Williams of Duke University described the vaccine candidate in a plenary talk at July’s 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023). (Cairns, 9/7)

Medical Xpress: Researchers Find Genetically Intact HIV Virus Prefers To 'Hide' In Organs Of The Immune System
A small number of HIV-infected cells remain in the tissues of people living with the virus and who are undergoing antiretroviral therapy. These viral reservoirs, real obstacles to the cure of HIV, have long been known to exist. Until now, however, it wasn't known which organs the virus prefers to hide in. ... In a study published in the journal Cell Reports, the scientists reveal that genetically intact viruses, responsible for viral rebound if antiretroviral therapy is interrupted, are concentrated in the deep tissues of the spleen and lymph nodes, organs of the immune system. (Geoffroy, 9/11)

Freethink: At Least 5 People Have Been Cured Of HIV. Is The Pandemic Ending?
Being diagnosed with AIDS used to be a death sentence — in the US, more than half of those diagnosed with the disease between 1981 and 1992 died within 2 years. Today, though, the life expectancy of someone in the US who is infected with HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — is about the same as the rest of the population. (Houser, 9/9)

On aging with HIV —

The New York Times: Statin May Lower Heart Disease Risk For H.I.V. Patients 
Americans with H.I.V. are achieving the once unthinkable: a steady march into older age. But beginning around age 50, many people living with the virus face a host of health problems, from heart disease and diabetes to social isolation and cognitive decline. And so the medical research community, which some three decades ago developed lifesaving drugs to keep the virus at bay, is now hunting for new ways to keep people with H.I.V. healthier in their later years. (Ryan, 9/10)

Healthline: Olympian Greg Louganis: We Need to Improve Care for Older People Living with HIV
Olympic diving icon Greg Louganis shares how he learned to overcome anxiety by working his “courage muscles” and why he’s passionate about improving care for mental health and people who are aging with HIV. (Mastroianni, 9/9)

ABC News: FDA Advisory Committee Reviews Effectiveness Of Common Ingredient In Some Nasal Decongestants
Beginning Monday, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is meeting to discuss the effectiveness of the oral formulation of a very common nasal decongestant, phenylephrine. The decision could lead to this formulation of the drug being taken off the market. The ingredient under review is found in some forms of over-the-counter medications like Dayquil, Mucinex and Sudafed PE. All over-the-counter medications hold a designation as "generally recognized as safe and effective" by the FDA, but clinical trials have found that oral phenylephrine, or PE, does not improve nasal congestion any more than a placebo at the dosage marked for over-the-counter use. (Cobern, 9/11)

Gizmodo: A Popular OTC Decongestant Might Soon Be Pulled From Shelves for Being Useless
This same question was debated in 2007. Though there was some evidence back then that oral phenylephrine might be ineffective, the advisory committee and FDA were ultimately convinced otherwise by the overall data as well as the arguments made by cold medicine makers, so the drug stayed put. However, the agency did state that it might reassess the decision in the future once more research was concluded. In 2015, the FDA was petitioned by researchers from the University of Florida to do just that, which has led to this new meeting. (Cara, 9/11)

On cancer drugs and vaccines —

Bloomberg: Daiichi To File For US Approval Of New Lung Cancer Drug By March
Daiichi Sankyo Co. plans to file for US approval of its novel lung cancer drug by the end of March after the medicine showed a benefit in patients with advanced disease. Patritumab deruxtecan was given to non-small cell lung cancer patients who had seen their cancer progress despite extensive previous treatment efforts. About 30% responded to the drug in the mid-stage trial, according to a presentation at the World Conference on Lung Cancer held in Singapore. (Matsuyama, 9/12)

Reuters: Moderna Ties Up With Immatics To Boost Cancer Vaccine Development
Moderna said on Monday it has struck a deal with German drug developer Immatics for developing cancer vaccines and therapies, and would pay $120 million in cash and additional milestone payments. Moderna said the companies would use Immatics' drug discovery platform to develop mRNA-based cancer vaccines, and also study its own cancer vaccine for use in combination with Immatics' cancer therapy IMA203. (9/11)

In other pharmaceutical developments —

CIDRAP: Groups Call On Congress To Improve FDA's Veterinary Antibiotic Stewardship Efforts 
Nearly 20 public health, environmental, and food safety groups last week sent a letter to US lawmakers calling for changes to federal legislation that would improve veterinary antibiotic stewardship. The letter urges Senate leadership to revise the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) with specific changes that require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to measure and report on whether its antibiotic stewardship activities have actually improved the use of medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry. The legislation, first passed in 2003, needs to be reauthorized every 5 years and is set to expire on September 30. (Dall, 9/11)

Axios: Walgreens Settles Lawsuit With Theranos Patients For $44 Million
Walgreens settled a class action lawsuit on Sept. 6 with Theranos customers for $44 million, per court documents. Walgreens patients in Arizona and California who received fraudulent blood tests will be refunded for products that did not work, following prison sentences for the company's executives. (Rubin, 9/11)

Reuters: Doctor Asks Court To Toss J&J Lawsuit Against Her Over Cancer Research 
A medical researcher has asked a court to throw out a lawsuit that Johnson & Johnson filed against her over her 2019 study on the links between cosmetic talc products and cancer, saying that her research is sound and protected by free speech rights. Dr. Jacqueline Moline, who has served as a plaintiffs' expert in more than 200 cases alleging that J&J talc products caused patients to develop cancer, said in a Friday court filing in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, that the lawsuit was an effort to "intimidate" scientific experts. (Knauth, 9/11)

Stat: New Weight Loss Drugs Vying To Be The Next Wegovy Or Mounjaro
The exploding popularity of drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro has propelled dozens of companies to develop their own obesity treatments, with most of them trying to emulate the same approach as the blockbuster products. Nearly 70 obesity treatments are in development, and about two-thirds use a similar mechanism as Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to the STAT Obesity Drug Tracker, a new database compiled by STAT. (DeAngelis and Chen, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Generic Drugs Should Be Cheap, But Insurers Are Charging Patients Thousands Of Dollars For Them 
The cancer drug Gleevec went generic in 2016 and can be bought today for as little as $55 a month. But many patients’ insurance plans are paying more than 100 times that. CVS Health and Cigna can charge $6,600 a month or more for Gleevec prescriptions, a Wall Street Journal analysis of pricing data found. They are able to do that because they set the prices with pharmacies, which they sometimes own. (Walker, 9/11)

On medical debt and the high cost of living —

AP: Helton Teams Up With Organization To Eliminate $10 Million In Medical Bills For Colorado Residents 
Retired Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is teaming up with the organization RIP Medical Debt to help eliminate $10 million in medical bills for residents around the state. The program is set to start later this month, with recipients around Colorado receiving letters that notify them their medical bills have been paid in full. Medical expenses have been among the leading causes for bankruptcy in the United States. (9/11)

CNET: Nearly A Year After Hearing Aids Became Easier To Get, Survey Suggests People Still Aren't Wearing Them 
A nationwide rule allowing hearing aids to be sold over-the-counter for treatment of mild or moderate hearing loss went into effect last fall. This was a big deal because it removed the requirement to get a prescription and fitting (which requires an appointment, in-person fitting and more money) as well as the sale of cheaper devices. (A good pair of over-the-counter hearing aids will run you between $800 and $3,000, but people may still save an average of a couple thousand dollars with OTC compared with prescription devices.) (Rendall, 9/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Seeing Higher Food Insecurity Because Of Inflation, End Of Pandemic Aid
Earlier this year, people who pay attention to food insecurity in New Hampshire noticed something alarming: The rate of families reporting insufficient food access shot up by more than 10%. By this spring, estimates showed that more than half of Granite State households with children didn’t have enough to eat. (Dario, 9/11)

On the costs of primary care medicine and private equity deals —

The Boston Globe: Primary Care Medicine: Legislation Would Provide Boost For A Health Cornerstone
Primary care is considered by many to be a cornerstone of medicine, keeping patients healthier and avoiding more costly intervention down the line. The “Primary Care for You” legislation, which will be the focus of a Joint Committee on Health Care Financing hearing Tuesday, is only the latest time the state has sought to reform primary care. Former Governor Charlie Baker tried twice — in 2019 and again in 2022 — with proposals that would have required providers and payers to increase spending on behavioral and primary care by 30 percent over three years. (Bartlett, 9/11)

Bloomberg: Troubled Pennsylvania Hospital Reveals Failure Of Private Equity Deals
When private equity firm Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. bought a cash-strapped hospital outside Philadelphia, it promised a return to profitability that would ensure the long-term sustainability of a facility that thousands of people counted on. Seven years later, Delaware County Memorial Hospital is closed, Prospect is in debt and a community group is suing. (Coleman-Lochner and Church, 9/12)

Modern Healthcare: LPN Omission From CMS Staffing Mandate Causes Concern
LPNs, who make up about 13% of nursing home staff and as much as 75% of clinical staff at some facilities, were omitted in the proposal the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Sept. 1. The proposed mandate would require nursing homes to provide three hours of care per resident, per day, with 0.55 hours of care coming from registered nurses and 2.45 hours of care coming from certified nursing assistants. No mention is made of LPNs, who provide most of the hands-on care in skilled nursing facilities. Their absence in the proposed rule worries the industry, particularly given the overall staffing challenges in healthcare. (Eastabrook, 9/11)

Axios: Nursing Homes' Image Problems Persist After COVID: Poll
Most Americans say they wouldn't want to live in a nursing home — or for a relative to live in one — over concerns about care quality and cost, according a new Gallup survey. Why it matters: Nursing homes already had an image problem before they were hit hard by COVID-19, and the poll suggests they have more work to do to regain public trust. (Goldman, 9/12)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Telehealth Nursing Pilot At Jefferson Health Offers New Opportunities
The Jefferson pilot explored how telehealth could address a staffing challenge. Roughly 30% of direct care nursing positions in Pennsylvania hospitals are vacant, according to a 2022 survey by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. As hospitals struggle to recruit and retain nurses, a major grievance cited by nurses is burnout due to having too many patients under their care. (Gutman, 9/11)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth-Amedisys Deal Moves Forward
Amedisys shareholders voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion acquisition of the home health and hospice company. During a special meeting, Amedisys stockholders voted 25,069,466 in favor of the deal to 30,082 against it, according to a Security and Exchange Commission filing. Another 67,374 shareholders abstained. In a separate vote, shareholders approved compensation for Amedisys’ executive officers in connection with the acquisition. (Eastabrook, 9/11)

The Washington Post: His Tumor Needed To Be Checked For Cancer. A Hospital Lost It Before Testing
Jeremy Morton-Maxson sued the University of Washington, saying its hospital lost a tumor sample taken from his bladder before it could be checked for cancer. (Wu, 9/12)

KFF Health News: ‘Dr. Google’ Meets Its Match: Dr. ChatGPT 
As a fourth-year ophthalmology resident at Emory University School of Medicine, Riley Lyons’ biggest responsibilities include triage: When a patient comes in with an eye-related complaint, Lyons must make an immediate assessment of its urgency. He often finds patients have already turned to “Dr. Google.” Online, Lyons said, they are likely to find that “any number of terrible things could be going on based on the symptoms that they’re experiencing.” (Leonard, 9/12)

The Washington Post: American Red Cross Announces National Blood Shortage 
The American Red Cross announced a national blood shortage and is calling on more people to donate blood and platelets to shore up its supply, which it said has “fallen to critically low levels.” The organization, which is headquartered in D.C. and collects and distributes around 40 percent of the country’s blood donations, said its blood supply has dropped nearly 25 percent since early August, a shortfall of about 30,000 blood and platelet donations. (Amenabar, 9/11)

In other public health news —

Stat: Food Makers Tried To Stack Nutrition Panel With Preferred Experts
There’s a panel of 20 nutrition experts that has outsized influence on the American diet — and the food industry has worked hard to get friendly researchers into the group, new documents obtained by STAT show. (Florko, 9/12)

Caring.com: What You Need To Know About A Normal Heart Rate For Elderly
As you grow older, your health issues can increase, and with each new challenge, it becomes more difficult to know what is “normal” and what is not. A new challenge may not feel normal when you’re experiencing it for the first time, but that doesn’t mean it’s abnormal for the life stage you’re at. (Lustbader, 9/11)

CNN: Turmeric Might Help Treat Your Indigestion, Study Shows 
A good treatment option for indigestion may already be in your spice rack, according to a new study. The study, published Monday in the medical journal BMJ, compared how more than 150 people with dyspepsia, or indigestion, responded to either the drug omeprazole, turmeric — which contains the compound curcumin — or a combination of the two. (Holcombe, 9/11)

The Washington Post: Tattoos: More Popular And More Accepted, They Still Carry Risks 
Nearly a third of U.S. adults — 32 percent — have a tattoo, and nearly a fourth (22 percent) have more than one, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. The findings are based on data collected in July from 8,480 adults, comprising a nationally representative sample. (Searing, 9/11)

In obituaries —

The Washington Post: Ferid Murad, Who Won Nobel Prize For Cardiovascular Discovery, Dies At 86 
Ferid Murad, a pharmacologist who shared a Nobel Prize in 1998 for discovering that nitric oxide, an air pollutant, plays a key role in relaxing blood vessels, a startling finding that led to treatment advances in heart disease, erectile dysfunction and breathing struggles in premature infants, died Sept. 4 at his home in Menlo Park, Calif. He was 86. Dr. Murad’s discovery dates to the 1970s, when he began studying nitroglycerin, the substance that Alfred Nobel, the namesake of the annual awards given in medicine and other disciplines, used to invent dynamite in 1867. (Rosenwald, 9/11)

AP: Ian Wilmut, A British Scientist Who Led The Team That Cloned Dolly The Sheep, Dies At Age 79
Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose work was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep in 1996, has died at age 79.The University of Edinburgh in Scotland said Wilmut died Sunday after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease. Wilmut set off a global discussion about the ethics of cloning when he announced that his team at the university’s Roslin Institute for animal biosciences had cloned a lamb using the nucleus of a cell from an adult sheep. (9/11)

AP: Challengers Seek Rewrite Of Missouri Abortion-Rights Ballot Measures, Calling Them Misleading 
Abortion-rights advocates asked a judge on Monday to rewrite what they call misleading descriptions of several constitutional amendments on abortion that voters could see on Missouri’s 2024 ballot. Missouri is among several states, including Ohio, where abortion opponents are fighting efforts to ensure or restore access to the procedure following the fall of Roe v. Wade last year. (Ballentine, 9/11)

More health news from across the U.S. —

The New York Times: Washington University Stops Offering Gender Medications To Minors
Washington University in St. Louis will stop prescribing gender medications to minors, the school said on Monday, citing “unacceptable” legal liability under a new Missouri law banning such treatments. The change comes seven months after a former employee of the university’s youth gender clinic claimed that doctors there were hastily prescribing the treatments, throwing the center into the cross hairs of politicians trying to outlaw so-called gender affirming care for adolescents. (Hughes, 9/11)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Care To Pay $1.3 Million To Settle Patient Privacy Violations
L.A. Care, a Los Angeles-based health plan for Medi-Cal recipients, has agreed to pay $1.3 million in a settlement to resolve two privacy and security rule violations and chart a corrective plan to secure their members' information. The violations involve the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that covers what specific healthcare organizations can share about patients without their consent. (Garcia, 9/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Insurers Fail To Prove Compliance With Mental Health Law
Last year, state officials fired a warning shot to insurance companies that operate in Georgia: All insurers, they said, must treat mental health services the same as physical health. Now, one year later, a report from the insurance commissioner shows that not a single insurer has proven it is doing so, according to the state’s insurance department. (Landergan and Prabhu, 9/11)

WMFE: 988 Crisis Lifeline Rolls Out Services In ASL. Here's How Floridians Can Use Them
There are more than 800,000 people who are deaf of hard of hearing in Florida. Over the past year, calls to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have jumped by 30 percent in the Orlando area alone. As of Friday, the lifeline offers services in American Sign Language. (Prieur, 9/11)

News Service of Florida: Florida House Creates Select Committee On Health Care Innovation
Signaling that health care could be a key issue during the 2024 legislative session, House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, announced Friday that he has created the House Select Committee on Health Innovation. The committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, will “review issues relating to access and affordability in health care,” Renner said in a memo to House members. (9/11)

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis County Seeks Federal Status And Funding For Clinics
In Missouri, there are dozens of federally qualified health centers — government-supported clinics that are required to serve every person who walks in the door. Most of those clinics are operated by nonprofit organizations. But St. Louis County health officials are banking on a plan that would grant its government-operated health clinics a similar status. (Fentem, 9/11)

AP: Drinking Water Testing Ordered At A Minnesota Prison After Inmates Refused To Return To Their Cells
State officials have ordered additional tests on drinking water at a Minnesota prison after concerns about the water’s quality and other issues were raised when dozens of inmates refused to return to their cells during a heat wave earlier this month. The “additional and more comprehensive water testing” has been ordered at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater “to assure staff and incarcerated individuals that the water is safe for drinking,” the Department of Corrections said in a statement released over the weekend. (9/11)

Los Angeles Times: I Was A Teenage Tanning Addict. Now I Worry About People Being Fooled By Anti-Sunscreen TikTokers 
Tanning-bed use has been on the decline for years, but the rise of the anti-sunscreen movement on social media is preying on people’s fears about product safety and pushing them to reject sun protection despite medical advice. Like the anti-vaccine universe, the anti-sunscreen world of fitness coaches, alt-medicine peddlers, “wellness” gurus and misinformed consumers crosses party lines at the paranoid juncture of the far left and far right. (Jean Guerrero, 9/11)

The New York Times: America Already Knows How To Make Childbirth Safer 
Years ago, researchers discovered that American women were dying in childbirth at an alarming rate, far higher than in many other Western countries. Black women, they found, were dying at even more elevated rates. Data in hand, they called for change. (Mara Gay, 9/11)

The Boston Globe: Electric Shock Therapy Is Legal But Needs Oversight
Using electric skin shocks to modify the behavior of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities is not a first- or even a second-choice treatment. But for a small number of severely ill people, it is the only treatment that works. And in Massachusetts, where the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton is the only facility in the country currently using electric skin shocks, the treatment remains legal, according to a Thursday decision by the Supreme Judicial Court. (9/11)

The Washington Post: Covid Is Here To Stay. That Means Long Covid Is, Too
Covid-19 is now endemic, meaning the coronavirus is here to stay and health officials must pivot from treating it like a one-time emergency to managing the disease in perpetuity. The same must be true of long covid. (Leana S. Wen, 9/12)

The Tennessean: Have You Heard Of 988? The Lifeline Helps Those In Distress. Now It Needs Our Help
Across the country, between July 2022 and May 2023, 988 crisis professionals answered more than 4.5 million calls, texts and chats from Americans in distress. Since the launch of 988 one year ago, the average speed to answer across all contacts decreased from 140 seconds to just 35 seconds. (Becky Stoll, 9/11)