The Hill: 69 Republicans Ask Appeals Court To Allow Ban On Abortion Pill To Go Forward
A group of 69 Republican members of Congress filed a brief urging an appeals court to uphold the decision of a federal judge in Texas last week that would halt the prescription of a widely used abortion pill, after over 200 congressional Democrats lobbied for a reversal of the ruling. The House Republicans that signed on were led by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and included the likes of Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.). They argued that the federal government approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, which has been approved for over 20 years, is “unlawful.” (Neukam, 4/11)

The Hill: 240 Democrats Ask Appeals Court To Block Texas Judge’s Abortion Pill Ruling 
Two hundred and forty Democratic members of Congress are asking an appeals court to block a Texas judge’s ruling last week that will halt the prescription and distribution of mifepristone, a widely used pill for abortions and managing early miscarriages. The lawmakers — 50 senators and 190 House members — signed onto an amicus brief that was submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday backing the Biden administration’s appeal of last week’s ruling. (Schnell, 4/11)

The Washington Post: Antiabortion Group Asks Court To Let Texas Abortion Pill Ruling Stand 
An antiabortion group seeking to block access to a widely used abortion pill asked a federal appeals court late Tuesday to allow a lower court’s ruling that would pull the medication off the market to proceed. The Justice Department had on Monday appealed the ruling last week by a federal judge in Texas that suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval — in 2000 — for the drug mifepristone. ... Any delay in blocking access to the pill would “perpetuate substantial harm on the public,” the antiabortion group, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, argued in the filing Tuesday shortly before a midnight deadline. (Pietsch, 4/12)

The Washington Post: White House Prepares For Legal And Political Battle On Abortion Pill 
The Biden administration, seeking to reassure abortion rights activists without provoking the courts, is privately promising an array of liberal groups that it will wage a fierce legal battle to preserve access to abortion medication, while also developing contingency plans in case those efforts fall short. (Kornfield, Roubein and McGinley, 4/12)

The FDA feels the heat —

PBS NewsHour: Abortion Pill Ruling Opens Door To More Political Pressure On Medical Regulators
The country is closely watching how the battle over abortion medication unfolds in federal courts. It follows a Texas judge’s decision to overturn FDA approval of the mifepristone. But there’s also growing concern over what that ruling could mean for the drug approval process in general. Amna Nawaz discussed what's at stake with Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the former FDA principal deputy commissioner. (Nawaz, 4/11)

Axios: Abortion Drug Ruling Could Fuel Mistrust In The FDA
Last week's federal court ruling overturning the FDA's approval of a commonly used abortion drug was unprecedented, but experts say it's evidence of an escalation of mistrust in the agency that's been building for years. (Owens, 4/12)

The Hill: Can The FDA Just Ignore The Texas Abortion Pill Ruling? Some Lawmakers Think So 
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have called for the FDA to ignore the opinion from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspending the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. Federal officials have so far been cool to the suggestion; an official at Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Monday it would set a “dangerous precedent.” However, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has said all options remain on the table as the Biden administration seeks to protect access to standard abortion care. (Choi, 4/11)

Also —

Axios: Survey: Majority Of Americans Say Abortion Pills Should Be Legal
As the status of abortion pills in the U.S. remains influx, a majority of Americans say they believe such medication should be legal, a Pew Research Center survey found. 53% of adults believe medical abortion — the use of a prescription pill or a series of pills to end a pregnancy — should be allowed in their states. (Habeshian, 4/11)

CNN: 5 Things The Supreme Court Will Take Into Account In Medication Abortion Case 
As the Supreme Court prepares for yet another controversial abortion case to come its way, the justices will pore over District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's ruling last week to block the government's approval of the key medication abortion drug at issue. (de Vogue, 4/12)

KQED: Medication Abortion Is Still Possible With Just 1 Drug. Here's How It Works
With the two-drug regimen, patients first take mifepristone — which blocks the hormone progesterone — to end the pregnancy. Patients then take misoprostol 24–48 hours later, which causes the uterus to expel the pregnancy tissue. Patients experience bleeding and cramping, and usually pass the pregnancy within four to six hours after taking the misoprostol. In a misoprostol-alone abortion (PDF), patients start the process with misoprostol, using the same amount as is used in the two-drug regimen. Three hours later, they take misoprostol again, causing the uterus to contract. They repeat this for three to four doses until the pregnancy passes, which usually takes between nine and 12 hours. (Gordon, 4/11)

CNN: Suspension Of Mifepristone Approval Wouldn’t Be The End Of Medication Abortion
When used for an abortion, misoprostol works to help empty the uterus through bleeding and muscle contractions. “It’s a little old-school, but we could do it,” said Dr. Kristyn Brandi, an ob/gyn and abortion provider in New Jersey and a spokesperson for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It’s what people did before the FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, Brandi said. (Christensen, 4/11)

The 19th: Abortion Pill Ruling Leaves Providers Preparing For Care Without Mifepristone
Abortion providers across the country are preparing for the possibility of providing care without access to mifepristone, one of the two pills commonly used in medication abortion. In some cases, clinics said that they would stop administering medication abortions, the most common method of ending a pregnancy, entirely. (Luthra, 4/11)

In related news about misoprostol —

AP: New York Latest State To Stockpile Abortion-Inducing Pills
New York joined other Democratic-led states Tuesday in stockpiling abortion pills in response to a Texas court ruling that could limit access to the commonly used drug. At the governor’s direction, the state Department of Health will begin purchasing 150,000 doses of misoprostol, one of two commonly used abortion-inducing drugs, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced. (Khan, 4/11)

The New York Times: Legal Abortions Fell By 6 Percent In The Six Months After Dobbs, New Data Shows 
The number of legal abortions in the United States decreased just over 6 percent in the six months after the Supreme Court ended the right to abortion last June, according to a report released Tuesday, the most comprehensive and up-to-date count of abortions nationwide. (Sanger-Katz and Miller, 4/12)

In abortion news from Montana, Indiana, and elsewhere —

AP: Pending Abortion Ban Can’t Be Prevented, Montana Judge Rules
A bill to restrict abortions in Montana will become law — at least temporarily — if the governor signs it, a judge ruled. Monday’s ruling denies a request by abortion rights advocates to preemptively block legislation that would ban the abortion method most commonly used in the second trimester. District Court Judge Kathy Seeley said the request by Planned Parenthood of Montana was made before the bill became law, so there is nothing to block. (4/11)

AP: Indiana Birth Control Bills Move With Abortion Ban In Flux 
Indiana residents could have over-the-counter birth control access under a bill state lawmakers sent to the governor Tuesday, a move proponents say will prevent unwanted pregnancies in a state that passed an abortion ban last summer. The state House bill is key to providing women quicker access to contraceptives, bill sponsor Republican Sen. Sue Glick said Tuesday, especially in areas where they struggle to receive primary care. (Rodgers, 4/11)

AP: Abortion Questions Intensify In US Courts, Legislatures 
New court rulings could spark more change for U.S. abortion policy, which has been in flux since last June when the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion. Courts are considering big changes, including some with broad implications, as state legislatures enact more restrictions or outright bans. (Mulvihill, 4/11)

AP: Florida Fight Over 'Baby Boxes' Part Of Bigger Culture War 
Safe Haven Baby Boxes and A Safe Haven for Newborns are two charities with similar names and the same goal: providing distressed mothers with a safe place to surrender their unwanted newborns instead of dumping them in trash cans or along roadsides. But a fight between the two is brewing in the Florida Senate. An existing state law, supported and promoted by the Miami-based A Safe Haven, allows parents to surrender newborns to firefighters and hospital workers without giving their names. A new bill, supported by the Indiana-based Safe Haven Baby Boxes, would give fire stations and hospitals the option to install the group’s ventilated and climate-controlled boxes, where parents could drop off their babies without interacting with fire or hospital employees. (Spencer, 4/11)

Also —

NPR: Early Pregnancy Explained: An Illustrated Guide
Pregnancy is often talked about as though it's a light switch. You're a regular person walking around and then a switch flips — presto, you're pregnant. The reality is more nuanced. (Simmons-Duffin and Johnson, 4/12)

NBC News: Biden’s Drug Czar Declares Fentanyl Laced With Animal Tranquilizer An ‘Emerging Threat’ Facing U.S.
President Joe Biden’s drug czar on Wednesday declared that fentanyl mixed with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer known as “tranq” that has been linked to a rising number of overdose deaths across the U.S., represents an “emerging threat” facing the nation. The declaration from Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, requires the Biden administration to develop a federal plan to address the crisis. (Arkin, 4/12)

In related news about the opioid epidemic —

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Criminal Justice, Fentanyl Bills Signed Into Law In Arkansas
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed into law expansive criminal justice bills that aim to overhaul Arkansas’ parole system and hold dealers of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs responsible for overdose deaths. "We will not rest until we hold criminals in Arkansas accountable and enforce the law on the books," the Republican governor said during a news conference. "We can and we must do everything that is within our power to protect the people of our state." (Langhorne, 4/11)

AP: NH To Distribute More Than 700 Overdose Reversal Kits 
New Hampshire is planning to distribute more than 700 drug overdose reversal kits in various public locations throughout the state. The “NaloxBoxes” provide access to naloxone, medication approved to reverse opioid overdoses. Any business or community entity is eligible to request a NaloxBox unit to install in an accessible and highly visible area, the state Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release on Tuesday. (4/11)

St. Mary Now: Louisiana Woman Accused Of Failing To Seek Aid For Overdose Victim
Morgan City police have arrested a Belle Rose woman accused of failing to give timely help to an opioid overdose victim. ... Police reports indicate that instead of calling for medical attention, the person was looking for Narcan, which delayed medical attention that the subject needed. (4/11)

Also —

Medical Xpress: Study Shows Patterns Of Opioid Prescribing Linked To Suicide Risk
According to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, changes in regional opioid prescribing and regional suicide rates tend to move in the same direction. This relationship held for rates of opioid prescribing, rates of high-dose prescribing and long-term prescribing, and having multiple opioid prescribers. Until now it was not known whether certain opioid prescribing patterns were associated with particularly elevated suicide risk. (4/11)

Stat: An Arnold Ventures Hire Raises Questions About Its Addiction Stance
A philanthropic giant’s recent hire of a researcher with controversial theories on naloxone access is raising alarms among public health advocates who worry the move marks a shift in major donors’ approach to addiction treatment. (Owermohle, 4/12)

Stat: EPA Proposes Limits On Carcinogenic Gas Used To Sterilize Medical Devices
On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new limits on the use of a carcinogenic gas called ethylene oxide. The hope is to reduce ethylene oxide emissions by 80%, which the agency said is part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot and its “commitment to securing environmental justice and protecting public health.” (Trang and Lawrence, 4/11)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

NBC News: Promising New AI Can Detect Early Signs Of Lung Cancer That Doctors Can't See
Researchers in Boston are on the verge of what they say is a major advancement in lung cancer screening: Artificial intelligence that can detect early signs of the disease years before doctors would find it on a CT scan. The new AI tool, called Sybil, was developed by scientists at the Mass General Cancer Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. In one study, it was shown to accurately predict whether a person will develop lung cancer in the next year 86% to 94% of the time. (Lovelace Jr., Torres, Kopf, Martin, 4/11)

Stat: Oracle's Cerner Enviza To Use AI To Study Asthma Drug Safety
Cerner Enviza is partnering with health care AI company John Snow Labs to develop artificial intelligence tools to search patient records for side effects from the asthma drug montelukast — an early effort by Oracle, which owns Cerner Enviza and its parent company Cerner, to make use of the trove of data in electronic health records. (Trang, 4/11)

The New York Times: The Diabetes Drug That Could Overshadow Ozempic
Some research has found that Mounjaro may be even more powerful than either Ozempic or Wegovy. One major study comparing these drugs found that taking tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, led to sharper reductions in blood sugar levels and greater weight loss than the other drugs. However, that study compared different doses of semaglutide and tirzepatide, making it tricky to determine how these medications stack up head-to-head, said Dr. Dean Schillinger, a professor of medicine and diabetes expert at the University of California, San Francisco. It was also sponsored by Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures Mounjaro. (Blum, 4/11)

Stat: Wireless Pacemakers May Work For Children With Slow Heart Rhythms — But First, Doctors Need Child-Sized Catheters
Roughly 1 in 15,000 children are born with congenital heart block, which causes an abnormally slow heart rate. The condition leads to lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and in serious cases, heart failure. Medications work in the short-term, but for children with more severe symptoms, pacemakers are the most reliable, durable treatment — though one fraught with risks. Traditional pacemakers have wires, or leads, that send electrical pulses to a slow-beating heart. The leads, however, do not mesh well with a growing body. (Lawrence, 4/12)

On multiple sclerosis —

Noticias Telemundo for Axios: Trial For Multiple Sclerosis Drug Focused On Hispanic And Black Patients
Researchers are conducting what they call a first of its kind clinical trial to study how Hispanic and Black patients respond to a common medication for multiple sclerosis. Much remains unknown about MS, a chronic illness of the central nervous system, especially how it affects non-white people. (Franco, 4/11)

Stat: How Many? One-Third Of Late-Stage Trials Testing Multiple Sclerosis Drugs Were Never Published
The results from more than one-third of late-stage clinical trials that tested multiple sclerosis drugs were never published in peer-reviewed journals — and studies with negative or inconclusive findings were more likely to remain unpublished, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 4/11)

CBS News: Sexually Transmitted Infection Rates Rose In 2021, New CDC Data Shows
Syphilis rates surged by an alarming degree in 2021 amid an overall increase in cases of sexually transmitted infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. There was a 32% increase in combined stages of syphilis between 2020 and 2021, the CDC said. Cases of congenital syphilis, which happens when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy, also rose by 32%. The spike resulted in 220 stillbirths and infant deaths. (Chasan, 4/11)

AP: STDs Are On The Rise. This Morning-After-Style Pill May Help 
U.S. health officials released data Tuesday showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Stobbe, 4/11)

In other health and wellness news —

The Washington Post: New Food Safety Law Endangers Kids With Sesame Allergies, Parents Say 
On Jan. 1, a law intended to safeguard the more than 1.5 million Americans with a sesame allergy — including the McDermott and Tibbs children (and, full disclosure, my son as well) — took effect. The law mandates, among other things, careful cleaning to prevent cross-contact between food products with and without sesame. In a twist few would have expected, however, many food companies have chosen to add small amounts of sesame flour to products that were previously sesame-free, instead of conducting the careful cleaning required for foods without sesame. (Weese, 4/11)

The Washington Post: After Age 60, 10,000 Steps Might No Longer Be The Right Fitness Goal 
Perhaps you’ve heard that you should take 10,000 steps every day for your health. But that’s not actually a hard-and-fast rule. Research is finding that you might be able to take fewer steps as you age and still get serious benefits. If you’re over age 60, for example, you might be able to cut a 10,000-step goal by almost half and stay healthy. “There is no single magic number,” says Amanda Paluch, a physical activity researcher and assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. (Stanten, 4/10)

The New York Times: Defibrillators Can Save A Life, But Almost Nobody Has One At Home 
But emergency medicine specialists are divided on whether it makes sense for anyone to buy one. For one, there is the expense — the devices often cost more than $1,000, making them far less affordable to the average person than home medical devices like a blood pressure monitor or a pulse oximeter. While there are efforts to develop cheaper A.E.D.s, they are still underway, according to Monica Sales, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. The price is not the only thing that gives some specialists pause. The odds are so stacked against a dramatic save that it has proved impossible to show that personal A.E.D.’s make a difference. (Kolata, 4/11)

ABC News: Workplaces Are The Most Common Mass Shooting Sites, Data Shows 
The Violence Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that's funded by the National Institute of Justice, has found the current or former workplaces of perpetrators were the most common sites for mass shootings, which the organization defines as four or more people killed by a firearm. "Most of the shooters had been fired," the organization said. ... The second most common location for mass shootings was at retail locations, which represented 16.9% of all recorded mass shootings, and the third most common location was restaurants and bars, which represented 13.4% of all recorded mass shootings, according to the Violence Project. (Pereira, 4/11)

More details about the Louisville shooting —

New York Post: Louisville Shooter Connor Sturgeon Was Star Athlete But Suffered 'Multiple Concussions'
The man suspected of killing five and injuring eight at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, was a star athlete in high school who allegedly suffered so many concussions, he wore a helmet at basketball games. (Reyes, 4/10)

The New York Times: Gunman In Louisville Bank Shooting Bought Rifle Legally And Left Note 
The 25-year-old man who opened fire on Monday at a bank in downtown Louisville, killing five people, told at least one person that he was suicidal before the rampage and legally purchased the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting at a local dealership last week, officials said on Tuesday. “We know he left a note,” Representative Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat whose district includes Louisville, said of the gunman at a news conference. “We know he texted or called at least one person to let them know he was suicidal and contemplating harm.” (Williams, Bogel-Burroughs and Arango, 4/11)

The Hill: Louisville Doctor Pleads For Policy Makers To ‘Do Something’ On Gun Violence
A Louisville doctor involved in treating the injured victims of a mass shooting that killed five people at a bank on Monday pleaded for policy makers to take action on gun violence. “To everyone who helps makes policy … I would simply ask you to do something. Because doing nothing, which is what we have been doing, is not working,” said University of Louisville Hospital Chief Medical Officer Jason Smith at a press conference. ... “For 15 years I’ve cared for victims of violence and gunshot wounds. And people say ‘I’m tired,’ but ... it’s more than tired. I’m weary,” Smith said. “There’s only so many times you can walk into a room and tell someone they’re not coming home tomorrow.” (Mueller, 4/11)

The Washington Post: Louisville Mayor Rebukes Ky. Law Requiring Shooting Weapon To Be Auctioned
Mayor Craig Greenberg (D) told viewers during a news conference Tuesday that the firearm that was used to kill five people and injure eight in Louisville on Monday will ultimately be put up for auction. ... Greenberg explained that a law the state passed in 1998 prohibits law enforcement from destroying confiscated firearms — even when they have been used in crimes. “The laws we have now are enabling violence and murder,” added Greenberg, who himself survived a shooting at his campaign office in February 2022. (Melnick, 4/12)

In related news from Tennessee —

The Washington Post: Tennessee Governor Signs Order Aimed At Strengthening Background Checks 
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) on Tuesday signed an executive order attempting to strengthen the state’s background checks for gun purchases. He also called on state lawmakers to pass what are known as red flag laws that would temporarily remove guns from people deemed dangerous. Lee’s announcement comes two weeks after six people, including three children, were killed at a private Christian school in Nashville, setting off statewide protests and calls for gun reform. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 4/11)

The New York Times: U.S. News Releases New Rankings For Top Law And Medical Schools, Despite A Boycott 
U.S. News & World Report issued new rankings on Tuesday for the nation’s Top 14 law schools and Top 15 medical schools, just months after many of the schools dropped out of the rankings, saying they were unreliable and unfair. Although U.S. News said it was addressing some of the criticism with new methodology, the outcomes remained strikingly similar. Yale Law School, which ignited the exodus when it dropped out in November, kept its No. 1 status, though it is now tied with Stanford, which was previously No. 2. (Hartocollis, 4/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Medical School Diversity Discussed At Independence Blue Cross Conference
Philadelphia is a national hub for medical students, with one in six doctors passing through an area medical school at some point in their careers. Local university officials discussed on Tuesday how that makes the city primed to help combat longstanding racial disparities in the profession. Hundreds of physicians and medical students attended a conference at the National Constitution Center to address how Philadelphia schools can achieve that goal. (Whelan, 4/11)

More news from the health care industry —

KFF Health News and CBS: Feds Launch Criminal Investigation Into ‘AGGA’ Dental Device And Its Inventor
Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or “AGGA” dental device, following a recent KFF Health News-CBS News investigation, according to a motion filed in federal court. Multiple lawsuits allege the device has caused grievous harm to at least 20 patients and the FDA is now investigating its safety, KFF Health News and CBS News have reported. (Kelman and Werner, 4/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Former Outcome Health Executives Found Guilty Of Fraud 
A federal jury convicted three former executives of the once-highflying startup Outcome Health on several charges that they ran a billion-dollar scheme that defrauded customers including major pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk A/S as well as investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The verdict caps the fall of an executive team led by Rishi Shah, who was close to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and a budding star in Democratic circles before fraud was revealed in a Wall Street Journal article in 2017. Chicago’s then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared at a company press conference “as Outcome goes, so goes Chicago.” (Winkler, Keilman and Thomas, 4/11)

Stat: How Big A Pay Bump Do Hospitals Need From Medicare Next Year?
The federal government is proposing to give hospitals a 2.8% raise in their Medicare payments next year, which would result in more than $2.7 billion of additional funds for the hospital industry. That increase would mean the average payment hospitals get for each discharged Medicare patient would rise to $16,143 in 2024, compared with $15,696 for this year, according to federal regulators. Of course, that number varies widely depending on each patient’s condition. (Herman, 4/11)

Axios: Audio-Only Telehealth Still Popular Two Years After Pandemic In Some Clinics
Technology barriers and payment policies have kept safety net clinics relying on audio-only telehealth for primary care and behavioral health when its use has declined elsewhere, according to a RAND study published in JAMA. The findings raise questions about the quality of care and equity for low-income patients, researchers say, because the effectiveness of audio-only telehealth has not been established. (Dreher, 4/12)

Modern Healthcare: ABA Services Turn To Telehealth For Rural Autism Patients
Autism diagnosis rates are spiking, and providers increasingly see technology as a means to increase access to applied behavioral analysis services in underserved communities. (Perna, 4/11)

In hospital news —

The Colorado Sun: Children In Mental Health Crises Continue To Fill Up Hospital Emergency Rooms. What’s Colorado Doing About It?
On one afternoon this week, a typical day for Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, there were 10 children and teens in the emergency department who came because of a mental health crisis. The child with the shortest length of stay had been there for four hours and 40 minutes at the time Dr. Sandra Fritsch, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, checked her computer screen. The longest? 963 hours. That’s 40 days. (Brown, 4/11)

PBS NewsHour, KVPR: After A Rural California Hospital Closes, Farmworkers Pay The Price
Jose Villa was 41 years old when he began to feel almost too exhausted to work. He was endlessly thirsty, and he found himself getting up as many as eight times a night to use the bathroom. “My colleagues noticed,” he said in Spanish. “They told me to get checked out because it could be something serious.” (Klein, 4/11)

AP: Officials: Mississippi Getting Designated Burn Center Again 
After the October closure of Mississippi’s only accredited burn center threatened to upend access to care, the state’s next designated burn center will be housed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, the state Department of Health announced Tuesday. (4/11)

AP: Free COVID Testing Will Fade With US Health Emergency In May 
When the COVID-19 public health emergency ends in the U.S. next month, you’ll still have access to a multitude of tests but with one big difference: Who pays for them. For the first time, you may have to pick up some or all of the costs, depending on insurance coverage and whether the tests are done at home or in a doctor’s office. But there’s still time to get some free tests before the May 11 change, and there could still be free ones available afterward. (Perrone, 4/11)

More on the spread of covid —

KQED: Why You Should Still Be Washing Your Hands In 2023 — Just Not For COVID
Online handwashing tutorials. Hand sanitizer hoarding. And in every public bathroom, signage urging you to wash your hands to slow the spread of the coronavirus. ... As we continue into Year Four of the COVID pandemic, should handwashing be something we keep in mind for our daily health? The short answer is: absolutely — but it’s no longer really about COVID. (Severn, 4/11)

CIDRAP: Traditional Values Closely Linked To Following COVID-19 Precautions, Except In US
A new study from researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles shows the US population's response to COVID-19 precautions stood in sharp contrast to other countries. Worldwide, people who professed to have more traditional or socially conservative values were more likely to adhere to COVID-19 recommendations, but in the United States people with those values were more likely to dismiss such recommendations. (Soucheray, 4/11)

CIDRAP: Long-COVID Patients More Likely To Report Unmet Healthcare Needs 
Adult long-COVID patients were more likely than COVID-19 patients without persistent symptoms and uninfected adults to report unmet healthcare needs in the past year due to factors such as cost, difficulty finding providers accepting new patients, and getting a timely appointment and insurance authorization, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 4/11)

The Wall Street Journal: China Seeks To Write Its Own History Of Battle With Covid-19
Two months after declaring victory over Covid-19, Beijing is trying to shape the way the pandemic is remembered in China by withholding data on its impact and censoring people who contradict the government line that its handling of the virus was a triumph. One of the biggest questions—how many people died—remains unanswered, with the government restricting access to records that could help shed light on the issue. Official reports on the number of bodies cremated, normally released quarterly, disappeared or haven’t been updated on schedule in more than 30 provinces, cities or districts, a Wall Street Journal review found. One city erased records going back to the beginning of 2020, the Journal found. (Fan and Lu, 4/12)

In news about flu and strep —

AP: New Mexico Marks 1st Child Death Of The State's Flu Season
New Mexico health officials are reporting the first pediatric death during the state’s current flu season. The state Department of Health announced Tuesday that a 2-year-old Otero County girl died from a flu-related illness. There have been over 230 pneumonia and flu-related deaths in New Mexico since last fall. (4/11)

AP: Moderna Says Potential Flu Vaccine Needs More Study
Moderna shares slipped Tuesday morning after the COVID-19 vaccine developer said its potential flu vaccine needs more study in a late-stage clinical trial. The company said an independent data and safety monitory board found that the potential vaccine “did not meet the statistical threshold necessary to declare early success” in the study. The board recommended that the trial should continue. (4/11)

Reuters: China Records World's First Human Death From H3N8 Bird Flu, WHO Says
A Chinese woman has become the first person to die from a type of bird flu that is rare in humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, but the strain does not appear to spread between people. The 56-year-old woman from the southern province of Guangdong was the third person known to have been infected with the H3N8 subtype of avian influenza, the WHO said in a statement late on Tuesday. (4/12)

The Washington Post: After A Pandemic Lull, Strep Cases Are Bad Again. Here’s What To Know.
Even as the winter’s respiratory virus season fades, strep throat infections remain high, and in some cases pediatric formulations of some antibiotics are in short supply. We spoke to infectious-disease experts to answer common questions about strep, its symptoms and the antibiotic shortages affecting some parts of the country. (Amenabar and Bever, 4/11)

Houston Chronicle: U. Of Houston Study: Rural Residents More Depressed Than Urban Ones
While people might associate remote settings with peaceful landscapes and quiet lifestyles, rural residents experience more depression and anxiety than their urban counterparts, a new University of Houston study has found. The research did not assess why people living in rural areas reported worse psychological well-being and higher levels of neuroticism, but researchers and advocates believe some of the findings align with scarcer mental health resources outside of larger cities — a well-documented national problem that is especially the case in Texas. (Ketterer, 4/11)

More mental health news —

ABC News: 4 Lawmakers Share Their Mental Health Struggles: It's 'A Form Of Public Service' 
In the wake of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman entering treatment for severe depression, four Democratic colleagues in Congress exclusively sat down with ABC News to share their support for him and his recovery while applauding his courage on the stigma-clouded topic, which has historically been associated with great political risk. The four lawmakers -- Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York -- also spoke candidly about their own mental health battles, ranging from clinical depression to post-traumatic stress disorder, in the occasionally emotional interview. (Shepherd and Murray, 4/11)

KFF Health News: As Montana’s Mental Health Crisis Care Crumbles, Politicians Promise Aid
When budget cuts led Western Montana Mental Health Center to start curtailing its services five years ago, rural communities primarily felt the effect. But as the decline of one of the state’s largest mental health providers has continued, it’s left a vacuum in behavioral health care. It started in places like Livingston, a town of 8,300 where, in 2018, Western closed an outpatient treatment clinic and told more than 100 patients to travel 30 miles over a mountain pass to Bozeman for stabilizing mental health care. This spring, Western closed that clinic too, a crisis center in one of Montana’s fastest-growing cities. (Houghton, 4/12)

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

AP: Kansas To Raise Age To Buy Tobacco To 21 Starting July 1
Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill Tuesday that will require Kansans to be 21 or older to legally buy tobacco products, starting July 1. The current age to buy cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products is 18. (4/11)

The Hill: North Dakota Governor Signs Bill Restricting Transgender Women In School Sports
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed into law two bills that ban transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports in K-12 school and college in the state, putting it on a growing list of Republican-led states that have taken similar action. (Neukam, 4/11)

KFF Health News: California Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine For Incoming College Students
When she was a college freshman, Joslyn Chaiprasert-Paguio was told by a doctor she had a common sexually transmitted infection called the human papillomavirus but not to worry. Four years later, a few days before her wedding, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which caused complications when she became pregnant. She had a hysterectomy eight years later, after the disease returned in 2021. The 38-year-old medical journal editor of Menifee in Riverside County, California, hadn’t been immunized as a teenager because there wasn’t yet a vaccine for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers and a handful of other potentially lethal forms of the disease in men and women. Now, her 10-year-old daughter, Samantha, is scheduled to get her first shot this month. “This is the only vaccine that prevents cancer,” Chaiprasert-Paguio said. (Scheier, 4/12)

The Texas Tribune: Expanded Access To Medical Marijuana Gains Traction As Texas House Advances Bill
Texans who suffer from chronic pain and potentially other debilitating conditions would be able to access the state’s medical marijuana program under a bill advanced by the Texas House on Tuesday. The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by House Public Health chair Stephanie Klick, is an expansion on the state’s 2015 “Compassionate Use” law — which has, in a number of legislative changes since it was created, allowed a growing number of patients in Texas to legally use cannabis to treat debilitating symptoms of conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. (Harper and Lopez, 4/11)

North Carolina Health News: WNC Dentists Brush Up On Skills In Pilot Program
Amanda Stroud has a passion for public health — an enthusiasm that’s so palpable many of her peers in dentistry describe it as contagious. As the dental director at AppHealthCare, which serves Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties, Stroud is familiar with the challenges of providing oral health care to many in the western part of the state. (Blythe, 4/12)

AP: Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton Reveals Parkinson's Diagnosis
Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia announced Tuesday she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but vowed to continue her work in Congress, saying, “I’m not going to let Parkinson’s stop me from being me.” Wexton, 54, serving her third term from a competitive district in Northern Virginia suburbs near Washington, revealed the diagnosis on World Parkinson’s Day. She said in a video that she hopes to be a voice for those coping with the disease and to fight in Congress to devote greater resources toward the search for a cure. (Freking, 4/11)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Limitations Of Jynneos Vaccination Centers During Mpox Outbreak 
A new study in JAMA Network Open shows that availability of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine to protect against mpox was not widespread during last summer's outbreak, with only 17.1% of the US population living within 15 minutes of a vaccination site and 50% living more than an hour away. (Soucheray, 4/11)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Resistance Genes Found In Probiotic Bacteria From Food, Supplements 
An analysis of prominent probiotic bacteria strains isolated from food and probiotic dietary supplements found the presence of several antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), Hungarian researchers reported yesterday in Eurosurveillance. (Dall, 4/7)

FiercePharma: Novartis, UCB Set To Battle It Out In Inflammatory Skin Disease
Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are well-established battlefields for anti-inflammatory biologic drugs. Now, two drugmakers are preparing to launch products in a lesser-known disease area with significant unmet medical need: hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). (Liu, 4/10)

ScienceDaily: Novel Immunotherapy Agent Safe, Shows Promise Against High-Risk Prostate Cancers 
A new drug, a monoclonal antibody known as enoblituzumab, is safe in men with aggressive prostate cancer and may induce clinical activity against cancer throughout the body, according to a phase 2 study. If confirmed in additional studies, enoblituzumab could become the first promising antibody-based immunotherapy agent against prostate cancer. (John Hopkins Medicine, 4/10)

FiercePharma: Eisai's Leqembi Gaining Ground With US Neurologists
U.S. neurologists are “cautiously optimistic” about using Eisai’s Leqembi in Alzheimer’s disease as concerns about safety and the need for the FDA’s full green light for the drug remain high barriers to uptake. (Adams, 4/11)

Reuters: JNJ, AbbVie Plan To Pull US Accelerated Approvals For Some Blood Cancer Treatments
AbbVie Inc and partner Johnson & Johnson intend to voluntarily withdraw the accelerated approvals of their Imbruvica drug in the U.S. for patients with certain types of blood cancer, the companies said on Thursday. (4/6)

New England Journal of Medicine: Efficacy And Safety Of A Bivalent RSV Prefusion F Vaccine In Older Adults 
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection causes considerable illness in older adults. The efficacy and safety of an investigational bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based (RSVpreF) vaccine in this population are unknown. (Walsh, M.D., et al, 4/5)

Bloomberg: The Biomedical Revolution Needs A Few Good Economists 
This is a golden age for biomedicine. Over the past few years, mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives and enabled business and social life to resume at much safer levels. There are pending vaccines for malaria and for dengue, both showing good signs of working. There is serious talk of using Crispr to fix sickle cell anemia. An mRNA vaccine against some forms of cancer is more speculative, but seems possible. (Tyler Cowen, 4/11)

Los Angeles Times: Overdose Crisis Demands Wider Access Not Just To Narcan, But Also To Methadone
When you receive a scary diagnosis — for cancer, heart disease or other serious illness — one of your first calls is probably to a doctor who can offer the full range of evidence-based care. But if your diagnosis were for opioid addiction and you came to see me, an addiction specialist, federal regulations written half a century ago would bar me from prescribing the most effective treatment: methadone. (Ashish Thakrar, 4/10)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Schools’ Fentanyl Response Has Saved Lives. There Is More Work To Do
After a string of overdoses left three Carrollton-Farmers Branch students dead in recent months, the district ramped up an awareness campaign and made Narcan available on every one of its campuses, according to news reports. (4/9)

The Boston Globe: How To Retain Access To Abortion Pills, Thanks To The Right Wing 
Medication abortion, also known as pharmaceutical abortion or abortion with pills, is a pregnancy termination protocol that involves taking two different drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, that can be safely used during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Since its approval, mifepristone has been used by many millions of women in the United States and elsewhere to safely induce early abortions. (Lisa Kearns and Arthur L. Caplan, 4/11)

Scientific American: A Bad Medication Abortion Decision Threatens The Future Availability Of Drugs In The U.S. 
When federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone on April 7, he significantly jeopardized access to abortion. In addition to dealing an immediate blow to accessing an essential and time-sensitive health care service, this decision also upended a drug approval system that for decades has been based on scientific evidence and expert medical opinions. (Liz Borkowski and Julia Strasser, 4/10)

Bloomberg: Abortion Pill Mifepristone Ruling Threatens Pharmaceutical Innovation 
A Texas federal judge’s ruling to remove the 23-year old drug mifepristone from the market not only threatens abortion access in the US — it’s also an appalling sideswipe at the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and expertise. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/11)

Columbus Dispatch: Texas Judge Would Ban Viagra Not Abortion Pill If Safety Was Concern
If “safety” is Kacsmaryck’s concern, will he be coming after penicillin next? You can bet he won’t try to outlaw Viagra; even Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would put the brakes on that one. So let’s cut the crap. Opposition to mifepristone isn’t about safety. (Dale Butland, 4/11)

Bloomberg: Abortion Pill Ban: Texas Judge Rule On Mifepristone Undermines FDA, Big Pharma
A Texas federal judge has chosen to “cherry-pick” the facts around mifepristone — a pill that is demonstrated to be safer than Tylenol — and ban it. Lisa says it sets an extremely dangerous precedent for the FDA. The pharmaceutical industry, to a certain degree, conducts research under the assumption that someday, if proven safe, their drug will be available at a local CVS. (Jessica Karl, 4/11)

The Washington Post: It’s Time To End The Five-Day Isolation Guidance For Covid 
The United States is set to end its public health emergency in May, and the World Health Organization has indicated it will also declare an end to the pandemic soon. But there is one lingering residual: the five-day isolation period following a covid diagnosis. (Shira Doron, Elissa Perkins and Westyn Branch-Elliman, 4/12)

The Washington Post: Health Insurance Makes Many Kinds Of Hospital Care More Expensive 
The price that a hospital charges a cash-paying patient for a procedure is often lower than the negotiated price that a commercial insurance plan would pay, a new study in Health Affairs has revealed. This finding, which is based on pricing information that hospitals have been compelled to provide under the national Hospital Price Transparency Rule, contradicts the conventional wisdom that insurers use their bargaining power to drive prices down. (Ge Bai and Cynthia Fisher, 4/11)

Los Angeles Times: Climate Change Will Bring More Fungal Disease. Are We Prepared? 
Last month, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change charted global temperatures to be 1.1 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and on a destructive trajectory to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the early 2030s. This intersects surprisingly with another piece of news: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounding the alarm on a sometimes deadly pathogenic yeast that’s spreading rapidly in healthcare facilities. (Arjun V.K. Sharma, 4/12)

Los Angeles Times: Anti-Vaxx 'Science' Turns Out To Be Misinformation
Back in January, an academic study gave heart to critics of COVID-19 vaccines by estimating the number of U.S. deaths from the vaccines at 278,000. That was a bombshell, if true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited only 19,476 reports of deaths after COVID vaccination in a national database of unverified adverse reactions to the shots. (Michael Hiltzik, 4/11)

Stat: Digital Mental Health Needs A New Federal Regulatory Agency
Prior to the early 20th century, America had no regulation of medications or food additives. Formaldehyde was used to preserve meat, morphine was included in infant “soothing syrups,” and marketing, not science, drove the promotion of tonics and medications. The 1906 Food and Drug Act was the first in a series of consumer protection laws focused on setting standards for safe and effective medications and food additives. (Thomas R. Insel, 4/12)

Miami Herald: Anti-Union Legislation In Florida Will Hurt Health Professionals And Patient Care
I have worked as a registered nurse for almost 24 years. I’m currently in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital. I’m passionate about my work and take great pride in caring for my patients. I also take great pride in being part of my union, SEIU Local 1991. (Lisa Bush, 4/11)

The CT Mirror: Healthcare Consolidation In CT Is A Cause For Concern
Healthcare consolidation in Connecticut is a cause for concern. In just over 20 years, the number of independent hospitals in the state has shrunk from 23 to six. Yale-New Haven Health, for example, is currently finalizing purchases of Waterbury, Manchester, and Rockville hospitals. Healthcare systems seek mergers for a variety of reasons, but chief among them is seeking economies of scale. For the large, consolidated hospital systems, revenues and profits have spiked. (Tyler Driscoll, 4/11)