The Wall Street Journal: New U.S. Coronavirus Cases Tick Up For Second Straight Day
New coronavirus infections rose slightly in the U.S. for the second day but remained lower than in recent weeks, while Illinois faced a surge in Covid-19 driven by rural areas. The country reported about 38,200 new cases on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, up a few hundred from Monday but still an improvement from last week, when cases topped 40,000 most days and neared 50,000 on some. (Mendell, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Surge In Illinois Is Inflamed By Rural Counties
As new coronavirus cases continue to decline nationally, health officials and business leaders in rural parts of Illinois are raising alarms about rising infection rates that are fueling a steady increase in positive cases statewide. In the past two weeks, eight of the 10 counties in Illinois with the fastest rates of new Covid-19 cases per capita were in smaller nonmetropolitan counties across the state, compared with two metro counties, according to an analysis of data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. (Maher, 8/25)

The New York Times: New Virus Hot Spots: U.S. Islands From Hawaii To Puerto Rico 
The U.S. Virgin Islands is halting tourism for a month, hoping against hope to keep out new cases of the coronavirus. Puerto Rico’s Senate is closed after several high-ranking officials came down with Covid-19. Hawaii is facing a surge in new infections. Guam is enduring its most restrictive lockdown since the pandemic began. For months, United States islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific avoided much of the agony unleashed by the coronavirus across parts of the mainland, due in part to their early mitigation efforts and relative ease in sealing off borders. (Romero and Mazzei, 8/25)

CNBC: New Cases Of The Coronavirus Are Falling In Most Of The U.S.
While testing has declined in recent weeks, the number of new cases is falling faster than testing rates, indicating that at least some of the drop is real. Epidemiologists credit a more unified health message in the U.S. that has more people following social distancing rules. They also say that keeping some businesses closed has helped slow the outbreak. And President Donald Trump started endorsing masks in late July, bringing the White House in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after months of resistance. (Feuer, 8/25)

In related news —

CIDRAP: Kids Represent 9.3% Of US COVID Cases But Few Serious Ones 
In an update today on how the pandemic has affected US children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said about 9.3% of all COVID-19 patients so far are children, representing about 442,000 confirmed cases. The overall rate of pediatric infection is 583 cases per 100,000 children in the population.Though officials confirmed 74,160 new child cases in the second and third week of August, resulting in a 21% increase in child cases over 2 weeks, hospitalizations and fatalities among children are still rare, the AAP said. (Soucheray, 8/25)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Orders Hospitals To Report Data Or Risk Losing Funding
The Trump administration threatened hospitals on Tuesday with revoking their Medicare and Medicaid funding if they did not report coronavirus patient data and test results to the Department of Health and Human Services. The threat was included in new emergency rules, announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that make mandatory what has until now been a voluntary reporting program. Seema Verma, the centers’ administrator, said the changes “represent a dramatic acceleration of our efforts to track and control the spread of Covid-19.” (Gay Stolberg, 8/25)

FierceHealthcare: CMS To Require Hospitals To Report Critical COVID-19 Data On Bed Capacity, PPE And Cases
The agency also posted new requirements for lab reporting and revised a policy for physician and pharmacist orders for COVID-19 tests.“While many hospitals are voluntarily reporting this information now, not all are,” CMS said in a release. “The new rules make reporting a requirement of participation in the Medicare & Medicaid programs.” (King, 8/25)

In other Medicare news —

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Data Is Missing Key Info Needed For Oversight, OIG Finds
Medicare Advantage insurers seldom include identification numbers for clinicians who order certain medical services in the patient records they submit to CMS, the HHS Office of Inspector General found. According to a report issued Wednesday, 60% of 2018 Medicare Advantage encounter records for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies, clinical laboratory, imaging, and home health services were missing a national provider identifier for an ordering clinician. (Livingston, 8/26)

CNBC: One Week Left To Reverse Retirement Withdrawal, Cut Medicare Costs
Assuming you don’t need the money, replacing the RMD can help you cut down your tax bill for this year, as the withdrawal is subject to income tax. But there’s a benefit for individuals on Medicare: Replacing the funds can reduce your modified adjusted gross income, which can lower the cost of your premiums for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) and Part D (prescription drug coverage) in 2022. (Mercado, 8/24)

The Washington Post: CMS Requires Covid-19 Testing Of All Nursing Home Staff 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will for the first time require the regular testing of nursing home staff for the novel coronavirus, the agency’s administrator said Tuesday. Until now, such testing has only been recommended by federal authorities, in part because the slow turnaround time in getting results has seriously hampered its usefulness. But employees are thought to have played a major role in inadvertently introducing the virus to nursing homes and spreading it among residents, more than 40,000 of whom have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, since March. (Englund, 8/25)

The Hill: Trump Administration To Require Nursing Homes Test Staff For COVID-19 
The new requirement, issued Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and effective immediately, comes about six months after the virus began circulating in American nursing homes, killing tens of thousands of mostly elderly residents and sickening hundreds of thousands more. (Hellmann, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Threatens Fines On Providers Skirting COVID-19 Requirements
"These new rules represent a dramatic ramp up in our effort to track and control COVID-19 in nursing homes,"Verma said. "While we've had good compliance across the country, we want to make sure every single nursing home is doing this. If not, they're going to face sanctions." Nursing homes will be aided in compliance by the 15,000 rapid point-of-care testing devices CMS previously announced it would send to nursing homes over the next few months and $5 billion in funding from the Provider Relief Fund, which was announced in July. CMS also earlier Tuesday launched a staff training program on infection control and prevention for CMS-certified nursing homes. (Christ, 8/25)

ABC News: In Coronavirus Fight, New Mandate For Nursing Homes: Test Or Face Fines 
On a press call today, Assistant Secretary of Health Adm. Brett Giroir said that over 2 million tests have been delivered to over 5,500 nursing homes. Giroir added that the rest of the testing kits will be delivered to over 14,000 nursing homes by the end of September. The government is calling on nursing homes to conduct widespread testing of residents and staff if any resident has shown symptoms or tested positive for the virus. In regions where cases are rising, nursing homes will be expected to test staff more frequently. (Mosk, Freger and Romero, 8/25)

In other nursing home news —

AP: Ventilation Study Finds No Pattern In Nursing Home Outbreaks
A review of nursing homes that experienced coronavirus outbreaks found no correlation between their ventilation systems and how the virus spread through the facilities, the state health commissioner said Tuesday. The state hired outside investigators to review ventilation at 28 long-term care facilities, including the hourly air exchange rate and how often filters were replaced. The systems varied widely in age and design, but the results showed no patterns in terms of the virus, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette. (Ramer, 8/25)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Changes Testing Guidance To Exclude People Without Covid-19 Symptoms, Worrying Experts 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly modified its coronavirus testing guidelines this week to exclude people who do not have symptoms of Covid-19 — even if they have been recently exposed to the virus. Experts questioned the revision, pointing to the importance of identifying infections in the brief window immediately before the onset of symptoms, when many individuals are thought to be most contagious. (8/25)

CNBC: CDC Quietly Revises Coronavirus Guidance To Downplay Importance Of Testing For Asymptomatic People
The agency, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, also added new language referring to asymptomatic individuals as “healthy people,” language that’s frequently used in social media posts protesting the use of masks.  (Feuer, 8/26)

CNN: Updated CDC Guidelines Now Say People Exposed To Coronavirus May Not Need To Be Tested 
Here's what the CDC website said previously: "Testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Because of the potential for asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, it is important that contacts of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection be quickly identified and tested." The CDC changed the site on Monday. Here's what it says now: "If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one."(Gumbrecht, Nedelman and Fox, 8/26)

AP: FDA Chief Apologizes For Overstating Plasma Effect On Virus
Responding to an outcry from medical experts, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma. Scientists and medical experts have been pushing back against the claims about the treatment since President Donald Trump’s announcement on Sunday that the FDA had decided to issue emergency authorization for convalescent plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in disease-fighting antibodies. (Perrone and Riechmann, 8/25)

The Hill: WHO Warns Coronavirus Treatment Touted By Trump Still Experimental 
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned that the use of plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a treatment for COVID-19 remains experimental despite the White House’s authorization of it Sunday. “The results are not conclusive” on the treatment’s effectiveness, the WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a press briefing, according to The Associated Press. The same treatment has been used historically for flu and measles outbreaks and the Ebola outbreak that hit several West African nations. (Budryk, 8/25)

The Hill: Navarro: Experts Call For Randomized Plasma Trials A 'Crazy Talking Point' 
Peter Navarro--a White House trade adviser--said that calls for randomized control trials of the convalescent plasma treatments is a “crazy talking point.” Some experts say it should be studied further in randomized clinical trials before widespread use. “I don’t accept that premise. To me that’s a crazy talking point,” the White House economist told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. (Moreno, 8/25)

In related news —

The Wall Street Journal: Science Behind Convalescent Plasma For Covid-19 Is Clouded By Politics In FDA Authorization 
Scientists who weren’t involved in the recent convalescent plasma studies agreed that there is a case to be made in support of the FDA decision. What’s been missing is an open discussion about the pros and cons of the emergency authorization and its consequences, said Joshua Sharfstein, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former senior FDA official who was involved with EUAs during the swine flu outbreak in 2009. (Marcus and Burton, 8/25)

ABC News: Convalescent Plasma Went From Promising To Politically Tainted: 3 Things To Know 
President Donald Trump turned one of the most promising new treatments for COVID-19 into a political football this week, bragging that he pushed through emergency use authorization of convalescent plasma by confronting what he calls the government’s “deep state.” Trump’s statements, if true, suggest the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acted at his behest – on the eve of the Republican National Convention -- instead of making its decision based on data. (Flaherty, 8/25)

AP: Melania Trump Tells Virus Sufferers They’re ‘Not Alone’
Melania Trump went there. While others at the Republican National Convention spoke about the coronavirus largely as a challenge successfully conquered, the first lady on Tuesday night used her address from the Rose Garden to acknowledge the pain of lives lost and families upended by the pandemic. “I want you to know you are not alone,” she said to the tens of thousands of families that have been affected. More than 177,000 Americans have been killed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. (8/26)

The New York Times: Melania Trump’s Unique Role At The R.N.C.: Expressing Sympathy On The Virus
Speaking directly to Americans who had lost a loved one to the virus, Mrs. Trump told them, “you are not alone.” She acknowledged that “the invisible enemy swept across our beautiful country and impacted all of us.” The tone of her remarks stood in contrast to her husband’s insistence on defending his own handling of the government response and pinning the blame on China, and only ever mentioning the lives lost as an afterthought. (Karni, Rogers and Haberman, 8/25)

Reuters: Melania Trump Offers Sympathy On Coronavirus, Racial Suffering In Convention Speech 
Trump’s wife acknowledged the pain of the pandemic in sharp contrast to most other speakers at the party’s national convention, notably her husband, assailed by Democrats for his lack of solace during a U.S. health crisis that has killed more than 178,000 people. “I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed drastically,” Melania Trump told a crowd seated in the White House Rose Garden, the president in the front row. (Whitesides and Mason, 8/25)

In other election news —

The Washington Post: Trump Uses Republican Convention To Try To Rewrite Coronavirus History, Casting Himself As Lifesaving Hero 
Faced with a pandemic that has killed more than 175,000 Americans, President Trump used glitzy video and misleading testimonials to spin a tale of heroism and resolve far removed from the grim reality of a country in the throes of an uncontrolled public health crisis. At the Republican National Convention on Monday, Trump was hailed as a bold and lifesaving leader who “was right” on the novel coronavirus while Democrats, doctors and pundits were wrong from the beginning. One campaign-style video that aired during the convention hailed Trump as the “one leader” who stood up to the virus while quoting Democratic figures who played down the severity of the virus in its early stages. (Olorunnipa, 8/26)

The Hill: Less Than Half Say They Trust Trump, Biden On Coronavirus Info: Poll 
Less than half of Americans say they trust coronavirus information from either President Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, although more trust Biden, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll. Forty-six percent of respondents said they trust Biden on the issue compared to 31 percent who said they trust Trump. A sharp partisan divide exists for both candidates. (Budryk, 8/25)

The New York Times: The Democrats Are United To Fight Trump, Tensions On Policy Are Looming
Democrats used the convention to further a message that propelled their candidates to success in the 2018 midterm elections: The party wants to expand health coverage while Mr. Trump and the Republicans want to take it away. Mr. Biden, the former vice president, is a capable messenger on the issue, having been at President Barack Obama’s side when the president signed into law the Affordable Care Act. But in the Democratic primary, no major issue showed a starker division within the party than the future of America’s health care system. (Kaplan and Friedman, 8/25)

Politico: GOP Touts Trump As Abortion Foe Amid Graphic Accounts 
Republicans showcased President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion achievements and offered a graphic account of the procedure on Tuesday as they sought to mobilize their base of religious conservatives amid signs of wavering support. During the second night of the Republican National Convention, they also held out Trump’s appointment of conservative judges and called Joe Biden and the Democrats extremists on the issue. (Miranda Ollstein, 8/25)

ABC News: Former Planned Parenthood Employee Abby Johnson's Anti-Abortion Comments Under Scrutiny After Graphic RNC Speech
Former Planned Parenthood employee Abby Johnson took the stage at the Republican National Convention Tuesday, to decry her former employer and speak out against abortion rights in the country. Details of her story and facts about the organization -- which she had spoken of in the past -- had already been scrutinized, and serious questions had been raised about the validity of her stories. (Siegel and Pereira, 8/26)

Also —

The Washington Post: Natalie Harp Said Trump Saved Her Life. Experts Doubt That’s True.
Under the bright lights of the Republican National Convention on Monday night, California entrepreneur Natalie Harp said President Trump literally saved her life. “When I failed the chemotherapies that were on the market, no one wanted me in their clinical trials,” Harp said in an emotional address. “They didn’t give me the right to try experimental treatments, Mr. President. You did, and without you, I’d have died waiting for them to be approved.” But experts cast doubt on that story: They point out that Harp’s description of the treatment she received and her timeline for receiving it make it unlikely Trump had any effect on her case. (Wan, 8/25)

MedPage Today: Trump Voters Cheer His Pandemic Response, Healthcare Record 
Clinicians, a cancer survivor, and the father of a student slain in a school shooting were among President Trump's fiercest allies on the first night of the Republican National Convention Monday, which was conducted, for the most part in an auditorium near the White House. Trump advocates praised his response to the pandemic, his commitment to "Right to Try" laws that allow certain patients to access investigational drugs, and his support for the Second Amendment. (Firth and Frieden, 8/25)

The New York Times: Airline Job Cuts Could Pressure Congress And Trump On Stimulus 
American Airlines warned employees on Tuesday that it would cut up to 19,000 workers on Oct. 1, saying that there was little sign that the pandemic-induced reluctance to travel was diminishing. While weak demand is spurring these announcements, the airlines are also seeking to put pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to strike a deal on another coronavirus stimulus package. Passenger airlines received $25 billion to help pay workers under a March legislative package, with American alone receiving $5.8 billion. (Chokshi and Casselman, 8/25)

The crisis over mail-in voting continues —

The Wall Street Journal: New York Attorney General Sues To Stop Changes At Postal Service 
The New York attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block the Trump administration from disrupting the operations of the U.S. Postal Service, joining other Democratic-led states and lawmakers in pressuring the federal agency to maintain services ahead of the November election. The suit, which names President Trump, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the Postal Service as defendants, follows changes made by Mr. DeJoy at the struggling agency that postal-union representatives and customers have said substantially slowed mail delivery around the country. (Paul, 8/25)

In other legislative news —

AP: MARCUS Alert Bill Progresses Out Of House Committee
A bill that could reshape how law enforcement responds when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis reported out of the House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 13-9. House Bill 5043, introduced by Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, would create teams of mental health service providers, peer recovery specialists and law enforcement to help individuals in a crisis situation. Formally dubbed the mental health awareness response and community understanding services, or MARCUS, alert system, the proposal is in response to ongoing demands of protesters in Richmond. (Ringle, 8/25)

Politico: Beleaguered Texas Republicans' Latest Threat: Coronavirus 
Texas was already one of the nation’s most-watched battlefields this year. Then came the pandemic. Republicans and Democrats are brawling over a dozen House seats in the state's most expansive political landscape in recent memory — swing districts that also happen to encompass some of the worst-hit coronavirus hot spots in Texas. (Ferris and Zanona, 8/24)

Boston Globe: Biogen Conference Likely Led To 20,000 COVID-19 Cases In Boston Area, Researchers Say 
An international meeting of Biogen leaders at a Boston hotel in February led to roughly 20,000 cases of COVID-19 in four Massachusetts counties by early May, far more than the 99 previously identified, according to three scientists involved in a new study. After examining nearly all the confirmed early cases of the illness in the area by changes in the genetic makeup of coronaviruses as they pass from one person to another, the researchers were able to assess the broader impact of the “super-spreading event” at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel. (Saltzman, 8/25)

The Washington Post: How A Single Superspreading Event Sent Coronavirus Across Massachusetts And The World 
None of the biotech executives at the meeting noticed the uninvited guest. They had flown to Boston from across the globe for the annual leadership meeting of the drug company Biogen, and they were busy catching up with colleagues and hobnobbing with upper management. For two days they shook hands, kissed cheeks, passed each other the salad tongs at the hotel buffet, never realizing that one among their number carried the coronavirus in their lungs.By the meeting’s end on Feb. 27, the infection had infiltrated many more people: a research director, a photographer, the general manager for the company’s east division. They took the virus home with them to the Boston suburbs, Indiana and North Carolina, to Slovakia, Australia and Singapore. (Kaplan and Mooney, 8/25)

WBUR: Genetic 'Fingerprints' Suggest Superspreader Biogen Conference Seeded 40% Of Boston Coronavirus Cases
Overall, the data suggests the event led to 40% of all COVID-19 infections in the Boston area as of July 1, says Bronwyn MacInnis, a viral genomicist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the senior author of a new, pre-publication study that attempts to trace the viral descendants of that outbreak. That translates to tens of thousands of cases. “It seems pretty clear that the spread that initiated in the context of the conference went beyond certainly that event and beyond the city and reached populations across the U.S. and in various corners of the world,” she says. (Chen, 8/25)

CNN: Experts Feared The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Could Be A Superspreading Event. More Than 70 Coronavirus Cases Are Already Linked To It
More than 70 Covid-19 cases have now been linked to an event that drew thousands of tourists to a small South Dakota city earlier this month, CNN surveys of state health departments show. The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a 10-day event that usually brings about 500,00 people to the city. This year, the rally attracted attendees on more than 460,000 vehicles, according to the state's transportation department. Experts feared the rally, which drew people from all over the United States -- including coronavirus hotspots -- had the potential to become to become a spreading event, not just in the state but across the country. (Maxouris, 8/26)

In related COVID news —

NPR: Why The Coronavirus Is So 'Superspready'
A person with a high viral load walks into a bar. That, according to researchers who study the novel coronavirus, is a recipe for a superspreading event — where one person or gathering leads to an unusually high number of new infections. And that kind of occurrence is increasingly considered a hallmark of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. "There are some really good estimates out there that suggest that between 10% and 20% of cases are responsible for about 80% of transmission events," said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Program, at a press conference on Aug. 10. (Huang, 8/25)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Spread Noted In 'Healthy' Concertgoers 2 Days After Infection
Seemingly healthy people with COVID-19 can spread the disease to others as soon as 2 days after infection, an analysis of a coronavirus cluster traced to four live music clubs in Osaka, Japan, shows. The study, published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, extracted data on club-goers linked to an 108-person cluster from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website. The first case in the cluster was identified on Feb 27, and the outbreak was contained by Mar 17. (8/25)

The Hill: Ohio State Suspends More Than 200 Students For COVID-19 Violations 
Ohio State University has suspended more than 200 students for what the school says were violations of coronavirus safety measures. Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the university, told Forbes all 228 students will have to leave campus while their cases are pending. The majority of the suspensions, he said, concern alleged social distancing violations at off-campus parties. (Budryk, 8/25)

The Washington Post: University Of Alabama, Other Colleges Struggle With Coronavirus Outbreaks 
More than 500 cases at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Nearly 160 at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Dozens at the University of Southern California. Colleges and universities that brought students back to campus are expressing alarm about coronavirus infections emerging as classes have barely started, raising the possibility everyone could be sent home. (Knowles, 8/25)

AP: Judge Refuses To Close California School Classrooms
A judge on Tuesday refused to immediately order classrooms closed at a private school in California’s Central Valley that has defied state and local health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Immanuel Schools in Reedly reopened its campus on Aug. 13. News reports showed students without masks and not practicing social distancing. (8/26)

The Hill: Political Divide Looms Over Sending Kids To School: Poll 
As President Trump and the White House push for schools to resume full in-person classes this fall, Democrats are more concerned than Republicans about the prospect of their children returning to school or infecting family members. Democrats are also less likely to say teachers should return to in-person work, according to an Aug. 4-8 Morning Consult-The New York Times poll of 1,081 parents. The poll reported a 3 point margin of error. (Budryk, 8/25)

CNN: Don't Argue With Anti-Maskers, CDC Warns Stores 
When in doubt, don't argue with anti-maskers. That's the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to retail and service employees. This week, the health agency issued new guidance to limit workplace violence that could be aimed at workers when enforcing their companies' Covid-19 safety procedures. (Goodwin, 8/25)

NPR: Kentucky Man Accused Of Breaking Canada's COVID-19 Rules Faces $569,000 Fine
A Kentucky man accused of breaking Canada's coronavirus rules — twice — could be forced to pay a $569,000 fine ($750,000 Canadian), spend up to six months in prison, or both. John Pennington of Walton, Ky., was initially fined $910 ($1,200 Canadian) on June 25 after an employee at a Banff hotel where he was staying suspected he was violating Alberta's coronavirus regulations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Tammy Keibel told NPR. (Raphelson, 8/25)

Stat: A Dilemma For 'Long-Haulers': Many Can't Prove They Had Covid-19 
As the coronavirus pandemic rolls on, an unknown number of seemingly recovered patients are experiencing what is being called post-Covid syndrome — weeks or months of profound fatigue, fevers, problems with concentration and memory, dizzy spells, hair loss, and many other troubling symptoms. Among these “long-haulers,” as they have become known, a significant number face a very specific challenge: convincing others they had Covid-19 in the first place. (Tuller, 8/26)

Kaiser Health News: Feeling Anxious And Depressed? You’re Right At Home In California. 
It’s official, California: COVID-19 has left us sick with worry and increasingly despondent. And our youngest adults — ages 18 to 29 — are feeling it worst. Weekly surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau from late April through late July offer a grim view of the toll the pandemic has taken on the nation’s mental health. By late July, more than 44% of California adult respondents reported levels of anxiety and gloom typically associated with diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, a stunning figure that rose through the summer months alongside the menacing spread of the coronavirus. (Reese, 8/26)

In developments from the travel industry —

The Washington Post: Princess Cruises, Cunard Cancel Sailings Into 2021 
Princess Cruises announced Tuesday that it’s canceling sailings in early 2021 “due to limitations with border and port access.” The company also cited the “uncertainty of airline travel” as a reason for the cancellations, which will impact 29 sailings on two ships. The Carnival-owned cruise line made headlines earlier this year after hundreds of passengers became infected with the novel coronavirus on multiple ships. (McMahon, 8/25)

The Washington Post: MSC Cruises Denied Family Re-Embarkation When They Broke The ‘Social Bubble’ 
When the MSC Grandiosa set sail from Genoa, Italy, on Sunday — with only citizens of Europe’s Schengen-area countries and below its 70 percent capacity limit — it became the first ship in MSC’s fleet to return to cruising since spring coronavirus lockdowns halted cruising in Europe. But it wasn’t long before the cruise line’s stringent covid-19 guidelines were breached by a family on a shore excursion in Naples, which MSC says led to them denying those passengers reentry to the liner. “In line with our health and safety protocol, developed to ensure health and well-being of our guests, crew and the communities we visit, we had to deny re-embarkation to a family who broke from their shore excursion [Tuesday] while visiting Naples,” an MSC Cruises spokesperson said in an email. “By departing from the organized shore excursion, this family broke from the ‘social bubble’ created for them and all other guests, and therefore could not be permitted to re-board the ship.” (McMahon, 8/21)

The New York Times: A Michigan Woman Was Declared Dead, Then Woke Up At A Funeral Home 
A Michigan woman who was declared dead by paramedics on Sunday was discovered alive hours later by a funeral home worker who was preparing to embalm her body, a lawyer for her family said. The lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, said the woman, Timesha Beauchamp, was born with cerebral palsy. “She requires constant care since birth,” he said Tuesday. “I believe her relative fragile condition contributed to the false belief by the authorities” that she had died. (Waller and Bryson Taylor, 8/25)

AP: Attorney: Woman Was In Body Bag 2 Hours Before Found Alive
An attorney for the family of a young woman found breathing at a Detroit funeral home after being declared dead said Tuesday the 20-year-old was in a body bag for some two hours before it was opened and she was discovered to be alive, with her eyes open. Geoffrey Fieger, who was hired by Timesha Beauchamp’s family, said she remains in critical condition at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, where she is on a respirator and her heart is beating on its own. (Callahan, 8/26)

In other news —

The Washington Post: With Hurricane Laura Threatening Gulf Coast, Southeast Texas And Southwest Louisiana Officials Urge Residents To Flee 
Officials across eastern Texas and western Louisiana issued mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday as Hurricane Laura strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to pummel the U.S. coastline, perhaps as the strongest storm to take aim at the region since 2005. ... Though evacuations were mandatory, not everyone planned to leave, part of a complex web of decisions that face people of all kinds during the coronavirus pandemic. Some have concerns about the virus and its potential spread in shelters, while others simply don’t want to leave their homes behind.(Martin and Cusick, 8/25)

The Hill: Positive Drug Tests For Employees Hit 16-Year High As Marijuana Legalization Expands: Report 
As recreational marijuana legalization has expanded to 11 states plus the District of Columbia, positive workplace drug tests have reportedly climbed to a 16-year high. Positive test rates rose nearly 4.5 percent for the U.S. workforce in 2019, according to one of the largest drug-testing laboratories Quest Diagnostics, which sampled 9 million tests last year for employers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. (Deese, 8/25)

NPR: 'Going To Take A Miracle' For Man Shot By Police To Walk Again, Lawyer Says 
Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot multiple times at close range by police in Kenosha, Wis., over the weekend, is currently paralyzed from the waist down, according to the family's attorney. "Praying it's not permanent," civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump tweeted Tuesday afternoon. (Booker, 8/25)

The New York Times: Three People Shot, Two Fatally, On Third Night Of Unrest In Kenosha, Wis. 
Three people were shot early Wednesday, and two of them died, law enforcement officials said, during a chaotic night of demonstrations over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black resident whose children were nearby as their father was shot this week by a white police officer. In Kenosha, a third night of protests over the shooting of Mr. Blake stretched into the early morning hours of Wednesday, after demonstrators clashed with law enforcement officials near the county courthouse downtown. (Bosman, 8/26)

Also —

WBUR: 'Our Communities Are In Crisis': Latinos And COVID-19
Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is best known nationally as a picturesque gateway to wine country and home to moneyed tech investors and a handful of aging rock stars. The reality, of course, is more complicated. Those complexities can be found in a San Rafael neighborhood known as the Canal. Its large Latino population has been hit hard by COVID-19. Many residents are immigrants. The Canal's struggles reflect systemic failures and are playing out nationally as Latinx and other communities of color continue to bear the brunt of the deadly virus. (Westervelt and Peñaloza, 8/26)

Dallas Morning News: Sutherland Springs Gunman Who Killed 26 Had Threatened Mass Violence, New Court Records Show
The gunman who killed 26 people at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in November 2017 had threatened mass violence while in the service, according to new court filings, and was one of more than 7,000 airmen whose criminal histories the U.S. Air Force failed to report to a federal database used to vet gun buyers. The new information is emerging as over three dozen families continue to sue the U.S. government alleging that its negligence led to the shooting. (Morris, 8/25)

Reuters: Japan Researchers Say Ozone Effective In Neutralising Coronavirus
Japanese researchers said on Wednesday that low concentrations of ozone can neutralise coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas. Scientists at Fujita Health University told a news conference they had proven that ozone gas in concentrations of 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million (ppm), levels considered harmless to humans, could kill the virus. (Swift, 8/26)

The New York Times: Why Does The Coronavirus Hit Men Harder? A New Clue 
The coronavirus may infect anyone, young or old, but older men are up to twice as likely to become severely sick and to die as women of the same age. Why? The first study to look at immune response by sex has turned up a clue: Men produce a weaker immune response to the virus than do women, the researchers concluded. (Mandavilli, 8/26)

CIDRAP: Study Identifies Sex Differences In Levels Of Antibodies Against COVID-19
Concentrations of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 began to decline 4 to 5 weeks after diagnosis in 159 patients who recovered from COVID-19, with men showing a significantly stronger immune response than women—which could account for the poorer outcomes seen in men, according to a Swiss study published yesterday in the Journal of Infection. Researchers analyzed participants' antibody concentrations for 8 weeks, starting 2 weeks after a positive coronavirus test result. After a median of 5 weeks after diagnosis, 4.6% to 6.5% of participants had not developed measurable levels of one of three types of coronavirus antibodies, which the investigators said may be due to a missing or delayed immune response to COVID-19. "We speculate this to be secondary to a suspected virus' ability to modify or suppress innate immune responses," they wrote. (8/25)

Stateline: Controversial Antigen Tests Could Be Key To Defeating COVID-19 
Many, including members of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, say rapid result tests have the potential to cure the nation’s COVID-19 testing shortage — a problem that has hobbled public health efforts to control the virus from the beginning. At the same time, public health officials worry that the less sensitive tests — which are increasingly used in doctor’s offices, nursing homes, jails, schools and workplaces — could muddy the surveillance data epidemiologists rely on to monitor the spread of the virus. (Vestal, 8/26)

CIDRAP: 12% Of Adults Hospitalized For Flu Have Acute Heart Problems, Study Finds
A study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that acute cardiovascular events, including heart failure and ischemic heart disease, occur in almost 12% of  adult patients hospitalized for influenza. The study was based on more than 80,000 US patients whose outcomes were tracked via the US Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network during the 2010-11 through 2017-18 flu seasons. (8/25)

WBUR: Most Residential Addiction Treatment Programs Don’t Offer Live-Saving Medication 
Patients seeking treatment for an opioid addiction have limited access to a life-saving medication, buprenorphine, in residential treatment facilities across the U.S. Research published in JAMA finds that 29% of 368 programs contacted offer the drug that helps reduce cravings for heroin or fentanyl. Another 21% of the treatment centers contacted discouraged its use. (Bebinger, 8/25)

In other health industry news —

Kaiser Health News: LA Hospital Seeks Vaccine Trial Participants Among Its Own High-Risk Patients
The patients at Dr. Eric Daar’s hospital are at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19, and he’s determined to make sure they’re part of the effort to fight the disease. He also hopes they can protect themselves in the process. (Allen, 8/26)

Kaiser Health News: Prognosis For Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic 
Jerome Antone said he is one of the lucky ones. After becoming ill with COVID-19, Antone was hospitalized only 65 miles away from his small Alabama town. He is the mayor of Georgiana — population 1,700. “It hit our rural community so rabid,” Antone said. The town’s hospital closed last year. If hospitals in nearby communities don’t have beds available, “you may have to go four or five hours away.” (Tribble, 8/26)

Modern Healthcare: Verily Enters Employer Stop-Loss Health Insurance Market
Google sister company Verily Life Sciences on Tuesday launched a subsidiary selling analytics-driven employer stop-loss health insurance. The Verily subsidiary, dubbed Coefficient Insurance Co., is backed by Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the commercial insurance arm of reinsurance company Swiss Re Group. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is making a minority investment in Coefficient; in exchange, Ivan Gonzalez, the company's North America CEO, will join Coefficient's board of directors. (Cohen, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Elizabeth Warren, Others Seek Details Of Warp Speed Co-Chief Moncef Slaoui’s Contract
Democrats on Capitol Hill have asked an Alexandria consulting company for details about an unusual contract that has allowed the chief scientific adviser to President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to maintain personal investments and avoid making ethics disclosures of his holdings in pharmaceutical companies. In a letter Monday to Advanced Decision Vectors, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and two other lawmakers are asking the firm to explain its role in providing drug company executive Moncef Slaoui’s services as the chief coronavirus vaccine adviser to the Trump administration for $1. (Rowland, 8/25)

Stat: Cardinal Health Accused Of Running 'Rent-A-Vet' Scheme To Win Contracts
The largest association of independent nuclear pharmacies in the U.S. is accusing Cardinal Health (CAH), a major pharmaceutical wholesaler, of using front companies to win government contracts that are usually set aside for small business owned by disabled military veterans. In a whistleblower lawsuit, United Pharmacy Partners alleged the wholesaler hid behind companies that were designated as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to illegally avoid competitive bidding for government contracts to supply radiopharmaceuticals. (Silverman, 8/25)

In financial news —

Stat: STAT+ Conversations: 23andMe CEO Says Spit Kit Sales Are Picking Up During The Covid-19 Pandemic 
Last year saw a significant slowdown for 23andMe’s spit kit sales — and while business has picked back up during the pandemic, sales still haven’t rebounded to the level they were at in 2018 or even 2019, the company’s CEO Anne Wojcicki told STAT. In January, 23andMe announced it was laying off 14% of employees — or roughly 100 workers — due to declining sales. The company said at the time that its restructuring would affect its consumer business. (Robbins, 8/25)

Boston Globe: Boston Telehealth Company Amwell Files To Sell Shares To Public, Google
American Well Corp., a Boston telehealth company known as Amwell, said it plans to sell shares to the public and Google, amid a surge in demand for remote health services. The company, founded by brothers Ido and Roy Schoenberg in 2006, didn’t disclose the number of shares or target price for its initial public offering. In a registration statement filed Monday with securities regulators, it listed a placeholder value of $100 million. (Edelman, 6/25)

Stat: Acadia Buys Pain Drug Maker, As It Seeks To Build On Psychosis Treatment
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is purchasing a small Texas startup, CerSci, for $52 million in order to acquire a pain drug in the early stages of development, the company said Tuesday. If the drug succeeds, CerSci could receive an additional $887 million in payments for hitting commercial and development milestones. (Herper, 8/25)

Dallas Morning News: UT Dallas Biotech Startup Pursuing Non-Opioid Pain Therapy Sells To California Firm For $52.5 Million
University of Texas at Dallas biotech startup CerSci Therapeutics has been bought by a San Diego pharmaceuticals company for $52.5 million in a deal that could later reward its backers with hundreds of millions more. Founded in 2015, CerSci is developing therapies for pain that don’t come with the addictive properties and side effects of opioids. (DiFurio, 8/25)

Georgia Health News: Health Experts’ Letter Slams Proposal That Can Bar Asylum-Seekers
Dozens of health experts in Georgia have signed a letter to federal officials protesting a Trump administration proposal that would place a new obstacle for some people seeking asylum in the United States. The rule aims to bar entry to some individuals based on the threat of spreading diseases. If adopted, it would add to the administration’s effort to tighten border control policies. (Miller, 8/24)

WBUR: 'Forever Altered': Health Care Workers Face Mental Health Struggles After Caring For COVID Patients 
Boston Medical Center trauma surgeon Dr. Tracey Dechert is used to tragedy. She has to rush into operating rooms to perform complex surgeries on people who've been in terrible accidents or shot, or have suffered other trauma and the outcome isn't always good. But when she oversaw a COVID-19 intensive care unit at BMC for a couple of months, she was overwhelmed by the quiet of the floor. Patients were walled off in their rooms, alone, with no family. Dechert and her colleagues had to cover themselves from head to toe in personal protective equipment to enter the rooms and approach the patients. (Joliocoeur and Mullins, 8/25)

Kaiser Health News and The Guardian: Many People Of Color, Immigrants Among 1,080 US Health Workers Lost To COVID
More than 1,000 front-line health care workers reportedly have died of COVID-19, according to Lost on the Frontline, an ongoing investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track and memorialize every U.S. health care worker who dies from the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the organizations published a major interactive database. It is the most comprehensive accounting of U.S. health care workers’ deaths in the country. (Renwick and Dubnow, 8/26)

Kaiser Health News: Two Navajo Sisters Who Were Inseparable Died Of COVID Just Weeks Apart 
Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were almost joined at the hip. The sisters, both members of the Navajo Nation, shared an office at Arizona’s Tuba City Regional Health Care. Cheryl conducted reviews to make sure patients were receiving adequate care. Corrina was a social worker. Their desks were just inches apart. They lived together, with their mother, Mary Thinn. They helped raise each other’s children. And they died just weeks apart, at ages 40 and 44, after falling ill with COVID-19. (Dobnow, 8/26)

Explore The 'Lost On The Frontline' Interactive Database: Over 1,400 U.S. health care workers have died fighting COVID-19. KHN and The Guardian count them and investigate why.

The Hill: States Say FEMA May No Longer Pay For Protective Gear 
State and local governments officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has indicated it might no longer provide reimbursements for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies needed to fight COVID-19. FEMA reimburses state and local governments for 75 percent of the costs for PPE and disinfectants, but that arrangement may soon end, according to state and municipal leaders. (Hellmann, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Cities, States Fear They May Lose Critical FEMA Dollars For Coronavirus Response 
City and state leaders expressed fears Tuesday that the Trump administration may cease reimbursing some of their purchases of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment, a move they said could tear new holes in their budgets while threatening public health. The trouble stems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically provides funds for disaster relief and has played a central role in the coronavirus pandemic. In calls throughout August, FEMA signaled that it may soon seek to rethink the criteria by which it doles out those dollars, troubling local governments, which say they are desperate for easy-to-access federal cash as the contagion continues to spread. (Romm and Werner, 8/25)

In news from Georgia —

CNN: Georgia Is Among Worst States In The Nation For New Covid-19 Cases But The Governor Is Defending His Strategy 
Amid pressure to decrease the number of coronavirus infections in Georgia, which are among the worst in the nation over the last two weeks, a spokeswoman for the governor pushed back on questions about a lack of progress made in combating Covid-19 in the state. As first reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and WABE, the latest report from the White House Task Force on coronavirus shows Georgia is in a "fragile" state and could suffer more without further aggressive actions to control the virus, including a statewide mandate on masks and closing bars in areas with high transmission rates, according to the report. (Valencia and Cartaya, 8/26)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: DeKalb Commissioner Stalls Coronavirus Aid In Clash With Local City
A DeKalb County commissioner is using millions of dollars in coronavirus relief money as “leverage” to try and force a local city to discuss another long-standing dispute. That city isn’t taking the maneuver kindly. On Tuesday, DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader orchestrated a two-week delay on the vote to finalize an agreement giving the city of Brookhaven around $6.3 million of the county’s federal coronavirus aid. The county is set to vote on similar agreements with other local cities during a special-called meeting on Thursday. (Estep, 8/26)

In news from Hawaii and Michigan —

AP: The Latest: Hawaii’s Oahu Returns To Stay-At-Home Order
Hawaii’s most populous island is returning to a stay-at-home order while officials strive to conduct 70,000 COVID-19 tests in two weeks. Oahu has seen a surge in daily positive cases. The federal government will help officials test 5,000 people daily for two weeks. (8/26)

Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: Getting Flu Shot Can Help In Fight Against COVID-19
Michiganders who get the flu vaccine will help improve the health and safety of everyone, especially this year as the coronavirus continues to ravage the United States, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state health officials said Tuesday. The flu vaccine works, and will help prevent people from rushing to the hospital in need of treatment due to the flu, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive. More Michiganders getting the flu vaccine means hospitals and healthcare centers can devote fewer resources to the flu, focusing time and money instead toward the ongoing battle against COVID-19. (Boucher, 8/25)

The Hill: Two European Cases Of Coronavirus Re-Infection Reported 
Two patients were reinfected with the coronavirus in Europe, according to local broadcasters who confirmed the incidents with virologists. The patients, one from Belgium and the other from the Netherlands, were confirmed to have been reinfected with COVID-19, Reuters reported. (Vella, 8/25)

AP: Guatemala Says 8 Minors Of 60 Deported Were COVID-Positive
Guatemala’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that eight minors out of 60 on a deportation flight from the United States tested positive for COVID-19 after their arrival. The ministry said Tuesday the teenagers were placed with child welfare authorities for treatment or observation. The flight was carrying minors aged 11 to 17 and landed in Guatemala City Friday after taking off from Alexandria, Louisiana. (8/26)

Reuters: Limited Legal Protection For COVID Vaccine Makers Hampers EU Deals
The European Union is offering only partial protection to vaccine makers against legal risks from side-effects of their potential COVID-19 shots, European officials said, in a move that is hampering deals and contrasts with U.S. policy. With vaccines being developed at record speed during the pandemic, there is potentially a greater risk they may have unexpected consequences or may not be effective. The financial coverage of these liabilities is a key feature of drugmakers’ talks with governments keen to secure vaccine shots in advance. (Guarascio, 8/26)

The New York Times: China Clamps Down On Xinjiang To Stop Covid, Angering Residents 
First came the notices that Chinese officials had declared a “wartime” state. Then the authorities started going door to door, sealing off apartments and warning residents to stay inside. The Chinese government in recent weeks has imposed a sweeping lockdown across the Xinjiang region in western China, penning in millions of people as part of what officials describe as an effort to fight a resurgence of the coronavirus. (Hernandez, 8/25)

AP: Asia Today: SKorea Orders Doctors To Stop Strike Amid Crisis
Health officials in South Korea ordered thousands of striking doctors to return to work as the country counted its 13th straight day of triple-digit jumps in coronavirus cases. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said those who refuse could have their licenses suspended or revoked, or even face a prison term of less than three years. (8/26)

AP: 'Our Hands Are Tied': Local Aid Workers Exposed In Pandemic
The coronavirus is exposing an uncomfortable inequality in the billion-dollar system that delivers life-saving aid for countries in crisis: Most money that flows from the U.S. and other donors goes to international aid groups instead of local ones. Now local aid workers are exposed on the pandemic’s front lines with painfully few means to help the vulnerable communities they know so well. Often lacking protective equipment, the groups are carrying a bigger burden than ever as COVID-19 adds to the already vast challenges of conflict, drought and hunger in places like Afghanistan and Somalia. (Anna, 8/26)

Politico: Coronavirus Flourishes In Spain As Response Splinters Among Regions
pain is fighting back a second wave of coronavirus — with no consensus on the way forward. The spread of the virus has accelerated in Spain this summer, with 2,415 new cases diagnosed just on Tuesday. The country now has Europe’s highest incidence of COVID-19, with 173 positives per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks. Regions such as Catalonia have reported more than 1,000 cases per day for four days in a row, while the number of positives is surging in Madrid and the Basque Country.  (Gallardo and Martuscelli, 8/26)

Reuters: England Schools In COVID Hotspots To Bring In Face Masks After Government U-Turn 
It will be mandatory for pupils to wear face masks in communal areas of secondary schools in England in places with local lockdowns, Britain’s education minister Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday after a government U-turn on enforcing their use. Ministers had ruled out the need for pupils to wear masks in corridors despite updated advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), but the government has now said face coverings should be worn in schools in places facing restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. (8/26)

AP: Jamaican Official Says Usain Bolt Tests Positive For COVID
Jamaica’s Minister of Health says legendary sprinter Usain Bolt has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.Minister Christopher Tufton said Bolt was aware of the results and his recent contacts were being traced. “It is now public knowledge that Mr. Bolt has tested positive. He has been formally notified, I’m told by the authorities,″ Tufton told reporters Monday evening. “’It triggers an approach to questioning, interrogation if you will, which we follow through with contact tracing.” (8/25)

Also —

CNN: Eradication Of Polio In Africa Is 'A Great Day,' WHO Director General Says 
Polio has been declared eradicated from Africa, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. "Today we come together to rejoice over a historic public health success, the certification of wild poliovirus eradication in the African region," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said during a livestreamed event. (Thomas and Salaudeen, 8/25)

CIDRAP: Yellow Fever Infects Senegal Child
Senegal has reported its first yellow fever case since early 2018, which involves a 5-year-old girl from an area with low vaccine coverage, the WHO's African regional office said in its weekly outbreaks and health emergencies report today. The girl's symptoms began on Jun 24, and she was initially seen and treated by a traditional healer. She is from the Darou Marnane Ndia area of Touba, Senegal's second-largest city, which is located in the central part of the country. (8/25)

Politico: Drugmakers Deliver Counteroffer To Trump International Pricing Plan
Drugmakers pitched a counteroffer to the White House aimed at stalling President Donald Trump's plan to link Medicare’s spending on some expensive drugs to much lower prices they're sold for abroad, according to an internal memo circulated to industry lobbyists Monday. The proposal would save Medicare considerably less money than the administration's original international pricing index plan. But it could give Trump evidence he's making good on his 2016 campaign pledge to lower prescription drug prices before the election. (Owermohle and Luthi, 8/25)

Stat: Drug Makers Weigh Drug Pricing Changes To Ward Off Trump Executive Order
The pharmaceutical industry is weighing two drug pricing policies that it could offer as a trade to President Trump, in exchange for his dropping a different proposal that drug makers detest, according to three drug industry lobbyists and a summary of the potential changes obtained by STAT. (Florko, 8/25)

The Hill: Trump Deadline For Drug Pricing Order Passes With No Action
A deadline set by President Trump for moving forward with an executive order to lower drug prices passed at midnight on Tuesday without any action so far from the White House. Trump held a highly touted signing ceremony on July 24 for four executive orders aimed at lowering drug prices, a key issue for voters ahead of the election. But on the most consequential of the orders, to lower certain Medicare drug prices by tying prices to those paid in other countries, Trump delayed the order for one month, until Aug. 24, saying he wanted to give the pharmaceutical industry time to make a deal. (Sullivan, 8/25)

Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: Trump Again Claims He’s Bringing Down Drug Prices, But Details Of How Are Skimpy 
President Donald Trump has long considered lowering the high cost of prescription drugs to be one of his signature issues, and it is likely to be a talking point he relies on throughout the upcoming campaign. During his afternoon speech Monday ― delivered on the first day of the Repubublican National Convention after delegates had unanimously renominated him to seek reelection ― he returned to this theme. (Knight, 8/26)

CNN: Fact Check: Trump Misleads On Lowering Drug Prices 
High drug prices have long been one of Americans' chief health care complaints, and Trump has long promised to do something about it. His administration released a 44-page blueprint of his vision in May 2018, though most of the measures remain only on paper. Trump has claimed victory in lowering prices in the past, though the data backing up the assertion was shaky. During his State of the Union address in February, he harkened back to a statistic he had mentioned the year before -- that the cost of prescription medications went down for the first time in 51 years. The President was citing the 12-month change in the consumer price index for prescription drugs for December 2018. However, the data bounces around a lot. Last month, it was up 1.7%. (Luhby, 8/22)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Teva Pharmaceutical’s U.S. Unit Indicted On Price-Fixing Charges
The U.S. business of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has been indicted on charges the drugmaker fixed prices on generic drugs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department is expected to announce the charges imminently, the person said. The indictment is the highest-profile action in a long-running investigation of the generic-drug industry that has resulted in more than 10 cases against companies and executives. (Kendall and Hopkins, 8/25)

AP: Ex-Pharmaceutical Company Boss Faces Insider Trading Charges
The former head of a pharmaceutical company was arrested Tuesday in California on insider trading charges, accused of feeding secrets that enabled friends and family to earn over $700,000 illegally. Sepehr Sarshar, 53, of Encinitas, California, was charged in Manhattan federal court with securities fraud, wire fraud and fraud in connection with a tender offer. He was released on $1 million bail after an initial appearance in San Diego federal court. Authorities said he provided inside information in 2015 about a pending $3.2 billion buyout offer from Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, a generic drug giant, to his friends and family so they could trade securities in Auspex Pharmaceuticals, a company he founded. (8/26)

The Hill: The USPS Is A Vital Part Of Our Health Care System
While typically around five percent of prescriptions filled in the U.S. are through mail-order channels, a recent consumer survey conducted by AMCP and the Alliance of Community Health Plans found that nearly a quarter (24 percent) of respondents shared that they depend on the mail for their medicines during the pandemic. For the millions of Americans who rely on mail-order medications, the delays have made medication delivery less reliable and unpredictable, jeopardizing health outcomes. (Susan Cantrell, 8/24)

TribLIVE.Com: Biden Plans Could Harm Latinx, And All Americans’, Medication Access 
It is now perplexing that [Joe] Biden is embracing many of his defeated opponents’ ideas, which Democratic base voters rejected just a few months ago. He established a “unity” task force populated by the most vocal supporters of Bernie Sanders, who lost the primaries resoundingly. This advisory group recently recommended two far-left measures that could inadvertently disrupt many working-class Americans’ access to health care. The first measure could weaken patent protections, which prevent generic drug manufacturers from copying and selling brand-name medicines developed by rival companies. Inventing a single new treatment costs about $2.6 billion, according to a 2014 Tufts University study. In 2019 alone, the world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies spent $82 billion on research and development. (Rosa Mendoza, 8/22)

Bucks County Courier Times: Is Physician Dispensing Worsening The Opioid Crisis?
The opioid epidemic in the United States is out of control with an average of 130 deaths per day — https://bit.ly/2Pjdwiv. This is a sixfold increase in less than 20 years. The U.S. Council of Economic Advisors recently estimated — https://bit.ly/3gtUwtq — the crisis’ annual cost at $504.0 billion, almost 35% of the gross domestic product, GDP. Although there are many reasons for the epidemic, physician dispensing, also called in-office dispensing, may worsen the problem. Physician drug dispensing is when doctors write prescriptions for themselves, or have them filled by staff, to keep a constant drug supply in their clinics. (Jonathan Ni, 8/25)

Dallas Morning News: Global Pharmaceutical Models Would Destroy U.S. Medical Innovation
As scientists race for treatments and vaccines to stamp out the spread of COVID-19, American pharmaceutical companies are helping lead the way, with groundbreaking, rapidly developing research that has allowed us to hold out collective hope for an end to this pandemic. Yet, while the government has wisely stepped up its partnership with the private sector, investing resources and loosening regulations that would hamper our ability to rush toward a cure, it is on the precipice of making a devastating mistake that could bring innovation to a devastating halt. (Tom Kowalski, 8/21)

Los Angeles Times: RNC Harps On Individual Liberty Amid Coronavirus
At their convention last week, Democrats sought to frame the presidential election as a referendum on the character of the nominees — Joe Biden’s vs. President Trump’s. At the first day of their convention Monday, Republicans sought to frame the presidential election as a referendum on the character of the country — as a nation of individuals or a dystopian socialist collective. This is a column not about Republican hyperbole, but rather about the question underlying the pictures the GOP speakers painted of the country’s past, present and future. To wit, does government exist to empower individuals, or does it exist to manage shared responsibilities? (Jon Healey, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Cutting Through The Convention Spin On Trump’s Response To Covid-19
Long before the conventions opened, it was clear that covid-19 would be the central narrative of this election. Cue Republican convention segments that strenuously implied that President Trump had taken the virus more seriously than Democrats . . . that he’d cut through bureaucratic red tape and PC nonsense to take bold action . . . that his resolve, plus a hefty dose of American greatness, have put the country in an enviable position, covid-wise. The moments were exceptionally well-produced, even stirring, if you didn’t know that Trump’s response to covid-19 has been well below average for the leader of a developed country. (Megan McArdle, 8/25)

Fox News: Second Night Of RNC Showed GOP 'Believes In Liberty' And Dems Believe 'In Lockdowns'
The second night of the Republican National Convention showed a stark contrast between the GOP and the Democrats, Fox News host Laura Ingraham argued Tuesday. "Once again, we've seen a contrast between the party that believes in liberty, the GOP, and one that believes in lockdowns, the Democrats," she said off the top of "The Ingraham Angle". "For months we've heard Democrats and a few wimpy Republicans claim that because of this virus, we all have to get used to a new normal. "But I don't think they anticipated that there were tens of millions of Americans who like the old normal, thank you very much, and aren't about to lie down to let you take it away from us." (Sam Dorman, 8/26)

Fox News: At RNC Trump Is Putting On Greatest Reality Show On Earth
Trump, of course, is the star of the show, but he could overwhelm it if he were always on camera. Instead, other people sing his praises, including First Lady Melania Trump, who expressed sympathy for the death and suffering caused by the coronavirus and assured the nation that her husband would not rest until treatment and a vaccine were available to all. (Michael Goodwin, 8/26)

ABC News: RNC Praise For Trump’s COVID-19 Response At Odds With Months Of Missteps: ANALYSIS 
Scattered throughout the first night of the Republican National Convention were rave reviews of President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic: touting treatments, shutting down travel from China and rebounding the American economy. But all the spin on the president's handling of the virus is in sharp contrast with reality. (Justin Gomez and Will Steakin, 8/25)

The New York Times: Republican Convention: Best And Worst Moments From Night 2
Nicole Hemmer: Melania Trump opened her speech not only by acknowledging the pandemic, but also by sympathizing with the millions of Americans whose lives have been undone by it. Yes, I’m praising her for doing the bare minimum. But so far she’s the only headliner to do even that. Wajahat Ali :The United States is enduring a pandemic that has killed nearly 180,000 people. We are mired in a terrible recession. There are demonstrations against police brutality and racism. Climate change is burning California. People are in pain and suffering. There were no policies, no solutions, no platform. Nothing was offered except slogans and propaganda and Trump catnip. (8/25)

Boston Globe: The White House Attack On Health
Imagine getting a prescription from a doctor and having to wonder whether the medication you are about to take has been rigorously tested in clinical trials — as is the gold standard set by the US Food and Drug Administration — or whether it has been green-lighted because a politician wanted to brag about it to win an election. That is the specter raised by President Trump’s recent efforts to undermine the FDA, the federal agency that is meant to serve as an apolitical arbiter of the safety and effectiveness of drugs, vaccines, and other medical products before they go to the market. (8/25)

The Washington Post: Even After Four Years As Our First Lady, Melania Trump Remains An Enigma 
Will we ever really know Melania Trump? In an impressive speech on Tuesday night, delivered from the White House Rose Garden she had recently renovated, the first lady, who has kept such a conspicuously low profile during the 3½ years of her husband’s presidency, said things that no one else had in the first two days of the Republican National Convention. She expressed sympathy for those who have suffered during the covid-19 pandemic. She pointedly declined to criticize her husband’s opponents, saying she did not want to deepen the nation’s divisions. (Karen Tumulty, 8/25)

Bloomberg: In American Health Care, Prejudice Is Deadly 
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many longstanding injustices, economic and social, that make life unduly perilous for Black Americans. There’s one that deserves more attention, and that is personal for me: How physicians treat patients very differently, depending on race. I’m a highly educated man living in one of the world’s richest nations, so you might assume that I enjoy better-than-average care. Yet it took me years of persistence and unnecessary suffering to get a digestive illness diagnosed. It turns out I’m not alone: Evidence suggests that doctors often don’t take seriously the complaints of Black patients. Such prejudice has deadly consequences, and stands in the way of efforts to address health disparities. (Trevon Logan, 8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: About That ‘War’ On Social Security
Joe Biden calls President Trump’s executive order deferring payroll tax payments through the end of the year a “reckless war on Social Security.” Nancy Pelosi says the President’s actions may lead to “shattering the sacred promise of Social Security.” Chuck Schumer warns that “President Trump’s plan to eliminate Social Security’s dedicated funding would endanger seniors’ Social Security and could mean the end of Social Security as we know it by 2023.” (8/25)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Child Separations At The Border Were An Intentional Outcome, Report Says.
Last week saw an illuminating postscript to one of the most shameful moments in U.S. government history. It was newly revealed that the Trump administration’s decision to separate thousands of migrant children from their parents at the southern border wasn’t the unintended bureaucratic snafu that the White House has claimed but rather a deliberate outcome approved with a show-of-hands vote in a 2018 Situation Room meeting. Emotionally torturing children and parents as intentional migration deterrence qualifies as pathologically cruel. Under President Donald Trump, it was policy. He has given voters numerous competing outrages to process going into November, but Americans must not allow this one to fall off their election radar screen. (8/25)

The New York Times: The F.D.A. Commissioner’s Fuzzy Math 
On Monday night, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, addressed inaccurate and misleading remarks he made in a news conference the previous evening. Dr. Hahn had initially claimed that plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients — what’s known as convalescent plasma — could save 35 out of every 100 people who contract the disease. As he has since explained on television and Twitter, his initial assessment conflated two different things: relative risk reduction (that is, how much a treatment reduces the risk of death in one group of patients compared to a different group) and absolute risk reduction (that is, how much a treatment reduces the risk of death in a group of patients compared to the rest of the population who didn’t get the treatment). (8/25)

The Washington Post: It’s Time To Start Testing Potential Covid-19 Vaccines On Children 
In the 1950s, a fearful America eagerly awaited a vaccine that would help end the scourge of polio. In April 1954, a trial of a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk, which enrolled 1.8 million children, began in McLean, Va. Just one year later, researchers announced that the vaccine was safe and effective, and a national program of mass vaccination began. By 1964, polio had almost been eradicated from the country. Almost 70 years later, a fearful America eagerly awaits a vaccine to fight against the novel coronavirus. The first large-scale trials of vaccine candidates have just begun, and hopes are high that one or more will prove safe and effective. But unlike for polio, most of these trials are enrolling only adults, so they will provide no evidence on the safety, effectiveness or dosing of the vaccines in children. Without data from children, the Food and Drug Administration is unlikely to approve the vaccines for pediatric use. This possibility is unacceptable. (Steven Joffe, 8/25)

Bloomberg: The U.S. Needs Fast New Tests For Covid-19 
Federal officials have had eight months since the new coronavirus arrived in the U.S. to work out how to test for Covid-19 well enough to get to grips with the pandemic. They’ve failed. As a result, schools, hospitals and other institutions can’t adequately trace or anticipate outbreaks, or stop contagious people from infecting others. Efforts to reopen the economy will falter until this problem is solved. (8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Unforced Drug Error
One goal of the Republican convention this week is to make voters nervous about the Democratic Party’s new “socialism.” The pity is that the GOP is damaging its own case against a government takeover of health care with President Trump’s enthusiasm for price controls on drug prices. Monday night’s convention featured a young woman named Natalie Harp who credited Mr. Trump with her ability to access a treatment for bone cancer. She touted the Administration’s “right-to-try” law that affirms that desperately ill patients can petition companies for drugs that haven’t cleared the Food and Drug Administration. (8/25)

Stat: Messaging About Covid-19 Is Wrong, So Americans Aren't Listening 
Americans are being asked to adopt simple precautions that science has shown will help our nation slow the spread of the pandemic and, in turn, restore our economy and lives to something resembling normalcy. But it seems that, more than in any other country, the message isn’t getting through. This, I believe, is as much a reflection of the failure of those delivering the message — medical professionals, government officials, and the media — as of those ignoring it. (Shira Doron, 8/26)

The Hill: We're United In An Effort To End The FDA's Dog Testing Mandate 
They say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. Today lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are finally returning the favor, working together to eliminate the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) outdated, burdensome and inhumane dog testing mandate. (Louise Linton, 8/25)

USA Today: Oklahoma Sooners' COVID-19 Situation Casts Doubt On 2020 Season
As we inch closer and closer to season openers, there seem to be more and more doubts about whether college football can actually happen amid this pandemic. Universities across the country have welcomed students back to campus and started in-person learning only to reverse course within days, moving all classes online and even sending some students home. (Jenni Carlson, 8/25)

Louisville Courier -Journal: Kentucky Derby With No Fans Is Right Call
With concerns mounting from medical experts about the rapid spread of COVID-19, the company Friday relented and gave up its ambitious but faulty plan to allow fans at the Kentucky Derby. It made little sense to bring 23,000 people from all over the world to Kentucky in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic that continues to sicken and kill vulnerable people across the nation and our commonwealth.(8/21)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Local Control Can’t Work With Virus Without Boundaries
If the state of Georgia responded to hurricanes the way it has to coronavirus, it would hand out umbrellas and promise sunny skies. Nowhere has this reliance on genial bromides and lack of hands-on leadership been more acute than in Georgia’s response to COVID-19 and schools. The burden of figuring out how to keep students and teachers safe has fallen on local school chiefs, who have no deadly pandemic playbook and face politicized and polarized debates in their communities over the severity of COVID-19 and the efficacy of masks. (8/25)