Reuters: Global Coronavirus Deaths Exceed 700,000, One Person Dies Every 15 Seconds On Average
The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise in fatalities. Nearly 5,900 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19 on average, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the past two weeks. That equates to 247 people per hour, or one person every 15 seconds. (Shumaker, 8/5)

AP: 'Too Many Are Selfish': US Nears 5 Million Virus Cases
Fourth of July gatherings, graduation parties, no-mask weddings, crowded bars — there are reasons the U.S. has racked up more than 155,000 coronavirus deaths, by far the most of any country, and is fast approaching an off-the-charts 5 million confirmed infections, easily the highest in the world. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an overreaction or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say the problem has been compounded by confusing and inconsistent guidance from politicians and a patchwork quilt of approaches to containing the scourge by county, state and federal governments. (Naishadham, Johnson and Marcelo, 8/4)

Also —

The Hill: Poll: Majority Support New Two-Week National Stay-At-Home Order 
A majority of U.S. adults supports a mandatory two-week shelter-at-home order nationwide to slow the spread of coronavirus, a new poll finds. The NPR-Ipsos survey finds that 59 percent of respondents would back a national stay-at-home order, indicating that many Americans are willing to embrace drastic steps to help get the virus under control. Thirty-six percent would oppose such an order. (Sullivan, 8/4)

ABC News: Trump Says US Efforts 'Working Very Well' As Coronavirus Death Trends Continue Upward 
Continuing to offer misleading comparisons of the U.S. death rate compared to other countries, President Donald Trump in a news conference Tuesday evening said "strong mitigation efforts" are "working very well" and rattled off numbers he called "spectacular" on the country's economy and handling of the coronavirus pandemic. "The great strength and great news is really for states like, in particular, Michigan and Ohio, South Carolina, Pennsylvania -- very good, Florida, little bit," Trump said, though the Sunshine State again neared its record-daily death toll Tuesday. (Siegel, Cathey and Stoddart, 8/4)

The Washington Post: With Bad Coronavirus News At Home, Trump Points Misleadingly To Rising Cases Abroad
With coronavirus cases nearing 5 million in the United States and average daily deaths topping 1,000, the United States is the hottest hot spot in the ongoing global pandemic — a ranking that wasn’t exactly what President Trump had in mind with his “America First” doctrine. You wouldn’t know it, however, to hear the president describe the U.S. performance in handling the virus; he called it “an amazing job, a great job” on Monday, and recited a list of other countries experiencing a rebound in infections. (Gearan, 8/4)

The New York Times: Trump Cherry-Picks Coronavirus Data In Briefing Appearance 
President Trump, in a news conference on Tuesday, cited a slew of statistics to argue that “our strong mitigation efforts are working very well.”Here’s a fact-check. (Qiu, 8/4)

AP: Chasm Grows Between Trump And Government Coronavirus Experts
In the early days of the coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump was flanked in the White House briefing room by a team of public health experts in a seeming portrait of unity to confront the disease that was ravaging the globe. But as the crisis has spread to all reaches of the country, with escalating deaths and little sense of endgame, a chasm has widened between the president and the experts. The result: daily delivery of a mixed message to the public at a moment when coherence is most needed. (Madhani, Alonso-Zaldivar and Lemire, 8/5)

The Hill: Poll: 31 Percent Trust Trump On Coronavirus 
Fewer than 1 in 3 Americans said they trust President Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, according to new polling from NBC News. The NBC News-SurveyMonkey weekly tracking poll found 58 percent of Americans do not trust the president on the pandemic, compared to 31 percent who say they do trust him. By comparison, 51 percent of adults said they trust statements on the virus by Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases specialist. A larger majority, 55 percent, said they trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the virus. (Budryk, 8/4)

In other news from the Trump administration —

Politico: Trump Spares Only Texas And Florida In Cutting Funds For National Guard
When President Donald Trump directed late Monday that states now pick up some of the tab for the nationwide deployment of the National Guard to respond to the coronavirus, he carved out two big exceptions: Texas and Florida. While all other states and territories will have to shell out millions to cover 25 percent of their National Guard costs starting later this month, Texas and Florida will be fully covered. The two key states, which voted for Trump in 2016 and are hotly contested this year, are struggling to contain the coronavirus surges. But other states are worse off by several metrics — including total Covid-19 cases and the percentage of people testing positive. (Miranda Ollstein, 8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Health And Human Services Secretary Alex Azar To Visit Taiwan 
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is planning to lead a delegation to Taiwan in a rare high-level U.S. visit to the island that China has sought to isolate diplomatically. Mr. Azar’s trip will take place in the coming days, the Health and Human Services Department said Tuesday. It would be the first visit by a U.S. cabinet official to Taiwan in six years. In a statement, Mr. Azar said his trip is intended to show President Trump’s support for Taiwan, its democratic government and the leadership it displayed in handling the coronavirus outbreak. (O'Keeffe, 8/5)

The New York Times: U.S. Health Secretary To Visit Taiwan, In A Move Likely To Anger Beijing 
“Taiwan has been a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during the Covid-19 pandemic and long before it,” Mr. Azar said in the department’s statement. “I look forward to conveying President Trump’s support for Taiwan’s global health leadership and underscoring our shared belief that free and democratic societies are the best model for protecting and promoting health.” (Qin, 8/4)

Politico: Trump Backtracks On Mail-In Voting, Says It's OK To Do In Florida
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reversed his opposition to mail-in voting and encouraged it — at least in one crucial battleground state — after railing against the practice for months amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA” (Oprysko, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Anxieties About Mail Ballots On Display In Latest Round Of Primaries, Highlighting Worries For Fall 
Voters voiced concerns about the delivery and security of mail ballots as five states held primaries Tuesday, highlighting how the rapid shift to absentee voting during the coronavirus pandemic has emerged as a central issue in this year’s elections. In Michigan, voters complained that they received their ballots just before Tuesday’s vote or not at all, raising fears that political pressure could be affecting the U.S. Postal Service three months before the Nov. 3 presidential election. In Kansas and Missouri, many conservatives chose to cast ballots in person despite the possible health risk, some echoing President Trump’s unfounded claims that mail voting leads to widespread fraud. (Viebeck, Gowen and Ruble, 8/4)

The Hill: Democrats Twice As Likely As Republicans To Be Wary Of In-Person Voting: Poll 
Democratic voters are more than twice as likely as Republican voters to be concerned about the risks of in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Ipsos-Axios polling released Tuesday. A slight majority overall — 52 percent — said they see in-person voting as dangerous, according to the polling. The survey found a wide partisan split, with 64 percent of Democrats expressing concerns compared to just 29 percent of Republicans. (Budryk, 8/4)

NPR: Wanted: Young People To Work The Polls This November
A major challenge to this fall's elections is that most pollworkers are over the age of 60, and at high risk for COVID-19. Municipalities are using creative measures to recruit younger pollworkers. (Sprunt, 8/4)

Wisconsin Examiner: CDC Report: Voting In Milwaukee Fell April 7, But COVID-19 Cases Didn’t Rise
The April 7 election doesn’t appear to have sparked a surge in COVID-19 infections in Milwaukee, according to a new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — but it also saw overall voter participation cut nearly in half and close to an 80% drop in in-person voting in the city compared with four years ago. (Gunn, 8/3)

AP: Tennessee Mail Ballot Requests For November Start Wednesday
Tennessee voters can begin requesting absentee ballots for the November election Wednesday. In June, a judge ordered that all eligible Tennessee voters would have the option to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling remains effective, but that could change. (8/5)

In other election news —

Kaiser Health News: Pandemic’s Bumps And Backlash Shape Montana Race Poised To Steer US Senate 
Bradshaw Sumners watched throughout February as COVID-19 hot spots developed in major American cities, waiting to see when the coronavirus pandemic would manifest in Montana. When it finally did, life for the Livingston resident and father of two changed dramatically. His daughters, 8 and 4 years old, were suddenly home from school. The restaurant group where Sumners works maintenance shut down, thrusting him onto unemployment alongside legions of workers nationwide. (Sakariassen, 8/5)

AP: Progress Slow As Urgency Grows On Virus Relief Legislation
Frustrated Senate Republicans re-upped their complaints that Democratic negotiators are taking too hard a line in talks on a sweeping coronavirus relief bill, but an afternoon negotiating session brought at least modest concessions from both sides, even as an agreement appears far off. Top Democrats emerged from a 90-minute meeting Tuesday with Trump administration officials to declare more progress. The Trump team agreed with that assessment and highlighted its offer to extend a moratorium on evictions from federally subsidized housing through the end of the year. (Taylor, 8/5)

The Washington Post: White House, Democrats Agree To Try For Coronavirus Relief Deal On Evictions, Unemployment By Week’s End 
The White House and Democratic leaders agreed to try to finalize a deal to address lapsed unemployment benefits and eviction restrictions by the end of this week and hold a vote in Congress next week, suddenly trying to rush stalled talks in the face of growing public and political unrest. Senior White House officials said Tuesday that they made “very concrete offers” to Democrats related to unemployment benefits and eviction protections, and after days of bickering, both sides now appear to be trying to secure a compromise. (Min Kim, Werner, Leonnig and Stein, 8/4)

Politico: Endangered Republicans To McConnell: Don't Leave Town
Vulnerable Republicans have a clear message for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: no deal, no recess. With talks between the White House and Democratic leadership at an impasse, Senate Republicans up in November are pressing for the chamber to stay in session until some agreement is reached. (Levin, Desiderio and Bresnahan, 8/4)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The Hill: Interior Stresses 'Showing Up For Work' After Grijalva Tests Positive For Coronavirus 
The Interior Department took a shot at the Democratic chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee in a statement wishing him a speedy recovery from COVID-19. “We wish Chairman [Raúl] Grijalva a speedy recovery. He’s paid a lot of money by the American people to be an elected official – a job he sought and was entrusted to uphold – and showing up for work like millions of other dedicated public servants, such as our law enforcement officers and firefighters, is true leadership,” Interior said in a statement. (Beitsch, 8/3)

Politico: Missouri Voters Latest To Approve Medicaid Expansion 
Missouri voters on Tuesday approved Medicaid expansion to many of the state’s poorest adults, making their conservative state the second to join the Obamacare program through the ballot during the pandemic. The Missouri ballot measure expands Medicaid to about 230,000 low-income residents at a time when the state’s safety net health care program is already experiencing an enrollment surge tied to the pandemic’s economic upheaval. The measure was supported by 53 percent of voters. (Roubein, 8/5)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Voters Narrowly Approve Medicaid Expansion
The decision will mean adults between the ages of 19 and 65 whose income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level will be covered. As of this year, that amounts to $17,608 for an individual and $36,156 for a household of four. The vote comes after repeated rejections by the GOP-controlled Legislature after the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 allowed states to expand who can get coverage. (Erickson, 8/5)

The New York Times: How Ballot Initiatives Changed The Game On Medicaid Expansion
In a few years, the Fairness Project’s ballot campaigns have gone from an untested tactic to the main approach for expanding the Affordable Care Act’s reach. Five states have expanded Medicaid through ballot initiatives since President Trump’s inauguration. A sixth, Virginia, did so after Democrats gained control of the state legislature. (Kliff, 8/4)

Modern Healthcare: Newly Uninsured Have Yet To Enroll In Medicaid
The COVID-19 pandemic has stripped millions of people of their jobs and health insurance. So far, those newly uninsured have yet to enroll in Medicaid. Enrollment in the public insurance program has begun to climb in most states in recent months, as expected. But the growth has been driven by states pausing Medicaid eligibility redetermination processes during the public health crisis. Health insurers and states health departments say they have not seen significant enrollment growth among people who have lost job-based health coverage. (Livingston, 8/4)

In Medicare news —

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Eyes Altering DSH Payment Calculations
CMS issued a proposed rule on Tuesday that has to do with how it calculates Medicare disproportionate share payment adjustments for hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients. To square with the law, the agency proposed including Medicare Advantage patient days in the Medicare fraction of the DSH payment adjustment calculation for fiscal years before 2014. This is the same policy that CMS adopted in its 2005 inpatient prospective payment system rule but was later vacated by a district court in 2012 because it didn't engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking. (Livingston, 8/4)

Stat: Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Promising Immune Response
A potential Covid-19 vaccine from the biotech company Novavax showed a promising immune response in a small, early trial, but not without a high rate of mostly mild side effects. The results, published Tuesday, are the latest encouraging sign in the global effort to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly 700,000 people around the world. But the Novavax data, much like results recently published by Moderna and AstraZeneca, are too preliminary to draw any conclusions about how well the vaccine might protect against Covid-19, experts said. (Garde, 8/4)

The New York Times: Novavax's New Covid-19 Vaccine Studies Praised By Scientists
In one study, 56 volunteers produced a high level of antibodies against the virus without any dangerous side effects. In the other, researchers found that the vaccine strongly protected monkeys from coronavirus infections. Although it’s not possible to directly compare the data from clinical trials of different coronavirus vaccines, John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine who was not involved in the studies, said the Novavax results were the most impressive he had seen so far. “This is the first one I’m looking at and saying, ‘Yeah, I’d take that,’” Dr. Moore said. (Zimmer and Thomas, 8/4)

In other vaccine news —

Kaiser Health News: Covid-19 Vaccines In America Could Be Undermined By The Obesity Epidemic 
For a world crippled by the coronavirus, salvation hinges on a vaccine. But in the United States, where at least 4.6 million people have been infected and nearly 155,000 have died, the promise of that vaccine is hampered by a vexing epidemic that long preceded Covid-19: obesity. Scientists know that vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies can be less effective in obese adults than in the general population, leaving them more vulnerable to infection and illness. There is little reason to believe, obesity researchers say, that Covid-19 vaccines will be any different. (Varney, 8/5)

Politico: Canada's Top Doctor: Vaccine No 'silver Bullet,' Return To Normal Could Be Years Away 
Canada's top doctor is warning an eventual Covid-19 vaccine will be no "silver bullet," and the public should brace for another two to three years of health precautions. Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday that while a vaccine would be another important tool in the coronavirus response, it's unclear how effective it will be and whether there will be enough of it to go around. (Blatchford, 8/4)

Also —

Boston Globe: Brigham President Had Sold More Moderna Stock Before She Resigned From Biotech’s Board
The head of Brigham and Women’s Hospital sold nearly $2 million worth of Moderna stock in May, just as the institution she led was preparing cost-cutting due to COVID-19, bringing her total earnings from the biotech company to $8.5 million this year. The Globe reported last week that Dr. Elizabeth Nabel sold 73,975 Moderna shares worth $6.5 million on July 15, after the company’s stock nearly quadrupled this year on news of early success with its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. (Saltzman, 8/4)

Stat: BARDA Pressured To Force Moderna To Disclose Costs With Covid-19 Work
Amid concerns over U.S. government Covid-19 contracts and transparency, Moderna (MRNA) has failed to comply with disclosure requirements and publicly report development costs of a vaccine that is being funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Federal law requires the company to report the total cost of the project, and the amount and percentage share of costs provided by the federal government. So far, though, Moderna has not disclosed such details of its contract... with BARDA, which has awarded the company up to $955 million to develop a vaccine based on its mRNA technology that would be jointly invented by the National Institutes of Health. (Silverman, 8/4)

Stat: State AGs Urge HHS To Sidestep Gilead Patents To Boost Remdesivir Access
A bipartisan group of state attorneys general is urging the federal government to sidestep the patents held by Gilead Sciences (GILD) for remdesivir, the only authorized treatment for Covid-19, over frustration with pricing and supplies set by the manufacturer. In arguing their case, the state officials maintain Gilead has been “unable to assure” a sufficient supply of the medication to hospitals across the U.S. and has “[placed] its profit margins” over patients by charging the federal government $2,340 for a five-day treatment course, even though U.S. taxpayer dollars contributed to the discovery of the drug and manufacturing costs are reportedly low. (Silverman, 8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Seeks As Much As $18.1 Billion From Purdue Pharma 
The Justice Department is seeking as much as $18.1 billion from bankrupt opioid maker Purdue Pharma LP, new filings show, a demand that could disrupt the company’s monthslong effort to reach a settlement with states and local communities that accuse it of helping fuel the opioid crisis. The filings, made by the Justice Department in connection with Purdue’s bankruptcy case, also telegraph for the first time the nature and scope of yearslong criminal and civil investigations into the OxyContin maker. (Randazzo, 8/4)

In other pharmaceutical news —

CNN: How Kodak Went From Photography Pioneer To Government-Appointed Pharmaceutical Producer 
Kodak is back in the news again after some time flying under the radar, and for a somewhat surprising reason: The Trump administration has tapped the legacy film and photography pioneer to produce pharmaceutical ingredients. The company will receive a $765 million government loan to launch a new division called Kodak Pharmaceuticals, which will eventually produce as much as 25% of the active ingredients for generic medications in the United States. The deal helps fulfill a key Trump administration priority to reduce dependence on foreign production of drugs and other crucial products. (Duffy, 8/4)

Stat: What If A Pricey Rare-Disease Drug Works As A Covid-19 Treatment?
Some of the existing drugs scientists are testing as Covid-19 treatments have a special status for rare disease treatments, and the price tags to match — prompting early warnings from academics and drug pricing reform advocates that if one is effective, access could be an issue. At issue are so-called “orphan drugs,” which get special exclusivity perks from the Food and Drug Administration because they treat a rare disease. Drugs get to keep that designation — and the perks — even if they’re later approved for a broader category of patients. That exclusivity often translates into higher prices, especially for rare disease drugs where demand is expected to be low. (Sokolow, 8/5)

The New York Times: Scientists Uncover Biological Signatures Of The Worst Covid-19 Cases 
Scientists are beginning to untangle one of the most complex biological mysteries of the coronavirus pandemic: Why do some people get severely sick, whereas others quickly recover? In certain patients, according to a flurry of recent studies, the virus appears to make the immune system go haywire. (Wu, 8/4)

Yahoo News: Women Who Take The Contraceptive Pill Are Less Likely To Develop Serious Coronavirus, Study Finds
Women who take the pill are less likely to develop serious coronavirus, a major new study has found, helping explain why men have suffered worse from the disease. Analysis of more than half a million women by King's College London during May and June has identified the crucial role of oestrogen in protecting against Covid-19. (Bodkin, 8/4)

CIDRAP: Those With Milder COVID-19 May Not Shed Live Virus As Long 
Hong Kong researchers who tested 68 respiratory specimens from 35 COVID-19 patients, of whom 32 had mild illness, found that live virus and evidence of viral replication were rarely detectable beyond 8 days after symptom onset but that viral RNA was detectable for many weeks using RT-PCR. The study, published today in Emerging Infectious Diseases, involved isolating viable coronavirus in culture, detecting viral replication on subgenomic RNA (sgRNA), and identifying COVID-19 RNA on RT-PCR. The researchers isolated live virus from 16 specimens from 16 patients with high median viral loads, while specimens with low viral loads tended to culture negative. (Van Beusekom, 8/4)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 RNA Found On Surfaces After Asymptomatic Patients' Eye Exams
COVID-19 genetic material—not necessarily live virus—was found on surfaces in a 1-meter (3.3-foot) diameter circle where asymptomatic patients who had passed coronavirus triage had eye exams, according to a small study published yesterday in JAMA Ophthalmology. The quality-improvement study was performed on Mar 20, 1 week after the first confirmed COVID-19 case was identified at Tepecik Training and Research Hospital in Izmir, Turkey. Seven samples were taken for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing from eye exam devices and door handles both before and after 22 ophthalmologic patients and nine companions had been in the exam room. Mean exam time was 9 minutes. (8/4)

In developments on the use of plasma —

The Wall Street Journal: Convalescent Plasma Reduced Death Rate Among Covid-19 Patients, Study Data Signals 
Hospitalized Covid-19 patients who received transfusions of blood plasma rich with antibodies from recovered patients reduced their mortality rate by about 50%, according to researchers running a large national study. The researchers presented their data analysis Saturday in a webinar for physicians interested in learning about so-called convalescent plasma, with data slides that were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The researchers said they saw signs that the treatment might be working in patients who received high levels of antibodies in plasma early in the course of their illness. They based their conclusions on an analysis of about 3,000 patients. (Dockser Marcus, 8/4)

The New York Times: As Trump Praises Plasma, Researchers Struggle To Finish Critical Studies 
An American Airlines flight took off from La Guardia Airport in New York last Wednesday morning, carrying 100 pouches of blood plasma donated by Covid-19 survivors for delivery to Rio de Janeiro. American scientists are hoping Covid-19 patients in Brazil will help them answer a century-old question: Can this golden serum, loaded with antibodies against a pathogen, actually heal the sick? The truth is that no one knows if it works. (Thomas and Weiland, 8/4)

The Hill: NYC Health Commissioner Quits Over De Blasio's COVID-19 Response
New York City’s top public health official resigned Tuesday, accusing Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) of sidelining medical experts in the midst of a pandemic that has hit America’s largest city especially hard. In an emailed resignation letter, Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said she quit with “deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime, that the Health Department’s incomparable disease control expertise was not used to the degree it could have been.” (Wilson, 8/4)

Politico: After Months Of Being Sidelined By De Blasio, NYC's Top Doctor Calls It Quits
As a global pandemic raged through New York City, one public official kept a notably low profile: Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot. At a time when Barbot should have been a public face of the city’s Covid-19 response, she was relegated to a near-invisible status, after a long-simmering feud with Mayor Bill de Blasio erupted over how to handle the fast-spreading virus. By Tuesday she’d had enough. (Eisenberg and Goldenberg, 8/4)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: National Medical Association Names McDougle As New President
Dr. Leon McDougle, chief diversity officer at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, was appointed president of the National Medical Association, which represents African American physicians in the U.S. McDougle, who is the association's 121st president, was interested in the role in response to recent attention nationally to racial inequities. "Now more than ever, we must take a stand against the systemic racism in our nation's healthcare delivery system that negatively impacts the Black community and other underserved populations," he said in a statement. (Castellucci, 8/4)

CIDRAP: Survey: Home Health Workers Stressed, Overlooked Amid COVID-19
A study of home healthcare workers (HCWs) in New York City published today in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges they already faced as a critical yet vulnerable and marginalized workforce at high risk for coronavirus infection. Led by researchers at Cornell University in a partnership with the 1199 Service Employees International Union, the study involved one-on-one semistructured interviews with 33 home HCWs employed by 24 different home care agencies from Mar 26 to Apr 30. (Van Beusekom, 8/4)

NPR: After 'Severe' Delays, 6 States Band Together To Buy Coronavirus Tests
Six states led by a bipartisan group of governors are joining together in an effort to speed up coronavirus testing. As the nation's death count continues to rise above 150,000, the states said they will jointly purchase 3 million rapid antigen tests that can quickly detect the virus. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the outgoing chair of the National Governors Association, said in a statement the multistate compact will address "severe testing shortages and delays" that have hamstrung the nation's response to the virus. In addition to Maryland, the group includes Virginia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and Massachusetts. (McCammon, 8/4)

The New York Times: ‘It’s Like Having No Testing’: Coronavirus Test Results Are Still Delayed 
Frustrated by a nationwide testing backlog, the governors of six states took the unusual step of banding together on Tuesday to reduce the turnaround time for coronavirus test results from days to minutes. The agreement, by three Republican governors and three Democratic governors, was called the first interstate testing compact of its kind. The six states — Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia — agreed to work with the Rockefeller Foundation and two U.S. manufacturers of rapid tests to buy three million tests. (Mervosh and Fernandez, 8/4)

In other news on testing and tracing —

Los Angeles Times: California's Coronavirus Test Result Data May Be Flawed 
A steep decline in California’s coronavirus infection rate announced this week by Gov. Gavin Newson may not be accurate, according to the state’s top public health official who said Tuesday that the state’s data system used to process COVID-19 test results is marred with technical issues. The problems have caused delays in analyzing test results and cast doubt on Newsom’s announcement Monday of a 21.2% decline in the seven-day average rate for positive infections compared with the average from the week before. (Shalby, 8/4)

CNN: Trump's Covid-19 Testing Czar Says The Government Is Doing All It Can On Tests. That's Not What The Experts Say. 
As the Trump administration's coronavirus testing czar, Admiral Brett Giroir has repeatedly said the federal government is doing everything possible to address the country's unmet demand for tests and timelier results. "If there is a stone that needs to be turned that is left unturned," Giroir said on CNN's "State of the Union" on July 26, "you tell me what it is." (Devine, Griffin and Bronstein, 8/4)

Boston Globe: Bar Harbor Hospital Reports Out-Of-State Visitors May Have Spread Coronavirus This Summer 
A hospital on the summer tourism hub of Bar Harbor, Maine, says out-of-state visitors have brought the novel coronavirus to the island, and now the hospital is collaborating with state officials to expand contact tracing. The Portland Press Herald on Monday reported that Mount Desert Island Hospital physicians estimated that at least 35 out-of-staters carrying the virus had been on the island this summer. (Andersen, 8/4)

Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: Could Labs That Test Livestock Ease COVID Testing Backlog For People? Well … Maybe. 
In a heated exchange late last month on CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper pressed Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services assistant secretary who oversees COVID testing efforts for the Trump administration, on why the government isn’t requiring commercial labs to increase testing capacity in order to speed turnaround time. Giroir’s response described a series of steps — some unusual — being taken by the federal government. One focus was on the role veterinary labs, including those with special certification, could play in helping to build capacity. “Five veterinary labs have their CLIA certification to officially test human patients,” he said. “There are a lot of labs who are doing surveillance testing that don’t need the CLIA certification.” (Appleby, 8/5)

Dallas Morning News: How Dallas Missed Potential Red Flags In Picking A Company To Run A Major COVID-19 Testing Site
When Honu Management Group pitched itself to run a major coronavirus testing site for the city and county of Dallas, the company listed impressive experience. Testing for a national healthcare company. Working with the Indian Health Service. Even gaining White House approval for its testing program. The problem: One reference said Honu overstated the scope of its work. A South Dakota tribe said it used the company’s tests and the results were unreliable. And any stamp of White House approval seems to have never materialized. (Hacker and Morris, 8/4)

Also —

CNN: Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford's Wife Blames NFL For Harassment Received After False Positive Coronavirus Test 
After a false positive Covid-19 test put Matthew Stafford, quarterback for the Detroit Lions, on the NFL's Injured Reserve/Covid list, life has been terrible. And his wife blames the NFL. That's according to an Instagram post made by Kelly Stafford, the quarterback's wife, who called the past four days following the false positive "somewhat of a nightmare." (Asmelash, 8/4)

The Hill: Azar: FDA Moved Quickly To Stop Subpar Chinese Masks From Being Sold In US
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved quickly to stop subpar Chinese masks from being sold in the U.S. During an interview on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria,” Azar responded to a Wall Street Journal analysis that determined the FDA allowed thousands of Chinese manufacturers to sell KN95 masks in the U.S. with little oversight or quality checks. (Coleman, 8/4)

NPR: As Cases Rise Fast, Mississippi Governor Mandates Masks And Delays Start Of School 
With Mississippi on track to become the number-one state for new coronavirus infections per capita, Gov. Tate Reeves is implementing a temporary mask mandate and delaying the reopening of schools in certain counties. Reeves announced the new measures at a press conference on Tuesday. (Treisman, 8/4)

In other news —

ABC News: Former Mask Skeptic Joins Public Service Campaign After Getting Coronavirus 
Ta'Marsh Pope, 47, of Silverton, Ohio, has gone from COVID-19 skeptic to a harbinger of the pandemic's dangers. The single mother and eligibility technician at Hamilton County Job & Family Services in Cincinnati told ABC News she was one of the many Americans skeptical about mask wearing and the seriousness of the coronavirus back in the spring. At the time, she said that she believed social media posts that questioned the coronavirus data and coverage in the press. (Pereira, 8/4)

AP: No Masks, No Distance: Pandemic Wedding Horrors For Vendors
Wedding planners, photographers and other bridal vendors who make the magic happen have a heap of new worries in the middle of the pandemic: no-mask weddings, rising guest counts and venues not following the rules. Now that weddings have slowly cranked up under a patchwork of ever-shifting state and local restrictions, horror stories from vendors are rolling in. Many are desperate to work after the coronavirus put an abrupt end to their incomes and feel compelled to put on their masks, grab their cameras and hope for the best. (Italie, 8/4)

The Hill: CDC Expects 2020 Outbreak Of Rare, Life-Threatening Condition Affecting Children 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned parents and doctors Tuesday that it expects another outbreak this year of a rare but life-threatening condition that mostly affects children. Outbreaks of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a serious neurologic condition that can cause paralysis, typically peak every two years between August and November. The last peak occurred in 2018, when 238 cases were reported to the CDC. (Hellmann, 8/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: CDC Expects 2020 Outbreak Of Deadly ACM
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it anticipates 2020 will be another peak year for cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), an uncommon-but-serious neurological condition that affects mostly children. The disease has peaked every two years between August and November in the United States since 2014. The CDC released a new report to alert health care providers to a possible outbreak this year. (Darnell, 8/4)

AP: COVID-19 Measures Could Disrupt Rare Polio-Like Disease
Health experts once thought 2020 might be the worst year yet for a rare paralyzing disease that has been hitting U.S. children for the past decade. But they now say the coronavirus pandemic could disrupt the pattern for the mysterious illnesses, which spike every other year starting in late summer. Scientists say it’s possible that mask wearing, school closures and others measures designed to stop spread of the coronavirus may also hamper spread of the virus suspected of causing the paralyzing disease. (Stobbe, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Sticks To Schools Plan As U.S. Nears 5 Million Coronavirus Cases 
The Trump administration is sticking by its view that schools must reopen on time and in person as the United States approached 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday and as Mississippi’s conservative governor reversed course to delay school for many students and demand that all wear masks. President Trump received some rhetorical backup from U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, albeit with more nuance than Trump’s latest “OPEN THE SCHOOLS” tweet. (Gearan, 8 /4)

The Hill: Teachers Rally To Protest Reopening Schools 
Teachers from dozens of school districts nationwide organized a day of action Monday to draw attention to the potential dangers of resuming full-time in-person classes. Several major cities saw demonstrations, including Chicago, New York, Boston, Denver and Milwaukee, Chalkbeat reported. “I do not want to be the sacrificial lamb, because you’re forcing us to go back into an environment that is dangerous,” elementary school teacher Andrea Parker said at a demonstration in Chicago. (Budryk, 8/4)

In school news from Georgia —

The Washington Post: Schools Struggle To Reopen As Teachers And Students Test Positive For Coronavirus 
On Wednesday, teachers in Georgia’s largest school district returned to elementary, middle and high school campuses to start in-person planning for the fall semester. By the next day, 260 district employees had been barred from entering their schools, either because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had been directly exposed to someone who had. (Shepherd, 8/4)

CNN: Second Grader Tests Positive For Coronavirus After Attending The First Day Of School In Georgia 
A Georgia second grader tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the first day of school, the school district told CNN. Sixes Elementary in the Cherokee County School district began in-person classes on Monday. But by Tuesday, a classroom was temporarily closed for deep cleaning and the teacher and 20 other students had been asked to quarantine for two weeks after the second grader tested positive. (Holcombe and Lynch, 8/5)

In school news from Texas —

Dallas Morning News: Schools Aren’t Following Air Quality Recommendations To Reduce COVID-19 Risk, DMN Finds
Improving ventilation and air quality is one method that schools can take to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission, scientists say. Yet, in a survey of large school systems in North Texas, The Dallas Morning News found that schools fell short of air quality guidelines released in June by building experts. (Smith and Ambrose, 8/4)

Dallas Morning News: State Recommendations For Reopening Texas Schools Fall Short Of Public Health Advice
As summer comes to an end and the coronavirus continues to rage, North Texas schools are scrambling to make high-stakes decisions: When and how to bring hundreds of thousands of teachers and students back into the classroom. They must do so without vital information: Only a handful of schools have opened in other states. In other countries, children returned to class when the infection rate was much lower. And there is no good evidence on how easily children transmit the virus. (Ambrose, Smith and Kuchment, 8/4)

In news from California, Oregon and Alabama —

Los Angeles Times: No School Opening Waivers Will Be Considered In L.A, County 
The L.A. County Department of Public Health said Tuesday that it would not consider any applications for waivers enabling elementary schools to reopen, citing high local COVID-19 case rates. The decision comes one day after the California Department of Public Health announced new guidelines for granting school reopening waivers, indicating that counties with case rates above 200 per 100,000 residents should not consider applications. (Agrawal, 8/4)

AP: 25 Virus Cases Reported At Oregon Summer Camp
At least 25 campers and staff members at a camp east of Portland, Oregon have tested positive for COVID-19. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the virus was first detected July 18 at Trout Creek Bible Camp near Corbett when a staff member tested positive, and the camp shut down for the season July 21. Multnomah County health officials say the outbreak has grown to a total of 11 campers and 14 staff members -- all age 20 or younger. (8/4)

GMA: Principal Goes Viral With COVID-19 Parody Of 'Can't Touch This' 
An Alabama high school principal has put a funny spin on the very serious measures his school is taking this fall to protect students and staff against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Dr. Quentin Lee, principal of Childersburg High School in Childersburg, Alabama, did a COVID-19 parody of "Can't Touch This," the hit song by M.C. Hammer. (Kindelan, 8/4)

Reuters: Clorox Won't Have Enough Disinfecting Wipes Until 2021, Its CEO Says 
Grocery shelves won’t be fully stocked with Clorox’s disinfecting wipes until next year, CEO Benno Dorer told Reuters, as the world’s biggest cleaning products maker struggles with overwhelming pandemic-led demand for its top product. Since the start of global lockdowns, makers of hygiene goods have seen a sustained boom in sales. While California-based Clorox typically holds aside excess supply for flu seasons, it says it has been unable to keep up with a six-fold increase in demand for many of its disinfectants. (8/4)

ABC News: Bill Nye’s Message To Young Revelers Defying COVID-19 Guidance 
Bill Nye the Science Guy has a simple message for many of the same people who grew up learning from his television show: choose to stay at home and you will save lives. “If we can't cool it, a lot fewer of us will get through this… It’s really a matter of life and death,” he told “Nightline.” “You’re spreading this virus [and it’s] killing people, so don’t do it. For crying out loud, this is not rocket surgery.” (Yang, Singh and Park, 8/4)

The New York Times: Forget Spas And Bars. Hotels Tout Housekeeping To Lure Back Travelers
When Beau Phillips checked into a hotel near Toledo recently, a table in front of the counter barricaded him from getting too close to the clerk, who wore a mask and stood behind a plastic window. “The key is gently tossed at you from three feet away,” said Mr. Phillips, a public affairs executive who was staying at a Radisson Country Inn & Suites while visiting family. (Richtel, 8/4)

Stat: Telemedicine Is Booming — But Many People Face Barriers To Virtual Care
As Covid-19 drives many patients away from in-person care and toward virtual visits, experts warn that the nation’s most vulnerable members may be shut out of the booming telehealth business. Federal policymakers temporarily relaxed regulations to make it easier to provide virtual care during the pandemic, fueling a shift toward telemedicine that has become so popular among patients and providers that there are now a number of proposals to make the changes permanent... But a pair of new studies published this week show that there are barriers to virtual visits that regulatory changes alone can’t fix. (Isselbacher, 8/5)

The Wall Street Journal: The $1.9 Million Covid Patient 
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, unable to follow and uncertain when she would see him again. Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Salvatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48-year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and tested other therapies in an effort to keep him alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Mazzara’s throat. (Evans, 8/4)

The Atlantic: The Coronavirus Is Never Going Away
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has sickened more than 16.5 million people across six continents. It is raging in countries that never contained the virus. It is resurging in many of the ones that did. If there was ever a time when this coronavirus could be contained, it has probably passed. One outcome is now looking almost certain: This virus is never going away. (Zhang, 8/4)

Also —

AP: 2 California State Hospital Patients With Coronavirus Die
Two patients at a state mental hospital in Central California have died after becoming infected with the coronavirus, officials said. One patient died Sunday at the Department of State Hospitals-Coalinga after contracting the virus while being treated outside of the facility, according to a hospital email sent to staff on Monday, the Sacramento Bee reported. (8/4)

Politico: Fed Study: Covid-19 Overwhelmingly Strikes Counties With Most Black Businesses 
The Black community has been disproportionately battered by the coronavirus, as numerous studies have shown. Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has quantified just how hard an economic punch the pandemic has delivered. Thirty counties account for 40 percent of receipts from Black-owned businesses, and 19 of those areas — roughly two-thirds — have the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, according to new research from the New York Fed. By contrast, counties with more white-owned firms have a lower share of cases. (Guida, 8/4)

The Hill: COVID-19 Outbreaks In Agricultural Communities Raise Harvest Fears 
In the summer months, this tiny community on the shores of the Columbia River becomes the heart of America’s apple industry, ripe fruit weighing down branches in the surrounding orchards before they’re loaded onto trains and shipped around the world. Hundreds of migrants flock to the sunny high desert each summer, where they live in riverside dormitories and camps as they harvest apples, peaches, cherries and grapes for Gebbers Farms, one of the biggest fruit growers in the Pacific Northwest. Those workers are now at the heart of a massive surge in coronavirus cases that has made Okanogan County one of the hardest-hit areas in the world. In the last two weeks, almost 1 percent of the county has tested positive for the virus. (Wilson, 8/4)

AP: 'We Are No Less American': Deaths Pile Up On Texas Border
When labor pains signaled that Clarissa Muñoz was at last going to be a mom, she jumped in a car and headed two hours down the Texas border into one of the nation’s most dire coronavirus hot spots. She went first to a hospital so desperate for help that nurses recently made 49 phone calls to find a bed 700 miles away to airlift a dying man with the virus. From there, she was taken to a bigger hospital by ambulance. Along the way, she passed a funeral home that typically handles 10 services a month but is up to nine a week. And when she finally arrived to give birth, she was blindsided by another complication: A test revealed that she too was infected. (Weber, 8/5)

Stat: New Cancer Diagnoses Fell Sharply As The Coronavirus Pandemic First Hit
By almost every measure, far fewer cancers are being diagnosed during the coronavirus pandemic, whether the decline shows up in screening mammograms and colonoscopies or in other tests ordered after troubling symptoms prompt a doctor’s visit. A research letter published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open notes a steep downward slope in newly identified cases of six common cancer types, based on weekly numbers from Quest Diagnostics. (Cooney, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Fetal Tissue Research Advisory Board Convenes, With A Strong Anti-Abortion Tilt 
A long-awaited ethics advisory board, dominated by foes of abortion and fetal tissue research, has convened for the first time, deciding whether it believes proposed research grants and contracts should get government funding. At least one researcher, whose funding application to the National Institutes of Health had been in limbo for nearly a year until Friday’s meeting, received a notice from NIH this week that invited him to revise the proposal by removing the use of fetal tissue. (Goldstein, 8 /4)

Los Angeles Times: Women Addicts Delivering Stillbirths May Face Murder Charges 
It sounds like a nightmare scenario for women’s rights in California. Every time a woman suffers a late-term miscarriage or gives birth to a stillborn baby, she could potentially become the target of a homicide investigation, with police visiting homes and delivery rooms to carry out interrogations. Yet some medical and civil rights groups say that scenario is not so far-fetched if the murder prosecution of Chelsea Becker is permitted to proceed in a rural county of the San Joaquin Valley. They say it could judicially rewrite the state’s homicide statute, expanding it to apply to any pregnant woman whose conduct might have resulted in the loss of her pregnancy. (Wigglesworth, 8/4)

AP: Health Officials: 4 New Dengue Fever Cases In Florida Keys
Four cases of Dengue fever have recently been confirmed in the Florida Keys, bringing the total number of cases reported this year to 26, health officials said. The Florida Department of Health in Monroe County said in a statement on Monday that indications are the mosquito-borne infections were acquired locally. The four people have received medical treatment and are expected to make full recoveries. (8/4)

NPR: Flu Shots 2020: When And Where To Get One Amid The Pandemic
Get set for 2020's mega-campaign against the flu amid the COVID-19 pandemic: immunization drives in the parking lots of churches and supermarkets, curbside inoculations outside doctors' offices, socially distanced vaccine appointments held indoors, with breaks in between for disinfecting. These are just some of the ways heath providers say they will give tens of millions of flu shots this fall — arguably the most important U.S. effort to prevent influenza's spread among Americans in a century. (Kritz, 8/4)

In sports news —

Stateline: As Sports Teams Struggle, So Do Their Hometowns 
The pandemic has dealt a hammer blow to the entire sports industry and its dependent businesses, from restaurants and hotels to car rentals. That, in turn, hurts cities and states that have less tax revenue coming in for needed community services. The fragile XFL football league, which included the Arlington-based Dallas Renegades, was thrown into bankruptcy after five weeks of play, and more stable pro teams still face uncertainty amid the risks of COVID-19. (Montgomery, 8/5)

AP: Colorado St Investigates Athlete Claims On COVID Reporting
Colorado State president Joyce McConnell says she will launch an investigation into how the athletic department handled COVID-19 safety protocols amid a report that players were told not to reveal symptoms. The investigation stems from an article published in the Coloradoan on Tuesday. According to the newspaper report, Colorado State football players and members of the athletic staff say coaches told them not to report coronavirus symptoms and threatened players with reduced playing time should they quarantine. (8/5)

And how the pandemic is affecting work and relationships —

The Wall Street Journal: The Strain The Covid Pandemic Is Putting On Marriages 
For Kristin and Ilya Shapiro, the Covid pandemic has created new tensions. Lately, the spouses have argued about Mr. Shapiro’s travel schedule: Ms. Shapiro doesn’t like that it creates child-care headaches. But Mr. Shapiro says it’s important to his work as a Washington, D.C., think tank director, and offers emotional respite too. “I would be lying if I said there haven’t been tears,” says Ms. Shapiro, a 37-year-old attorney. She is confident they will make it through together. But for now, their stress level is high. “This has been a very difficult period,” she says. (Chaker, 8/4)

NPR: Couples Divided By Pandemic Are Rallying To Reunite 
Rezan al-Ibrahim understands separation. A Web developer who fled the war in Syria and now has asylum in the Netherlands, he's in a long-distance marriage with his wife, Aysha Shedbalkar, an Indian American math teacher, because of the Trump administration's ban on Syrians. "She had taken this year off work to stay with me in Amsterdam," he says. "Then the pandemic hit." (Kakissis, 8/4)

PBS NewsHour: Millennials Report More Stress Than Older Americans During Pandemic 
The unknowns and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic has sprung many Americans into stressful situations on a daily basis, be it around job loss or insecurities, health concerns, social isolation or a complete reconfiguration of what a “normal” life looks like. However, younger people in the U.S. are reporting higher levels of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic than older generations, according to recent surveys. (Frazee, 8/4)

The Washington Post: A Study Of 3.1 Million Workers Shows Remote Work Really Does Mean Longer Work Days — And More Meetings
The massive global shift to remote work since the pandemic began has led to some upsides: More flexibility, no commute, more comfortable pants. But those who sense this grand experiment in working from home also comes with plenty of downsides — longer days, more meetings and more email to answer — are now backed up by data from 3.1 million workers. The average workday lengthened by 48.5 minutes in the weeks following stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, and the number of meetings increased by 13 percent, a working paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed. (McGregor, 8/4)

AP: Texas Medical Board Warns Physicians Who Claim COVID-19 Cure
The Texas board that licenses doctors has warned physicians that it could take action against anyone who falsely advertises a cure for COVID-19. The Texas Medical Board issued its warning after a Houston-area pastor and doctor, Dr. Stella Immanuel, very publicly touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for the disease caused by the coronavirus, the Houston Chronicle reported. Multiple studies have found that hydroxychloroquine doesn’t help against the virus and the Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against using it to treat patients with the disease because of reports linking it with heart problems and other injuries and disorders. (8/4)

Also —

Reuters: Gargling Solution Flies Off Japan's Shelves After Governor Touts Anti-Virus Effect 
Japanese drugstores were stripped bare of gargling solution by Wednesday, a day after the governor of the western prefecture of Osaka suggested it could help fight coronavirus, triggering panicked buying reminiscent of the early days of mask shortages. ... On Tuesday, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said a study showed a smaller viral load in the saliva of 41 patients with mild symptoms after regular gargling with a medicine infused with povidone-iodine solution than in those who had not. (8/5)

AP: The Latest: Japan Governor Touts Gargling Product For Virus
A governor in Japan is drawing skeptical criticism after he touted a gargling product as effective against the coronavirus, an assertion that, despite its dubiousness, emptied some store shelves of the medicine. Shares of Shionogi & Co. and Meiji Holdings Co., which make Isojin, soared in Tokyo Tuesday trading after Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura made the comments. (8/5)

Stat: The FDA Is Finalizing Its Long-Awaited Rules For CBD 
The Food and Drug Administration appears poised to release a long-awaited enforcement policy on cannabidiol, the marijuana-adjacent compound it has struggled to regulate for over a year. The policy is going through the formal White House vetting process now, according to a White House website. (Florko, 8/4)

CNN: Weed Is Not Good For Your Heart, Studies Say 
You may love smoking weed, but it does not love your heart, according to the American Heart Association's new scientific statement on marijuana. "The American Heart Association recommends that people not smoke or vape any substance, including cannabis products, because of the potential harm to the heart, lungs and blood vessels," said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, the deputy chief science and medical officer for the American Heart Association, in a statement. (LaMotte, 8/5)

In related news —

The Hill: Former Trump Aide Seeks To Fight Drug Abuse, Addiction In His New Role 
President Trump’s former domestic policy adviser is joining the board of directors of Verde Technologies, a company that produces a drug "deactivation" system to dispose of unused medications. Joe Grogan, who stepped down as White House Domestic Policy Council director in May, said in an interview that he plans to use his new position to raise awareness about the issues of drug addiction and overdose. The company’s product, he said, is a way to confront those problems by helping destroy drugs in an environmentally responsible way and prevent the misuse of medications. (Chalfant, 8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Insurers Report Mixed Results From Covid-19 
Two giant sellers of insurance to consumers— Allstate Corp. and Prudential Financial Inc.—reported second-quarter results that reflected the far-ranging impact of Covid-19. Allstate’s profit surged from fewer vehicle accidents on the road while ultralow interest rates weighed on Prudential. The two insurers’ results show the first full quarter of the coronavirus’ unprecedented toll on the U.S. economy. Across all U.S. life and property-casualty insurers, analysts and investors’ focus has been on the costs that insurers are bearing—and the unexpected benefits some have enjoyed-as business activity slowed under government shutdown directives. (Scism, 8/4)

Stat: Earnings Season Highlights Pandemic's Impact On Health Tech Industry
It’s earnings season for health tech companies — and that’s opening a window into how the pandemic is affecting the bottom lines of companies offering high-demand virtual care. This earnings season is something of a milestone: Although the final weeks of the first quarter of this year were shaped by the growing coronavirus crisis, April, May, and June offer investors the first entirely Covid-19-era quarter’s worth of financial results. (Robbins, 8/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Walmart Health-Care Executive To Depart 
An executive leading Walmart Inc.’s health-care ambitions is leaving the company, people familiar with the matter said, as the retailer navigates the operational complexity of the coronavirus pandemic. Sean Slovenski, senior vice president and president of health and wellness for Walmart U.S., is leaving as soon as this week, one of the people familiar with the situation said. Walmart confirmed that Mr. Slovenski will leave. (Nassauer, 8/4)

Stat: Haven Was Supposed To Reimagine Care. An Exodus Of Talent Has Gutted It
Haven, the audacious health venture founded by three of America’s most storied companies, was once a magnet for top-flight talent. But a string of high-profile departures has left the company’s C-suite all but empty. As a result, the company that set out to reimagine health care more than two years ago has made virtually no progress in reaching that goal and, by all accounts, may never. (Ross, 8/5)

Also —

Kaiser Health News: Covered California Announces Record-Low Rate Hike For 2021 
Premiums for health plans sold through Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act insurance exchange, will rise an average of 0.6% next year — the smallest hike since it started providing coverage in 2014, the agency announced Tuesday. The modest increase follows an average statewide increase of 0.8% on coverage that started in January of this year, which was the previous record low. (Wolfson, 8/4)

Sacramento Bee: Covered California Premiums Will Rise 2.3% In Sacramento In 2021 
Residents of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties who buy their health insurance through Covered California or on the individual market will see their premiums increase an average of 2.3% in 2021, according to state data released Tuesday. If those consumers shop around and compare plans, they should be able to save an average of 2.4%, according to Covered California officials. (Anderson, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Nursing Home Companies Accused Of Misusing Federal Money Received Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Pandemic Relief
For-profit nursing home providers that have faced accusations of Medicare fraud and kickbacks, labor violations and widespread failures in patient care received hundreds of millions of dollars in “no strings attached” coronavirus relief aid meant to cover shortfalls and expenses during the pandemic, a Washington Post analysis of federal spending found. More than a dozen companies that received federal funding have settled civil lawsuits in recent years with the Justice Department, which alleged improper Medicare billing, forged documents, substandard care and other abuses. (Cenziper, Jacobs and Mulcahy, 8/4)

In other nursing home news —

NPR: Nursing Home Residents Moved Out To Make Way For COVID-19 Patients 
In some nursing homes, 100% of the residents are positive for the coronavirus. That's by design. These facilities have volunteered to devote part or all of their buildings exclusively to treating COVID-19 patients, who bring in more government money. But to make room for them, the original residents can be forced out of the places they've called home. Ruby Hamilton was one of them. She was in her 90s by the time she needed full-time nursing care. Being an independent woman, she chose the nursing home she wanted: Westpark in Indianapolis. Her daughter, Carolyn Oliver, says Hamilton was happy there for five years. (Jaffe, 8/4)

NPR: As COVID-19 Numbers Improve, Florida Considers Nursing Home Visits 
Officials in Florida say cases of the coronavirus are continuing to decline, an indication that efforts to halt the spread of the disease are working. In Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos Gimenez told commissioners Tuesday, "I am pleased to announce it appears we have leveled off." Miami-Dade County has been responsible for 25% of the state's nearly 500,000 coronavirus cases. Gimenez said hospitalizations have been trending downward in the county for two weeks. "We've had a decrease of about 400 patients in the hospital," he said. (Allen, 8/4)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: More Than 500 Missouri Nursing Home Residents Died Of COVID-19, Federal Report Says
COVID-19 has killed 502 residents and seven employees of federally licensed nursing homes in Missouri, according to federal data released Sunday. At least 2,163 other residents and 1,314 employees of federally licensed nursing homes in Missouri have been infected by the virus as of July 19, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Benchaabane, 8/4)

Texas Observer: One Of Texas’ Biggest Nursing Home Operators Beset By COVID-19 Cases And Deaths
As COVID-19 spread across Texas in March, it became clear that the virus would batter the state’s 1,200 or so nursing homes, where some of the most vulnerable Texans were crammed together in largely understaffed, unprotected facilities. Five months later, nearly 9,000 nursing home residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,100 have died from the pandemic. What wasn’t clear, however, is which facilities had been exposed to the virus. Texas officials refused to release the information, even though doing so would have helped family members make crucial decisions for their loved ones, says Amanda Fredriksen, the associate state director of AARP Texas. ... Data released at the end of July by Texas health officials finally provides a glimpse into infections, deaths, and recoveries at individual Texas nursing homes. (Collins, 8/4)

AP: In Nevada, Vegas Area Logs 95% Of New Daily COVID-19 Cases
Nevada officials said Tuesday that 95% of new coronavirus cases reported statewide during the last day emerged in the Las Vegas area. State coronavirus response chief Caleb Cage said Clark County residents accounted for 931 of the 980 positive COVID-19 tests reported to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Fewer than 3% came from the Reno area. (8/4)

The Hill: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut Tweak Quarantine List 
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut updated a joint travel advisory that now includes mandatory quarantine restrictions for travelers visiting from 34 states and Puerto Rico. The Democratic governors of the states announced the updated list Tuesday morning. It still requires travelers from nearly everywhere across the U.S. to quarantine for 14 days when entering the states. The updated version of the list now includes Rhode Island, while Washington, D.C., and Delaware were dropped. (Klar, 8/4) 

AP: Court Upholds Health Order Fines For New Mexico Businesses
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the governor’s authority to fine businesses up to $5,000 a day for violating state emergency health orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. The court heard arguments from a group of business owners who claimed the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham overstepped its authority in imposing fines higher than $100 citations. (Lee, 8/4)

Dallas Morning News: Dallas County Reports Its Second-Deadliest Day With 31 New Coronavirus Deaths
Dallas County reported 31 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, marking its second-deadliest day since the pandemic began. Dr. Philip Huang, the county’s health director, announced the new numbers at a county commissioners meeting. He also said there were 641 new cases. (Jones and Branham, 8/4)

The Oklahoman: Oklahoma County Jail Inmate Dies After Testing Positive For COVID-19
An Oklahoma County jail inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, The Oklahoman has learned. Officials said inmate Clarence Merrell died around 7 a.m. Tuesday after struggling with multiple underlying health issues and spending more than a week at a local hospital where he tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email obtained by The Oklahoman. This makes him the first COVID-19 death related to the county jail. (Branch, 8/5)

In news from Indiana, Massachusetts and Michigan —

AP: Indiana's COVID-19 Deaths Near 3,000 With 14 More Deaths
Fourteen more Indiana residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the state’s pandemic death toll to nearly 3,000 since its first death was recorded in mid-March, state health officials said Tuesday. The 14 new fatalities from the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus raised Indiana’s confirmed total deaths to 2,996, including confirmed and presumed cases, the Indiana State Department of Health said. (8/4)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Coronavirus: State Shows Where Billions In Aid Is Being Spent
The governor's administration released data today on how Indiana has been spending billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief. (Sikich, 8/4)

Boston Globe: Baker Warns If Coronavirus Cases Go In Wrong Direction, He Could Slow Down Reopening 
Governor Charlie Baker warned Tuesday that Massachusetts may have to scale back its reopening efforts if positive coronavirus cases continue to creep up. "Over the past several days, we’ve seen a modest uptick in the percentage of new positive cases, and we continue to closely monitor and analyze the data to determine the factors that are driving that,” Baker said during his regular briefing following a tour of the Boston MedFlight facility in Bedford. (Andersen and Reiss, 8/4)

Detroit Free Press: Whitmer Seeks To Up The Ante On COVID-19 Order Enforcement
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is leaning on licensing agencies and state departments to aid with enforcement of coronavirus restrictions. Whitmer, in an executive directive issued Tuesday, ordered the Michigan State Police to enforce COVID-19 executive orders like they would other violations of law and called on state departments to prioritize enforcement. She also ordered licensing agencies to consider violations a “public health hazard” and consider license suspensions when identified. (Moran, 8/4)

Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus Outbreak Hits Teens In Oakland, Livingston, Genesee
More than 100 teens in three southeastern Michigan counties have tested positive for the coronavirus since mid-July, and health officials believe at least a half-dozen large indoor and outdoor gatherings in recent weeks, including graduation parties and prom-like events, may be responsible. The steep spike in positive COVID-19 cases has hit those in the 15- to 19-year-old age range in Oakland, Livingston and Genesee counties, in particular the South Lyon and Fenton areas, officials from the three counties said in a news release. The number of cases in that age range has gone from a relatively few to dozens in each of the counties. (Hall, 8/4)

Reuters: Hong Kong Reports 85 Coronavirus Cases As Authorities Battle Third Wave
Hong Kong reported 85 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including three that were locally transmitted, as authorities battle to control a third wave of the outbreak which has seen a resurgence in infections over the past month. Since late January, around 3,700 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 42 of whom have died. Wednesday’s figure was up marginally from Tuesday’s 80 cases. (8/5)

AP: City Streets Drain Of Life In Australia's Toughest Lockdown
Melbourne’s usually vibrant downtown streets were draining of signs of life on Wednesday on the eve of Australia’s toughest-ever pandemic restrictions coming into force. Many of the stylish boutiques and eateries in a city dubbed Australia’s Hipster Capital that prides itself on superior coffee had already closed their doors ahead of a ban on non-essential businesses that will throw 250,000 people out of work from Thursday. (Ratnayake and McGuirk, 8/5)

AP: Skepticism, Fear Help Fuel Virus On Mexico City's Outskirts
Only after a neighbor died of the coronavirus did Juan José and Esther Serralde begin to believe that the threat was real — but it was too late. Soon, the older couple, their son and daughter-in-law, and two of their grandchildren were infected. Even if they had acted earlier, the family members might have struggled to protect themselves. Three generations share a home in a southern borough of Mexico City. The modest house opens onto a street market — and the family sells clothes right outside their door. Bedrooms double as storerooms. Every space was a potential play area for four kids. (Verza, 8/4)

Reuters: Are They Any Use? With Europe's Black-Box Coronavirus Apps It's Hard To Tell
Europe’s experiment in using technology to fight coronavirus has achieved some early successes: millions of people have downloaded smartphone tracker apps and hundreds have uploaded the results of positive COVID-19 tests. Yet most European countries so far lack solid evidence that their apps - which identify close contacts via Bluetooth connections with nearby users - are actually alerting people who may have caught the disease before they can infect others. (Halpin and Busvine, 8/5)

The Washington Post: Which Airports Are Doing Coronavirus Testing 
With the global reported case numbers for coronavirus exceeding 18 million, airports around the world are figuring out how to accept travelers while limiting exposure for their own citizens. For some, that effort is to test inbound travelers for the coronavirus on arrival. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testing is important in identifying people who may be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic and may spread the virus unknowingly. (Compton, 8/4)

AP: AP PHOTOS: Kashmir Schooling Now More Challenging With Virus
Children in Indian-controlled Kashmir are no strangers to lockdowns. Curfews, strikes and school shutdowns are all part of growing up in one of the world’s most militarized zones. So when schools in the disputed region reopened after six months in late February, 9-year-old Jannat Tariq was overjoyed to see her friends and teachers.She had spent months under a strict lockdown that began in August 2019, when India scrapped the region’s semi-autonomous status, closed schools and colleges, and imposed harsh curbs on civil rights and communications, including a shutdown of the internet. (Yasin, 8/5)

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AP: Hiroshima Survivors Worry That World Will Forget
The atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima 75 years ago didn’t just kill and maim. The survivors have also lived for decades with lingering shame, anger and fear. Many in Japan believed radiation sickness is infectious or hereditary. Some hid their status as survivors. Some harbored thoughts of revenge in their hearts. Some watched as loved ones died, one by one, because of radiation from the bombing, and wondered — Am I next? (Yamaguchi, 8/5)

PolitiFact: Trump Inflates Insulin Help For Seniors
President Donald Trump sometimes speaks as if a hoped-for result is the same as a done-deal. A day after he signed an executive order on insulin at the end of July, he took a victory lap on Twitter. "Nothing like this has ever been done before because Big Pharma, with its vast power, would not let it happen," he said in his July 25 tweet. "Expensive insulin went from big dollars to virtual pennies." (Jon Greenberg, 8/3)

AP Fact Check: Trump Hype On Drug Costs, Hydroxychloroquine
President Donald Trump is making grandiose claims about slashing drug prices and the efficacy of a treatment for COVID-19 that don’t hold up to reality. In a tweet Sunday, he asserts that he will reduce drug prices by at least 50%. That’s highly unlikely. Measures announced last month by the president will take time to roll out and their effects are uncertain. They also have been less ambitious than a plan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that passed the House. (Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen, 8/2)

The Washington Post: The Health 202: The Pandemic Has Closed The Window For Fixing The Drug Pricing System In 2020 
It was supposed to be the year of fixing the U.S. drug pricing system. Instead, the novel coronavirus pandemic is preoccupying Congress, making it nearly impossible for even President Trump to force attention on the issue ahead of the November election.Congress is negotiating another massive coronavirus relief bill, yet it’s devoid of any broad measures to lower prescription drug prices. Lobbyists and advocates acknowledge drug pricing legislation has sunk low on the list of priorities for lawmakers, even after the powerful Senate Finance Committee and the House passed in 2019 measures aimed at reducing drug prices and momentum seemed to be building during this election year toward a deal with the White House. (Paige Winfield Cunningham, 7/29)

Business Insider: Fertility-Benefits Conundrum: High Medication Prices, Cigna 
Andrea decided last year that she wanted to freeze her eggs. At 36, she wished to relieve some of the pressure of having kids before she was ready. Andrea, who works at a major tech company, knew the process would be lengthy and expensive, but she figured the $20,000 fertility benefit provided by her company would cover most of the cost, leaving her on the hook for, at most, $4,000. (Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, 7/30)

Health Affairs: Compared With Other Countries, Women In The US Are More Likely Than Men To Forgo Medicines Because Of Cost 
Cost-related nonadherence to prescription medicines is a common problem with important implications for population health. Relative to men, women may be more vulnerable to cost-related nonadherence because of higher health needs and lower financial resources. Using data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey, we compared cost-related nonadherence among younger (ages 18–64) and older (ages 65 and older) women and men in eleven high-income countries. (Daw and Law, 8/1)

Salon: Pharma CEOs Privately Scoff At Trump’s Drug Pricing Orders: “Not Expecting Any Impact”
Pharmaceutical executives have publicly spoken out against President Trump's executive orders aimed at reducing drug prices, but several CEOs in the industry have told shareholders that they are "not expecting any impact" from the president's largely symbolic moves. (Derysh, 8/5)

Modern Healthcare: Here's A Peek At The White House's Unreleased Drug-Pricing Order
Partial text of an executive order the White House has refused to make public indicates the White House is using a more aggressive version of a payment demonstration for outpatient drugs to try to pressure drugmakers to the negotiating table. President Donald Trump signed four drug-pricing executive orders on Friday, but the White House has refused to release the text of the most controversial order that aims to reduce the amount Medicare pays for some high-cost outpatient drugs. Trump said during the White House event that the order would go into effect a month after signing. (Cohrs, 7/29)

FiercePharma: Trump And Big Pharma Tussle Over Drug Price Proposal With 3 Months Until Election 
It’s been a busy week in the world of drug pricing, but not because of any major changes to the industry’s pricing power or legislation. Instead, drugmakers and President Donald Trump exchanged barbs over a group of executive orders and the president's aim to lower prices. The latest back-and-forth started at the end of July, when Trump rolled out executive orders to create discounts for insulin and epinephrine, eliminate rebates, allow drug imports from Canada and other countries and create an index linking U.S. prices to those elsewhere. The industry hit back quickly, but experts said the measures wouldn’t likely bring real change—at least not right away.  (Sagonowsky, 8/3)

Health Affairs: Medicare Part D Plans Rarely Cover Brand-Name Drugs When Generics Are Available 
Recent press reports and other evidence suggest that Medicare Part D plans may be encouraging the use of brand-name drugs instead of generics. However, the scope of such practices is unclear. We examined Medicare Part D formulary coverage and tier placement of matched pairs of brand-name drugs and generics to quantify how often preferred formulary placement of brand-name drugs is occurring within and across Part D plans and to assess the cost implications for Medicare and its beneficiaries. We found that in 2019, 84 percent of 4,176,772 Part D plan-product combinations had generic-only coverage (that is, the brand-name counterparts were not covered). (Dusetzina et al, 8/1)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Medicaid Officials Misled Public On Drug Spending Study 
As Ohio struggled to escape the grip of pharmacy benefit managers that were reaping close to a quarter-billion dollars a year from the state’s Medicaid program, an assessment by a Columbus consultant of newly implemented reforms was eagerly awaited last summer.But several times in the months after the study was due, the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s top spokesman denied it had been submitted. He also said repeatedly that there were no earlier versions of the study to view. (Rowland, 8/2)

Stat: Why Isn't Ventilation Part Of The Conversation On Reopening Schools? 
[I am] an epidemiologist, and after reading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for school reopening and the various accompanying news coverage and think-pieces, I can’t convince myself that following its rules will keep my family — or yours — safe. Why? Because the primary way Covid-19 is transmitted is through respiratory droplets that careen through the air, and yet the capricious nature of air circulation and the lack of filtration systems in our already underfunded public school systems is absent from the conversation. (Alexandra Feathers, 8/5)

The Wall Street Journal: The Hidden Danger Of Masks 
Face masks have become a cultural symbol. To resist them “is nothing more than selfish, libertarian nonsense masquerading as a comic-book defense of freedom,” Thomas Friedman of the New York Times proclaims. Yet the science is far less certain than the moralism. The question of how well masks prevent transmission and infection requires far more study. The decision to wear a mask would seem to be cost-free, apart from minor discomfort. But absolutism about masks and disregard for scientific uncertainties may promote a false sense of security that encourages risky behavior—including massive political protests. (Allysia Finley, 8/4)

Stat: Yes, We Need A Covid-19 Vaccine. But We Need New Treatments, Too 
Hopes for a relatively quick return to normalcy are riding high on promising news about Covid-19 vaccines. Nearly 200 vaccines are in development worldwide. And with six of them already being tested in Phase 3 clinical trials, the possibility exists that a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year. (Karen Mulligan and Karen Van Nuys, 8/5)

The New York Times: It’s Not Just You. We’ve All Got A Case Of The Covid-19 Blues.
I am trying to think of when I first realized we’d all run smack into a wall. Was it two weeks ago, when a friend, ordinarily a paragon of wifely discretion, started a phone conversation with a boffo rant about her husband? Was it when I looked at my own spouse — one week later, this probably was — and calmly told him that each and every one of my problems was his fault? (They were not.) (Jennifer Senior, 8/5)

The Washington Post: Can Birx Keep Her Balance On The Trump Tightrope?
Deborah Birx went to the brink this weekend — and then back again. The coronavirus task force coordinator took some time out of her vacation to tell the truth Sunday, for which her reward from her boss was the single adjective “pathetic!” President Trump has now tempered this tweeted excoriation by insisting he has a “lot of respect” for the woman he publicly disrespected. The reality remains: No amount of gushing compliments or massaging statistics can compensate for even a little bit of honesty with this man. (Molly Roberts, 8/4)

WBUR: Where Parents And Teachers Can Find Common Ground On Reopening Mass. Schools 
We both believe — as do most parents and teachers — that in-person schooling has tremendous value largely because of the work that teachers do in the classroom. The real public health risks of not attending school are well documented: loss of learning, food and parental income insecurity, concerns over physical and emotional health, and the inequities in these outcomes along racial and socioeconomic lines. We also both believe in science. Real evidence supports systems and procedures that would allow us to get back to the classroom and keep risks low for students, teachers and staff. We disagree somewhat on which of these safeguards need to be in place to make the risk-benefit tradeoff of in-person school justifiable. (David DiPietro and Benjamin Sommers, 8/4)

The Hill: Congress Must Invest In Education To Battle The Coronavirus Downturn 
The coronavirus crisis has upended education and training at every level across the country. Elementary and secondary education is no exception. With another school year on the horizon and recent disruption that has set back learning and widened disparities, lawmakers must include sufficient funding for education in the next relief package. (Cindy Cisneros, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Migrants At ICE Detention Centers Are Sitting Ducks Because Of An Inhumane Policy
COVID-19 HAS exploded at migrant detention centers nationwide, infecting detainees and employees alike and seeding the disease aboard deportation flights to countries ill-equipped to respond, especially in Latin America. The facilities, run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are petri dishes of contagion, and the residents — many of whom have no serious criminal record — are sitting ducks in the crosshairs of an inhumane policy. A federal judge has ordered the release of migrant children at two ICE family detention centers in Texas and one in Pennsylvania, having found them at risk to the virus and to spotty enforcement of safety measures. But across the country, scores more facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic, and ICE has been unable to contain it. (8/4)

Louisville Courier Journal: McConnell Must Find Funds For Medicaid Amid COVID-19
With COVID-19 cases on the rise and key provisions of the CARES Act recently expiring, the prospect of losing unemployment benefits, facing eviction, being unable to put food on the table and having to return to school or work in an unsafe environment is looming for many Kentuckians. Any progress Kentucky has made in keeping our residents safe and healthy could be undone without the sustained federal aid we need to ensure our safety net is truly up to the task of ushering our commonwealth through this crisis. (Emily Beauregard, 8/5)

Detroit Free Press: COVID-19 Has Led To Surge In Child Hunger. Here's How We Can Help.
As a nation, we have a moral and economic obligation to address child hunger, food insecurity and avoid economic collapse in the wake of COVID-19. While we have different political viewpoints, we strongly agree that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is one of the most effective tools we have to fight the looming health and economic crises facing our great country. The Senate is at a critical decision point as to how we use this tool. That’s why together, we are calling for a temporary 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits, bound to economic indicators, in the next federal coronavirus relief package. (Bill Frist and Mark K. Shriver, 8/5)

Miami Herald: There’s A Clear Line Connecting Crime, Poverty, Injustice — And COVID-19
33034. As a recent Miami Herald story showed, residents of this Zip code not only experience the most extreme forms of poverty in Miami-Dade, they also are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic — and that is only among the people who get tested, much less treated. Yet, as is often the case in most economically disadvantaged communities in the United States, health ills —and the injustices they promulgate — co-exist with a great many other problems, including criminal activity. For residents of this Zip code, they must deal with high amounts of crime and victimization — and not just property crime. The residents experience violent crime at a rate 10 times higher than residents of the state of Florida. And, if you were to look at data compiled by Neighborhood Scout, this Zip code is safer than zero percent of U.S. cities. Think about that. (Alex R. Piquero, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Even Red States Aren’t Happy With Republicans On COVID-19
With the COVID-19 outbreak spreading to virtually every corner of the nation, both Donald Trump and his supporters in state legislatures and governor’s mansions should be worried with election day looming around the corner.In response to the pandemic, the federal government has essentially delegated responsibility to states and municipalities because it’s easier to hand off the job, with the assumption that people would be happy with their states handling the crisis. The numbers show quite the opposite. (Samuel J. Abrams, 8/5)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Much As They Claim Differently, Republicans Have No Replacement For Obamacare
On July 19, as the White House worked to yank health care from millions of Americans during a pandemic, President Donald Trump assured Fox News’ Chris Wallace that he would sign “a full and complete health care plan” within two weeks. Those two weeks have come and gone with no plan to provide coverage should the GOP’s malicious legal assault on the Affordable Care Act succeed. It’s the same tune Americans have heard from this president for four years, and from his party for years before that: let us kill Obamacare, and we promise we’ll replace it with … something. Of course, there is no something, and there isn’t going to be. This cannot be said enough: A vote in November for Trump and his Republican enablers is a vote to abandon hard-to-insure Americans to poverty, illness and, in many cases, death. (8/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Test Every American For Covid-19 
When the history of the Covid-19 pandemic is written, the past week may be recorded as the moment the depth of the crisis became undeniable. “Unlike many countries in the world, the United States is not currently on course to get control of this epidemic,” said a July 29 Johns Hopkins University report. “It is time to reset.” Another report, from the Association of American Medical Colleges, declared that “If the nation does not change course—and soon—deaths in the United States could be well into the multiple hundreds of thousands.” Deborah Birx, the Trump administration’s coronavirus coordinator, has gotten the message. The nation has entered a “new phase,” Dr. Birx said on Sunday. “What we are seeing today is different from March and April—it is extraordinarily widespread.” (William A. Galston, 8/4)

Los Angeles Times: Time For School, Ready Or Not. Much Of California Is Not 
Most California schools are a week or two away from the start of the school year, which will be conducted online for at least 80% of them. Yet many are still trying to hammer out agreements with their teachers unions about what the school day will look like. How many minutes of live instruction will students receive? How many minutes of recorded instruction? How much small-group work with a teacher, or one-to-one contact? The results have been all over the map. ...California Gov. Gavin Newsom should have stepped into this fray with a heavy foot from the start. (8/5)