AP: Voters In Ohio Reject GOP-Backed Proposal That Would Have Made It Tougher To Protect Abortion Rights
Ohio voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a fall campaign that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year. The defeat of Issue 1 keeps in place a simple majority threshold for passing future constitutional amendments, rather than the 60% supermajority that was proposed. Its supporters said the higher bar would protect the state’s foundational document from outside interest groups. (Smyth and Hendrickson, 8/8)

The New York Times: Ohio Rejects Issue 1, Constitutional Change Intended To Thwart Abortion Movement 
Late results showed the measure losing by 13 percentage points, 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent. The roughly 2.8 million votes cast dwarfed the 1.66 million ballots counted in the state’s 2022 primary elections, in which races for governor, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House were up for grabs. (Wines, 8/8)

Politico: Abortion Rights Won Big In Ohio. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Particularly Close
Tuesday’s election proved that the state-by-state battle over abortion rights is still a serious motivator to get voters to the polls — even when abortion isn’t directly on the ballot. ... More than 600,000 people voted early — a number that could still rise from late-arriving mail ballots — which outpaced the entirety of the turnout for that 2022 August election. It was also more than twice the number of people who voted early in the May 2022 primaries, which featured competitive Senate or gubernatorial contests. (Fernandez, Ollstein and Montellaro, 8/8)

NBC News: In A Win For Abortion-Rights Supporters, Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1
"Today, Ohio voters rejected an effort by Republican lawmakers and special interests to change the state’s constitutional amendment process," Biden said in a statement. "This measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters’ voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions. Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won," he added. (Edelman, 8/9)

USA Today Network: What Ohio Issue 1 Results Mean For November Abortion Amendment
Issue 1's defeat is good news for backers of the abortion rights measure, but it doesn’t assure an easy victory in November. Ohio is the only state voting on abortion rights this year, making it the epicenter of the fight over reproductive rights just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ... Tens of millions will be spent on both sides of this political battle, including out-of-state money and secretive dark money. Supporters of the amendment estimate they will spend about $35 million on their campaign; opponents haven’t thrown out a number. Both groups were also active in the campaign for and against Issue 1. (Balmert and BeMiller, 8/9)

AP: Abortion Rights Advocates Push For 2024 Ballot Initiative In Arizona
Abortion rights advocates on Tuesday began a push to ask Arizona voters to create a constitutional right to abortion, injecting the issue into the battleground state’s volatile politics ahead of next year’s election. If proponents collect enough signatures, Arizona will become the latest state to put the question of reproductive rights directly to voters, who have turned out in large numbers to support abortion rights even in conservative states. (Cooper, 8/8)

AP: In Utah And Kansas, State Courts Flex Power Over New Laws Regulating Abortion Post-Roe 
State courts have become hot spots in the national abortion debate, with Utah’s top court and a Kansas judge considering Tuesday whether their state constitutions require them to block or invalidate laws regulating the procedure more than a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson transformed what was long a debate over the U.S. Constitution, immediately limiting the pathways abortion advocates could take in challenging restrictions from one state to the next. (Metz and Hanna, 8/8)

AP: College Professors Sue Idaho Over A Law That They Say Criminalizes Classroom Discussions On Abortion
Six university professors and two teachers’ unions are suing Idaho over a law that they say violates their First Amendment rights by criminalizing teaching and classroom discussion about pro-abortion viewpoints. The 2021 No Public Funds for Abortion Act prohibits state contracts or transactions with abortion providers and also bans public employees from promoting abortion, counseling in favor of abortion or referring someone to abortion services. Public employees who violate the law can be charged with misuse of public funds, a felony, and be fired, fined and ordered to pay back the funds they are accused of misusing. (Boone, 8/8)

Daily Beast: Vulnerable House Republicans Sweat The GOP’s New Abortion Pill Proposal
Moderate House Republicans, many from battleground districts, are squabbling with members of their own party on whether to advance a controversial provision that would overturn federal guidance allowing mifepristone, a pill that can induce an abortion in the first two months of pregnancy, to be sent by mail. At the crux of the holdup is the political risk for moderates in taking votes on abortion-related issues. (Perano, 8/9)

On pregnancy and maternal care —

Politico: Abortion Fight Erupts Over Pregnant Workers' Protections
Republicans and social conservatives are fuming over the inclusion of abortion language in proposed rules to protect pregnant workers, threatening to mar a law that passed with bipartisan support. The rule put forward Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission includes abortion among the potential medical conditions for which employers may have to make workplace accommodations, such as rest breaks. (Niedzwiadek, 8/8)

Reuters: Alabama Regulators Sued Over 'De Facto Ban' On Birth Centers 
A group of midwives and doctors on Tuesday accused Alabama's health department of imposing a "de facto ban" on freestanding birth centers not affiliated with hospitals, which they said reduced much-needed access to maternal and infant healthcare. In a complaint filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, several individual providers and the Alabama branch of the American College of Nurse-Midwives said that the Alabama Department of Public Health exceeded its authority under state law in imposing "onerous" requirements that forced the state's first birth center to shut down earlier this year. (Pierson, 8/8)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Real Alternatives, A Funder Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers In Pennsylvania, Will No Longer Receive State Dollars, Shapiro Administration Says
Gov. Josh Shapiro says his administration will cut ties with an organization that funds “crisis pregnancy centers” when its multimillion dollar state contract expires at the end of the year. Real Alternatives, a Harrisburg nonprofit, for decades has received millions in funding from the state legislature earmarked for programs that offer alternatives to abortion. State lawmakers have also sent Real Alternatives about $1 million per year in federal funding from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which is intended to provide cash assistance to women and children in poverty. (Whelan, 8/9)

Also —

Axios: Black And Poor People Found Less Likely To Access Medication Abortion
Black pregnant people and pregnant individuals below the poverty line are less likely to access medication abortion, according to surveys of more than 4,700 patients by the Guttmacher Institute. It's evidence of how race and economic status can disadvantage some groups, especially in areas where medication abortion is the only option available. (Dreher, 8/9)

CNBC: Amazon To Offer Reproductive Care To 1 Million Employees
Amazon, the United States’ second-largest employer, will now offer fertility and family planning services to employees through a partnership with Maven Clinic. The free offering will be available to more than 1 million eligible Amazon employees spread across 50 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. (Goldberg, 8/8)

NPR: A New Clue To The Reason Some People Come Down With Long COVID
Stéphanie Longet is an immunologist and a COVID researcher at the University of Saint-Etienne in France, and just like 10-20% of adults who were infected with the virus, she continues to have symptoms well after her infection has resolved – a condition known colloquially as long COVID. ... Longet and other scientists don't exactly know why some people develop long COVID while others don't, but preliminary research released in medRxiv in July suggests that genetics plays a role. (Barnhart, 8/8)

Stat: ‘Underwhelming’: NIH Trials Fail To Test Meaningful Long Covid Treatments — After 2.5 Years And $1 Billion
More than 2.5 years after the National Institutes of Health received a $1 billion mandate from Congress to study and treat long Covid, the agency has finally launched clinical trials for the often-debilitating condition. But both scientists who study long Covid and patients who have struggled with it say the trials are unlikely to deliver meaningful treatments, suggesting the federal government’s landmark Covid research effort may have been wasted. (Ladyzhets, 8/9)

On the covid surge —

New York Post: COVID Cases Up 55% In New York, Doctors Warn Of New Variants
In May, the COVID-19 emergency was officially declared over — but the coronavirus is still a significant concern, according to some in the medical community. The latest data from the New York state Department of Health, released Aug. 2, shows that COVID cases spiked by 55% since the prior week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state. And hospital admissions for the disease increased by 22% compared to the previous week, which translates to more than 100 admissions a day. (Lallanilla, 8/8)

The Hill: COVID Hospitalizations Jump Again: Maps Show Where It’s Worst
For the second week in a row, the number of people being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 rose significantly, by more than 12%. An additional 9,056 people were hospitalized with the virus last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – that represents a 12.5% jump. (Martichoux, 8/8)

On covid treatments and vaccines —

WWMT: Michigan Judge Denies Drug Manufacturer's Immunity In Case Of Contaminated COVID-19 Medication
A Michigan judge has ruled for the first time that a drug manufacturer is not protected by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act in a case where a man suffered two strokes and a leg amputation after receiving a COVID-19 medication contaminated with glass particles. The PREP Act was declared by the U.S. Department of health and Human Services for emergency use, and shields manufacturers, administrators and distributors of vaccines from liability claims of loss caused by a drug. The case, filed by Ven Johnson Law on behalf of Dan Nowacki, focuses on how Nowacki suffered a stroke after receiving Remdesivir that was contaminated with glass particles. (8/8)

Stat: Emergent Cuts Jobs, Executive Role In Business Shake-Up
Emergent BioSolutions, the manufacturing company that fell into hot water in 2021 due to a contamination issue involving millions of doses of Covid vaccines, is pivoting its business and cutting hundreds of jobs, including a C-suite role. (DeAngelis, 8/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer’s Covid Boost Crashes To Earth
The pandemic showered Pfizer with record sales. Now the end of the crisis is dragging the drugmaker down. (Hopkins, 8/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Weight-Loss Drug Wegovy Cuts Stroke, Heart-Attack Risk By 20% In New Study
Novo Nordisk’s anti-obesity drug Wegovy not only helped people lose weight but also reduced their risk of suffering heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths by 20% in a large study. The results provide evidence that the weight loss that Wegovy delivers can have important secondary benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health, in people who don’t have diabetes. Novo and other companies are studying whether these types of drugs can treat sleep apnea, liver disease and chronic kidney disease. (Loftus, 8/8)

Stat: Wegovy’s Successful Heart Trial Raises Vital Question About Weight Loss
A landmark study that found the blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy reduces the chance of heart problems adds urgency to a basic question in medicine: what exactly is the relationship between weight and health? (Chen and Garde, 8/9)

The Washington Post: Patients Grapple With Side Effects Of Popular Weight-Loss Drugs 
After years of fad diets and even gastric bypass surgery, Robin Demoy turned to the weight-loss drug Wegovy. The once-a-week injection helped the New Hampshire travel agent shed more than 60 pounds. But when she got up one morning several weeks ago, Demoy was so dizzy it felt like she had motion sickness. Her legs turned weak, and she was nauseous. She vomited and had little desire to eat for weeks. (Ovalle and McGinley, 8/8)

CNBC: Eli Lilly CEO's Top Priority Is Meeting Demand For Mounjaro And Drugs
Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday his top priority was to meet demand for the company’s drug, Mounjaro, which is currently only approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes but is expected to soon be cleared to treat obesity, along with other health conditions. (Coleman, 8/8)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Axios: Pentagon Starts Independent Generic Drug Safety Tests
The Pentagon is turning to the independent testing lab Valisure to assess the quality and safety of generic drugs given to service members and veterans amid supply chain issues and shortages of certain treatments. (Bettelheim, 8/8)

Stat: More Drugmakers File Continuation Patents That Sideline Generics
Amid concerns that the pharmaceutical industry unfairly wins monopolies on medicines, a new analysis finds there has been a whopping 200% increase in patents filed by companies that made few substantive changes to their drugs during a 15-year period. (Silverman, 8/8)

Stat: Why Failed Clinical Trials Don’t Always Spell Doom For A New Drug
When a clinical trial readout for what seemed a promising drug comes back negative, investors often contemplate jumping ship and companies wonder if continuing to pursue regulators’ approval is worth the trouble. But while a failed trial might be bad news, it isn’t always an automatic deal killer for a new drug. (Goode, 8/9)

Reuters: Emergent BioSolutions To Lay Off About 400 Employees 
Emergent BioSolutions on Tuesday decided to cut 400 jobs and scale back operations at some its facilities, pivoting its focus on core products such as overdose reversal nasal spray Narcan and anthrax vaccines. The company said it will reduce operations at Bayview, Baltimore and Canton, Massachusetts, and do away with the chief operating officer role, in an effort to move away from contract drug development and manufacturing business. (8/8)

The 19th: House GOP Adds Dozens Of Anti-LGBTQ+ Provisions To Must-Pass Bills
House Republicans have embedded at least 45 anti-LGBTQ+ provisions into must-pass funding bills — many of which would weaken discrimination protections for same-sex couples or restrict gender-affirming care for adults and minors. The volume and severity of these provisions is an unprecedented attempt by federal lawmakers to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people, activists say. (Orion Rummler, 8/8)

The Washington Post: Florida Schools Drop AP Psychology After State Says It Violates The Law 
Large school districts across Florida are dropping plans to offer Advanced Placement psychology, heeding a warning from state officials that the course’s discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity violates state law. Eight of the 11 districts with the largest enrollments in the class are switching to alternate courses, and just one said it will stick with AP psychology. Two others are still deciding, officials said. (Meckler, 8/9)

The Hill: Florida School District Says Trans Employees Can’t Use Pronouns, Bathrooms That Match Their Gender Identity 
Florida’s Orange County Public Schools sent out a memo Monday that says its transgender employees and contractors can’t use the pronouns or bathrooms that match their gender identity, citing state law. The memo discusses House Bill 1069, which focuses on sex defined as an “immutable biological trait” at birth based on hormones and genitalia. Under the law, no one is allowed to be required to use a person’s “preferred personal title or pronoun,” and students are not to be asked for their pronouns. (Lonas, 8/8)

Alaska's News Source: First Openly Transgender Four-Star Officer In U.S. History Visits Alaska, Talks Healthcare Challenges
Admiral Rachel Levine, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is visiting Alaska this week. Levine is the first openly transgender four-star officer in U.S. history, and she’s come to Alaska to address a variety of public health issues in the state. Levine’s first stop was at Alaska’s only LGBTQ+ health clinic, Identity, which provides a variety of gender-affirming care, sexual wellness services, and primary care to the state’s LGBTQ+ community. During a workshop on Sunday, Levine and healthcare providers had the opportunity to listen to advocates and members of the community who described some of the challenges they face. (Yelverton, 8/7)

Also —

Los Angeles Blade: HIV-Positive Soldier Commissioned With U.S. Army National Guard
Gay D.C. attorney Nicholas Harrison, a longtime member of the U.S. Army National Guard, was officially commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the D.C. Army National Guard at an Aug. 5 ceremony. The ceremony at the D.C. National Guard Armory located next to RFK Stadium took place a little over a year after Harrison, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2012, successfully challenged the military’s longstanding policy of banning soldiers with HIV from becoming commissioned officers in a lawsuit initially filed in 2018. (Chibbaro, Jr., 8/7)

Stat: Senators Push IRS To Launch Nonprofit Hospital Probe
A bipartisan group of senators wants federal tax regulators to probe nonprofit hospitals’ compliance with community benefit requirements, ratcheting up a longtime campaign to hold the tax-exempt providers accountable. Nonprofit hospitals are often subsidized by state or federal funding and exempt from many taxes. In exchange, they are required to aid their surrounding area through public health programs and providing free or discounted care to low-income patients. (Owermohle, 8/8)

KFF Health News: As A Union Pushes To Cap Hospital CEO Pay, It’s Accused Of Playing Politics 
The aim is aspirational: Hospital executives shouldn’t make more than the president of the United States. Next spring, Los Angeles city voters will have a chance to put the brake on runaway salaries by capping hospital executives’ pay at $450,000 a year. The measure, proposed by a local union and approved by the City Council in June, will appear on the March 2024 ballot. (Castle Work, 8/9)

Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health Insurance Exchange Expansion Planned: Mark Bertolini
Oscar Health plans to extend its geographic reach and launch new products next year to counter shrinking membership, CEO Mark Bertolini said Tuesday. (Tepper, 8/8)

Modern Healthcare: Generative AI In Healthcare Lacks Strategy: Bain & Company Report
It's early days for health system leaders interested in implementing generative artificial intelligence, according to a report published Monday from consultancy Bain & Company. For the report, Bain surveyed 94 health system leaders, the overwhelming majority of which haven’t fully strategized on how to use the technology. Despite this, there is still considerable excitement over how generative AI applications like ChatGPT can be used to reduce administrative headaches. (Turner, 8/8)

On privacy and security —

Chicago Tribune: Lurie Patients' Data Exposed In Security Breach
The personal data of about 2,000 Lurie Children’s Surgical Foundation patients was leaked earlier this year following a security breach in the foundation’s billing software. Patients affected by the breach saw their Social Security numbers leaked to a still-unknown party, along with their names, dates of birth and addresses. The breach took place between March 29 and April 14 of this year, and affected patients found out on April 28, according to a Tuesday news release from Lurie Children’s Hospital. (Arougheti, 8/8)

Stat: Patients, Digital Health Players Weigh In On FTC's Data Privacy Plan
This year has seen the Federal Trade Commission crack down on digital health companies’ irresponsible data use. Since February, it has charged four companies with improperly handling sensitive health information — starting with the first-ever enforcement of its long-stagnant Health Breach Notification Rule, against GoodRx. Now, the FTC is arming itself for even more aggressive enforcement. (Palmer, 8/9)

NBC News: Just 4,000 Daily Steps May Lower Your Risk Of Death, Study Finds
Walking just 4,000 steps per day is associated with a lower risk of death, according to the analysis published Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The research pooled the results of 17 studies that looked at the health benefits associated with step counts across six countries. The least active people in the studies took around 4,000 steps per day and still saw a reduced risk of death from any cause. The more steps people took, the lower their risk of dying. (Bendix, 8/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Women’s Problem Drinking Is Catching Up To Men’s 
Women are closing a gender gap, but it isn’t a good one: They’re catching up to men when it comes to problem drinking. Women’s drinking, on the rise for the past two decades, jumped during the pandemic as women reported more stress. Although men still drink more alcohol than women and have higher alcohol-related mortality rates, doctors and public health experts say women are narrowing that divide. (Reddy, 8/8)

Fox News: Bedbugs Could Transmit MRSA Bacteria That Causes Staph Infections 'In Some Settings,' Study Suggests
Bedbugs may be able to acquire and transmit methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a recent study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. MRSA is a type of bacteria found on people’s skin that can cause serious infections. In some cases, it can lead to sepsis or even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Rudy, 8/8)

Reuters: Stop Asking Aspiring Lawyers About Their Mental Health, Psychology Group Says 
The world’s largest professional psychology group has joined the push to end the required disclosure of personal mental health information by individuals applying to become lawyers. The American Psychological Association said Monday that it approved a policy pledging to work alongside the American Bar Association and state bar associations to remove questions about mental health diagnoses or treatment history from the character and fitness reviews of aspiring attorneys, which jurisdictions conduct before allowing them to practice there. (Sloan, 8/8)

The New York Times: By 5-4 Vote, Supreme Court Revives Biden’s Regulation Of ‘Ghost Guns’ 
The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily revived the Biden administration’s regulation of “ghost guns” — kits that can be bought online and assembled into untraceable homemade firearms. In defending the rule, a key part of President Biden’s broader effort to address gun violence, administration officials said such weapons had soared in popularity in recent years, particularly among criminals barred from buying ordinary guns. The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. (Liptak, 8/8)

AP: Mexico Shutters 23 Pharmacies At Caribbean Coast Resorts After US Warned Of Dangerous Pill Sales 
Mexico has shuttered 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts, six months after a research report warned that drug stores in Mexico were offering foreigners pills they passed off as Oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall without prescriptions, authorities said Tuesday. A four-day inspection raid targeted drugstores in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. (8/8)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: The FDA approves the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill, and the nation’s new mental health crisis line turns 1. (8/8)

On cancer —

San Francisco Chronicle: Living Near Wildfire Poses Higher Death Risk For Lung Cancer Patients
People exposed to wildfire within a year after lung cancer surgery have significantly lower chances of survival than people who were not, new research shows — highlighting a grave consequence of climate change on medically vulnerable people with one of the most common types of cancer in the United States. (Ho, 8/8)

KFF Health News: Pioneering Study Links Testicular Cancer Among Military Personnel To ‘Forever Chemicals’ 
Gary Flook served in the Air Force for 37 years, as a firefighter at the now-closed Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois and the former Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, where he regularly trained with aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF — a frothy white fire retardant that is highly effective but now known to be toxic. Flook volunteered at his local fire department, where he also used the foam, unaware of the health risks it posed. In 2000, at age 45, he received devastating news: He had testicular cancer, which would require an orchiectomy followed by chemotherapy. (Norman and Kime, 8/9)

AP: A Retired Health Care Executive Is Running As A Republican In North Carolina's 2024 Governor's Race
A retired health care executive has entered next year’s race for North Carolina governor, with Jesse Thomas describing himself Tuesday as a “no-nonsense Republican” who aims to attract voters within the “wide middle ground between the two extremes.” Thomas, who led the Medicaid plan offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to hundreds of thousands of consumers, announced his bid on a Greensboro-area podcast last week, when he also filed his candidate committee paperwork. (8/8)

The Boston Globe: RI Attorney General Rejects Proposed Health Insurance Rate Hikes
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Tuesday that he has filed official objections to several rate increases requested by the state’s health insurers. Neronha filed objections to health insurers’ proposed rate increases with the state’s Office of Health Insurance Commissioner, which received requests earlier this summer from multiple insurers seeking to raise their rates. Those companies included Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, United Healthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and Harvard Pilgrim in the large market. (Gagosz, 8/8)

AP: West Virginia's Capital Officials Reject Abortion Provider's Proposal To Start Syringe Service
City councilors in West Virginia’s Democrat-controlled capital city voted against a proposal from the state’s long-time abortion provider to start a syringe service program in one of the country’s most opioid-devastated areas. The 17 to 9 vote on Monday came two years after the council and the Republican-controlled state Legislature passed regulations restricting the programs, which are supported by the Centers for Disease Control as scientifically-proven methods to curb drug use and prevent the spread of infections like hepatitis c and HIV. (Willingham, 8/8)

The New York Times: NYC Nonprofit’s Method Of Stopping Drug Overdoses Faces Legal Scrutiny 
As street drugs have become ever more powerful and deadly, a small nonprofit in Manhattan dedicated to preventing overdoses has drawn politicians and health officials from around the country searching for possible solutions to the opioid epidemic. But now, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor is warning that the group’s methods are illegal, and is suggesting that his office could crack down — and perhaps even end the effort. (Otterman, 8/8)

The New York Times: California Battles Fentanyl With A New Tactic: Treating Addiction In Prison 
In blistering 100-degree heat one recent afternoon at Valley State Prison in California’s Central Valley, inmates crowded around small windows in a prison yard to pick up their daily doses of buprenorphine, an opioid addiction medication. At one window, Quennie Uy, a nurse, scanned inmate identification cards, then retrieved strips of the medication, slipping them through a sliding panel below the window. One by one, inmates deposited the strips in their mouths, then flashed their palms — proof they had not pocketed the drug that was helping to stanch their cravings. (Weiland, 8/9)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Why A Huge Increase In Calls To The 988 Mental Health Lifeline In South Florida Is A Good Thing
Crisis centers across the U.S. fielded 5 million calls, chats and texts to 988 in its first year, up 35% compared to the old 10-digit line, according to federal officials. Local organizations who handle the calls are seeing that uptick. In South Florida, the nonprofit 211 Palm Beach and Treasure Coast said calls have increased by 50% since the change to 988.That's a good thing, according to the organization's CEO and president Sharon L'Herrou. She said that the new number has increased awareness of their resources. (Ramos, 8/8)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

CIDRAP: Study Links Air Pollution To Rising Antibiotic Resistance Levels 
A new study led by scientists in China and the United Kingdom suggests that curbing air pollution could help mitigate the impact of antibiotic resistance. (Dall, 8/8)

CIDRAP: UK Releases Recommendations For Fall COVID Boosters 
The United Kingdom's vaccine advisory group today announced its recommendations for the updated COVID-19 vaccines that will roll out in the fall, which focus on people ages 65 and older and others at higher risk for severe disease. (Schnirring, 8/8)

Reuters: BioNTech Reduces Drug Development Spend As COVID Vaccine Sales Plunge 
Germany's BioNTech, Pfizer's partner on COVID-19 vaccines, cut its drug development budget for this year after quarterly revenues were hurt by a plunge in pandemic-related demand. (Burger and Weiss, 8/7)

Reuters: Kenvue Can't Ask Appeals Court To Toss Tylenol Autism Claims, Judge Rules 
Kenvue Inc cannot immediately appeal a federal judge's order allowing lawsuits claiming that its popular over-the-counter painkiller Tylenol can cause autism in children of mothers who take it during pregnancy, the judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan on Thursday ruled that Kenvue, formerly Johnson & Johnson's consumer health unit, had not shown any basis for allowing the unusual step of an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before final judgment in the case. (Pierson, 8/4)

CIDRAP: Merck Announces Positive Trial Data For Pneumococcal Vaccine Candidate
Pharmaceutical company Merck last week announced positive topline results from two phase 3 trials of its investigational 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine. The vaccine, V116, covers the 21 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae that are responsible for 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults ages 65 years and older and includes 8 serotypes that represent adult pneumococcal disease and are not currently covered by pneumococcal vaccines. If approved, it would be the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine specifically designed for adults. (Dall, 8/2)

Bloomberg: Does Health Insurance Cover Weight-Loss Drugs? Too Often, No 
New data illustrating the health benefits of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy puts insurers in the increasingly uncomfortable position of justifying their refusal to pay for the new class of injectable weight-loss treatments known as GLP1 drugs. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/8)

Bloomberg: New Postpartum Depression Pill Zuranolone Is A Vital Breakthrough 
The landmark approval of the first pill for postpartum depression offers an important new treatment for the 1 in 7 new mothers who experience postpartum depression. (Lisa Jarvis, 8/8)

The Washington Post: A Pill For Postpartum Depression Is A Game Changer For Women’s Health
Up to 1 in 7 new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, a serious mental health condition following childbirth. Yet despite the illness’s prevalence, there has been no oral medication to treat it specifically. (Leana S. Wen, 8/8)

Stat: How To Use Technology To Prevent Future Drug Shortages 
The recent spotlight on shortages of essential medicines, such as cancer therapies and ADHD drugs, has brought attention to a longstanding public health crisis. Prescription drug shortages across drug classes have been on the radar of our governing bodies for decades. (Anna Sparrow, 8/9)

Stat: The Best Solution To The Drug Shortages Problem 
Drug shortages in the United States are at a record high. At least 14 essential generic cancer drugs are currently in shortage, forcing patients and doctors to make difficult decisions to delay or ration first-line treatments, or accept second-best treatments. ADHD treatments, antibiotics, children’s acetaminophen, and many other critical medicines are also in short supply. (Dana Brown and Christopher Morten, 8/9)

Stat: Tuberculosis Patients Need More Than Just Free Medication 
Recently, after years of pressure, advocates including author and philanthropist John Green scored victory against Johnson & Johnson over a patent on a key tuberculosis drug. The campaigners hope the move will give millions of people affected by tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries access to the lifesaving medication bedaquiline. (Abdullahi Tsanni, 8/7)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Could Now Be A Bellwether On Abortion
After the failure of Issue 1, the Nov. 7 election will directly test voter sentiment about abortion and also be the focus of national attention with Ohio being the only state with abortion on the ballot. (Dan Sewell, 8/8)

The Washington Post: In The Ohio GOP’s Scam Referendum, The Majority Backed Majority Rule
The outcome is a major challenge for opponents of abortion. They might come to see the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade not as the victory they celebrated in 2022 but as the decisive moment when the politics of the issue turned against them. (E.J. Dionne Jr., 8/8)

Newsweek: On Abortion, History Shows It's The People Vs. The Politicians 
In the past, judges and legislators have often shared power over reproductive decisions—and often at the expense of patients. Until the mid-19th century, historians generally agree that abortion remained unregulated until quickening, the point at which fetal movement can be detected. But then legislators intervened in the second half of the nineteenth century, criminalizing abortion throughout pregnancy and carving out narrow exceptions for patients at risk of death. (Mary Ziegler, 8/9)

The CT Mirror: The Midwives Were Always Right
“No person should simply accept their childbirth experiences as success,” said Gov. Ned Lamont, speaking on S.B. 896, the new law that creates licenses for freestanding birth centers. “… We are working to create better experiences for Connecticut’s families.” The statute comes on the heels of a wave of hospitals requesting to close their labor and delivery suites. (Ashley Evans, 8/9)

The Washington Post: AI Is Acting ‘Pro-Anorexia’ And Tech Companies Aren’t Stopping It
Artificial intelligence has an eating disorder problem. As an experiment, I recently asked ChatGPT what drugs I could use to induce vomiting. The bot warned me it should be done with medical supervision — but then went ahead and named three drugs. Google’s Bard AI, pretending to be a human friend, produced a step-by-step guide on “chewing and spitting,” another eating disorder practice. With chilling confidence, Snapchat’s My AI buddy wrote me a weight-loss meal plan that totaled less than 700 calories per day — well below what a doctor would ever recommend. Both couched their dangerous advice in disclaimers. (Geoffrey A. Fowler, 8/7)

The Washington Post: For Millions Like Me With Long Covid, The Pandemic Isn’t Over 
In 2019, I was in high gear. I had two young children, a busy social life, a book tour and a novel in progress. I spent my days racing between airports, juggling to-do lists and child care. Yes, I felt tired, but I come from a family of high-energy women. I was proud to be keeping the sacred flame of Productivity burning. Then I got covid. (Madeline Miller, 8/9)

Newsweek: A Dual Approach For Autism 
Autism, now recognized as the fastest growing neurodevelopmental disability, stands at 1 in 36 children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Hari Srinivasan, 8/8)

The New York Times: Few Schools Have Covid Relief Funds To Improve Air Quality 
Two years ago, we got a chance to assure parents and teachers, in any future epidemic, that the air in classrooms was safer, making it easier for children to attend school in person and avoid learning loss and isolation. (Zeynep Tufekci, 8/9)

The Tennessean: Tennessee Senate And House Leaders Defend Gender-Affirming Care Ban
The court gave a green light to Tennessee’s new law prohibiting so-called “gender-affirming” medical treatments for children. This law, which the two of us co-sponsored and passed with strong bipartisan support, is grounded in science and designed to keep our children safe. (Jack Johnson and William Lamberth, 8/7)