CNN: Canada Wildfire Smoke Prompts Air Quality Alerts For Over 80 Million From The Midwest To The East Coast 
Over 80 million people from the Midwest to the East Coast are under air quality alerts as smoke from the Canadian wildfires sweeps across the US border Tuesday, prompting beach closures, warnings about reduced visibility and calls to stay indoors. ... As smoke crosses into the US, air quality alerts have been issued for the entire states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware and Maryland as well as parts of Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia, according to the National Weather Service. Residents are being advised to stay indoors with their air conditioning running or, in some areas, wear N95 masks if they have to be outside. (Salahieh and Sutton, 6/28)

NPR: Smoke From Canada Wildfires Has Reached Europe
The enormous band of smoke began reaching the Azores islands on Sunday and reached western Europe on Monday, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, or IPMA. The smoke is also affecting Spain, France and other countries to the north. Unlike the low-lying smoke that triggered hazardous air quality alerts in the U.S. earlier this month, the smoke that has reached Europe seems to be hanging higher in the air, at 1,100 meters (3,609 feet) and above, according to climate agencies. (Chappell, 6/27)

Axios: How Canada's Wildfire Smoke Affects Your Body
A new wave of wildfire smoke from Canada reached the U.S. on Tuesday, triggering air quality alerts for millions of people. Why it matters: Breathing in the unhealthy levels of smoke and other air pollution can increase a person's risk of developing lung and heart conditions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Knutson, 6/27)

The Star Tribune: Health Experts Explain How To Keep Minnesota Kids Safe Outside When Air Quality Dips
Nick Witcraft, a research scientist and meteorologist for the MPCA, said ozone pollution is typically at its worst from noon to early evening. That's because ozone needs sunlight to form, so health experts say it's best to limit outdoor activities — for kids and adults — to the morning and late evenings. Wildfire smoke, on the other hand, ebbs and flows at the whims of the blazes from which it originates. (Campuzano and Johnson, 6/27)

ABC News: ER Visits And EMS Calls For Heat-Related Emergencies Are Up, As Texas Battles Extreme Heat: CDC
Emergency room visits in Texas have increased from the same time last year, as the state battles extreme heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the week of June 18 to June 24, the region averaged 837 heat-related visits per 100,000 emergency department visits compared to 639 visits per 100,000 emergency department visits during the same period in 2022, CDC data shows. (Grant, 6/28)

Dallas Morning News: Texas May Reach Temperatures Hotter Than 99% Of The World As Dangerous Heat Wave Persists
Large swaths of Texas are forecast to be hotter than 99% of the world Wednesday with Dallas’ stretch of scorching hot days expected to reach a peak of 107 degrees, according to meteorologists. The heat index value, which measures what it feels like outside based on air temperature and humidity, for Dallas could be as high as 115, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5). (Ferguson, 6/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Expects ‘Major Heat Risk’ In Some Areas. Here's Where
The cool weather pattern in the inland valleys of the Bay Area comes to a close this week as a warm ridge of high pressure is forecast to start raising above-average temperatures across California on Wednesday and Thursday. This shakeup in the weather pattern could translate into an elevated heat risk in parts of the Bay Area this week. (Diaz, 6/27)

CNN: How To Stay Healthy In Hot Weather
Over 50 million people in the southern United States will be under oppressive heat conditions this week. The temperature is expected to climb over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37.8 degrees Celsius, for several days. The heat index, which takes into account air temperature and humidity and is colloquially known as the “feels like” temperature, could soar to over 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 51.6 degrees Celsius. As the temperatures rise, there are health concerns associated with extreme heat, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Who is most vulnerable, and what steps can people take if a heat wave is expected in their area? Are there specific precautions that the elderly and families with young children should take? And how can everyone prepare for hot weather events outdoors? (Hetter, 6/28)

And more on the malaria cases in the U.S. —

CNN: Are The US Malaria Cases In Florida And Texas A Cause For Concern? Our Medical Analyst Explains
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert this week to clinicians that there are locally acquired cases of malaria in Florida and Texas, with four cases identified in Florida and one in Texas over the past two months. While thousands of Americans become sickened by malaria every year, the vast majority of cases are acquired outside of the United States. These cases represent the first time that malaria has been transmitted within the US in 20 years, according to the CDC. (Hetter, 6/27)

Axios: The Rise In Mosquito-Spread Malaria Explained
Malaria spread by mosquitos has been detected in the U.S. for the first time in two decades. The big picture: While there's concern over a potential rise in cases amid increased summer travel, the risk of contracting malaria in the U.S. remains extremely low. (Habeshian, 6/27)

NBC News: Pregnant Workers May Get More Accommodations As New Law Takes Effect
Millions of pregnant and postpartum workers across the country could be legally entitled to longer breaks, shorter hours and time off for medical appointments and recovery from childbirth beginning Tuesday, when the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect. The new law mandates that employers with at least 15 employees provide "reasonable accommodations" to workers who need them due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is tasked with enforcing the law. (McShane, 6/27)

CBS News: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is A Game Changer For U.S. Women. Here's Why. 
The new law effectively patches a legal gap between the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) in which pregnant women could fall through the cracks in the workplace. "We have heard from workers who say they were put in that impossible position of choosing between a paycheck and a healthy pregnancy," said Elizabeth Gedmark of A Better Balance, an advocacy group for pregnant workers. (Cerullo, 6/27)

In other reproductive health news —

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania Will Require Hospitals To Track Pregnancy And Birth-Related Health Complications To Combat Maternal Mortality
The Pennsylvania Department of Health will soon be required to track the health issues that mothers go through during pregnancy and birth, as part of an effort to address the state’s high maternal death rates. The General Assembly sent a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk last week that would require the Department of Health to list “severe maternal morbidity” on death certificates and hospital discharges. (Renno, 6/28)

NPR: In Texas, A Rare Program Offers Hope For Some Of The Most Vulnerable Women And Babies
The pregnancy was a turning point for L. She was in an abusive relationship. "He actually hit me when I was pregnant," she says. "I was like, 'Well, if that's not gonna stop him, then nothing is.'" NPR is not using her full name — just her initial — out of concern for L's safety. (Riddle, 6/28)

Axios: The Cost Of Giving Birth In California
Having a baby isn't cheap anywhere, but California ranks among some of the pricier states to give birth, according to new data provided first to Axios from FAIR Health. Why it matters: FAIR Health's new Cost of Giving Birth Tracker — which uses data from more than 41 billion private health care claim records — offers a glimpse at how much variability there is in the cost of one of the most common health care services. (Reed, 6/27)

Modern Healthcare: Women’s Health Funding: Promising Signs, Yet 'Woefully Behind'
In the world of women’s health funding, the majority of founders, investors and advocates say the progress made in the last two years isn’t enough. “We’re in the early innings,” said Gina Bartasi, CEO of fertility startup Kindbody. “We’re seeing more investments and more resources but we’re still woefully behind.” (Perna, 6/27)

Also —

AP: Scientists Use Stem Cells To Create Models Of Human Embryos And Study Our Earliest Days
Scientists have created embryo models to help study the mysteries of early human development, the medical problems that happen before birth and why many pregnancies fail. These models are made from stem cells, not egg and sperm, and can’t grow into babies. “They’re complete enough to give you a picture of what may be happening in the embryo during pregnancy, but they’re not so complete that you could actually use them for reproduction,” said Insoo Hyun, an ethicist and director of life sciences at Boston’s Museum of Science. “It just will not work.” (Ungar, 6/27)

Bangor Daily News: Maine House And Senate Vote To Enact Janet Mills’ Abortion Bill
The bill from Gov. Janet Mills to allow doctors to perform abortions they deem necessary after Maine’s viability cutoff of around 24 weeks will soon end up on her desk, as the House of Representatives voted Tuesday to enact the measure. The House vote was expectedly tight, with the chamber passing it by a 73-69 margin shortly after 9 pm. Tuesday. (Kobin, 6/27)

Reuters: South Carolina Top Court Appears Open To Upholding New Abortion Ban
South Carolina's highest court on Tuesday appeared open to upholding a new state law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, months after it blocked a similar ban. Abortion providers, led by Planned Parenthood, last month won a court order temporarily blocking the law from taking effect until their lawsuit challenging it could be heard by the South Carolina Supreme Court. (Pierson, 6/27)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas Sees Big Spike In Out-Of-State Abortion Seekers
Las Vegas saw a 37 percent increase in out-of-state patients at Planned Parenthood health centers since June 2022 when the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision, ruling the Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion, according to Lindsey Harmon, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada. More than 1,200 patients have come to Las Vegas from out of state, she said. (Hill, 6/27)

The Boston Globe: Abortion Training In Residency May Attract New Doctors To Liberal States
As she prepared to graduate from medical school this year, Sophia Landay applied to 75 different OB/GYN residency programs throughout the country. Not one was in a state with a strict abortion ban. And all of the 15 or so other prospective OB/GYNs in her class at UMass Chan Medical School matched in a state that was friendly to abortion, she said, with many telling Landay that it was an important part of their training. (Bartlett and Freyer, 6/27)

Also —

Axios: Abortion Rights Advocates Hope New Bill Sparks Action
Reproductive rights advocates know a new federal bill seeking to expand abortion access will face an uphill fight in Congress, but they hope it will spring communities of color to action. Driving the news: The Abortion Justice Act, which calls for increased investments in reproductive care with the aim to better serve immigrants, people of color, and people who identify as LGBTQ+, was introduced Thursday by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) (Franco, 6/27)

The Hill: Biden Says As Catholic He’s ‘Not Big On Abortion’ But Thinks Roe ‘Got It Right’ 
President Biden on Tuesday said that he is not big on abortion as a practicing Catholic but defended the reproductive rights that were previously granted under Roe v. Wade. “I’m a practicing Catholic. I’m not big on abortion, but guess what? Roe vs. Wade got it right,” Biden said at a fundraiser with about 100 donors in Chevy Chase, Md. (Gangitano, 6/27)

The New York Times: Religious Freedom Arguments Underpin Wave Of Challenges To Abortion Bans 
For years, conservative Christians have used the principle of religious freedom to prevail in legal battles on issues like contraceptive insurance mandates and pandemic restrictions. Now, abortion rights supporters are employing that argument to challenge one of the right’s most prized accomplishments: state bans on abortion. In the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, clergy and members of various religions, including Christian and Jewish denominations, have filed about 15 lawsuits in eight states, saying abortion bans and restrictions infringe on their faiths. (Belluck, 6/28)

CNN: Transgender People Face Significantly Higher Suicide Risk, Danish Study Finds
People who identify as transgender have significantly higher rates of suicide and suicide attempts compared with the rest of the population, according to a population-level study out of Denmark. The study of more than 6.6 million people found that those who identified as trans had 7.7 times the rate of suicide attempts and 3.5 times the rate of suicide deaths than the broader Danish population. (Christensen, 6/27)

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.

More on LGBTQ+ health care —

AP: Arizona Governor's Executive Actions Ban 'Conversion Therapy,' Allow Transgender Health Care
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs issued two pro-LGBTQ executive orders on Tuesday, banning state support of so-called conversion therapy and allowing transgender state employees to receive gender-affirming health care under their insurance plan. Hobbs made the announcement from the offices of a central Phoenix nonprofit that focuses on helping LGBTQ+ youth. (6/27)

AP: Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors In North Carolina Clears Another Legislative Chamber 
Restrictions on access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth have now passed both North Carolina legislative chambers, as the Senate on Tuesday approved a ban on hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgeries that is more stringent than what the House recently passed. The Senate’s proposal would prohibit any health care provider in the state from giving such care to anyone under 18, with exceptions for certain procedures or disorders. Medical professionals who violate the restrictions could have their licenses revoked and could be sued. (Robertson, 6/27)

Military.com: New VA Gender Affirmation Surgery Policy Sitting On Secretary's Desk 
It's been two years since VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced that the VA would cover gender affirmation surgery for transgender veterans, but to date, the VA has yet to publish regulations that would allow it to start providing treatment. On Tuesday, McDonough said the holdup was with him -- that the policy is on his desk and he is "not yet ready" to roll out the rule under the federal regulatory process that would create the benefit. (Kime, 6/27)

KFF Health News: Misinformation Obscures Standards Guiding Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth 
Almost three weeks after Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill making it a felony for doctors to provide gender-affirming care to transgender minors, a judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the law for three children whose parents are part of an ongoing lawsuit. Florida is one of at least 20 states that have limited gender-affirming treatment for minors. The legislators sponsoring some of these bills say their intent is to protect children and families from pressure “to receive harmful, experimental puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and to undergo irreversible, life-altering surgical procedures,” as a new Montana law puts it. (Santoro, 6/28)

Also —

Kansas City Star: Woman With HIV Placed In Solitary For 6 Years In MO: Lawsuit
A transgender woman who spent more than 2,000 days in solitary confinement while in a Missouri prison alleges corrections officials discriminated against her because she has HIV. The unnamed woman is referred to as Jane Roe in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court for the Western District of Missouri. Anne Precythe, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, and 11 other employees are named as defendants. (Moore, 6/27)

AP: The Great Grift: More Than $200 Billion In COVID-19 Aid May Have Been Stolen, Federal Watchdog Says 
More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years. The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. (Lardner and McDermott, 6/27)

More on the spread of covid —

Fortune Well: Your Blood Type Can Make You More Likely To Get COVID, New Research Suggests. Who's Most At Risk
Can your blood type increase your chance of developing COVID? The idea was floated early in the pandemic, as scientists worked to determine why some became much sicker than others. Initial research suggested that those with Type A blood might be at an elevated risk compared to those with Type O—and new research published Tuesday in the journal Blood seems to confirm the notion. Those with Type A blood—about a third of the U.S. population—are at a 20% to 30% greater risk of infection with the novel coronavirus than those with Type O blood (nearly half of Americans), Dr. Sean Stowell, associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and lead author on the study, tells Fortune. (Prater, 6/27)

Nature: Long COVID: Answers Emerge On How Many People Get Better
More than three years after SARS-CoV-2 began its global spread, an estimated 65 million or more people1 are still living with the often devastating effects of long COVID — and scientists are still struggling to understand this complex condition. Even the definition of long COVID, whose symptoms include headaches, fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and more, is debated. Its causes are also elusive. But researchers now have enough data to provide some preliminary answers to urgent questions about the condition, such as the timescale for possible improvement, factors that raise the risk of developing long COVID, and what can be done to prevent it. (Marshall, 6/27)

Reuters: Lysol Creates 'Air Sanitizing Spray' Effective Against Coronavirus 
Reckitt's Lysol disinfectant brand said on Tuesday that it would start selling in the U.S. an "air sanitizing spray" that kills 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria. The spray, which Reckitt said helps reduce the spread of airborne pathogens such as cold, Influenza and Coronavirus, has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Naidu, 6/27)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
On the KFF Health News Minute this week: A doctor in Tennessee surrendered his medical license after giving a fraudulent covid-19 vaccine exemption to a dog, and Congress weighs a proposal for the government to treat hospital accidents more like plane crashes. (6/27)

Modern Healthcare: Joint Commission To Launch Health Equity Certification Program 
The Joint Commission will strengthen health equity standards within its hospital accreditation programs and launch a certification focused on disparities in patient care. The nonprofit accrediting agency added mandates on strategy and data collection for health system leaders earlier this year, including standards on screening patients for social determinants of health and stratifying safety and quality data by race and ethnicity. Beginning Saturday, those standards will be designated as national patient safety goals. (Hartnett, 6/27)

Modern Healthcare: FTC Proposal Could Slow Healthcare Mergers 
The antitrust agency voted Tuesday to publish a proposed rule that would, in part, require merging parties to disclose any minority investors in an effort to weed out any conflicts of interest; information about prior acquisitions; supplier agreements; subsidies from foreign entities; and workforce data, including information on executives and board members. The FTC estimated the requirements would add an average of 107 hours to the current average time of 37 hours that it takes to prepare a merger filing. (Kacik, 6/27)

The Boston Globe: DOJ Demands CVS MinuteClinic Improve Accessibility For Deaf Patients In New Settlement 
The health care provider arm of retail giant CVS reached an agreement with the Justice Department on Tuesday after investigators found that the company failed to provide proper interpretation services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing during their appointments with medical staff. (Gagosz, 6/27)

In other health care industry news —

Philadelphia Inquirer: Nurses In Philly Area With Fake Degrees Says They Were Scammed
The flier advertising the Florida nursing school came in the mailbox of Ramatu Ali’s Delaware home. It promised a “bridge” program for lower-level nurses to become higher-skill, better-paid registered nurses. Ali and four of her friends — all licensed practical nurses from the Philadelphia area — piled into Ali’s car and drove to an open house at a Penn’s Landing hotel to learn more about the Palm Beach School of Nursing. (Ruderman, 6/28)

USA Today: Meet The Pacific Islander Scientists Closing Gaps In Alzheimer's Data
While there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s and related dementias, an early diagnosis can help patients improve their quality of life, by taking medications to slow progression and partaking in services like speech therapy to manage symptoms. But Alzheimer’s and dementias are understudied in American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people, and screenings have been developed and modeled on mostly white people. (Hassanein, 6/27)

KFF Health News: Will The Doctor See You Now? The Health System’s Changing Landscape
Lucia Agajanian, a 25-year-old freelance film producer in Chicago, doesn’t have a specific primary care doctor, preferring the convenience of visiting a local clinic for flu shots or going online for video visits. “You say what you need, and there’s a 15-minute wait time,” she said, explaining how her appointments usually work. “I really liked that.” But Olga Lucia Torres, a 52-year-old who teaches narrative medicine classes at Columbia University in New York, misses her longtime primary care doctor, who kept tabs for two decades on her conditions, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and made sure she was up to date on vaccines and screening tests. Two years ago, Torres received a letter informing her that he was changing to a “boutique practice” and would charge a retainer fee of $10,000 for her to stay on as a patient. (Appleby and Andrews, 6/28)

AP: Struggling With A Drug Crisis, San Francisco Wants Narcan Available At Every Pharmacy 
San Francisco could become the first city in the country to require every pharmacy within its boundaries to always carry naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids. San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will introduce a bill Tuesday that, if approved, would require every pharmacy to always have in stock at least two nasal sprays containing the drug or face fines. (Rodriguez, 6/27)

Bangor Daily News: Senate Rejects Bill To Expand MaineCare To More Undocumented Immigrants
The Senate on Tuesday defeated a proposal to expand state health coverage to more undocumented immigrants, meaning the “All Means All” effort may fail to pass the Democratic-controlled Legislature for the second straight year. (Kobin, 6/27)

The Washington Post: Push To Tie Medicaid To Work Is Making A Comeback. Georgia Is At Forefront
On Capitol Hill this spring, House Republicans — who were engaged in ferocious negotiations over the national debt ceiling — wanted to purge many poor adults from Medicaid rolls unless they held a job, trained for work or helped in their community. More than 600 miles to the south, Georgia’s GOP governor prepared to do something similar, allowing impoverished adults in the state who had never qualified for Medicaid to join — but only if they prove every month they meet the same kind of requirements. (Goldstein, 6/28)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Wellstar Testifies Why It Should Get Augusta Hospitals; Public Responds
Hospital leaders with Wellstar Health System on Tuesday promised they will not close down the core services of the state-owned Augusta University Medical Center, such as its 24/7 emergency room, if they are allowed to take it over. (Hart and McCray, 6/27)

Anchorage Daily News: US Surgeon General Hears From ‘Terrified’ Providers About Alaska Youth Mental Health Crisis
The nation’s surgeon general heard from Alaska mental health care advocates on Monday about the need for more resources to address what they say is a crisis that is leading to more suicides, eating disorders and depression among young Alaskans. (DeMarban, 6/27)

Arizona Republic: Phoenix To Build Campground For Homeless Residents Of "The Zone"
Phoenix plans to build a structured campground for people living in "The Zone," the city's largest homeless encampment, according to city officials and city records. The city intends to build the campground on four acres of state-owned property at 1537 W. Jackson Street, two blocks from the Human Services Campus, where over a dozen homeless services nonprofits are located. (Rihl, 6/27)

Wyoming Public Radio: A Summer Food Program Is Providing Food Support To Students On Summer Break
The Food Bank of Wyoming is a Casper-based non-profit providing food for students. This summer they are providing bags of food for more than 1,600 kids and their families each week at numerous locations statewide. Their Totes of Hope program helps provide it at no cost to kids, families, or the organizations that partner with them to distribute food. “School's out for summer, which means summer fun, but for a lot of families [who are food insecure], there can be some worry with it,” said Rachel Bailey, executive director of the Food Bank of Wyoming. “About one in eight children in Wyoming face hunger, and a lot of times in rural areas have more of a challenge with this. We know that a lot of families rely on school meals to help feed their children for both breakfast and lunch. (Cook, 6/27)

The Wall Street Journal: More Deaths In Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Linked To Cosmetic Surgeries In Mexico 
A fungal meningitis outbreak among people who underwent cosmetic procedures in Mexico this year has now killed at least six people. The cases have been linked to two clinics in Matamoros, Mexico, where patients received epidural anesthesia during surgical procedures including liposuction and breast augmentation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... U.S. officials said in late May two people had died from the suspected outbreak, including an otherwise healthy woman in her early 30s. As of June 23, the death toll stood at six. (Ansari, 6/27)

In other health and wellness news —

Axios: SNAP Combats Racial Divides, Study Finds
Racial disparities in food insecurity persist among low-income households that don't participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but not among those that do, according to a new study. Why it matters: Food insecurity is considered a critical public health threat, and the new evidence suggests that SNAP can be an effective tool in minimizing inequities created by a lack of access to nutritious foods. (Horn-Muller, 6/27)

Stat: Young Cancer Survivors At Increased Risk For Depression, Anxiety
Thanks to advances in treatments, children’s chances of surviving cancer are higher than ever before. But the trauma that patients experience as they deal with the disease can pose a lifelong risk to their mental health, according to a recent analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics. The meta-analysis of 52 clinical studies measured the prevalence and severity of psychological disorders in over 20,000 young cancer survivors. Overall, childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors were 57% more likely to develop depression, 29% more likely to develop anxiety, and 56% more likely to develop psychotic disorders in the years following treatment compared to their siblings or healthy members of a control group. (Iskandar, 6/28)

Fox News: As Lyme Disease Tests Miss Many Acute Infections, Potential At-Home Test Offers Hope For Earlier Diagnosis
Prompt treatment is essential to prevent the spread of the disease elsewhere in the body. Yet the current recommended laboratory test to diagnose Lyme disease misses many early cases. Now, a Virginia Tech research team is developing a promising at-home test that can diagnose the illness within hours of transmission, according to a recent report. (Sudhakar, 6/27)

Fox News: IV Therapy Craze Has Americans Pumping Vitamins Into Their Veins: Results Are 'Pretty Dramatic' 
While IV drip therapy has gained popularity as a trendy hangover cure and health trend, the practice of fueling the body with essential vitamins faster than an ingestible can has been around for decades. IV clinic owners Dr. Pauline Jose (PH Drip Lab in California) and Dr. Christopher Neary (Prime IV, which has franchises around the country) shared with Fox News Digital the types of vitamin cocktails they’ve been serving up of late. (Stabile, 6/27)

On the gun violence epidemic —

AP: Doctors Give Mixed Testimony On Whether Tests Show Brain Damage In The Pittsburgh Synagogue Killer
Jurors considering a death sentence for Pittsburgh synagogue killer Robert Bowers heard mixed testimony from doctors on Tuesday about whether medical scans showed any significant brain damage — a central point of contention in his lawyers’ strategy to spare his life. The testimony came on the second day of the penalty phase in the case against Bowers, who was convicted this month of killing 11 worshippers from three congregations during the 2018 mass shooting that was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. (Smith, 6/27)

Reuters: GSK's Gonorrhea Vaccine Receives FDA's 'Fast-Track' Designation 
GSK's vaccine candidate to treat sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea has been granted a fast-track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the British drugmaker said on Tuesday. The Neisseria gonorrhoeae investigational vaccine is currently at a mid-stage trial and aims to demonstrate efficacy of the vaccine in healthy adults who are at high risk of the infection, the company said in a statement. (6/27)

Fox News: First AI-Generated Drug Enters Human Clinical Trials, Targeting Chronic Lung Disease Patients 
The first-ever drug generated by artificial intelligence has entered Phase 2 clinical trials, with the first dose successfully administered to a human, Insilico Medicine announced yesterday. The drug, currently referred to as INS018_055, is being tested to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a rare, progressive type of chronic lung disease. The 12-week trial will include participants diagnosed with IPF. (Rudy, 6/28)

Reuters: FDA Declines To Approve Intercept's Fatty Liver Disease Drug 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday declined to grant accelerated approval for Intercept Pharmaceuticals' (ICPT.O) drug to treat a type of fatty liver disease, sending its shares down more than 11% in extended trading. The rejection marks Intercept's second failed attempt at securing approval for the drug to treat patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) - a liver disease that affects 5% of U.S. adults but has no approved treatments after numerous clinical failures by several drugmakers. (6/22)

CIDRAP: WHO Lays Out Research Priorities For Antimicrobial Resistance
The agenda outlines the 40 research priorities for addressing and mitigating the impact of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial and fungal infections, including drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), over the next decade. The aim is to identify research that can fill critical knowledge gaps, have a real-world impact, promote health equity, and be translated into evidence-based policies by 2030, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. (Dall, 6/22)

On the drug pipeline from India —

Reuters: Exclusive: Indian Firm Used Toxic Industrial-Grade Ingredient In Syrup - Sources
The Indian manufacturer of cough syrups that Uzbekistan said last year had poisoned 19 children used a toxic industrial-grade ingredient rather than the legitimate pharmaceutical version, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. (Sharma and Das, 6/27)

The Washington Post: How Troubles At A Factory In India Led To A U.S. Cancer-Drug Shortage
The Intas Pharmaceuticals plant churned out medicine in a sprawling industrial park in western India, far from the minds of American cancer patients until its problems became theirs. The factory accounted for about 50 percent of the U.S. supply of a widely used generic chemotherapy drug called cisplatin, a reality that few understood until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspected the site in November. (Gilbert, 6/27)

Stat: The Cancer Drug Shortage Isn’t New — And Neither Are The Solutions
A young girl, maybe 5 or 6 years old, had come into Yoram Unguru’s clinic with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common of all childhood cancers. One of the drugs needed for treatment was methotrexate. The only problem was that the drug was in short supply. “Oftentimes we can cure kids of their disease, but we can’t do that without the drugs,” said Unguru, a pediatric hematologist oncologist at Children’s Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “It’s just so, so maddening.” (Chen, 6/28)

Fox News: The Greed Of Big Pharma Cannot Continue 
The American healthcare system is broken. Despite spending twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people of any other nation, nearly $13,000 per person, we have 85 million Americans who are uninsured or underinsured and more than 500,000 households who go bankrupt each year because of medically related bills.  Further, while insurance companies make tens of billions a year in profits, we have a major shortage of doctors, nurses, dentists and mental health practitioners. Even with decent insurance it is increasingly difficult for many patients to arrange timely visits with their doctors. (Sen. Bernie Sanders, 6/23)

USA Today: How Bernie Sanders Became An Unlikely Ally Of Big Pharma
Sanders appears to be cooperating with the drug industry on two things it treats as top priorities. The first is pushing an insulin price cap proposal that would impact insurers but not insulin manufacturers themselves (the people who set the actual prices). The second is passing legislation that would target pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs), third-party companies that negotiate lower drug prices for subscribers to health insurance plans but which have attracted criticism for being another layer of corporate bureaucracy that adds to the high cost of health care in America. (Liz Mair, 6/28)

The Hill: Three Reforms That Will Lower Medicare Costs And Improve Care
First, roll back the drug price controls in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs has been a priority for the left for years. President Biden spent a full 25 lines in February’s State of the Union bragging about the accomplishment, claiming it as a win for taxpayers and patients. The reality is anything but. (Tomas J. Philipson, 6/25)

Also —

Stat: Podcast: Cancer Drug Shortages Should Be Causing More Outrage 
“Patients are already under a lot of stress — they’re dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and they’re terrified. The last thing they want to hear is that something that’s critical to controlling their cancer might not be available, and we’re wondering where the next dose is going to come from,” oncologist Kristen Rice said. (Torie Bosch, /28)

The New York Times: What I Need to Tell America Before I Leave the C.D.C.
‌Exactly one year after the first laboratory-confirmed case of Covid-19 was identified in the United States, I began my tenure as the 19th director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the time, vaccines were available, but new variants continued to emerge. I viewed my primary charge as bringing this country from the dark and tragic pandemic days into a more restored place. In‌‌ the two and a half year‌s since that day, the world ha‌‌s faced an unrivaled density of public health challenges. ‌(CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, 6/27)

The Washington Post: A New, Sensible Plan For Fall Covid Boosters Is Taking Shape 
When coronavirus vaccines were first made available, public health recommendations were straightforward: Everyone eligible for the shots should get them. Now, the guidance must be more nuanced. The fall booster campaign is the next opportunity to focus protection where it’s most needed: people most susceptible to severe illness. (Leana S. Wen, 6/27)

Newsweek: The Origin Of COVID-19 Does Not Matter 
For those attacking the public health response to the pandemic, evidence that any single decision was wrong supports the notion that every decision was wrong. A laboratory origin of COVID could be taken to support the notion that there was some vast conspiracy on the part of scientists to deceive the public on everything from masks, to school closures, to vaccines. Anyone who thinks scientists are remotely capable of sheepishly following a conspiracy to hide the truth knows nothing about science or scientists. (Dr. Robert D. Morris, MD, 6/27)

USA Today Network: U.S. Physician Workforce Must Be A Top Policy Priority For Congress
We represent different states from New Jersey to Arkansas to Maine and New York, but one challenge we have in common is a growing shortage of physicians to care for our people. We must tackle this issue head-on by increasing the number of doctors in order to avoid further straining our health care system and putting the lives of patients at risk. (U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez, John Boozman, Chuck Schumer and Susan Collins, 6/28)

Stat: Food As Medicine: CMS Rules Hamper 'Prescribing' Of Fruits, Veggies
Research shows that affordability is the leading barrier to healthy eating among low-income Americans. Without targeted assistance to purchase healthy foods, Medicaid members struggling to afford the nutritious food they need, buy the less nutritious food they can afford. Studies indicate that, faced with the impossible tradeoffs that characterize poverty, people will maximize satiating calories rather than nutritional value. It’s doubtful that Medicaid members will continue purchasing a comparable amount of fresh produce once their Fresh Connect enrollment ends. (Adam Shyevitch, 6/27)