AP: Jury Holds Pharmacies Responsible For Role In Opioid Crisis
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis. Lake and Trumbull counties blamed the three chain pharmacies for not stopping the flood of pills that caused hundreds of overdose deaths and cost each of the two counties about $1 billion, said their attorney, who in court compared the pharmacies’ dispensing to a gumball machine. How much the pharmacies must pay in damages will be decided in the spring by a federal judge. (Seewer, 11/23)

The Washington Post: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Are Responsible For Flooding Ohio Counties With Pain Pills, Jury Says
Lake and Trumbull counties, which argued that the pharmacies did not stop mass quantities of opioid drugs from reaching the black market, said the decision was “a milestone victory” after a months-long federal trial against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, which have denied wrongdoing. The three companies say they plan to appeal the verdict. U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster in Cleveland is expected in April or May to decide how much the companies will pay the two counties, according to the counties’ attorneys, who estimate the toll of the epidemic to cost more than $1 billion for each of the counties. Other pharmacies, Rite Aid and Giant Eagle, previously settled with the counties for undisclosed sums. (Kornfield and Bernstein, 11/23)

NPR: 3 Of America's Biggest Pharmacy Chains Have Been Found Liable For The Opioid Crisis
Tuesday's verdict is expected to resonate nationally, as the three chains face thousands of similar lawsuits filed by U.S. communities grappling with the opioid crisis. A separate legal proceeding will now take place to determine how much the companies will have to pay to help remedy the crisis, with damages likely to run into the billions of dollars. In a statement, attorneys for the Ohio counties that filed this federal lawsuit described the jury's decision as a "milestone victory" in the effort to hold companies accountable for an addiction crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. (Mann, 11/23)

AP: Biden Administration Asks Court To Allow Vaccine Mandate
The Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal court to let it move ahead with a workplace rule that would require employees at larger companies to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face weekly testing. The mandate is a centerpiece of the administration’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 as concerns grow that the nation is on the cusp of another winter surge in virus cases and hospitalizations. (Mulvhill, 11/23)

Reuters: Biden Administration Seeks To Reinstate Workplace COVID Vaccine Rule 
Delaying the rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that requires employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly would lead to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the administration said in a filing with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The White House asked for the rule to be reinstated immediately, but the court set a briefing schedule that runs through Dec. 10. (Hals, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Justice Dept. Asks Court To Reinstate Biden’s Vaccination Policy For Businesses
In its ruling against the Biden administration earlier this month, the 5th Circuit repeatedly referred to the policy as a “mandate.” “Rather than a delicately handled scalpel, the Mandate is a one-size fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers) that have more than a little bearing on workers’ varying degrees of susceptibility to the supposedly ‘grave danger’ the Mandate purports to address,” according to the opinion from a panel of three judges nominated by Republican presidents. (Marimow, 11/23)

In other news on federal vaccine mandates —

cleveland.com: Ohio AG Dave Yost Joins Lawsuit Challenging Biden Vaccine Mandate For Health-Care Workers
Attorney General Dave Yost has signed onto another lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate – this time, regarding vaccines for health-care workers. It’s the third lawsuit Yost, a Columbus Republican, has had the state of Ohio join in as many weeks challenging various parts of Democratic President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, which is backed by prominent medical groups but opposed by conservatives and anti-vaccination activists. (Pelzer, 11/23)

Fox News: Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of 20-Year Navy Employee Against Federal Vaccine Mandate: 'Biden Is Not A King'
A conservative legal group set up by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller is suing the Biden administration on behalf of a 20-year Navy employee over the federal employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate. More than 3.5 million federal employees had until Nov. 22 to provide proof to their employers that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or an approved exemption under the president's September executive order. (Conklin, 11/23)

AP: US To Require Vaccines For All Border Crossers In January
President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce Tuesday. A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals. (Miller, 11/23)

The Hill: TSA Reports 93 Percent Compliance With Vaccine Mandate Ahead Of The Holidays
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the federal employee vaccine mandate won't impact holiday travel, as more than 90 percent of employees have now been vaccinated against COVID-19. The agency reported that roughly 93 percent of its employees were vaccinated or qualified for an exemption by the Biden administration's Monday deadline, three days before the Thanksgiving holiday.  (Schonfeld, 11/23)

AP: Medical Groups Argue Against Indiana Vaccine Mandate Limits
Numerous Indiana medical and business groups argued Tuesday against a Republican proposal aimed at ending the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency and forcing broad exemptions from workplace vaccination requirements. The proposed changes to state law faced criticism during a legislative committee hearing that it wrongly sends a message that the coronavirus pandemic is over at a time when Indiana’s infections and hospitalizations are rising again. Republican House Majority Leader Matt Lehman presented the proposal as a step toward protecting individual rights by allowing workers to claim medical or religious exemptions if their employers required COVID-19 vaccinations. (Davies, 11/23)

Chicago Tribune: Chicago First Responders Fight Vaccine Mandate — Even At Risk Of Job Loss 
During the height of the first coronavirus wave, Chicago police Officer James Murray found himself standing guard on the front porches of sick residents, trying to reassure anxious relatives desperate to see their loved ones while paramedics tended to them. He lost a friend in the Police Department to COVID-19 around the same time. Later on, he said, he also contracted the virus. But a year later and with the advent of three coronavirus vaccines in the U.S., Murray has refused to get the shot, which health officials say overwhelmingly saves lives in a pandemic that has killed more than 700,000 Americans. He is also one of more than 70 Chicago Police Department employees who’ve been sent home without pay for disobeying the city’s reporting requirement. (Yin, 11/23)

CNBC: Google Employees Sign Manifesto Against Widened Covid Vaccine Mandate
Several hundred Google employees have signed and circulated a manifesto opposing the company’s Covid vaccine mandate, posing the latest challenge for leadership as it approaches key deadlines for returning workers to offices in person. The Biden administration has ordered U.S. companies with 100 or more workers to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19 by Jan. 4. In response, Google asked its more than 150,000 employees to upload their vaccination status to its internal systems by Dec. 3, whether they plan to come into the office or not, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. (Elias, 11/23)

The Hill: US Automakers, Union Agree To Not Require Coronavirus Vaccines For Workers
Detroit's three big automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis — announced on Tuesday that they are not yet mandating vaccines for thousands of workers. The United Auto Workers (UAW) issued a joint statement with the companies saying they would require masking at work sites despite not mandating vaccines. The unionized workers will, however, be asked to report their vaccination status on a voluntary basis. The statement said the groups would continue "to urge all members, coworkers, and their families to get vaccinated and get booster vaccinations against COVID-19, while understanding that there are personal reasons that may prevent some members from being vaccinated, such as health issues or religious beliefs." (Beals, 11/23)

On legal matters over mandates —

AP: Settlement Appears Over In Med Students' Vaccine Lawsuit
The settlement may be off in a lawsuit filed by three medical students who sought an exemption from a north Louisiana medical college’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements on religious grounds. The students’ attorneys filed papers in federal court in Monroe on Tuesday, seeking permission to submit an amended complaint in the lawsuit against the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Monroe. Last month, a judge signed a settlement in the lawsuit, stating the college formally agreed to exempt the students from its vaccination requirement. The judge had issued a temporary order in favor of the three students in August. (McGill, 11/24)

Health News Florida: State Senate Committee Eyes Extending COVID Legal Protections For Health Providers 
The state Senate Judiciary Committee next week will consider a proposal that would extend COVID-19 legal protections for health care providers. The committee is scheduled to take up the measure (SPB 7014) during a Nov. 30 meeting. Lawmakers during the 2021 legislative session passed a bill (SB 72) that provided protections to health care providers and other businesses from lawsuits related to issues such as transmission of COVID-19 and treatment of people with COVID-19. (11/23)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Judge Says County Health Orders Illegal And Must Be Lifted 
A Missouri judge has stripped local health departments of their ability to issue orders designed to keep people safe during a pandemic. In a case involving a St. Louis County restaurant owner, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green said all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. (Erickson, 11/23)

Also —

The Hill: 'General Hospital' Actor Says He Was Fired From Show For Failing To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
“General Hospital” actor Steve Burton said in an Instagram video on Tuesday he was fired from the show for failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “I wanted you to hear it from me personally," Burton said. “Unfortunately, ‘General Hospital’ has let me go because of the vaccine mandate." The actor said he was denied medical and religious exemptions he applied for so he would not have to get vaccinated. (Lonas, 11/23)

Fox News: School Staff Shortages Nationwide Could Lead To Changes In Vaccine Mandates
Thanksgiving break has been extended for hundreds of thousands of public school students across the country, as the number of educators in schools dips below critical mass. The situation has become so dire that some districts are considering walking back previous COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff. In Western Michigan, 20 schools canceled classes for the entirety of the week. (Hoff, 11/23)

CNBC: Are Covid Vaccine Mandates Ethical? Here’s What Medical Experts Think
As the latest wave of Covid-19 sweeps across Europe, governments across the region are once again tightening restrictions, with some specifically cracking down on their unvaccinated populations. In Austria, which has the second-lowest Covid vaccination rate in western Europe, immunizations against the virus are set to become mandatory from Feb. 1. Austria is the first country in Europe to introduce a vaccine mandate for its entire population, but it isn’t the first nation in the world to do so. (Taylor, 11/24)

In news on mask mandates —

The New York Times: With Cases Surging, Officials In The Buffalo Area Are The First In New York To Bring Back A Mask Mandate
With daily coronavirus case rates reaching record numbers and area hospitals more than 90 percent full, local officials in the Buffalo area reinstituted a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces that went into effect on Tuesday. “We really need to keep the hospitals from being inundated,” Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said on Monday in a news conference announcing the new policy. “These numbers are not good.” The mask mandate applies to all staff and patrons at stores, restaurants, bars, salons, and other public indoor spaces in the county, regardless of their vaccination status. It is the first phase of what Mr. Poloncarz warned would be increasing restrictions if virus numbers do not begin to stabilize. (Otterman, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Denver Renews Mask Mandate as Covid-19 Cases Mount
Denver is renewing a Covid-19 mask mandate, requiring face coverings for businesses and other indoor public spaces until Jan. 3 unless venues check vaccine cards at the door, Mayor Michael Hancock said Tuesday. The order takes effect Wednesday. Neighboring counties have taken similar steps. A recent surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations across Colorado puts the health care system at risk, Hancock said at a news conference. (Del Giudice, 11/23)

The Boston Globe: Baker Administration Instructs Some Hospitals To Reduce Non-Urgent, Scheduled Procedures Amid Strain On Hospital Capacity
Beginning next week, hospitals in Massachusetts with limited capacity will be required to reduce certain non-urgent, scheduled procedures amid a strain on hospital capacity, the Baker administration announced Tuesday. The new public health order goes into effect Nov. 29, the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement. It comes amid several contributing factors, including a staffing shortage, which has contributed to the loss of about 500 medical and intensive care unit beds, and a surge in hospitalizations that arises every year after Thanksgiving through January, the statement said. (Kaufman and Freyer, 11/23)

The Hill: Massachusetts Governor Orders Some Hospitals To Delay Nonessential Procedures
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed an emergency declaration on Tuesday ordering some hospitals to delay nonessential procedures due to staffing shortages. The governor, along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said hospitals that do not have the capacity or staff for patients will have to delay nonessential procedures. The guidance was also made in coordination with the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. (Lonas, 11/23)

In news on surges in covid elsewhere —

AP: Vaccines Making Holiday Easier, But Hot Spots Remain
The U.S. is facing its second Thanksgiving of the pandemic in better shape than the first time around, thanks to the vaccine, though some regions are seeing surges of COVID-19 cases that could get worse as families travel the country for gatherings that were impossible a year ago. Nearly 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated. That leaves tens of millions who have yet to get a shot in the arm, some of them out of defiance. Hospitals in the cold Upper Midwest, especially Michigan and Minnesota, are filled with COVID-19 patients who are mostly unvaccinated. (White, 11/23)

Chicago Tribune: Latest Coronavirus Surge In Illinois Surpasses Delta-Driven Surge Of Late Summer 
The late fall surge in coronavirus cases in Illinois has surpassed the peak of the late summer wave just as the holidays approach. State health officials on Tuesday reported 4,589 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, bringing the average number of daily cases over the past week to 4,618. The last surge peaked at 4,440 cases per day during the week ending Sept. 4. The seven-day average dipped as low as 2,069 cases per day in late October before starting to climb once again. (Petrella and Mahr, 11/23)

Los Angeles Times: Central California Begs To Send COVID-19 Patients To L.A. 
The COVID-19 surge still affecting Central California is so dire that health officials are pleading with state officials to make it easier to transfer hospital patients to areas like Los Angeles County. “We don’t have enough hospitals to serve the population and the needs,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, the Fresno County interim health officer. Hospitals across the entire San Joaquin Valley are “often running over capacity, so that they’re holding dozens and dozens of patients in the emergency department.” (Lin II, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Hospitals Seek Military Help in Michigan Amid Covid Overflow
Henry Ford Health System has seen Covid-19 cases soar by 50% in three weeks, straining staff and care at the Detroit-based network of five major hospitals in southeast Michigan. On Tuesday, statewide Covid hospitalizations reached 4,085, approaching the record of 4,640 set in April 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. Michigan’s hospitals, with the help of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have asked the U.S. Department of Defense to provide emergency staff, said Brian Peters, chief executive officer of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. (Naughton and Edney, 11/23)

AP: Arizona Hospital Executives Issue Plea As Virus Cases Rise
Hospital executives and public health authorities across Arizona pleaded Tuesday for people to get vaccinated and do everything possible to avoid spreading the coronavirus as they gird for another surge in cases that threatens once again to overwhelm the state’s health care system. The numbers of coronavirus infections and hospital stays are trending up, as they did this time last year as families gathered for the holidays, culminating in a crushing demand at hospitals. “Our messaging today is to ask for assistance. We need less COVID patients,” Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the chief medical officer at Banner Health, said during a news conference with the top doctors from the state’s major health care systems. (Cooper and Davenport, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Even in Highly Vaccinated New England, Hospitals Are Suffering
The northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, all highly vaccinated, are suffering from surges that are taxing hospitals beset by staff shortages and sicker-than-usual patients. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu told reporters Tuesday that the state is seeing its highest level of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, averaging about 1,000 new infections per day. He issued an executive order to help hospitals use their space more flexibly to add capacity. (Goldberg, 11/23)

The Boston Globe: The Latest Advice On COVID Is So Clear! Definitely Gather With Your Family! Or Maybe Don’t!
Phew! Finally, as the holiday dawns, clarity! You can gather with your family over Thanksgiving if you’re fully vaccinated! But also: COVID cases are skyrocketing and the unvaxxed grandkids might kill you. So maybe stay home. You can eat in a packed restaurant now! The germs can’t get you as long as you’re at your table. But strap that mask on when you dart into a deserted boutique. And mask up when you’re sitting nearly alone in a cavernous office! But hey, be part of the team and come out for drinks to say goodbye to Nicole. ... Welcome to the season of COVID confusion. (Teitell, 11/23)

Chicago Tribune: Unvaccinated Advised Not To Gather For Thanksgiving 
Anyone with symptoms “that could be COVID or could be flu” should skip Thanksgiving get-togethers, even if they’ve been vaccinated, city public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday. And those who aren’t fully vaccinated “should think about not gathering at the holidays,” or at least get tested beforehand “just to keep the risk for everybody down, and not accidentally introduce COVID into your holiday situations,” she said in an online message. (Byrne, 11/23)

Georgia Health News: A Less Risky Thanksgiving 
This year’s Thanksgiving holiday features one enormous difference from last year’s: Vaccinations. Fortunately, the Covid-19 vaccine became available earlier this year, and by now, about half of Georgians have received the shots. Vaccinations have significantly lightened the mood around the country in regard to the virus, though Covid cases have begun to rise again. Two-thirds of Americans plan to see family or friends from outside of their household for Thanksgiving, regardless of vaccination status, according to this week’s Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index. (Miller, 11/23)

Axios: You Need To Appoint A Thanksgiving COVID Bouncer 
No one really wants this job, but millions of households may need their own Thanksgiving bouncer. The cover charge is a negative COVID test, done ahead of arrival or outside the front door. Normalizing rapid tests is a practical way to help extended families feel a little more normal around the holiday dinner table. (Talev and Reed, 11/23)

Meanwhile, breakthrough infections still happen, and the unvaccinated are at risk —

CNBC: Gottlieb Says Breakthrough Covid Infections More Common Than People Realize Due To Weak Monitoring
Anyone who received a Covid vaccine in the earliest stages of the rollout should register for their booster shots because “there’s probably more infection happening among the vaccinated population” than the U.S. is currently monitoring, Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday. The effectiveness of Covid vaccines is proven to diminish over time, and Gottlieb said breakthrough infections are likely to occur in individuals almost a year removed from becoming fully immunized. But boosters offer an “almost immediate” effect of restoring the antibody protection offered by vaccines to their original levels, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner noted. (Towey, 11/22)

ABC News: COVID-19 Live Updates: Unvaccinated 14 Times More Likely To Die, CDC Says
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 773,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Just 59.2% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Shapiro, 11/24)

In news on boosters —

Reuters: Fauci Says Vast Majority Of Vaccinated Americans Should Get A COVID-19 Booster
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday the vast majority of Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should receive a booster shot, and that an additional dose could eventually become the country's standard for determining who is fully vaccinated. Fauci and other disease experts have said they expect that COVID-19 will transition this spring from a pandemic phase in the United States to an endemic disease, meaning that the virus will continue to circulate at a lower level, causing smaller, less disruptive but still significant outbreaks in the coming years. (Gershberg and Steenhuysen, 11/23)

Stat: Trevor Bedford On Annual Covid Boosters And The Inevitable Next Pandemic
In January 2020, computational biologist Trevor Bedford told STAT’s Helen Branswell about the then-new coronavirus: “If it’s not contained shortly, I think we are looking at a pandemic.” Talk about a prediction. Last week at the 2021 STAT Summit, Branswell again caught up with Bedford, a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and an expert on viral evolution and epidemiology. They talked about the future of the coronavirus and antigenic drift (essentially, whether the virus mutates in ways that escape the protection generated by vaccines or earlier infections), as well as what’s in store for flu season, and what might lie ahead with the next pandemic. (Joseph, 11/24)

Politico: FDA Nomination Slips After Biden Admin Fails To Send Papers To Congress
A plan to speed Robert Califf’s nomination for FDA commissioner through the Senate next month is on hold after the Biden administration failed to submit the necessary paperwork to Congress in time, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. The delay means that Califf is now unlikely to get a confirmation hearing until mid-December at the earliest, effectively ruling out the possibility of a full Senate floor vote on his appointment before the end of the year. (Cancryn, 11/23)

Stat: Califf, Biden’s FDA Pick, Has Millions Invested In Pharma, Tech Companies
Robert Califf, President Biden’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, earned $2.7 million as an executive at Google’s life science arm Verily, and he holds between $1 million and $5 million in equity in the company, according to a recent financial statement filed with the White House. Califf is also coming into the FDA’s top job with a massive stock portfolio. His financial statement lists roughly 30 companies in which he owns more than $100,000 worth of stock as part of a retirement account. His holdings include between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of stock in the pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen and between $100,000 and $250,000 in Gilead. (Florko, 11/23)

And in administration news on rural health --

The New York Times: H.H.S. Is Doling Out Billions Of Dollars To Support Rural Health Care Providers Slammed By The Pandemic
The Department of Health and Human Services has begun distributing billions of dollars to rural health care providers to ease the financial pressures brought by the coronavirus pandemic and to help hospitals stay open. The agency said on Tuesday that it had started doling out $7.5 billion to more than 40,000 health care providers in every state and six U.S. territories through the American Rescue Plan, a sprawling relief bill that Congress passed in March. The infusion of funds will help offset increased expenses and revenue losses among rural physicians during the pandemic, the agency said. (Walker, 11/23)

In news on Florida Senator Rick Scott —

KHN: Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base In Claim That Rise In Medicare Premiums Is Due To Inflation
Republicans blame President Joe Biden for this year’s historic surge in inflation, reflected in higher prices for almost everything — from cars and gas to food and housing. They see last month’s 6.2% annual inflation rate — the highest in decades and mostly driven by an increase in consumer spending and supply issues related to the covid-19 pandemic — as a ticket to taking back control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. A key voting bloc will be older Americans, and the GOP aims to illustrate how much worse life has grown for them under the Biden administration. (Galewitz, 11/24)

Also —

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes The House
President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” social spending bill passed the House last week, but the legislation faces a new and different set of hurdles in the Senate, where it will need the support of every single Democrat, plus approval by the Senate parliamentarian. Meanwhile, covid-19 is surging again in Europe as well as in many parts of the United States, just as travel picks up for the holidays. And the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in an abortion case out of Mississippi that could lead to the weakening or overturning of Roe v. Wade — and could upend the political landscape in the U.S. (11/23)

CIDRAP: Racial Minorities, Psychiatric Patients More Likely To Die Of COVID-19
Two US studies in JAMA Network Open today detail disparities in COVID-19 deaths in 2020, one showing higher mortality rates among racial minorities, and the other finding fewer infections but more deaths among patients with schizophrenia and other mood disorders. (Van Beusekom, 11/23)

Fox News: Israeli Company's COVID-19 Drug Shows Promise In Late-Stage Coronavirus Treatment
An Israeli public company says it developed the "only cure for late-stage COVID" and said that the results of its phase II clinical trial, disclosed first to Fox News, revealed that patients suffering from severe cases of COVID-19 had a 94% survival rate after being treated with the drug. Israeli biotechnology company Bonus BioGroup’s cell therapy MesenCure was administered to 50 hospitalized COVID-19 patients suffering from life-threatening pneumonia and respiratory distress, the company said, noting that 47 of those patients had survived. "These are the most clinically meaningful results presented today for treating severe COVID-19 patients," Dr. Tomer Bronshtein, the head of research at Bonus BioGroup Ltd., told Fox News in an exclusive interview. (Kaplan, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Study: No Risk Of Serious Adverse Events In Elderly COVID Vaccine Recipients
A new nationwide study in France involving people 75 years or older found no increase in acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or pulmonary embolism 14 days following each Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine dose. The data was published as a research letter yesterday in JAMA. To estimate the risk of acute myocardial infarction, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, or pulmonary embolism in this age-group, researchers looked at unvaccinated and vaccinated adults 75 or older admitted to the hospital with these conditions between Dec 15, 2020, and Apr 30, 2021, throughout France. (11/23)

CIDRAP: Blood Clots A Risk In COVID-19 Patients After Hospital Stay, Data Show
A study of 2,832 hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients in Michigan shows that those with a history of blood clots and high concentrations of the biomarkers D-dimer and C-reactive protein were more likely than others to have potentially serious blood clots after release from the hospital. COVID-19 can induce blood clots in the veins and arteries, the authors noted. A clot can break off and travel to the lungs (pulmonary thromboembolism), where it can stop blood from flowing to the lungs and lead to death. (11/23)

Axios: COVID Vaccines Of The Future Might Be Pills Or Nasal Sprays 
As vaccine makers pursue the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, some are working to develop products that wouldn't require a shot. Delivering a vaccine through a pill or a nasal spray could make them much easier to administer, especially in places where distribution is challenging — or even for people who just don't like needles. (Reed, 11/24)

In research news not related to covid —

The Wall Street Journal: Pittsburgh Hospital Taps AI To Prevent Spread Of Infections
A Pittsburgh hospital is using artificial intelligence to help map the spread of infections through the facility, an effort aimed at better preventing hospital-based outbreaks. Even before Covid-19, infections were a huge problem for hospitals. About one in 31 U.S. patients contracts at least one infection linked to hospital care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said last week that it was deploying the machine-learning system at its flagship hospital, UPMC Presbyterian, after two years of testing at the facility. (McCormick, 11/23)

ABC News: Detecting Cancer With A Simple Blood Draw Could Soon Be A Reality
Every year, thousands of Americans undergo routine screening to catch cancer in its early stages, while it’s still treatable. But these routine tests can be painful and invasive, and doctors only regularly screen for five of some of the most common types of cancer. So for decades, scientists have been working on ways to screen for cancers using a simple blood draw rather than a painful biopsy or invasive test. These so-called "blood biopsy" tests are closer than ever to dramatically improving the way doctors screen for cancer. (Warner, 11/24)

Fox News: Nearly 1 In 5 US Adults With Hypertension Are Taking Meds That Increase Blood Pressure
Many patients with high blood pressure may be unknowingly taking medications that are contributing to increased blood pressure, according to a study in JAMA this week. A team of researchers out of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, found that 18% — or nearly one in five — U.S. adults diagnosed with hypertension, reported taking medications that may actually increase blood pressure. Hypertension was defined in the study as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher, average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher, or being told by a physician, the individual had high blood pressure. The authors also defined uncontrolled hypertension as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher or an average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher. (McGorry, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Spectrum Index Could Boost Antibiotic Stewardship In NICUs
Use of an antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) helped identify patterns of empiric antibiotic prescribing at three neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and could help guide stewardship efforts, US researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Using antibiotic data from the pharmacy systems of three academic level 4 NICUs, the researchers collected the ASI per antibiotic days and the days of therapy (DOT) per patient days for all very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants, who are at high-risk of exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics because they require prolonged hospitalization and are at high risk of infection. The ASI was developed to compare antibiotic selection patterns by the spectrum of antimicrobial action and capture important differences in prescribing patterns. (11/23)

UNC Media Hub: Virtual Therapy May Help, But Isn’t For Everyone 
Since the start of the pandemic, more and more students have used virtual therapy as a way to seek mental health and wellness care. Transitioning services from in-person to Zoom served as a way to continue offering services to UNC students at a time when many were exhausted and burned out from the stress of a remote semester. (Perez-Moreno, 11/24)

Axios: Doctors Are Becoming A Hot Commodity 
Pharmacies and insurers are increasingly competing to directly hire doctors and nurse practitioners as they move deeper into primary health care delivery. The latest example is CVS Health's latest plan to reduce its retail locations as it pours more resources into its digital health delivery and health hub locations. (King and Herman, 11/24)

The Baltimore Sun: For Pharmacists And Their Staffs, COVID Has Been A Prescription For Stress And Burnout 
One pharmacist stopped offering COVID vaccines when he couldn’t hire enough staff to administer them. Another grew so overwhelmed by the workload he couldn’t sleep at night. And then there are the customers, who post misinformation about the pandemic on the pharmacy’s social media sites, demand their ivermectin prescriptions be filled or when asked if they’d like a COVID vaccine, respond with an unprintable curse. Nearly two years into a public health crisis in which they’ve played a central role in combating, many pharmacists and their staffs are stressed, fatigued and burned out by both the amount of extra work and the ensuing conflict surrounding the coronavirus. (Marbella, 11/23)

In news on the business of health care —

Crain's New York Business: NYU Langone, Long Island Community Merger Gets State's OK
The state Department of Health's Public Health and Health Planning Council on Thursday gave contingent approval for Long Island Community Hospital's merger with NYU Langone Health. The East Patchogue, Suffolk County, hospital became affiliated with NYU Langone in July. In the initial phase of the merger, NYU Langone health will be an active parent and co-operator of the Long Island hospital after satisfying certain contingencies. After that, a full asset merger will occur no more than three years later, with NYU Langone being the surviving corporation. (Sim, 11/23)

AP: AstraZeneca Opens Research Center As UK Builds Science Hub
Prince Charles praised Cambridge as a center of scientific collaboration Tuesday as the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca opened a 1 billion-pound ($1.34 billion) research center, hoping to build on work in developing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The 19,000 square-meter (more than 200,000 square-foot) complex near the University of Cambridge will house more than 2,200 research scientists. It joins a cluster of businesses seeking to make Cambridge a hub for life sciences research similar to what California’s Silicon Valley is for the technology industry. (11/23)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity Pays Up For Medicare Brokers
Six months after signing up for a Medicare supplemental plan, Rob Erick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Erick believes he navigated his 12 rounds of chemotherapy as seamlessly as possible thanks to his Medigap plan, and the guidance of his local, independent broker. A Medicare Advantage plan could have included the headache of prior authorizations, provider restrictions and out-of-pocket expenses, he said. (Tepper, 11/23)

Also —

KHN: It Takes A Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies On A Close-Knit Group In Her Final Days
The decisions have been gut-wrenching. Should she try another round of chemotherapy, even though she barely tolerated the last one? Should she continue eating, although it’s getting difficult? Should she take more painkillers, even if she ends up heavily sedated? Dr. Susan Massad, 83, has been making these choices with a group of close friends and family — a “health team” she created in 2014 after learning her breast cancer had metastasized to her spine. Since then, doctors have found cancer in her colon and pancreas, too. (Graham, 11/24)

The Washington Post: D.C. Records 200th Homicide Of The Year, A Mark Not Seen Since 2003
A man was fatally shot at a gas station in Southeast Washington just after 10:15 p.m., becoming the latest victim of months of rising violence that has frustrated and angered city leaders and residents. Police identified him as Dawann Saunders, 30, of Maryland. Homicides rose in 29 major U.S. cities through September compared with the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a Washington-based institute. Killings across the country spiked nearly 30 percent in 2020, the FBI has said. Baltimore surpassed 300 killings for the seventh consecutive year, and homicides in Philadelphia reached 497 on Monday, 13 percent higher than this time last year. (Hermann, 11/23)

Bloomberg: P&G Recalls Old Spice, Secret Sprays After Carcinogen Found
Procter & Gamble Co. is recalling certain lots of Old Spice and Secret aerosol antiperspirants in the U.S. after the carcinogen benzene was detected in the products. The recall extends to aerosols with an expiration date through September 2023, P&G said Tuesday in a statement. The company is also recalling Old Spice Below Deck aerosol sprays. The recall follows findings from an independent laboratory, Valisure, that detected benzene in the antiperspirants earlier this month, as first reported by Bloomberg. Valisure tested 108 batches of antiperspirant and deodorant sprays from 30 brands including Old Spice, Secret and others, and detected benzene in 59 batches. (Edney, 11/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Declares Water Shortage Emergency, Asks City Users To Conserve 5%
San Francisco has some of the most conservation-savvy water users in California and its reservoirs contain enviable reserves, a crucial resource two years into a statewide drought. Now the city is demanding its water customers use even less. (Johnson, 11/23)

Also —

CNBC: No Health Insurance? You Could Be Among Millions Who Qualify For Help
If you lack health insurance, it may not be as out of reach as you might think. An estimated 10 million individuals who are uninsured could qualify for financial help with private insurance through the public marketplace, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 7 million could get coverage through Medicaid and/or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. “If you haven’t looked to see what you qualify for, you really should,” said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow with the foundation. “By our estimate, millions of people could be pleasantly surprised.” (O'Brien, 11/23)

Obituaries —

The New York Times: Zena Stein, 99, Dies; Researcher Championed Women’s Health
Dr. Zena Stein, a South African-born epidemiologist whose influential work encompassed the effects of famine on children, the health of entire communities afflicted by poverty and the impact of the AIDS crisis on women in Africa, died on Nov. 7 at her home in Coatesville, Pa. She was 99. Her daughter Ida Susser confirmed her death. Dr. Stein came of age in South Africa during World War II and started her career in the early years of institutionalized apartheid. Those backdrops shaped her approach to epidemiology: She aimed to identify the social, economic and political conditions that can affect the health of a population as well as individuals, an approach known as social medicine or community-based medicine. (Williams, 11/23)

Axios: JUUL To Pay Arizona $14.5 Million To Settle Lawsuit 
E-cigarette giant Juul Labs will pay Arizona $14.5 million as part of a settlement for a lawsuit alleging it illegally targeted young people in its marketing. The company faces over 2,000 lawsuits related to its marketing practices, which included fruit-flavored liquid pods and ad buys on youth websites like Cartoon Network, per Reuters. State and local governments have said it fueled a vaping epidemic among teens. (Chen, 11/23)

AP: Juul To Pay $14.5 Million To Settle Arizona Vaping Lawsuit
E-cigarette giant Juul Labs will pay Arizona $14.5 million and vowed not to market to young people in the state to settle a consumer fraud lawsuit. The settlement announced by Attorney General Mark Brnovich Tuesday is the second Juul has reached with state prosecutors. It ends litigation the Republican U.S. Senate candidate filed in January 2020 against Juul and another maker of electronic cigarettes, alleging they illegally targeted young people in their marketing. Arizona previously obtained a $22.5 million judgment against defunct vaping product maker Eonsmoke but has not and is not likely to collect any of the money. (Christie, 11/24)

Health News Florida: Florida Supreme Court Sides With RJR And Rejects A $5 Million Punitive Award For A Smoker's Widow
Siding with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, the Florida Supreme Court last week rejected a $5 million punitive-damages award in a lawsuit involving the death of a smoker in 2007. It was one of thousands of cases filed against the tobacco industry after a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that established critical findings about issues such as the dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers. (11/23)

In other news around the states —

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Plans To Offer Financial Incentive To City Employees To Get Vaccinated Against COVID; Details Still In The Works 
Baltimore plans to offer a financial incentive to employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Tuesday. The program would be the latest effort from the city to get its 14,000-member workforce vaccinated, although city officials offered few details about the effort. During a news conference Tuesday, Scott did not answer questions about how much money would be offered to employees in exchange for being vaccinated or the deadline to receive such an incentive. (Opilo, 11/23)

The New York Times: About 1.2 Million Extra Vaccine Doses Were Reported In Pennsylvania, According To The C.D.C.
In the largest revision of state vaccination numbers to date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated those for Pennsylvania, which had counted about 1.2 million more doses than had actually been administered. The C.D.C. said the data, updated almost every day on its website, had been corrected. As of Tuesday evening, about 81 percent of people in Pennsylvania had received at least one shot of a vaccine, according to C.D.C. data, whereas on Monday the data indicated that about 84 percent of people in the state had gotten a shot. The agency has been periodically revising vaccination numbers in states since July 14. Altogether, the C.D.C. and the states have reduced the number of reported doses in the U.S. by about 2 million. (Craig and White, 11/23)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: CHOP COVID Vaccine Videos Reach Millions, But Will They Persuade The Hesitant?
A spike-coated invader glides in for a landing on an alien landscape, poised to launch a penetrating attack. But wait — an army of three-pronged defenders swarms to the rescue, latching onto the spikes to neutralize the threat. Say hello to your immune system and the COVID-19 vaccines, Hollywood-style. (Avril, 11/24)

Meanwhile, in non-covid news —

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Staffing Crisis At Pa. Child Care Centers Is Upending Family Routines And Slowing The Economic Recovery
Baby giggles and occasional cries are supposed to spill from the infant room at The Willow School, where lyrics from “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” line the wall. But the mattresses propped up in cribs here haven’t nestled any little heads in some time. Before the coronavirus pandemic, this room was a daytime home to eight children and required the highest number of workers — one for every four sets of squishy little cheeks — to ensure diapers were changed, naps were taken, and everyone stayed safe. (Mahon, 11/24)

The Texas Tribune: Progressive Texas Faith Leaders Spiritually Support Abortion Seekers 
Rev. Erika Forbes’ pastoral calling regularly brings her to the Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinic in Fort Worth. She blesses the clinic and escorts patients inside — sometimes past a crowd of protesters. The number of women going into the clinic has fallen since Texas' Senate Bill 8 took effect Sept. 1, prohibiting abortion if cardiac activity is present, except in medical emergencies. But the few Texans still eligible for abortion need spiritual support, Forbes said, and so do the many who are not. That’s why she regularly partners with Whole Woman’s Health to organize clergy to support their work. (McNeel, 11/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Listen: Why Is San Francisco Shutting Down Its Homeless Hotels?
Since last spring, San Francisco has moved thousands of unhoused residents into hotel rooms as emergency shelter during the pandemic. The program, Project RoomKey, is federally funded and the Biden Administration has extended that support through April 1. But San Francisco has been closing the shelter-in-place hotels for months, despite protests from homeless advocates. (11/22)

The New York Times: Europe’s Death Toll From Covid Will Exceed 2 Million By Spring, The W.H.O. Says
Europe’s death toll from Covid will exceed two million people by next spring, the World Health Organization projected on Tuesday, adding that the continent remained “firmly in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Covid is now the leading cause of death in Europe, the W.H.O. said in a statement, with almost 4,200 new deaths a day, double the number at the end of September. To date, Europe, including the United Kingdom and Russia, has reported 1.5 million deaths. Between now and spring, hospital beds in 25 countries and intensive care units in 49 countries are predicted to experience “high or extreme stress,” the W.H.O. said. (Kwai, 11/23)

AP: Europe Is Only Region With More COVID, With 11 Percent Case Rise
The World Health Organization said that coronavirus cases jumped by 11% in Europe in the last week, the only region in the world where COVID-19 has continued to increase since mid-October. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic released on Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said cases and deaths globally have risen by about 6%, with about 3.6 million new infections and 51,00 new deaths reported in the previous week. (11/24)

Reuters: New French COVID-19 Infections Surge Over 30,000 In Past 24 Hours
France recorded more than 30,000 new COVID-19 infections over 24 hours for the first time since August as the pace of infection sped up despite new social distancing measures and a drive to boost vaccinations. The health ministry reported 30,454 new cases on Tuesday, pushing the cumulative total above 7.45 million and the seven-day moving average of new infections over 20,000 for the first time since Aug. 24. (11/23)

CNBC: Germany Considers A Full Covid Lockdown And Mandatory Vaccines
Germany is set to decide on tougher Covid-19 restrictions and could even opt for a full lockdown amid record daily infections and mounting pressure on hospitals. The country’s health minister, Jens Spahn, has already issued a dire warning to Germans this week, saying that by the end of winter “pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered or dead.” Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states (which have largely been free to determine their own Covid measures) to decide upon stricter rules by Wednesday. (Ellyatt, 11/24)

Bloomberg: Italy Readies Curbs On The Unvaccinated As Covid Cases Rise
Italy’s government is debating tough new measures to stem an increase in coronavirus cases, which could include restrictions on unvaccinated people and could be approved as soon as Wednesday. The measures would only allow those with proof of inoculation to access venues such as cinemas and theaters, according to people familiar with the talks. The rules would still allow the unvaccinated to enter their workplace after testing negative for the virus. (Albanese, 11/24)

AP: Social Distancing Mandatory As Dutch COVID Infections Spike
Dutch coronavirus infection numbers hit a new weekly record Tuesday, climbing 39% while hospital and intensive care unit admissions also rose sharply, prompting the government to make social distancing mandatory again for all adults. The latest report by the country’s public health institute on a surge in COVID-19 cases came a day after the Dutch government introduced legislation that would clear the way to restrict access for unvaccinated people to indoor venues such as bars, restaurants and museums if infections keep rising. (Corder, 11/23)

AP: Slovakia Proposes Lockdown Amid Record Infection Surge
Slovakia’s leaders have proposed a national lockdown as hospitals across the European Union country are hitting their limits amid a record surge of coronavirus infections. Inspired by neighboring Austria, the Slovak government is set to discuss a lockdown for all — vaccinated and unvaccinated alike — at its session Wednesday. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said it’s necessary to act “immediately.” His four-party coalition government was mulling a two or three-week lockdown. (11/23)

AP: Spanish Researchers Allow Others To Make Their COVID Test
Spanish government researchers have agreed to allow other manufacturers to make their coronavirus antibody test, in a move that could significantly boost testing in poor countries with limited COVID-19 surveillance. In a statement on Tuesday, the World Health Organization and the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool said the Spanish National Research Council had signed a licensing agreement for its COVID-19 antibody test. It is the first time any manufacturer has allowed its coronavirus test to be included in a technology pool set up by WHO. (11/23)

Elsewhere around the world —

Politico: Failure To Vaccinate Poor Countries Fans Fears Of Uncontrolled Outbreak
As the world heads into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. and international health representatives are increasingly worried that the virus will outpace the global effort to vaccinate large portions of the world in the first part of 2022. ... “We’ve been exploring options to be able to get the companies to significantly increase their capacity specifically for the development of doses that can go to low and middle income countries,” Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, told POLITICO. (Banco, Cancryn and Paun, 11/23)

Reuters: A Little Known Cult Is S.Korea's Latest COVID-19 Outbreak
A little known sect led by a pastor who pokes eyes to heal is at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea, as the country reported a new daily record of 4,116 cases and battles a spike in serious cases straining hospitals. In a tiny rural church in a town of 427 residents in Cheonan city, south of Seoul, at least 241 people linked to the religious community had tested positive for coronavirus, a city official told Reuters on Wednesday. "We believe the scale of the outbreak is large...," the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement. (Cha, 11/24)

AP: South Korea Sets Pandemic High With 4,000 New Virus Cases
New coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 4,000 in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic as a delta-driven spread continues to rattle the country after it eased social distancing in recent weeks to improve its economy. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said most of the new 4,116 cases reported Wednesday came from the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan region, where an increase in hospitalizations has created fears about possible shortages in intensive care units. (Tong-Hyung, 11/23)

Reuters: Bharat's COVID-19 Shot 50% Effective At Height Of India Infections - Small Study
Bharat Biotech's vaccine was only 50% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a high-risk population during a devastating second wave of infections in India this year, data gleaned from hospital workers showed. The real world study for Covaxin, conducted April 15-May 15, compares with a 77.8% effectiveness rate in a late-stage trial of more than 25,000 participants that was conducted November 2020 to January 2021. (11/24)

Axios: New Zealand To Reopen Border In 2022 To Vaccinated Travelers 
New Zealand will reopen to most international travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 next year, in a gradual lifting of border restrictions that have been in place since March 2020. NZ imposed some of the world's toughest pandemic measures and largely contained the virus to managed hotel quarantine facilities for returning New Zealand residents. Its economy had rebounded before Delta arrived in August and domestic restrictions returned. (Falconer, 11/24)

Stat: Catholic Hospital System Ascension Is Moonlighting As A Private Equity Firm
The nation’s largest Catholic hospital system, a sprawling behemoth of more than 140 hospitals called Ascension, is quietly building an unprecedented and strikingly unusual $1 billion private equity operation, using its wealth to invest like a Wall Street firm, a STAT investigation has found. Rather than passively investing in private equity funds, the practice of several major nonprofit hospitals, Ascension has over the past six years actively made investment decisions to play the private equity game itself, for profit. (Cohrs, 11/16)

The Intercept: How Hospitals Became Vaults That Hid Evidence Of Covid’s Toll
An investigation by The Intercept reveals that in the first months of the pandemic, only a small number of the more than 6,000 hospitals in the U.S. let journalists inside — and when access was permitted, it was usually limited to a short time span. The upshot is that most hospitals, citing safety and privacy concerns, turned themselves into vaults that hid the strongest evidence of the virus’s lethality. Doors were shut so firmly that an award-winning documentarian even gave up on his effort to film in the U.S. and instead made his documentary about a country where he could get access to Covid patients: China. When it began in the U.S., the pandemic was a mass casualty event with few pictures of the casualties. (Maas, 11/13)

The Atlantic: What Happened To America’s Biggest Pandemic Success Story?
Is Vermont the envy of America no more? The state long hailed for its pandemic response is experiencing one of the most intense COVID-19 surges in the country. Cases are twice as high as they’ve been at any other point. Hospitalizations are up sharply as well, confounding hopes that Vermont’s best-in-the-nation vaccination rate would protect its people from the Delta wave. The resurgence of the coronavirus—cases are rising again nationally after a sustained decline—has demoralized much of the country, but nowhere is that frustration more keenly felt than in the state that seemed to be doing everything right. (Berman, 11/24)

Bloomberg: The Messenger RNA Pioneers Everyone Ignored
Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko is on the awards circuit. She’s been feted by the World Health Organization, painted onto the side of a building in Budapest and even made Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year. Together with her longtime research partner Drew Weissman, she won the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award — an honor that in many cases has preceded a Nobel Prize. It’s all quite a turnaround for Kariko, who struggled for years to get research funding. She dedicated her career to the study of messenger RNA, long seen as too delicate and hard to handle to be of much use. (Kresge, 11/23)

Bloomberg: What Is In The Covid Vaccine? Why Pfizer Won’t Share Its Formula
Two of the most powerful figures in the fight against the pandemic faced off in July during a closed-door virtual summit on how to get more vaccines to the world’s poorest people. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, called out a “shocking imbalance” in the supply of vaccines. He said it was unacceptable that manufacturers pursuing the highest prices had overwhelmingly supplied rich countries—and now were pushing booster shots for the same wealthy few—according to a half-dozen people who were listening. “Honestly I’m not seeing the commitment I would expect from you,” Tedros told the vaccine developers on the call. (Baker and Silver, 11/14)

The Atlantic: What Medicine’s Own COVID Long-Haulers Have Faced
Despite their medical qualifications, health professionals with long COVID have been dismissed in the same way as other patients. (Yong, 11/24)

ProPublica: A Patient In A Psychiatric Ward Was Seen On Video Possibly Being Sexually Assaulted. No One Reported It.
Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago kept quiet about a possible sexual assault of one patient by another in its psychiatric unit. Only after ProPublica asked questions did Illinois’ public health officials alert law enforcement. (Eldeib and Briscoe, 11/23)

The New York Times: 'They See Us As The Enemy': Schools Nurses Face Pandemic Rage
When a junior high school student in western Oregon tested positive for the coronavirus last month, Sherry McIntyre, a school nurse, quarantined two dozen of the student’s football teammates. The players had spent time together in the locker room unmasked, and, according to local guidelines, they could not return to school for at least 10 days. Some parents took the news poorly. They told Ms. McIntyre that she should lose her nursing license or accused her of violating their children’s educational rights. Another nurse in the district faced similar ire when she quarantined the volleyball team. This fall, after facing repeated hostility from parents, they started locking their office doors. “They call us and tell us we’re ruining their children’s athletic career,” Ms. McIntyre said. “They see us as the enemy.” (Anthes, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Telehealth Rollbacks Leave Patients Stranded, Some Doctors Say
Mental-health patients are at particular risk if their care regimens are disrupted, said Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, a psychiatrist in Massachusetts. “You really shouldn’t change clinicians midstream,” she said. The Biden administration in August committed more than $19 million to strengthen telemedicine services in rural and underserved areas. Advocates are pressing for more. They want all states to maintain and expand licensure flexibilities for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and to reinstate any licensing allowances that have expired. (Armour and Whelan, 11/22)

Boston Globe: A VC Explains Why He Sees A Golden Age In Health Care Innovation
One sign you’re living through a golden age is that there’s a lot of gold being tossed around. Michael Greeley, a venture capitalist at Boston-based Flare Capital Partners, asserts that the Boston area is indeed experiencing such a bounty of ideas when it comes to health care innovation. The amount of money being invested in companies trying to create cancer drugs, apps to treat addiction, and new kinds of health care plans is setting records. According to the data provider CB Insights, roughly $100 billion has been invested in health care-related companies so far this year — topping the record $80 billion that went into the sector in 2020. (Greeley offers his perspective on the latest investment activity on his blog, On the Flying Bridge.) (Kirsner, 11/23)

The Atlantic: Lab-Leak Versus Wet-Market: Competing Pandemic Theories 
The evolutionary virologist Michael Worobey is trying to bring the pandemic-origins debate back to where it started: with the notion that the coronavirus made the jump to humans at the Huanan seafood market, in Wuhan, China. Last week, he argued in Science that, contrary to official timelines of infection, the “first known” patient was a market vendor selling shrimp. For Worobey, it’s telling—to say the least—that this confirmed case, and most of the other very early ones, was linked to Huanan. In an interview with Jane Qiu, whose excellent rundown of the new analysis appeared on Friday in the MIT Technology Review, he calls a natural spillover in this spot “vastly more likely than any other scenarios based on what we now know.” (Daniel Engber, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Rapid Covid-19 Testing At Home Should Be Cheap And Easy 
As a strategy to slow the pandemic, vaccination offers many advantages: protection before infection, high efficacy, shots free and widely available. But the United States needs to build a parallel strategy of inexpensive, rapid at-home diagnostic testing that will spot viral infections early on, and thus help stop the spread. (11/23)

Stat: As Vaccination Efforts Falter, Get Serious About Covid-19 Testing 
As the U.S. heads into Thanksgiving and the holiday season beyond, new cases of Covid-19 are as high as they were in the first week of November 2020 and are quickly rising after two months of steady decline, even though the pandemic toolbox is fuller today than it was then. One year ago this week, the Food and Drug Administration had just authorized the first at-home test and the first monoclonal antibody treatment, and there were no authorized vaccines. Hotspots flared across the nation as different states took different approaches to curbing the virus by requiring masks and limiting public gatherings. (Atul Grover and Heather Pierce, 11/24)

Los Angeles Times: Another COVID Thanksgiving — Sigh 
COVID-19 is still infecting and killing people, and cases have started rising across the nation, even as protection from vaccines received earlier this year is waning. Despite the best efforts of public health officials, less than 60% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, leaving many millions unprotected. Kids under 5 can’t be vaccinated yet, and millions of older children who are eligible for a shot haven’t received one. Though they are less likely to get seriously ill than other age groups, thousands of children have been hospitalized, and hundreds have died. Things can get worse. (11/23)

USA Today: Airline Travel: People With Disabilities Face Huge Risks While Flying
In our highly mobile society, air travel is unquestionably the fastest way to get to our destination, but it is ill-equipped for millions of people with disabilities, particularly wheelchair users. Air travel is a broken system in need of attention, as the recent death of disability rights activist Engracia Figueroa illustrates. Figueroa’s careless mistreatment at the hands of an airline is not an isolated event – though it is among the most egregious. Figueroa died after an airline broke her custom-fit wheelchair. She spent weeks in a loaner chair, which caused a pressure sore that led to her death. (Charles Brown, 11/24)

The New York Times: Who Makes A ‘Good’ Transplant Candidate? 
My patient stared straight ahead as the liver specialist delivered the news. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her mind murky from the toxins of liver disease and low blood pressure. She was not a candidate for a liver transplant, the specialist explained, at least not now. He paused to give my patient and her husband time to absorb the decision. She pulled the hospital blanket up to her chin. Her husband simply nodded. Their daughter would later tell me that her father got “the gist” of the conversation, even if he could not understand the details. When we asked if he had questions, he shook his head. No. (Daniela J. Lamas, 11/24)

The Tennessean: How To Address Type 2 Diabetes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
With the persistent spread of COVID-19 in the state of Tennessee and across the country, many people are once again wearing masks and avoiding large crowds. This is likely true for the 56% of Americans who have an increased chance of COVID-19 complications, such as type 2 diabetes. For the 30 million Americans with this disease, along with the 88 million people with prediabetes, it is important to note that type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of medical complications, including heart disease and kidney damage. (Dr. Donna O'Shea, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Patients Now See Their Records, But Can They Understand Them? 
I am a primary care pediatrician who often hears from friends or relatives when they get bad or confusing medical news. Recently, a call came late on a Friday from someone who had just checked a test result in her MyChart account, a widely used electronic patient portal, and learned she had cancer. The weekend was starting, she wouldn’t be able to discuss the news with her doctor until Monday, and she spent the weekend reading and rereading her report and anxiously searching the internet for information. (Eliana Perrin, 11/23)