The Washington Post: U.S. Reports Highest Daily Death Toll In Over Six Months 
The United States logged nearly 2,100 coronavirus-related fatalities on Tuesday, marking the deadliest day in more than six months. Record numbers of fatalities were also reported in nine states — Maine, Alaska, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana, Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio and Oregon — according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Tuesday’s tally of 2,092 deaths is the highest the country has seen since May 6, when 2,611 deaths were reported. (Farzan, 11/25)

CNN: The US Reported More Than 2,100 Deaths In A Single Day. Things Are Projected To Get Worse
When cases and hospitalizations began to surge weeks ago, officials predicted deaths would soon follow. Daily cases haven't dipped below 100,000 in three weeks. And for the 15th consecutive day, the US beat its own hospitalization record, with now more than 88,000 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The coming weeks are likely to continue getting worse, before a possible vaccine begins to offer some relief. But just how much worse things will get depends on the mitigation steps taken across the country -- as well as the kinds of celebrations Americans will opt to host over the coming days, experts say. (Maxouris, 11/25)

The Hill: University Model Predicts US Could Nearly Double COVID-19 Cases By Jan. 20 
A model from Washington University in St. Louis predicts that the United States could nearly double in COVID-19 cases by Inauguration Day. The model predicts that the U.S. could reach 20 million cases by Jan. 20, CNN reports, nearly doubling the current 12.4 million infections already reported. (Williams, 11/24)

On hospitalizations —

CNN: US Sets Record For Covid-19 Hospitalizations Amid Fall Surge 
There are 88,080 people currently hospitalized with Covid-19, setting a record for hospitalizations amid a continuing fall surge, according to the Covid Tracking Project. This is the highest number of Covid-19 hospitalizations the nation has ever experienced since the pandemic hit the US. (Hanna, Maxouris and Vera, 11/24)

Stat: Hospitals Brace For Covid-19 Surge, Hope This Time Will Be Different 
The first round of treating Covid-19 patients in New Jersey was brutal. Victorine Long Njaka, a nurse at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, can’t shake the memory of a 34-year-old patient from last spring. He could barely breathe, and was so weakened by the virus, he seemed to have lost his will to live. (Glaser, 11/25)

Crain's Detroit Business: Hospitals Gear Up For Long Winter Surge As Beds, ICUs Fill With COVID-19 Patients
Many critical care doctors, nurses and other health care workers expect to work 12- to 16-hour shifts to take care of the numbers of increasingly ill patients — not just from the coronavirus, but from a combination of influenza and the normal winter uptick in medical activity with heart attacks and strokes that typically happen at the end of the year, experts say. Nationally, COVID-19 deaths have exceeded 251,892 with 11.7 million cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Global deaths have topped 1.36 million with 56.7 million cases and coronavirus is not slowing for countries that don't take the virus seriously. (Greene, 11/24)

Des Moines Register: Iowa COVID-19 Surge Means ICU Beds In Short Supply, Caregivers Warn
The Iowa hospital region that includes the state's most populous area has at times in the last week been down to two or three intensive care unit beds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairperson of the Iowa Hospital Association warned Tuesday.“ There was two days in the last week that we only had two or three ICU beds available in our whole region,” which includes Polk, Dallas and Warren counties in the Des Moines metro and Story County, home of Ames, Dr. Tammy Chance, who is also medical director of quality initiatives at Boone County Hospital, said during a news conference Tuesday. “That is really scary.” (Clayworth, 11/24)

Also —

CNN: ICU Doctor Warns 'This Is What You'll See At The End Of Your Life If Covid Precautions Aren't Taken 
After notifying a family their loved one had died from Covid-19, ICU Dr. Ken Remy felt compelled to send a message to emphasize how critical wearing a mask, social distancing and washing your hands are to reduce the transmission. So he made a video simulating a Covid patient being intubated, in what could be their last moment of their life that they are awake and lucid. (Murphy, 11/24)

The Hill: White House Coronavirus Task Force Calls For A 'Significant Behavior Change' From Americans 
The White House coronavirus task force this week issued a dire warning to states of “aggressive, rapid, and expanding” spread of cases that requires a “significant behavior change” from all Americans ahead of the holidays. There is community spread of COVID-19 in more than 2,000 counties, reads the report issued to states and obtained by The Hill, which calls for forceful efforts to “flatten the curve to sustain the health system for both COVID and non-COVID emergencies.” (Hellmann, 11/24)

Reuters: 'COVID Chat': Officials Urge Americans To Stay Home Over Holiday
U.S. health officials and politicians pleaded with Americans on Tuesday to stay at home over the Thanksgiving holiday and abide by constraints placed on social and economic life as record coronavirus caseloads pushed hospitals to their limits. The chorus of public appeals intensified heading into a holiday weekend expected to further fuel an alarming surge of infections nationwide, while the daily U.S. death toll climbed above 2,000 - at least four deaths every three minutes. It marked the highest 24-hour loss of life from the pandemic since early May. (Heavey and Caspani, 11/24)

CNBC: Covid Cases Are Exploding Across U.S. And Thanksgiving Could Be An 'Accelerator Event'
By all indications, Americans are traveling to see family for the holiday, despite pleas from public health officials not to do so. About 1 million Americans boarded planes this past weekend, the biggest crowds seen by the industry since the spring. (Feuer, 11/25)

CNN: Thanksgiving 2020: 61% Of Americans Changed Plans Due To Covid-19 Spikes 
Sixty one percent of Americans have changed their Thanksgiving plans due to recent spikes in Covid-19 cases, according to new poll results released Tuesday by Axios-Ipsos. The most common changes reported were seeing only immediate household members and having a smaller dinner than originally planned, according to the poll, which was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,002 US adults and conducted between November 20 and 23. (Thomas, 11/24)

Also —

The New York Times: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Takes On A Pandemic 
Not snow, not rain, not gusting winds or the Great Depression have caused the cancellation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in its 96-year history. On Thursday it seems poised to power through a pandemic. The other parades of New York City have fallen one by one, as city and state officials determined it would be unsafe to proceed with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Pride March and the Puerto Rican Day Parade because they draw such huge crowds. The West Indian American Day Parade on Labor Day was forced to go virtual for similar reasons. (Jacobs, 11/24)

NPR: Epidemiologist Says Restricting Small Gatherings Isn't Enough To Stop The Surge
For weeks now, the message from public health officials has been clear: The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is with members of your immediate household only. The level of coronavirus cases in the U.S. right now means the chances of encountering an infected person while traveling or while sitting at a crowded table are very real. (Chang, 11/24)

CNN: What Matters: Covid Might Mean Fewer Family Political Fights Over Thanksgiving 
What a difference a year makes. Just before last Thanksgiving, we were focused entirely on the forthcoming impeachment of President Donald Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine into helping him damage Joe Biden. I wrote a sort of guide on how to get smart on the Democrats' investigation and politics before sitting down over turkey. This year, Biden is President-elect, and with the pandemic raging, the federal government is counseling Americans not to go to Thanksgiving dinner at all. (Wolf, 11/25)

North Carolina Health News: Migrant Workers Clean Turkey Amidst COVID 
Jessica spends her days wrist-deep in turkey. She cuts their neck bones, removes the shanks, the crop, the organs no one wants to be confronted with when they handle, prep or eat the bird. She makes sure each fowl is sanitized before packaging, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with workers just like her, close to the Spanish-language signs that adorn the walls reminding them to “maintain at least six feet of distance from other people.” (Critchfield, 11/25)

The Hill: New York City To Add COVID-19 Checkpoints At Bridges, Crossings 
New York City will add COVID-19 checkpoints at certain bridges and crossings to enforce quarantine restrictions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Sheriff Joseph Fucito said Tuesday that among the actions authorities will take is conducting spot checks on passengers stepping off out-of-state buses. (Deese, 11/24)

CNN: El Paso Issues A Curfew Ahead Of Thanksgiving As It Continues To Fight A Surge Of Covid-19 Cases And Deaths 
El Paso County, Texas, has ordered a new curfew starting Thanksgiving eve as it continues to grapple with rising Covid-19 cases and so many deaths that 10 additional morgue units have been brought in to accommodate the surge. The situation is so dire that 1,500 additional medical professionals and the National Guard have been deployed to help. Even inmates have been enlisted to assist in morgue operations as the death toll grows. (Razek and Silverman, 11/25)

The Washington Post: Blunt Coronavirus Thanksgiving Warning From Salt Lake County Health Department 
A dozen people are gathered around a Thanksgiving table. A turkey has been carved, wine glasses held up to toast the holiday. A group is preparing to take a selfie. “Everybody say, ‘I was just exposed to COVID!'" reads a text bubble. This is the hypothetical scene portrayed in a Monday evening Facebook and Twitter post by the Salt Lake County Health Department, which urges people to avoid gatherings to help curb the surge in coronavirus cases. It’s the latest in a series of posts from the department in Utah that officials hope will provide a reality check about the risks associated with gathering for the holiday as the pandemic rages. (Firozi, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Pandemic Thanksgiving Plans For D.C. Area Residents Upended With Surge In Coronavirus Cases 
Just two weeks ago, Dena Nihart finalized plans to meet dozens of relatives for Thanksgiving dinner beneath a tent in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They agreed to quarantine for 14 days before the holiday and rent 10 tables so they could separate by household during the big meal. But then, last Monday, Nihart’s body began to ache. By Wednesday, she could barely hold up her head. And by Friday, as Nihart waited for her coronavirus test results with cases surging around her, her family had canceled Thanksgiving altogether. (Davies, 11/24)

Houston Chronicle: Fewer Texans Traveling This Pandemic Thanksgiving, Despite Low Gas Prices
Millions of Americans will stay close to home this Thanksgiving weekend as coronavirus cases spike nationally and public officials plead with people not to travel. The American Automobile Association predicts that 50.6 million people in the U.S. will travel from Wednesday to Monday, almost 10 percent fewer than during the same days in 2019. In Texas, AAA predicts that 3.9 million people will travel from Wednesday to Sunday, almost 5 percent fewer than in 2019. (Takahashi, 11/24)

The New York Times: Where Are Americans Staying Home For Thanksgiving? 
Public health officials have been pleading with Americans to stay home this year for Thanksgiving. And, despite busy airports this past weekend, most people plan to follow their advice, according to a huge survey asking Americans about their holiday plans. (Katz, Quealy and Sanger-Katz, 11/24)

Also —

Politico: How 9 Governors Are Handling The Next Coronavirus Wave 
President Donald Trump hasn’t been leading on the coronavirus and governors are again in charge of the nation’s response. They’re reacting with a patchwork policy that’s unlikely to head off the long-warned “dark winter” in America. Governors are balancing rising case numbers and pressure to keep schools, restaurants and bars at least partially open. They’re employing loosely defined “curfews” on all but essential workers, admonishments over holding Thanksgiving dinners and reductions in capacity limits on indoor spaces — and a growing number of Republicans are mandating masks. (Roubein and Kapos, 11/25)

NPR: Initial Batch Of COVID-19 Vaccines Will Go To States Based On Population, Not Risk
Top officials from Operation Warp Speed, the government's program to fast-track the development and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, announced they've allocated 6.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to states based on their total populations. Once a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, allocations will be made based on the total number of adults in the state. "We wanted to keep this simple," Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services said at a media briefing Tuesday, "We thought it would be the fairest approach, and the most consistent." (Huang, 11/24)

The Washington Post: First Batch Of 6.4 Million Vaccine Doses Could Go Out In Mid-December 
The federal government plans to send 6.4 million doses of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to communities across the United States within 24 hours of regulatory clearance, with the expectation that shots will be administered quickly to front-line health-care workers, the top priority group, officials said Tuesday. Gen. Gustave Perna, who oversees logistics for Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to speed up treatments and vaccines, told reporters that state officials were informed on Friday night of the allocation, which is based on each state’s overall population. (Sun, 11/24)

Reuters: U.S. Officials Plan To Release 6.4 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses In First Distribution
U.S. officials said on Tuesday they plan to release 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses nationwide in an initial distribution after the first one is cleared by regulators for emergency use. Officials from the government’s Operation Warp Speed program told reporters that states and other jurisdictions had been informed on Friday of their estimated vaccine allocations in the first shipments so they can begin planning for how to best distribute it to their high-risk populations. (Spalding and O'Donnell, 11/24)

Fox News: Redfield Projects COVID-19 Vaccine To Be Rolled Out By 'End Of The Second Week In December' 
A coronavirus vaccine will begin to become available in the United States "probably by the end of the second week in December," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield told Fox News Tuesday. Redfield told "The Daily Briefing" that a vaccine would initially be made available "in a hierarchical way" with priority going to "nursing home residents and then some combination of health care providers and individuals at high risk for a poor outcome." (Chamberlain, 11/24)

In related news —

The Hill: CDC Advisory Panel Says People Must Be Warned About Vaccine Side Effects 
Members of an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday patients need to be warned about the potential side effects of getting a COVID-19 vaccine so they are not discouraged from getting a second dose. "As a practicing physician, I have got to be sure my patients will come back for the second dose. We really have got to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park," Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, a physician representing the American Medical Association, told the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in a meeting Monday. (Hellmann, 11/24)

NPR: Pfizer's Operation Warp Speed Supply Contract Limits Federal Rights
When the Department of Health and Human Services released Pfizer's $1.95 billion coronavirus vaccine contract with Operation Warp Speed last Wednesday, the agreement revealed that the Trump administration didn't include government rights to intellectual property typically found in federal contracts. The drugmaker has downplayed its involvement in Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's more than $10 billion program to make a coronavirus vaccine available in record time. Although Pfizer didn't receive government funding this spring toward research and development of the vaccine, it nevertheless received one of the largest Operation Warp Speed supply contracts to date on July 21. (Lupkin, 11/24)

In other vaccine news —

AP: Ford Buys Freezers To Store COVID-19 Vaccine When Available
Ford Motor Co. bought a dozen ultra-cold freezers to store a COVID-19 vaccine that —once available— will be distributed to employees on a voluntary basis. The Dearborn-based automaker said the freezer purchase is the first step in a broader vaccine distribution plan, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. (11/24)

The New York Times: What We Know About AstraZeneca’s Head-Scratching Vaccine Results
This month has seen a torrent of news about experimental vaccines to prevent Covid-19, with the latest development from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. On Monday they announced that a preliminary analysis showed their vaccine was effective — especially when the first dose was mistakenly cut in half. The announcement came on the heels of stunning reports from Moderna, as well as Pfizer and BioNTech. But AstraZeneca’s news was murkier, leaving many experts wanting to see more data before passing final judgment on how effective the vaccine may turn out to be. (Zimmer and Robbins, 11/24)

Will people get inoculated? —

The Hill: Slim Majority Plans To Take COVID-19 Vaccine As Soon As It's Available: Poll 
A slight majority of Americans plan to receive the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it becomes available, according to new polling from Ipsos released Tuesday. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they will take a first-generation vaccine immediately once it becomes available, up 6 points from the previous week and 14 points up from the same survey about two months ago. (Budryk, 11/24)

NPR: Black People Are More Hesitant About A Vaccine. A Leading Nurse Wants To Change That 
Black people are disproportionately getting sick and dying of the coronavirus, but surveys suggest they're more hesitant to get a vaccine than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Ernest Grant, the president of the American Nurses Association, says it relates to a history of abuses. The Tuskegee Institute syphilis study, where Black men were deceived and were withheld treatment, comes to mind. (Doubek and Greene, 11/24)

NPR: Vaccine Expert: Once A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Available, 'Don't Overthink It' 
As coronavirus cases continue to surge both in the U.S. and around the world, there's promising news on the vaccine front. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and, more recently, AstraZeneca have all announced that their vaccines have shown better-than-expected results. Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, says that a vaccine release could begin for selected populations by the middle of December — and that a broader vaccination effort could soon follow. (Gross, 11/24)

NPR: As COVID-19 Vaccine Nears, Employers Consider Making Vaccination Mandatory
With promising news from three COVID-19 vaccine trials showing 90% to 95% efficacy, employers are now weighing whether they should simply encourage their employees to get vaccinated or make it mandatory. (Hsu, 11/25)

The Wall Street Journal: CDC Finalizing Recommendation To Shorten Covid-19 Quarantines 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon shorten the length of time it recommends that a person self-quarantine after potential exposure to the coronavirus, hoping that such a step will encourage more people to comply, a top agency official said. CDC officials are finalizing recommendations for a new quarantine period that would likely be between seven and 10 days and include a test to ensure a person is negative for Covid-19, said Henry Walke, the agency’s incident manager for Covid-19 response. (McKay, 11/24)

NPR: CDC Likely To Recommend Shortening Coronavirus Quarantine Period
"We are actively working on that type of guidance right now, reviewing the evidence, but we want to make absolutely sure," [said Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force], adding that "these kind of recommendations aren't willy nilly." The exact language of the new guidelines and when they might be announced remains unclear, but according to a federal official who asked not to be named because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the issue, the recommended quarantine time is likely to be just seven to 10 days for people who then test negative for the virus. (Stein and Neuman, 11/25)

Reuters: Exclusive: White House Considers Lifting European Travel Restrictions - Sources
The Trump administration imposed the bans in a bid to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic. It is not considering lifting separate entry bans on most non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in China or Iran, the officials said. The plan has won the backing of White House coronavirus task-force members, public health and other federal agencies, the people briefed on the matter said, but President Donald Trump has not made a final decision and the timing remains uncertain. (Shepardson, 11/25)

In other news from the Trump administration —

The Hill: Trump Addresses Pandemic But Not Election During Annual Turkey Pardon 
President Trump presided over the annual turkey pardon Tuesday, making reference to the coronavirus pandemic but not the fact that it will be his last time fulfilling the Thanksgiving tradition before leaving office in January. Trump's White House remarks were closely watched given how infrequently he has spoken in the three weeks since Election Day, but he stayed on script and offered praise for front-line workers during an unprecedented holiday season. (Samuels, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Which Trump official has coronavirus now? This reporter always seems to know first.
If you want to find out who in the Trump administration has tested positive for the coronavirus, you should probably just set an alert for Jennifer Jacobs’s tweets. (Izadi, 11/24)

NPR: U.S. Agrees To Pause Deportations For Women Alleging Abuse At ICE Facility
The U.S. government has agreed to freeze any planned deportations of the immigrant women alleging abuse at a detention facility in Georgia. In a consent motion filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday, authorities and the accusers' attorneys jointly notified the court that the alleged victims — and others with "substantially similar factual allegations" — will not be removed from the United States. The consent motion, which remains subject to the approval of U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands, requests that further court proceedings be scheduled "after the week of Jan. 21, 202[1]" — following the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. (Dwyer, 11/24)

Modern Healthcare: Drugmakers Sue To Stop Trump Administration Importation Plan
Drugmakers late Monday sued to stop the Trump administration from allowing states to import some prescription drugs. The lawsuit is the first of what will likely be many healthcare industry legal challenges to the Trump administration's last-minute attempts to achieve policy goals before the transition in January. The importation regulation at issue was not classified by the White House to be "economically significant," while other recent drug-pricing policies advanced by the administration were. (Cohrs, 11/24)

Stat: Which Pricey Drugs Will Trump's International Pricing Policy Target? 
President Trump’s new drug pricing policy, to tie certain U.S. drug prices to those in other countries, will cost a small cadre of drug makers millions, if not billions. The plan, set to take effect in January, will set what Medicare pays for 50 drugs based on the lowest price that countries like Belgium and Japan pay for those same drugs. The U.S. will pilot the plan for seven years. (Florko, 11/24)

Also —

Bloomberg Law: Obamacare Birth Control Opt Out Rules Valid, Trump Agencies Say
Trump administration rules granting employers with religious or moral objections the right to opt out of providing employee health plans that pay for birth control are valid and should be upheld because the agencies fully considered the arguments for and against adopting them, those agencies told a federal court. The U.S. Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury departments narrowly designed the final rules to address employers’ sincere religious objections to Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate, considered comments about the rules and their effect on women’s health care, and explained their reasons for changing the former administration’s policy, the agencies said. (Pazanowski, 11/24)

Politico: Biden Eyes New Mexico Governor, Obama Surgeon General For Health Secretary 
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy have emerged as top contenders to be President-elect Joe Biden’s health secretary, with Hispanic advocacy groups making a strong push for Lujan Grisham. The nomination of Lujan Grisham, 61, would continue a tradition of presidents tapping governors to lead the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services, and make her the first Latina ever nominated for the post. Murthy, a 43-year-old Yale-educated internist who’s grown close to Biden as a top adviser on the coronavirus pandemic, would be the first nominee of Indian descent for the department’s top job. (Cancryn and Ollstein, 11/24)

In other news related to President-elect Joe Biden —

NBC News: Biden To Deliver Thanksgiving Address Amid Steep Rise In Covid Cases
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to deliver a Thanksgiving address on Wednesday from Wilmington, Del. Biden's White House transition team said in a press release that the president-elect's speech would touch on "shared sacrifices Americans are making this holiday season" while delivering a message "that we can and will get through the current crisis together." (Egan, 11/25)

NPR: Move Fast? Push For A Big Deal? Biden Faces Debate Over More COVID-19 Aid
A question for Joe Biden and his team is whether they should be encouraging Democrats to move quickly, to deliver aid faster, even if that means accepting a smaller deal. (Khalid, 11/25)

The Hill: Biden Says Staff Has Spoken With Fauci: 'He's Been Very, Very Helpful' 
President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that transition staffers have been in touch with Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force. Biden told reporters that while he has not spoken with Fauci himself, “He’s been very, very helpful.” (Axelrod, 11/24)

The Hill: CDC Officials Reportedly Excited About Biden Transition: 'This Is What We've Been Waiting For' 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials are reportedly expressing relief that a formal transition to the Biden administration is now underway. "This is what we’ve been waiting for is for them to send their landing team here and set up shop,” a senior CDC official told CNN. (Budryk, 11/24)

NPR: How Joe Biden Might Try To Make Masks A Less Partisan Issue
It was Memorial Day when then-candidate Joe Biden made his first public appearance since the coronavirus shut down in-person campaigning. Before he went out to place a wreath at a veterans memorial in Delaware, Biden and his team decided he would wear a mask. It wasn't a difficult decision, an aide said when asked about the choice. "Wearing one of these masks when you're outside is not a partisan issue," Biden said a couple of days later during a livestreamed event. "It is a matter of protecting other people." New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also indicates it protects the wearer of the mask as well. (Keith, 11/24)

USA Today: Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty To Charges, Admits Role In Opioid Epidemic
Purdue Pharma, the company that invented the painkiller OxyContin, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three federal criminal charges and admitted its role in fueling the decades-long opioid epidemic that has taken hundreds of thousands of American lives. Steve Miller, chairperson for Purdue's Board of Directors, admitted via video conference to a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, that the company had not run an effective program to avoid the illegal diversion of prescription drugs to the black market, had reported misleading information to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to boost its manufacturing quotas and had impeded that agency's effort to fight the burgeoning epidemic.  (Janoski, 11/24)

AP: OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty In Criminal Case
Purdue acknowledged that it had not maintained an effective program to prevent prescription drugs from being diverted to the black market, even though it had told the DEA it did have such a program, and that it provided misleading information to the agency as a way to boost company manufacturing quotas. (Mulvihill, 11/24)

CNN: Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty To Federal Criminal Charges Related To Nation's Opioid Crisis 
In pleading guilty to the criminal charges, the company is taking responsibility for past misconduct, Purdue Pharma said in a statement to CNN Tuesday. "Having our plea accepted in federal court, and taking responsibility for past misconduct, is an essential step to preserve billions of dollars of value for creditors and advance our goal of providing financial resources and lifesaving medicines to address the opioid crisis," the statement said. (Del Valle, 11/24)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Boston Globe: Alnylam Wins FDA Approval For First Drug To Treat Rare Kidney Disease
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. scored its third approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in as many years Monday, this time for a medicine to treat a rare disease that affects the kidneys. The rare disorder — called primary hyperoxaluria type 1 — causes a buildup of oxalate in the body, which when not filtered properly can cause kidney and bladder stones. (Gardizy, 11/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Monoclonal Antibody Drugs Raise Hopes For Keeping High-Risk COVID-19 Patients Out Of The Hospital. But It’s Complicated.
With daily coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations soaring, the debut of two medicines that can help keep high-risk COVID-19 patients out of the hospital would seem to be a breakthrough. Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment was authorized for emergency use earlier this month. Regeneron’s version — a mix of two antibodies that President Donald Trump received after his diagnosis in October — was authorized on Saturday. (McCullough, 11/24)

The Oklahoman: Asymptomatic Health Care Workers With COVID-19 Allowed To Continue Working In Oklahoma
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is allowing health care workers that have tested positive for COVID-19, but aren't exhibiting symptoms of the virus, to continue working at hospitals and long-term care facilities. But the Oklahoma Nurses Association opposes allowing asymptomatic COVID-19 positive nurses to continue working, and on Monday called the recommendation a “reckless” solution to the state’s staffing shortage. (Forman, 11/24)

CIDRAP: AI System Bests Radiologists In Spotting COVID-19 In Lungs 
A new artificial intelligence (AI) platform developed by Northwestern University researchers can detect COVID-19 in the lungs 10 times faster and a bit more accurately than specialized cardiothoracic radiologists, according to a study published today in Radiology. The researchers trained and tested DeepCOVID-XR, a machine-learning algorithm that analyzes chest X-rays, on 17,002 X-ray images, 5,445 of them with signs of COVID-19, collected from February to April. (Van Beusekom, 11/24)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Hospital Performs Double Lung Transplant On COVID-19 Patient
A patient who suffered permanent lung damage from COVID-19 is recovering after receiving a double lung transplant at University Hospital several weeks ago. The surgery in late October was the first of its kind to be performed in San Antonio. Only a small number of the procedures have taken place in Texas. (Caruba, 11/24)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: HCA Prevails In Medicare Whistleblower Lawsuit
A federal judge in Kansas dismissed a False Claims Act lawsuit against HCA Healthcare, ruling that the whistleblower didn't have specific enough information about the alleged fraud. U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum in Kansas City this week granted motions to dismiss from Nashville-based HCA, HCA Midwest Health and HCA practices College Park Physical Therapy and College Park Family Care Center Physicians Group. He added the caveat that the plaintiff, Edward Ernst, has until Dec. 14 to resubmit his claims. (Bannow, 11/24)

Modern Healthcare: Connecticut Launches Bundled-Payment Program For Employee Health Plan
Connecticut has started a bundled-payment program for its state employees to help save healthcare costs. Connecticut's employee health plan cost the state $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2019, and Connecticut faces a deficit of over $2 billion. The new program, along with other efforts related to the health plan, are proposed to save the state $185 million through fiscal year 2021, according to the state. (Castellucci, 11/24)

The Hill: Long Lines Form At Food Banks Across Country Ahead Of Thanksgiving 
Americans are lining up in historic numbers at food banks across the country this week as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates levels of food insecurity for millions of people. As the Thanksgiving holiday draws closer, news reports from states around the U.S. indicate that more Americans face food insecurity now than at any time in recent decades. (Bowden, 11/24)

Boston Globe: Surge In Demand At Food Pantries Called ‘Mind-Boggling’
Demand at food pantries often rises during the holidays, but rarely have so many been without the basic ingredients of a Thanksgiving dinner — or any meal — as this year. With so many unemployed, sick, or otherwise in need as a result of the pandemic, the calls for help have grown so much that food pantries have struggled to keep pace. It’s just a terrible time for a lot of people,” said Catherine D’Amato, president of the Greater Boston Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, which provides food to 190 towns and cities in Eastern Massachusetts. “We’re obviously in a crisis.” (Abel, 11/24)

Clarion-Ledger: Hunger Is Still A Big Problem In Mississippi And COVID-19 Is Making It Worse
As millions of Americans prepare for a slightly different Thanksgiving this year, limited access to grocery stores will cause families in Mississippi and across the country to struggle to put food on the table. According to research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hundreds of thousands of people in some of Mississippi's poorest regions — and even some in the Jackson metro area — lack access to fresh and healthy food. (Rowe, 11/24)

In related news on COVID's economic toll —

Bay Area News Group: Will The COVID-19 Pandemic Kill Black Friday This Year?
As it turns out, many retailers share shoppers’ concerns about mixing Black Friday and COVID-19, knowing the day traditionally encourages the crowds and jostling that could promote a “super-spreader event,” said Kirthi Kalyanam, a business professor and director of Santa Clara University’s Retail Management Institute. Health officials are concerned, as well. Big and small retailers in most Bay Area counties are under new public health restrictions to limit their occupancy to 25 percent. (Harrington and Ross, 11/22)

AP: Restaurant Workers Out Of Work Again As Virus Surges Anew
Waiters and bartenders are being thrown out of work — again — as governors and local officials shut down indoor dining and drinking establishments to combat the nationwide surge in coronavirus infections that is overwhelming hospitals and dashing hopes for a quick economic recovery. And the timing, just before the holidays, couldn’t be worse. (Webber, Peters and Melley, 11/24)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Regulator Gives Guidance To Casinos For Capacity Restrictions
Nevada’s heavyweight casino operators aren’t saying how they are complying with the new capacity limits, but experts say the change isn’t likely to drastically alter casino operations, considering their floors were largely empty under the previous restrictions. It’s industry practice for casinos to track how many people are on their floors, even before the capacity limits in the age of COVID-19, according to former MGM Resorts International executive Rick Arpin. Industry operators will count through security cameras, hand counts, and in some cases nationally, artificial intelligence, though Arpin wasn’t sure of the latter’s local prevalence. (Shoro, 11/24)

KHN: Why Employers Find It So Hard To Test For COVID 
Brandon Hudgins works the main floor at Fleet Feet, a running-shoe store chain, for more than 30 hours a week. He chats with customers, measuring their feet and dashing in and out of the storage area to locate right-sized shoes. Sometimes, clients drag their masks down while speaking. Others refuse to wear masks at all. So he worries about COVID-19. And with good reason. Across the U.S., COVID hospitalizations and deaths are hitting record-shattering new heights. The nation saw 198,633 new cases on Friday alone. (Norman, 11/25)

The New York Times: $15,000 Fine After Secret Hasidic Wedding Draws Thousands Of Guests 
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered to celebrate a wedding inside a cavernous hall in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood earlier this month, dancing and singing with hardly a mask in sight. The wedding was meticulously planned, and so were efforts to conceal it from the authorities, who said that the organizers would be fined $15,000 for violating public health restrictions. The wedding, organized on Nov. 8 by the leaders of the Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, is the latest incident in a long battle between city and state officials and members of the ultra-Orthodox community, who prize autonomy, chafe at government restrictions and have frequently flouted guidelines like mask-wearing and social distancing. (Stack, 11/24)

AP: Can You Repeat That? Hearing Trouble More Obvious With Masks
As nurse Teri Wheat made her rounds at a Texas maternity ward, she began to realize she was having a hard time understanding the new mothers who were wearing masks due to the coronavirus pandemic. So she got her hearing tested and now wears hearing aids. Her hearing loss “became more noticeable the more barriers that we had to have,” said Wheat, 52, who wears a mask and a face shield at work to protect herself and others against the virus. (Stengle, 11/24)

The Washington Post: U.S. Media Coverage Of Pandemic Tends To Focus On ‘Bad News,’ Even When Cases Are Declining, New Study Finds
American media outlets covering the coronavirus pandemic tend to place more emphasis on bad news than their counterparts overseas, and consistently strike a more negative tone than scientific journals, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. While a certain amount of negativity might be expected, given that the United States has more coronavirus cases and fatalities than anywhere else in the world, the paper’s authors found the tone of coverage wasn’t closely tied to how many new infections were being reported at any given period in time. Nor did it vary among partisan news outlets: Stories about covid-19 on Fox News “are about as negative as those from CNN,” the researchers write. (Farzan, 11/25)

In obituaries —

The New York Times: Honestie Hodges, Handcuffed By The Police At 11, Is Dead At 14 
Honestie Hodges, who was handcuffed by the police outside her home in Grand Rapids, Mich., when she was 11, a frightening incident that drew outrage and national headlines in 2017, died on Sunday. She was 14. Her death, at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, was caused by Covid-19, her grandmother Alisa Niemeyer wrote in a post on the website GoFundMe. (Rifkin, 11/24)

CNN: Hal Ketchum, Legendary Country Music Artist, Dies At 67 After Battle With Dementia 
Country music singer Hal Ketchum passed away at the age of 67 on Monday night due to complications from dementia, his wife said. "With great sadness and grief we announce that Hal passed away peacefully last night at home due to complications of dementia," Ketchum's wife, Andrea, confirmed in a post on the late singer's Facebook page and website. Ketchum, who was known for country music hits such as "Small Town Saturday Night" and "Long Haired Country Boy," released his first album in 1988. He would go on to release 10 more albums, according to his website. (Kim, 11/24)

Also, in non-COVID news —

The Wall Street Journal: More Than 940,000 Crock-Pot Multicookers Recalled After Burn-Injury Reports 
More than 940,000 Crock-Pot multicookers are being recalled after reports of the lid suddenly detaching due to pressure, causing hot food and liquids to be ejected from the pot. The 6-quart multicookers are manufactured by Sunbeam Products Inc., a unit of Newell Brands Inc. Sunbeam received 119 reports of lid detachment that led to 99 burn injuries, ranging from first- to third-degree burns in the U.S., according to a notice on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website. (Sebastian, 11/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Oregon Decriminalized Drug Possession. Now It Has To Offer Treatment. 
Now that Oregon voters have agreed to end nearly all criminal penalties for drug possession, state officials have just over two months to set up a new recovery-focused system, a task that is particularly complicated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Measure 110, which goes into effect Feb. 1, allows a maximum fine of $100 for possession of drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines along with a mandatory health assessment. The first statewide law of its kind in the nation passed with support of 58% of voters this month. It also mandates new recovery centers, paid for by marijuana taxes and savings from less incarceration. (Morrison, 11/24)

Detroit Free Press: Detroit City Council OKs Sales Recreational Marijuana
Come 2021, recreational marijuana shops are on the table in Detroit. Detroit City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed an amended ordinance to allow adult-use recreational sales in the city, which has previously only allowed medical marijuana businesses within city limits. The ordinance gives licensing preferences to longstanding city residents and was championed by Councilman James Tate, who announced it with Mayor Mike Duggan last month. (Witsil and Moran, 11/25)

In news from Oregon, California and the Navajo Nation —

Modern Healthcare: Ohio Medicaid Launches Program To Curb Long-Term Care Loneliness
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is introducing a "friendly caller" program to reduce loneliness among residents in long-term care facilities. Through the holidays, Ohio Medicaid, Ohio's five Medicaid managed care organizations and the state's Area Agencies on Aging will work together to pair residents with volunteers for 30-minute informal calls twice a week. (Christ, 11/24)

KHN: California Businesses Go From Simmer To Boil Over Newsom’s Fine Dining 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s maskless dinner with medical industry lobbyists and others at a Napa County restaurant where meals cost a minimum of $350 per head was just about the last straw for some beleaguered California small-business owners. With their livelihoods on the line, a growing number of them are openly defying the latest orders to shut down as COVID cases skyrocket in California — and pointing to Newsom’s bad behavior. (Wolfson and Almendrala, 11/25)

CNN: The Navajo Nation Is Struggling To Survive The Coronavirus 
A thick cloud of dust kicks up behind cars as they meander down a rugged dirt road into town. The bone-shaking journey to Pinon, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation is a long one filled with sharp bumps and deep potholes. Much like the drive into Pinon, the Navajo Nation's struggles with the coronavirus have been far from easy. The community surpassed New York state for the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the United States in May. (Marples, 11/24)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘We Started Weeping In April, And We Haven’t Stopped’: Baltimore’s Latino Community Racked By Coronavirus 
They wanted to hold the ceremony outside that November night, but it was too cold and windy. So the parishioners gathered in their beloved Highlandtown church, where red candles with the names of loved ones were lit along the altar. They watched as their pastor walked solemnly up the aisle, stepping over the tape marked for social distancing. Then he turned to face the congregation and began to call out, one by one, the names of the parish’s dead. (Garcia, 11/24)

The Hill: Russia Says Vaccine Candidate Is 95 Percent Effective, Will Sell For $10 Internationally 
Russia on Tuesday said its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Sputnik V has an efficacy over 95 percent, adding that it would cost less than $10 a dose in international markets. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the price tag for its near-ready vaccine around the same time British vaccine creators from Oxford University and AstraZeneca said their version was 70 percent effective, up to 90 percent if dosages are adjusted, The Washington Post reported. (Deese, 11/24)

The Guardian: Russia Says Data On Sputnik Covid Vaccine Shows 95% Efficacy
Not everyone is convinced by Russia’s official data, however, and suspicions have been increased by the fact Russian authorities speedily licensed the vaccine before the results of stage three trials were available, as well as reports of state employees being coerced into taking part in trials. While numerous countries have expressed an interest in studying or purchasing the vaccine, few western countries have signed up. Among EU nations, only Hungary has expressed a serious interest, causing friction with other members of the bloc. A spokesman for the European commission said the body “does not have any data regarding this Russian vaccine,” Interfax reported on Tuesday evening. (Roth and Walker, 11/24)

In other global developments on the COVID vaccine —

AP: With Hope High For Vaccine, Britain Prepares To Roll It Out
With major COVID-19 vaccines showing high levels of protection, British officials are cautiously — and they stress cautiously — optimistic that life may start returning to normal by early April. Even before regulators have approved a single vaccine, the U.K. and countries across Europe are moving quickly to organize the distribution and delivery systems needed to inoculate millions of citizens. (Kirka, 11/25)

Bloomberg: Row Over England Flu Shots Prompts Fear Of Covid Vaccine ‘Chaos’
Communication failures risk derailing the mass roll-out of a potential Covid-19 vaccine in England, family doctors warned after they were blindsided by a government announcement on free flu shots for the over-50s. Ministers announced last week that people aged 50-64 will be able to get a flu vaccination from Dec. 1, but doctors complained they were not told in advance and were deluged with calls from patients demanding appointments. Some practices are still not able to get hold of enough flu vaccine for the over-65s, let alone younger patients. (Ashton, 11/25)

AP: EU Says First Virus Vaccinations Possible By Christmas
A top European Union official said Wednesday that the first citizens in the 27 nation bloc could be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Christmas, but she warned that member countries must urgently prepare their logistical chains for the rollout of hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccines. Claiming that “there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers that “the first European citizens might already be vaccinated before the end of December.” (11/24)

AP: Trudeau: Canadians Won't Be Among The First To Get Vaccine
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Canada will have to wait for a vaccine because the very first ones that roll off assembly lines are likely to be given to citizens of the country they are made in. Trudeau said the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have mass vaccine-production facilities but Canada does not. (Gillies, 11/24)

Bloomberg: China Vaccine Maker Applies For Public Use Of Covid Shot
A leading Chinese vaccine developer has applied for authorization to bring its Covid-19 shot to the market, seeking to get a jump on Western rivals as the race for a working inoculation against the virus enters the final stretch. China National Biotec Group Co. has submitted an application to Chinese regulators, reported state media Xinhua Finance on Wednesday, citing parent company Sinopharm’s vice general manager Shi Shengyi. The application likely includes interim data from the company’s Phase III human testing conducted in the Middle East and South America. (11/25)

The New York Times: A Coronavirus Vaccine Game Plan, With Help From South Korea
The deaths were mounting, and so were the public’s fears. South Korea had vastly expanded its flu vaccine program to cover millions more people, to prevent a one-two punch to its health system as the coronavirus spread globally. But as the injections got underway, reports of deaths started popping up. (Sang-Hun and Grady, 11/24)

Reuters: Britain's Duchess Meghan Speaks About Miscarriage In Break With Royal Reserve
Meghan, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, has revealed that she had a miscarriage, an extraordinarily personal disclosure coming from a high-profile British royal. The wife of Prince Harry and former actress wrote about the experience in detail in an opinion article published in the New York Times on Wednesday, saying that it took place one July morning when she was caring for Archie, the couple’s son. (Shirbon, 11/25)

The New York Times: Meghan Markle: The Losses We Share 
It was a July morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib. After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second. (Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, 11/25)

AP: Virus Outbreak Delays Production At World's Top Glove Maker
Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp., the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, said Tuesday it expects a two-to-four-week delay in deliveries after more than 2,000 workers at its factories were infected by the coronavirus, raising the possibility of supply disruptions during the pandemic. Top Glove said it has temporarily stopped production at 16 factories in Klang, a town outside Kuala Lumpur, since Nov. 17 to screen workers, with its remaining 12 facilities in the area operating at much reduced capacities. (11/24)

CNN: Covid-19 Cases Are Rising In Asia, But Compared To The West It's A Drop In The Ocean 
Winter is coming, for parts of Asia too. Across the region, many countries and cities that had previously kept the coronavirus largely under control are seeing a rise in infections. Last week, Japan's daily caseload surged to its highest since the pandemic began, surpassing 2,000 for five days in a row. (Gan, 11/25)

The Hill: Top Epidemiologist Says Sweden Has No Signs Of Herd Immunity Curbing Coronavirus 
Sweden's top infectious disease expert said Tuesday that the country has not seen evidence of herd immunity slowing the spread of the coronavirus in the country. “The issue of herd immunity is difficult,” Anders Tegnell, Sweden's state epidemiologist, said at a news briefing, according to Bloomberg News. (Bowden, 11/24)

Also —

The Hill: Scotland Passes Bill To Make Menstruation Products Free In Public Facilities 
Scotland's parliament on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would require local governments to provide free menstruation products to all Scottish residents. The BBC reported that each of Scotland's 32 local government authorities, called councils, will provide tampons or sanitary pads to "anyone who needs them" free of charge, making Scotland the first country to put such a provision into law. (Bowden, 11/24)

The Hill: A Glimmer Of Hope: Global Flu Infections Hit Record Lows Amid Pandemic 
Public health officials and experts watching the dark cloud of the coronavirus pandemic have picked out the tiniest of silver linings: This year’s influenza transmission appears to be one of the lowest in recorded history. (Wilson, 11/24)

Reuters: Special Report: 50,000 COVID-19 Deaths And Rising. How Britain Failed To Stop The Second Wave
On the doorstep of a terraced house in northern England, virus hunter Colin Hutchinson came face-to-face with the new wave of COVID-19, and the obstacles to slowing its spread. A retired surgeon, Hutchinson is part of a local team of “contact tracers” in Halifax, Yorkshire, that aims to reach infected people before they infect others. His experience that day in mid-October, he said, summed up why Britain’s “tracking of the virus is very, very poor. ”He wanted to speak urgently to a 54-year-old woman who’d tested positive for COVID-19, to identify her contacts. The area’s two hospitals were filling up – 40 COVID-19 patients were already being treated – and deaths from the virus had tripled in the district in the previous two weeks. (MacAskill, Grey, McNeill, Stecklow, Wilkes and Marshall, 11/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Why Fewer People Are Dying Of COVID-19, Even As Cases Surge
Last spring was the busiest season Michael K. Donohue can remember for his family’s six funeral homes in the Philadelphia suburbs. COVID-19 was the primary reason, of course, with 160 funerals in April alone — double the usual number. But this fall, even as the daily totals of new infections have surged past where they were in the spring, business at Donohue Funeral Homes remains fairly normal — so far. Donohue, the president of the 122-year-old business based in Upper Darby, sees the trend as well as any epidemiologist. (Avril and Dutchneskie, 11/22)

The Atlantic: COVID-19's Third Surge Is Breaking Health-Care Workers
On Saturday morning, Megan Ranney was about to put on her scrubs when she heard that Joe Biden had won the presidential election. That day, she treated people with COVID-19 while street parties erupted around the country. She was still in the ER in the late evening when Biden and Vice President–elect Kamala Harris made their victory speeches. These days, her shifts at Rhode Island Hospital are long, and they “are not going to change in the next 73 days,” before Biden becomes president, she told me on Monday. Every time Ranney returns to the hospital, there are more COVID-19 patients. (Yong, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Rural Americans Stopped Staying In. Then Covid-19 Hit. 
The coronavirus is resurging across the U.S. But it’s hitting hardest in rural places, where people have been sheltering less than anywhere else in the country. As new virus cases broke records all over, Americans in rural counties were leaving home about as much as they did before the pandemic struck, a Wall Street Journal analysis of coronavirus case data from Johns Hopkins University and cellphone mobility metrics from data firm SafeGraph found. In cities, people have remained more hunkered down. (Fuller and Hobbs, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Before Covid-19, How Los Angeles Avoided The 1918 Flu Pandemic’s Second Wave 
Weeks passed as cases of a lethal new illness spread farther and farther west. For residents of Los Angeles, fear grew as the second wave of the flu pandemic washed across the country in fall of 1918, just as a surge of coronavirus cases would do a century later. Los Angeles leaders didn’t wait for the contagion to arrive. With reports of infections overwhelming Eastern cities, officials outlawed public gatherings. Their goal was to minimize the spread of disease, while also avoiding panic. Now, Los Angeles is among the cities battling a record number of new coronavirus cases as the worst pandemic since 1918 ravages the United States. (Waters, 11/21)

The Washington Post: Travel Shutdowns Kept These 10 Places Covid-19-Free 
Before 2020, the remote islands of the South Pacific were more accessible to leisure travelers than ever before. Thanks to affordable global air travel, little-known places such as Tonga, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands welcomed thousands of visitors annually from all over the world — up until the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now those islands are some of the only remaining corners of the globe where the coronavirus doesn’t exist, thanks to their total suspension of inbound tourism and other nonessential travel. (McMahon, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Limits Travel To Total Solar Eclipse In Chile, Argentina 
Imagine standing between active volcanoes, looking upward in awe as a perfect circle of black hangs in the sky. It’s surrounded by wispy tendrils of light fanning outward like luminous hair, pinprick stars freckling the azure sky. A 360-degree band of amber surrounds you on the horizon, while occasional green meteors streak through the twilight. The breeze flatlines as crickets chirp in the sudden nightfall. If it sounds like an otherworldly experience, that’s because it’s sure to be. It’s one that thousands have eagerly been preparing for leading up to a Dec. 14 total solar eclipse that will track across Chile and Argentina. But almost none will be able to go, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Both countries have sealed their borders to international tourism and show no signs of reversing that decision before the once-in-a-lifetime celestial spectacle. (Cappucci, 11/22)

Also —

The Atlantic: Prenatal Testing And The Future Of Down Syndrome 
Every few weeks or so, Grete Fält-Hansen gets a call from a stranger asking a question for the first time: What is it like to raise a child with Down syndrome? Sometimes the caller is a pregnant woman, deciding whether to have an abortion. Sometimes a husband and wife are on the line, the two of them in agonizing disagreement. Once, Fält-Hansen remembers, it was a couple who had waited for their prenatal screening to come back normal before announcing the pregnancy to friends and family. “We wanted to wait,” they’d told their loved ones, “because if it had Down syndrome, we would have had an abortion.” They called Fält-Hansen after their daughter was born—with slanted eyes, a flattened nose, and, most unmistakable, the extra copy of chromosome 21 that defines Down syndrome. They were afraid their friends and family would now think they didn’t love their daughter—so heavy are the moral judgments that accompany wanting or not wanting to bring a child with a disability into the world. (Zhang, 12/1)

Des Moines Register: Against The Odds: The World's Most Premature Twins To Turn 2
Shorter than a Barbie doll and lighter than a football, Kambry Ewoldt entered the world fighting to survive. Kambry and her identical twin sister, Keeley, were born Nov. 24, 2018, around the 22-week mark of the pregnancy of their mother, Jade Ewoldt. They weighed 15.8 ounces and 1 pound 1.3 ounces, respectively, and spent the first four months of their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital before they could go home. (Kay LeBlanc, 11/23)

The New York Times: The Harmful Chemical Lurking In Your Children’s Toys 
Extensive research in lab animals has linked different flame retardants to various health problems. Brominated flame retardants, which have received the most scrutiny, can build up in tissue, cause cancer, disrupt hormones, harm the reproductive system and cause neurodevelopmental problems, at least in animals and perhaps humans too. (Gross, 11/23)

The New York Times: Think Obamacare Health Plans Cost a Lot? That’s Not Always True
If you’ve lost your job during the pandemic, and with it your health insurance, you may think that Obamacare plans are too expensive and therefore not worth seeking. Or maybe you’re worried about whether the coverage will withstand legal challenges. Think again, health care analysts say. (Carrns, 11/13)

Stat: Beyond Burnout: This Surge Of Covid-19 Is Bringing Burnover
Covid-19 is roaring back for a third wave. The first two substantially increased feelings of moral injury and burnout among health care workers. This one is bringing burnover. Health care systems are scrambling anew. The crises of ICU beds at capacity, shortages of personal protective equipment, emergency rooms turning away ambulances, and staff shortages are happening this time not in isolated hot spots but in almost every state. Clinicians again face work that is risky, heart-rending, physically exhausting, and demoralizing, all the elements of burnout. They have seen this before and are intensely frustrated it is happening again. (Wendy Dean and Simon G. Talbot, 11/25)

The Washington Post: Why Black Americans Are Hesitant About A Vaccine
If you thought that the mask wars were bad, brace yourself for the coming clash over the coronavirus vaccine. And in America — should anyone be surprised? — part of that battle is going to be fought along racial lines. As hospitalizations and deaths surge from the novel coronavirus that has claimed more than 258,000 lives, we are told that help is on the way. Pfizer and Moderna hope to have functional coronavirus vaccines ready to begin distribution within weeks; on Monday, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine, too, had proved highly effective in late-stage trials. Pfizer and Moderna are hoping to get emergency-use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. All great news, except as others have noted, vaccines in vials are no good unless people take them. (Karen Attiah, 11/24)

Stat: Biopharma Industry Works To Build Confidence In Covid-19 Vaccines
Over the last few weeks, the United States has surpassed 100,000 Covid-19 cases a day and reached the staggering milestone of 10 million cases. This is both sobering and humbling. While there has been encouraging news about progress in the development of Covid-19 vaccines, making sure that Americans have confidence in these vaccines is crucial to helping bend the curve of infections and getting us back to some semblance of normalcy. (Stephen J. Ubl, 11/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Too Much Caution Is Killing Covid Patients 
Fear and panic are central impediments to competent decision-making during a crisis. As Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations rise around the country, creating an atmosphere of crisis, political leaders are reaching for last spring’s lockdown playbooks. Their grave tone conveys an air of inevitability, as if politicians have no choice but again to restrict civil liberties, limit social gatherings, and cripple businesses that survived the initial lockdowns. But there’s a better way: following the evidence for early treatment of Covid-19. (Joseph A. Ladapo, 11/24)

The Washington Post: Most Schools Should Close And Stay Closed Through Winter
In recent weeks, prominent economists, public health experts and commentators have argued that schools shouldn’t be closing because they aren’t major contributors to the surge in covid-19 cases. I disagree. With much of the United States engulfed in exponential virus spread and many hospitals already overwhelmed, most schools should close and stay closed through the winter. (Leana S. Wen, 11/24)

Fox News: Despite Coronavirus, Science Is NOT Telling Us To Close Schools
Sound science, like the coronavirus itself, is apolitical. Most everything else this year — including decisions on whether to close schools — is not.  As the pandemic enters its deadliest phase to date, government leaders and school districts are having to make extraordinarily difficult decisions about whether to continue in-person learning amid record communitywide surges in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. New York City’s decision to close schools indefinitely, and the decision in my home state of New Jersey to allow school districts to keep them open, offers a stark contrast in how the two states with the highest death rates for COVID-19 are managing this crisis. (Richard Besser, 11/24)

The Wall Street Journal: The Political Class’s Hypocrisy Long Predates Covid-19
People in reliably blue states (California, New York, Oregon) as well as in the states that made Donald Trump a one-term president (Wisconsin, Michigan)—have been standing in line for three and four hours to get a Covid-19 test before traveling this week. These people are perfectly aware that infection rates are rising and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly cautions against celebrating the holiday with people outside your household. Alas, many of them don’t seem to care anymore. According to the American Automobile Association, there could be as many as 50 million Thanksgiving travelers this year, only 10% less than in 2019. This is a form of mass civil disobedience like nothing the country has seen since the 1960s. (Jason L. Riley, 11/24)

CNN: Testing Alone Can't Keep You Safe For Thanksgiving
Recently, a friend called me to ask for my advice. She has done her best to follow public health guidance -- like masking in public, avoiding big social gatherings and trying to see friends outdoors instead of indoors -- in the lead up to Thanksgiving. She recognizes that she has had some potential exposure to Covid-19, as her kids have been at college, and she has been going to work. Still, she was really hoping to see her extended family for the holiday. (Megan Ranney, 11/23)

The Hill: Don't Let 'Experts' Ruin Your Thanksgiving 
Politicians and bureaucrats are trying to control — and even eliminate — holiday gatherings this year. As a physician and public policy expert, I would like to present another perspective. Rather than unthinkingly accepting every recommendation or instruction, make your own choices. Not long ago, people would never have considered the possibility the government could enter people’s homes to cancel their Thanksgiving celebrations. Then came COVID-19. (Dr. Roger Klein, 11/24)