Politico: Twitter Stops Enforcing Covid-19 Misinformation Policy 
Twitter will no longer stop users from spreading false information about the Covid-19 virus or vaccines, according to an update on its content moderation policies. It’s another major shift under new owner Elon Musk, who has pressed for “free speech” above all else on the platform. Twitter’s Covid-19 misinformation page was updated with a note saying that as of Nov. 23, the platform would no longer enforce its policies against spreading misleading information on the virus and vaccines — which had led to more than 11,000 account suspensions since 2020. (Kern, 11/29)

The Washington Post: Musk's Twitter No Longer Bans Covid Misinformation 
However, Twitter has also struggled to police misinformation accurately and recently began labeling some factual information about covid as misinformation and banning scientists and researchers who attempted to warn the public of the long-term harm of covid on the body. As of last weekend, many tweets promoting anti-vaccine content and covid misinformation remained on the platform. (Lorenz, 11/29)

AP: Twitter Ends Enforcement Of COVID Misinformation Policy
By Tuesday, some Twitter accounts were testing the new boundaries and celebrating the platform’s hands-off approach, which comes after Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk. “This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options,” tweeted Dr. Simone Gold, a physician and leading purveyor of COVID-19 misinformation. (Klepper, 11/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Twitter Stops COVID Info Moderation, Health Experts Are Concerned
“I am absolutely terrified and despondent,” said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF. “Permitting misinformation is not just about freedom of speech. There is a direct pathway between misinformation and death if science-based interventions like vaccines are not embraced.” (Vaziri and Hwang, 11/29)

CNN: Alzheimer's Disease: Experimental Drug Lecanemab Appears To Slow Progression In Clinical Trial But Raises Safety Concerns
The experimental drug lecanemab shows “potential” as an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, according to new Phase 3 trial results, but the findings raise some safety concerns because of its association with certain serious adverse events. Lecanemab has become one of the first experimental dementia drugs to appear to slow the progression of cognitive decline. (Howard, 11/30)

Stat: Detailed Data On Alzheimer’s Therapy From Eisai, Biogen Hold Up To Scientific Scrutiny
The drug, lecanemab, slowed the cognitive and functional decline of patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s by 27% relative to placebo in a roughly 2,000-volunteer clinical trial. In the 18-month study, Eisai’s drug also dramatically reduced patients’ levels of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein in the brain thought to drive the advance of Alzheimer’s, and the drug showed statistically significant benefits on three backup measures of cognition and function. (Garde and Wosen, 11/29)

NPR: Study: Alzheimer's Drug Shows Modest Success Slowing Declines In Memory, Thinking
People who got infusions of lecanemab scored about half a point better on a zero-to-18-point scale of mental functioning, a slight but statistically significant difference. The results are "real and robust," says Dr. Christopher van Dyck, who directs the Yale Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and presented an overview of the study at the meeting. (Hamilton, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Promising Alzheimer’s Drug Needs To Be Studied For Safety, Researchers Say
But the detailed results also concluded that the drug, lecanemab, was associated with “adverse events” and warranted more study. Marwan Sabbagh, a neurologist at the Barrow Neurological Institute and a co-author of the study, described two patient deaths that had raised concern about the safety of the drug ahead of Tuesday’s presentation. “Causality with lecanemab is a little difficult,” he said, noting that both patients, a 65-year-old woman and an 87-year-old man, had underlying health issues. Though the rate of brain bleeding was low, he said, the risk increases with medications to prevent blood clotting. (Gilbert, 11/29)

Reuters: Rare Success For Alzheimer's Research Unlocks Hope For Future Therapies 
If approved on an accelerated basis, the companies said they would immediately apply for full U.S. regulatory approval which could help secure Medicare coverage. To date, two deaths have been reported among patients who received lecanemab in conjunction with medicine to prevent or clear blood clots, though industry analysts do not expect those developments alone to prevent approval. (Steenhuysen, 11/29)

CNBC: Drug Overdose Deaths Among Seniors Have More Than Tripled In 2 Decades
Deaths from drug and alcohol use are rising among America’s seniors. Drug overdose deaths more than tripled among people age 65 and older during the past two decades while deaths from alcohol abuse increased more than 18% from 2019 to 2020, according to data published Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. (Kimball, 11/30)

CNN: Drug And Alcohol Deaths Increasing Among US Adults 65 And Older, CDC Data Shows
The report on drug overdose deaths, based on data from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, found that death rates in 2020 involving opioids were highest when they specifically involved synthetic opioids other than methadone, such as tramadol or fentanyl. ... Another new report from the National Center for Health Statistics finds that rates of alcohol-induced deaths among adults 65 and older have been climbing since 2011 and rose more than 18% from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, more than 11,000 older adults died of alcohol-induced causes. (Howard, 11/30)

Also —

San Diego Union-Tribune: DEA Says Six Out Of 10 Fake Prescription Pills Analyzed Contain Potentially Deadly Dose Of Fentanyl 
More than half of the fake pills analyzed in Drug Enforcement Administration laboratories this year were found to be laced with a potentially fatal dose of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid fueling an unprecedented number of fatal overdoses in the country. (Kucher, 11/27)

On the opioid crisis in California and Texas —

Los Angeles Times: Fentanyl Deaths In L.A. County Soar 1,280% From 2016 To 2021
In L.A. County, the number of deaths linked to fentanyl rose from 109 in 2016 to 1,504 in 2021, amounting to a 1,280% increase, the Public Health Department found. Last year, fentanyl was involved in 55% of overdose deaths across the county, and among 12- to 17-year-olds who died of an overdose, the vast majority — 92% — tested positive for the drug. (Alpert Reyes and Ellis, 11/29)

KXAN Austin: Travis County Had 118 Fentanyl Deaths In First 6 Months Of 2022, Same Number As All Of Last Year 
In the first six months of 2022, there were 118 fentanyl-related overdose deaths, meaning someone died of an overdose and had fentanyl in their system. It’s the exact same number Travis County, which encompasses the capital of Austin, saw in all 12 months of 2021. (Reader, 11/27)

AP: Study: U.S. Gun Death Rates Hit Highest Levels In Decades 
The U.S. gun death rate last year hit its highest mark in nearly three decades, and the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men, according to study published Tuesday. The increase among women — most dramatically, in Black women — is playing a tragic and under-recognized role in a tally that skews overwhelmingly male, the researchers said. (Stobbe, 11/29)

CNN: America's Gun Epidemic Is Deadlier Than Ever, And There Are Vast Disparities In Who's Dying 
Mental health challenges grew throughout the pandemic and violence increased, but a separate analysis from researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that guns made those things significantly more deadly. Between 2019 and 2021, all of the increase in suicides and most of the increase in homicides was due to guns. The gun suicide rate increased 10% while the non-gun suicide rate decreased by 8%, and the gun homicide rate increased 45% while the non-gun homicide rate increased only 6%.“What we’ve seen is that the economic and social stressors during Covid have exacerbated health disparities across the spectrum,” said Ari Davis, a policy adviser at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions. (McPhillips, 11/29)

In related news —

The Washington Post: Walmart Gunman Exhibited Threatening Behavior For Months, Lawsuit Says
The employee who fatally shot six people at a Virginia Walmart last week exhibited threatening behavior for months and store managers knew — or should have known — he could harm others, a survivor of the attack alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. (Jouvenal, 11/29)

In other public health news —

AP: MyPlate? Few Americans Know Or Heed US Nutrition Guide
Here’s a quick quiz: What replaced the food pyramid, the government guide to healthy eating that stood for nearly 20 years? If you’re stumped, you’re not alone. More than a decade after Agriculture Department officials ditched the pyramid, few Americans have heard of MyPlate, a dinner plate-shaped logo that emphasizes fruits and vegetables. (11/29)

Bloomberg: TikTok’s Viral Challenges Keep Luring Young Kids To Their Deaths
“Sissy’s tangled!” The 5-year-old boy’s panicked cries echoed down the hallway of the Arroyos’ three-bedroom clapboard house in Milwaukee. It was February 2021, and he’d been playing with his 9-year-old sister, Arriani, before bedtime. Their mother was at a Bible study class, and their father was in his basement workshop, out of earshot. The boy had watched Arriani climb atop a toy chest, wrap a metal dog leash around her neck and hook the buckle to the wardrobe door hinge. Now she was hanging 2 feet from the ground, kicking and desperately scratching at her neck. (Carville, 11/30)

KHN: A New Use For Dating Apps: Chasing STIs 
Heather Meador and Anna Herber-Downey use dating apps on the job — and their boss knows it. Both are public health nurses employed by Linn County Public Health in eastern Iowa. They’ve learned that dating apps are the most efficient way to inform users that people they previously met on the sites may have exposed them to sexually transmitted infections. (Tahir, 11/30)

Reuters: CDC Awards Over $3 Bln To Strengthen U.S. Public Health Infrastructure 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday it is awarding more than $3 billion to help strengthen public health workforce and infrastructure across the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic put severe stress on them. The public health agency's funding includes $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan announced by President Joe Biden's administration last year, and would cover all state, local and territorial health departments across the country. (11/29)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: CDC To Give Georgia More Than $115 Million For Public Health
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is awarding $3.2 billion to help local and state jurisdictions across the country strengthen their public health workforce and infrastructure. Georgia’s Department of Public Health is set to receive $105.2 million over five years, according to the federal agency. The Fulton County Board of Health is getting $10.5 million over 5 years. (Oliviero, 11/29)

CNN: Community Health Groups That Played Crucial Role During Covid-19 Pandemic Say They're Being Left Out Of Government Funding 
As the US government distributes some of the most significant investments ever to improve public health, grass-roots organizations that work in underserved communities say they’re being overlooked. These organizations say they’re especially disappointed because the federal government relied on them during the Covid-19 pandemic to encourage vaccination and other mitigation measures. ... Venus Ginés, president of Día de la Mujer Latina, a health advocacy group in Texas, said that too often, community groups are asked to do health promotion work without receiving government funding. Many say they do the unpaid work because they care about their communities and don’t want to damage relationships with potential funders. (Cohen and Mascarenhas, 11/28)

More on the public health threat from covid —

CIDRAP: New Data: Screening For COVID At Hospital Entry Of Limited Benefit 
Screening nearly 1 million patients, visitors, and healthcare workers at the entrance of a large hospital for COVID-19 symptoms, exposures, or travel was of limited benefit at considerable cost, finds a Yale study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Of 951,033 screenings performed, 0.07% were failures. (Van Beusekom, 11/29)

CIDRAP: Study On Masks Vs N95 Respirators For Health Workers Spurs Concerns 
A study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that medical masks may offer similar effectiveness as N95 respirators in protecting healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to COVID-19 patients in certain settings, but experts caution against that interpretation of the results. (Van Beusekom, 11/29)

Fierce Healthcare: Masking Mandates Might Make Comeback
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxed masking guidelines for healthcare workers in October, some experts voiced concern. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), for instance, argued that “numerous indicators, including wastewater surveillance and rising case counts overseas, point to a potential wave of new COVID-19 cases in the coming months. When that happens, we will have to shift back to universal masking. Having a policy that changes back and forth is confusing to healthcare personnel and erodes trust," the organization said. (Diamond, 11/29)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Death Rates In Young People Rose In 2021 
Today in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers show that, compared to 2020, mortality rates due to COVID-19 infections among young adults increased significantly in 2021, suggesting younger people had lower vaccine uptake and adhered to fewer COVID precautions than older adults in the United States. (11/29)

In other vaccine news —

WISH-TV: Toxic Concentrations Of Chemicals Released In The Heart May Explain Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccine 
In a paper published in JAMA Cardiology, scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital looked at 15 children ages 12 to 18 years old who were admitted to the hospital one to nine days after their COVID vaccine. A blood test showed above normal concentrations of the chemical troponin in each patient’s blood. High levels of troponin can lead to damaged heart cells, cell death and heart attacks. (Gillis, 11/29)

The Boston Globe: More Than 250 COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics Set Up Across Mass.; $75 Gift Cards Being Offered
More than 250 clinics across Massachusetts are offering $75 gift cards to people who get COVID-19 vaccines or boosters, officials said. (Andersen, 11/29)

AP: Naturopath Who Sold Fake Vaccine Cards Gets Nearly 3 Years 
A naturopathic doctor who sold fake COVID-19 immunization treatments and fraudulent vaccination cards during the height of the coronavirus pandemic was sentenced in California on Tuesday to nearly three years in prison, federal prosecutors said. Juli A. Mazi pleaded guilty last April in federal court in San Francisco to one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters. (11/30)

PolitiFact: 'Died Suddenly' Repeats Debunked COVID-19 Vaccine Claims, Promotes Conspiracy Theory
The new anti-vaccine movie "Died Suddenly" begins with an ominous warning: "This film is not suitable for children." Another warning to viewers would have been warranted as well — that the film’s claims are unsubstantiated and linked to conspiracy theories. (Czopek, 11/29)

In global news —

The Guardian: Parents Refuse Use Of Vaccinated Blood In Life-Saving Surgery On Baby 
New Zealand’s health service has made a court application over the guardianship of a four-month-old baby whose parents are refusing to allow his life-saving heart surgery to go ahead unless non-vaccinated blood is used. (Corlett, 11/30)

Reuters: Appeals Court Revives Indiana Law Requiring Burial Or Cremation Of Fetal Remains 
A federal appeals court has revived a 2016 Indiana law requiring health providers to bury or cremate fetal remains, including from abortions, rather than incinerate them with medical waste. A unanimous panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the law did not run afoul of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by requiring anyone to violate their religious beliefs, reversing a September ruling by a lower court judge. (Pierson, 11/29)

AP: ND High Court Asked To Lift Injunction Against Abortion Ban
An attorney for North Dakota asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to strike down an injunction blocking the state’s abortion ban, saying a lower court judge was wrong to grant it. Matthew Sagsveen, an attorney for the state, told justices that Burleigh County District Judge Bruce Romanick “misconstrued the law” by granting the injunction. (MacPherson, 11/29)

St. Louis Public Radio: Abortion Rights Supporters And Opponents Could Face Higher Bar
If voters back a plan to require that constitutional amendments receive at least 60% of the vote to pass, it would apply to proposed amendments to repeal or strengthen the state’s abortion ban, according to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. And while a change to amendment voting isn’t likely until August 2024, both sides of the abortion issue are already talking about how it might affect their plans. (Rosenbaum, 11/30)

Politico: Suspended Florida Prosecutor Takes Fight To DeSantis In Opening Day Of Federal Trial
Suspended prosecutor Andrew Warren took his battle against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a federal court on Tuesday in the first day of a trial that’s exposing the machinations in how the governor’s office operates. DeSantis suspended the Hillsborough County state attorney in August over a handful of moves the Democratic elected official made, including signing a pledge in June that he would not enforce the state’s abortion laws. Florida recently enacted a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy without exceptions for rape or incest. (Fineout, 11/29)

More on the effects of Roe v. Wade's demise —

Roll Call: Senate Passes Protections For Same-Sex Marriages
The Senate passed a bill Tuesday to codify federal recognition of same-sex marriage that got bipartisan support because of added measures on religious liberty protections. The 61-36 vote sends the bill to the House, where Democratic leaders have said they intend to hold a vote on the measure during the lame-duck session. (Macagnone, 11/29)

USA Today: Pass The Broccoli, Please: Plant-Based Diet Can Cut Bowel Cancer Risk In Men By 22%, Study Shows
The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, involved 79,952 U.S. men and found those eating the highest level of healthy plant-based foods could cut their risk by up to 22% compared with those who ate the least. But researchers found no such link among 93,475 U.S. women in the study. (Neysa Alund, 11/29)

Reuters: Japanese Biotech Firm Uses Tiny Worms In Test For Pancreatic Cancer 
A Japanese biotech firm says it has developed the world's first early screening test for pancreatic cancer, using the powerful noses of tiny worms. Hirotsu Bio Science this month launched its N-NOSE plus Pancreas test, marketing directly to consumers in Japan and with aims to bring the test to the United States by 2023. (Swift, 11/30)

KHN: Racial Disparities In Lung Cancer Start With Research 
During a routine visit to the Good Samaritan Clinic in Morganton, North Carolina, in 2018, Herbert Buff casually mentioned that he sometimes had trouble breathing. He was 55 years old and a decades-long smoker. So the doctor recommended that Buff schedule time on a 35-foot-long bus operated by the Levine Cancer Institute that would roll through town later that week offering free lung-cancer screenings. Buff found the “lung bus” concept odd, but he’s glad he hopped on. (Newsome, 11/30)

Stat: The VALID Act Can Improve Lab Test Standards
Cancer is becoming less deadly in America. According to the recently released Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, overall cancer death rates have continued to decline by about 2% per year over the last several years for Americans of all ages, races, and genders. The decline in cancer death rates is clearly welcome news and coincides with a significant shift in cancer treatment through the development of new targeted therapies and accompanying diagnostic tests that guide their use. (Allen and Lacasse, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City To Hospitalize Some Mentally Ill Homeless, Involuntarily If Necessary
New York City will begin hospitalizing homeless people who are severely mentally ill in an effort to move individuals off the streets to get the care they need. ... Those who are involuntarily removed will be taken to hospitals for evaluation. The new plan will also require hospitals to screen all psychiatric patients before their release for outpatient care needs. (Ansari, 11/29)

AP: Mayor Says NYC Will Treat Mentally Ill, Even If They Refuse
“These New Yorkers and hundreds of others like them are in urgent need of treatment, yet often refuse it when offered,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference, noting the pervasive problem of mental illness has long been out in the open. “No more walking by or looking away,” the mayor said, calling it “a moral obligation to act.” (Calvan, 11/29)

CBS News: New York City Mayor Eric Adams Announces New Initiative That Will Involuntarily Hospitalize More Mentally Ill People
Adams, a former police officer, said the city will be training Emergency Medical Services staff and other medical personnel to "ensure compassionate care." He said the policy he's proposing "explicitly states" when it is appropriate to use this process to hospitalize a person suffering from mental illness even if they do not want to go. (Linton, 11/29)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: Big Tobacco Tries To Stop California Flavored Tobacco Ban
R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies filed a request Tuesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to impose an emergency order to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored tobacco products that was overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month. The ban was first passed by the state legislature two years ago but it never took effect after tobacco companies gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot. But after nearly two-thirds of voters approved of banning the sale of everything from cotton-candy vaping juice to methanol cigarettes, it is set to go into effect by Dec. 21. (Watson, 11/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: Stanford President’s Neuroscience Research Scrutinized Following Allegations Of Altered Data
The European Microbiology Organization Journal, a prominent science research publisher, said in a public post last week that it was “looking into” discrepancies in a 2008 brain research paper by Tessier-Lavigne and 10 others that were highlighted on PubPeer, a website where scientists can identify suspected violations in published research. (Pascua and Mishanec, 11/29)

Houston Chronicle: Greg Abbott Fires Head Of Texas’ Child Welfare Agency
Abbott appointed Stephanie Muth, a health care consultant and former Medicaid director at the Health and Human Services Commission, to oversee the Department of Family and Protective Services starting in January. Kezeli “Kez” Wold, the DFPS associate commissioner for Adult Protective Services, will lead the agency in the meantime. (Harris, 11/29)

Detroit Free Press: Food Assistance Product Program To Lift Grocery Store Pause In January
Michigan's Double Up Food Bucks Program, which offers people on food assistance matching dollars on produce purchases and has been partially on hold since Aug. 1 at grocery stores, is expected to resume in January with a lower cap on benefits. (Rahman, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Shuttering Most SeniorBridge Home Care Locations
SeniorBridge offers services at 23 centers in nine states. The facilities in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Virginia will close, while seven sites in New York will remain in operation "until further notice," the Humana spokesperson wrote in an email. (Berryman, 11/29)

In other health care industry developments —

Anchorage Daily News: Embattled North Star Hospital CEO Stepping Down, ‘Effective Immediately’
Staff at the East Anchorage hospital received an email Tuesday saying that CEO Anne Marie Lynch was no longer in the position, “effective immediately,” and that she would be moving to another hospital in Indiana. ... Lynch’s departure comes as North Star faces federal, state and hospital accreditation regulators finding serious problems at the hospital within the past six months. Most recently, the Joint Commission, a nonprofit accreditation group meant to gauge hospital quality and safety, issued an “initial denial of accreditation” to North Star, citing dangerous conditions for young patients. (Theriault Boots, 11/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Concord Nursing Home Agrees To Pay $2.3M Over Claims It Abused And Neglected Patients
A large nursing home in Concord will pay $2.3 million to the state and federal governments to settle claims that it billed them for poor and neglectful care of patients, who were given excessive amounts of psychiatric medication and also suffered physical injuries from falls and clashes at the facility, federal officials announced Tuesday. (Egelko, 11/29)

Columbus Dispatch: OhioHealth New Albany Medical Campus To Welcome Patients Dec. 6
The New Albany Medical Campus is to bring a new, innovative kind of health care experience to patients, built around their needs, such as e-check-in stations, OhioHealth’s first drive-up care location and full-service retail pharmacy with curbside pickup. (Seman Jr., 11/29)

The Colorado Sun: How The Town Of Meeker Created One Of The West’s Best Hospitals
When Rich DiPaola needed new hips this year, the retired engineer headed north. He lives in Grand Junction — the regional medical center of western Colorado — but he chose to travel two hours to an out-of-the-way town long known as a hunters’ haven, not a medical destination. (Lofholm, 11/29)

Stat: How Tech Could Bring A Fuller Picture Of Disability To Health Records
Electronic health records don’t leave much room for nuance: On paper, two patients with the same type of knee problem might score the same on a standardized walking test, and have tried the same treatment options. But once they walk out of the clinic, the same condition could impact each of their lives in considerably different ways. (Williamson-Lee, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Tracking Healthcare Data Breaches
Based on the data through October, 2022 is on track to set a new record for the number of healthcare data breaches. (Broderick, 11/29)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Use In Newborns Could Be Lowered, Study Finds
The results of a large international study indicate that postnatal antibiotic use is disproportionate compared with the burden of early-onset sepsis (EOS), researchers reported last week in JAMA Network Open. (Dall, 11/28)

Bloomberg: Sanofi Drug Raises Hopes Of Wiping Out Sleeping Sickness 
A drug co-developed by Sanofi is highly effective at treating the sometimes lethal disease called sleeping sickness and could help eradicate the ailment by the end of the decade. A single oral dose of acoziborole was 95% effective at curing patients with a late-stage form of the parasitic disease, according to a study published in The Lancet. (Loh, 11/29)

FiercePharma: LTS Lohmann Leads Investment In Needle-Free Delivery Specialist 
LTS Lohmann has thrown its weight behind Micron Biomedical’s push to enable the self-administration of drugs and vaccines without needles, co-leading a series A round and establishing a partnership with the drug delivery specialist. (Taylor, 11/29)

ScienceDaily: Math Approach May Make Drug Discovery More Effective, Efficient 
Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. have devised a computer-based platform for drug discovery that could make the process more effective, more efficient and less costly. (University Of Texas At Dallas, 11/28)

Axios: Standalone Drug Plans Broached For Frail Seniors In Community-Based Care
Patient advocates are pressing Congress to use the lame duck session to give standalone Medicare drug coverage to some senior citizens who qualify for nursing-level care. The "fix" would make up for how the Inflation Reduction Act's drug price controls stopped short of applying to the PACE Program, a comprehensive care alternative to nursing homes. (Dreher, 11/29)

Stat: Brain Shrinkage Needs Closer Scrutiny In Trials Of Anti-Amyloid Drugs
Eisai’s announcement that lecanemab, its antibody drug for Alzheimer’s disease that targets the buildup of amyloid protein in the brain, modestly slowed cognitive decline in a Phase 3 trial offers hope to people with Alzheimer’s disease. But what I’ll be looking for in the final data — which have not yet been presented or published — is whether the brain shrinkage seen in the Phase 2 trial remains. (Madhav Thambisetty, 11/28)

Bloomberg: A Diabetes Breakthrough In Search Of Patients
In a first, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a therapy that slows the onset of Type 1 diabetes. Teplizumab, developed by Provention Bio, typically delays the need for insulin shots, blood-sugar monitoring, and diet control by about two years. (Lisa Jarvis, 11/28)

Chicago Tribune: Congress Can Help Expand Alternatives To Opioids For Pain
Today alone, around 220 Americans will die of an opioid-related overdose. Here in Illinois, we lost 3,013 people just last year to a fatal opioid overdose. Yet, opioids still remain the primary option for patients who are managing pain after outpatient surgery. (Sterling Elliott, 11/29)

The CT Mirror: An Innovative Solution For The Connecticut Overdose Epidemic
There have been many attempts to combat the opioid epidemic in the United States: zero tolerance drug policies; rehabilitation; and medication-assisted treatment. (Marilyn Brach, 11/29)

Columbus Dispatch: Why Should Prescription Drug User Fee Act Be Renewed?
The Prescription Drug User Fee Act is responsible for enhancing medical accountability and transparency while advancing biopharmaceutical innovation. (Eddie Pauline, 11/30)

Newsweek: Amoxicillin Shortage Shows The Need For Domestic Drug Production
This fall, the spread of RSV in children and related bacterial infections prompted a run on pharmacies for the antibiotic amoxicillin. Far-flung supply chains, still backed up from the initial shock of COVID-19, have been unable to compensate for the surge in demand. (Marco Rubio, 11/28)

The Washington Post: Expensive U.S. Health Care Enables Low Prices In Other Countries 
The United States spends twice as much per person as other wealthy countries on health care. This fact is well-known, and when it is mentioned, people often point out that the governments of other developed countries leverage purchasing power to drive cheaper, more universal care. So why doesn’t the United States do the same thing? (David Goldhill, 11/29)

Stat: Rushing Into The World Bank's Pandemic Fund Is A Bad Idea
The World Bank has rolled out a new Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (FIF) in an improbable and harmful timetable. Backing of the fund by the Biden administration as part of its strategy to strengthen health security and prepare for biothreats only accelerated the speed. (Vineeta Gupta, 11/29)

Miami Herald: End HIV Treatment Disparities Between Whites, People Of Color 
Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. South Florida has the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the nation. Adrian’s story is just one of many. (Stephen Fallon, 11/29)

The Tennessean: Palliative Care Changed My Life. Here's What It Is And How It Can Help You Too
As a nurse, I’ve seen illness and death a number of times and while you get used to witnessing these inevitable parts of life, it never becomes easy. That’s why I was immediately drawn to palliative care – a type of care that focuses on relieving the pain and symptoms of serious illness. (Misty Hartley, 11/29)