Politico: Johnson & Johnson Seeks FDA Authorization Of Covid Booster Shot 
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine for people 18 and older. The company did not specify how long after initial vaccination the second, booster dose should be given. J&J submitted data to the FDA in September it said showed that a booster shot given two to six months after an initial dose bolstered antibody protection against Covid. (Gardner, 10/5)

The Atlantic: What Is A Booster Shot, Really? We Need A Better Name
The word booster kicked off the pandemic benign and simple, a chipper concept most people linked to things such as morale and rockets. Then, at the start of 2021, the word began to undergo a renaissance. By summer’s end, booster was a common fixture of headlines and Twitter trends; it was suddenly tethered tightly to words such as shot, vaccine, and immunity online, as experts and nonexperts alike clamored for the more, more, more promise of extra protection against SARS-CoV-2. According to Elena Semino, a linguist at Lancaster University, in the United Kingdom, English-language news reports now deploy the word booster about 20 times more often than they did in pre-COVID times. (Wu, 10/5)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

Fox News: Vaccines Linked To Preventing Over A Quarter-Million COVID-19 Cases, 39,000 Deaths Among Seniors: HHS Study
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Tuesday that a new agency report showed COVID-19 vaccinations may have helped to prevent more than a quarter-million coronavirus cases and tens of thousands of deaths among seniors. In a release detailing the report's conclusions, HHS said the study – conducted by researchers with HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) – found that vaccinations were linked to a reduction of approximately 265,000 COVID-19 infections, 107,000 hospitalizations and 39,000 deaths among nearly 63 million Medicare beneficiaries between January and May 2021. (Musto, 10/5)

USA Today: Kids Receiving COVID Vaccine Trending Downwards For Almost 2 Months
Children make up only 22% of the U.S. population, but account for 27% of coronavirus cases nationwide, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Monday. The organization said the number of children receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine this week was the lowest recorded number since vaccines became available, and has been trending downwards for almost two months.  Kids make up less than one percent of COVID-19 deaths, the Academy said, but there isn’t much data about the long-term effects of the coronavirus on children. 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, and less than half of eligible children have been fully inoculated. (Hayes and Tebor, 10/6)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Clark County Pivots To COVID Treatment Centers Amid Vaccine Hesitancy
Clark County is planning to fund at least one clinic for COVID-19 treatment under a potential $10 million plan that would divert patients who otherwise would end up in local hospitals. “We know we can’t test our way out, can’t vaccinate our way out (of the pandemic), so now we have to ensure that we have the treatments that are available out there,” said county Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who proposed opening the clinics throughout the county. Factoring in costs of $1,000 per treatment, Kirkpatrick said Tuesday that using up to $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars would represent a “good start” and a significant cost savings from the estimated $40,000 it costs per day to treat a patient at county-run University Medical Center. (Johnson, 10/5)

Also —

The Boston Globe: Senator Lindsey Graham Told A Crowd Of Republicans They Should Consider Getting A COVID-19 Vaccine. He Was Booed
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was booed over the weekend by a crowd of South Carolina Republicans after he encouraged them to consider getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Graham on Saturday had begun to suggest to the group that they consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine when he was interrupted by the crowd, who responded at a volume high enough that he was briefly forced to stop speaking. “If you haven’t had the vaccine, you ought to think about getting it because if you’re my age...” Graham said during the event, hosted by a local Republican Party group in the state. “No!” members of the crowd yelled back at him. (Kaufman, 10/5)

Bay Area News Group: NHL's Evander Kane Probe About Fake COVID-19 Card: Report
An NHL investigation about whether Sharks forward Evander Kane violated the league’s COVID-19 protocol revolves around the alleged use of a fake vaccination card, according to a new report. Kane is facing two investigations, with one, according to an NHL news release that was posted to the league’s website on Sept. 22, involving “allegations of inappropriate behavior potentially jeopardizing the health and safety of Club members.” The other “involves serious accusations” of physical and sexual abuse raised by his wife in a recent court filing. (Pashelka, 10/5)

Bangor Daily News: A Distrust For Authority A Significant Factor For Low Vaccination Rates In Rural Maine
Residents of Somerset County were practically unanimous in saying that an opposition to being told what to do, especially by the government, played a significant factor in a desire not to get vaccinated. “People are strong-headed,” said Glenn Murray, 60 of Norridgewock, who is vaccinated. But 90 miles south, vaccine hesitancy was virtually non-existent. Jill Carlton, 27, of Portland, who was walking her roommate’s dog on Congress Street, said that she didn’t know anyone who wasn’t vaccinated. Although some had taken longer to get the shot than others, she said. (Marino Jr., 10/6)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Vaccine Disinformation A Big Reason Behind Low Inoculation Rates, Officials Say
When it comes to misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, health advocates have heard it all. During a recent round of surveying farmworkers, there were a number of concerns ranging from misguided and inaccurate to specific and head-scratching, such as that the shots will somehow alter a recipient’s sexuality. “Every single week, it’s a new myth,” Hernan Hernandez, executive director of the Central Valley-based California Farmworker Foundation, said last week. Even with the COVID-19 vaccine campaign now nearly 10 months old, officials and immunization advocates throughout the state say persistent misconceptions and disinformation are hobbling efforts to promote the shots in certain parts of California, including among some Latino communities. (Lin II and Money, 10/5)

The Washington Post: Hospital System Says It Will Deny Transplants To The Unvaccinated In ‘Almost All Situations’
A Colorado-based health system says it is denying organ transplants to patients not vaccinated against the coronavirus in “almost all situations,” citing studies that show these patients are much more likely to die if they get covid-19. The policy illustrates the growing costs of being unvaccinated and wades into deeply controversial territory — the use of immunization status to decide who gets limited medical care. The mere idea of prioritizing the vaccinated for rationed health resources has drawn intense backlash, as overwhelmingly unvaccinated covid-19 patients push some hospitals to adopt “crisis standards of care,” in which health systems can prioritize patients for scarce resources based largely on their likelihood of survival. (Knowles, 10/5)

Also —

CBS News: Louisiana Health System Charging Workers $200 For Unvaccinated Spouses 
It could pay to encourage your spouse to become vaccinated against COVID-19, especially as the financial cost of refusing to get the jab rises. Ochsner Health, the largest nonprofit health care system in Louisiana, announced it will charge workers an additional $200 per month to insure their unvaccinated spouses or partners covered by the hospital group's insurance policies, citing the high cost of caring for and treating patients with COVID-19. (Cerullo, 10/4)

Hospitals and insurance companies are under pressure —

The Washington Post: Hospitals Are Suffering Financially As Covid Delta Surge Rages Among Unvaccinated 
The ferocity of the delta variant surge has delivered a serious financial blow to hospital systems in parts of the country with low vaccination rates that are struggling to care for coronavirus patients, even as they combat plummeting income, reduced bailout funds and higher labor costs. Many hospitals in Southern states and rural areas of the country — even in states with otherwise high vaccination rates — have been forced once again to temporarily curtail elective procedures such as hip replacements that bring in the most money. (Rowland, 10/5)

KHN: Major Insurers Running Billions Of Dollars Behind On Payments To Hospitals And Doctors 
Anthem Blue Cross, the country’s second-biggest health insurance company, is behind on billions of dollars in payments owed to hospitals and doctors because of onerous new reimbursement rules, computer problems and mishandled claims, say hospital officials in multiple states. Anthem, like other big insurers, is using the covid-19 crisis as cover to institute “egregious” policies that harm patients and pinch hospital finances, said Molly Smith, group vice president at the American Hospital Association. “There’s this sense of ‘Everyone’s distracted. We can get this through,’” she said. (Hancock, 10/6)

Crain's New York Business: Insurers Question NY Gov.'s Suspension Of Prior Authorization In Executive Order
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order last week to ease the anticipated staffing challenges for health facilities once the vaccine mandate’s deadline passed. One provision in the order has health plans up in arms. What concerns insurers is the suspension of requirements for prior-authorization review for scheduled surgeries, hospital admissions, hospital outpatient services, home health services and inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation services following hospitalization. Concurrent and retrospective review of claims for inpatient and outpatient services also were suspended. In the governor’s order, the reason for the suspension is to increase availability of healthcare staff who might otherwise have been engaged in submitting or processing those tasks. (10/5)

AP: Colorado Healthcare System Fires 119 Unvaccinated Workers
The University of Colorado’s health system fired 119 employees for not adhering to their vaccine requirement without a religious or medical exemption. That accounts for less than 0.5% of the company’s of their 26,500 employees around the state, said UCHealth spokesperson Dan Weaver. UCHealth employees had until Oct. 1 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or apply and receive an exemption. Among those fired, 54 employees were from the Denver region, 33 from northern Colorado and 32 from the southern part of the state. (10/5)

Fox Business: Kaiser Permanente Suspends More Than 2,200 Workers For Ignoring Vaccine Mandate
Kaiser Permanente has suspended more than 2,200 employees who have not yet gotten vaccinated, according to reports. The workers, who make up between 1% and 2% of the health care company’s nationwide workforce, have been placed on unpaid administrative leave, according to FOX 2 in the Bay Area. The company announced the vaccine mandate in August and said this week that employees will have until Dec. 1 to get the vaccine or they could be fired. (Stimson, 10/6)

Detroit Free Press: 400 Henry Ford Health Workers Quit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
About 400 workers have walked off the job at Henry Ford Health System rather than take a required COVID-19 vaccine, the Detroit-based hospital system said Tuesday. Another 1,900 workers, however, got exemptions from the health system’s vaccine requirement. The workers who have left comprise about 1% of the workforce of 33,000 people, said Bob Riney, chief operating officer for the five-hospital chain. (Erb, Jordan Shamus and Wells, 10/5)

Also —

KHN: California Vaccine Mandate Extends To Aides For People With Disabilities 
Workers in adult and senior care facilities and in-home aides have been added to the list of California health workers who must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those who work directly with people with disabilities — such as employees paid through the state’s regional center network, aides contracted by agencies, and in-home support service workers who don’t live with the person they assist — are now included in the vaccine mandate. This new group must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30. (Fortier, 10/6)

The Washington Post: Idaho’s Governor Left The State. His Lieutenant Governor Took Power And Banned State Vaccine Mandates.
Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little left the state Tuesday. His second-in-command — empowered with executive authority in his absence — used that power to pick an old fight. As acting governor, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) issued an executive order Tuesday afternoon banning state officials from requiring covid-19 “vaccine passports” from new or current employees. Little quickly promised to undo McGeachin’s order as soon as he returned from touring the U.S.-Mexico border with a group of fellow Republican governors. (Edwards, 10/6)

ABC News: Florida Trying To Block Money Biden Sent To School Districts Fined For Mask Mandates 
Days after the Biden administration reimbursed two Florida school districts whose board members lost their salaries for mandating masks for students, the state's top education official is trying to strip the districts of the money. In a series of memoranda, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran recommended Monday that the Florida Board of Education, which meets Thursday, withhold "state funds in an amount equal to any federal grant funds awarded" to districts that defy Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on school mask requirements. (McDuffie, 10/5)

ABC News: Arizona Can't Use COVID Money For Anti-Mask Grants, Feds Say
The Biden administration on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to stop using the state’s federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates. In a letter to Ducey, the Treasury Department said the grant programs are “not a permissible use” of the federal funding. It’s the latest attempt by the Biden administration to push back against Republican governors who have opposed mask mandates and otherwise sought to use federal pandemic funding to advance their own agendas. (Binkley, 10/5)

USA Today: Ellume Home COVID Test Recall: False Positives Blamed For Recall
An Australia-based company is recalling hundreds of thousands of coronavirus tests after discovering some Ellume COVID-19 home tests deliver higher-than-anticipated false positive results. Ellume became the first company to gain Food and Drug Administration authorization to sell consumers kits at major retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Target and Amazon. The kits don't require a prescription and deliver results in minutes. But the company discovered false positive results at higher rates than the company's original clinical studies showed and "isolated the cause and confirmed that this incidence of false positives is limited to specific lots." (Alltucker, 10/5)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

USA Today: US Deaths From Virus In 2021 Surpass 2020 Total
In the history of the pandemic in the U.S., 2020 will be remembered as the most disruptive year, a time when the coronavirus shut down businesses, schools, sports, travel and many more staples of everyday life. But 2021 has surpassed its predecessor as the deadliest year. That threshold, especially lamentable considering the widespread availability of  COVID-19 vaccines in the country since the spring, was crossed Tuesday when the U.S.'s world-leading total of coronavirus deaths went over the 704,000 mark. The 2020 tally was 352,000, or half that number. On Tuesday afternoon, the Washington National Cathedral plans to toll its funeral bell 700 times in memory of the lives lost. (Ortiz, Miller and Hauck, 10/5)

CNN: Hospitalization Rates Are Down Across The US, But These 8 States Still Have Fewer Than 15% Of ICU Beds Available 
While much of the US is seeing a decline in hospitalizations for Covid-19, it's also evident the fight against the pandemic is far from over as eight states are reporting limited numbers of available ICU beds. Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas and North Carolina have 15% or less of their ICU capacity available to patients, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. (Holcombe, 10/6)

The Washington Post: Children Covid Case Rates Now Exceed Adults Across America 
A pandemic that first ravaged nursing homes is, today, more likely to rage through school lunchrooms. Children are still far less likely to become dangerously ill than older people, but with so many becoming infected, pediatric hospitalizations have spiked in the last few weeks. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 5.7 million children have been infected, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 540 Americans up to the age of 18 have died, federal data show. (Meckler and Keating, 10/5)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Suffolk 10-Year-Old Who Died Of COVID Experienced Rare Complications, Causing Her Health To Quickly Spiral 
Teresa Sperry felt a headache on a Wednesday. By Sunday, she was in the emergency room, coughing heavily and vomiting. By last Monday, the 10-year-old Suffolk girl had stopped breathing. She was taken to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, where her heart stopped beating. Doctors spent 30 minutes trying to restart it, but she died that afternoon. That same day, just five days after she initially felt ill, her COVID-19 test came back positive. (Kolenich, 10/2)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Schools Are Reporting Fewer COVID Cases, State And Local Data Show
The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases in public school students appears to be trending downward compared with the beginning of the academic year, state and local district data shows. Other indicators, including falling pediatric hospitalizations and decreasing numbers of COVID infections in the overall state population, appear to support the downward movement among children. Natural immunity from previous infections, increasing vaccine rates and school mitigation measures are all behind the drop in cases, said Dr. James Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. (Dellinger and Gill, 10/5)

AP: In Budget Turning Point, Biden Conceding Smaller Price Tag
President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats’ push for a 10-year, $3.5 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives has reached a turning point, with the president repeatedly conceding that the measure will be considerably smaller and pivotal lawmakers flashing potential signs of flexibility. In virtual meetings Monday and Tuesday with small groups of House Democrats, Biden said he reluctantly expected the legislation’s final version to weigh in between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, a Democrat familiar with the sessions said Tuesday. He told them he didn’t think he could do better than that, the person said, reflecting demands from some of the party’s more conservative lawmakers. (Fram, 10/6)

The New York Times: Biden Scales Back His Agenda In Hopes Of Bringing Moderates Onboard 
President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress in recent days have slashed their ambitions for a major expansion of America’s social safety net to a package worth $2.3 trillion or less, which will force hard choices about how to scale back a proposal that the president hopes will be transformational. The figure is substantially less than Mr. Biden’s earlier plan, which called for $3.5 trillion in new spending and tax cuts to spur a generational expansion of government in Americans’ lives, including efforts to fight climate change and child poverty, increase access to education and help American companies compete with China. (Tankersley and Cochrane, 10/5)

Democrats might try to change the filibuster rules —

The Washington Post: Biden Says Changing Filibuster Rules To Raise Debt Ceiling Is A ‘Real Possibility’
President Biden late Tuesday said it is a “real possibility” that Senate Democrats could seek to revise the chamber’s filibuster rules to overcome a Republican blockade on raising the debt ceiling. Such a major change could give Democrats the ability to stave off a potential, calamitous default roughly two weeks before a critical fiscal deadline — but only if all party lawmakers agree to loosen the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold in a way some have been disinclined to do for months. (Romm, 10/5)

Politico: Biden Broaches Nuclear Option In Standoff With McConnell 
Joe Biden indicated late Tuesday he was warming to a Democratic proposal to blow up the rules of the Senate to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, amid fears that a breach would send the U.S. government into default and the whole economy into a tailspin. The president told reporters that a filibuster carve out to solve the current stalemate with Republicans over the debt limit before the estimated Oct. 18 deadline was a “real possibility.” It was a remark that sources inside the administration said reflected the growing belief that the party may need to take drastic steps to prevent default. It also served as a signal to Senate Democrats that the president supports their own growing conviction that a change to the chamber’s rules may be needed to head off a financial crisis. (Cadelago, Barron-Lopez and Korecki, 10/5)

In related news —

Axios: Democrats' Struggle To Fill The Medicaid Expansion Gap 
Democrats' push to extend health coverage to millions of very low-income people in red states has a lot working against it: It's expensive, it's complicated, it may invite legal challenges, and few national Democrats stand to gain politically from it. The policy is being framed as a test not only of Democrats' commitment to universal health coverage, but also their commitment to racial equity. (Owens, 10/6)

The Hill: Manchin's 'Red Line' On Abortion Splits Democrats
Democrats are clashing over whether to include in their sweeping spending plan a decades-old amendment that blocks Medicaid and other federal health programs from being used to cover abortions. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), already a key stumbling block to Democratic unity on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, has drawn a line in the sand around the issue, but others in the party are split over whether to include the so-called Hyde Amendment in a portion of the spending bill that would create a new federal program to provide health care coverage to low-income individuals in GOP-led states that haven’t adopted Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Folley, 10/6)

Politico: What Congress Learned From The Facebook Whistleblower 
A whistleblower’s disclosures about Facebook’s impact on children may have finally given Congress something it has lacked: bipartisan resolve to tighten Washington’s grip on Silicon Valley. Lawmakers have said this kind of thing before. But Tuesday brought an unusual show of unanimous support across party lines as lawmakers linked arms to hear former Facebook employee Frances Haugen detail the ways in which she says the social media giant knowingly pushes and profits off products that harm children. (Levine, 10/5)

The Washington Post: Facebook Whistleblower Sheds Light On Social Media’s Harmful Effects 
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday told lawmakers that the company systematically and repeatedly prioritized profits over the safety of its users, painting a detailed picture of an organization where hunger to grow governed decisions, with little concern for the impact on society. ... She pointed to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg as the enforcer of this system, arguing that he controls the most important decisions made at the company. “Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good, our common good,” she said. (Zakrewski, Lima, Dwoskin and Oremus, 10/5)

The New York Times: Facebook Senate Hearing: Teenage Girls And Social Media's Effect 
Annie Zhu got an Instagram account during her freshman year of high school. At first, she curated her profile carefully, showing off different outfits and looks. She followed body positivity and body neutrality accounts. But she still sometimes compared herself with others, and “it can make me feel bad,” she said. So when she recently listened to a podcast revealing how Facebook’s research concluded that Instagram, which it owns, was toxic for teenage girls, she said, the findings “didn’t surprise me at all.” (Woo, 10/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Who Is Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen? What To Know After Her Senate Testimony 
Frances Haugen, the former Facebook Inc. FB 2.06% employee who gathered documents that formed the foundation of The Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files series showing its platforms are riddled with flaws that cause harm, appeared Tuesday before a Senate panel that is looking to toughen the law protecting children online. The Journal series, based in part on the documents as well as interviews with current and former employees, describes how the company’s rules favor elites; how its algorithms foster discord; and how drug cartels and human traffickers use its services openly. (Horwitz, 10/5)

Key points from the testimony —

NPR: 4 Takeaways From Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen's Testimony
Of particular concern to lawmakers on Tuesday was Instagram's impact on young children. Haugen has leaked one Facebook study that found that 13.5 percent of U.K. teen girls in one survey say their suicidal thoughts became more frequent. Another leaked study found 17% of teen girls say their eating disorders got worse after using Instagram. About 32% of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse, Facebook's researchers found, which was first reported by the Journal. (Allyn, 10/5)

The New York Times: The Key Takeaways From Frances Haugen’s Facebook Testimony 
At one point, Ms. Haugen suggested something even more radical: Increasing the minimum age for any person using social media to 17 years old from 13 years old. (Frankel, 10/5)

The Hill: Four Big Takeaways From A Tough Hearing For Facebook 
Witnesses at the last few congressional hearings focused on Facebook have fit into two categories: employees with vested interest in promoting the company’s interests or experts without insider knowledge of the social media giant’s operations. Haugen’s unique position as a recent former employee not speaking on behalf of the company was on full display during her testimony. Several times during Tuesday’s hearing she was able to give clear explanations of technical terms, like meaningful social interactions or engagement-based rankings, that have gotten muddled in the past. (Rodrigo and Klar, 10/5)

Mark Zuckerberg responds to the accusations —

Bloomberg: Facebook's Zuckerberg Responds To Whistleblower Claims On Profits Priority
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg addressed a recent series of negative stories about the company for the first time by saying accusations that it puts profit over user safety are “just not true.” “It’s difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” he wrote in a note to employees on Tuesday that he also posted publicly. It came shortly after whistle-blower Frances Haugen, a former employee, testified in a Senate hearing about her experience there and internal research she said showed the company prioritized profit while stoking division. Haugen appeared on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, saying Facebook routinely made decisions that put business interests ahead of user safety. (Wagner, 10/6)

The Washington Post: Texas Abortion Doctor Allan Braid Sues In Illinois To Stop Six-Week Ban 
An abortion provider in Texas took the unusual step Tuesday of asking a federal judge in another state to declare unconstitutional the six-week-ban on the procedure that took effect last month in Texas. Lawyers for Dr. Alan Braid, a San Antonio physician who acknowledged performing an abortion after the state’s legal limit, wants a judge in Illinois to block three lawsuits filed against him under the ban, which has halted almost all abortions in the nation’s second-most-populous state. (Marimow, 10/5)

AP: Opponents Of Texas Ban On Most Abortions Expand Challenges
Opponents of a new Texas ban on most abortions filed a lawsuit in Illinois on Tuesday after weeks of being thwarted by courts elsewhere in their efforts to block the nation’s most restrictive abortion law. The latest legal challenge came as the Biden administration waited for a federal judge in Austin, Texas, to rule on a request to halt the law known as Senate Bill 8, which bans abortions in Texas once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks. A hearing was held Friday but there was no timetable on a decision. (10/5)

The New Yorker: How Texas Abortion Volunteers Are Adapting After S.B. 8 
Amanda Bennett was in the Texas legislature this past May, on the day that Senate Bill 8, a near-total ban on abortions, was passed by the state’s House of Representatives. Bennett, a twenty-nine-year-old pro-choice activist, had gone to the capitol to protest the legislation. She recalled the eerie calm that day—there wasn’t much debate over the law, which prohibits abortions upon detection of fetal cardiac activity (starting as early as six weeks into a pregnancy) and does not make exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. Many observers assumed that the law would soon be struck down in court. “It wasn’t anything like Wendy Davis’s filibuster,” Bennett said, referring to the Texas state senator’s thirteen-hour attempt to block S.B. 5, an earlier antiabortion bill, in 2013. “It just passed quietly. I honestly think even some of the Republicans thought it was purely symbolic.” But, nearly four months later, the Supreme Court refused to strike down the ban, and getting an abortion in Texas, which was already extremely difficult, became almost impossible. (Widdicombe, 10/6)

CNBC: Dallas Morning News Bars Democratic Super PAC Ad Hitting AT&T Over Texas Abortion Law
The Dallas Morning News won’t run an ad taking aim at AT&T for backing Texas lawmakers who supported the state’s strict anti-abortion law, according to the Democratic super PAC behind the spot. The ad was supposed to run on the paper’s website Tuesday. The newspaper said it had a policy against ads that call out companies by name, according to American Bridge, which paid for the ad. American Bridge said it submitted the spot to the newspaper last week. (Schwartz, 10/5)

Also —

The 19th: 106 Restrictions On Abortions Have Become Law This Year. It’s A Record.
More abortion restrictions have been enacted this year than any other, with 19 statehouses passing 106 new limitations on the procedure, per an analysis first shared with The 19th. A dozen of the new restrictions include some form of a complete ban on abortion. This is the first time that the Guttmacher Institute, which has compiled this data annually since 1973, has counted more than 100 abortion restrictions passed in a single year. In 2011, the only other year since 1973 to come close, 89 restrictions on abortion were passed across the country. (Luthra, 10/5)

The 19th: Title X: What Is It And How Did Trump And Biden Change It?
Title X is the country’s only national, federally funded family planning program. First created with bipartisan support during the Nixon administration, the program has long provided no- and low-cost contraception counseling and dispensation to those who would otherwise be unable to afford or access it. Then, in 2019, the Trump administration implemented a new rule that barred any provider in the Title X network from so much as mentioning abortion care to patients, even if the patient raised questions about it or asked for a referral. As a result, seven state governments and Planned Parenthood dropped out of the Title X network, not wanting to have any restrictions on their ability to provide comprehensive, medically accurate family planning services to their patients. (Title X has never and does not pay for any abortion care services themselves.)   (Gerson, 10/5)

Brookings: What If The Supreme Court Reverses Roe V. Wade?
This week, the United States Supreme Court will open one of the most consequential and controversial terms in recent memory. At stake are cases involving divisive issues such as guns and affirmative action. But by far the most contentious case will be an abortion case out of Mississippi. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is about a law that states abortions cannot take place after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It makes exceptions only for the life of the mother and for fetal abnormalities; none for rape or incest. The law effectively guts the “viability” criteria for abortion that has been in place ever since Roe v. Wade was decided a half century ago. (Kamarck, 10/5)

Axios: Organ Procurement Organization Data To Be Analyzed For First Time 
Several organ procurement organizations will open up at least a decade's worth of their data for analysis in the first such effort to improve the understanding of the American organ procurement system, the Federation of American Scientists announced late Tuesday. The federal government knows very little about how those on the organ donation list are being helped in real-time. HHS data suggests improvements in organ recovery practices could lead to at least 7,000 additional lifesaving transplants every year. (Fernandez, 10/6)

Modern Healthcare: Researchers Look To Discontinue Oxygen Monitoring In Some Infants
Every winter, doctors put sick babies on a continuous oxygen monitor that alerts clinicians if a particular type of respiratory infection is worsening. But a growing body of research shows the monitoring actually doesn't carry a lot of evidence, and can actually cause unnecessary alarm fatigue and rack up hospital charges. A team of researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will soon embark upon a multi-year clinical trial to see if they can reduce that monitoring, and potentially reduce infant harm. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recently gave the effort a $5.3 million grant for what's called a deimplementation study. (Gillespie, 10/5)

KHN: Needle Exchanges Are Targeted By Eco-Rooted Lawsuits. A New California Law Will Stop That
For more than 30 years, public health officials and nonprofits in California have provided clean hypodermic needles to people who use them to inject drugs. For nearly that entire time, opponents have accused the free needle programs of promoting drug use and homelessness. But recently, opponents have deployed a novel strategy to shut them down: using environmental regulations to sue over needle waste. They argue that contaminated needles pollute parks and waterways — and their lawsuits have succeeded across the state. A bill signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will thwart that tactic. (Bluth, 10/6)

Axios: Ford Brain Research May Help Detect When Drivers Become Distracted 
Ford is working with neuroscientists to develop brain-scanning technology that can more quickly detect when drivers are getting tired or distracted. It's crucial that drivers stay engaged behind the wheel, even as cars become more automated. But there's mounting evidence that people get complacent using driver-assistance features like Tesla Autopilot, which is why federal safety regulators are investigating the systems. (Muller, 10/6)

In updates from the Theranos trial —

CNBC: Adam Rosendorff, Ex-Theranos Lab Director, Testifies About 'Pressure'
A former lab director at Theranos testified on Tuesday he quit the company for one simple reason: The blood-testing technology just didn’t work. Adam Rosendorff, a key witness for the government, took the stand for the fifth day in the criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes. “There was tremendous pressure at the company to show that this technology was successful,” Rosendorff said during redirect examination. “It came from the top and permeated through R&D.” (Khorram, 10/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Elizabeth Holmes’s Office Romance With Ramesh Balwani Now On Display In Court 
The text message popped up on Elizabeth Holmes’s phone in July 2015 from her top deputy at Theranos Inc., Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. “I am sad at where you and I are,” Mr. Balwani wrote, adding in another message: “U need me.” “It’s just hard to transition,” Ms. Holmes replied. “Was emotional but am ready.” Few people knew it then, but Mr. Balwani was also her longtime, live-in boyfriend, prosecutors and Ms. Holmes’s lawyers now say. The little-known relationship was unraveling, the text messages show, just as the blood-testing startup was beginning to face the kind of scrutiny that would cause its dissolution in 2018. (Somerville, 10/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Indian Health Service Repeatedly ‘Did Nothing’ To Stop Pediatrician From Sexually Abusing Patients 
Top health officials knew of complaints about a pedophile doctor abusing Native American boys at U.S. Indian Health Service hospitals years earlier than the agency has previously acknowledged, according to an internal investigation the agency released Tuesday after a legal effort by The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co. The report shows that lawyers at the Department of Health and Human Services, which supervises the Indian Health Service, were notified of allegations against the doctor as early as 2009, and concludes that top regional officials also suspected him of abusing patients. (Weaver and Frosch, 10/5)

USA Today: Cement Found In Man's Heart Following Spinal Surgery
After two days of chest pain and shortness of breath, a man went to the emergency room. It's not an uncommon story. This man, however, had a 4-inch piece of cement piercing his heart and right lung, according to a report published Saturday in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. The 56-year-old man had undergone surgery of another kind, known as kyphoplasty, just a week before. The procedure treats injury to the spine by injecting a special type of cement into damaged vertebrae, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. (Avery, 10/5)

In corporate news —

Stat: Carbon Health Pushes Further Into Home Care With Remote Monitoring Buy
On a buying streak, hybrid care company Carbon Health on Tuesday purchased Alertive Healthcare, a remote monitoring startup whose connected devices include blood pressure cuffs, electrocardiograms, and pulse oximeters. The purchase strengthens the company’s home care portfolio and marks its second acquisition of a virtual care startup after its June purchase of digital diabetes clinic Steady Health. Financial terms were not disclosed for either deal. (Brodwin, 10/5)

Modern Healthcare: Intermountain And SSM Health Launch App Marketplace
Three not-for-profit health systems—Intermountain Healthcare, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and SSM Health—on Tuesday launched a company that they say will make it easier for hospitals to quickly deploy vetted digital health tools. The not-for-profit company, dubbed Graphite Health, will host a marketplace of digital health apps—similar to popular app stores—that the company reviews and certifies. The marketplace, which essentially serves as a central repository of health apps, will use a standard data language, so that developers can create tools they know hospitals will be able to implement, according to the company. (Kim Cohen, 10/5)

Modern Healthcare: Startups Are Banking On Small Businesses' Desire To Ditch Insurers
Digital startups that help small- and medium-sized businesses pay for their employees benefits are cashing in on companies' desire to drop their insurers. On Monday, Firefly Health raised a $40 million Series B round, bringing total venture investment in the Watertown, Massachusetts startup to $52 million. The company will use the cash to launch a virtual health plan for small- to medium-sized companies January 1. Firefly is targeting businesses with up to 2,500 employees that aim to transition to self-insured operations, as opposed to contracting with a health insurer to pay for their benefits. The startup is focused on employers in Maine, Massachusetts and Ohio, but plans to eventually expand its "virtual Kaiser" model nationwide, co-founder Dr. Andy Ellner said. (Tepper, 10/5)

AP: U Of Tennessee Health Center Lands $3.2M For Lab Upgrade
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has landed $3.2 million in federal money to upgrade a laboratory used for research on infectious diseases. In a news release, the Memphis campus says the the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded the money for equipment and infrastructure improvements at the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. (10/6)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Why It’s So Hard To Find A Therapist Who Takes Insurance 
Finding a therapist who takes insurance was tough before the pandemic. Now, therapists and patients say, an increase in the need for mental-health care is making the search even harder. When Molly Pratt, a 30-year-old math teacher in Boston, was dealing with depression a few years ago, she says she called several nearby therapists, but they didn’t accept her insurance plan. She tried a few listed as in-network on her insurer’s website. One didn’t call back. Another said she no longer took Ms. Pratt’s insurance. And a third didn’t have room in her schedule. (Petersen, 10/5)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Bans PFAS Chemicals From Baby Products And Food Packaging
California on Tuesday became one of the first states to ban a class of harmful chemicals, known as PFAS, from food packaging and from infant and children’s products after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills. PFAS have been linked to reproductive problems, cancer and other health issues, and consumer and environmental groups say the new laws will protect Californians from what are known as “forever chemicals” because they stay in the body and environment for years. (Duggan, 10/5)

In more news from California —

San Francisco Chronicle: California Shortens Wait For Terminally Ill Patients To Access Assisted Death
Since California legalized assisted death more than five years ago, potentially thousands of terminally ill patients seeking the lethal medication have died before obtaining a prescription that would have allowed them to end their lives on their own terms. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday to reduce that barrier, shortening a mandatory waiting period for the life-ending drugs during which advocates say many patients become too sick to continue the process. (Koseff, 10/5)

KQED: California Bill Would Reduce Wait Times For Mental Health Appointments
When Greta Christina fell into a deep depression five years ago, she called up her therapist — someone she’d had a great connection with when she needed therapy in the past. And she was delighted to find out that he was now on staff at Kaiser Permanente, her insurer, meaning she wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket anymore to see him. But the excitement was short-lived. Over time, her appointments went from every two weeks to every four and then to every five or six. “To tell somebody with serious, chronic, disabling depression that they can only see their therapist every five or six weeks is like telling somebody with a broken leg that they can only see their physical therapist every five or six weeks,” she said. “It’s not enough. It’s not even close to enough.” (Dembosky, 10/5)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Approves Laws To Revamp California's Unemployment Benefits System
Faced with criticism from many Californians thrown out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday gave his approval to a package of bills aimed at reducing delays and fraud in the state’s beleaguered unemployment benefits system. The legislation was signed into law less than a month after after Newsom beat back a recall attempt in which those seeking to remove him from office cited problems that included long waits for unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of jobless Californians. (McGreevy, 10/5)

In updates from Kentucky, Alaska, Florida and elsewhere —

AP: Health Coverage Through State-Based Exchange Opens Nov. 1
The comeback of Kentucky’s state-run health insurance exchange will be completed Nov. 1, when consumers can start using it to apply for health coverage for the coming year. Retaining its original kynect name, the state-run web portal will enable Kentuckians to apply for coverage and complete their enrollment. Starting Oct. 15, consumers can log in to the portal to compare state-managed health insurance plans ahead of enrollment. (10/6)

Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Assembly, Mayor’s Team Roll Out New Compromise On Homelessness
Members of the Anchorage Assembly and the administration of Mayor Dave Bronson debuted a new compromise plan to tackle homelessness in Anchorage that would create multiple, smaller shelter and housing options targeted to subsets of the population of unhoused people. “Frankly, it’s a better plan than we presented a few months ago,” said John Morris, the city’s homeless coordinator, during a homelessness work group meeting held at the Anchorage Assembly chambers Tuesday afternoon. “I think it’s a great path forward.” (Theriault Boots, 10/5)

Health News Florida: Oncologist Says Casey DeSantis' Cancer Diagnosis Puts Spotlight On Early Detection And Treatment 
Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis, at age 41, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, according to her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis. Dr. Danielle Henry, a breast surgical oncologist with the Orlando Health system, says breast cancer in younger women happens, but it’s very rare. Henry adds that early detection and treatment improves outcomes for women and men diagnosed with breast cancer at any age. Henry says that’s why it’s crucial that women, especially Black women who are at risk of being diagnosed with more aggressive breast cancers, get mammograms starting at 40. (Prieur, 10/5)

CIDRAP: Leafy Greens Outbreaks Part Of This Season's Cyclospora Cases
In an annual final update on domestically acquired Cyclospora cases, which typically increase in warm weather months, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 1,020 cases from 36 states were reported, with 170 linked to two large multistate outbreaks associated with restaurants or events. One multistate outbreak involved 40 illnesses and the other resulted in 130 infections. For both, traceback investigations suggested leafy greens, but no specific grower or type of greens were identified. In the past, Cyclospora outbreaks were tied to various produce items, including basil, cilantro, mesclun lettuce, and snow peas. In 2020, multiple outbreaks were reported and involved various produce items, including bagged salad mix. (10/5)

In news from Kansas —

Kansas City Star: Many Struggle For An Accessible, Independent Life In Kansas City
Over the past six years, Tony Waterhouse-Leal has found ways to navigate his small apartment — and the Kansas City neighborhoods surrounding it. It’s been trial and error. Cooking, cleaning and getting to the pharmacy near his Northland home all present challenges for the 42-year-old with cerebral palsy who relies on a motorized wheelchair to get around. He sometimes has to dodge traffic in the street when he runs out of sidewalk. At home, his upper cabinets are uselessly out of reach, the walls marked up and dented where he struggles to get through narrow passages. (Lukitsch, 10/6)

Kansas City Star: Rebekah Taussig’s Tips To Make Cities Accessible To Disabled People 
“The vast majority of nondisabled people don’t see — and certainly don’t feel — the experiences of disabled folks. ”That line from Kansas City author Rebekah Taussig’s memoir “Sitting Pretty” succinctly sums up her experience living in the metro area as a disabled person who uses a wheelchair. Taussig, who grew up in Overland Park, lives in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, with her husband, Micah, and young son, Otto. She spoke to The Star about her experience navigating the city with a disability and how citizens, business owners and city leaders can make Kansas City a more accessible place for all. (Wise, 10/6)

NPR: Employees Warned Pharmacy Chains They Needed More Safeguards For Prescription Opioids 
Internal documents cited during the opening session of a landmark opioid trial in Cleveland suggest the nation's biggest pharmacy chains were warned by employees about the dispensing of highly addictive pain pills. Mark Lanier, lead attorney for two Ohio counties suing CVS, Giant Eagle, Walgreens and Walmart, read the documents into the court record as part of his opening statement. "Walgreens is not verifying the legitimacy of suspicious orders, which could lead to the fulfilment of an illicit order," said one Walgreens memo cited by Lanier. (Mann, 10/5)

Bloomberg: CVS Executive Defends Pharmacy Chain’s Handling Of Opioid Drugs 
A CVS Health Corp. executive acknowledged in court that some of the company’s U.S. pharmacies filled illegitimate opioid prescriptions for almost a decade, but he denied any widespread failure to monitor sales of the addictive painkillers. Tom Davis, who oversees safety issues for CVS, told jurors Tuesday in federal court in Cleveland that while the pharmacy chain had settled multiple state and federal probes over opioids between 2008 and 2016, those cases were outliers. (Feeley, 10/5)

AP: Attorneys: Pharmacy Companies Blameless For Opioid Crisis 
There is no evidence that retail pharmacy chains contributed to the opioid crisis that is raging in two Ohio counties outside Cleveland, attorneys for three of the companies said during opening statements on Tuesday. Lake and Trumbull counties have sued CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Giant Eagle in federal court in Cleveland claiming the companies created a public nuisance by dispensing pain pills that were diverted for illegal use. The cost of abating the crisis for each county is around $1 billion, their attorneys contend. (Gillispie, 10/5)

In other news —

Stat: AstraZeneca To Pay $560,000 To Settle Discrimination Claims
Following a federal investigation, AstraZeneca (AZN) has agreed to pay $560,000 to hundreds of sales reps who claimed they were paid less than their colleagues due to racial and gender-based discrimination. The U.S. Department of Labor found the company paid a lower base salary to 23 Hispanic women primary care sales reps compared to others doing the same job, and 295 women specialty care reps were also paid a lower base salary than men who were sales reps. The discrimination, which is prohibited by government contractors under federal law, occurred between October 2015 and September 2016. (Silverman, 10/5)

Stat: Vedanta Touts Positive New Data For Its C. Diff Microbiome Therapeutic
Vedanta Biosciences is touting positive new Phase 2 results for a microbe-based treatment for C. difficile, the fourth major biotech to take this approach toward the life-threatening bacterial disease. People who received a relatively high dose of Vedanta’s drug, which is made from eight strains of bacteria, had 80% fewer recurrences of C. diff than people who received a placebo, the company said Tuesday. The absolute difference in the proportion of people whose C. difficile infections recurred was more than 37 percentage points. (Sheridan, 10/5)

Arizona Capitol Times: Prescription Drug Solutions Overdue, Sinema And Kelly Must Act 
During my time as an elected official in Arizona, I have heard anecdotes about impossible decisions families are forced to make due to out-of-control prescription drug costs. Horrible choices like deciding to buy critical medications or paying the rent, buying groceries, or paying the utility bill. This is a choice no one living in a country as prosperous as American should ever have to make.   Here in the Arizona Senate, Democrats have worked to come up with solutions to give relief to patients. But our families, seniors and small businesses — struggling under the cost of medications — also need significant solutions that can only be delivered at the federal level. This is why we need our representatives in Congress, particularly Sens. Krysten Sinema and Mark Kelly, to stand up to the powerful influence of pharmaceutical companies and pass reforms that will tackle the crisis of prescription drug affordability and give Arizonans much need help. (State Sen. Lela Alston, 10/4)

The New York Times: What’s Wrong With Kyrsten Sinema? 
“We need to make health care more affordable, lower prescription drug prices, and fix the problems in the system — not go back to letting insurance companies call all the shots,” she tweeted in 2018. Yet [Kyrsten] Sinema reportedly objects to the Democrats’ plan to allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients and even opposes a scaled-back version of the policy put forward by some House moderates. She voted against the Trump tax cuts in the House but now seems to oppose undoing any of them. According to The New York Times, she’s “privately told colleagues she will not accept any corporate or income tax rate increases.” (Michelle Goldberg, 10/4)

Also —

Delaware Online: Delawareans Demand Lower Prescription Drug Costs
Across Delaware and our nation, families and seniors are feeling the impact of prescription drug prices. As Lieutenant Governor and as a nurse, families have shared their struggles in being able to pay for medications to manage chronic diseases and/or prevent serious illnesses. Too often they face difficult decisions that compromises their health because they are forced to ration drugs, skip meals or forego payment of bills in order to afford their prescription drugs and insurance coverage. This is wrong and it must stop. (Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, 9/29)

Statesman Journal: Government Should Lower Prescription Drug Costs
Zuri, a college student, had to go into surgery. Afterward, he was prescribed medication to help with his recovery. Zuri had to pay more than $200 out of pocket for a short supply even after his insurance covered some of the cost. For a student on limited income, that amounted to a significant financial burden. And as Zuri put it, “I know I’m not the only person that’s had to experience this.” He’s right. More than 150 million Americans, including more than 2.2 million Oregonians, are insured through employers and the commercial market. Most insured consumers, however, still face high health care costs from prescription medication. (Maribeth Guarino, 10/1)

And opioids are in the spotlight —

The Wall Street Journal: Even Walmart Deserves A Trial 
Pharmacies are and should certainly be responsible when they mess up. Say Dr. Jones prescribes rosuvastatin (a cholesterol reducer) to Mary, but the pharmacist reaches for the wrong jar and instead dispenses Valium (a benzodiazepine). Valium and alcohol have synergistic effects, so if Mary goes to a bar, she may forget how many drinks she’s had and how many pills she’s taken. If she overdoses, has respiratory failure and dies, the pharmacy must pay. Or imagine that John, a high-school freshman, impersonates Dr. Jones, calls in a prescription for pain reliever Vicodin (a combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone), and gives his own phone number as a callback for confirmation. The staff pharmacist fails to check in the physician directory, and fills the prescription. John’s liver fails. The pharmacy must pay. (Michael I. Krauss, 10/1)

The Virginian-Pilot: Veterans Pay The Price Of Bungled Opioid Policies 
For more than a decade, policymakers and public health officials have incorrectly blamed the worsening overdose crisis on doctors prescribing opioids to their patients in pain. During this time physicians have been pressured to reduce opioid prescribing, only to see the overdose rate more than double since 2010 — even as opioid prescribing was cut nearly in half. In early August, a study showed that tapering chronic pain patients off opioids led to a dramatic increase in mental health crises, suicide attempts and overdoses. It is not surprising, then, that we now learn this anti-opioid policy has had a devastating effect on America’s veterans. (Jeffrey A. Singer and Josh Bloom, 10/2)

NBC News: Covid Vaccine Mistrust Is Fueling A Spike In Rural Deaths. Here's What's Fueling The Mistrust
When we think of the painful toll of Covid-19, we often picture urban scenes: lines for tests, overflowing hospitals, refrigerated trucks serving as makeshift morgues. Yet, staggering new data shows that the death rate from Covid in rural areas is now double what it is in urban ones. You would think that fact, coupled with medical professionals pleading with people in rural America to get vaccinated, would lead more to get their shots. Yet, people in rural states lead the list of those who remain unvaccinated, putting themselves and others at risk. (Kerry Thompson, 10/5)

USA Today: COVID Vaccine For Pregnant People: The CDC Owes Them More Clarity
While the Biden administration is turning to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the name of helping people, Americans would be better off with more data to make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Take those who are pregnant. As of Sept. 25, a third of the pregnant population ages 18-49 was fully vaccinated (32%), according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 10.7% were fully vaccinated prior to pregnancy, while only 18.9% chose to get fully vaccinated while pregnant. (Karin A. Lips and Kelsey Bolar, 10/5)

Kansas City Star: Should Pregnant Women Get COVID Vaccine? These Two Say Yes 
As a police officer, Sarah Brummer has had to deal with the tragedy of deceased babies. As an expectant mom, she read and heard horror stories in which COVID-19 killed either an unvaccinated mother or her child. “It was 10 times more intense than any child that I have seen pass on a case,” Brummer said of her research on unvaccinated pregnancies. And then a nurse friend told her of caring for a new mother on a ventilator. The baby had died, and the dad was in the intesive care unit. All had COVID.You better believe Brummer got the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant. Not just twice, but three times, including a booster. (Michael Ryan, 10/6)

New York Daily News: Vaccine Mandates Work 
For all the manufactured controversy around COVID vaccine mandates, one thing no one can deny is that they're fulfilling their intended purpose. From health care workers in California to employees of the food production behemoth Tyson, tying vaccination to continued employment is pushing people around the country to get the jab and help at long last restrict the virus' ability to kill and propagate itself. (10/5)

The Baltimore Sun: Pediatrician: Instead Of Quarantining Large Groups Of Students, MD Should Implement Proactive ‘Test To Stay’ Strategy
Every Fall when children return to school they come down with routine colds. Others get runny noses from ragweed allergy. This year, on top of the “typical” fall coughs and sneezes, we have COVID-19 infections, contact tracing and quarantines. As a society, we have failed to provide a safe environment for children to go to school for almost two years now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, COVID-19 infections can be minimized when schools enhance ventilation, mask everyone in the building and make sure anyone who can be vaccinated is vaccinated. (Scott Krugman, 10/4)

Newsweek: Dr. Fauci's COVID Christmas Threat Must Be The Final Straw 
Fauci and the Biden administration keep indulging in authoritarian impulses that are turning COVID from a public health threat into a civil liberties one. This is all going too far. For the last several weeks, hundreds of thousands of sports fans have met at stadiums across the country to watch college and professional football. Heading into the season, media outlets and public officials focused on the COVID threat of these large crowds. They said the games could become super spreaders. Yet there were no notable follow-ups from those outlets, politicians or public health officials—because the games were not super-spreader events. Despite the more contagious Delta variant, and a significant lack of social distancing and masking, COVID was not the inevitable threat we were told it was. (Jason Rantz, 10/5)

USA Today: COVID-19 Delta Variant: Americans Need Easy Access To Rapid Home Tests
Instances when Americans might need to know whether they have COVID-19 and need to know now are legion, especially with a winter season of the delta variant and flu approaching. Examples? Your child's elementary school reports another student with COVID. Your employer wants proof of vaccination or twice weekly testing. There's an upcoming in-door wedding with elderly attendees. Or a vaccinated member of your household has a sore throat and worries about a break-through infection. A rapid test at home would provide an answer in 15 minutes. (10/6)

USA Today: Medicaid: Congress Needs To Help Expand Healthcare Coverage
In 2017, long before I ran for the Senate, I was arrested at the U.S. Capitol while protesting for expanded access to health care. And as a man of faith, I was fighting long before then to get Georgians the health care they deserve because I believe health care is a human right. Now, as Congress works on a historic economic package that will revitalize our nation’s care infrastructure and move our economy forward, I’m still fighting to expand health care access for our neighbors who need it most. (Raphael Warnock, 10/5)

The Tennessean: The Pandemic Has Increased Addiction. We Must Invest In Treatment
Fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the prevalence of substance use disorder to record levels, with drug overdoses in 2020 up over those in 2019, reaching 91,000 deaths nationwide. Overdose deaths in Tennessee mirror this national trend. (David Marcovitz and Katie D. White, 10/2)

The New York Times: Why A Patient In Denial Is So Tough For Doctors 
My patient’s chart was brief. A diagnosis of colon cancer that might have been cured had he not disappeared from medical care to return, nearly a year later, with cancer so advanced that it had torn through his intestines. Colleagues at the hospital had called him to schedule appointments, to get follow-up and to start chemotherapy, but he never responded. Now he was back, but there was nothing the surgeons could fix, and so he would remain in the intensive care unit until his death. (Daniela J. Lamas, 10/6)

Associated Press: Henrietta Lacks' Family Sues Pharma Company Over Use Of Her Cells
The estate of Henrietta Lacks sued a pharmaceutical company on Monday, accusing it of selling cells that doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took from the Black woman in 1951 without her knowledge or consent. The cells taken from the woman who died of cervical cancer, known as HeLa cells, have been reproduced infinitely ever since, and used in countless scientific and medical innovations including the development of the polio vaccine and gene mapping. (10/4)

Stat: The AMA Needs To Declare A National Mental Health Emergency 
As the pandemic continues to disrupt life across the U.S., a staggering number of Americans are reaching out to their primary care doctors for help with sometimes overwhelming mental health struggles. Yet primary care doctors like us have nowhere to turn when it comes to finding mental health providers for them, and our patients often suffer without the specialty care they need. It’s time for the American Medical Association to take decisive action and declare a national mental health emergency. (Susan Hata and Thalia Krakower, 10/6)

Modern Healthcare: What Will Move The Needle On Costs? 
How do you believe the federal price transparency requirements that took effect in January will ultimately affect costs? Niall Brennan: In all likelihood, it’s not going to control costs at the consumer level. There is some possibility for employers to leverage information in ways that might make them better, or more aggressive, purchasers of healthcare. I’m also aware of the arguments that if hospital B finds out hospital A is getting paid more for an appendectomy, hospital B may raise its prices. (Niall Brennan and Paul Ginsburg, 10/5)