First Edition: Dec. 17, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
‘The Charges Seem Crazy’: Hospitals Impose A ‘Facility Fee’ — For A Video Visit
When Arielle Harrison’s 9-year-old needed to see a pediatric specialist at Yale New Haven Health System in June, a telehealth visit seemed like a great option. Since her son wasn’t yet eligible to be vaccinated against covid-19, they could connect with the doctor via video and avoid venturing into a germy medical facility. Days before the appointment, she got a notice from the hospital informing her that she would receive two bills for the visit. One would be for the doctor’s services. The second would be for a hospital facility fee, even though she and her son would be at home in Cheshire, Connecticut, and never set foot in any hospital-affiliated building. (Andrews, 12/17)
KHN:
Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant In Rural America
Ted Billinger Jr. liked to joke that he would work until he died. That turned out to be prophetic. When Billinger died of a heart attack in 2019 at age 71, he was still running Teddy B’s, the pharmacy his father had started more than 65 years earlier in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. With no other pharmacist to work at the store, prescriptions already counted out and sealed in bottles were suddenly locked away in a pharmacy that no one could enter. And Cheyenne Wells’ fewer than 800 residents were abruptly left without a drugstore. Pharmacies were once routinely bequeathed from one generation to the next, but, in interviews with more than a dozen pharmacists, many said the pressure of running an independent drugstore have them pushing their offspring toward other careers. (Hawryluk, 12/17)
KHN:
Abortion Rights Advocates Try To Change Opinions With Deeply Personal Conversations
It’s Saturday, and Sarah Mahoney is one of several Planned Parenthood volunteers knocking on doors in Windham, Maine, a politically moderate town not far from Portland. No one answers at the first couple of houses. But as Mahoney heads up the street, she sees a woman out for a walk. “Hey! We’re out canvassing,” she says. “Would you mind having a conversation with us?” Mahoney wants to talk about abortion — not a typical topic for a conversation, especially with a stranger. But the woman, Kerry Kelchner, agrees to talk. If this were typical door-to-door canvassing, Mahoney might ask Kelchner about a political candidate, remind her to vote and then be on her way. But Mahoney is deep canvassing — a technique that employs longer conversations to move opinions on hot-button issues. (Wight, 12/17)
KHN:
As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less On Emergencies
The night after Thanksgiving, a small ambulance service that covers a huge swath of southwestern Colorado got a call that a patient needed an emergency transfer from the hospital in Gunnison to a larger one with an intensive care unit 65 miles away in Montrose. The patient — a 78-year-old man — was experiencing atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that usually isn’t life-threatening. But for patients like this one with chronic health conditions, a history of cardiac issues and high blood pressure, the condition can cause a stroke or heart failure. (Santoro, 12/17)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron
This week, the U.S. passed the milestone of 800,000 dead from covid-19, as hospitals are starting to fill following the Thanksgiving holiday and the ominous omicron variant starts to spread rapidly. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals it’s likely to roll back abortion rights in the next year, and Congress runs out of time to pass President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill in 2021. (12/16)
The Washington Post:
Supreme Court Sends Texas Abortion Case To Appeals Court Instead Of To Judge Who Previously Blocked The Law
The Supreme Court returned the lawsuit over Texas’s restrictive abortion law to a federal appeals court Thursday, rejecting a request by abortion providers to send the case to a district judge who had previously declared the law unconstitutional. The order came from Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who last week wrote the majority opinion that left in place the law, which bans most abortions after six weeks. The decision granted a narrow path for providers to challenge the law’s unique enforcement structure. (Barnes and Marimow, 12/16)
Stat:
Judge Reverses $4.5 Billion Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Settlement
A federal court judge has reversed the hotly contested Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan after deciding a bankruptcy judge did not have authority to grant immunity to the Sackler family members who control the controversial drug maker. A provision in the plan grants immunity to some of the Sacklers as well as hundreds of their associates from future lawsuits, even though — unlike Purdue — they did not file for bankruptcy protection. The Sackler family members had insisted that a bankruptcy deal would not be possible, though, unless they were released from all future liability related to the harm caused by Purdue’s OxyContin painkiller. (Silverman, 12/16)
Politico:
Biden Concedes Build Back Better Bill Won’t Get Passed This Year
President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that negotiations over his Build Back Better bill are poised to drag on into 2022 despite efforts and pledges by Democrats to get it done before Christmas. “It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” the president said in a statement. He said that he spoke to Democratic leaders in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, earlier Thursday and they plan to “advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead; Leader Schumer and I are determined to see the bill successfully on the floor as early as possible.” (Thompson, 12/16)
The Hill:
Biden's Build Back Better Bill Suddenly In Serious Danger
But more importantly, there is also a chance the entire Build Back Better bill will have to be reworked to accommodate Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) opposition to including a one-year extension of the expanded child tax credit in the bill. Manchin says he does not oppose the tax credit, which he has backed in past legislation. But he argues that because the credit is likely to be renewed over the next decade, its true cost is not reflected in the current bill's official Congressional Budget Office score. 2021 and allow senators to go home for Christmas. (Bolton, 12/16)
NPR:
CDC Narrows Use Of J&J Vaccine Amid Concerns About Blood Clots
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said it "remains confident in the overall positive benefit-risk profile" of its vaccine. "The safety and well-being of those who use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine continues to be our number one priority," said Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of drug research and development at Johnson & Johnson, in the statement. "We appreciate today's discussion and look forward to working with the CDC on next steps." (Romo and Hensley, 12/16)
CIDRAP:
Novavax COVID Vaccine Shows 90.4% Efficacy Against Infection
A phase 3 trial yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) finds that the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is 90.4% effective against infection and 100% effective against moderate to severe illness, bringing yet another vaccine one step closer to approval. Novavax is a new adjuvanted, recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine that has proven effective against COVID-19 infection in the United Kingdom and South Africa. This was the first such trial in North America. (Van Beusekom, 12/16)
Reuters:
Eight Heart Inflammation Cases Among Young Kids Who Got COVID-19 Shot - U.S. CDC
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday it had received reports of eight cases of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, in children aged 5-11 years who received Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC had previously said that reporting rates of myocarditis for boys aged 16 to 17 could be more than 69 cases per million second doses administered and around 40 cases per million second doses in boys aged 12-15 years old. (12/16)
CNN:
Flu Vaccines Don't Match The Main Circulating Flu Virus Strain, Researchers Find
One of the main circulating influenza viruses has changed and the current flu vaccines don't match it well any more -- an indication they may not do much to prevent infection, researchers reported Thursday. But they are still likely to prevent severe illness. "From our lab-based studies it looks like a major mismatch," Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania who led the study, told CNN. It's bad news for the vaccine, he said. Influenza vaccines protect against four different strains of the flu: H3N2, H1N1 and two strains of influenza B. Hensley's study only covers H3N2, but that happens to be the main circulating strain. (Fox, 12/16)
AP:
Courts Keep Chipping Away At Biden COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Federal judges in Louisiana and Texas continue to chip away at Biden administration COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The latest of the piecemeal blows to the vaccine mandates came Thursday in lawsuit filed by Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi. In that case, U.S. District Judge Dee Drell in Alexandria, Louisiana, declined to block a requirement that all employees of federal contractors get vaccinated — noting that there is already a nationwide block on that mandate issued by a Georgia-based federal judge. (McGill, 12/17)
Politico:
More Than 100 Marines Kicked Out Of The Service For Refusing Covid Vaccine
The Marine Corps has booted 103 of its members for refusing the Covid vaccine, the service announced on Thursday, even as all the military branches report that a vast majority of troops have gotten the shots. The news comes the same day the Army announced that it has relieved six leaders — including two commanding officers — over the issue, and that almost 4,000 active-duty soldiers have refused the vaccine. (McLeary, 12/16)
The New York Times:
Vaccine Holdouts In Army And Navy Will Be Dismissed, Military Says
The vast majority of active-duty troops in the Army and the Navy are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the small number of those still refusing shots will soon be dismissed from the military, officials said on Thursday. In the Army, 468,459 active-duty soldiers, or 98 percent, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Navy has inoculated 342,974 members, with roughly 1.7 percent still holding out. (Steinhauer, 12/16)
CNN:
A Covid-19 'Viral Blizzard' Is About To Hit The US, Expert Says
With Covid-19 hospitalizations rising as the holiday season gets into full swing, experts are urging people to take precautionary measures against a new variant that may quickly sweep the nation. While the Delta variant is still a worrying presence, there could be millions of more Americans infected within weeks due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. (Caldwell, 12/17)
Reuters:
Small S.Africa Patient Study Shows Omicron Breaking Through Booster Shots
A small study of seven COVID-19 cases in South Africa shows the Omicron variant can break through booster vaccine shots, one of the scientists involved said on Thursday. A group of seven German visitors to Cape Town, aged between 25 and 39, were infected at some point in late November or early December with confirmed cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant. ... None had reported past infection with COVID-19. The infections occurred between one and two months after receipt of the booster shot. (Cocks, 12/16)
The Hill:
Pfizer And BioNTech Seek Full Vaccine Approval For Those Ages 12-15
Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday evening that they had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking full approval for the administration of their two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in children aged between 12 and 15.The companies said in a release that their application included follow-up data from their Phase 3 clinical trial, which showed that two doses of the vaccine were 100 percent effective against COVID-19 among 12 to 15-year-olds. (Choi, 12/16)
Crain's Detroit Business:
Henry Ford Health Hospitals, At Or Near Capacity, Delay Surgeries
Henry Ford Health System's hospitals have had to delay or relocate non-urgent surgeries to manage the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, which its executives describe as a crisis. All of the Detroit-based system's hospitals are near or at capacity and the situation is dire, executives reported in a news conference Wednesday morning. The news follows a similar announcement last week from Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. (Frank, 12/16)
The Boston Globe:
Amid Surge In Patients, Hospitals Treat More People At Home
When Eleni Nicolau became sick with COVID after Thanksgiving, a breakthrough infection that hit the 83-year-old hard, she found herself alone in a hospital room, separated from her family and struggling to breathe. Then doctors gave her a new option: Did she want to finish her hospitalization at home? An ambulance brought Nicolau to the triple-decker where she lives in Worcester, and where for the next five days, nurses gave her oxygen, steroids, and antiviral drugs. Doctors talked to her on daily video calls. A biosensor on her arm tracked her vital signs around the clock. ”Everything you would have in the hospital, my mom had here,” said her daughter, Fran, who helped care for her. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/16)
The Hill:
University Of Maryland Cancels Winter Commencement Amid Surge In COVID-19 Cases
The University of Maryland has canceled its winter commencement after recording over 100 new positive COVID-19 cases on campus. "With a heavy heart, we are canceling all winter commencement activities," the school said on Thursday. "This decision was not made lightly. We know how important this time is for our winter graduates and their families, but our first responsibility must continue to be the health and well-being of our community." (Beals, 12/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Omicron Looms, Stanford Requires Boosters For Students, Moves Classes Online In Early January
Stanford University is moving classes online for the first two weeks of the winter quarter and requiring all eligible students to get a booster shot by the end of January, according to an email sent to the campus community Thursday. Stanford officials said online classes will start Jan. 3 and in-person instruction will resume Jan. 18, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Students can still return to campus as planned, even though they will be learning online initially. Parties and similar gatherings are banned during the first two weeks of the winter quarter. (Morris, 12/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Emory University In Atlanta Mandates COVID Booster Shots For Students
Emory University announced Thursday that it will require all employees, faculty and students to get a COVID-19 booster shot within the next month. Emory, the state’s largest private university, has become one of the biggest schools in Georgia to order booster shots. It has more than 32,000 employees and about 15,000 students. President Gregory Fenves said in a letter the university is requiring the shots because of the increased spread of COVID-19 nationwide and the emerging omicron variant. (Stirgus, 12/16)
The Hill:
Florida Man Kicked Off United Flight For Using Underwear As Mask In Protest
A Florida man was kicked off a United flight for using a thong as a mask to protest the airline's mask mandate. The passenger, Adam Jenne, told local news outlet NBC2 that he believes he was in compliance with the airline's mask mandate, as the thong covered both his nose and mouth on the Dec 15. flight between Ft. Lauderdale and Washington, D.C. Airline staff, however, disagreed — and removed him from the flight. (Raik, 12/16)
The Washington Post:
NFL Makes Major Protocol Change, While Players’ Union Advocates For Postponements
The NFL made a significant change Thursday to its coronavirus protocols, allowing a vaccinated player who tests positive for the virus but has no symptoms to test out of isolation in as little as one day. Meanwhile, the players’ union was advocating for the league to consider postponing games involving teams with large numbers of cases. The NFL Players Association believes that “rescheduling games should be an option” related to “any teams with major outbreaks,” according to a person familiar with the NFLPA’s view. (Maske, 12/16)
AP:
NBA, Players Agree To Additional Protocols Through Holidays
The NBA and its players have agreed to enhanced health and safety protocols through the holiday season in response to rising virus numbers, with additional testing coming and a return to mask usage in many situations. The upgraded mask rules will be in place “until agreed otherwise by the NBA and Players Association,” according to a memo shared with teams Thursday night and obtained by The Associated Press. Masks need to be worn again in almost all circumstances during team activities — including travel, when on the bench during games, in meetings and locker room, weight room and training room settings. The exceptions: during on-court basketball activities for players, and for head coaches during games. (Reynolds, 12/16)
USA Today:
Dave Ramsey Sued For Religious Discrimination Over COVID Strategy
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey required employees at his company to disregard COVID-19 work-from-home orders and attend in-person gatherings of more than 900 workers who were encouraged not to wear masks or maintain social distance, a new federal workplace discrimination lawsuit asserts. Employees at Ramsey Solutions – the Franklin, Tennessee, headquarters for the evangelical Christian bestselling author and media mogul – who wanted to work from home instead of coming to office were guilty of "weakness of spirit," Ramsey said, according to the lawsuit. (Snider, 12/16)
The Washington Post:
As The Omicron Variant Threatens To Wipe Out Monoclonal Antibodies, The U.S. Is Saving Up One That Will Still Work
With the omicron variant of the coronavirus poised to thwart most covid-19 treatments, U.S. public health officials are stockpiling the one monoclonal antibody that remains effective so that it can be deployed when the variant becomes more prevalent. Omicron represents an estimated 3 percent of coronavirus cases in the United States, but in some states it is estimated to make up 13 percent of all cases, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday. Some hospitals are reporting even more concerning figures: At Houston Methodist, omicron grew from 13 percent of cases to more than 30 percent in four days. In New York, the percent of positive tests doubled in three days — a key sign of accelerating spread. (Johnson, 12/16)
Milkwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Shark Antibodies May Prove Effective Against COVID-19
Nurse sharks gliding around a tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may hold the secret to an unusual, previously unexamined treatment for COVID-19, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications. Antibodies derived from the immune systems of sharks proved effective against the new coronavirus, including the Delta variant, in lab experiments using human lung and embryonic kidney cells. (Johnson, 12/16)
NPR:
COVID Can Lead To Lasting Harm To The Brain, Scientists Find
Months after a bout with COVID-19, many people are still struggling with memory problems, mental fog and mood changes. One reason is that the disease can cause long-term harm to the brain. "A lot of people are suffering," says Jennifer Frontera, a neurology professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Frontera led a study that found that more than 13% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had developed a new neurological disorder soon after being infected. A follow-up study found that six months later, about half of the patients in that group who survived were still experiencing cognitive problems. (Hamilton, 12/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Oracle In Talks To Buy Cerner
Oracle Corp. is in talks to buy electronic-medical-records company Cerner Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that could be worth around $30 billion and push the enterprise-software giant further into healthcare. An agreement could be finalized soon, some of the people said, assuming the talks don’t fall apart or drag out. Should a deal come together, it would rank as the biggest ever for Oracle, which has a market value of more than $280 billion. (Lombardo and Cimilluca, 12/16)
Stat:
FDA Rebukes Endo For 'Anticompetitive Practices' And Asks FTC To Investigate
In an unusual move, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has openly suggested that a brand-name drug maker attempted to delay competition after it petitioned the agency to reject generic versions of its biggest-selling medicine. As a result, the FDA plans to ask the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company for “anticompetitive business practices.” (Silverman, 12/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Provider Groups Call For Drug Supply Chain Restructuring To Avoid Shortages
The federal government should offer incentives to encourage drugmakers to manufacture critical medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients, a coalition of provider organizations urge in a set of policy recommendations issued Thursday. Rewarding pharmaceutical suppliers for developing continuous manufacturing infrastructure in the U.S. and abroad could help mitigate drug shortages, the American Medical Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Association for Clinical Oncology and United States Pharmacopeia urge in the report. (Kacik, 12/16)
Stat:
U.S. Seeks A Legislative Path For Antibiotic Drug Development
Amid rising concerns over antibiotic resistance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving to encourage Congress to create a novel incentive program for drug companies to develop these life-saving medicines. In a document issued by the G7 Finance Ministers earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department disclosed the Biden administration supports existing legislation, known as the Pasteur Act, which would establish a payment mechanism for drug developers. But if the bill fails to become law, HHS is taking steps required to submit a similar proposal to Congress in order to accomplish the same goal. (Silverman, 12/16)
Stat:
Prescription Apps To Treat Disease Face Uncertainty Over Coverage
In August, Pear Therapeutics, the company at the forefront of creating prescription software to treat health conditions, announced that it had landed a deal with Optum Rx, which administers pharmacy benefits for millions of people nationwide. It was a coup for an 8-year-old company, which had recently announced its intention to go public in a $1.6 billion deal, despite projecting just $4 million in revenue for 2021. According to the celebratory announcement, Pear’s three commercial smartphone apps, which deliver cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, and insomnia, would have “formulary availability” with the country’s third-largest pharmacy benefits manager. (Aguilar, 12/17)
AP:
Elizabeth Holmes Jurors Hear Different Takes On Her Downfall
Jurors in the case of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Thursday heard starkly different interpretations of her motives and actions as her long-running criminal trial nears the finish line. A federal prosecutor cast Holmes as a desperate con artist who brazenly lied to get rich, while her lawyer depicted her as a well-meaning entrepreneur who never stopped trying to perfect Theranos’ blood-testing technology and deliver on her pledge to improve health care. (Liedtke, 12/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Prosecution Gets Final Chance To Sway Jurors
Prosecutors in Elizabeth Holmes’s criminal-fraud trial made their case one more time in closing arguments Thursday as jurors move closer to deciding the fate of the Theranos Inc. founder. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Schenk gave jurors a summation of the government’s case against Ms. Holmes, arguing she knowingly and willfully lied about Theranos’s technology to salvage her startup as it quickly ran low on money. (Somerville, 12/16)
NPR:
NFL Players Are Four Times More Likely To Develop ALS, A New Study Shows
Professional football players in the NFL are four times more likely to develop and die from ALS than the adult male population, according to new research. Scientists at Boston University's CTE Center, who conducted the study released Wednesday, said they couldn't determine exactly why the rate was higher for those athletes but suggested that repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injuries may play a role. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. ALS has been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, another degenerative brain disease found in many former football players. (Hernandez, 12/16)
The Washington Post:
Vincent Jackson, Ex-NFL Player Found Dead In February, Had CTE
The family of Vincent Jackson, a former NFL wide receiver who was found dead in February at age 38, announced Thursday that he was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after a brain study conducted by researchers from the Concussion Legacy Foundation. According to the foundation, Jackson was in Stage 2 of the disease, which is “associated with behavioral symptoms like aggression, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, paranoia, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation, along with progressive cognitive symptoms.” (Bieler, 12/16)
The New York Times:
Vincent Jackson’s Widow Hopes Speaking About His C.T.E. Warning Signs Will Help Others
The C.T.E. diagnosis will provide only a partial coda for Lindsey Jackson and their four children. Though the family has come to grips with his absence in the 10 months since his death, many questions will never be answered. C.T.E. can only be diagnosed posthumously, so the Jacksons are left to piece together what was going on in his brain during the final years of his life. ... “When I look back at the different conversations we’ve had, I feel like he probably knew that there was something going on without actually vocalizing it,” Lindsey Jackson said. (Belson, 12/16)
The New York Times:
We Asked 1,320 Therapists What They’re Hearing From Patients
Frontline mental health workers in every state say they can’t keep up with the demand from patients struggling with the disruptions of pandemic life. (Parker-Pope, Caron and Cordero Sancho, 12/16)
Billings Gazette:
Schools Says Fix For In-School Mental Health Services Is Unworkable
As the new system to handle paying for in-school mental health treatment for Montana students with serious emotional problems is “on the brink of being put into place,” school districts around the state say it’s not workable. The Comprehensive School and Community Treatment program connects licensed or supervised in-training practitioners from a mental health center and behavioral health aides with children who can get services at school, in their homes or in the community. (Michels, 12/16)
AP:
New Resource Center To Address Child Behavioral Health Needs
The University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability is going to develop a new resource center to address behavioral health needs of children up to age 21. “We have a wonderful opportunity to create a system of supports to respond to youth and families in crisis and to help them find hope so they can move on and live their best lives,” said JoAnne Malloy, research associate professor and co-director of the Children’s Behavioral Health Resource Center. (12/17)
The Center For Public Integrity:
How Lack Of Medicaid Expansion Fuels Rural Poverty In The Deep South
Jabriel Muhammad pays up to $40 when he sees a doctor at the community health center in Jefferson County in rural southwestern Mississippi, and he goes to the center only when he is really ill. But there’s another price to pay for not having health insurance. In October, he was hit with a $1,394 hospital bill for an MRI scan to diagnose why he wasn’t breathing properly. “We’re poor folks trying to make it as best we can,” said Muhammad, a 40-year-old self-employed carpenter and plumber. “If I make $10,000 with the work that I do in a year, that’s a nice feeling to me.” In Mississippi, the poorest and blackest state in the U.S., single adults without children like Muhammad are not eligible for public health insurance, regardless of how little they earn each year. If he lived 30 miles west in Louisiana, across the Mississippi River, he could afford to see a doctor more often. (Simpson, 12/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Navy Won’t Close Hawaii Jet-Fuel Facility That Leaked Into Locals’ Drinking Water
A U.S. Navy committee tasked with addressing a leak of jet fuel from a World War II-era storage facility that contaminated the water supply on a base in Hawaii won’t consider closing the site, a Navy official said. A Navy official familiar with the task-force plans said that Red Hill was a strategic asset too important to Pacific naval operations to close. ... “We are not looking to shut anything down,” the official said. “We are looking at what happened in the incident, and then will make informed decisions going forward about how to make sure we are providing a continued source of potable drinking water and keeping people safe.” (Youssef, 12/16)
Anchorage Daily News:
Dunleavy Administration Revives Proposal To Split Alaska’s Health And Social Services Department In Two
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration plans again to pursue splitting the state health department into two after a similar proposal was withdrawn earlier this year for additional work. Dunleavy’s new budget proposal calls for breaking the current Department of Health and Social Services into a Department of Health and a Department of Family and Community Services. (Bohrer, 12/16)
AP:
EU Leaders Urge Booster Shots, Seek Coordinated Travel Rules
European Union leaders agreed Thursday that administering booster shots is “urgent” and “crucial” to tackle the surge of coronavirus infections across the continent and the emergence of the new omicron variant. With the festive season looming, the bloc’s leaders also stressed the importance of coordinated action to avoid a confusing cacophony of rules in the 27 member states, and ensure that COVID-19 certificates continue to guarantee unrestricted travel. (Petrequin, 12/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Omicron’s Surge Is Changing The Rules Of Travel
Anyone hoping to comply with the latest Covid-related travel restrictions should start by assuming they are nothing like the ones in the city, state or country next door to their destination. Countries have been swift to impose new travel restrictions due to concerns about the Omicron variant. Each destination sets its own requirements, and the rules are far from consistent, which can cause extra stress and confusion for travelers. The confusion over Omicron is just one of many for travelers. (Pohle, 12/16)
Reuters:
AstraZeneca Antibody Cocktail Works Against Omicron In Study
AstraZeneca said on Thursday a lab-study of its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, Evusheld, found that the treatment retained neutralising activity against the Omicron coronavirus variant, showing promise for wider use of the therapy. The study was conducted by independent investigators of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said, adding that more analyses of Evusheld against Omicron are being conducted by AstraZeneca and third-parties, with data expected "very soon." (12/16)
CIDRAP:
DRC'S 13th Ebola Outbreak Declared Over
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today declared the end of its thirteenth Ebola outbreak, given that two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last patient was discharged from treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office said today. There were 11 cases, 8 of them confirmed and 3 probable, and 6 people died from their infections. The outbreak was declared on Oct 8 and was focused in North Kivu province's Beni health zone, which was one of the hot spots in the country's large 2018 outbreak. (12/16)
The Washington Post:
The U.S. Built A Hospital For Iraqi Children With Cancer. Corruption Ravaged It
Basra’s Children’s Hospital was meant to be the best. After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first lady Laura Bush took a personal interest in its establishment as a world-class hospital for children with cancer, and the U.S. government spent more than $100 million toward its completion. Eighteen years later, the hospital is a casualty of an Iraqi health-care system so riddled with corruption and damaged by neglect that World Bank figures put it among the region’s worst. After decades of war and sanctions battered the medical sector, today an army of crooks is robbing Iraqis of their aspirations for a healthy life, acknowledge former and current Iraqi officials. (Loveluck and Salim, 12/16)