First Edition: January 11, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
The Decision Of Where To Seek Care Is Complicated By The Multitude Of Options
One evening in February 2017, Sarah Dudley’s husband, Joseph, started to feel sick. He had a high fever, his head and body ached, and he seemed disoriented, she said. The Dudleys had a decision to make: go to the hospital emergency room or to an urgent care clinic near their home in Des Moines, Iowa. (Whitehead, 1/11)
KHN:
Listen: Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths In Your Community — And Why It Matters
Each state has its own laws governing the investigation of violent and unexplained deaths, and the expertise and training of those in charge of such investigations vary widely across the nation. The job can be held by an elected coroner as young as 18 or a highly trained physician appointed as medical examiner. (1/11)
The Hill:
Pentagon Officially Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The Pentagon on Tuesday formally rescinded its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, dropping the shot’s requirement across the U.S. military over a year after it was first put in place, according to a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. (Mitchell, 1/10)
AP:
Pentagon Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For Troops
The Pentagon formally dropped its COVID-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated. Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. The Defense Department had already stopped all related personnel actions, such as discharging troops who refused the shot. (Baldor, 1/11)
Reuters:
Sen. Sanders Asks Moderna Not To Hike COVID Vaccine Price
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders sent Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) a letter this week asking the drug company to halt planned U.S. price increases on its COVID-19 vaccine, saying price hikes could make the shot unaffordable for millions of Americans. (Erman, 1/10)
The Hill:
Sanders Tells Moderna Planned COVID Vaccine Price Hike Is ‘Unacceptable Corporate Greed’
“As you know, the federal government, over the years, has supported Moderna every step of the way going back to 2013 when your company reportedly only had three employees. Now, in the midst of a continuing public health crisis and a growing federal deficit, is not the time for Moderna to be quadrupling the price of this vaccine,” he wrote. “Now is not the time for unacceptable corporate greed.” (Weixel, 1/10)
Reuters:
WHO Urges Travellers To Wear Masks As New COVID Variant Spreads
Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights, given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant was detected in small but growing numbers, WHO and Europe officials said at a press briefing. (Tétrault-Farber and Grover, 1/10)
CIDRAP:
Europe Sees Small But Growing Presence Of COVID XBB.1.5 Subvariant
In a statement today, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) European office said data from countries in the region with strong genomic surveillance show a small but growing presence of XBB.1.5, the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 subvariant that has grown rapidly in the northeastern United States. (Schnirring, 1/10)
AP:
WHO Europe: No Immediate COVID-19 Threat From China
The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Tuesday that the agency sees “no immediate threat” for the European region from a COVID-19 outbreak in China, but more information is needed. China is battling a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions. (1/10)
Stat:
Regeneron Says It Will Test A Durable Antibody For Covid
For months, drugmakers have been pleading with regulators to lower the bar for authorizing antibody drugs for Covid. The virus, they noted, had evolved fast enough to render every previous antibody obsolete. Any new antibody may only survive a few months or a year before variants evade it — too fast for a company to profit and potentially too fast to manufacture and test the drug in clinical trials before it goes extinct. (Mast, 1/10)
AP:
NY Governor Pledges New Psychiatric Beds, Bail Reform Talks
“We have underinvested in mental health care for so long and allowed the situation to become so dire, that it also has become a public safety crisis, as well,” Hochul said to enthusiastic applause. “New Yorkers are anxious on the subways and in our streets when they see individuals who need help.” (Khan and Hill, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Hochul To Unveil A $1 Billion Plan Addressing Mental Illness In New York
The governor’s plan would compel state-licensed hospitals to reopen more than 800 inpatient psychiatric beds that disappeared during the pandemic, create 3,500 units of housing with supportive services and expand mental health services in schools, which have seen steep increases in children with psychological problems. (Ferré-Sadurní and Newman, 1/10)
Politico:
‘We Want People To Be Uncomfortable’: The Conservative Plan To Target Pharmacies That Dispense Abortion Pills
Anti-abortion advocates are organizing pickets outside CVS and Walgreens in early February in at least eight cities, including Washington, D.C., in response to the companies’ plans to take advantage of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision last week allowing retail pharmacies to stock and dispense abortion pills in states where they’re legal. (Miranda Ollstein and Gardner, 1/11)
AP:
Illinois Lawmakers Greenlight Enhanced Abortion Protections
Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday approved a measure protecting Illinois’ access to abortion from out-of-state meddling, making the state the latest to pursue such protections since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. (Savage, 1/11)
Politico:
America’s Abortion Access Divide Is Reshaping Blue-State Border Towns
A Tennessee-based health care provider announced plans in May — just one week after POLITICO published the draft Supreme Court opinion that foreshadowed the end of federal abortion protections — to open a clinic in Carbondale, Ill. The provider, Choices, is seeing a steady stream of abortion patients from Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas since it set up space in a shuttered dermatology office last fall, its only location outside Memphis. (Kapos, 1/11)
The Washington Post:
Democrat Aaron Rouse Projected To Win Va. Senate Seat To Replace Kiggans
With Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) pushing to ban abortion in Virginia after 15 weeks, Rouse, a former football safety for the Green Bay Packers, made defending abortion access a key campaign issue. He focused two of his three TV ads on the topic. Although Adams did not make it a focus during his campaign, he had said he favors Youngkin’s proposal, which includes exceptions for rape, incest and to preserve the mother’s life. (Elwood, 1/10)
The Hill:
White House Turns Talk Of Medicare, Social Security Cuts Against GOP
The Biden administration is already building on a strategy it deployed during the midterm election season in which it highlighted talk from multiple GOP congressional lawmakers about how they plan to use their new House majority to consider cuts to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. (Gangitano and Samuels, 1/10)
Modern Healthcare:
340B Cuts Must Be Undone After Supreme Court Ruling: Judge
In 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut 340B reimbursement by nearly 30%, which generated $1.6 billion in savings. The agency redistributed the money to all hospitals, sparking frustration among hospitals that participate in 340B. (Berryman, 1/10)
Stat:
HHS Will Decide How To Resolve $1 Billion In Payments For 340B Hospitals
The Department of Health and Human Services will get to decide how to compensate hospitals for years of underpayments related to a federal drug discount program, a federal court decided Tuesday. The decision is the latest installment in a legal dispute between hospitals that get discounted drugs through the 340B program and the federal government over Medicare payment formulas. The repayments HHS owes hospitals total more than $1 billion, and hospitals had hoped the court would force the government to pay them back immediately. (Cohrs, 1/10)
Politico:
EPA Unveils $100M For Environmental Justice
“This is a great shot in the arm,” Regan told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "We all know communities know their problems better than the federal government does. … We know we are going to see different types of grants from all over the country." The agency will offer the grants in two categories. The first will provide $30 million directly to community-based nonprofits through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Program. (Brugger, 1/10)
Reuters:
U.S. FDA Panel To Review Emergent's OTC Opioid Overdose Drug
The U.S. health regulator said on Tuesday its advisory panel will meet on Feb. 15 to review Emergent Biosolutions Inc's (EBS.N) over-the-counter (OTC) nasal spray to treat suspected opioid overdoses. Emergent is seeking the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA)approval for the prescription-free sale of Narcan, its nasal spray form of the drug naloxone. Narcan is already cleared for the treatment of opioid overdose in the country. (1/10)
Reuters:
FDA Warns Japan's Olympus Units Over Testing Violations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it has issued warning letters to manufacturers of medical scopes used in surgical procedures, citing violations found during inspections of facilities in Japan. Warning letters pertain to a category of devices known as endoscopes, which allow doctors to see and access the urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory tract, during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. (1/10)
Stat:
FDA Scolds Sun Pharmaceutical For Serious Quality Control Problems At A Key Plant In India
Sun Pharmaceutical, one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers, was scolded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a host of serious manufacturing violations at a key plant in India, the latest instance in which the company was tagged by the regulator for quality-control problems. (Silverman, 1/10)
The Hill:
Cannabis-Related Emergency Room Visits On The Rise Among Older Adults In California: Study
The number of seniors visiting emergency rooms in California for cannabis-related issues is growing, according to new research. From 2005 to 2019, the state’s emergency departments saw a 1,808 percent relative increase in the rate of cannabis-related trips among those aged 65 and older. (Melillo, 1/10)
The 19th:
Gas Stove Health Concerns Add Urgency To Calls For Changes In Public Housing
A new study bolstering evidence of the connection between childhood asthma and gas stovetops has added urgency to calls for federal housing authorities to remove gas stoves from public housing, where a majority of households are headed by women. (Kutz, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Prince Harry Said Psychedelics Helped His Grief. Here’s What To Know
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been remarkably transparent about their psychological struggles. In a documentary about mental health that he filmed with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry included a video of himself undergoing E.M.D.R., or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, which helps people with post-traumatic stress disorder cope with triggering memories. Ms. Markle has spoken candidly about experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts. (Smith, 1/10)
Reuters:
British Scientists Plan To Expand Genomic Sequencing From COVID To Flu
Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The work is aimed at shedding more light on known threats and, potentially, emerging ones, the team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, working with the UK Health Security Agency, said. (Rigby, 1/10)
Stat:
Study: FDA Pathway To Clear Medical Devices Puts Patients At Risk
The Food and Drug Administration’s approach to evaluating some new medical devices might actually increase the risk that those devices will later be recalled over safety concerns. For some medical devices, the FDA requires data from studies in people to show that the device, including things like implantable heart defibrillators or stents, is safe and effective. That process is roughly equivalent to how regulators review new medicines. But the FDA also approves devices including artificial joints, infusion pumps, and scalpels using a process known as the 510(k) pathway, which simply lets manufacturers show that the new devices are “substantially equivalent” to products already on the market. (Herper, 1/10)
Stat:
Air Pollution And Neurodegenerative Diseases: Researchers Study Possible Link
The air in Mexico City was once so toxic that people watched as dead birds fell out of the sky. In 1992, the United Nations declared the city the most polluted in the world, with its unregulated diesel engines, factory production, fossil-fuel powered energy plants, and widespread use of internal-combustion engines, all trapped in a high-altitude, mountain-lined valley. (Gravitz, 1/11)
CIDRAP:
Antibiotics May Increase Risk Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Study Finds
The study, which included data on more than 6 million Danish citizens ages 10 and older, found that antibiotic exposure was associated with an increased risk of IBD compared with no antibiotic exposure for all age-groups. The risk was highest among those aged 40 and older, increased with cumulative antibiotic exposure, and was highest following the use of antibiotics commonly used for gastrointestinal pathogens, the researchers found. (Dall, 1/10)
CIDRAP:
Global COVID Vaccine Acceptance Rose 5% From 2021 To 2022
COVID-19 vaccine acceptance climbed from 75% in 2021 to 79% in 2022 in 23 countries representing nearly 60% of the global population, finds a survey published yesterday in Nature Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 1/10)
CIDRAP:
COVID Vaccine Moderately Protective Against Omicron Infection In Kids
A South Korean study involving children aged 5 to 11 years estimates the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of two doses of the monovalent (single-strain) Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron variant infection to be 58%, 50%, and 41% at 15, 31, and 61 days, respectively, with 100% protection against critical illness for up to 90 days. (Van Beusekom, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Nurses Strike At Mount Sinai And Montefiore Extends For Second Day
Hundreds of nurses, wearing their bright red union hats and scarves, marched outside both hospitals Tuesday morning to call for improved wages and more nurses to care for patients, chanting, holding signs and blowing air horns. Inside the hospitals, a skeleton staff cared for reduced patient loads. The nurses said they worried that patient care was suffering inside, but that improving patient safety in the long term was one of the main reasons they went on strike. (Otterman, 1/10)
CNN:
Nurses Strike: Mount Sinai NICU Mom Stays By Her Son's Side In Hospital After His Primary Nurses Leave To Strike
Lora Ribas hasn’t left her son’s bedside in four days. Her one-year-old baby, Logan, has been in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) since he was born. For the past three and a half months, he’s been under the care of Mount Sinai Hospital where thousands of nurses are currently striking. (Tebor, 1/10)
Politico:
1199 SEIU Tells Montefiore To Stop Sending Its Members To Fill In For Striking Nurses
The health care union 1199 SEIU sent a cease-and-desist letter Tuesday to Montefiore Medical Center, alleging that management is involuntarily sending licensed practical nurses represented by that union to work at its Bronx hospital campuses where members of the New York State Nurses Association are on strike. (Kaufman, 1/10)
Stat:
Hospitals Say Peak Labor Costs Are Behind Them
Rising labor costs have been the main financial concern for hospitals over the past year, but those costs have peaked and are now a lot lower, according to hospital system executives who presented during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. (Herman, 1/10)
Stat:
Insurers Hint At Suing Over Plans For Medicare Advantage Audits
Big health insurers who spoke at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference are gearing up to battle the Biden administration once it finalizes its plan for auditing Medicare Advantage, which is expected to happen next month. (Bannow, 1/10)
Reuters:
Bayer Flags New Blood Thinner As $5 Bln-Plus Opportunity
Bayer predicted on Tuesday its experimental drug against dangerous blood clots could make more than 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in peak annual sales, as the company seeks to revive a share price that has drawn interest from activist investors. (Burger and Weiss, 1/10)
Reuters:
Abbvie Raises Sales Outlook Of Two Immunology Drugs To More Than $17.5 Bln In 2025
AbbVie Inc on Tuesday raised its 2025 sales forecast of its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to more than $17.5 billion as it hopes to replace the loss of revenue from its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira. The company's previous sales outlook for Skyrizi and Rinvoq in 2025 was more than $15 billion. (1/10)
Reuters:
Eisai Files For Approval Of Alzheimer's Drug In Europe
Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co Ltd (4523.T) said on Tuesday it had submitted a marketing application to the European health regulator for review of its Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, which was recently granted accelerated approval in the United States. (1/11)
Modern Healthcare:
J.P. Morgan 2023 Healthcare Conference Live Updates, Day 2
Health Catalyst has pivoted its strategy as its health system customers focus less on long-term return on investment. (1/10)
AP:
Indianapolis Fire Sends Man, 4 Children Into Cardiac Arrest
An Indianapolis apartment fire left a 28-year-old man and four children ages 1, 3, 12 and 14 unconscious, in cardiac arrest and hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said Tuesday. Indianapolis firefighters performed CPR on the five victims and transported them to hospitals, Battalion Chief Rita Reith said. (1/10)
AP:
Judge Outlines Fixes To Poor Health Care In Arizona Prisons
A federal judge who previously concluded Arizona was providing inadequate medical and mental health care to prisoners said she will give the state three months to ensure it has enough health care professionals to meet constitutional standards. (Billeaud, 1/10)
AP:
W.R. Grace Offers $18.5M To Settle Montana Asbestos Claims
The owner of a former vermiculite mine in northwestern Montana that spread harmful asbestos in and around the town of Libby has offered $18.5 million to settle the last of the state’s claims for environmental damages, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday. (1/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Layoffs: Healthcare Company To Lay Off 200 Workers
Carbon Health, a San Francisco company that provides urgent and primary care through clinics in California and elsewhere, will lay off more than 250 people, company CEO and co-founder Eren Bali tweeted. “We’re unwinding major initiatives like public health, (remote patient monitoring), hardware, chronic care programs to focus on our core primary care & urgent care service. And we’ve reduced our global work force by more than 200 people,’’ Bali wrote. He said he was still optimistic about the future, but that “the current market conditions force us to be more diligent.” (DiFeliciantonio, 1/9)