First Edition: March 3, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Rural Americans In Pharmacy Deserts Hurting For Covid Vaccines
As the Biden administration accelerates a plan to use pharmacies to distribute covid-19 vaccines, significant areas of the country lack brick-and-mortar pharmacies capable of administering the protective shots. A recent analysis by the Rural Policy Research Institute found that 111 rural counties, mostly between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, have no pharmacy that can give the vaccines. That could leave thousands of vulnerable Americans struggling to find vaccines, which in turn threatens to prolong the pandemic in many hard-hit rural regions. (Hawryluk, 3/3)
KHN and KPCC:
In California, Caregivers Of People With Disabilities Are Being Turned Away At COVID Vaccine Sites
In California, confusion and botched communication has caused some eligible parents and family caregivers of people with disabilities to be turned away at covid vaccination sites. Oscar Madrigal is one of those caregivers. His two sons are on the autism spectrum and his youngest requires almost constant care. (Fortier, 3/3)
KHN:
Children’s Hospitals Grapple With Young Covid ‘Long Haulers’
A slumber party to celebrate Delaney DePue’s 15th birthday last summer marked a new chapter — one defined by illness and uncertainty. The teen from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, tested positive for covid-19 about a week later, said her mother, Sara, leaving her bedridden with flu-like symptoms. However, her expected recovery never came. Delaney — who used to train 20 hours a week for competitive dance and had no diagnosed underlying conditions — now struggles to get through two classes in a row, she said. If she overexerts herself, she becomes bedridden with extreme fatigue. And shortness of breath overcomes her in random places like the grocery store. (Heredia Rodriguez, 3/3)
NPR:
Biden Says U.S. Will Have Vaccine Supply For All Adults By May, Prioritizes Teachers
"As yet another move to help accelerate the safe reopening of schools, let's treat in-person learning like an essential service that it is. And that means getting essential workers who provide that service — educators, school staff, child care workers — get them vaccinated immediately. They're essential workers," the president said. (Wise, 3/2)
Politico:
Biden Accelerates Vaccination Timeline After Manufacturing Deal
"About three weeks ago we were able to say that we'll have enough vaccine supply for adults by the end of July. I'm pleased to announced today, as the consequence of a stepped-up process that I've ordered and just outlined, this country will have enough vaccine supply ... for every adult in America by the end of May," Biden said in remarks delivered at the White House. The availability of vaccines is one piece of the massive effort to protect people against the coronavirus pandemic, along with actually getting shots in arms and assuring people they are safe and effective. In the meantime, Biden urged Americans to keep up with basic health measures such as mask wearing and social distancing. (Owermohle and Cancryn, 3/2)
The New York Times:
Biden Vows Enough Vaccine ‘For Every Adult American’ By End Of May
In a brief speech at the White House, Mr. Biden said his administration had provided support to Johnson & Johnson that would enable the company and its partners to make vaccines around the clock. The administration had also brokered a deal in which the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. would help manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. Merck is the world’s second-largest vaccine manufacturer, though its own attempt at a coronavirus vaccine was unsuccessful. Officials described the partnership between the two competitors as historic and said it harks back to Mr. Biden’s vision of a wartime effort to fight the coronavirus, similar to the manufacturing campaigns when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. (Stolberg, LaFraniere, Thomas and Shear, 3/2)
The Washington Post:
Biden Promises Coronavirus Vaccine By May As States Reopen
At the end of his remarks, Biden sought to project a sense of optimism when asked by reporters when he thought the nation would return to normal. After saying he had been “cautioned” not to offer such predictions, because of the uncertainty of the virus, he answered with a note of hopefulness: “My hope is by this time next year, we’re going to be back to normal,” the president said. (Wan, Shammas, Parker and Meckler, 3/2)
CIDRAP:
With COVID Vaccine Maker Pact, Biden Vows Wide Vaccine Access By May
Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act to equip two Merck facilities to the standards necessary to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and is asking the Department of Defense to supply logistical support to Johnson & Johnson. Biden also said Johnson & Johnson will now be operating its vaccine facilities around the clock. Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, also announced today that the federal government was increasing states' vaccine supply next week to 15.2 million doses per week, up from 14.5 million this week. Of shots distributed this week, 2.8 million are the J&J vaccine. (Soucheray, 3/2)
Reuters:
Biden Calls On States To Prioritize Vaccinations For Teachers
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Biden’s announcement was “great news for everyone who wants in-school learning.” Biden, whose new education secretary took office on Tuesday, said increased production of the three vaccines would boost what he called a “national imperative” to reopen U.S. schools given growing mental health concerns and widening disparities caused by the challenges of remote learning. (Shalal, 3/2)
AP:
Analysis: Biden Aims To Manage Expectations With Pandemic
President Joe Biden doesn’t just have to manage the coronavirus pandemic, he also has to manage people’s expectations for how soon the country will come out of it. And on the latter task, projecting too much optimism can be as risky as offering too little, requiring what one public health expert calls a “necessarily mixed message.” At every turn, as the Biden administration works to inoculate every adult American, the president is tempering bullish proclamations about the nation’s vaccine supply with warnings about the challenges ahead. (Lemire and Miller, 3/3)
Bloomberg:
Texas Lifts Mask Mandate Despite Dire Warnings About Fourth Wave
Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate and other anti-pandemic restrictions, defying warnings from health officials about the perils of dropping those precautions too soon. Effective March 10, all businesses will be allowed to open at full capacity, Abbott said during a media briefing in Lubbock on Tuesday. Although his executive order allows counties to reimpose anti-virus rules should hospitalizations surge, it forbids them from jailing or fining scofflaws. “This will kill Texans,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. “Our country’s infectious disease specialists have warned that we should not put our guard down even as we make progress towards vaccinations.” (Carroll and Stinson, 3/2)
Politico:
Texas, Mississippi To Lift Mask Mandates, Let All Businesses Reopen At Full Capacity
Texas and Mississippi on Tuesday issued separate executive orders to lift their states’ mask mandates and give all businesses the green light to reopen at full capacity, casting off restrictions meant to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. “We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement announcing the executive order, which will take effect March 10. (Din and Rayasam, 3/2)
Reuters:
Texas Governor Lifts State's Mask Mandate, Business Restrictions
The order lifts all mask requirements statewide and forbids local authorities from penalizing residents who do not wear a face covering. It removes all restrictions on businesses in counties without a high number of hospitalizations. Local officials can still apply limits to businesses where hospitalizations remain high, according to the order, but were prohibited from mandating that they operate at less than 50% capacity. (Whitcomb, 3/2)
AP:
Texas And Other States Ease COVID-19 Rules Despite Warnings
The governors of Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana likewise eased up on bars, restaurants and other businesses Tuesday, as did the mayor of San Francisco. “Removing statewide mandates does not end personal responsibility,” said Abbott, speaking from a crowded dining room where many of those surrounding him were not wearing masks. “It’s just that now state mandates are no longer needed.” (Weber and Webber, 3/3)
AP:
Michigan Loosens Virus Limits For Businesses, Nursing Homes
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced the further loosening of Michigan’s coronavirus restrictions, easing capacity limits in restaurants and a host of other businesses while also allowing for larger indoor and outdoor gatherings. The revised state health department order will take effect Friday and last through April 19. (Eggert, 3/3)
Houston Chronicle:
Abbott's COVID Rollbacks Were 'Like PTSD' For Houston Doctors, Health Experts
Houston-area doctors and medical professionals reacted with dismay to Gov. Greg Abbott’s Tuesday decision to roll back the state’s mask mandate and other precautions against COVID-19. "I had a pretty strong visceral reaction — like PTSD," said Dr. Matt Dacso, an internist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. "I can think of no other word but incomprehensible... Everybody is hurting, but gosh, man. The masks were doing a lot for us.” Dacso said the order was a huge hit to morale, coming almost exactly one year after the first recorded case in New York. His team had been celebrating the progress made since then — until they heard about Abbott's order. (Downen, Gray and Wu, 3/2)
Politico:
Newsom Calls Texas 'Absolutely Reckless' For Lifting Covid Rules
California Gov. Gavin Newsom chided his Texas counterpart on Tuesday for lifting coronavirus restrictions, saying the change risked a viral resurgence. While Newsom did not specifically name Texas or its Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, it was clear Newsom’s rebuke was aimed at Abbott’s decision to lift a mask mandate and allow businesses to operate at full capacity. Earlier in the day, Newsom reacted to Abbott’s move by tweeting, “Absolutely reckless.” (White, 3/2)
CNN:
Experts Are Warning Of A Potential Covid-19 Surge While Several Governors Are Loosening Restrictions
It's true that cases are down from their January peak and experts were encouraged by a steady decline in Covid-19 case numbers for several weeks. But it's important to note two factors: First, the steep weeks-long decline of cases that was reported in the US seems to have leveled off, according to the CDC director. And that plateau comes at still very high numbers -- with the US averaging more than 65,000 new cases daily for the past week. And second, fewer people appear to be getting tested although Covid-19 testing remains a powerful tool in the country's battle against the virus, according to the CDC. In the week that ended Monday, the US recorded an average of about 1.5 million Covid-19 tests daily, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. (Maxouris, 3/3)
CNN:
More Americans Are Dying "In The Prime Of Their Lives," New Report Finds
Younger and middle-age Americans have been dying at higher rates over the past three decades, marking what is becoming a public health crisis across the US workforce. Among the causes of death increasingly striking working-age Americans between 1990 and 2017 are drug overdose, alcohol use and suicides, according to a new report published Tuesday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (Prior, 3/2)
Stat:
Substance Use, Suicide, And Cardiometabolic Conditions Drive Rise In Working-Age Mortality, Report Finds
Increasing mortality rates among working-age Americans since 2010 have been mainly driven by drug- and alcohol-related deaths, suicide, and cardiometabolic conditions like diabetes and heart disease, according to a sweeping new report. The report, released Tuesday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, examined data from 1990 to 2017, and revealed that the rise in deaths among working-age adults (those between 25 and 64) was seen across rural and metropolitan areas and racial and ethnic groups. The increase also appears to be behind the recent fall in U.S. life expectancy, which is significantly lower than in other high-income countries. (Sohn, 3/2)
ABC News:
How Falling Levels Of COVID-19 Tests Could Threaten Pandemic Fight
As the effort to vaccinate Americans intensifies, daily COVID-19 test numbers are falling nationwide, an alarming sign to public health experts who say the tests are still crucial to containing the virus. Testing has been a fraught and highly politicized issue from the beginning of the pandemic, with the first tests rolling out slowly, testing taking a while to ramp up and former President Trump wrongly claiming that an increase in testing was behind the world-leading level of coronavirus cases in the U.S. There have also been issues with testing access and the reliability of certain types of tests. (Vann, 3/2)
AP:
More Contagious Brazilian Virus Variant Emerges In Oregon
A coronavirus variant that was first detected in Brazil has emerged in Oregon, the first known case of the new variant on the contiguous U.S. West Coast, medical authorities said Tuesday. The sample was sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the end of January by medical officials in Douglas County, Oregon. They said they received the results back on Monday night, which showed the P.1 variant. (3/3)
Fox News:
COVID-Spurred Illness Behind Paralysis Of 23-Year-Old Florida Nurse: Report
A 23-year-old nurse from Tampa Bay, Fla., has been left paralyzed after developing an illness that was likely spurred as a result of the novel coronavirus, according to a local report. In July, Desmon Silva suddenly stopped breathing and was rushed to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor. Silva was left paralyzed from the neck down and was placed on a ventilator. Later, he was transferred to Mass General in Boston where he could be better treated, according to a GoFundMe in his name. (Farber, 3/2)
The Washington Post:
Schumer: Senate To Move Forward On $1.9 Trillion Covid Bill And ‘We’ll Have The Votes’
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate will move forward as soon as Wednesday on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill and pledged, “We’ll have the votes we need to pass the bill.” Schumer’s comments at a news conference Tuesday came even as moderate Senate Democrats maneuvered to limit some of the expenditures in the bill, over objections from liberals who insisted they’d already made concessions on Biden’s first major legislative proposal. (Werner, 3/2)
Politico:
Senate Dems Wrestle With Unemployment Benefits In Biden's Covid Aid Plan
Senate Democrats left the Capitol on Tuesday evening leaving a crucial policy disagreement unresolved as they hope to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package this week. Privately, Democratic senators are suggesting that a last-minute push from Senate moderates to cut a weekly federal unemployment bonus from $400 to $300, while extending the money for a longer period of time, will fail. Biden prevailed on Senate Democrats to put their disagreements behind them during a private call on Tuesday and pass the bill quickly in its current form. (Levine, Emaa and Everett, 3/2)
NBC News:
Obamacare Would Get A Big (And Quiet) Overhaul In The Covid Relief Bill
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that passed the House on Saturday would make one of the biggest changes to the Affordable Care Act in over a decade, and it could set the stage for a broader overhaul of the health care program — but don't be surprised if you haven't heard much about it. The reforms, which would include temporarily expanding subsidies to purchase insurance and making them available to people of all incomes for the first time, have gotten little attention from either party. (Sarlin, 3/2)
AP:
Biden Health Pick Taking Heat For Support Of Abortion Rights
President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is taking heat from Republicans for his actions in support of abortion rights. They want to define him — and the new administration — as out of the mainstream. The nomination of Xavier Becerra faces a key vote Wednesday in the Senate Finance committee. It’s a test, too, for national groups opposed to abortion, trying to deny a president who favors abortion rights his choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Beaumont, 3/3)
AP:
Fauci Presents His Personal Virus Model To Smithsonian
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the U.S. government’s pandemic response, has donated his personal 3D model of the COVID-19 virus to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The museum on Tuesday honored Fauci with its Great Americans Medal. ... The museum asked Fauci to contribute a personal artifact to mark the pandemic, and he chose the lumpy blue and orange ball that he used to explain the complexities of the virus in dozens of interviews. (Khalil, 3/2)
CNN:
Rep. Ronny Jackson Drank Alcohol And Took Sleeping Pills On Job As Top White House Physician, Watchdog Finds
The Department of Defense inspector general has issued a scathing review of Rep. Ronny Jackson during his time serving as the top White House physician, concluding that he made "sexual and denigrating" comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted concerns from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper care. (Raju, Starr, Cohen and Liebermann, 3/2)
Politico:
CDC's Draft Guidelines For Vaccinated Americans Call For Small Steps Toward Normal Life
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to release guidance this week on safe activities for people who have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine amid growing questions about when, and how, shots will enable a return to normal life. The recommendations will mark the first time the federal government has signaled to Americans that they can start taking steps back to the old rhythms of work, school and play, according to two senior administration officials involved in the drafting of the guidelines. (Banco, 3/2)
Los Angeles Times:
CDC To OK Small, Maskless Gatherings With 2 COVID Vaccines
People who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may soon be cleared to gather in small groups without masks, according to federal officials. The expected update to public health guidance, announced during a White House COVID-19 task force meeting, would mark the first sign of a return to normalcy since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said that a small reunion of fully-vaccinated people presents a low risk of spreading COVID-19. (Shalby, 3/2)
ABC News:
4 Former Surgeons General Join Call For 'National Vaccine Day'
Four former surgeons general are joining a campaign calling for a National Vaccine Day to "focus our nation's attention on the importance of vaccination." In a letter exclusively obtained by ABC News, the doctors call on President Joe Biden to consider enacting the one-time federal holiday, which they say could feature telethons, radio messages and social media posts about the COVID-19 vaccines as well as widely available "opportunities for vaccination." (Magee, 3/2)
The New York Times:
Dolly Parton, Who Helped Fund The Moderna Vaccine, Gets A ‘Dose Of Her Own Medicine.’
The country music star Dolly Parton has another new gig: Singing the praises of coronavirus shots and getting vaccinated on camera. Last year, Ms. Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which worked with the drug maker Moderna to develop one of the first coronavirus vaccines to be authorized in the United States. The federal government eventually invested $1 billion in the creation and testing of the vaccine, but the leader of the research effort, Dr. Mark Denison, said that the singer’s donation had funded its critical early stages. On Tuesday, Ms. Parton, 75, received a Moderna shot at Vanderbilt Health in Tennessee. “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” she wrote on Twitter. (Ives, 3/2)
Stat:
Pilots Flying Covid-19 Vaccines Call For Their Turn To Be Vaccinated
Thousands of UPS and FedEx pilots have flown around the globe for months to deliver doses of Covid-19 vaccines, their landings broadcast as breaking news in the historic vaccination effort. But many of those pilots have yet to receive the vaccines they’re transporting, because the aviation industry’s attempt to get freight pilots vaccinated early has struggled to gain traction as states take varying approaches to who can get immunized at each stage of the rollout. (Rapoport, 3/3)
AP:
Arkansas Makes Food Plant Workers Eligible For Vaccine
Workers at Arkansas’ poultry plants and other food manufacturing facilities are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday, in a move that opens up access to the vaccine for an additional 49,000 people. Hutchinson made the announcement as state health officials reported the first case in Arkansas of someone infected with United Kingdom variant of the virus. (3/2)
CNBC:
Detroit Expands Covid Vaccine Eligibility To Autoworkers
Manufacturing employees in the city, such as autoworkers, are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine without any restrictions such as age or proof of preexisting conditions. The expanded eligibility for Detroit manufacturing workers marks a major expansion for autoworker eligibility for vaccination following similar actions by municipalities such as Boone County in Illinois. It should assist in keeping employees safe and auto plants up and running. (Wayland, 3/2)
Boston Globe:
State Offered Leftover Vaccines To Civilians At A Clinic For First Responders, Prompting Questions
State officials invited nearly 300 civilians on three separate days in January and February to receive a shot at the Massachusetts State Police headquarters in Framingham, where officials said they had extra doses at a clinic and, in at least one instance, faced “limited time” to find arms to put them in before they would be wasted. Each of the individuals vaccinated — 292 in all — were either over the age of 75 or personal care attendants, all of whom were eligible to receive a vaccine, according to a spokesman for Governor Charlie Baker’s public safety office. Administration officials said Tuesday that they could not identify any of the civilians, citing legal restrictions on releasing people’s medical information. (Stout, 3/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Good Samaritan Hospital CEO Resigns In Wake Of Teachers Jumping Vaccine Line
The chief executive officer for Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose has resigned “to pursue external career advancement opportunities” weeks after the hospital gave dozens of Los Gatos teachers and staff coronavirus vaccinations ahead of groups with priority and during a vaccine shortage. Joe DeSchryver, the hospital’s CEO, submitted his resignation on Tuesday morning, said Antonio Castelan, a spokesperson for HCA Healthcare, the hospital’s parent company. Castelan said DeSchryver was not leaving in connection to the vaccination scandal, but instead to pursue other career opportunities. (Hernández, 3/2)
Bay Area News Group:
Sutter Cancelling 90,000 Vaccine Appointments Because Of Supply Shortage
Sparking new frustrations over California’s vaccine rollout, Sutter Health on Tuesday said it may have to cancel about 95,000 coronavirus vaccine appointments across its system because it has not received enough supply. Many of the health care giant’s customers were surprised to discover their appointments had been cancelled by checking Sutter’s website, sparing some from hours-long drives to clinics as far away as Modesto. (DeRuy, 3/2)
AP:
California Clinics: More Vaccines Going To Rich Than At-Risk
Teresa Parada is exactly the kind of person equity-minded California officials say they want to vaccinate: She’s a retired factory worker who speaks little English and lives in a hard-hit part of Los Angeles County. But Parada, 70, has waited weeks while others her age flock to Dodger Stadium or get the coronavirus shot through large hospital networks. The place where she normally gets medical care, AltaMed, is just now receiving enough supply to vaccinate her later this month. Parada said TV reports show people lining up to get shots, but “I see only vaccines going to Anglos.” (Taxin and Har, 3/3)
Capital & Main:
An Equity Conflict Shadows The Release Of A New Vaccine
On the face of it, the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears a pure good. The vaccine requires only a single shot and can store in a standard refrigerator, and the White House said Monday that the manufacturer’s entire current supply – 3.9 million doses – will go out immediately, providing a short-term boost to the nation’s effort to get shots into arms as quickly as possible. The newly approved vaccine “is a much needed addition to our toolbox and increases the number of vaccine doses available,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said at a video briefing. “We now have three safe and highly effective vaccines that prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.” (Kreidler, 3/2)
CNN:
These Black Women Have Been On The Frontlines Of The Fight Against Covid-19
They have administered Covid-19 vaccines on college campuses, provided testing at churches and spent long hours in labs developing an effective vaccine. Some have given up their regular jobs and personal free time to do this work. Black women have been at the helm of the nation's fight against the pandemic since the coronavirus hit US soil a little over one year ago. (Ellis, 3/2)
NBC News:
Granddaughter Vaccinates Grandparents Against Covid-19
Like so many of this country’s elders, Glenna and Eugene Luetgers of Plymouth, Minn., have spent most of the last year locked down, safe in their senior living center but unable to be with the rest of their family.Among the things they missed most was seeing their granddaughter, Lindsey Hawkins, regularly. "It was kind of traumatic at first," Glenna, 87, told NBC affiliate KARE. "When we couldn't have any visitors, that was a low point," agreed Eugene, who’s also 87. But, he said, he had an idea. He knew Lindsey, a pharmacist, was working with a Covid-19 vaccination team. So he made a special request: that she be the one to vaccinate her grandparents. (Ignacio, 3/2)
Bloomberg:
Merck Prepares New Trial Of Covid Drug Gained In Acquisition
Merck & Co. is preparing to launch a fresh clinical trial of an experimental Covid-19 treatment gained in a November deal after U.S. regulators said results from a small study weren’t sufficient to seek clearance. The drugmaker will start a late-stage trial of MK-7110, a therapy for severely ill Covid patients, to address the concerns brought forth by the Food and Drug Administration, said Nick Kartsonis, senior vice president of clinical research for infectious diseases and vaccines at Merck Research Laboratories. The additional work will put Merck months away from potentially filing for emergency clearance and bringing the therapy to patients. The company hopes to generate the needed data before the end of the year. (Griffin, 3/2)
Boston Globe:
Local Researchers Look At Antibody Response Role In COVID-19
A new study says that one type of antibody may be driving severe COVID-19 in adults, while a different type may be driving a rare but dangerous condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) that children with COVID-19 can develop. Researchers at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital published their results last month in Nature Medicine. “We noticed children who developed MIS-C after COVID disease or exposure had high levels of a specific type of antibody called IgG,” Dr. Lael Yonker, a pediatric pulmonologist at MGH and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement last month from the institute. (Finucane, 3/2)
The Washington Post:
The Flu Killed Nearly 200 Children Last Season. This Time, 1 Has Died.
In the shadow of the past year’s coronavirus surge came a less noticeable, but more positive infectious-disease trend: Influenza and other common viruses have nearly disappeared. The flu is circulating at such low levels that officials know of only one child in the United States who has died of it this flu season, a striking deviation from the dozens of pediatric deaths in other recent years. (Iati, 3/2)
CIDRAP:
Study: Women Often Receive Improper UTI Antibiotic Rx
Nearly half of US women with an uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) receive an inappropriate antibiotic prescription, and nearly three-quarters receive a prescription that is longer than necessary, according to a study last week in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. The study, led by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, also found that women in rural areas are more likely to receive an inappropriately long antibiotic prescription. (Dall, 3/2)
Stat:
CRISPR Rivals Put Patents Aside To Help In Fight Against Covid-19
In early January 2020, Feng Zhang, a gene-editing researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, started getting emails written in Chinese about a newly identified coronavirus that was spreading in China. Some were from academics he had met, but he also got an unexpected one from the science officer at China’s consulate in New York City. (Isaacson, 3/3)
Stat:
Amazon Care’s Medical Partner Quietly Files To Operate In 17 More States
The clinical provider for Amazon Care, the tech giant’s virtual-first medical platform, is quietly gearing up to do business in 17 additional states, according to public documents viewed by STAT. Since 2018, Amazon has contracted with a Washington-based medical practice called Care Medical to offer staff in Washington state a combination of virtual and in-person visits through Amazon Care. (Brodwin, 3/3)
Bloomberg:
Prudential To Spin Off Jackson US Unit In Second Quarter To Focus On Asia
Prudential, which focuses mainly on life and health insurance, is looking to high growth markets in Asia and Africa for its future. After spinning off its U.K. business in 2019, the firm last year said it planned to separate Jackson via an initial public offering in 2021. The insurer abandoned that idea in January, announcing a demerger of the U.S. unit instead. The insurer will retain a near 20% non-controlling interest in Jackson following the spinoff. It then intends to monetize part of the stake to support investment in Asia, and to eventually own less than 10% of the unit. (Robertson, 3/3)
Modern Healthcare:
Shareholder Group Calls Out HCA For Alleged Excessive Emergency Admissions
A union-linked investment group is demanding answers from HCA Healthcare after an analysis uncovered an alleged decade-long pattern of excessive emergency department admissions that may have netted well over $1 billion. CtW Investment Group cited an SEIU analysis that found the investor-owned hospital chain admits far more Medicare patients who visit its emergency rooms than the national average. The union estimates the practice may have netted HCA excess Medicare payments of $1.1 billion over the past five years and $1.6 billion since 2009. (Bannow, 3/2)
Modern Healthcare:
OU Health Physicians, Oklahoma Blues Plan Fail To Reach New Contract
A disagreement over provider reimbursement rates will soon leave more than 830,000 patients out-of-network at Oklahoma's largest physician group. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and OU Health Physicians were unable to finalize a contract for 2021. The health system and BCBS of Oklahoma have now entered a 120-day transition period, where BCBS of Oklahoma members can still receive in-network treatment through June 28. At that point, OU Health Physicians will be considered out-of-network for BCBS of Oklahoma members. The healthcare system said it provided services to approximately 131,600 BCBS insured patients in 2020. In a letter to these patients, Dr. John Zubialde, president of OU Health Physicians, said negotiations between the two parties have extended at least a year. (Tepper, 3/2)
Stat:
Apple Watch Research Plows Ahead, Revealing The Device’s Health Potential
Apple has marketed its Watch for years as a tool to monitor and improve your health — and is working on a growing number of research projects to prove the device’s medical applications can be useful in both people’s everyday lives and in clinical contexts. (Aguilar, 3/3)
Genomeweb:
NIH, Partners Commit $74.9M To New Phase Of Alzheimer's Program
The US National Institutes of Health and a coalition of private-sector partners are committing nearly $74.9 million to Alzheimer's disease research over the next five years in the newly announced second phase of the Accelerating Medicine Partnership for Alzheimer's Disease (AMP AD) program. Called AMP AD 2.0, the new version of the 10-year-old program will support technologies including single-cell profiling and computational modeling to bring precision medicine to the development of new Alzheimer's treatments, NIH said Tuesday. "AMP AD 2.0 aims to add greater precision to the molecular maps developed in the first iteration of this program," NIH Director Francis Collins said in a statement. "This will identify biological targets and biomarkers to inform new therapeutic interventions for specific disease subtypes." (3/2)
Stat:
Beauty At The Micro-Scale: MIT’s 2021 Images Award Winners
Much of the world’s focus has been on health care at a global scale this year. The following images celebrate the work of researchers who have been toiling away on tinier work. The pictures are stunning visualizations of life sciences and biomedical research being conducted to find treatments and cures for cancer. (Ambrose, 3/3)
CIDRAP:
First Fatality Noted In Listeria Outbreak Tied To Hispanic-Style Soft Cheese
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a new case of Listeria monocytogenes in an outbreak associated with queso fresco made by El Abuelito Cheese Inc, raising the total number of cases to 11.The CDC also reported the first fatality linked to this outbreak, which was in Maryland. Ten of the case-patients sickened in this outbreak have been hospitalized in four states reporting cases: New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia. (3/2)
CBS News:
Experts Sound The Alarm On Declining Birth Rates Among Younger Generations: "It's A Crisis"
New data is confirming a baby boom that some doctors expected was actually a "baby bust." Health departments in more than two dozen states provided records to CBS News, showing a 7% drop in births in December — nine months after the first lockdowns began. Researchers say it continues a much bigger plunge in fertility in recent decades. The number of babies the average woman in the U.S. is expected to deliver has dropped from nearly four in the 1950s to less than two today. (3/2)
CNN:
How To Help Your Kids Get Enough Sleep, Especially During The Covid Pandemic
Getting enough sleep was tough even before the pandemic. With disrupted routines, extra screen time and the incredible amount of stress most people face now, sleep routines seem to have gone quickly but quietly downhill. And from what I'm seeing in my child psychiatry practice — kids are suffering especially hard. (Chaudhary, 3/3)
CBS News:
U.S. Workplace Safety Enforcer Failed During COVID-19, Watchdog Says
The nation's enforcer of safety in the workplace hasn't done enough to protect workers during the coronavirus outbreak, according to a watchdog report released Tuesday. During six months since the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 last year, inspections by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the agency that regulates workplace safety, dropped by half — even as safety complaints to the agency increased by 15%, according to a report by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of the Inspector General. (Ivanova, 3/2)
NBC News:
Dr. Oz Springs Into Physician Mode To Help Save Man Who Collapsed At Airport
Dr. Oz demonstrated he's not just a TV doctor when he rushed to help save a man who had collapsed at a New York City-area airport Monday night. Dr. Mehmet Oz and police performed CPR on a 60-year-old man at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey just after 11 p.m., the Port Authority Police Department said. The man, who collapsed near a baggage claim, did not have a pulse and wasn't breathing, police said. (Helsel, 3/3)