First Edition: Sept. 2, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Health Officials Worry Nation’s Not Ready For COVID-19 Vaccine
Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the global pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work. (Szabo, 9/2)
Kaiser Health News:
When The Pandemic Closes Your Gym, ‘Come For The Party, Stay For The Workout’
Evaristo “Risto” Grant counted down from 10 as his clients held their plank positions and shook with the effort. Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” blared in the background. Grant paced around his clients on their yoga mats, shouting words of encouragement. It looked and sounded like any normal gym session. Except it wasn’t. Grant’s gym consisted of a few yoga mats and equipment underneath a strip of scaffolding in Carl Schurz Park, which borders the East River in Manhattan. People on their evening quarantine walks strolled by, many glancing with amusement at the signs Grant had taped to the scaffolding: “Get your sexy back … no more cookies!” and “Come for the party, stay for the workout!” (Lawrence, 9/2)
Kaiser Health News:
Fauci Says COVID Vaccine Trials Could End Early If Results Are Overwhelming
A COVID-19 vaccine could be available earlier than expected if ongoing clinical trials produce overwhelmingly positive results, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official, in an interview Tuesday with KHN. Although two ongoing clinical trials of 30,000 volunteers are expected to conclude by the end of the year, Fauci said an independent board has the authority to end the trials weeks early if interim results are overwhelmingly positive or negative. (Szabo, 9/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: Control Of U.S. Senate Could Hinge On Obamacare Positions
KHN senior correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Erin O’Toole on “Colorado Edition” to discuss his recent story about how the Affordable Care Act is affecting the close Colorado Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Cory Gardner and Democratic former Gov. John Hickenlooper. That race and five others involving vulnerable Republican incumbents who sought to repeal the health care law could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in 2021. Public sentiment about the health care law, also known as Obamacare, has shifted. What was a political liability in 2014 for candidates has become a selling point amid the loss of jobs and health insurance for millions of people during the coronavirus pandemic. (9/1)
AP:
Virus Crisis Easing Across Sun Belt But Could Heat Up Again
The torrid coronavirus summer across the Sun Belt is easing after two disastrous months that brought more than 35,000 deaths. Whether the outbreak will heat up again after Labor Day and the resumption of school and football remains to be seen. Seven of the nine states along the nation’s Southern and Western rim are experiencing drops in three important gauges — new deaths, new cases and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus. Alabama is the only state in the region where all three numbers rising; Mississippi’s deaths are up, but positive rates and cases are dropping. (Sedensky, 9/1)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Says It Won’t Join WHO-Linked Effort To Develop, Distribute Coronavirus Vaccine
The Trump administration said it will not join a global effort to develop, manufacture and equitably distribute a coronavirus vaccine, in part because the World Health Organization is involved, a decision that could shape the course of the pandemic and the country’s role in health diplomacy. More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, which aims to speed vaccine development, secure doses for all countries and distribute them to the most high-risk segment of each population. (Rauhala and Abutaleb, 9/1)
AP:
US Says It Won't Join Global Effort To Find COVID-19 Vaccine
That cooperative effort, linked with the WHO, would allow nations to take advantage of a portfolio of potential vaccines to ensure their citizens are quickly covered by whichever ones are deemed effective. The WHO says even governments making deals with individual vaccine makers would benefit from joining COVAX because it would provide backup vaccines in case the ones being made through bilateral deals with manufacturers aren’t successful. (Riechmann, 9/1)
The Hill:
US Won't Join Global Coronavirus Vaccine Initiative
Almost every nation in the world is participating in initial talks on the joint COVAX project involving the WHO, the European Union, Germany, Japan and several major nongovernmental organizations. (Wilson, 9/1)
Politico:
Trump Moves To Ban Evictions Nationwide Through December
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will ban evictions of tenants who are unable to pay rent because of the coronavirus crisis through the end of the year with a broad new order under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public health powers. The agency order, the result of an Aug. 8 executive action by President Donald Trump directing the CDC to study the issue, would impose criminal penalties on landlords who violate the ban. Evictions for reasons other than nonpayment of rent will be allowed to proceed. (O'Donnell and Warmbrodt, 9/1)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Announces Eviction Moratorium, Aiming To Ensure Housing Crisis Doesn’t Further Spread Coronavirus
The new moratorium seeks to cover families experiencing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, aiming to help as many as 40 million Americans who are already struggling to pay their monthly housing costs in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who referenced that an action was imminent earlier in the day. The policy comes roughly a month after President Trump signed an executive order tasking the U.S. government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with exploring ways to protect renters as talks broke down on Capitol Hill over a new round of coronavirus relief. Brian Morgenstern, a spokesman for the White House, said the goal has been to ensure that families “struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus will not have to worry about being evicted and risk the further spreading of, or exposure to, the disease.” (Romm, 9/1)
NPR:
CDC Issues Sweeping Temporary Halt On Evictions Nationwide Amid Pandemic
The new eviction ban is being enacted through the Centers for Disease Control. The goal is to stem the spread of the COVID outbreak, which the agency says in it's order, "presents a historic threat to public health." It's by far the most sweeping move yet by the administration to try to head off a looming wave of evictions of people who've lost their jobs or taken a major blow to their income due to the pandemic. Housing advocates and landlord groups both have been warning that millions of people could soon be put out of their homes through eviction if Congress does not do more to help renters and landlords and reinstate expanded unemployment benefits. (Arnold, 9/1)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Halts Evictions, Citing Covid-19 Risks
To apply for the new moratorium, tenants will have to attest to a substantial loss of household income, the inability to pay full rent and best efforts to pay partial rent. Tenants must also stipulate that eviction would be likely to leave them homeless or force them to live with others at close quarters. Forms will be available on the C.D.C. website once the order is published in the Federal Register. (9/1)
CNN:
Pence Was On Standby To 'Take Over' During Trump's Unannounced Walter Reed Visit, New Book Reports
Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during President Donald Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019, according to a copy of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt's forthcoming book obtained by CNN. Trump had undergone a "quick exam and labs" as part of his annual physical out of anticipation of a "very busy 2020," the White House had said of the trip at the time. Schmidt writes, however, that he learned "in the hours leading up to Trump's trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized." Schmidt does not specify the sourcing for this reporting beyond "I learned." (LeBlanc, 9/1)
AP:
Book: Pence Told 'To Be On Standby' For Trump Hospital Visit
A new book is reviving questions about President Donald Trump’s unscheduled visit to Walter Reed military hospital last fall with the revelation that “word went out” for Vice President Mike Pence to stand by to temporarily assume presidential powers if Trump had to receive anesthesia for a medical procedure. ... “In reporting for this book, I learned that in the hours leading up to Trump’s trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized,” Michael Schmidt writes in “Donald Trump v. the United States: Inside the Struggle To Stop A President.” (Superville, 9/2)
The Hill:
Pence Says He Doesn't 'Recall' Being Put On Standby During Trump Walter Reed Visit
Vice President Pence said Tuesday that he doesn’t “recall” being told to be on “standby” when President Trump made an unannounced visit to Walter Reed Medical Center last year. “I don’t recall being told to be on standby,” Pence told Fox News’s Bret Baier when pressed on an account included in a new book from New York Times correspondent Michael Schmidt. “I was informed that the president had a doctor’s appointment.” (Chalfant, 9/1)
The Washington Post:
What We Know About Trump’s Trip To A Hospital In November
Shortly before 3 p.m. on Nov. 16, President Trump arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The White House pool reporter on duty described the president as leaving the White House a half-hour earlier, “wearing a long dark overcoat and carrying what looked like a tan rectangle-shaped folder or envelope under his arm.” Until the presidential motorcade arrived at the hospital, though, news of Trump’s departure wasn’t reportable. And with that, a mystery was born. (Bump, 9/1)
The Hill:
Biden To Tear Into Trump Over Coronavirus, School Reopenings In Delaware Remarks
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will tear into President Trump in remarks from Delaware on Wednesday, going after the White House’s handling of the coronavirus and its impact on school reopenings. Biden will be joined by his wife, Jill Biden, an educator herself, and several experts for a briefing on the issue of opening schools and will then give remarks “on how Trump’s failure to address COVID-19 is impacting students, educators, and children, and his plan to safely and effectively reopen schools,” according to his campaign. (Axelrod, 9/2)
Reuters:
Trump Administration Sending Rapid COVID Tests To States, CDC Bars Evictions
The Trump administration will send most of its newly purchased 150 million rapid COVID-19 tests to U.S. states for schools and critical services, a White House official said on Tuesday, as New York City pushed back reopening classrooms in a deal with union leaders. ... In announcing that the “overwhelming majority” of 150 rapid antigen tests purchased from Abbot Laboratories would be sent to state governors, U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Admiral Brett Giror said top priorities included day care centers and first responders. (Whitcomb, 9/1)
AP:
Feds To Ship Fast COVID-19 Tests To Assisted Living Sites
A federal official said Tuesday the government plans to ship rapid coronavirus tests to assisted living facilities, moving to fill a testing gap for older adults who don’t need the constant attention of a nursing home. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said assisted living facilities will be followed by senior day care centers and home health agencies in getting the tests. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/2)
NPR:
FEMA Says It Will Stop Paying For Cloth Face Masks For Schools
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is changing the policy on the personal protective equipment that it will pay for. Federal officials announced the changes during a call Tuesday with state and tribal emergency managers, many of whom expressed concerns about the new policy. The changes mean that in most cases, FEMA will no longer reimburse states for the cost of cloth face coverings at nonemergency settings, including schools, public housing and courthouses. The policy goes into effect on Sept. 15. (Wamsley, 9/1)
The Hill:
FEMA To End Funding For Cloth Face Masks For Schools
FEMA's stance appears to be that masks are necessary to the basic operation of schools in the fall and should not therefore fall under the category of emergency equipment. A request for further comment from The Hill was not immediately returned. (Bowden, 9/1)
CIDRAP:
US Government Has Spent Trillions On COVID-19 Health, Economic Relief
In response to COVID-19, the US government sold $1.5 trillion in obligations such as bonds and spent $1.3 trillion on public health, homeland security, and economic relief by Jun 30, according to an update yesterday from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). As of Jul 31, the government had allocated roughly $2.6 trillion for coronavirus relief efforts, of which about $2.2 trillion (85%) was earmarked for Business Loan Programs, Economic Stabilization and Assistance to Distressed Sectors programs, unemployment benefits, Economic Impact Payments, the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, and the Coronavirus Relief Fund. These six spending areas reported selling debt securities worth $1.4 trillion and spending the same amount. (9/1)
The Hill:
Mnuchin: Trump Wants More COVID-19 Relief Aid
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told House lawmakers on Tuesday that he’s ready to restart negotiations with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on a massive coronavirus relief package, emphasizing that both he and President Trump support more emergency aid for workers, schools, small businesses and testing. “Let me say I very much agree with you and those other experts that more fiscal response is needed. The president and I want to move forward with more fiscal response,” Mnuchin testified before a special House subcommittee investigating the federal response to the pandemic. (Wong, 9/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Mnuchin Urges Congress To Pass More Stimulus Funding
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to appropriate more money to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, saying at a hearing Tuesday that he was ready to sit down with Democratic leaders to resume negotiations at any time. House Democrats in May proposed an additional $3.5 trillion of relief, while Senate Republicans rolled out a $1 trillion bill in July. Without a new agreement, jobless workers have gone without a $600 federal supplement to weekly unemployment insurance since July 31, and a federal eviction moratorium expired on July 25, leaving millions of tenants at risk of losing their homes. (Kiernan, 9/1)
The Hill:
Pelosi, Mnuchin Talk Stimulus But Stalemate Remains
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone on Tuesday but did not make headway on a weeks-long stalemate over a stimulus package to provide Americans with economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke by phone for 36 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, after the Treasury secretary testified before the House select committee overseeing the coronavirus crisis. Both sides remain firm in their positions: Democrats are proposing a $2.2 trillion package, while the White House is calling for a proposal around $1.3 trillion. (Marcos and Axelrod, 9/1)
Reuters:
Pelosi Says 'Serious Differences' Between Democrats, White House On Coronavirus Aid
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after a phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday that “serious differences” remain between Democrats and the White House over coronavirus relief legislation.“ Sadly, this phone call made clear that Democrats and the White House continue to have serious differences understanding the gravity of the situation that America’s working families are facing,” Pelosi said in a statement. (9/1)
USA Today:
Nancy Pelosi Visited A Hair Salon Despite Coronavirus Closures
San Francisco's coronavirus guidelines allowed personal service providers including hair salons to reopen their businesses for outdoor services starting Tuesday, with clients seen one at a time. Haircuts are permitted, according to the guidance, but shampooing and hair coloring services are not. (Santucci, 9/1)
The Hill:
Pelosi Faces Criticism Over California Hair Salon Visit
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) faced criticism from Republicans on Thursday over her visit to a San Francisco hair salon on Monday. A spokesperson for the Speaker's office told The Hill on Tuesday that Pelosi complied with the business's requirements as they were presented to her, and contended that she followed local guidelines, stating that the salon had informed her that one customer was allowed inside the business at a time. (Bowden, 9/1)
AP:
White House Public Tours To Resume Sept. 12 With COVID Rules
Public tours of the White House, halted nearly six months ago due to the coronavirus outbreak, are set to resume later this month with new health and safety policies in place. Tours will resume Sept. 12, for two days a week instead of five, and for just a few hours a day, the first lady’s office announced Tuesday. The number of visitors will also be capped. (Superville, 9/1)
AP:
Vegas Hotel That Held Trump Event Fined Over COVID-19 Rule
A Las Vegas hotel that hosted a faith-based Donald Trump rally and a beauty pageant, and is battling the governor’s office and city officials over coronavirus crowd limits, has been fined for failure to comply with COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures, officials said. Ahern Hotel and Convention Center was assessed a $10,930 penalty, according to a state Occupational Safety and Health Administration report posted Monday. (9/1)
NPR:
Trump Administration Seeking To Expand Collection Of Biometric Data From Immigrants
The Trump administration is considering drastically expanding the government's collection of biometric information from immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday. The proposal would allow the government to demand more personal data, from more people, more often as part of the immigration application process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services currently requires biometrics, or biological measurements, from anyone over the age of 14 who applies for certain immigration benefits. That information is limited to fingerprints, photographs and signatures, but would be expanded under the proposed policy change to include DNA, eye scans, voice prints and photographs for facial recognition. (Treisman, 9/1)
The Washington Post:
Postal Service Audit Finds Gaps In Election Mail Processing, Delivery
How ready is the U.S. Postal Service to process and deliver election mail on time come November? Not ready enough, the agency’s watchdog says in a new report. In its audit of election mail processing, the agency’s Office of Inspector General listed several potential trouble spots, including ballots mailed without bar codes used for tracking; ballot mailpiece designs that impede processing; election and political mail sent too close to Election Day for the mail service to deliver it on time; postmark requirements for ballots; and outdated voter addresses. (Denham, 9/1)
CNN:
Convalescent Plasma Not Proven For Coronavirus, Panel Says
A National Institutes of Health panel said there's no evidence backing the use of convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus patients and that doctors should not treat it as a standard of care until more study has been done. "There are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19," the panel of more than three dozen experts said in a statement posted on the NIH website Tuesday. (Fox, 9/1)
The Hill:
NIH Panel: 'Insufficient Data' To Show Treatment Touted By Trump Works
The NIH panel is not saying definitively that the treatment will not work, but it is saying that randomized clinical trials, the scientific gold standard, are needed to determine its effectiveness. The FDA issued its emergency authorization based on a less powerful kind of study, where some people with higher doses of the treatment had an improvement over some with lower doses, but without a control group of people who did not get the treatment at all for comparison. (Sullivan, 9/1)
AP:
Third Virus Vaccine Reaches Major Hurdle: Final US Testing
A handful of the dozens of experimental COVID-19 vaccines in human testing have reached the last and biggest hurdle — looking for the needed proof that they really work as a U.S. advisory panel suggested Tuesday a way to ration the first limited doses once a vaccine wins approval. AstraZeneca announced Monday its vaccine candidate has entered the final testing stage in the U.S. The Cambridge, England-based company said the study will involve up to 30,000 adults from various racial, ethnic and geographic groups. (Neergaard and Johnson, 9/1)
CIDRAP:
Third COVID Vaccine Candidate Starts Phase 3 Trial In US
Today the United States has three COVID-19 vaccine candidates in phase 3 trials, as AstraZeneca launched the final stage of a trial of its vaccine candidate, which it plans to test in 30,000 healthy adults. The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed at Oxford University, is already in a phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom. The first US volunteers were inoculated today at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and AstraZeneca plans to add 50 participants each day after Sep 7. (Soucheray, 9/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
In Race To Secure Covid-19 Vaccines, World’s Poorest Countries Lag Behind
Developing nations are at risk of being left far short of the Covid-19 vaccine supplies they need as richer countries secure billions of doses even before the drugs pass final clinical trials, according to health experts. The U.S., the European Union, Japan and the U.K. have agreed to purchase at least 3.7 billion doses from Western drugmakers developing vaccines, according to announcements from the companies and countries in recent months. That tally includes options available for additional doses. China and India, two countries with large vaccine-making industries, are also expected to direct much of their production to their own vast populations. (Shah, 9/1)
Stat:
U.S. Advisory Group Lays Out Proposal On How To Prioritize Covid-19 Vaccine
A new report that aims to prioritize groups to receive Covid-19 vaccine focuses on who is at risk, rather than using job categories or ethnic groups to determine who should be at the front of the line. It was widely expected that health care workers would be the first priority grouping, and some — though not all — are. There were also many voices arguing for people of color to be given priority access, because the pandemic has exacted a disproportionately heavy toll on Black and Latinx people, both in terms of overall numbers of infections and deaths. (Branswell, 9/1)
The Hill:
Federal Panel Lays Out Initial Priorities For COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
Initial doses of a COVID-19 vaccine should go to front-line health workers, first responders and people at serious risk for infection, according to new draft guidelines released Tuesday by a federal advisory panel. The draft guidelines were developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help U.S. officials plan for an equitable allocation of an eventual vaccine. The final report will be released later this fall. (Weixel, 9/1)
Stat:
Experts See Chance For Covid-19 Vaccine Approval This Fall — If Done Right
There is growing concern that the Food and Drug Administration, under political pressure, could approve a Covid-19 vaccine before it has robust safety and efficacy data. The consequences of such a decision could be significant, particularly if the vaccine is ultimately shown to be less effective than early data suggest. But an approval before the completion of large, Phase 3 trials does not have to be problematic. Experts aren’t ruling out the possibility that a vaccine could be cleared this fall if it is very effective. (Herper, 9/2)
AP:
Large Antibody Study Offers Hope For Virus Vaccine Efforts
Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found. Tuesday’s report, from tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland, is the most extensive work yet on the immune system’s response to the virus over time, and is good news for efforts to develop vaccines. (Marchione, 9/1)
AP:
GM, Ford Complete US Contracts To Build Breathing Machines
General Motors says it has finished making 30,000 medical breathing machines for the U.S. government to help treat coronavirus patients. The Department of Health and Human Services contracted with GM to build the ventilators at a converted auto electronics plant in Kokomo, Indiana, at a cost of $489.4 million. (9/1)
AP:
HHS Cancelling Ventilator Contracts, Says Stockpile Is Full
The Trump administration is canceling some of its remaining orders for ventilators, after rushing to sign nearly $3 billion in emergency contracts as the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement Tuesday affirming that the national stockpile has now reached its maximum capacity for the life-saving breathing machines, with nearly 120,000 available for deployment to state and local health officials if need. Though the orders were billed as a cost-saving measure, Democrats said the cancellations show the White House vastly overspent in its quest to fulfill President Donald Trump’s pledge to make the United States the “King of Ventilators.” (Biesecker, 9/2)
AP:
Apple, Google Build Virus-Tracing Tech Directly Into Phones
Apple and Google are trying to get more U.S. states to adopt their phone-based approach for tracing and curbing the spread of the coronavirus by building more of the necessary technology directly into phone software.That could make it much easier for people to get the tool on their phone even if their local public health agency hasn’t built its own compatible app. (O'Brien, 9/1)
The Washington Post:
Apple And Google Give States New Options For Exposure Notification Software
Apple and Google said Tuesday they’re expanding coronavirus warning software so that state health agencies can participate without having to create customized apps. The new option, called “exposure notifications express,” removes one of the key barriers to adoption that led to a slow start to the software, which can warn people when they come in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. So far, only six U.S. states have created apps that work with Apple and Google’s software. (Albergotti, 9/1)
Stat:
What Amwell And GoodRx’s IPO Filings Tell Us About Telehealth Finances
Last week, two virtual care providers filed paperwork to go public — offering an unprecedented window into the long-murky finances of telemedicine. The illuminating S-1 regulatory filings came from Boston-based telehealth provider Amwell and GoodRx, the Los Angeles-based prescription drug coupons company that last year acquired the telemedicine company HeyDoctor. (Robbins, 9/2)
Stat:
Questions About Precision Medicine? Stanford's Lloyd Minor Has Answers
Precision medicine is seen by many as the next frontier in health care. Stanford Medicine, among other institutions, is trying to lead the way. It recently established a strategic vision on how to focus on “keeping people healthy and providing care that is tailored to individual variations.” And its dean, Lloyd Minor, is the author of a new book: “Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure to Advance Health and Well-Being.” (9/2)
Stat:
Congressional Committee To Subpoena AbbVie In Drug Pricing Investigation
A Congressional committee plans to subpoena AbbVie (ABBV) for documents about pricing practices for two of its best-selling medicines, after the drug maker failed to provide information lawmakers requested when an investigation was launched in January 2019. At the time, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sought data from a dozen large pharmaceutical companies about their pricing tactics for some of the most expensive medicines in response to nationwide angst over the rising cost of prescription drugs. (Silverman, 9/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Key To Preventing Covid-19 Indoors: Ventilation
Add this to the Covid-19 prevention toolbox: strong ventilation. After urging steps like handwashing, masking and social distancing, researchers say proper ventilation indoors should join the list of necessary measures. Health scientists and mechanical engineers have started issuing recommendations to schools and businesses that wish to reopen for how often indoor air needs to be replaced, as well as guidelines for the fans, filters and other equipment needed to meet the goals.“We didn’t focus on it enough initially,” said Abraar Karan, a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who treated Covid-19 patients. “We told everyone to stay home. We weren’t thinking about people congregating in public spaces.” (McCabe, 9/1)
The New York Times:
Valved Face Masks And Face Shields Offer More Comfort But Less Protection
Face shields and valved masks — two options many people find more comfortable than cloth face coverings — appear to be less effective at blocking viral particles than regular masks, a new study shows.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already stated that clear plastic face shields and masks equipped with vents or valves are not recommended, because of concerns that they don’t adequately block viral particles. But the new research, which uses lasers to illuminate the path of coughs, offers a striking visual demonstration of how large plumes of particles can escape from behind a face shield or vented mask. (Parker-Pope, 9/1)
The New York Times:
Why The Coronavirus More Often Strikes Children Of Color
One of the notable features of the new coronavirus, evident early in the pandemic, was that it largely spared children. Some become severely ill, but deaths have been few, compared to adults. But people of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and recent studies have renewed concern about the susceptibility of children in these communities. (Caryn Rabin, 9/1)
CIDRAP:
Study Finds No Link Between Maternal Flu Vaccination And Autism
In the latest in a body of literature showing flu vaccines not tied to autism, a study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine found no link between maternal H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy—including in the third trimester—and the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The study was conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where researchers looked at 39,726 infants with prenatal exposure to the vaccine (13,845 during the first trimester), and 29,293 unexposed infants born in 2009 and 2010. During a follow-up of more than 6 years, the researchers found that 394 (1.0%) vaccine-exposed and 330 (1.1%) vaccine-unexposed children had a diagnosis of ASD. (9/1)
Stat:
Scientists Find A Metabolite Leads To Healthier Aging In Middle-Aged Mice
The field of aging research is increasingly asking not just how people can live longer, but also how they can age healthier. The latest example, a new study on middle-aged mice, found that mice given a metabolite naturally found in the body were not only healthier as they grew older, but also were sick for a far shorter time before they died than mice in a control group. The research, led by scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, was published Tuesday in Cell Metabolism. (Gopalakrishna, 9/1)
The New York Times:
N.Y.C. Delays Start Of School To Ready For In-Person Classes
The city’s 1.1 million schoolchildren will now start both remote and in-person classes on Sept. 21, 10 days later than originally scheduled.The new timeline gives educators more time to prepare for the country’s most closely watched reopening effort, and provides the mayor with a longer runway to pull off one of the most ambitious, and riskiest, city initiatives in decades. (Shapiro, Rubinstein and Fitzsimmons, 9/1)
Politico:
How New York City’s Schools Plan Fell Short
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s about face was all but inevitable. His unwavering determination to partially reopen the biggest school system in the U.S. had been met with weeks of skepticism over his administration’s ability to pull off such a feat amid a still-lethal threat from Covid-19. The teachers union threatened to strike, principals across New York City were furious, parents were exasperated and scrambling for clarity, and city and state elected officials lined up to demand the mayor delay his plans to reopen schools on Sept. 10, like most of the country’s big-city school districts had already done. For weeks, de Blasio refused to budge, dismissing the naysayers and projecting confidence in his decision. On Tuesday, he caved. (Toure and Niedzwiadek, 9/1)
AP:
Virus Cases Prompt 3 Schools To Suspend In-Person Learning
The largest school district in Alaska to open for in-person classes has shifted to online learning only for three schools after five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed. The new infections emerged among three schools in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Alaska Public Media reported. (9/2)
Los Angeles Times:
UC Must Immediately Drop Use Of The SAT And ACT, Judge Rules
The University of California must immediately suspend all use of SAT and ACT test scores for admission and scholarship decisions under a preliminary injunction issued by an Alameda County Superior Court judge. “The barriers faced by students with disabilities have been greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 epidemic, which has disrupted test-taking locations, closed schools and limited access to school counselors,” the judge said. (Watanabe, 9/1)
The New York Times:
Federal Government Relaxes Rules On Feeding Low-Income Students
The Agriculture Department, under pressure from Congress and officials in school districts across the country, said on Monday that it would allow schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to any child or teenager through the end of 2020, provided funding lasts. Advocates for the poor hailed the announcement as an important step to ensure that more needy children are fed during the coronavirus pandemic. It was a partial reversal by the department. (Taylor, 8/31)
NPR:
Kids With ADHD Need Extra Support From Parents When School's Online
COVID-19 forced Keriann Wilmot's son to trade his classroom for a computer. It was a tough transition for a 10-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "It was a different environment for him," Wilmot says. "He wasn't used to this kind of work from school coming in the format of an email in his Chromebook every single day." Her son would avoid math and writing and instead go straight to his favorite subjects: science and social studies. But even then, online assignments could be a problem. (Hamilton, 9/1)
NPR:
Majority Of Hurricane Laura Deaths Linked To Improper Use Of Portable Generators
More deaths associated with Hurricane Laura were caused by the improper use of portable generators than the storm itself. And officials warn that the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning persists, as thousands of households in Louisiana remain without power. Eight of the 15 hurricane-related deaths confirmed by the Louisiana Department of Health are attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators, which can provide life-saving power in emergency situations but also pose a deadly threat if used incorrectly. (Treisman, 9/1)