First Edition: Sept. 29, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Corralling The Facts On Herd Immunity
For a term that’s at least 100 years old, “herd immunity” has gained new life in 2020. It starred in many headlines last month, when reports surfaced that a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and adviser to the president, Dr. Scott Atlas, recommended it as a strategy to combat COVID-19. The Washington Post reported that Atlas, a health care policy expert from the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, suggested the virus should be allowed to spread through the population so people build up immunity, rather than trying to contain it through shutdown measures. (Pattani, 9/29)
Kaiser Health News and WXXI:
‘You’re Going To Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’
When Joe Prude called Rochester, New York, police to report his brother missing, he was struggling to understand why Daniel Prude had been released from the hospital hours earlier. Joe Prude described his brother’s suicidal behavior. “He jumped 21 stairs down to my basement, headfirst,” Joe said in a video recorded by the responding officer’s body camera in the early hours of March 23. Joe’s wife, Valerie, described Daniel nearly jumping in front of a train on the tracks that run behind their house the previous day. (Dahlberg, 9/29)
Kaiser Health News:
‘No Mercy’ Explores The Fallout After A Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Midwesterners aren’t known for complaining. But after Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed, hardship trickled down to people whose lives were already hard. Pat Wheeler has emphysema. Her husband, Ralph, has end-stage kidney failure, and the couple are barely making ends meet as they raise their teenage grandson. Pat is angry with hospital executives who she said yanked a lifeline from residents. “They took more than a hospital from us,” she said. (Tribble, 9/29)
Kaiser Health News:
Efforts To Keep COVID-19 Out Of Prisons Fuel Outbreaks In County Jails
When Joshua Martz tested positive for COVID-19 this summer in a Montana jail, guards moved him and nine other inmates with the disease into a pod so cramped that some slept on mattresses on the floor. Martz, 44, said he suffered through symptoms that included achy joints, a sore throat, fever and an unbearable headache. Jail officials largely avoided interacting with the COVID patients other than by handing out over-the-counter painkillers and cough syrup, he said. Inmates sanitized their hands with a spray bottle containing a blue liquid that Martz suspected was also used to mop the floors. A shivering inmate was denied a request for an extra blanket, so Martz gave him his own. (Sakariassen, 9/29)
Reuters:
Global Coronavirus Deaths Pass 'Agonizing Milestone' Of 1 Million
The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus this year is now double the number of people who die annually from malaria - and the death rate has increased in recent weeks as infections surge in several countries. “Our world has reached an agonizing milestone,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. “It’s a mind-numbing figure. Yet we must never lose sight of each and every individual life. They were fathers and mothers, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues.” (Wardell, 9/28)
The New York Times:
Virus Has Killed 1 Million Worldwide
In the 10 months since a mysterious pneumonia began striking residents of Wuhan, China, Covid-19 has killed more than one million people worldwide as of Monday — an agonizing toll compiled from official counts, yet one that far understates how many have really died. The coronavirus may already have overtaken tuberculosis and hepatitis as the world’s deadliest infectious disease. And unlike all the other contenders, it is still growing fast. (9/29)
The Washington Post:
Global Death Toll Tops 1 Million As U.N. Chief Warns That ‘Misinformation Kills’
The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic eclipsed 1 million on Monday night — a figure that carries an incalculable human cost, and is almost certainly an undercount. Calling the milestone “agonizing,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said Monday that it was crucial that the international community learn from the mistakes made in the first 10 months of the pandemic. “Responsible leadership matters,” he said. “Science matters. Cooperation matters — and misinformation kills.” (Noori Farzan, 9/29)
AP:
Worldwide Grief: Death Toll From Coronavirus Tops 1 Million
Joginder Chaudhary was his parents’ greatest pride, raised with the little they earned farming a half-acre plot in central India to become the first doctor from their village. For the coronavirus, though, he was just one more in a million. After the virus killed the 27-year-old Chaudhary in late July, his mother wept inconsolably. With her son gone, Premlata Chaudhary said, how could she go on living? Three weeks later, on Aug. 18, the virus took her life, too — yet another number in an unrelenting march toward a woeful milestone. Now, 8 1/2 months after an infection doctors had never seen before claimed its first victims in China, the pandemic’s confirmed death toll has eclipsed 1 million, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. (Geller and Jain, 9/29)
Reuters:
Timeline: How The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Unfolded
Here are some key developments as the novel coronavirus spread around the world: Dec. 31, 2019: China alerts the World Health Organization of 27 cases of “viral pneumonia” in the central city of Wuhan. Authorities shut down a wet market in Wuhan the next day, after discovering some patients were vendors or dealers. (9/28)
Reuters:
Why The Coronavirus Death Rate Still Eludes Scientists
Global deaths from COVID-19 have reached 1 million, but experts are still struggling to figure out a crucial metric in the pandemic: the fatality rate - the percentage of people infected with the pathogen who die. Here is a look at issues surrounding better understanding the COVID-19 death rate. (Beasley, 9/28)
Newsweek:
As Coronavirus Deaths Pass 1 Million, These Are The Countries Worst Affected
Coronavirus deaths across the globe have surpassed one million, according to the latest report by Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The U.S. has the highest death toll in the world, with 205,072 fatalities, followed by Brazil (142,058), India (96,318), Mexico (76,603) and the U.K. (42,019), in the top five ranking of countries with the most deaths. The seven-day moving average of daily new deaths in the U.S. rose from late March to April 17, when the figure peaked at 2,248, before briefly flattening out through late April and declining through early July, according to data compiled by Worldometer. (Kim, 9/29)
Wired:
A Ransomware Attack Has Struck A Major US Hospital Chain
An emergency room technician at one UHS-owned facility tells WIRED that their hospital has moved to all-paper systems as a result of the attack. Bleeping Computer, which first reported the news, spoke to UHS employees who said the ransomware has the hallmarks of Ryuk, which first appeared in 2018 and is widely linked to Russian cybercriminals. Ryuk is typically used in so-called "big-game hunting" attacks in which hackers attempt to extort large ransoms from corporate victims. UHS says it has 90,000 employees and treats about 3.5 million patients each year, making it one of the US' largest hospital and health care network. (Newman, 9/28)
USA Today:
Health Care Provider United Health Services Hit With Cyberattack
The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-headquartered health care giant's operations include 26 acute care hospitals, 328 behavioral health facilities and 42 outpatient facilities across the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.K. No data belonging to patients or employees "appears to have been accessed, copied or misused," the company said in its statement. "We implement extensive IT security protocols and are working diligently with our IT security partners to restore IT operations as quickly as possible. In the meantime, our facilities are using their established back-up processes including offline documentation methods. Patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively." (Snider, 9/28)
FierceHealthcare:
UHS Hit With Massive Cyber Attack As Hospitals Reportedly Divert Surgeries, Ambulances
UHS hospitals in the U.S. including those from California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Washington D.C. are reportedly left without access to computer and phone systems. Affected hospitals are redirecting ambulances and relocating patients in need of surgery to other nearby hospitals, according to media reports. UHS has more than 90,000 employees and provides healthcare services to approximately 3.5 million patients each year. (Landi, 9/28)
The Hill:
Trump Announces Plan To Distribute 100M Rapid COVID-19 Tests To States
President Trump on Monday announced a plan to distribute 100 million rapid COVID-19 tests to states by the end of the year, strongly urging governors to use them to help schools reopen. The Abbott tests, which are cheaper and faster than lab tests, return results in about 15 minutes and are already widely used in nursing homes under a program set up by the Trump administration. (Hellmann, 9/28)
AP:
Feds To Ship Millions Of Tests In Bid To Reopen K-12 Schools
The tests will go out to states based on their population and can be used as governors see fit, but the Trump administration is encouraging states to place a priority on schools. White House officials said at a Rose Garden event that 6.5 million tests will go out this week and that a total of 100 million tests will be distributed to governors over the next several weeks. Officials said the administration is emphasizing testing in schools because it’s important to the physical, social and emotional development of students to be back in classrooms to the degree that’s possible. The Abbott Laboratories tests would allow parents to know whether their symptomatic child has COVID-19. In some cases, states could undertake some baseline surveillance, like testing a proportion of students per week or per month to make sure that the incidence of COVID-19 is low. (Perrone and Freking, 9/28)
The New York Times:
Behind The White House Effort To Pressure The C.D.C. On School Openings
Top White House officials pressured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer to play down the risk of sending children back to school, a strikingly political intervention in one of the most sensitive public health debates of the pandemic, according to documents and interviews with current and former government officials. As part of their behind-the-scenes effort, White House officials also tried to circumvent the C.D.C. in a search for alternate data showing that the pandemic was weakening and posed little danger to children. (Mazzetti, Weiland and LaFraniere, 9/28)
Politico:
Top FDA Vaccine Official Says Vaccine Guidance May Never Be Released
White House objections may prevent FDA from releasing stricter guidelines it has drawn up for the emergency authorization of coronavirus vaccines, the agency's No. 2 vaccine official said Monday. Nevertheless, the FDA wants vaccine developers to know that it will insist on seeing through clinical trials for any shot that receives emergency authorization, said Phillip Krause, deputy director for the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. (Brennan, 9/28)
Reuters:
New Adviser Giving Trump Bad Information On Virus, Top U.S. Officials Say
Two senior U.S. public health experts have raised concerns that White House adviser Scott Atlas is providing misleading or incorrect information on the coronavirus pandemic to President Donald Trump, according to media reports on Monday. The top U.S. infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, told CNN on Monday he was concerned that information given by Atlas - a late addition to the White House coronavirus task force - was “really taken either out of context or actually incorrect.” (9/28)
MarketWatch:
Fauci Calls Out Fox News, But Says Real ‘Bad Guy’ Is Coronavirus, Not Those With Opposing Views
Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized Fox News and attempted to downplay differences with White House coronavirus task force colleague Dr. Scott Atlas on Monday, saying the real enemy remains COVID-19. Speaking Monday night during an interview on CNN, the nation’s foremost expert on infectious diseases said the spread of misinformation is detrimental to the nation’s public health effort. (Murphy, 9/28)
The New York Times:
House Unveils New Stimulus Package As Pelosi And Mnuchin Resume Talks
The release of the legislation came minutes before Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, spoke by phone Monday evening, as the pair seeks to end the impasse over another coronavirus relief package. The two agreed to speak again on Tuesday morning, said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi. The moves appeared to be the most concrete action toward another stimulus bill since negotiations stalled nearly two months ago. But the sides remain far apart on an overall price tag, and with just over a month before Election Day, lawmakers and aides in both chambers warned that the time frame for striking a deal was slim. (Cochrane, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Economic Relief Talks Between White House, Pelosi Suddenly Resume As House Democrats Make New Offer
The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) resumed discussions over a possible economic relief bill as Democrats offered a $2.2 trillion package and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin immediately engaged in talks. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke Monday evening and agreed to talk again Tuesday morning, according to Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill. (Werner, 9/28)
Reuters:
Pelosi Says Democrats Unveil New COVID-19 Aid Bill
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers released by Pelosi’s office, she said the legislation “includes new funding needed to avert catastrophe for schools, small businesses, restaurants, performance spaces, airline workers and others.” “Democrats are making good on our promise to compromise with this updated bill,” she said. “We have been able to make critical additions and reduce the cost of the bill by shortening the time covered for now.” (9/28)
AP:
Trump, Biden Prepare To Debate At A Time Of Mounting Crises
In an election year like no other, the first debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, could be a pivotal moment in a race that has remained stubbornly unchanged in the face of historic tumult. The Tuesday night debate will offer a massive platform for Trump and Biden to outline their starkly different visions for a country facing multiple crises, including racial justice protests and a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans and cost millions of jobs. (Lemire and Colvin, 9/29)
The Wall Street Journal:
Presidential Debate To Focus On Coronavirus, Supreme Court
President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will square off on Tuesday in Cleveland in the first presidential debate of the 2020 election. The debate, which will be moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, will unfold against the backdrop of an unconventional campaign that has for months been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and protests against racism and police brutality. ... Mr. Biden, the Democratic nominee, has made Mr. Trump’s handling of the virus the centerpiece of his campaign, whereas the Republican president has sought to play down its consequences. (Siddiqui, 9/29)
Newsweek:
Big Pharma Backs Joe Biden, But People Don't Think He'll Fix Drug Pricing
Former Vice President Joe Biden is winning the race for donations from Big Pharma but experts and industry stakeholders doubt his plans will successfully lower drug prices or address underlying issues in the industry. The pharmaceuticals and health products industry has donated more than $5.9 million to Biden's presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a site run by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political donations. (Roche, 9/29)
AP:
Trump Coming To La Crosse, Green Bay For Rallies Saturday
President Donald Trump is planning a pair of campaign rallies on Saturday in La Crosse and Green Bay, less than five weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The stops announced Monday by Trump’s campaign come just over two weeks after he held a rally in central Wisconsin near Wausau in Mosinee. Both of Saturday’s rallies are scheduled for airports in the respective cities. (9/28)
The Washington Post:
Pennsylvania Republicans Ask Supreme Court To Stop Voting Accommodations
Pennsylvania’s Republican legislative leaders asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to stop a decision by the state’s high court to count mail-in ballots received up to three days after Election Day. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Democrats’ favor on a number of mail-voting rules: permitting voters to turn in ballots via drop box in addition to using the U.S. Postal Service; allowing ballots to be returned up to three days after Election Day; and blocking a Republican effort to allow partisan poll watchers to be stationed in counties where they do not live. (Barnes, 9/28)
AP:
Tennesseans With Virus-Susceptible Roomies OKed To Mail Vote
A judge has ruled that Tennessee officials have to change the absentee ballot application again to reflect their promise to let voters cast mail ballots if someone in their household has an underlying health condition that makes them more susceptible to COVID-19. In her decision Friday, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle sided with arguments from the plaintiffs in a months-long absentee voting lawsuit. They pointed out that a deputy attorney general made the eligibility commitment for co-habitants in response to multiple questions in front of the state Supreme Court last month. (Mattise, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Judge Barrett’s Writing Criticizes The Supreme Court Decision Upholding Obama-Era Health Law
In the days leading to his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, President Trump emphasized anew his distaste for the Affordable Care Act. In his third chance to shape the high court, the president is turning to a conservative judge who could tilt its balance toward his goal of abolishing the law. Barrett has not participated in any cases during three years on the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that dealt with the decade-old law, which has widened insurance coverage and altered many other aspects of the nation’s health-care system. Yet her academic writing and public action offer glimpses into her views: She has criticized the legal logic behind a Supreme Court decision that preserved the law and opposed a provision involving birth control. (Goldstein and Crites, 9/28)
AP:
As Suicides Rise, Army Brass Reassessing Outreach
If there were any signs that Staff Sgt. Jason Lowe was struggling, the soldiers he served alongside didn’t see them. The 27-year-old paratrooper was a top performer. He was on the Commandant’s List and had just finished second in his class in the Army’s Advanced Leader Course, setting him up for a promotion within the storied 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Yet, five days after graduation, after Lowe left texts and calls unreturned, Staff Sgt. Ryan Graves drove to Lowe’s apartment in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a bad feeling. “On the way there I think it set in that maybe there’s something a lot worse going on,” Graves said. (Morgan, 9/28)
The Hill:
Adolescents Twice As Likely As Young Children To Test Positive For COVID-19
Adolescents are twice as likely as young children to test positive for COVID-19, according to a new analysis released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between March 1 and Sept. 19, more than 277,000 children tested positive for COVID-19; 63 percent were between the ages of 12 and 17 while 37 percent were between the ages of 5 and 11. “Incidence among adolescents was approximately double that among younger children throughout the reporting period,” the authors wrote in the analysis. (Hellmann, 9/28)
The New York Times:
The Coronavirus Mostly Spares Younger Children. Teens Aren’t So Lucky.
Teenagers are about twice as likely to become infected with the coronavirus as younger children, according to an analysis released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report is based on a review of 277,285 cases among children aged 5 to 17 whose illness was diagnosed from March to September. The findings come as 56 million children in the country resume schooling amid contentious debates about their safety. (Mandavilli, 9/28)
FierceHealthcare:
Blue Cross NC Teams Up With North Carolina Providers, Experts To Manufacture N95 Masks
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is teaming up with prominent providers and companies in the state to manufacture N95 respirators for healthcare workers. The Made in NC initiative is a public-private partnership that also includes North Carolina State University's Nonwoven Institute, Freudenberg Performance Materials, UNC Health, the NC Healthcare Strategic Partners and NC Medical Society, and aims to manufacture the masks and then distribute them in the communities most in need of personal protective equipment during the pandemic. (Minemyer, 9/28)
CIDRAP:
Last-Resort Life Support—ECMO—Improves COVID-19 Survival, Study Finds
A large-scale, international study in The Lancet shows that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) improves survival for critical COVID-19 patients. A technique that removes blood from the body for oxygenation when a patient's lungs are compromised by severe lung damage, ECMO has been used successfully to treat patients suffering from acute respiratory distress (ARDS) and other types of viral pneumonia. The study included 1,035 severely ill, ventilated COVID-19 patients in 213 hospitals at high risk of death due to lung failure. Patients started on ECMO from Jan 16 to May 1 were followed until death, discharge from the hospital, or until Aug 5—whichever occurred first. At the end of the study period, 380 study patients had died in the hospital; 588 had either been discharged to home, a rehabilitation center, or another long-term acute care center; and 67 patients remained in the hospital. (9/28)
CIDRAP:
FDA Approves Cefiderocol For Hospital-Acquired, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Japanese drug maker Shionogi, with US headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's supplemental New Drug Application for cefiderocol. The FDA's approval means that cefiderocol, sold under the brand name Fetroja, can be used to treat patients who have hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP) caused by gram-negative pathogens. The antibiotic was initially approved for treatment of complicated urinary tract infections. (9/28)
The New York Times:
‘It’s Not In My Head’: They Survived The Coronavirus, But They Never Got Well
They caught the coronavirus months ago and survived it, but they are still stuck at home, gasping for breath. They are no longer contagious, but some feel so ill that they can barely walk around the block, and others grow dizzy trying to cook dinner. Month after month, they rush to the hospital with new symptoms, pleading with doctors for answers. As the coronavirus has spread through the United States over seven months, infecting at least seven million people, some subset of them are now suffering from serious, debilitating and mysterious effects of Covid-19 that last far longer than a few days or weeks. (Mervosh, 9/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Four Different Family Members. Four Different Covid-19 Outcomes.
The Ruspini family in Sunnyvale, Calif., went down like dominoes. One by one, they all got the coronavirus in early April, but with different symptoms and recovery trajectories. Diego Ruspini, a 53-year-old computer scientist with a history of asthma, was hospitalized for a week in early April, and coped with respiratory issues and fatigue until August. His wife, Connie Lares, a 48-year-old medical interpreter at Stanford Children’s Hospital, had a couple of weeks of low-grade fever, body aches, diarrhea and hot flashes. By June she felt well enough to hike a 14,500-foot mountain. (Reddy, 9/28)
Reuters:
Russian Scientist Behind COVID-19 Vaccine Defends 'Wartime' Roll-Out
Russia plans to share preliminary results of its COVID-19 vaccine trial based on the first six weeks of monitoring participants, raising the tempo in an already frenzied global race to end the pandemic. Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that produced the Sputnik V vaccine, told Reuters that the pace of its development was necessary under the “wartime” conditions of a pandemic but no corners were being cut. (Nikolskaya and Ivanova, 9/29)
The Hill:
CDC Recommends Against Attending Thanksgiving Parades, Large Indoor Gatherings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised against attending Thanksgiving parades and large indoor gatherings in its coronavirus recommendations for the holiday released last week. The CDC encouraged people to stay at home “to protect yourself and others” from contracting the coronavirus, which has infected more than 7.1 million and killed 204,905 people in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University. “Travel increases the chance of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19,” the guidance reads. (Coleman, 9/28)
CIDRAP:
Non-COVID-19 Hospital Admissions Rebounding, Study Finds
Dramatic declines in US hospital admissions for non–COVID-19 reasons at the onset of the pandemic have reversed since the lowest point in April, but such hospitalizations remain lower than pre-pandemic baseline levels, particularly for patients from Hispanic-majority neighborhoods, according to a Health Affairs study. The study included data from about 1 million hospital admissions at 201 US hospitals, tracking admissions for the top 20 acute medical conditions from early February through early July. From February to April, declines in non–COVID-19 hospital admissions exceeded 20% for all medical conditions, and did not show significant differences across patient demographic subgroups of age, race, and ethnicity. (9/28)
Stat:
Insurers Move To Stop Waiving Telehealth Copays This Week
Starting Oct. 1, several private health insurers will no longer fully pay for virtual visits under certain circumstances — effectively reinstituting costs for patients reliant on the virtual care that has been heralded as a lifeline at a time when Covid-19 is still killing more than 700 Americans each day. (Robbins and Brodwin, 9/29)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Limits Urged On Americans’ Sugar Consumption Amid Rising Obesity Concerns
A federal committee’s recommendation that Americans should limit their consumption of added sugars to 6% of their daily calories—down from the current guideline of 10%—is spotlighting the growing toll of obesity on the nation’s health, and drawing pushback from makers of candy and sodas. The guidance, from a committee’s recommendations for new U.S. dietary guidelines, aims to address rising rates of obesity and the poor quality of most Americans’ diets. Obesity has been linked to an increased risk of health problems, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer—and raises the risk for severe illness with Covid-19. (Petersen, 9/28)
The New York Times:
The Underused Weight Loss Option: Bariatric Surgery
Growing rates of obesity among Americans are clear evidence that even the best intentions and strongest motivations are often not enough to help seriously overweight people lose a significant amount of weight and, more important, keep it off. But for those who can overcome fears of surgery and perhaps do battle with recalcitrant insurers, there remains another very successful option that experts say is currently vastly underused. That option is bariatric surgery, an approach that is now simpler, safer and more effective than in its early days in the 1990s. (Brody, 9/28)
CIDRAP:
Fecal Transplant Provides Long-Term C Diff Protection Despite Exposures
Mayo Clinic researchers report that a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) was 78% effective at preventing Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) recurrence at 1 year despite subsequent exposure to the toxoid in 460 FMT patients. The retrospective study, published late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases, found that 76.8% of adult patients were exposed to the healthcare system after FMT, and 78.1% of 374 patients with risk factor exposure had a durable response at 1 year. (9/28)
Stat:
California Becomes The First State To Pursue Its Own Line Of Generics
In a groundbreaking move, California adopted a law Monday to allow the state to develop its own line of generic drugs, a notion designed to address the rising cost of prescription medicines that is straining many government budgets across the U.S. Specifically, the California Health and Human Services Agency will look to form partnerships to manufacture or distribute generics and at least one form of insulin. (Silverman, 9/28)
Stat:
Drug Industry CEOs Set To Testify About Controversial Medicines
The House Oversight Committee will hold two days of hearings this week with six drug industry CEOs. The hearings are the presumptive climax of an 18-month investigation first launched by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings in 2019. The hearing could be the most perilous yet for drug makers, who have managed to avoid any major missteps at the multiple congressional drug pricing hearings that preceded this one. (Florko, 9/29)
USA Today:
Florida Schools Reopened En Masse; Feared COVID Surge Hasn't Followed
Many teachers and families feared a spike in COVID-19 cases when Florida made the controversial push to reopen schools in August with in-person instruction. A USA TODAY analysis shows the state’s positive case count among kids ages 5 to 17 declined through late September after a peak in July. Among the counties seeing surges in overall cases, it’s college-age adults – not schoolchildren – driving the trend, the analysis found. The early results in Florida show the success of rigorous mask wearing, social distancing, isolating contacts and quick contact tracing when necessary, health experts said. (Fraser, Stucka, Bloch, Fradette and Brugal, 9/28)
Politico:
Campus Life Sans Covid: A Few Colleges Write The Playbook For Pandemic Success
Colleges finding early success are deploying methods health experts have long recommended the whole country use to keep the virus under control. But a patchwork of state approaches, ongoing testing shortages — or outright rejection of recommendations about testing, masks and social distancing — have combined to keep the virus spreading. Certain state colleges and smaller schools might have a distinct advantage, especially those based in more geographically isolated areas that cater to students from places where the virus is less severe. Still, initial victories include rigid protocols for frequent testing, contact tracing, social distancing and mask-wearing. (Perez Jr. 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Maryland Students Go Back To School
Most students in Maryland logged onto computers from home this fall as they started an unprecedented school year virtually. But at Greensboro Elementary, on the state’s Eastern Shore, children with backpacks and lunchboxes showed up on the first day. Since then, their numbers have been growing. They include children with disabilities, some of whom one recent day were in a small classroom with bright bins of supplies and a colorful garland. A young boy sorted cups with a teacher. Another child called out sight words. It was hands-on and one-to-one — a flicker of the old normal but with masks and social distancing. (St. George, 9/28)
The New York Times:
Workers Face Looming Cutoffs In Health Insurance
Tens of millions of people could lose their job-based insurance by the end of the year, said Stan Dorn, the director of the National Center for Coverage Innovation at Families USA, the Washington, D.C., consumer group. “The odds are we are on track to have the largest coverage losses in our history,” he said. While estimates vary, a recent Urban Institute analysis of census data says at least three million Americans have already lost job-based coverage, and a separate analysis from Avalere Health predicts some 12 million will lose it by the end of this year. Both studies highlight the disproportionate effect on Black and Hispanic workers. (Abelson, 9/28)
The New York Times:
As Covid-19 Looms, Some Workers Face Loss Of Health Insurance
Jeremy Fritz stopped working as an assistant manager for a fitness center in Carlsbad, Calif., during the pandemic lockdown in the spring when gyms were first closed. By the end of April, the company operating the fitness center, Active Wellness, eliminated his health insurance. And in July, he was laid off when it became clear the center where he worked would be closed through 2020. Most of the small company’s gyms are still shuttered. (Abelson, 9/28)
Stat:
An FDA Safety Program Is Failing To Stem The Opioid Crisis, Report Finds
A mandated safety program regulators rely on to minimize opioid abuse and misuse is not “well suited” to quickly address the ongoing crisis across the U.S. And the shortcomings reflect a lack of cooperation from opioid makers that made it difficult for the Food and Drug Administration to assess key data, according to a new federal government report. (Silverman, 9/29)
ABA Journal:
Coronavirus-Related Deaths In Nursing Homes Prompt Lawsuits And Questions About Who’s Responsible
[Faith] Heimbrodt’s case is one of a growing number of negligence suits being filed across the country against nursing homes and other long-term care facilities by families whose relatives died from the coronavirus while living in such facilities. These cases rely on state nursing home resident protection statutes and/or common law tort theories. ... these cases will present unprecedented questions for judges, juries and arbitrators. They will have to decide whether and how to apportion responsibility for the deaths of the nation’s most medically vulnerable population among long-term care operators who were scrambling in the midst of the chaos and confusion during the worst public health emergency in a century. (Meyer, 9/28)
NPR:
Preventing Eviction Is Good For Health. Is The CDC's Temporary Ban Enough?
As many as 40 million Americans faced a looming eviction risk in August, according to a report authored by 10 national housing and eviction experts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited that estimate in early September when it ordered an unprecedented, nationwide eviction moratorium through the end of 2020. That move — a moratorium from the country's top public health agency — spotlights a message experts have preached for years without prompting much policy action: Housing stability and health are intertwined. (Sable-Smith, Bebinger and Benson, 9/29)
The Washington Post:
Brain Eating Amoeba Kills 6-Year-Old, Texas Gov. Abbott Makes Disaster Declaration In Brazoria County
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration in Brazoria County on Sunday after the discovery in the local water supply system of an amoeba that can cause a rare and deadly infection of the brain. “The state of Texas is taking swift action to respond to the situation and support the communities whose water systems have been impacted by this ameba,” Abbott (R) in a news release Sunday. “I urge Texans in Lake Jackson to follow the guidance of local officials and take the appropriate precautions to protect their health and safety as we work to restore safe tap water in the community.” (Villegas, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Narcissism May Influence People's Willingness To Follow Coronavirus Health Guidelines, Psychologists Say
Several recent studies have similarly concluded that narcissistic behavior may be contributing to noncompliance with public health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. ... According to psychologists, [narcissists] characteristically lack empathy, have high levels of entitlement and grandiosity, and chronically seek validation, admiration and control. Together with Machiavellianism and psychopathy, narcissism makes up one-third of the “Dark Triad,” personality patterns often linked to “a lack of niceness,” said W. Keith Campbell, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia.
The Washington Post:
Alecia Kitts Tasered On Video For Not Wearing A Mask At Logan, Ohio Football Game
When a police officer noticed Alecia Kitts without a mask at a middle school football game in Logan, Ohio, last week, he told her she either needed to cover her face or leave. Kitts, 34, repeatedly refused both requests and resisted putting her hands behind her back. The officer then pulled out a Taser, shocked her and hauled her away in handcuffs. Now, after video of the confrontation went viral, it has become the latest flash point in the battle over mask mandates. Hundreds of threats have flooded Logan, forcing the officer who Tasered Kitts to go off active duty for his safety and prompting a school system to declare a lockdown on Thursday, the Logan Daily News reported. (Elfrink, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Halloween Candy Chute Allows Trick-Or-Treaters To Socially Distance
In early September, Andrew Beattie, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter were discussing what their beloved holiday might look like and they came up with an idea. What if there was a way to hand out candy without getting closer than six feet to a single trick-or-treater? Beattie remembered he had a long tube, formerly an Amazon shipping container, in the basement. The next day, it took about 20 minutes to bring the idea to life: a candy chute. (Errigo, 9/28)
The New York Times:
Maryland Man Sentenced After Holding Large Parties During Covid Pandemic
A Maryland man has been sentenced to one year in jail and fined $5,000 for throwing two large parties in violation of the state’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. The man, Shawn Marshall Myers, 42, was convicted on Friday of two counts of failure to comply with an emergency order, the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement. (de Leon, 9/28)