First Edition: Sept. 30, 2021

KHN:
Covid Is Killing Rural Americans At Twice The Rate Of Urbanites 

Rural Americans are dying of covid at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely to widen as access to medical care shrinks for a population that tends to be older, sicker, heavier, poorer and less vaccinated. While the initial surge of covid-19 deaths skipped over much of rural America, where roughly 15% of Americans live, nonmetropolitan mortality rates quickly started to outpace those of metropolitan areas as the virus spread nationwide before vaccinations became available, according to data from the Rural Policy Research Institute. (Weber, 9/30)

KHN:
A Covid Test Costing More Than A Tesla? It Happened In Texas

When covid-19 struck last year, Travis Warner’s company became busier than ever. He installs internet and video systems, and with people suddenly working from home, service calls surged. He and his employees took precautions like wearing masks and physically distancing, but visiting clients’ homes daily meant a high risk of covid exposure. “It was just like dodging bullets every week,” Warner said. (Pattani, 9/30)

KHN:
Death In Dallas: One Family’s Experience In The Medicaid Gap 

For years, Millicent McKinnon of Dallas went without health insurance. She was one of roughly 1 million Texans who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid in the state but too little to buy their own insurance. That is, until she died in 2019. She was 64 and had been unable to find consistent care for her breast cancer. Lorraine Birabil, McKinnon’s daughter-in-law, said she is still grieving that loss. “She was such a vibrant woman,” she said. “Just always full of energy and joy.” Health insurance for roughly 2.2 million Americans is on the table as Congress considers a spending bill that could be as high as $3.5 trillion over the next decade. (Lopez, 9/30)

KHN:
As Democrats Bicker Over Massive Spending Plan, Here’s What’s At Stake For Medicaid

Hours after the Supreme Court in 2012 narrowly upheld the Affordable Care Act but rejected making Medicaid expansion mandatory for states, Obama administration officials laughed when asked whether that would pose a problem. In a White House briefing, top advisers to President Barack Obama told reporters states would be foolish to turn away billions in federal funding to help residents lacking the security of health insurance. (Galewitz, 9/30)

The Hill:
House Appears Poised To Pull Infrastructure Vote Amid Stubborn Stalemate

House Democrats appear poised to miss a second vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill this week, highlighting the stubborn stalemate over the larger social benefits package at the core of President Biden’s agenda. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has scheduled the infrastructure vote for Thursday, reflecting a promise she’s made to centrist Democrats eager to notch a bipartisan win on an issue that’s eluded Congress for decades. An initial infrastructure vote, scheduled for Monday, had been postponed, and moderates in the House are threatening to revolt if it happens twice. (Lillis, Marcos and Wong, 9/29)

AP:
Agonizing Choices As Dems Debate Shrinking Health Care Pie

Democrats are debating how to divide up what could be a smaller serving of health care spending in President Joe Biden’s domestic policy bill, pitting the needs of older adults who can’t afford their dentures against the plight of uninsured low-income people in the South. “There’s always a battle of where you place your priorities,” Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democratic leader, said Wednesday. “We don’t means-test Medicare, which means that pretty wealthy people will be getting both dental care (and) vision care while poor people will be denied. … I don’t know that that’s a real good choice.” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/30)

Politico:
Manchin Offers Alternative Plans To Democrats’ ‘Fiscal Insanity’

Joe Manchin released a statement on Wednesday afternoon panning his colleagues’ spending plans as “fiscal insanity.” Then he started to lay out how he wants to work on President Joe Biden’s family plan. As all of Washington hangs on his every word, Manchin said he did want to clinch a reconciliation bill even as some progressives fear he’s trying to kill the whole thing. But rather than approach the effort as the multi-trillion-dollar social spending and climate change bill envisioned by his colleagues, Manchin said Democrats needed to start with gutting the 2017 Trump tax cuts and go from there. (Everett, 9/29)

Politico:
Biden Bets It All On Unlocking The Manchinema Puzzle 

Joe Biden knows the way to progressives’ hearts but he’s still trying to figure out what makes Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema tick. Between now and Thursday, the White House is devoting all of its energy to sketching out a framework for a social spending and climate package upon which the factions of the Democratic party can agree. Inside the West Wing, the belief is that it all begins with nailing down the two centrist Senate Democrats on what they can live with in the president’s $3.5 trillion plan, in the hopes that their support will clear a path to pass both that bill and the infrastructure proposal waiting for a vote in the House. (Barron-Lopez and Korecki, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal:
YouTube To Remove Videos Containing Vaccine Misinformation

YouTube said it would remove content that falsely alleges approved vaccines are dangerous and cause severe health effects, expanding the video platform’s efforts to curb Covid-19 misinformation to other vaccines. Examples of content that would be taken down include false claims that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer or infertility or that they don’t reduce transmission or contraction of diseases, the Alphabet Inc. division said Wednesday. (Sebastian, 9/29)

NPR:
YouTube Issues Ban Against Videos That Spread Vaccine Misinformation

YouTube is cracking down on the spread of misinformation by banning misleading and inaccurate content about vaccines. The platform announced the change in a blog post Wednesday, explaining that its current community guidelines, which already prohibit the sharing of medical misinformation, have been extended to cover “currently administered” vaccines that have been proven safe by the World Health Organization and other health officials. The site had previously banned content containing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines under its COVID-19 misinformation policy. The change extends that policy to a far wider number of vaccines. (Pruitt-Young, 9/29)

The Washington Post:
Facebook Attempts To Minimize Its Own Research Ahead Of Children’s Safety Hearings 

Facebook late Wednesday released heavily annotated documents discounting its own research into user harm — an attempt to deflect criticism as lawmakers gear up to deliver the company a harsh rebuke on Capitol Hill. The research decks, one called “Hard Life Moments — Mental Health Deep Dive” and another called “Teen Mental Health Deep Dive,” feature internal research into Instagram’s effects on adults’ and teens’ mental health. (Zakrzewski and Lerman, 9/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
Facebook’s Documents About Instagram And Teens, Published

Facebook Inc. is scheduled to testify at a Senate hearing on Thursday about its products’ effects on young people’s mental health. The hearing in front of the Commerce Committee’s consumer-protection subcommittee was prompted by a mid-September article in The Wall Street Journal. Based on internal company documents, it detailed Facebook’s internal research on the negative impact of its Instagram app on teen girls and others. (9/29)

USA Today:
Military Suicides: Deaths By Suicide Spike 15% In 2020 From 2019

Suicide among U.S. troops increased 15% in 2020 from the previous year, a troubling trend that has defied Pentagon initiatives to prevent service members from taking their own lives. In 2020, 580 troops died by suicide compared with 504 in 2019, according to figures confirmed Wednesday night for USA TODAY by congressional and Defense Department sources. The sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the figures, which the Pentagon plans to release on Thursday. In 2018, there were 543 suicide deaths among troops. It’s not clear why there was a decrease in 2019 followed by a jump in 2020, according to the Defense Department official. (Vanden Brook, 9/29)

The Washington Post:
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Enrollees Face An Average 3.8 Rise In Rates For 2022

Premiums for federal employees will rise by 3.8 percent on average in 2022, the second straight year of moderate increases despite the coronavirus pandemic, the government announced Wednesday. The pandemic has led to increased costs in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the Office of Personnel Management said, including roughly $1 billion to test and treat coronavirus patients. But those costs have been partly offset by enrollees skipping routine medical procedures, the OPM said. (Yoder, 9/29)

The Washington Post:
CDC Says It’s ‘Urgent’ Pregnant Women Get Vaccinated 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a call for “urgent action” recommending those who are pregnant get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The health body said immunization rates among that population lagged as covid-linked deaths among pregnant people reach their highest levels yet during the pandemic. In a health advisory released Wednesday, the CDC said it recommends coronavirus vaccines “before or during pregnancy because the benefits of vaccination outweigh known or potential risks.” It said its advice applies to “people who are pregnant, recently pregnant … who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future.” (Pietsch and Suliman, 9/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
Americans Are Getting Covid-19 Boosters—No Questions Asked 

Debbie Hirsch, a 67-year-old retired special-education teacher who received the Moderna vaccine initially, wasn’t going to wait; she made an appointment on Monday at her local CVS Health Corp. pharmacy in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. A nurse there gave her a third Moderna shot, no questions asked, she said. Ms. Hirsch, whose husband is recovering from heart surgery, said she checked a box on the CVS website attesting that she was immunocompromised, even though she doesn’t qualify. FDA guidelines for patients receiving a third Moderna jab include patients who take medication to suppress their immune systems and cancer patients currently undergoing treatment. (Whelan, 9/29)

Bloomberg:
Moderna Booster Shot: FDA Leans Toward Authorizing Half Dose Of Covid Vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is leaning toward authorizing half-dose booster shots of the Moderna Inc. coronavirus vaccine, satisfied that it’s effective in shoring up protection, people familiar with the matter said. The authorization would set the stage to further widen the U.S. booster campaign after earlier authorization of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot. About 170 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. received the Moderna or Pfizer shots, or 92% of the total inoculated so far. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity, before a potential announcement. It’s not clear when an announcement will come. (Wingrove and Jacobs, 9/29)

CIDRAP:
Seven COVID-19 Symptoms Are More Predictive Of Illness, Study Says

Seven COVID-19 symptoms can maximize detection of COVID-19 in the community, according to a large study published in PLOS Medicine yesterday that looked at data from England’s REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study. … By modeling COVID-19 positivity predictability on seven symptoms—loss or change of smell, loss or change of taste, fever, new persistent cough, chills, appetite loss, and muscle aches—the researchers found a 0.75 area under the curve (AUC) for rounds 2 through 7 and a 0.77 AUC for round 8. (9/29)

Fox News:
Milder COVID-19 Infection Could Still Leave Brain With Lasting Impact: UK Study

Mild cases of COVID-19 could also leave a lasting impact on the human brain, according to a recent study. In August, researchers from England’s University of Oxford and the Imperial College of London wrote that brain imaging from the UK Biobank – including the data from more than 40,000 people in the United Kingdom, dating back to 2014 – showed differences in gray matter thickness between those who had been infected with COVID-19 and those who had not. (Musto, 9/29)

CIDRAP:
Two Studies Tie Long COVID-19 To Severe Initial Illness 

Two new studies, one in China and one in the United Kingdom, detail persistent COVID-19 symptoms months to a year after acute illness. Today, in JAMA Network Open, Chinese researchers describe “long COVID” symptoms of fatigue, sweating, chest tightness, anxiety, and muscle pain among 2,433 COVID-19 survivors released from one of two hospitals in Wuhan, China, from Feb 12 to Apr 10, 2020. (Van Beusekom, 9/29)

CNN:
For The First Time Since June, The Number Of Projected Covid-19 Deaths In The US Is Decreasing 

For the first time since June, the rate of new Covid-19 deaths in the US is expected to decrease over the next four weeks, according to an ensemble forecast from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And for the third week in a row, Wednesday’s CDC forecast predicted that hospitalizations will decrease as well — a bit of hope as the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread. (Holcombe, 9/30)

AP:
2nd Hospital In Alaska Begins Rationing Care

A second hospital in Alaska is beginning to ration health care as the state deals with a spike in coronavirus cases. Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corp. in Bethel announced the move Wednesday as it reported it is operating at capacity. Rationing of care had already been imposed by Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, which is the state’s largest hospital. (9/30)

AP:
Doctors: Pandemic Has Dire Effects On Idaho Kids, Babies

Idaho’s unchecked spread of the highly contagious delta variant is sending more kids and babies to hospitals with complications from COVID-19, state health care professionals said Wednesday. Major hospitals and health care clinics in southwestern Idaho are seeing more premature babies born to COVID-19-positive mothers, more children requiring hospitalization and more kids of all ages experiencing mental health problems because of the pandemic, several doctors from Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, St. Luke’s Health System, Primary Health Group and Mountain States Neonatology said during a news conference. (Boone, 9/29)

NPR:
Surveys Say Workers Will Quit Over Vaccine Mandates, But They Often Don’t

Surveys have shown that as many as half of unvaccinated workers say they will leave their jobs if they’re forced to get the COVID-19 shot, but in reality few of them actually quit. That’s according to an article in The Conversation, a nonprofit news organization that covers academic research. Researchers looked at companies that have vaccine mandates in place and saw that, so far, only a fraction of workers leave their jobs when it comes down to it. “In other words, vaccine mandates are unlikely to result in a wave of resignations — but they are likely to lead to a boost in vaccination rates,” they write. (Farrington, 9/29)

AP:
Arkansas Bill Creates Antibody Exemption For Vaccine Mandate

Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would allow workers to opt out of their employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement if they’re tested weekly or can prove they have natural antibodies. The House and Senate Public Health committees endorsed identical versions of the bill, which also would require the state to pay unemployment benefits to workers who are fired for not getting vaccinated. The bills are among several limiting or prohibiting private vaccine mandates working their way through the majority-Republican Legislature. (DeMillo, 9/29)

AP:
University Of Colorado Faces COVID Religious Exemption Suit

A pediatrician and a medical student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are challenging denials of their requests for religious exemptions from the school’s COVID vaccination mandate, arguing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that administrators are judging the “veracity” of personal religious beliefs in violation of the First Amendment. The U.S. District Court lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit conservative firm based in Chicago, is the latest clash over a growing number of private- and public-sector vaccine mandates nationwide to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S. (Nieberg, 9/30)

AP:
AT&T To Require Vaccines For 90,000 Of Its Union Workers

AT&T has become one of the largest employers in the U.S. to mandate vaccines for a significant number of frontline workers. The telecom company said Wednesday that its employees in the Communications Workers of America union will be required to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 1, “unless they get an approved job accommodation.” (Arbel, 9/29)

AP:
Reopening Of ‘Aladdin’ On Broadway Halted By COVID-19 Cases

The hit Broadway show “Aladdin” was canceled Wednesday night when breakthrough COVID-19 cases were reported within the musical’s company, a day after the show reopened following some 18 months of being shuttered due to the pandemic. It was a worrying sign for Broadway’s recovery. “Through our rigorous testing protocols, breakthrough COVID-19 cases have been detected within the company of ‘Aladdin’ at the New Amsterdam Theatre,” the show announced on social media. “Because the wellness and safety of our guests, cast and crew are our top priority, tonight’s performance, Wednesday, Sept. 29 , is canceled.” (Kennedy, 9/30)

AP:
Arizona High Court Allows School Mask Ban Ruling To Stand

The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to immediately reinstate a series of new laws that include measures which block schools from requiring masks and remove the power of local governments to impose COVID-19 restrictions. The high court turned down Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request that the provisions in three state budget bills and an entire budget bill be allowed to take effect. Instead, the court set a briefing schedule for it to consider Brnovich’s request to bypass the Court of Appeals and hear the case directly. (Christie, 9/29)

AP:
Louisiana Schools Chief Scraps COVID Quarantine Suggestion

Going against health guidance, Louisiana’s education department announced Wednesday it’s no longer recommending that public school systems quarantine asymptomatic students who have come into close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Louisiana’s 69 local school districts already had the ability to determine whether they want to send the students home for days because of exposure to the coronavirus illness. But most of the districts had been following the state education department’s recommendation that those students should be quarantined, even if they don’t show symptoms of COVID-19. (Deslatte, 9/29)

AP:
Police Challenge To Denver Vaccine Mandate Is Dismissed

A judge on Wednesday dismissed an attempt by a group of Denver police officers to block the city’s vaccine mandate from taking effect. In a lawsuit filed last week, seven officers claimed the city lacked the authority to impose the mandate under a local disaster emergency declared by Mayor Michael Hancock at the beginning of the pandemic. They noted Democratic Gov. Jared Polis rescinded his statewide emergency pandemic order in July. The officers said the city should have instead followed the more drawn-out process laid out in state law to impose regulations. (Slevin, 9/29)

Santa Cruz Sentinel:
Santa Cruz County Officials Rescind Indoor Face Covering Mandate

Santa Cruz County residents and visitors are no longer required to wear a face covering indoors. On Wednesday morning, the county Health Services Agency released a statement that the county had moved from substantial transmission (orange) to moderate transmission (yellow) on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker. Because of this improvement, the mask mandate released by Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel on Aug. 19 has been lifted. (Hartman, 9/29)

AP:
FedEx Forum Extends Mask Policy For Grizzlies, Memphis Games

FedEx Forum will continue requiring face masks everyone attending basketball games for NBA Memphis Grizzlies and University of Memphis Tigers games and other arena events regardless of vaccination status through the end of October. Wednesday’s announcement follows Shelby County’s health directive continuing its mask mandate. A release stated that unvaccinated spectators 12 years and older must present proof of a negative COVID-19 test at least 72 hours allowed to attend before Grizzlies and Tigers games, starting with the NBA club’s Oct. 20 home opener. Vaccinated fans must show proof of at least one dose for entry. (9/29)

The Hill:
Michigan Nurse Charged With Selling Fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccine Cards

Two Michigan residents, including a registered nurse, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards. Bethann Kierczak, 37, faces charges of theft or embezzlement related to a healthcare benefit program and theft of government property. The complaint alleges that starting as early as May, the registered nurse distributed and sold real COVID-19 cards that had either been stolen or embezzled from a Veterans Affairs hospital. In order for the cards to look even more authentic, Kierczak used stolen or embezzled vaccine lot numbers for the cards, prosecutors say. Kierczak is accused of using Facebook’s Messenger feature to connect with potential buyers and sell the cards for between $150 and $200 each. (Vakil, 9/29)

AP:
NV Expert: Misinformation Bigger Challenge Than Virus Itself

Newly confirmed COVID-19 cases have trended downward in Nevada since a summer peak in mid-July as vaccination rates improve. But misinformation about the effectiveness of masks and vaccines being spread by a vocal minority poses serious challenges to turning the tide on the resurgent pandemic, Washoe County’s health district officer warned Wednesday. “I would say that the misinformation is perhaps a greater challenge that we face than the COVID-19 virus,” Kevin Dick told reporters in Reno. “We have the vaccine. We can beat the COVID-19 virus. I’m not sure we can beat misinformation.” (Sonner, 9/29)

AP:
Families In Veterans Home COVID-19 Outbreak Demand Changes

Families of veterans who died in one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in a U.S. nursing home called Wednesday for changes in how Massachusetts oversees its veterans homes. Members of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition said in a virtual hearing held by state lawmakers that Massachusetts’ two state-run facilities — the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea — should be overseen by the state Department of Public Health, not the state Department of Veterans Services. (9/29)

AP:
Woman Who Survived Spanish Flu, World War Succumbs To COVID

She lived a life of adventure that spanned two continents. She fell in love with a World War II fighter pilot, barely escaped Europe ahead of Benito Mussolini’s fascists, ground steel for the U.S. war effort and advocated for her disabled daughter in a far less enlightened time. She was, her daughter said, someone who didn’t make a habit of giving up. And then this month, at age 105, Primetta Giacopini’s life ended the way it began — in a pandemic. “I think my mother would have been around quite a bit longer” if she hadn’t contracted COVID,” her 61-year-old daughter, Dorene Giacopini, said. “She was a fighter. She had a hard life and her attitude always was … basically, all Americans who were not around for World War II were basically spoiled brats.” (Richmond, 9/30)

The Washington Post:
Covid-19 Memorial In D.C. Gives Americans A Place To Reconcile Their Loss

The messages are short. Succinct. Devastating. “Fly with the angels, Peggy.” “To my aunt, one of my favorite humans. We miss you.” “I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you proud. Te amo grandpa.”“ Sue Kaye Ziemann fought and beat leukemia, but covid took her too soon.” Walking through the hundreds of thousands of white flags blanketing 20 acres of the National Mall to honor the Americans who have died of covid-19, visitors stop to write a few words of farewell on the flags themselves. They are goodbyes that many never had a chance to say in person. It is an intimate goodbye. And a national one. (Sanchez, 9/30)

The Washington Post:
In A Letter To The Editor, A Man Said His Relative ‘Is Past’ Covid And ‘Completely Immune.’ Then Came The Twist.

Over the years, Charles Chamberlain has fired off dozens of letters to the editor of his local newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times. The Spring Hill, Fla., man has pontificated on oil prices, Social Security and the influence of money in politics. He has railed against former president Donald Trump’s election-fraud lies and the ‘cold, calculating and cynical’ ethics of herd immunity. Chamberlain, 81, is no fan of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who he believes has sacrificed public health for partisan politics amid a pandemic that has killed more than 54,000 Floridians. So when DeSantis appointed Joseph Ladapo — a controversial physician who has questioned the safety of the coronavirus vaccines — to serve as the state’s new surgeon general, Chamberlain was, naturally, peeved. (Lipscomb, 9/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
What Science Knows Now About The Risk Of Covid-19 Transmission On Planes 

As international travel begins opening up more, with the U.S. set to relax restrictions for vaccinated travelers from 33 countries in November, more travelers will dig into in-flight meals. A recent medical study by a group at the University of Greenwich in London finds a 59% higher risk of viral transmission during a one-hour meal service on a 12-hour trip compared with staying fully masked for the whole flight. (McCartney, 9/29)

Modern Healthcare:
SAMHSA Distributes $825M To Mental Health Centers

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is investing $825 million in 231 community mental health centers nationwide to help curb the impact of mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is part of a $2.5 billion financial package from the Biden administration’s Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplement Act of 2021 to help states and territories address the nation’s mental illness and addiction crises. Of this sum, $1.65 billion is being put toward substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant funding. (Devereaux, 9/29)

Bloomberg:
Walgreens Said to Weigh Takeover of Evolent Health

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is weighing an acquisition of Evolent Health Inc., the health-care group that has been under activist investor pressure to consider a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Evolent rose as much as 18% on the news. The U.S. drugstore chain has discussed a deal with Arlington, Virginia-based Evolent, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Deliberations are ongoing and there is no certainty that Walgreens will decide to move forward with an offer to buy the company, the people added. (Hammond, Davis and Nair, 9/29)

Modern Healthcare:
Blue Cross Antitrust Legal Woes Linger As Settlement Opt-Outs Seek Damages

More than 30 people who opted out of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s $2.67 billion antitrust settlement sued the health plan’s national association on Monday, alleging the insurers’ monopolistic activities increased healthcare costs while decreasing quality of care. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida, comes on behalf of 32 people living in five states and the District of Columbia who were at some point insured under one of 18 Blues plans issued by their employers. These plaintiffs chose not to participate in the preliminary settlement approved by federal Judge David Proctor of the northeastern district of Alabama last year. (Tepper, 9/29)

The Washington Post:
Former Theranos Lab Director Adam Rosendorff Testifies In Elizabeth Holmes Trial 

Former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff took the stand in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes for his third day Wednesday, facing an extended and often tense cross-examination from defense lawyers. Defense attorney Lance Wade questioned Rosendorff about his responsibilities as lab director, pointing out that he was responsible for many things, including readying the lab for inspections. Rosendorff shot back, suggesting that it wasn’t reasonable to pin everything on him. (Lerman, 9/29)

AP:
Study Highlights Difficulty Of Stopping Antidepressants

A study of British patients with a long history of depression highlights how difficult it can be to stop medication, even for those who feel well enough to try. Slightly more than half the participants who gradually discontinued their antidepressants relapsed within a year. By contrast, the relapse rate was lower — almost 40% — for those who remained on their usual medication during the study. (Tanner, 9/29)

CNN:
Manufacturers Allowed Baby Food Contaminated With Heavy Metals To Remain On Shelves, Lawmakers Say

Gerber and Beech-Nut failed to properly test and remove baby foods with dangerous levels of inorganic arsenic from the market, while Sprout Foods Inc., Walmart’s Parent’s Choice and Campbell’s Plum Organics baby food were lax in testing and controlling for heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, according to a US Congressional report released Wednesday by the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. (LaMotte, 9/29)

NPR:
Weight Gain And Obesity Up In 2020 In The U.S.

It is official: The pandemic’s effect on America’s waistline has been rough. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed 16 states now have obesity rates of 35% or higher. That’s an increase of four states — Delaware, Iowa, Ohio and Texas — in just a year. The findings confirm what several recent research studies have found: Many Americans have gained significant weight since the COVID-19 crisis started, likely fueled by an increase in sedentary behavior, stress and troubles such as job and income loss that make healthy eating harder. And those rates are rising faster among racial minorities. (Noguchi, 9/29)

Fox News:
Artificial Sweetener In Soda, Other Drinks May Increase Food Cravings, Appetite In Women And Obese People

Diet soda and drinks that contain the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase food cravings and appetite in women and people who are obese, researchers say. In a new study led by the University of Southern California’s (USC) Keck School of Medicine and published in JAMA Network Open, scientists studied the effects of an artificial sweetener – or a nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) – both on brain activity and appetite responses in different groups of the population. (Musto, 9/29)

CIDRAP:
Human Eastern Equine Encephalitis Case Recorded In New Jersey

Officials in New Jersey’s Camden County have reported a human case of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). The patient, a resident of Pine Hill, remains hospitalized. “Eastern Equine Encephalitis is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Only a few human cases are reported each year, and the disease can’t be passed directly from person to person,” said County Commissioner Carmen Rodriguez, in a Camden County press release. “The Camden County Department of Health is continuing to work with the Mosquito Commission to ensure that additional spraying and testing will be conducted in the area.” (9/29)

The New York Times:
Judge Frees Britney Spears From Father’s Control 

For more than a decade, Britney Spears bristled behind closed doors at the court-approved control her father, James P. Spears, held over her life and fortune. Now, for the first time since 2008, Ms. Spears, 39, will be without her father’s oversight, a Los Angeles judge has ruled, as the singer moves toward terminating her conservatorship altogether. (Coscarelli, Jacobs and Day, 9/29)

AP:
California Governor Signs Laws Aimed At Homeless Crisis

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven new laws on Wednesday aimed at addressing the state’s homelessness crisis, pleading with a skeptical public to have patience as the nation’s wealthiest and most populous state struggles to keep people off the streets. Among California’s myriad problems — including wildfires, historic drought and a changing climate impacting them both — homelessness is perhaps the most visible, with tens of thousands of people living in encampments in cities large and small across the state. (Beam, 9/30)

NPR:
California May Be First State To Try Treatment That Pays Meth Users Not To Use

When Billy Lemon was trying to kick his methamphetamine addiction, he went to a drug treatment program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation three times a week and peed in a cup. If it tested negative for meth, he got paid about $7. “For somebody who had not had any legitimate money – without committing felonies – that seemed like a cool thing,” says Lemon, who was arrested three times for selling meth before starting recovery. The payments were part of a formal addiction treatment called contingency management, which incentivizes drug users with money or gift cards to stay off drugs. At the end of 12 weeks, after all his drug tests came back negative for meth, Lemon received $330. But for him, it was about more than just the money. It was being told, good job. (Dembosky, 9/30)

AP:
WVa Health Centers Receiving More Than $18M In Federal Funds

More than $18 million will go to 27 West Virginia health centers to strengthen health care infrastructure and assist health care in medically underserved communities, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said. The funding is distributed through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the American Rescue plan, Manchin said Wednesday. It will be used to support expansion and renovation projects and support COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccinations, Manchin said in a news release. (9/30)

CIDRAP:
Global COVID-19 Patterns Show More Signs Of Decline

Cases, as well as deaths, continue to drop globally, but infections continue at very high levels, with about 3.4 million cases recorded over the past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly pandemic update yesterday. Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, the WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, said yesterday on Twitter that the trends show a mixed picture, with far too many cases continuing to be reported when the world has the tools to drastically cut the numbers of illnesses and deaths. (Schnirring, 9/29)

Reuters:
AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Shows 74% Efficacy In Large U.S. Trial 

AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated 74% efficacy at preventing symptomatic disease, a figure that increased to 83.5% in people aged 65 and older, according to long-awaited results of the company’s U.S. clinical trial published on Wednesday. Overall efficacy of 74% was lower than the interim 79% figure reported by the British drugmaker in March, a result AstraZeneca revised days later to 76% after a rare public rebuke from health officials that the figure was based on “outdated information.” (Steenhuysen, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal:
India Aims To Produce MRNA Covid-19 Vaccine This Year

India is preparing to produce its own mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year, in what would be a scientific breakthrough for the country’s growing pharmaceutical industry and help expand the range of global production hubs for the shots. A host of companies across the world are pushing to bring their own vaccines using the mRNA technology to market following the success of the Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. shots. Indian firms, urged on in part by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aim to be significant players in the new sector, with Gennova Pharmaceuticals Ltd. hoping to be the first. (Roy, 9/29)

USA Today:
2022 Winter Olympics In Beijing To Only Allow Chinese Spectators

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday offered a first glimpse of the COVID-19 protocols that will be in place at the upcoming 2022 Winter Games in Beijing – including lengthy quarantines for unvaccinated participants, daily COVID-19 testing and the absence of international spectators. The countermeasures, which were proposed by local Beijing organizers and detailed in an IOC news release, mirror those at the recent Summer Games in some respects and appear more strict in others. (Schad, 9/29)

The New York Times:
China Will Create ‘Closed-Loop’ Bubble For Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday released a preliminary set of health protocols for the upcoming Winter Games in Beijing that suggested that the next Olympics, set to start on Feb. 4, could be the most extraordinarily restricted large-scale sporting event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in what organizers called a “closed-loop management system,” a bubblelike environment in which athletes, officials, broadcasters, journalists and a large Games work force will be forced to eat, sleep, work and compete, without leaving, from the day they arrive to the moment they depart. (Keh, 9/29)

Bloomberg:
Putin-Erdogan Meeting: Turkish Leader Boasts He Has More Antibodies Than Russian

Vladimir Putin broke two weeks of self-isolation to meet Recep Tayyip Erdogan in person Wednesday, but the Turkish leader seemed unimpressed with the Russian president’s immunity to Covid-19, and his offer of a locally made booster shot.“ It’s very low,” was Erdogan’s response after Putin reported his antibody level (“around 15 or 16”), according to video broadcast on Russian state TV. Putin was describing the outbreak among dozens of his staff earlier this month that led him to shift from in-person meetings to videoconferences. (Reznik and Kozok, 9/29)