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The US has purchased and will donate 500 million doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine worldwide as it seeks to be a key player in getting other nations vaccinated, a person familiar with the move told CNN. President Joe Biden will announce the news at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, this week, the person said. Around 200 million doses will go out in 2021 and 300 million will be distributed in the first half of 2022. Biden's top Covid adviser, Jeff Zients, has been working on the deal for the last month, a person familiar said. (Collins and Vazquez, 6/9)

One year ago, the U.S. was the deadliest hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the cancellation of the Group of Seven summit it was due to host. Now, the U.S. is emerging as a model for how to successfully recover from more than 15 months of global crisis. In a speech Thursday on the eve of the summit of wealthy G-7 democracies, President Joe Biden will outline plans for the U.S. to donate 500 million vaccine doses around the globe over the next year, on top of 80 million doses he has already pledged by the end of the month. U.S. officials say Biden will also ask fellow G-7 leaders to do the same. (Miller, Madhani and Lemire, 6/10)

Pfizer and BioNTech announced plans early Thursday to donate 500 million doses to the U.S. government to distribute to 92 low-income countries and the African Union. The news confirms Wednesday's report of President Joe Biden's upcoming announcement to the G-7 summit. Vaccine inequality has become an increasingly pressing concern, and the World Health Organization has warned of a "two-track pandemic'' as wealthy nations inoculate large portions of their populations and developing countries are left exposed to the coronavirus' ravages. (Aspegren, 6/10)

Health officials and experts around the world on Thursday welcomed a U.S. plan to donate 500 million more COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, but the celebrations came with hesitation. For instance, when exactly will those vaccines reach regions left behind in the global race and that are feeling the bite right now with deadly new waves of virus infections? And how many other wealthy nations will follow the lead of the U.S. to fill the gaping need? (Imray and Tong-Hyung, 6/10)

The United States is reportedly in talks with Moderna to buy doses of the pharmaceutical company’s COVID-19 vaccine to donate to low income countries, according to multiple reports. The discussions were first reported by CNBC on Wednesday, citing a person familiar. According to the news outlets, the discussions could lead to a similar deal that was revealed earlier on Wednesday with Pfizer. (Williams, 6/9)

Moderna Inc. is interested in partnering with the U.S. government on possibly providing additional doses of it Covid-19 vaccine to help address the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries, the company said. Spokesman Ray Jordan said in an email that the company wouldn’t provide additional details about any particular talks. Moderna is in the process of expanding its manufacturing capacity so it can produce up to 3 billion vaccine doses next year, compared with its goal of up to 1 billion this year. (Langreth, 6/9)

In what is being described as a “major breakthrough,” a World Trade Organization council agreed to start formal negotiations over a controversial proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines in hopes of widening global access. The step came after months of debate over the proposal, which gained significant momentum after the Biden administration last month unexpectedly agreed to support the initiative, which had been met with pushback by the pharmaceutical industry. The about-face occurred as a lack of vaccines in many low-income countries threatened to prolong the pandemic, especially as new variants emerge. (Silverman, 6/9)

The Labor Department will limit long-awaited emergency Covid-19 workplace safety rules to the health care sector, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Wednesday, a decision that disappointed unions pushing for more expansive rules but that will likely be a relief to businesses worried about new costs. The rules, which have been under White House review since late April and are set to be released Thursday, were expected by both unions and businesses to apply broadly to all workplaces and require workers to wear masks on the job. But the administration has decided it will instead update its optional guidance for general industry and has “tailored” the mandatory safety requirements to apply only to health care settings, Walsh said. (Rainey, 6/9)

The Biden administration has told federal agencies that they generally should not require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to work on-site in federal buildings or to disclose whether they are vaccinated. Employees who disclose they are unvaccinated or refuse to answer a voluntary question about vaccination status should be subject to safety requirements such as mask-wearing and social distancing, new guidance says. (Yoder, 6/9)

The University of Maryland Medical System on Wednesday said it will require current and new employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept.1, according to a news release. The health system has more than 29,500 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians. "We follow the science, and the scientific evidence tells us that from a safety and efficacy standpoint, COVID-19 vaccines represent a dramatic accomplishment and a clear pathway out of this pandemic," Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of UMMS, said in a statement. "As healthcare professionals, we accept that we hold ourselves to a higher standard and we embrace our mission to devote ourselves to the welfare of those in our care." (Christ, 6/9)

As many Americans prepare to head back to the office, companies are hammering out policies on the extent to which they will require, or strongly encourage, employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The bottom line is that companies are legally permitted to make employees get vaccinated, according to recent guidance from the federal agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Here’s the latest about the rules in the United States on vaccinations in the workplace. (Gross, 6/9)

California’s workplace regulators reversed themselves for the second time in a week Wednesday, withdrawing a controversial pending mask regulation while they consider a rule that more closely aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise that the state will fully reopen from the pandemic on Tuesday. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s revised rule, adopted last week after it was initially rejected, would have allowed workers to forego masks only if every employee in a room is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. That contrasts with the state’s broader plan to do away with virtually all masking and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people in concert with the latest recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Thompson, 6/10)

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday warned providers they must administer COVID-19 vaccines free to patients. In a letter to providers and insurers, Becerra said providers cannot require patients to get additional medical services to receive a vaccine or charge them a fee if a vaccine dose is the only medical service they provide. Instead, they can bill Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance or other health coverage to cover the costs of administering a vaccine. They can also bill the Health Resources and Services Administration if patients are uninsured or underinsured. (Brady, 6/9)

Seattle has become the first major American city to reach its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of residents 12 and older, helping push Washington toward its overall vaccination and reopening targets. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan touted the milestone in a news release Wednesday, saying the city has surpassed San Francisco to take the lead in COVID-19 vaccine jabs. “Seattle is America’s most vaccinated major city, and it would not have been possible without our residents’ commitment to protecting themselves, their loved ones and our entire community,” Durkan said in a statement. (Brunner, 6/9)

San Francisco is nearing herd immunity, some experts believe, a milestone in California’s efforts to gain control of the COVID-19 pandemic. San Francisco has one of California’s highest rates of vaccination, with 72% of residents having received at least one dose. Only one other county in California — Marin, just north of San Francisco — has a higher rate of vaccination, with 75% of residents there at least partially vaccinated. Both San Francisco and Marin County’s rates are significantly higher than the statewide vaccination rate of 56%. (Lin II and Money, 6/9)

Less than a month remains until the Fourth of July, which was President Biden's goal for 70% of American adults to have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. It looks like it's going to be a stretch to get there. As of Tuesday, nearly 64% of U.S. adults have had at least one shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The key issue is that demand has dropped off. After an initial crush, the number of doses being administered daily is on a steep decline from the early April peak. (Montanaro, 6/9)

For more than a year, the battleground state of Wisconsin has been victimized by the partisan culture wars that have defined the Covid response.Now, a well-known conservative is stepping up in an attempt to resolve those differences. Scott Walker, the former Wisconsin governor, presidential candidate, and longtime Republican darling, has joined up with another former Wisconsin governor who’s on the opposite side of the political spectrum — Jim Doyle, a Democrat — to urge people to get vaccinated. In a new public service announcement to air across Wisconsin television beginning this week and shared with POLITICO, Walker and Doyle banter back and forth. (Korecki, 6/10)

It was designed as an innovative way to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, but Washington’s new “joints for jabs” program is off to a rough start. ... Retailers told the state Liquor and Cannabis Board during a meeting Wednesday that many don’t have the space to host a vaccine clinic. Some health care providers are queasy about setting up a clinic on the site of a marijuana business because they don’t want to jeopardize federal funding by being involved in the distribution of an illegal drug. And the program is set to expire July 12 — too soon for them to offer a second shot to customers who might show up for a first shot in mid- to late June. (Johnson, 6/10)

New Mexico’s COVID-19 vaccine administration rate has slightly increased in recent days, after previously declining steadily during a multiweek period. The increase came in the days after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a $10 million vaccine incentive program funded by federal stimulus dollars that includes a $5 million lottery drawing scheduled for August. (Boyd, 6/9)

A COVID-19 vaccination clinic for people of color will be held in Burlington this upcoming Saturday in an effort to continue to combat the vaccination disparity between white Vermonters and Vermonters of color. While non-Hispanic whites still have higher vaccination rates than do BIPOC Vermonters, this disparity has decreased in recent weeks, from a high of 13% on March 21 to a low of 5% by May 30, according to the Vermont Department of Health. As of April 1, vaccine registration opened eligibility up to all Vermonters of color age 16 and over. Since that date, the vaccination gap has gradually narrowed. (Ruehsen, 6/10)

While work on COVID-19 vaccine boosters is already underway, one expert warned that emerging variants threaten to create a "window of susceptibility," which without therapeutics could lead to more virus-inflicted death. "Of course there's a need for boosters," Dr. Jonathan Javitt, CEO of NRx and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told Fox News. "The problem with boosters is, we'll always be at least six months behind the curve." It takes six months, at best, to tweak previously authorized vaccines to target specific variants, he said, with the time frame of 12 months looking more likely. (Rivas, 6/9)

Over the last few months, a steady drumbeat of headlines has highlighted the astounding real-world effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines, especially the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The vaccines, study after study has shown, are more than 90 percent effective at preventing the worst outcomes, including hospitalization and death. But alongside this good news have been rare reports of severe Covid in people who had been fully vaccinated. (Anthes, 6/9)

People receiving the Covid vaccine made by Oxford-AstraZeneca had a slightly increased risk of a bleeding disorder, and possibly other rare blood problems, researchers reported on Wednesday. The findings, from a study of 2.53 million adults in Scotland who received their first doses of either the AstraZeneca vaccine or the one made by Pfizer-BioNTech, were published in the journal Nature Medicine. About 1.7 million of the shots were the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Grady, 6/9)

An Israeli population-based study found 89% vaccine effectiveness (VE) 7 or more days after the second dose, according to a study today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. The researchers followed 6,286 people, of whom 30.2% weren't vaccinated, 23.0% received one dose, and 46.8% received two doses (mean ages, 36, 41, and 52 years, respectively). The follow-up period was from Jan 1 to Feb 11, during which the country's new daily infections peaked at more than 8,000 cases per day from Jan 14 to 20 and then subsided to 5,822 by the study's end. (6/9)

William Shakespeare – the 81-year-old man who became the second person in the U.K. to receive a COVID-19 vaccine – has died. Shakespeare, who goes by Bill, died of a stroke, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said, according to BBC News. In December, Shakespeare became the first man to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, following 91-year-old Margaret Keenan, the first person in the country to get the shot. "It could make a difference to our lives from now on, couldn't it?" he said at the time. "It's started changing our lives and our lifestyle." (O'Kane, 5/26)

A Colorado Springs woman nearly died after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and she's now hoping more people understand the risks of getting the shot before making an appointment. Kendra Lippy is 38-years-old and has spent most of her life in Colorado Springs. She made an appointment to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in March because she says she wanted to protect her friends and family. (Stelle, 6/2)

A Nobel prize-winning US biologist, who has been widely quoted describing a “smoking gun” to support the thesis that Covid-19 was genetically modified and escaped from a Wuhan lab, has said he overstated the case. David Baltimore, a distinguished biology professor, had become one of the most prominent figures cited by proponents of the so-called lab leak theory. (Beaumont, 6/9)

A World Health Organization advisory board member accused scientists who wrote a letter criticizing the COVID-19 lab-leak theory in February 2020 of “thuggery” and “scientific propaganda.” Jamie Metzl appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday to discuss the lab-leak theory that was largely ostracized last year as a coronavirus conspiracy theory but has now gained traction. (Lonas, 6/9)

A defiant Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday lashed out at critics calling for his ouster, blasting their “preposterous” and “painfully ridiculous” attacks and defending his record as a leading official battling the coronavirus pandemic. Such “attacks on me are, quite frankly, attacks on science,” Fauci said in an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “People want to fire me or put me in jail for what I’ve done — namely, follow the science.” (Breuninger, 6/9)

Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that conservative attacks on him are really "attacks on science" because he has been following the scientific process in his recommendations. "It's very dangerous, Chuck, because a lot of what you're seeing as attacks on me quite frankly are attacks on science, because all of the things that I have spoken about consistently from the very beginning, have been fundamentally based on science," Fauci told host Chuck Todd on MSNBC. (Sullivan, 6/9)

Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease authority, said he never played down the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have been leaked from a lab in China, calling accusations he did so for political reasons “preposterous.” Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Health event, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that when scientists who had studied the virus floated the idea in February 2020 that it could have been “manipulated,” he quickly gathered a group of scientists together. (Wernau, 6/9)

As a renewed sense of optimism sweeps the US this summer with lower reported Covid-19 cases, the US Surgeon General has issued a warning for those not vaccinated: don't let your guard down quite yet. "For those who are unvaccinated, they are increasingly at risk as more and more variants develop," Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Wednesday, specifically citing the B.1.617.2, or Delta variant, first identified in India. (Caldwell, 6/10)

Anthony Fauci urged Americans Wednesday to get vaccinated to halt the spread of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant first discovered in India, which currently accounts for 6% of infections in the U.S. The United Kingdom has seen an explosion in new cases as a result of the variant, which is now the dominant strain and may be associated with increased disease severity. (Doherty, 6/9)

It’s getting even riskier to remain unvaccinated. The United States, as a whole, is still in good shape for the summer of reunions and revived activities. But for those who haven’t been immunized against Covid-19, there is a new concern: the emergence of yet another coronavirus variant, one with a nasty combination of features that makes it even more dangerous than the other strains that have caused global alarms. (Joseph, 6/10)

Fewer than 20 known cases of a COVID-19 variant first discovered in India have been detected across Georgia, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health announced Wednesday. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta variant B.1.617.2 is classified as a variant of interest. "It's more contagious, probably about 40-50% more likely to spread from one person to the next," Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins said. "It particularly can affect younger people. And it looks like it also may be more dangerous when it comes to the severity of the disease." (Ross and Brown, 6/9)

The number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with covid-19 rose Wednesday by double digits for the second day in a row, a development that state health officials said could be the result of infections among unvaccinated people over Memorial Day weekend. The state's count of cases rose by 201 while its death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by two, to 5,854. "Today's report shows similar case numbers compared to last week but shows an increase in hospitalizations," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a tweet. "While active cases are declining, this rise in hospitalizations is a reminder of caution and a reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19." (Davis, 6/10)

Though young people can now receive shots, the number of children and adolescents being hospitalized is increasing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data from the first half of 2021 that shows nearly one-third of adolescents who are hospitalized with COVID-19 require intensive care. Five percent of those patients need to be put on ventilators with supplemental oxygen, as well. The CDC reports that nearly 400 children and adolescents are currently in hospitals across the country with COVID or complications from the virus. More than 16,000 under the age of 18 have been hospitalized from COVID since the start of the pandemic, and more than 300 of them have died from it, said Dr. Jim Versalovic, interim pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital. (Garcia, 6/9)

A growing number of states are slowing the pace of their reports on key pandemic data, including cases, deaths and hospitalizations, concerning some epidemiologists and researchers, who say such moves may be too soon given how crucial data is for spotting outbreaks. They worry lagging data will leave public-health leaders with blind spots as new variants of the coronavirus circulate and many parts of the world battle rising cases. (Ansari, 6/9)

At 14 years old, Kate Dardis knows what pain feels like and how to work through it. An accomplished gymnast accustomed to training four hours a day, she has met a competitor this year that she can’t beat with exercise or sheer willpower — yet. Rarely sick before a stomachache kept her home from school for three days in October, the Bloomington, Ill., eighth-grader was hit by a headache in January that still hasn’t loosened its grip. Her heart races. Her body aches. She gets winded climbing stairs and feels dizzy when she changes position. Concentrating on schoolwork is difficult remotely and exhausting in person. (Cooney, 6/10)

Texans receiving unemployment pay will no longer be able to turn down job offers over fears of being at risk for contracting COVID-19. The Texas Workforce Commission on Wednesday rescinded a pandemic practice that gave unemployed workers the ability to refuse job offers on medical grounds. COVID-19 case counts are declining across Texas, and vaccinations are now readily available. Alongside the risk of contraction, quarantines, diagnosis of COVID-19 and child care were among other reasons Texans could decline an offer under guidance issued in April 2020 by Gov. Greg Abbott. (Skores, 6/9)

Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) said on Wednesday the U.S. government has agreed to pay about $1.2 billion for 1.7 million courses of its experimental COVID-19 treatment, if it is proven to work in an ongoing large trial and authorized by U.S. regulators. The oral antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, aims to stop COVID-19 from progressing and can be given early in the course of the disease, similar to Tamiflu to treat influenza. (6/9)

Merck has struggled to develop therapeutics and vaccines to fight COVID-19. But the United States is betting that the pharmaceutical giant at last has a winner in its oral antiviral molnupiravir. On Wednesday Merck revealed a deal to supply 1.7 million courses of the experimental treatment to the U.S. for approximately $1.2 billion. Molnupiravir has yet to be approved, but it's shown promise for newly diagnosed, non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The drug, developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is in phase 3 testing. With positive results, Merck expects to apply for emergency authorization later this year. (Dunleavy, 6/9)

In one of its latest steps to erase Trump administration policies, the Biden administration has withdrawn a controversial proposal that could have kicked 3 million Americans off of food stamps and cost nearly 1 million children automatic eligibility for free school meals.The proposal, issued in 2019, would have tightened the rules governing who qualifies for food stamps. It would have curtailed so-called broad-based categorical eligibility, which makes it easier for Americans with somewhat higher incomes and more savings to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps. Republicans have long argued that this expanded eligibility option is a "loophole" that permits those with higher incomes and assets to get public assistance. (Luhby, 6/8)

The Biden administration intends to revive federal environmental protections for millions of streams, marshes and other bodies of water across the country that had been eliminated by former President Donald Trump in his quest to please home builders, farmers and ranchers. The Environmental Protection Agency made the announcement Wednesday after it said it had found that the changes under Mr. Trump caused “significant environmental degradation.” (Friedman, 6/9)

The Biden administration is vaccinating some unaccompanied migrant children against the coronavirus, a top Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official said Wednesday. JooYeun Chang, the acting assistant secretary for the HHS Administration for Children and Families, told a House panel that "hundreds" of children in Texas have been vaccinated, and the agency is working to make sure health providers have access to emergency facilities in order to vaccinate more.  (Weixel, 6/9)

When Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Divers pulled into the shelter for migrant children, a few staff members waited outside to greet him. They gave him the basics: There was a 16-year-old boy inside. He hadn’t wanted to go to class that day. He'd broken some stuff and was “super aggressive.” The boy had anger issues, Divers was told. “Well, obviously,” he scoffed before entering the building. As Divers was led to the boy, he didn’t ask many questions. He eventually arrived to find the child sitting in a bathroom, yelling in Spanish to the facility’s staffers. (Bogado and Morel, 6/9)

Medicare on Wednesday promised providers new incentives for vaccinating homebound beneficiaries. The move comes as part of a broader effort to increase access to vaccines prior to President Joe Biden's July 4 goal of having 70% of the population at least partially vaccinated. While Medicare previously paid $40 per at-home vaccination, CMS will now pay $75 per dose. (Gellman, 6/9)

Ellen Phillips hasn’t eaten much solid food over the past year and a half. She has lost all of her upper teeth — badly infected, they had to be extracted in 2019. Her tongue is constantly swollen. ... But Ms. Phillips, of West Hartford, Conn., is enrolled in traditional Medicare — which pays for dentistry only in very limited circumstances. Her extractions were not covered, and she doesn’t expect Medicare will pay for her implants. Many Medicare Advantage plans, the managed-care alternative to traditional Medicare offered by private insurance companies, do include a limited amount of dental coverage. But none would come close to covering her needs. (Miller, 6/9)

More than 90% of people with Alzheimer's disease are 65 and older, which means Medicare (i.e., taxpayers) will shoulder the load for Aduhelm's $56,000 annual list price. Why it matters: Aduhelm could create massive strains on Medicare spending and could create financially ruinous prospects for patients and their families. (Herman, 6/8)

Medicare Advantage startup Clover Health has doubled its managed lives with the advent of Medicare's new direct-contracting model, and it has enlisted two home-based care providers to help it find success under the program. The Nashville-based insurance company plans to pair certain high-risk patients under its direct contracting program with Spiras Health and Upward Health, who will provide in-home primary care. Clover is one of more than 50 companies participating in Medicare's Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model in 2021. Others include insurers like Humana and providers like Oak Street Health and VillageMD. (Bannow, 6/9)

Virginia-based AllyAlign Health, a Medicare Advantage insurance company focused on senior housing, just raised a nearly $300 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates. It's the latest example of investor interest in the Medicare population, and more specifically, in Medicare Advantage. (Reed, 6/10)

Senate Democratic leaders are making the case to end the decades-old restriction on federal funding for abortions, setting up a battle over health agency funding this year. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who heads the Senate panel responsible for the bulk of federal health spending, said ending the funding restriction, called the Hyde amendment, would be a “critical step” toward opening up abortion services for people of color and those unable to pay for health services on their own. (Ruoff, 6/9)

Wednesday's Senate hearing on the HHS budget for fiscal year 2022 left no doubt on the areas in which Republicans and Democrats don't see eye to eye when it comes to healthcare. ... The opioid epidemic was one issue mentioned by several senators. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, asked HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the hearing's lone witness, for his thoughts on developing alternatives to opioids for chronic pain management. (Frieden, 6/9)

Altogether, 18 states have passed [name, image and likeness] laws. Four others have had bills pending on governors’ desks, including two more that would take effect July 1, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced during the hearing that his state’s legislature had just completed passage of a bill. That leaves NCAA schools staring at a chaotic situation that it wants Congress to resolve. However, in addition to explicit nullification of competing state laws, the NCAA wants a variety of other considerations, including protection from antitrust lawsuits related to athlete compensation. That is prompting some in Congress to demand greater benefits for athletes, especially regarding health care. (Berkowitz, 6/9)

Capitol Police have added another member to their force in the form of an emotional support dog. "We are thrilled to welcome the newest member of our Department!" the Capitol Police tweeted on Wednesday. Along with the announcement, the department shared three photos of the young dog."2-year-old Lila is our first full-time emotional support black lab," they added. (Polus, 6/9)

Recent efforts to shutter needle exchanges in Republican-led areas could indicate renewed GOP backlash to the controversial programs aimed at preventing outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis, public health experts are increasingly warning. West Virginia, which has been ground zero for the deadly opioid epidemic, this spring approved sweeping new requirements that have already forced the planned closure of one needle exchange program and left the future of several others in doubt. The needle exchange in Washington state’s Grays Harbor County, a purple region that twice voted for former President Donald Trump, shut down after the local government axed funding. And last week, Indiana’s Scott County moved to eliminate a program it created in the aftermath of a 2015 HIV outbreak that drew national attention. (Goldberg, 6/10)

A federal appeals court blocked a sweeping Missouri law that would place tight restrictions on abortion in the state. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling Wednesday upheld a lower court’s injunction of the law, which would ban the procedure after eight weeks of pregnancy. The statute also specifies that an abortion cannot be performed “solely because of a prenatal diagnosis” indicating a child might have Down syndrome. (Axelrod, 6/9)

A divided federal appeals court Wednesday blocked Missouri from enforcing a law limiting abortions for women who want to terminate a fetus for fear that it has Down syndrome. The three-judge panel also blocked other provisions of the law that banned most abortions after eight weeks gestational age. (Gershman, 6/9)

A ruling handed down Wednesday by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a Missouri abortion dispute is being taken as a hopeful sign for plaintiffs challenging similar abortion laws in Arkansas. A three-judge panel heard arguments in September in the legal battle over a 2019 Missouri law that would prohibit abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy and would prevent a woman from obtaining an abortion because the fetus has Down syndrome. The three judges who made up the panel were Jane Kelly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Roger Wollman of Sioux Falls, S.D., and David Stras of Minneapolis. The panel ruled that prohibiting abortion at any stage before the stage of viability -- regardless of reason -- amounts to an unconstitutional prohibition of abortion, a position the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently taken since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that overturned abortion prohibitions in all 50 states. (Ellis, 6/10)

North Carolina senators are set to consider a proposal Tuesday that would bar women from getting abortions on the basis of their fetus’s race, sex or a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. If the Senate approves the proposal, it would head to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is unlikely to sign it as he has rejected previous efforts to restrict a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. (Anderson, 6/10)

Asia Brown doesn't expect subtlety from the protesters who congregate outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization, always with the same goal in mind — to stop those heading inside from having abortions. She watched this year as a woman with a license plate for one of the state's public universities pulled up to the pink-hued facility, the sole abortion clinic in the state. One of the protesters, an older white man, yelled at the woman that she was "killing" a future recruit for the university's football team. (Harris, 6/10)

Nonprofit groups that fund abortions for low-income patients in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are wrestling with an explosive surge in demand, reflecting disruptions wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and fluctuations in donations sparked by the racial-justice movement, advocates and leaders say. Funding requests had been climbing since the pandemic spurred widespread layoffs in early 2020, instilling a sense of economic uncertainty that advocates said made more people leery of starting families or having additional children. (Tan, 6/9)

Two members of a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel resigned this week after the agency’s contentious decision to approve an Alzheimer’s drug over the objections of its outside advisers. David S. Knopman, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, said Wednesday in an email to The Washington Post that he did not “wish to be part of a sham process” that ultimately resulted in the agency’s approval Monday of Biogen’s Aduhelm, also known as aducanumab. ... Earlier this week, Joel S. Perlmutter, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis, resigned from the committee, according to the trade publications Stat News and the Pink Sheet. (McGinley, 6/9)

A new poll of more than 1,400 people who work in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries by John Carroll of Endpoints News reveals a clear consensus: The FDA made a big mistake approving Aduhelm, Biogen's Alzheimer's treatment, and the $56,000 price tag does not match any possible benefit. Even the industry's own experts are not defending the FDA and Biogen. (Herman, 6/10)

Patients and their families are starting to inquire about the new Alzheimer's drug approved this week by the US Food and Drug Administration. Shipments of the medication are expected to go out in just a couple of weeks. Hospitals are on tap to administer treatment when needed. And there is serious division in the FDA, especially around the drug's effectiveness. (Howard, 6/9)

UC Health will be among three sites in Ohio to administer the first medication to target an underlying cause of Alzheimer's disease and the first that's been approved for use in nearly two decades. The Food and Drug Administration approved aducanumab, produced by Biogen, Inc., and to be marketed under the name Aduhelm on Monday, and UC Health, announced its role in treatment ion Wednesday. The drug is expected to be available to patients later this year, officials said. Aducanumab is administered through monthly intravenous infusions at specialty infusion centers such as UC Health. (DeMio, 6/9)

Healthcare costs are projected to increase 6.5% in 2022 as sicker patients seek care after putting it off during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report. Annual cost growth hovered between 5.5% and 6% from 2017 to 2020, following a steady decline from 2007's 11.9% mark, according to PricewaterhouseCooper's Health Research Institute. Deferred or forgone care, growing mental health issues, preparations for the next pandemic and investments in digital tools are expected to increase costs in 2022, researchers said. (Kacik, 6/9)

Numerous healthcare providers and policymakers are publicly speaking out against UnitedHealthcare's new policy of retroactively denying patients' emergency care claims that are considered non-emergent. In a letter to UnitedHealthcare on Wednesday, the American Hospital Association said it is "deeply concerned" about the policy's potential effect on patients' access to care and health outcomes. "Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency," the letter said. "Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care." (Devereaux, 6/9)

Amazon has attracted multiple companies that are interested in using its telehealth service, known as Amazon Care, company executive Babak Parviz said Wednesday. “We’ve had quite a bit of interest from other companies in using this service,” Parviz, a vice president working on Amazon Care, said at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Health virtual event. Parviz added that Amazon plans to announce which companies have signed on to use the service later this summer. (Palmer, 6/9)

The CVS pharmacy chain, which began offering in-person mental health counseling at a handful of Tampa-area stores this year, is now offering those services via telehealth throughout Florida. Cathy Bedy, a licensed clinical social worker who works out of the Bardmoor CVS in Seminole, said the option makes it easier for people seeking a provider without the wait associated with securing a therapist appointment. (Wantuck, 6/9)

KKR & Co. is starting a mental health services company that will offer in-person and virtual care as part of the private equity firm’s strategy of investing in growth-stage, health-care companies. Geode Health plans to own and operate clinics across the U.S. with a goal of making it easier and cheaper to access mental-health services for conditions including anxiety and depression, according to a statement Wednesday that confirmed a Bloomberg News report. It’s led by Chief Executive Officer Gaurav Bhattacharyya, previously the CEO of Elite Dental Partners. (Davis, 6/9)

The electronic health record has ushered in a golden era of precision medicine. It’s also created a gold rush into a burgeoning third-party data market. On Wednesday, real-world health data company Datavant and electronic health record IT firm Ciox Health announced they would merge under the Datavant name, forming a firm valued at $7 billion. The enlarged Datavant will create a network of more than 2,000 hospitals and 15,000 clinics. (Palmer, 6/9)

Scientific journals are easy targets of automated software that post links to social media, often with misinformation, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine. Automated disinformation campaigns that harness legitimate scientific research could further erode the public's understanding and trust in science, particularly around COVID-19. (Reed, 6/9)

Immertec, located inside Tampa's Armature Works, is changing the game for surgical training — making operating rooms more accessible than ever via virtual reality. The U.S. is on track to experience a massive shortage of surgeons in the next decade, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The coronavirus pandemic added an even bigger challenge, making training surgeons and medical students in person even harder. (San Felice, 6/10)

KHN: Change To Gilead Assistance Program Threatens PrEP Access, HIV Advocates Say 

Dr. John Carlo is concerned that patients at Prism Health North Texas who rely on the health care safety net will soon be struggling even more to stay on PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV transmission. Carlo, chief executive officer of the clinic, which runs three locations in Dallas, offers free PrEP to roughly 250 patients, he said, thanks to an assistance program run by Gilead Sciences. The drugmaker currently manufactures two PrEP medications. (Heredia Rodriguez, 6/10)

A new $110 million donation to the University of Utah’s medical school will help it address one of the state’s biggest roadblocks for people trying to get the health care they need: a serious shortage of doctors. The problem is the most acute in Utah’s rural and remote areas, where patients have to drive more than three hours to get to a hospital. Others, especially in impoverished communities, are waiting months to get an appointment with their family physician or forgoing regular treatments for things like cancer and kidney failure. The historic gift to the U. comes from the prominent Eccles family, who are longtime philanthropists and hope now to help solve these issues. (Tanner, 6/9)

One of the more unexpected side effects of the pandemic was to forever alter our relationships with personal protective equipment; to make medical garments, at least in the mask sense, a new accessory of self-expression and a part of almost every wardrobe. And every designer’s arsenal. Now that relationship is entering a new phase. Josie Natori, a designer known for her loungewear and lingerie, is joining forces with Care+Wear, the “healthwear” company known for its fashion approach to PICC line covers and clothing with port access, to introduce a line of scrubs modeled on her best-selling pajamas. (Friedman, 6/9)

There are some things that 16-year-old Jean-Paul “JP” Durand can’t talk about with his mom. And that’s OK because he has a doctor who is trained to deal with every part of his health care — from bumps on the head to depression and anxiety. Legacy Community Health has ramped up TeenWell, a program specifically designed to help teenagers and young adults manage their health through one-on-one doctors’ appointments, online resources and answers to tough, and sometimes awkward, questions. (Garcia, 6/8)

KHN: Can A Subscription Model Fix Primary Care In The US? 

In April, San Francisco-based primary care company One Medical revealed an eye-popping compensation package for its chief executive and chairman, Amir Dan Rubin. His $199 million payday, particularly noteworthy at a company that has yet to turn a profit, made Rubin the second-highest-paid CEO in the United States last year — but only on paper. About $197.5 million of his pay is in stock options. For Rubin to get all that cash, the stock of One Medical, traded as 1Life Healthcare, must rise sharply over the next seven years, to nearly triple its current price. (Wolfson, 6/10)

Sex therapist Lisa Butterworth has long been willing to delve into sensitive sexuality questions with clients who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They seek her out to have open and frank conversations about the faith’s strict rules. But after seeing another prominent sex therapist she considers a close friend and colleague recently kicked out of the church, Butterworth is worried fewer church members will seek help in fear of being reprimanded. (Eppolito, 6/9)

A Baltimore County doctor has pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks to prescribe highly addictive pain medication, part of the fallout of a racketeering case and civil penalties levied against executives of an Arizona-based pharmaceutical company who prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis. Howard J. Hoffberg, 65, who was associate medical director and part-owner of Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management, pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to conspiracy to violate anti-kickback statutes for taking money from Insys between 2012 to 2018 to prescribe a fentanyl spray called Subsys. (Fenton, 6/9)

Richard R. Ernst, a chemist who won a Nobel Prize for devising precise techniques to analyze the chemical properties of atoms, helping create the foundation of magnetic resonance imaging, which has had far-reaching applications in science and medicine, died June 4 in Winterthur, Switzerland. He was 87.His death was announced by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (often called ETH Zurich), where he had been a student and professor. The cause was not disclosed. (Schudel, 6/9)

Beech-Nut Nutrition is recalling some infant rice cereal sold nationwide because samples of the product showed excessive levels of arsenic. The baby food maker also says it will stop selling the product over worries it won't be able to comply with federal limits on levels of arsenic and other toxic substances that are called heavy metals. (Gibson, 6/9)

Scientists say the placenta can provide key signals for whether a woman will develop pregnancy complications beginning as early as the first trimester. Using mouse models, the St. John’s College, University of Cambridge team isolated endocrine cells and profiled the placenta to create a "map of hormonal proteins" which was then compared to datasets from studies of the human placenta. (Hein, 6/9)

If you’re a woman aged 18 to 34, you may have seen a Phexxi ad during a commercial break on Hulu. Or you could have come across the product — a non-hormonal contraceptive gel that women can use within an hour before having sex — while scrolling through Instagram, somewhere between a recipe for Paleo bagels and an ode to body positivity. Phexxi went on sale in September in the United States, after receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Prescriptions for Phexxi are in the low thousands, according to its publicly traded parent company, Evofem — about 17,280. This is puny compared to the estimated 8.6 million women who have undergone female sterilization or the 6.6 million women on the Pill. (Safronova, 6/10)

A dental student has gone viral on TikTok after revealing that a dentist might be able to tell whether a patient is pregnant just by looking at their mouth. TikTok user @thatdentalgal_ who boasts nearly 14,000 followers, has been sharing tips about what a dentist can detect, including eating disorders, sinus infections, and whether someone is a smoker. Sukhmani, who identifies as a fourth-year dental student on her TikTok profile, has garnered over 75,000 likes on her "Part 3" of the video series, which explains that there are a few indicators in a patient’s mouth that may reveal a pregnancy, including nausea and enamel erosion and "pregnancy gingivitis," which she said is seen in up to 30-50% of expectant women. (Hein, 6/9)

Laughing gas may be most associated with its use in dentistry, but in recent years, scientists have been inching toward using the chemical for another purpose: depression that defies treatment. The results of a small trial, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that a low dose of laughing gas could help improve depressive symptoms in patients with a severe form of depression that fails to respond to antidepressants. (Lloreda, 6/9)

The U.S. saw remarkable increases in the death rates for heart disease, diabetes and some other common killers in 2020, and experts believe a big reason may be that many people with dangerous symptoms made the lethal mistake of staying away from the hospital for fear of catching the coronavirus. The death rates — posted online this week by federal health authorities — add to the growing body of evidence that the number of lives lost directly or indirectly to the coronavirus in the U.S. is far greater than the officially reported COVID-19 death toll of nearly 600,000 in 2020-21. (Stobbe, 6/9)

As Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a report published Wednesday found teens and adults may have missed millions of routine vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020. The study, commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and conducted by Avalere Health, analyzed vaccine claims from January through November 2020 and compared them with the same timeframe in 2019. Researchers found teens and adults may have missed more than 26 million doses of recommended vaccines in 2020, which includes 8.8 million missed adolescent vaccines and 17.2 million missed adult vaccine doses. (Rodriguez, 6/9)

Researchers warn there is a widening disparity in death rates between rural and urban America that goes beyond racial lines. While mortality rates overall among both urban and rural residents declined over the past 20 years, the decline was much slower among rural Americans, which fell by 9% compared to 23% among urban residents. The disparity in rural and urban deaths tripled between 1999 and 2019, according to the finding of a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Ross Johnson, 6/9)

Nobody has been killed by lightning in the United States this year, according to data from the National Weather Service. This is a record for the latest in the year the nation has made it without recording a lightning fatality. As one of the leading killers associated with thunderstorms, the death toll that lightning incurs sometimes rivals that of tornadoes. Last year, 17 Americans were killed by lightning. (Cappucci, 6/8)

Passengers keep getting bigger. Now airlines must account more accurately for that. The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring updates to passenger and baggage weight estimates that airlines use to keep each flight within airplane safety limits. Each U.S. airline must submit a plan by June 12 explaining which average weights for passengers and baggage they’ll use, down to phones and clothing, and how they estimated those weights. The FAA must approve each airline’s plan. (McCartney, 6/9)

Jennifer Bergin was already obese and pre-diabetic before the pandemic, and learning she also had high blood pressure made her worry about how sick she might get with COVID-19. She began walking three hours a day, eventually losing 60 pounds. “I just knew I was a prime candidate for getting it and not recovering,” said Bergin, a 50-year-old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina. Now 170 pounds and 5 feet, 4 inches tall, she is no longer considered obese, but would like to continue improving her health. (Choi, 6/9)

The number of mosquitoes with West Nile in 2021 will depend on if this summer is dry or rainy, as well as the number of local birds that are carrying the West Nile virus. Mosquitoes get the virus from birds and can then transmit it to people, said Sonja Swiger, an entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. But one thing is for sure — right now, mosquitoes are out in full force. “We’re having a higher load than normal in a lot of areas of the state because they’re getting more rain than they normally get,” Swiger said. “Will that continue into the next couple of months? That’s hard to say for sure.” (Leinfelder and Serrano, 6/9)

The millions of Americans who are too young or medically fragile to receive coronavirus vaccines, and those who are vaccinated but want to play it safe, still need open, outdoor spaces for getting together — especially in public venues such as restaurants, event sites, resorts, beaches and parks. Meanwhile, most Americans are acutely aware that they are supposed to avoid direct sunlight to protect themselves from skin cancer. The two health directives converge under porches, awnings, umbrellas and canopies, where there’s precious little space to accommodate all the sun-averse visitors. (Cleaver, 6/8)

Gov. Steve Sisolak signed several public health-related bills, including state Democrats’ signature legislation establishing Nevada as only the second state in the nation to offer a public health insurance option, during ceremony Wednesday in Las Vegas. “While we have weathered the storm together with our battle-born spirit, COVID has exposed the fact that our state must strengthen our public health infrastructure,” Sisolak said. “Today, we’re taking steps to do just that by signing three bills into law that help us to move forward as a stronger, healthier Nevada. (Appleton, 6/9)

Acknowledging that the regulation is inconsistent with Florida law and is out of step with current practice standards, members of the Florida Board of Medicine agreed to revamp a rule for medication-assisted weight loss that has been in effect for more than two decades. “The whole area of practice has changed significantly since this rule has gone into effect, and the Board of Medicine really has not changed the rules at all since then,” Board of Medicine general counsel Ed Tellechea said during a meeting Friday. (6/9)

In mid-May, the supervisors at one Department of Children and Families office sent an unusual request to staff. Employees were asked to work in shifts in the office, covering nearly every hour of the day for a week — with at least two on premises overnight, according to an e-mail reviewed by the Globe. That last part was crucial. A teenager in DCF custody needed a place to stay, and the office north of Boston appeared to be the best option. “There was nowhere to place her,” said one social worker in the DCF office, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from the agency. At the last minute, the worker said, staff were able to track down an emergency foster home for the teen. “I’ve worked at DCF for over 20 years. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of boarding [a child] in the office. Ever.” (Stout, 6/9)

For years, in rankings of health indicators by state, Georgia typically landed in the high 30s to low 40s. But never at the bottom. The Peach State, though, has been ranked 50th, ahead of only Oklahoma, in a comparison of states and Washington, D.C., on health care for seniors. It follows a Georgia ranking of 51st last year on overall health care, a ranking largely overshadowed at the time by news of the pandemic. (Miller, 6/9)

A military medical service operation that will provide free health services is coming to eastern Kentucky in July. Military health care workers will operate clinics roughly between July 10 and July 21 as part of the Operation Gateway Kentucky Innovative Readiness Training Medical Mission, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday. (6/10)

KHN: Lawmakers Pressure Newsom To ‘Step Up’ On Racism As A Public Health Issue

After the killing last year of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared racism a public health crisis. The governors of Michigan and Nevada quickly followed, as have legislative bodies in Minnesota, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who governs one of the most racially and ethnically diverse populations in the U.S., has not. (Hart, 6/10)

KHN: New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, For Better Or Worse 

When Paul Rana’s primary care physician left the VA clinic in Kalispell to open her own practice, he followed her. But instead of picking up a new health insurance policy, Rana and his partner agreed to pay a monthly fee that came with the promise of better access. Their provider, Dr. Lexi Tabor-Manaker, opened Glacier Direct Primary Care clinic in 2018. The model known as DPC, which can also stand for direct patient care, furnishes basic health care to patients for a set fee, often billed monthly like a subscription. The arrangement offers patients unlimited access to their doctors and allows them to communicate by phone or email. But the costs are all out-of-pocket. (Halland, 6/10)

Traffic fatalities are spiking across the state, safety officials announced Tuesday as they called on Iowa drivers to slow down, put down the phone and buckle up in an effort to save lives. To date, 119 people have died in traffic-related accidents across the state this year, which is a 25% increase from the same time a year ago, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. May 2021 has been the deadliest month so far this year, and the deadliest May in the last nine years, with 41 deaths — almost double April's total of 25. (Mercado, 6/9)

As part of a swing through Gwinnett County on Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp attended a groundbreaking for a new Department of Juvenile Justice shelter in Gwinnett County that will help child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The new shelter — whose exact location is being kept a secret by state officials to protect the children who will be helped there — will have 26 beds for kids who have been exploited. The facility is intended to serve as a place where they can be housed and cared for. The idea is to help these children through services offered by agencies such as the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Human Services. (Yeomans, 6/8)

Two years after the federal government sued Quincy for discharging sewage and untreated wastewater into Boston Harbor, the city on Wednesday reached an agreement with the US attorney’s office and the Environmental Protection Agency that will require it to spend more than $100 million to repair its antiquated sewer system. Over the past decade, in violation of the Clean Water Act, Quincy has discharged a range of pollutants into the harbor and surrounding waterways, including E. coli and other harmful bacteria, federal officials found. Sometimes, with heavy rains, outfalls from the sewer system spread sewage along the city’s coast, including Wollaston Beach and the Adams Shore area. (Abel, 6/9)

Opioid distribution companies and a retired DEA official pointed fingers at each other during the trial in Charleston on Wednesday, stating that their counterparts were unclear in communication, which fueled the opioid crisis across Appalachia. Joe Rannazzisi, head of the Office of Diversion Control for the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2006-15, and the distributors argued that the other side disregarded requests to comply with regulations and policies, which could have guided them in stopping opioid pills from being illegally diverted as they flowed into local communities. (Hessler, 6/9)

President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to ease Covid-19 travel restrictions as part of a wide-ranging “Atlantic Charter” before this week’s Group of Seven meeting, according to Mr. Johnson’s office. The charter, a riff on the historic joint statement made by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 as their vision for a democratic world post-World War II, will be unveiled Thursday. The meeting will be the first between the two nations' leaders since Mr. Biden’s election. (Colchester and Restuccia, 6/9)

The rise of the Covid-19 delta variant in the U.K. has sparked fears of a new wave of the virus and could endanger plans for a full reopening of society this month, despite one of the world's most successful vaccination campaigns. Recorded cases are nearing levels reached in March this year, with 4,000 to 6,000 cases a day over the last 10 days. The delta variant, first identified in India, is more contagious, spreads more rapidly and is now the dominant strain of the virus in the U.K. (Elbaum, 6/9)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is ending mandatory hotel quarantines for vaccinated Canadian residents arriving by air. Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced that Canadian citizens, permanent residents and essential workers who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to spend three days isolating in a government-approved hotel. Instead, they’ll be permitted to quarantine at home while they wait for the results of a test on arrival. (Bolongaro, 6/9)

The U.S.-Canada border will stay closed to nonessential American travelers until at least early July, a senior Canadian official tells POLITICO. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government's first priority is on loosening border measures for fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents returning from abroad, said the insider who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Blatchford, 6/9)

Ever since the pandemic began, Haiti had perplexed experts with seemingly low infection and death rates from COVID-19 despite its rickety public health system, a total lack of vaccines and a widespread disdain for safety measures like masks and distancing. That is no longer the case. The few Haitian hospitals treating COVID cases have been so swamped in recent days that they report turning away patients, while plans to open another hospital to treat the infected have been delayed. (Sanon and Coto, 6/9)

The number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa surged by 8,881 on June 9, the biggest jump in infections in about five months. The nation also reported a positivity rate of 16.5% on tests conducted, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. Africa’s most-industrialized economy had reported 12,271 cases on Jan. 24, according to the World Health Organization. “The increased number of tests and cases, and increased positivity are all evidence of the predicted third surge in Covid-19 cases,” the Institute said in a statement on Wednesday. The commercial hub of Gauteng accounted for 58% of the new cases. (Sguazzin, 6/9)

Neighborhoods under strict lockdown. Thousands quarantined. Millions tested in mere days. Overseas arrivals locked up for weeks and sometimes months. China has followed variations of that formula for dealing with the coronavirus for more than a year — and a new outbreak suggests that they could be part of Chinese life for some time to come. (Bradsher, 6/9)

India’s daily reported death toll from the coronavirus crisis reached a record high on Thursday, with more than 6,000 people succumbing to the disease. That surpassed a record number of daily fatalities reported by the United States this year. India’s health ministry data showed 6,148 Covid-related deaths were recorded over a 24-hour period, as daily reported cases remained below 100,000 for the third consecutive day. (Choudhury, 6/10)

A survey of 164 New York physicians found that one in five were severely distressed during their first COVID-19 triage decisions and last-minute training did not appear to alleviate stress, according to a study yesterday in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. The researchers sent out the online survey Apr 29 to May 1, 2020; on Mar 23, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo had ordered hospitals to increase capacity by 50% because of the expected patient surge. All respondents were involved in the treatment of at least one COVID patient, and most were also men (59.9%) or working in their usual clinical setting/activity (82.2%). (6/8)

US children’s hospitals observed substantial reductions in inpatient admissions with largely unchanged hospital-level outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the impact on use varied by condition, the most notable declines were related to inpatient admissions for respiratory conditions, including asthma, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. (Markham et al, 6/1)

Infants who were exposed to the flu vaccine in utero—meaning their mothers received the vaccine while pregnant—did not have an increased likelihood of adverse outcomes, according to a study today in JAMA. The study looked at more than 99% of live births during the 2010-11 to 2013-14 flu seasons in Nova Scotia, Canada. (McLernon, 6/8)

A reciprocal relationship between screen use and reading was identified. Early screen use was associated with lower reading activities, resulting in greater screen use at later ages. Findings emphasize the need for practitioners and educators to discuss screen use guidelines and encourage families to engage in device-free activities to foster early literacy exposure. (McArthur et al, 6/1)

The development of dementia, often from Alzheimer's disease, late in life is associated with abnormal blood levels of dozens of proteins up to five years earlier, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Most of these proteins were not known to be linked to dementia before, suggesting new targets for prevention therapies. (5/17)

CARB-X announced today that is awarding Tucson, Arizona–based Accelerate Diagnostics $578,000 to develop a diagnostic test for sepsis based on new fiber optic technology. The award will help the company develop a compact instrument that uses Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy to identify bacteria from positive blood culture with minimal sample processing within 15 minutes. The technology, which is currently in the feasibility phase of development, has demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity and the ability to identify a wide range of bacterial pathogens. (6/8)

The announcement of a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease was greeted this week with celebration and skepticism. The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the drug Aduhelm over the objections of an FDA advisory committee and expert panels that questioned the medicine’s effectiveness in trials. Almost immediately, the drugmaker’s stock rose by 38%, adding $16 billion to the company’s market value. (6/9)

"I want to eat again, do you think I can do that, Doctor?" A patient with newly diagnosed stomach cancer understandably had immediate questions about his health and future. He was concerned that he may never be able to eat food again due to the cancer, which was now so large it obstructed the entrance to his stomach. He was trying to appear strong, but I could tell he was scared as he understood he was nearing the end of his life. (Gina Piscitello, 6/9)

Two decades ago, infectious disease experts warned that our country was uniquely vulnerable to epidemics because, unlike every other affluent nation, the United States has millions of residents without health insurance. Many who lack health coverage cannot afford to seek medical attention, even if they feel sick. A highly contagious virus “left undetected” because a person chose to forego care could “spread to family, neighbors, and other contacts,” making health insurance gaps “a risk to the nation’s health. ”These warnings came tragically true last year when the deadliest pandemic in more than a century hit. Based on peer-reviewed research, the nonpartisan consumer group Families USA linked 25% of Maryland’s COVID-19 deaths to our state’s failure to guarantee everyone health coverage. (Tom Perez, 6/9)

It’s not unusual to miss a doctor’s appointment every now and then. This has been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic as people avoid public spaces like the doctor’s office. Studies report a 60% drop in pediatrician visits and similar decreases in children visiting the emergency room — but what if that simple check-in with the doctor actually turns out to be a matter of life or death for a child? Amid the worst health crisis of the century, pediatricians like myself are now grappling with the potentially dangerous consequences of interrupted care. (Lidia Park, 6/9)

Massachusetts has the oldest public school system in the country. We have the oldest public health system. While we led in inventing this infrastructure, it now requires modernization, especially of the links between them. Good health is foundational for learning. Across the country, schools that were able to open earlier and safely for in-person learning achieved this thanks to robust partnerships between schools and local public health offices. The federal government’s COVID stimulus dollars provide an enormous opportunity for Massachusetts to shift how we support healthy schools and healthy communities. If we invest strategically in infrastructure at the nexus of schools and public health across the Commonwealth, with more intensive targeted investments for the schools and communities most in need, we can lay a true foundation for all communities to flourish. (Danielle Allen, 6/9)

When it comes to children’s health, parents — and public activism — can make a difference. The declining valuation of Juul, maker of vaping equipment, and the surge in regulations restricting the nicotine vaping market can be attributed in no small part to the actions of parents who were shocked and dismayed by the toll that vaping was taking on their kids and their kids’ friends. (Linda Richter and Lindsey Vuolo, 6/10)

Maybe chicken soup can treat depression. That provocative claim was made not by a quack in a late-night infomercial but by John Bargh, a Yale social psychologist. He is an expert on “social primes,” the subtle cues that supposedly exert a major unconscious influence on our behavior. He has published research suggesting that, for example, exposure to words with geriatric associations like “wrinkles” primes people to walk slower. (Jesse Singal, 6/10)

Over the past century, many notable viruses have emerged from animals to cause widespread illness and death in people. The list includes the pathogens behind pandemic influenza, Ebola, Zika, West Nile fever, SARS, and now COVID, brought on by the virus SARS-CoV-2. For all of these microbes, the animal species that served as the original source of spillover was hard to find. And for many, that source still has not been conclusively identified. Confirming the circumstances and key participants involved in the early emergence of an infectious disease is a holy grail of this type of scientific inquiry: difficult to track and even more difficult to prove. (Christine K. Johnson, 6/9)

The coronavirus pandemic seems to be in a state of quantum superposition. Like Schrödinger’s cat, it is both alive and dead, depending on who’s looking.In the U.S. and U.K., where large numbers of people have been vaccinated, it seems mostly dead. Not dead-parrot dead, but at least changing from Schrödinger’s tiger to Schrödinger’s unfriendly house cat that scratches up the furniture and also you’re allergic. (Mark Gongloff, 6/9)

As variants of Covid-19 have spread in the US, the public health policy and programmatic responses have been largely consistent: vaccinate as soon as possible, mask up and keep social distancing. But as vaccinations have increased, there has been a collective relaxation of the masking and distancing that were previously indispensable public health measures. While this may seem like an intuitive first step toward a post-vaccination "normal," we must be conscious of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), which first devastated India, and still poses a major international health threat. (David Holtgrave, 6/10)

As nations race to roll out vaccines in the global effort to contain Covid-19 and allow for a return to normal, the rise of dangerous virus variants threatens to prolong the pandemic. In the U.K., the spread of the so-called delta variant, first identified in India, has led officials to send military personnel to hotspots and prompted the government to reconsider easing Covid restrictions on June 21 as planned. Here, Sam Fazeli, a Bloomberg Opinion contributor who covers the pharmaceutical industry for Bloomberg Intelligence, answers questions about the risks stemming from this variant and more. The conversation has been edited and condensed. (Sam Fazeli, 6/9)

What does “reopening” mean in a place that for the most part never closed? When covid-19 struck, the residents of Ohio’s 32 Appalachian counties weren’t particularly panicked or anxious to embrace restrictions — which made them objects of contempt for much of the country. It also meant their daily lives were barely disturbed, since the big-box grocery, retail and hardware stores where they typically congregated never closed, and many local restaurants reopened quickly at “limited capacity,” which meant the usual crowd. Like everywhere, many of them caught covid-19 and most of them recovered. But some — 3,870 so far in the 32 counties — died. (Gary Abernathy, 6/9)

The SARS-CoV-2 virus presented the world with a host of clinical challenges, not least its rapid transmission rate and ability to mutate into new, possibly even more contagious variants. New vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics had to be tested under unusual and unpredictable circumstances; the most promising studies weren’t necessarily prioritized for high-quality clinical trials and competed for study participants; pandemic waves swept across the globe without real-time data; and feedback from health authorities varied significantly from one part of the world to the next. (John Tsai, 6/10)

In the years after the Civil War, smallpox spread throughout the South, mainly infecting Black people. The story of an outbreak of a disease long since eradicated may seem remote from our own times. But the smallpox epidemic of the 1860s offers us a valuable, if disconcerting, clue about how epidemics end. (Jim Downs, 6/9)