Kaiser Health News Original Stories

'Almost Like Malpractice': To Shed Bias, Doctors Get Schooled to Look Beyond Obesity

Research has long shown that doctors are less likely to respect patients who are overweight or obese — terms that now apply to nearly three-quarters of adults in the U.S. The Association of American Medical Colleges plans to roll out new diversity, equity, and inclusion standards aimed at teaching doctors, among other things, how to treat patients who are overweight with respect. (Lauren Sausser, 6/18 )

Tribal Pharmacy Dispenses Free Meds and Fills Gaps for Native Americans in the City

The Mashkiki Waakaa’igan Pharmacy in downtown Minneapolis gives Native Americans an economical option for filling prescriptions while being sensitive to tribal traditions and expectations. (Katherine Huggins and Julia Mueller, 6/18 )

Here's today's health policy haiku:

Monkeypox, measles: You'll see more like this if the anti-vax thought spreads

If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to a KHN original story.

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Monkeypox Spreading Mostly Through Sex: WHO

The CDC issued an update that alerted gay and bisexual men that monkeypox is primarily spreading through sex. A White House official said the health risk to the general population is low.

CNBC: Monkeypox Outbreak Is Primarily Spreading Through Sex, WHO Officials Say An outbreak of the monkeypox virus in North America and Europe is primarily spreading through sex among men with about 200 confirmed and suspected cases across at least a dozen countries, World Health Organization officials said Monday. The outbreak has quickly advanced across Europe and North America over the last week and is expected to be far more widespread as more doctors look for the signs and symptoms. Two confirmed and one suspected case of monkeypox in the U.K. were reported to the WHO just 10 days ago, the first cases this year outside of Africa where the virus has generally circulated at low levels over the last 40 years, the organization said. (Kopecki, 5/23)

CNBC: CDC Officials Sound Alarm For Gay, Bisexual Men As Monkeypox Spreads The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday alerted gay and bisexual men that monkeypox appears to be spreading in the community globally, warning people to take precautions if they have been in close contact with someone who may have the virus and to be on the lookout for symptoms. Dr. John Brooks, a CDC official, emphasized that anyone can contract monkeypox through close personal contact regardless of sexual orientation. However, Brooks said many of the people affected globally so far are men who identify as gay or bisexual. Though some groups have greater chance of exposure to monkeypox right now, the risk isn’t limited only to the gay and bisexual community, he cautioned. (Kimball, 5/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Monkeypox Outbreak And Pride Events: CDC Advises Precautions For Gay And Bisexual Men Federal health officials are advising gay and bisexual men, and their health care providers, to look out for symptoms of monkeypox ahead of upcoming Pride festivities, after a handful of presumed cases associated with possible sexual transmission have been identified in the United States. One confirmed case and four suspected cases of monkeypox, a more benign version of smallpox, have been found in the United States, in Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Utah, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The confirmed case is in a Massachusetts man who had recently traveled to Canada. The four other cases are in men with recent travel, too. (Allday, 5/23)

USA Today: CDC: Monkeypox Cases May Be Mistaken For A Sexual Transmitted Disease Unlike most known cases of monkeypox, where the telltale rash usually appears first on the hands, among the current cases many rashes are first appearing around the genitals or anus, CDC officials said in an afternoon news conference with media. With beach season kicking off this weekend, public health officials want to be sure that Americans and their health care providers are aware of the possibility that a rash plus travel history might indicate monkeypox rather than a more common sexually transmitted disease, like herpes or syphilis, which it can resemble. (Weintraub, 5/23)

NPR: Monkeypox Isn't Much Of A Threat To The Public, A White House Official Says The risk posed to the U.S. general public from ongoing outbreaks of monkeypox cases reported in Europe, the U.K. and Canada is low, a White House official told Morning Edition on Monday. Dr. Raj Panjabi, Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council, says the fewer than 10 cases seen in the United States so far have not been severe — "flu-like symptoms and a rash which can be painful but resolves in two to four weeks" — and aren't likely to get much worse. "Historically in countries with weaker health care systems less than 1% of patients have died from this milder strain," Panjabi said. "We have access to vaccines and even treatments here in the U.S., and so the risk we believe is substantially lower." (Dean Hopkins, 5/23)

Monkeypox cases appear to be spreading —

ABC News: 1 Confirmed, 6 Presumptive Monkeypox Cases In US, Government Releasing Vaccines For Exposed There is one confirmed positive case in Massachusetts. There is one presumptive positive case in New York, one in Washington state, two in Utah and two in Florida. (Salzman, 5/23)

The Boston Globe: Boston Monkeypox Patient Had 200 Contacts Health officials have identified 200 people who came in contact with a patient who was hospitalized last week in Boston with the monkeypox virus, a CDC official said Monday, adding that “the vast majority” were health care workers. The illness is not considered easily transmissible and, unlike COVID-19, people are not contagious until after they have symptoms. The World Health Organization has identified more than 100 suspected and confirmed cases of the virus in a recent outbreak in Europe and North America. The illness is rarely seen outside of West and Central Africa, though WHO officials said on Monday that there was no sign the virus had mutated into a more easily transmissible form. (Freyer, 5/23)

Salt Lake Tribune: What Should Utahns Traveling Out Of The U.S. Do About Monkeypox? Utahns who are traveling to West or Central Africa soon — or plan to go to countries that recently have reported monkeypox cases — should consider making an appointment with a travel medicine clinic, Salt Lake County health officials advise. The guidance came Monday as county health officials announced probable cases of monkeypox in two adults from the same Salt Lake County household. The adults had traveled to an area of Europe earlier this month that has since reported monkeypox cases, and they developed symptoms afterward. There are currently no U.S. travel restrictions to areas in Africa where the rare disease is considered endemic, as well as to other international destinations where monkeypox has recently been reported. (5/23)

NBC News: Map: Countries With Confirmed Monkeypox Cases In The 2022 Outbreak At least 160 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported this month in non-African countries, according to Global.health, a group that gathers infectious disease data. All but 10 of those cases have been in Europe: 56 in the United Kingdom, 41 in Spain, 37 in Portugal and single-digit case counts in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. (Bendix and Carman, 5/23)

The Hill: Here Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Monkeypox Monkeypox patients usually first present symptoms within one to two weeks following infection but have reported onset as early as five days after exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some patients may not experience any symptoms for up to 21 days.  Monkeypox patients first experience symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. The swelling of the lymph nodes makes the virus distinctive to other diseases that mimic monkeypox’s other initial symptoms, including smallpox, chickenpox and measles. (Schonfeld, 5/23)

Bloomberg: Monkeypox Can Be Contained If People Recognize It, WHO Says The recent outbreak of monkeypox is unusual but is still containable, according to the World Health Organization. “It’s not something we’ve seen over the last few years,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention department Tuesday. She said it’s still containable and that countries can cut the chain of transmission by raising awareness and getting people to recognize the symptoms early. (Gretler, 5/24)

US, World Turning To Vaccines To Tackle Monkeypox Outbreak

There is no monkeypox-specific vaccine, but an already-approved smallpox shot is effective against it. The U.S. has more than 1,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine in stock and is releasing some. Jynneos' maker, Denmark's Bavarian Nordic A/S, is also making more. Other smallpox shots, stockpiled by the million, are not yet U.S.-approved against monkeypox.

NBC News: Smallpox Vaccines Can Protect Against Monkeypox, And U.S. Has 100 Million Doses When Covid-19 struck, humanity faced an out-of-control outbreak without vaccines or therapies. If it were a knife fight, we brought a crayon. The level of preparedness for monkeypox couldn’t be more different. ... The U.S. keeps two vaccines for smallpox approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the Strategic National Stockpile — a product, in part, of a 9/11-enhanced fear of bioterrorism. The monkeypox virus is similar enough that researchers expect both shots to offer protection, although only one, called Jynneos, has been FDA-approved for use against monkeypox. (Bush and Bendix, 5/23)

Reuters: U.S. Health Officials Releasing Some Jynneos Vaccine Doses For Monkeypox -CDC U.S. health officials are in the process of releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for use in monkeypox cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday. ... There are more than 100 million doses of an older smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, which has some significant side effects, the officials told reporters. ACAM2000 was previously produced by Sanofi and is now made by Emergent BioSolutions. (5/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Smallpox Vaccine Enters Wider Production Amid Monkeypox Outbreak  Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic A/S is making more of a smallpox vaccine typically stockpiled in case of biological warfare, as governments seek doses that also offer protection against monkeypox amid an unusual outbreak around the world. ... There is no vaccine directed specifically against monkeypox. But smallpox vaccines like Bavarian Nordic’s shot, known as Jynneos in the U.S., have been shown in studies to be at least 85% at preventing monkeypox, which is closely related to smallpox but much less severe. (Roland, 5/23 )

The New York Times: As Monkeypox Cases Rise, Nations Are Urged To Examine Vaccine Stores  The U.S. emergency stockpile holds two vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration that could be used to contain monkeypox, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters on Monday. The stockpile contains more than 100 million doses of the original smallpox vaccine. But that vaccine is associated with side effects and shouldn’t be given to certain patients, including those who are immuno-compromised. (Mandavilli, 5/23)

European nations take stock of their smallpox vaccines —

Stat: European Health Agency Warns Monkeypox Could Become Endemic There There is a risk that monkeypox could become endemic in Europe if the current outbreak isn’t brought under control and the virus spills back into susceptible animal species, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said Monday as it issued a risk assessment of the unprecedented event. The health agency said that if person-to-person transmission continues and if the monkeypox virus were to make its way into animal species in the region, it could become entrenched, though it suggested the risk is thought to be “very low.” (Branswell, 5/23)

Bloomberg: UK Monkeypox Cases Rise As Focus In Europe Turns To Vaccines As monkeypox cases climb in the UK, European health officials are calling on countries to review the availability of vaccines and step up efforts to identify and report new infections. Countries should check on supplies of smallpox vaccines, antiviral therapies and protective equipment for health workers, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said Monday. The recommendations come as England reported that cases almost tripled to 56 from 20. The cousin of the smallpox virus has previously been mostly confined to regions in Africa, but health authorities are concerned about cases ticking up in Europe and North America. The World Health Organization had said that 92 cases and 28 suspected cases had been identified in 12 countries outside of those African nations where it is endemic as of May 21. (Paton, 5/23)

Politico: As Monkeypox Cases Rise, European Countries Urged To Take Extra Steps  In the U.K., 1,000 doses of Imvanex have already been administered. Public health authorities are immunizing high-risk contacts of people who have been infected and the country has a 3,500 doses left. Just one drug is also licensed to treat monkeypox in the EU, the EMA said. The medicine, Tecovirimat from SIGA, can treat smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox — three infections caused by viruses belonging to the orthopoxviruses family. It can also treat complications following vaccination against smallpox. (Collis, 5/23)

Drivers' Hourly Limits Waived For Trucks With Baby Formula Ingredients

The emergency declaration from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration means commercial vehicles can ferry ingredients to factories with fewer impediments to the journeys than before, hopefully boosting production. Also: formula price gouging, a new conspiracy theory, and more.

Reuters: U.S. Agency Issues Order To Speed Baby Formula Ingredient Deliveries  The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said late Monday it was issuing a national emergency declaration to waive hours-of-service requirements for commercial vehicle drivers transporting baby formula ingredients and packaging. ... The FMCSA order includes, but is not limited to, whey, casein, corn syrup and hydrolyzed protein, and containers and packaging for baby formula. (Shepardson, 5/23)

NBC News: Parents Accuse Online Sellers Of Price Gouging On Baby Formula Parents struggling to find baby formula amid a nationwide shortage are reporting that price gougers are selling bottles and cans marked up by as much as 300 percent or more on websites like eBay, OfferUp, Amazon and Craigslist, and inside Facebook communities. But in many cases, they’re finding that the platforms are doing little to punish the predatory sellers. (Cook, 5/23)

The New York Times: Baby Formula Shortage Reveals Gaps In Regulation And Reporting  Riley San Miguel said her son, Kru, was barely a month old when he started crying all the time, not wanting to eat. When he developed a fever, he was quickly admitted to an intensive care unit. His spinal fluid was infected with bacteria, and it was spreading to his brain. The doctors believed it had probably come from his infant formula. ... Her son, she learned, had been exposed to Cronobacter sakazakii, a deadly bacterium that is often linked to babies who consume powdered formula. ... regulators are confronting deeper issues of safety that persist in the manufacturing of powdered infant formula. There is no comprehensive mechanism for detecting or investigating Cronobacter infections, and only one state, Minnesota, requires doctors and laboratories to report cases to the authorities. (Morris, Jewett and Bogel-Burroughs, 5/23)

The 19th: Baby Formula Shortage Prompts New Facebook Groups To Connect Parents Kate Jorgensen was down to a week’s worth of infant formula for her 5-month-old when the messages started to stream in. Desperate for the Enfamil Gentlease formula that calms her daughter’s digestive discomfort, Jorgensen had posted on national and local Facebook pages that have emerged in recent weeks to connect parents with the formula they need. In Platte City, Missouri, not one of the numerous grocery stores, pharmacies and big box retailers she checked for days had her baby’s formula, and she was running out of time. (Luterman and Carrazana, 5/23)

USA Today: Baby Formula Shortage: Why Some Infants, Parents Can't Breastfeed The crisis has prompted many to wonder why millions of babies in the U.S. depend on formula in the first place when exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life by major medical entities like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. Breastfeeding doesn’t work for everyone. Health experts say there are a range of medical issues, from metabolic disorders to infectious diseases, that may limit babies or parents from breastfeeding. “The contraindications for breastfeeding are rare,” said Dr. Lori Feldman-Winters, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ section on breastfeeding. “Sometimes they encounter medical problems and we need to do better to help mothers overcome those problems.” (Rodriguez, 5/24)

Poynter: A Conspiracy Theory Tries To Blame Pfizer And Bill Gates For The Baby Formula Shortage  A Facebook post linked several unfounded claims to create one conspiracy theory about U.S. baby formula shortages.“(Pfizer) says do not breastfeed,” the May 17 post said. “Baby formula shortages everywhere. Gates promotes brand new artificial breast milk technology. All within less than a 2 week period. …Nothing to see here.“ ... The claim that “(Pfizer) says do not breastfeed” appears to be a reference to falsehoods that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine isn’t recommended while breastfeeding. Those claims said the recommendation came from Pfizer, but included screenshots of a document published by United Kingdom health officials in late 2020, when COVID-19 vaccines were in their infancy and rollout had just begun, the Associated Press reported earlier this month. (Curet, 5/23)

2021's US Birth Rate The First In 7 Years To Show Growth

Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows in 2021 the number of babies born in the U.S. was 1% higher than for 2020. But there were still about 86,000 fewer births than in 2019. C-sections were also up.

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Births Increase For First Time Since 2014 U.S. births increased last year for the first time in seven years, according to federal figures released Tuesday that offer the latest indication the pandemic baby bust was smaller than expected. American women had about 3.66 million babies in 2021, up 1% from the prior year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. It was the first increase since 2014. The rebound spanned age groups, with birthrates rising for every cohort of women age 25 and older. (Adamy and DeBarros, 5/24)

AP: US Births Rose Last Year But Still Less Than Before Pandemic  But there were still about 86,000 fewer births last year than in 2019, according to a government report released Tuesday. “We’re still not returning to pre-pandemic levels,” said Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine. U.S. births had been declining for more than a decade before COVID-19 hit, and “I would expect that we would continue to see small, modest decreases,” she said. (Stobbe, 5/24)

CNN: US Birth Rates Rose Slightly In 2021 After A Steep Drop In The First Year Of The Pandemic, CDC Data Shows  Overall, rates of c-sections -- including those for low-risk deliveries -- continued upward trends. Nearly a third (32%) of all deliveries and more than a quarter (26%) of low-risk deliveries were c-sections. Preterm birth rates also increased in 2021. About 10.5% of infants were born at less than 37 weeks gestation, the highest that rate has been since at least 2007. Rates of c-section and preterm birth were disproportionately high for Black women, the provisional data shows. (McPhillips, 5/24)

Lone House Anti-Abortion Democrat Faces Unseating By Progressive

Today is election day in Texas, where Rep. Henry Cuellar —who says abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother — is in a runoff with progressive candidate Jessica Cisneros.

CBS News: Henry Cuellar, Only Democrat In The House Who Doesn't Support Abortion Rights, Faces Progressive Challenger Jessica Cisneros Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is the lone anti-abortion Democrat left in the U.S House of Representatives. He has survived challenges from the left over the years because of his strong ties to his border district, and his appeal among constituents who share his more moderate approach. But with the Supreme Court now poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, progressives feel they have their best chance yet to defeat him. Voters in the south Texas district will head to the polls Tuesday to choose between Cuellar and his liberal challenger, Jessica Cisneros. The contest is a runoff after neither candidate broke the 50% threshold needed to win outright in March. The race figures to test the strength of the abortion rights movement among more conservative Latino voters. (Navarro, Huey-Burns and Brewster, 5/23)

Slate: Texas Democrat Runoff to Conclusively Determine Whether Moderates or Progressives Are Better Tuesday is Election Day in Texas, as well as other places in which everything is not bigger. In the 28th District, which runs along a stretch of the Rio Grande at the border and then kind of lurches up and over to the eastern suburbs of San Antonio, incumbent Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros are in a runoff. ... Cisneros is pro-choice, and had been working to highlight Cuellar’s record of voting against abortion rights even before news broke that the Supreme Court may be about to overturn Roe v. Wade. In addition to her endorsements from progressive figures like Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, she is also backed by more traditionally mainstream pro-choice Democratic groups like Emily’s List and NARAL Pro-Choice America. (Mathis-Lilley, 5/23)

Politico: House Dems Shun Primary Fight Against Anti-Abortion Incumbent  House Democrats have vowed to do whatever it takes to protect abortion rights. But there’s one step many don’t want to consider. Only a handful of them have endorsed the primary challenger running against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar — their only colleague who opposes codifying Roe v. Wade into law — in a Tuesday runoff in Texas. And as dozens of House Democrats gathered on the Capitol steps earlier this month to rally support for abortion rights, they really didn’t want to talk about why. (Mutnick and Ferris, 5/23)

Politico: State Democrats, Abortion-Rights Activists 'Incredibly Frustrated' With Federal Inaction State-level Democratic officials and abortion-rights advocates are discouraged by how little their allies in Congress and the White House have done since a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade became public. Instead of executive actions that could increase access to abortion pills or help protect people’s medical information, national Democrats have largely highlighted what they can’t do in the Senate and focused on fueling midterm-election turnout, angering state and local leaders who feel the burden to protect and expand access is falling almost entirely on their shoulders. (Messerly and Ollstein, 5/23)

In other abortion news from across the U.S. —

Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Take On Texas By Blocking 'Heartbeat' Abortion Laws A proposal that cleared the California Assembly on Monday seeks to guard against so-called fetal heartbeat laws and abortion restrictions imposed by other states amid uncertainty over the landmark ruling in Roe vs. Wade. The bill reinforces California’s pro-abortion rights status as federal protections are in jeopardy and after Texas and almost a dozen other states have passed laws to ban the procedure as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. Texas law allows civil lawsuits to be filed against abortion providers or anyone who otherwise “aids or abets” a person receiving an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected — a hard-to-define timeline that significantly limits abortion access. (Mays, 5/23)

Slate: Texas Pharmacies Are Refusing To Fill Prescriptions Because Of Abortion Bans. In an interview with the Slate podcast What Next, Natalie Crawford, an Austin-based OB-GYN and fertility doctor, said that pharmacists in her area “do not want to fill” prescriptions for misoprostol, a drug commonly used to prevent stomach ulcers and induce labor. Crawford and other physicians sometimes use misoprostol to soften the cervix of a patient who isn’t pregnant before performing a gynecological procedure, such as inserting an IUD or examining the inside of her uterus. (Cauterucci, 5/24)

Chicago Tribune: With Roe V. Wade At Risk, Planned Parenthood Of Illinois Makes Abortion Pills Available By Mail For State Residents  With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood of Illinois said Monday it has begun offering abortion pills by mail for state residents who qualify. The agency said the relatively new means of abortion access will break down “unnecessary barriers to health care” and also expand access to underserved parts of the state. “Now more than ever it’s crucial that our patients can access the care they need, when and where they need it,” Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for the agency, said in a news release. (Lourgos, 5/23)

AP: Planned Parenthood To Step In If North Dakota Clinic Closes Planned Parenthood said Monday it will offer abortion services at its clinic in Moorhead, Minnesota, if North Dakota’s only abortion clinic does not quickly relocate from Fargo should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood said it expected Red River Women’s Clinic, a private clinic not affiliated with it, to make the short move across the river by July 1, if necessary. (Kolpack, 5/23)

NPR: Abortion Debate Surrounds New Clinic Planning To Open In Wyoming  A modest, tan building sandwiched between a gas station and a small apartment house near downtown Casper, Wy., has become an unexpected focal point of America's abortion debate, just weeks before Wyoming could outlaw the procedure. Inside, a nonprofit is renovating the space into a clinic that, beginning in June, would be the only one in Wyoming to provide procedural abortions. The Casper clinic also would become the closest option for people in what the nonprofit's founders describe as an "abortion desert," extending into western Nebraska and South Dakota. (Zionts, 5/24)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Lebanon Abortion Ban: Opponents To Rally, Council To Mark Anniversary Last May, Lebanon became the first in Ohio to ban abortions, a move that drew protests, praise and prayers. One year later, the entire landscape of abortion has changed – or is about to, thanks to a leaked Supreme Court ruling that suggests the court may strike down the right to abortion. The ruling means more battles over abortion could be coming to a statehouse or city hall near you, as it did in Lebanon. Both abortion rights advocates and abortion opponents are planning to observe the one-year anniversary of Lebanon's abortion ban Tuesday, signaling their willingness to keep fighting. (Glynn, 5/24)

The Hill: Arkansas Governor Says Abortion Exceptions For Rape, Incest, Life Of Mother ‘Could Be Revisited’ In State Ban Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother “could be revisited” in the state’s abortion ban, which would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Hutchinson signed a bill in February 2019 that called for banning abortion in the state if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects access to the medical procedure on the federal level. The measure in Arkansas, however, does not allow exceptions for cases of rape and incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger. (Schnell, 5/22)

USA Today: Some Gen Z Girls Are Worried About Losing Their Abortion Rights For every teenage girl in the United States, Roe v. Wade has always been the law of the land. But they might be soon entering adulthood in a nation where abortion rights would be decided state by state. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z children have benefited from a political era where Roe v. Wade has been linked with helping to reduce teenage pregnancy, along with improved access to contraception and sex education. Gen Z girls are also having less sex than their predecessors but many are still sexually active. (Williams and Ruiz-Goiriena, 5/24)

The 19th: Medication Abortion Is Safe, But Pain And Recovery Are Different For Everyone When Layidua Salazar showed up at the Oakland Planned Parenthood eight years ago, she thought she was going to get a wellness exam. Then the nurse walked in. They couldn’t do Salazar’s Pap smear after all — she was pregnant. The clinic knew she was on birth control, but the positive result wasn’t a mistake. They had checked three times. “As soon as she closed the door, I broke down into tears,” Salazar recalled. “I definitely was not intending to be pregnant.” (Luthra, 5/23)

FDA Will 'Move Quickly' To Approve Covid Shots For Under-5s

AP reports U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the agency will move fast without affecting standards. A public review by scientific advisers of Pfizer's and Moderna's shots may happen June 15.

AP: What's Next For COVID-19 Vaccines For Youngest US Children U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks has pledged the agency will “move quickly without sacrificing our standards” in evaluating tot-sized doses from both Pfizer and Moderna. The FDA has tentatively set a June 15 date for its scientific advisers to publicly review the two companies’ vaccines. After the advisers weigh in, the FDA determines whether to authorize the shot. (5/23)

Stat: Pfizer/BioNTech To Seek Covid Vaccine EUA For Children Under Age 5 Vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech said they will complete their submission for emergency use authorization of their Covid-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5 this week after a study of a third dose found it improves the efficacy of the vaccine. Just hours after the news was made public, the Food and Drug Administration announced it expects to convene its independent vaccine advisers, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, on June 15 to review the submission. (Branswell, 5/23)

In updates on vaccine mandates —

Bloomberg: N.Y. School Covid Vaccine Mandate Survives As US Supreme Court Rejects Appeal The US Supreme Court turned away a challenge to New York’s requirement that schoolchildren be vaccinated against serious diseases, refusing to question the state’s 2019 repeal of its longstanding exemption for families with religious objections. The justices without comment left in place a state court ruling that said New York wasn’t targeting religion when it eliminated the exemption after the worst measles outbreak in a quarter century. The vaccine requirement applies to children under 18 in both public and private schools. (Stohr, 5/23)

New York Post: NYPD Puts 4,650 Vaccine Firings On Hold: Insiders The city’s vaccine mandate has been put on “pause” for the NYPD so the force can avoid losing nearly 5,000 cops and employees as the weather — and crime — heats up, The Post has learned. Currently, 91 percent of the NYPD’s uniformed cops and other personnel are vaccinated, City Hall says. That leaves an estimated 4,659 NYPD employees unvaccinated despite a deadline to get the shots by Oct. 29. (Edelman and Balsamini, 5/21)

AP: Opponents Of Federal Vaccine Mandate Seek Rehearing  A federal appeals court is being asked to reconsider its decision allowing the Biden administration to require that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month vacated a lower court ruling blocking the mandate and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the policy, which was ordered by President Joe Biden in September. (McGill, 5/23)

Study: Neurological Impact of Covid Persists

Research into long covid is finding the neurological effects of the illness can persist as other symptoms abate. In other covid news, group tours of the Capitol, suspended during the pandemic, are to resume.

NBC News: Brain Fog, Other Long Covid Symptoms Can Last More Than A Year, Study Finds The devastating neurological effects of long Covid can persist for more than a year, research published Tuesday finds — even as other symptoms abate. The study, published in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, is the longest follow-up study of the neurological symptoms among long Covid patients who were never hospitalized for Covid. (Sullivan and Edwards, 5/24)

CIDRAP: COVID-Related Thyroiditis Still Detectable 1 Year Later In Some Patients While COVID-19–related thyroid inflammation usually resolves shortly after the acute illness, about half of participants in a study presented today at the 24th European Congress of Endocrinology still had thyroid abnormalities a year later. The congress is being held May 21 to 24 in Milan, Italy. (5/23)

Arizona Republic: Epstein-Barr Virus, MS Link May Give Clues To Long COVID Cause Dr. Janko Nikolich-Žugich, the head of the immunobiology department at the University of Arizona and co-director of the Arizona Center on Aging, said he and other researchers are interested in examining the relationship between long COVID and latent viruses because it is “probably the interplay between the host and the viruses that will determine why one person got (long COVID) and the other person just sailed through,” he said. He is part of a team that recently received a $9.2 million grant to study long COVID. But uncovering temporal and causal connections between latent viruses and long COVID could take a while. That’s why scientists are looking to existing knowledge, like the recently-confirmed connection between EBV and MS, for a glimpse of the future. (Walling, 5/23)

In news about the spread of covid —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Summer COVID-19 Outbreak Begins To Take Hold In Ga. But Case Numbers Misleading COVID-19 is beginning to spread more rapidly in Georgia, but health experts warn the cases we know about are just the tip of the iceberg. Georgia’s confirmed cases have more than quadrupled over the past two months, spurred by the emergence of several omicron subvariants that are causing outbreaks in other parts of the U.S. The seven-day rolling average of new COVID cases in Georgia increased to nearly 1,200 on May 9, which is the most up-to-date confirmed case data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Less than two months ago, the rolling average was about 250 daily cases of COVID. (Hansen, 5/24)

CIDRAP: Kids' COVID Syndrome—MIS-C—Less Severe In Omicron COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) was milder amid the Omicron variant surge than during the Alpha and Delta waves in Israel, concludes a research letter published late last week in JAMA. ... Of the 171 MIS-C patients, 59 (34.5%) were diagnosed during the Alpha wave, while 79 (46.2%) were identified during Delta, and 33 (19.3%) amid Omicron. Median patient age was 8 years, and 55% were boys. (Van Beusekom, 5/23)

Stat: Reports Of ‘Paxlovid Rebound’ Have Covid Experts Looking For Theories  As he was treating some of the nation’s first coronavirus patients, Andre Kalil noticed something unusual about the new virus: Patients didn’t always progress linearly. They’d get better, then worse. Then sometimes better again. Initially, most researchers figured these undulating symptoms were collateral damage, as a riled-up immune system kept firing long after most of the virus was gone. Sometimes, though, Kalil could swab the lungs of a patient in the ICU and find virus still replicating weeks after they were admitted. Often, the amount of virus bounced up and down by the day. (Mast, 5/24)

In updates from Capitol Hill —

The Hill: Merkley Tests COVID-19 Positive, A Complication In 50-50 Senate Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, an announcement that could throw a wrench in Democrats’ agenda this week in an evenly divided Senate. (Weixel, 5/23)

The Washington Examiner: Capitol Group Tours Set To Resume After Long COVID-19 Hiatus  The Capitol is entering the second phase of its reopening plan next week after the House sergeant-at-arms declared the coronavirus pandemic had abated enough to allow more outside tour groups. The guidelines will begin next week on May 30, according to a Monday announcement from Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker. The first phase began in March shortly after Capitol authorities lifted the mask mandate. (Aabram, 5/23)

Surgeon General: Health Workers Owed 'Urgent Debt Of Action' On Burnout

Vice President Kamala Harris joined Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy's call to help health workers, saying, "We need to do a better job of taking care of you." Meanwhile, statistics for health care worker burnout show it was on the rise even before the pandemic hit.

AP: Harris, Surgeon General Warn Of Health Care Worker Burnout Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a warning Monday about burnout among the nation’s health care staff after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the potential for severe worker shortages in the years ahead if the situation is not addressed. “You do so much to take care of your patients in their time of need,” Harris told health care workers as she visited Children’s National Hospital in Washington with Murthy on Monday. “Which is why I’m here to say, we need to do a better job of taking care of you.” (Megerian, 5/23)

Modern Healthcare: Surgeon General Warns Of Escalating Healthcare Worker Burnout Burnout was on the rise prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among healthcare workers, 35% to 54% of nurses and physicians and 45% to 60% of medical students and residents reported burnout prior to 2020, according to National Academy of Medicine data included in the surgeon general's report. (Berryman, 5/23)

ABC7 New York: Nurses, Techs At St. Michael's Medical Center In Newark Stage Strike Over Working Conditions  Nurses and technologists at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark went on strike at 7 a.m. Monday, citing what they call hospital management's blatant disregard for the safety of employees and patients. (5/23)

North Carolina Health News: NC Public Health Workers Draw Road Map For Future  When hundreds of North Carolina public health leaders met in a Raleigh hotel recently for an annual conference, they could not help but look back at this most extraordinary time in health care and incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic as they planned for the future. One theme that emerged from the gathering of the state’s county health directors, medical directors and state workers was an old one: How long will North Carolina continue to leave billions of federal dollars out of state coffers by refusing to expand Medicaid? (Hoban, 5/24)

Axios: The Health Care Workforce Shortage Problem America's shortfall of health care workers is adding to the obstacles the Biden administration faces in returning the country to normal. The nation entered the pandemic with major health care worker shortages and its workforce was strained to its limits in the emergency response to the COVID pandemic. It drove record levels of burnout and many to leave their roles. The Biden administration ramped up the urgency around America's health care workforce on Monday, releasing new recommendations for addressing burnout and other factors contributing to shortages. (Reed, 5/24)

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Ohio Wants To Regulate And Put Caps On Health Care Staffing Agencies During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of health care workers nationwide caused serious strain on nursing homes, hospitals and other medical facilities. As a result, many turned to staffing agencies and traveling nurses to help fill the gap. But more than two years after the start of the pandemic, that relationship has soured. Given the unprecedented demand for workers, the agencies charged high rates, which many facilities felt they had no choice but to accept. As the nursing shortage continues, some Ohio lawmakers want to cap those rates and regulate staffing agencies. But nurses are criticizing the effort as capping wages and not addressing the shortage's root cause. (Wu, 5/24)

Brigham Researchers Find Security Calls More Likely For Black Patients

The researchers at the Boston hospital analyzed 423 security reports filed between Sept. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2019, and found 2.8% of Black patients had calls placed for them, compared with 1.6% of white patients. In other news, a study finds rising infection rates in central line catheters that doctors use in major veins to deliver medicine, and experts call for updating language in patient records.

The Boston Globe: Internal Analysis Shows Black Patients At Brigham Faced More Security Calls Black patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital were nearly twice as likely as white patients to have security called on them, according to a new study led by researchers at the hospital. The findings, published May 13 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, will propel efforts within the Brigham to address the problem, executives and researchers said. Dr. Yannis Valtis, lead author of the study and senior resident in the Division of General Internal Medicine & Primary Care, said residents began looking at how race played into the use of security after George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police officers two years ago. (Bartlett, 5/23)

In other health industry news —

Modern Healthcare: As Central-Line Infections Rise, Providers Look For Best Practices As health systems grappled with staffing and supply challenges during the pandemic, they also saw a surge in central-line associated bloodstream infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed a 28% jump in the standardized infection ratio for central-line-associated bloodstream infections between the second quarters of 2019 and 2020. From 2015 to 2019, a 31% decline occurred in the standardized infection ratio for central-line infections. The analysis of CDC data calculated the number of observed central-line associated bloodstream infections over the number of predicted infections at 936 facilities and more than 13,000 inpatient units. (Devereaux, 5/23)

Axios: Language In Medical Records May Be Due For An Update The push for more transparency in health care is fueling a reevaluation of the words doctors and nurses use in medical records. Medical lingo helps shape the care and treatment patients get. But the language health professional commonly use can belittle or cast doubts on patients and their complaints and is due for an update, an analysis published in the BMJ argues. Common phrases like "presenting complaint" or "the patient denies" can sound judgmental or doubtful of patients, researchers from The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute (THIS) in the U.K. said. (Reed, 5/23)

Crain's Detroit Business: Henry Ford Health Expanding Metro Detroit Urgent Care Centers Urgent care centers have long existed as loss leaders for health systems — staffing highly-paid nurses and doctors around the clock to treat sprains and wounds is expensive. For the last decade, many have amputated those operations as a cost savings measure and instead invested [in] higher-margin outpatient surgical centers and other specialty services. But Henry Ford Health is bucking the trend, planning to open 15 urgent care centers across metro Detroit this year alone. The Detroit system opened the fifth of the planned centers Monday in Clinton Township alongside joint venture partner Chicago-based GoHealth. (Walsh, 5/23)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Helmsley Trust Gives $4.2M Grant To Nevada Health Centers For Equipment  The Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted $4.2 million to Nevada health centers to purchase ultrasound equipment and support-related training, it announced Monday. The national philanthropic organization largely focused on health initiatives and grants and founded by the late businesswoman Leona Helmsley awarded the grants to 18 health centers and clinics and two mobile care units across Nevada — most located in rural locations, but also eight in the Las Vegas Valley. “Our hospitals and health centers need to stay current with rapidly advancing technology so they can continue to provide top-notch healthcare close to home,” Walter Panzirer, a trustee and Helmsley’s grandson, said in a news release. “These grants help ensure that facilities across Nevada have the latest and greatest ultrasound equipment.” (Ross, 5/23)

Health News Florida: A Simulated Mass Shooting Scenario Puts Tallahassee Memorial's Trauma Center To The Test  Tallahassee Memorial Hospital's trauma center was the scene of a realistic mass shooting response exercise on Friday. Scores of badly "wounded" patients tried to push the facility and its staff to the limit. As the first of many ambulances arrived, trauma team members raced to get the imaginary shooting victim into the nearest triage room. Florida State University students played the part of the victims, several with makeup simulating bullet wounds. (Flanigan, 5/23)

A Generic Drug Plant Closure Portends Drug Shortages

The closing of a Teva Pharmaceuticals plant in California could spell shortages of 24 generic sterile injectable drugs, including essential medications, the vasodilator alprostadil; the antibiotic amikacin; chemotherapy drugs bleomycin, dacarbazine, idarubicin, ifosfamide, mitoxantrone, streptozocin, and topotecan; and the hormone octreotide. In other news, a promising hair-loss drug and dietary supplements.

CIDRAP: Report: US Plant Closure Portends Drug Shortages—Some Critical  In its first analysis, the newly formed End Drug Shortages Alliance (EDSA) warns that the recent shuttering of a troubled Teva Pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant in Irvine, California, could affect the availability of 24 generic sterile injectable drugs, including 5 essential medications for which the company had an over 15% market share. (Van Beusekom, 5/23)

Bloomberg: Antibiotics Price Stalls Development To Counter Superbugs As bacteria become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, the pipeline of drugs to counter so-called superbugs has virtually dried up. Only a few dozen are in clinical trials even as infections impervious to existing treatments kill more than 1.2 million people a year. The problem is that the cost of developing an antibiotic can reach $1.5 billion, and drugmakers don’t see a sufficient payoff. Three years after announcing a strategy to boost investment in antibiotics, England is poised to fund a pair of new drugs by offering companies a fixed annual fee regardless of how much—or how little—they’re used. The National Health Service plans to pay as much as £10 million ($12.6 million) a year, or £100 million over a decade, for each drug. A government advisory group in April concluded a review confirming the benefits of a pair of drugs from Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi & Co., paving the way for the NHS to finalize contracts with the companies. “There is an intention to move forward as quickly as possible,” says David Glover, assistant head of medicines analysis at the NHS. (Paton, 5/24)

Stat: The FDA's In The Dark About Thousands Of Dietary Supplement Ingredients The companies that make dietary supplements like vitamins and herbs have quietly introduced thousands and thousands of new ingredients without telling the government, despite federal law requiring the disclosure. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act requires dietary supplement makers to notify the Food and Drug Administration whenever they introduce a “new dietary ingredient” into the market. The FDA doesn’t have approval authority like it does for traditional medicines, but the agency is supposed to get some idea of what a supplement maker is selling and why the company thinks the ingredient is safe. (Florko, 5/24)

Dallas Morning News: North Texas Olympic Medalist Testifies H-E-B Supplement Made Her Fail Drug Test After winning the bronze medal for the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games, Jaqueline Galloway began the long and arduous process of training for her next competitions. But a bottle of supplements and a failed drug test sullied her reputation and dealt a swift kick to her taekwondo career, Galloway testified Monday in a Collin County courtroom. She sued H-E-B, which owns Central Market in Plano where she bought a bottle of magnesium, calcium and zinc multivitamins in February 2019. The trial began this week. Galloway had taken the supplements for just over a week when she was given a random drug test. Her urine tested positive for ibutamoren, a substance on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances, and she was banned from competition. (Williams, 5/23)

The Boston Globe: Experimental Pill Prompts Some To Regrow A Nearly Full Head Of Hair Concert Pharmaceuticals said Monday that its experimental treatment for a severe form of hair loss called alopecia areata could restore a nearly full head of hair in about 30 to 40 percent of people. The small Lexington company is one of a few firms with drugs in the advanced stages of clinical testing for the disease in which a person’s immune system attacks their hair follicles, resulting in patchy or total hair loss. Although alopecia areata can sometimes clear up on its own in months, the condition often lasts for years. There are no treatments approved for the disease. “Like many other autoimmune diseases, it is one that has not received a ton of attention until relatively recently,” said Concert Pharma chief executive Roger Tung. While developing the therapy, he has met people who suffer severe anxiety and depression from spontaneously developing the condition. “This can really screw up people’s lives,” he said. (Cross, 5/23)

Arizona Republic: CMV And Herpes Are Latent Viruses That Could Help Create New Vaccines Scientists and drug makers have been seriously investigating a potential CMV vaccine for years. The concern is particularly serious for pregnant people, as well as for those undergoing transplants (CMV infections can be deadly in immunocompromised people). Moderna was able to create an mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 so quickly in part because they had already been working on a CMV vaccine using the same technology for several years. Their CMV vaccine is now in Phase III clinical trials. (Walling, 5/23)

KHN: Tribal Pharmacy Dispenses Free Meds And Fills Gaps For Native Americans In The City  Tucked away on a side street near downtown, the Mashkiki Waakaa’igan Pharmacy offers its Native American clientele the services of any ordinary drugstore — it dispenses critical medication and provides consultation on treatments. But there are two key differences: Every Mashkiki patient gets prescriptions for free — with no out-of-pocket expense — and can access care that’s conscious of cultural traditions. (Huggins and Mueller, 5/24)

Active TB Case Reported In A Missouri Middle School

Confirming the case at Hollenbeck Middle School, health officials said contact tracing commenced and there was no reason for public concern. Meanwhile, the salmonella outbreak linked to Jif peanut butter has now sickened 14 people across 12 states.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Active Case Of Tuberculosis Diagnosed In St. Charles Middle School  An individual at Hollenbeck Middle School has been diagnosed with a case of active tuberculosis, the county's Department of Public Health said Monday. Health officials said there is no reason for the public to be concerned, and that everyone identified as a close contact to the affected individual is being notified and will be tested. Students must have parent permission to be tested. The health department did not indicate whether the infected person is a student, staff member or someone else. The school is part of the Francis Howell School District. (5/23)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Jif Peanut Butter Sickens 14 In 12 States In epidemiologic investigations, all five case-patients interviewed reported eating peanut butter before they got sick, and four of them (80%) reported eating different types of Jif peanut butter. Texas and Georgia each reported two cases, while Washington, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts each reported a single case. (5/23)

Press Association: Take Breaks And Watch Less TV To Slash Heart Disease Risk, Experts Say More than one in 10 cases of heart disease could be prevented if people slashed the amount of time they spent in front of the TV, a new study suggests. Experts at the University of Cambridge said sitting around after a large evening meal - and snacking in front of the TV - all increase the risk of ill health. They suggest that more than one in 10 cases of coronary heart disease could be prevented if people watched less than an hour of TV a day. (Kirby, 5/24)

Stat: Are Smartphones Making Us Miserable? A Google Study Aims To Find Out Google is teaming up with researchers to investigate how the mobile devices glued to our hands may be affecting our minds. Conducted with researchers from the University of Oregon, the effort will be the second study to launch through the Google Health Studies app, the company’s nascent platform for conducting health research on its Android operating system. Like a similar program run by its competitor Apple, Google Health Studies aims to beef up the company’s health bona fides among consumers, researchers, and care providers. (Aguilar, 5/23)

Axios: America Needs Sleep Three factors determine 80%+ of our longevity — diet, exercise and sleep. Of those, sleep is by far the easiest to get right. We aren't. 1 in 3 American adults don’t get enough sleep — defined as 7 or more hours a night — per a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. The average American adult slept 7.9 hours a night in the 1940s. That has dropped to 6.8 hours a night. Over time, operating without enough sleep can dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer, Francesco Cappuccio, a heart health and sleep expert at the University of Warwick tells us. (Pandey, 5/23)

KHN: To Shed Bias, Doctors Get Schooled To Look Beyond Obesity  When Melissa Boughton complained to her OB-GYN about dull pelvic pain, the doctor responded by asking about her diet and exercise habits. The question seemed irrelevant, considering the type of pain she was having, Boughton thought at the time. But it wasn’t unusual coming from this doctor. “Every time I was in there, she’d talk about diet and exercise,” said Boughton, who is 34 and lives in Durham, North Carolina. On this occasion, three years ago, the OB-GYN told Boughton that losing weight would likely resolve the pelvic pain. (Sausser, 5/24)

Reuters: FBI Counts 61 'Active Shooter' Incidents Last Year, Up 52% From 2020 The United States experienced 61 "active shooter" incidents last year, up sharply in the sheer number of attacks, casualties and geographic distribution from 2021 and the highest tally in over 20 years, the FBI reported on Monday. The 2021 total, spread over 30 states, was 52% higher than 2020 and about double each of the three previous years, according to the FBI. (Gorman, 5/23)

North Carolina Senate Republicans Now Push To Expand Medicaid Coverage

The AP reports that the move to "strongly" consider legislation to improve Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income people is an "extraordinary turnabout," since the party has opposed expansion for a decade. Also: new rules for malpractice payments in California, and more.

AP: NC Medicaid Expansion Gets Serious Attention From Senate GOP North Carolina Senate Republicans are strongly considering legislation that would expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. Such legislation would mark a key step in an extraordinary turnabout by GOP members in the chamber set against expansion for a decade. A draft bill yet to be formally filed also would include several other medical, health care coverage and insurance reforms, according to a summary of the bill obtained by The Associated Press. Many of these proposals, including expansion, have been discussed in a House-Senate health care study committee that’s met several times since February. (Robertson, 5/23)

Los Angeles Times: California Gets New Rules For Medical Malpractice Payments Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to raise the amount of money that patients can receive in medical malpractice cases, increasing pain and suffering payments for the first time since lawmakers placed a cap on monetary damages nearly five decades ago. The governor’s signature on Assembly Bill 35 was the final step in a process that began last month when rival interests groups — doctors and lawyers — announced a deal to avoid a costly battle at the ballot box in November to overhaul the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, known as MICRA. (Gutierrez, 5/23)

Los Angeles Times: Facilities Emitting Gas In Vernon Will Remain Open Amid Probe The medical sterilizer facilities in Vernon that were found in violation of emitting a carcinogen at elevated levels will not be shuttered. District 4 Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn had called for the Sterigenics facilities to be temporarily closed last week. She cited heightened emissions of ethylene oxide that could put people at risk. But the South Coast Air Quality Management District determined that the facilities will stay open, stating in a letter Thursday that it will work with the facilities to ensure the safety of the community. (Alyssa Choi, 5/23)

In other news from Texas, Maine, and Pennsylvania —

Dallas Morning News: Treatments For Trans Youth At Dallas Hospital Can Continue Until April, Court Orders A Dallas County judge has granted a nearly one-year injunction against Children’s Medical Center Dallas that will allow doctors there to continue intake of transgender youth seeking certain medical treatments. Judge Melissa Bellan signed a temporary injunction Monday that lasts until next April, replacing a two-week temporary restraining order granted May 12. Requested by Dr. Ximena Lopez, both the injunction and the restraining order halted the hospital’s recent decision to stop providing certain medical treatments, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to new transgender patients while a court battle continues over whether to reverse the policy altogether. (Wolf and McGaughy, 5/23)

Bangor Daily News: Advocates Say Maine Needs To Develop LGBTQ-Rights Curriculum After Removing Lesson Leaders of two advocacy groups said Maine needs to create its own LGBTQ curriculum and policies after the administration of Gov. Janet Mills removed a video explaining transgender identities to children that was targeted by a Republican ad. The video was part of a pandemic program the Maine Department of Education began in 2020 to provide optional, free online lessons created by teachers to schools or parents. The video, titled “Freedom Holidays,” was meant for children in preschool through 2nd grade. The entire module program was supported by $2.8 million in federal funding. But the department took the video down last week before a Maine Republican Party ad characterized the video as a “radical school lesson.” The state said the video was removed because they felt it was inappropriate for the target audience. The Whitefield teacher who created the video criticized its removal. (Andrews, 5/23)

The New York Times: After Fetterman’s Stroke, Doctors Look At Senate Campaign Prospects  Specialists in stroke, heart disease and electrophysiology said that some of the campaign’s public statements do not offer a sufficient explanation for John Fetterman’s described diagnosis or the treatment they say he has received. The stroke, he said in a statement released by his campaign, was caused by a blood clot. He said the clot was the result of atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat chaotically and are out of sync with the lower chambers of the heart. The campaign said the clot was successfully removed by doctors at a nearby community hospital, Lancaster General Hospital. (Kolata and Glueck, 5/23)

Fund To Fight AIDS, Malaria, TB Wins $30 Million In Pledges At Davos

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria says it needs $18 billion to reverse pandemic-related setbacks. It announced its first pledge from the private sector at the World Economic Forum at Davos, with $10 million from Comic Relief U.S. and $20 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Meanwhile, the U.N. is warning of a global food crisis sparked by the invasion of Ukraine and climate change.

Reuters: Davos Booster For $18 Billion Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis And Malaria A global health fund has raised a third of the $18 billion it says is needed to reverse setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic and combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced its first pledge from the private sector on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, on Tuesday. The $10 million pledge by Comic Relief U.S. unlocks a matching $20 million commitment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (de Kretser, 5/24)

NPR: With Food Prices Continuing To Climb, UN Warns Of Crippling Global Shortages Fears of a global food crisis are growing due to the shock of the war in Ukraine, climate change and rising inflation. Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund managing director, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Monday that "the anxiety about access to food at a reasonable price globally is hitting the roof" as food prices continue "to go up up up". Last week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned of "the specter of a global food shortage in the coming months" without urgent international action. The U.N. estimates that in the past year, global food prices have risen by almost one third, fertilizer by more than half and oil prices by almost two thirds. (Griffiths, 5/23)

The Washington Post: Spain Eases Covid Restrictions For U.S. Travelers  Spain eased its entry requirements for travelers from outside the European Union over the weekend, allowing Americans who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to enter as long as they present negative test results. Previously, unvaccinated travelers from places such as the United States and Britain could only enter the country if they could prove a recent case of the coronavirus, meaning they had developed natural protections. (Diller, 5/23)

AP: Sweden: 5th COVID-19 Shot To People Over 65, Pregnant Women  Sweden is recommending a fifth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people with an increased risk of becoming seriously ill, including pregnant women and anyone aged 65 and over, authorities said Tuesday, adding that the country must “be prepared for an increased spread during the upcoming autumn and winter season.” (5/24)

AP: China's Bet On Homegrown MRNA Vaccines Holds Back Nation  As early as the spring of 2020 a Chinese pharmaceutical company, Fosun Pharma, reached an agreement to distribute — and eventually manufacture — the mRNA vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech. It still has not been cleared in mainland China, despite being authorized for use by separate authorities in Hong Kong and Macao. Now health experts say that delay — a result of putting politics and national pride above public health — could lead to avoidable coronavirus deaths and deeper economic losses because whole cities would be locked down to insulate the country’s unprotected population. (Wu and Ghosal, 5/24)

AP: Pakistan Launches New Anti-Polio Drive After 3rd Case Found  Pakistan launched a new anti-polio drive on Monday, more than a week after officials detected the third case so far this year in the country’s northwestern region bordering Afghanistan. The campaign — the third one this year — is to last for five days, aiming to inoculate 40 million children under the age of 5 across the country. (5/23)

Different Takes: Monkeypox Not As Worrisome As Covid; Future Of Birth Control Unknown

Opinion writers explore monkeypox and abortion rights.

NBC News: Where Did Monkeypox Originate And Is It The Next Covid Pandemic? Don't Freak Out — Yet. We can’t seem to get a break from infectious diseases. The Covid-19 pandemic continues, and a third of Americans live in areas where the spread of the virus is currently so high that they should consider wearing masks indoors once again. Avian influenza H5N1 has hit a number of domestic poultry populations throughout the U.S., leading to almost 38 million birds killed to reduce its spread. And now close to 100 suspected human cases of monkeypox have been identified in at least 10 countries — Italy, Spain, Portugal, England, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium and Sweden — leading some to worry that the outbreak could be heralding a second pandemic. (Tara C. Smith, 5/21)

Bloomberg: Monkeypox Isn't Looking Like A Covid-Sized Threat  In just the past few weeks, at least 92 confirmed and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported across Europe, Canada, Israel, the US and Australia. And that number stands to grow as surveillance expands, Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization said Monday. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/23)

USA Today: Monkeypox Threat Is Real. But We Have Medicines Needed To Fight It. Although President Joe Biden said Sunday that Americans should be concerned about monkeypox, I would warn that excess hype can be destructive when we have zero evidence that the outbreak will rocket out of control. In fact, Biden sent a more reassuring message Monday, citing the smallpox vaccine's effectiveness on monkeypox: "I just don't think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with COVID-19.” (Dr. Marc Siegel, 5/23)

The New York Times: How The Right To Birth Control Could Be Undone  The leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade has prompted a flurry of debate about the fate of other so-called unenumerated rights — rights that are not explicitly outlined in the Constitution — including the right to access contraception. (Melissa Murray, 5/23)

The Tennessean: Roe V. Wade’s Future Looks Bleak. What Does This Mean For Tennesseans? Earlier this month, a draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked from the United States Supreme Court. The decision would essentially revoke federal protection of an individual’s right to choose, leaving abortion laws up to each state. In Tennessee, it would mean the end of legal abortion. (Christine Dickason, 5/23)

Viewpoints: Why Did Florida Stop CDC Survey Assessing Teen Health?; It's Past Time For Paid Sick Leave

Editorial writers weigh in on these public health topics.

Tampa Bay Times: Florida Spurns Youth Survey  Without adequate justification, Florida officials have made a poorly timed decision to pull out of a wide-ranging national survey measuring health and behavior risks among the state's teenagers. The survey polls high school students anonymously on topics including diet, smoking, alcohol use, sexual behavior and mental health. Florida officials say they'll run their own survey instead, but there's no logical case for reinventing the wheel to collect this vitally important data. (5/22)

Los Angeles Times: The U.S. Needs Paid Sick Leave. Here's How To Get It Right  Paid leave has emerged from the pandemic as a popular policy, frequently invoked as one route to move America forward from COVID-19 and its brutal impact on workforces nationwide. The U.S. is the only wealthy nation in the world that does not guarantee workers paid time off when they are sick. Instead, we have a patchwork of state and local paid sick leave laws that leave big gaps in coverage for workers. If the country passes a national sick leave policy to make existing state-by-state protections more universal, the hope is that workers will get necessary protections for their health, protecting their workplaces at the same time. (Shefali Milczarek-Desai, 5/24)

The Tennessean: The Benefits Of Medicare Advantage Plans For Seniors The latest federal review of Medicare is out and it says taxpayers are getting a raw deal. The review is from MedPAC— the congressionally chartered review commission that advises lawmakers on the state of Medicare. MedPAC's mandarins have concluded the government is paying the private insurers who administer Medicare Advantage too much. The seniors flocking to Medicare Advantage would beg to differ. (Sally C. Pipes, 5/21)

Stat: How 'This Is Us' Should Be Remembered  Coming out as a queer teenager. Fostering a child to adopt. Grappling with transracial adoption. Examining how addiction and body image affect behavior. Coming to terms with dementia, depression, and anxiety. Taking stock of mental health across time. “This Is Us” showed all of this and more during six outrageously successful seasons. This NBC series explored the lives of three children — twins Kevin and Kate, whose parents adopted a third baby, Randall, whose father had abandoned him at a fire station. As avid fans, we debriefed weekly to discuss the twists, turns, and tears of the Pearson family saga, which wraps up on May 24. From our public health and ethnic studies perspectives, the series accomplished a rarity for a fictional TV show: It showed the ways the conditions in which people live, work, and play can influence their health. (Sarah MacCarthy and Jalondra A. Davis, 5/24)

Stat: Innovation Should Be Part Of All Health Care Professionals' Training  When it comes to fostering innovation, most academic medical centers, medical schools, and health systems use the “pull” approach: they open technology transfer offices, hire staff, create industry relationships, and then wait for physicians, investigators, trainees (students, residents, and fellows), and other health care providers to initiate contact, submit new inventions, or navigate the typically opaque path of medical innovation and discovery. That approach works for only the most self-directed, enterprising innovators, largely ignoring the majority of an institution’s health care professionals. There’s a better way: pushing fundamental health innovation knowledge, skill sets, opportunities, and ground-level support to every health care professional who enters an institution’s doors. (Marc Succi, 5/23)

Modern Healthcare: Health Systems Can And Must Do More To Address Health Disparities  The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on a social problem that has been part of the American landscape for generations: Healthcare continues to fail people of color. We hear that social determinants of health are the culprit for such disparities. Experts estimate that medical care accounts for under 20% of health outcomes. While that is true, a mantra has taken hold across the health care industry that the rest are social influences out of our control. (Eugene Woods and Kinnell Coltman, 5/23)

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100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt

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