First Version: July 5, 2022

KHN:
How Pfizer Gained The Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Revenue And Affect 

The grinding two-plus years of the pandemic have yielded outsize advantages for one firm — Pfizer — making it each extremely influential and vastly worthwhile as covid-19 continues to contaminate tens of hundreds of individuals and kill tons of every day. Its success in growing covid medicines has given the drugmaker uncommon weight in figuring out U.S. well being coverage. Based mostly on inner analysis, the corporate’s executives have incessantly introduced the following stage within the battle towards the pandemic earlier than authorities officers have had time to review the difficulty, annoying many consultants within the medical discipline and leaving some sufferers not sure whom to belief. (Allen, 7/5)

KHN:
Crowdsourced Information On Overdoses Pinpoints The place To Assist

Males lined up exterior the Nook of Hope, a homeless useful resource heart, eyeing free provides on plastic cabinets inside a white van. Some needed baggage with toiletries or condoms, however others took kits that assist them safely use medicine or naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drugs. (Rayasam, 7/5)

KHN:
Pay attention: Julie Rovner Rehashes The ‘Roe’ Choice 

KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner mentioned the Supreme Court docket’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade on NPR/WAMU’s “1A” on June 24. She additionally mentioned the influence of the ruling within the Carolinas on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins” on June 27, and joined WBUR/NPR’s “Right here & Now” on June 29 to debate the Biden administration’s response to the Supreme Court docket’s determination. (7/2)

The Hill:
Illinois Governor On Mass Taking pictures: ‘A Celebration Of America Was Ripped Aside By Our Uniquely American Plague’

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) pointed to the “uniquely American” drawback of gun violence within the wake of Monday’s lethal mass taking pictures at an Independence Day parade in his state, which left a minimum of six individuals lifeless. “It’s devastating {that a} celebration of America was ripped aside by our uniquely American plague,” Pritzker mentioned in a speech Monday night from Highland Park. (Gans, 7/4)

The New York Instances:
A Native Obstetrician Rushed To Assist The Wounded

Together with a neighborhood emergency room physician, a surgeon and some nurses, Dr. David Baum, 64, started triaging to assist the victims — placing strain on wounds and, when paramedics arrived, hanging intravenous drips. “I don’t assume I did something heroic,” he mentioned. “I simply did what an individual who’s a doctor would do to try to assist just a little bit.” The six individuals who have been killed, Dr. Baum mentioned, have been clearly identifiable by their catastrophic, “evisceration-type” accidents. (Fahy, 7/4)

The New York Instances:
Illinois Has Amongst The Strictest Gun-Security Legal guidelines In The Nation, However Neighboring States Do Not

The authorities in Highland Park, Unwell., mentioned they’d recovered a high-powered rifle after the mass taking pictures in the course of the group’s Fourth of July parade. It was the state’s third mass taking pictures since Friday. Illinois has the sixth strictest gun-safety legal guidelines within the nation, and the ninth-lowest fee of gun possession, in response to Everytown for Gun Security, a number one gun management advocacy group. The state has common background checks, pink flag warnings and secure storage necessities, although no assault weapons ban. (Hassan, 7/4)

Newsweek:
Philadelphia July 4th Taking pictures Movies Go Viral: ‘America Is A Horror Film’

On the shut of Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia, plenty of individuals gathered to observe fireworks. However the celebrations have been marred when two law enforcement officials working safety have been shot close to the Philadelphia Museum of Artwork at round 9:50 p.m. native time. The gunfire prompted a stampede on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with movies on social media capturing the panic as individuals ran for blocks in all instructions in an effort to flee the violence. (Rahman, 7/5)

Fox Information:
Philadelphia Taking pictures: Democrat Mayor Rips Second Modification, Says Solely The Police Ought to Have Weapons

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney steered the Second Modification and the US Supreme Court docket have been too lenient when it got here to gun rights, following a taking pictures that injured two law enforcement officials close to a Fourth of July occasion on Monday evening. Standing exterior the hospital the place the 2 law enforcement officials have been handled for gunshot accidents, Kenney informed a bunch of reporters that solely law enforcement officials needs to be allowed to personal weapons and that he’s wanting ahead to retiring, so he now not has to take care of gun violence. (Richard, 7/5)

The Washington Submit:
Trauma Physicians Have Turn into Depressingly Ready For Mass Shootings

“As we now have mentioned repeatedly since declaring gun violence a public well being disaster in 2016, gun violence is uncontrolled in the US, and, with out real-world, common sense federal actions, it won’t abate,” American Medical Affiliation president Gerald Harmon mentioned in a current assertion alongside the group’s newest letter to members of Congress. (Anders, 7/4)

AP:
US Decide Finds For 3 Drug Distributors In WVa Opioid Lawsuit

A federal decide on Monday dominated in favor of three main U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of inflicting a well being disaster by distributing 81 million tablets over eight years in a single West Virginia county ravaged by opioid dependancy. The decision got here almost a 12 months after closing arguments in a bench trial within the lawsuit filed by Cabell County and town of Huntington towards AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Well being Inc. and McKesson Corp. (Raby, 7/5)

The Hill:
Federal Decide Guidelines In Favor Of Pharmaceutical Firms In West Virginia Opioid Case

Decide David Faber rejected arguments from town of Huntington, W.Va., and the Cabel County Fee that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Well being Inc. and McKesson Corp.’s distribution of prescription opioids in Huntington and Cabel County brought about an opioid epidemic and a “public nuisance” in these areas. The opioid disaster has taken a substantial toll on the residents of Cabell County and the Metropolis of Huntington,” the ruling reads. “And whereas there’s a pure tendency to assign blame in such circumstances, they should be determined not primarily based on sympathy, however on the details and the regulation. In view of the courtroom’s findings and conclusions, the courtroom finds that judgment needs to be entered in defendants’ favor.” (Gans, 7/4)

Politico:
HHS Was Requested To Search An ‘Aggressive Technique’ On Abortion By Biden, Becerra Says

Well being and Human Providers Secretary Xavier Becerra informed NBC’s Chuck Todd that though the nation should “heed the phrase of the Supreme Court docket,” the Biden administration continues to be in search of avenues to ensure individuals “have entry to the care that they want, together with abortion care.” President Joe Biden “has requested us to hunt as aggressive a method as we are able to. However not like the earlier administration, we do intend to respect the regulation,” he mentioned.

The Texas Tribune:
Texas Can Implement 1925 Abortion Ban, State Supreme Court docket Says

Texas can implement its abortion ban from 1925, the state Supreme Court docket dominated late Friday night, a choice that exposes abortion suppliers to lawsuits and monetary penalties in the event that they proceed to carry out the process. The courtroom overruled a district decide in Houston, who on Tuesday had briefly blocked the state’s previous abortion regulation from going into impact. (Despart, 7/2)

The Hill:
Why Kansas Will Be A Bellwether In Abortion Battle 

Kansans will vote on a state constitutional modification on abortion on Aug. 2, setting the state up as a key bellwether for the way abortion rights resonate as a voting situation forward of the midterm elections. The modification would overturn a 2019 state Supreme Court docket ruling discovering that the Kansas structure protects abortion rights, after which go away it as much as the GOP-controlled legislature to determine how far to go in including restrictions or bans on abortion. (Sullivan, 7/4)

Politico:
Mississippi’s Governor: Full Velocity Forward With New Abortion Restrictions 

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves mentioned Sunday his state intends to press ahead with its efforts to make abortion exceedingly uncommon in Mississippi, whilst complicated questions related to its regulation — and others across the nation — continued to bubble up. “This complete courtroom battle was by no means about successful a courtroom case; it was at all times about making a tradition of life, and that’s precisely what we’re doing right here in Mississippi,” mentioned Reeves, a Republican, on “Fox Information Sunday.” (Cohen, 7/3)

St. Louis Submit-Dispatch:
Illinois Abortion Clinics Say Extra Medical Suppliers Wanted To Meet Out-Of-State Demand

With Roe v. Wade overturned, Illinois abortion suppliers are attempting to shore up sufficient medical employees to deal with the anticipated inflow of sufferers touring for the process from different states — with out disrupting or delaying take care of Illinois residents. (Lourgos, 7/3)

Columbus Dispatch:
Ohioans Inventory Up On Plan B, Contemplate Sterilization After Roe Ruling

The day after the draft determination from the U.S. Supreme Court docket within the Dobbs v. Jackson Girls’s Well being Group was leaked in Could, 36-year-old Columbus resident Kristen Porter scheduled an appointment to have her fallopian tubes eliminated on the finish of July. “If I’ve a well being situation with a being pregnant, I do not really feel assured anymore that I’m going to have the flexibility to take the mandatory medical steps to take care of my well being or my life,” she mentioned. (Laird and Lagatta, 7/1)

The Washington Submit:
Submit-Roe, Can States Ban Employer Abortion Support? It’s Not That Easy.

Providing abortion employment advantages carries authorized dangers for employers that go far past the standard risk of client boycotts of firms that take a place on a polarizing situation. 13 states have set off legal guidelines criminalizing abortion instantly or inside 30 days of Roe being struck down, and different states are anticipated to enact abortion bans quickly. Which means firms that supply abortion-related advantages to workers in these states might be accused of aiding and abetting felony exercise. (Miller, 6/30)

The Washington Submit:
Folks Looking for Abortions Encounter Flood Of On-line Misinformation

False and deceptive details about abortion is spreading on-line, and researchers concern it’ll solely worsen within the wake of the Supreme Court docket determination on Dobbs. On TikTok, movies suggesting that individuals use herbs to self-manage an abortion have racked up hundreds of views. Antiabortion activists have shared false info on Twitter concerning the supposed risks of abortion. And the New York legal professional normal despatched a letter to Google final week urging the corporate to level abortion seekers on Google Maps to legitimate health-care workplaces that supply the therapy, slightly than to “disaster being pregnant facilities,” which attempt to dissuade individuals from getting abortions. (Lerman, 7/4)

Politifact:
Truth Examine: Does Plan B Trigger Abortions?

Ever because the U.S. Supreme Court docket voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a slew of claims about reproductive well being and what constitutes as an abortion have flooded the web. Even matters that appeared like settled science — resembling emergency contraception — have been thrown into the combination. (Putterman, 7/4)

The Wall Avenue Journal:
Little-Identified Abortion Capsule Maker Faces Scrutiny

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has put a highlight on a small producer of abortion tablets, that are rising as a flashpoint between advocates and opponents of the process. Abortion-rights advocates have for many years lobbied for extra entry to mifepristone, the abortion treatment that Danco Laboratories LLC manufactures below the model title Mifeprex and sells for about $50 a tablet. They need the Meals and Drug Administration to take away security restrictions on the drug, make it obtainable with out a prescription or increase its label to approve it for miscarriage, for which additionally it is generally prescribed, off label. (Whyte, 7/4)

Houston Chronicle:
Roe V. Wade Ruling Might Jeopardize The High quality Of OB-GYN Training In Texas, Specialists Say

Dr. Paul Klotman, CEO and president of Baylor Faculty of Drugs, acknowledged the potential disruptions in an electronic mail to college on Tuesday. Baylor is one among 4 main medical colleges within the Houston space, together with McGovern Medical Faculty, the most important in Texas. (Gill, 7/3)

Stat:
Concern Of Prosecution Forces Medical doctors To Shield Themselves Or Sufferers 

Final Wednesday, a affected person walked into Julie Rhee’s fertility clinic in St. Louis with pelvic ache that was getting steadily worse. She had a historical past of ectopic pregnancies and, following months of IVF therapy, was exhibiting all of the indicators of one other one. A not too long ago implanted embryo was rising inside the delicate partitions of her fallopian tube, threatening to burst them open and trigger inner bleeding at any second. She wanted surgical procedure, and quick. For the primary time, although, Rhee found her scientific judgment wasn’t sufficient. She must current her case to a hospital ethics committee. (Goldhill, 7/5)

AP:
For Now, Cautious US Treads Water With Reworked COVID-19 

COVID-19 continues to be killing tons of of People every day, however is just not almost as harmful because it was final fall and winter. “It’s going to be a superb summer season and we deserve this break,” mentioned Ali Mokdad, a professor of well being metrics sciences on the College of Washington in Seattle. With extra People shielded from extreme sickness by vaccination and an infection, COVID-19 has reworked — for now a minimum of — into an disagreeable, inconvenient nuisance for a lot of. (Johnson, 7/3)

AP:
CDC Recommends 6 Washington Counties Ought to Put on Masks Once more 

Folks in six Washington counties ought to start sporting masks indoors in public and on public transportation once more, in response to suggestions from the federal Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. The most recent info from the CDC reveals that Lewis County, Pacific County, Thurston County, Grays Harbor County, Garfield County and Spokane County all have COVID-19 group ranges rated “excessive,” that means they’ve had 200 or extra new COVID-19 circumstances per 100,000 individuals within the final seven days, or they’ve had greater than 20 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 individuals inside a seven-day interval. (7/2)

Los Angeles Instances:
Extremely-Contagious Coronavirus Subvariants Unfold In California

In an indication of how the brand new coronavirus wave continues to unfold throughout California, two-thirds of the state’s counties are actually within the excessive COVID-19 group stage, during which the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recommends common masking in indoor public areas. This comes as well being officers are warning of regarding weeks forward as two new ultra-contagious Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — unfold. … (Lin II and Cash, 7/4)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Why UCSF’s Bob Wachter Says COVID Variant BA.5 Is ‘A Completely different Beast’

The brand new BA.5 pressure of the COVID-causing virus is “a special beast” from ones we’ve already seen — extra infectious and higher capable of evade immune responses — and “we have to change our considering” about the right way to defend towards it, in response to a data-packed Twitter thread posted at this time by Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chair of drugs. (Fagone, 7/4)

AP:
Colorado’s Drop In Life Expectancy Blamed On COVID, Medicine 

Life expectancy dropped in Colorado for the second straight 12 months in 2021. It’s the type of decline, pushed by the pandemic, not seen in many years, knowledge from the state well being division present. The typical life expectancy for Colorado residents fell to 78 years in 2021. … Key drivers for the decline have been COVID-19 and overdose deaths. (Daley, 7/2)

Fashionable Healthcare:
Aetna Drops Prior Authorization For Most Cataract Surgical procedures

Aetna will now not require prior authorization for many sufferers in search of cataract surgical procedure. The insurer reversed the year-old coverage for its 24.5 million members besides Medicare Benefit enrollees in Georgia and Florida. The change took impact Friday, and got here after the insurer reviewed a 12 months’s value of knowledge on the surgical procedures, an Aetna spokesperson wrote in an electronic mail. (Tepper, 7/1)

Fashionable Healthcare:
CMS Taking Steps Towards Nursing Residence Minimal Staffing Requirement

The Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers’ announcement final week that it plans to start out utilizing payroll knowledge to make sure nursing properties adjust to staffing necessities is a transfer towards stricter regulation, consultants mentioned. Starting Oct. 24, surveyors will use the Payroll Based mostly Journal staffing knowledge for inspections to make sure staffing necessities are met, resembling having a registered nurse on web site for eight hours per day or having licensed nurses on employees 24 hours a day. (Christ, 7/1)

The Washington Submit:
At Final, Medical Tips Tackle Care For Adults With Down Syndrome

Within the Nineteen Sixties, the life span of an individual with Down syndrome was simply 10 years. At present, these life spans have stretched to 60 years. However till not too long ago, no pointers existed for treating the particular well being issues many adults with Down syndrome face. Now, a information for households and caretakers breaks down a brand new set of recommendation on caring for the medical wants of adults with the chromosomal abnormality. (Blakemore, 7/4)

The New York Instances:
New Dementia Prevention Methodology Could Be Behavioral, Not Prescribed

Dementia circumstances are climbing together with an getting older world inhabitants, and one more much-anticipated Alzheimer’s treatment, crenezumab, has proved ineffective in scientific trials — the most recent of many disappointments. Public well being consultants and researchers argue that it’s previous time to show our consideration to a special strategy — specializing in eliminating a dozen or so already recognized danger elements, like untreated hypertension, listening to loss and smoking, slightly than on an exorbitantly priced, whiz-bang new drug. (Span, 7/3)

The Boston Globe:
Can Biogen’s Backup Plan For Alzheimer’s Succeed? 

Everybody wants a backup plan, together with one of many largest biotech firms on the town. So when Biogen earlier this 12 months gave up on turning a revenue from its beleaguered Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, the Cambridge firm moved its chips to a different experimental Alzheimer’s therapy. (Cross, 7/3)

ABC Information:
Listeria Outbreak Linked To Florida Ice Cream Model

A listeria outbreak that brought about one demise in Illinois and sickened a minimum of 23 different individuals has been linked to a Florida ice cream model, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. The CDC advises shoppers to discard Massive Olaf Creamery model ice cream they’ve at residence. It additionally recommends cleansing any containers, utensils and areas that will have touched a Massive Olaf ice cream product. (Alfonseca, 7/4)

CBS Information:
Salmonella Discovered In A Third Of Floor Hen, Client Studies Says

The nation is making little to no headway in stopping bacteria-laden hen from touchdown in U.S. grocery shops and sickening hundreds of People yearly, with Client Studies discovering in a current take a look at that one-third of floor hen samples contained salmonella. (Gibson, 7/1)

USA At present:
Binge Ingesting Could Create Dangers Amongst Reasonable Drinkers, Examine Says

A examine revealed in June within the American Journal of Preventive Drugs discovered reasonable drinkers have been extra more likely to have interaction in binge-drinking behaviors, resulting in an elevated danger of alcohol-related issues. Researchers surveyed 1,229 drinkers ages 30 and older in 2004 to 2005, and once more from 2015 to 2016. The members have been separated between reasonable and heavy drinkers, with reasonable ingesting outlined as having a median of 1 drink per day over the course of every week. (Fulton, 7/2)

NPR:
New York Metropolis Officers Work To Enhance The Quantity Of Public Restrooms

Although New York Metropolis has the most important inhabitants within the nation, it has round 1,400 public restrooms, in response to a metropolis report from 2019. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine mentioned Tuesday at a rally and press convention on the New York Metropolis Corridor steps advocating for extra restrooms. “That quantity, weighed towards a metropolis of eight and a half million [people], is paltry,” he mentioned. (Cope, 7/3)