• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering trying to get COVID-19 booster shots to immunocompromised people through programs that allow access to experimental drugs, a senior vaccine official told an advisory group that met to discuss the need to obtain extra doses for vulnerable people amid a rise in cases tied to the delta variant. The panel can’t officially recommend boosters until federal regulators give full approval to the shots or amend their emergency authorizations. (The Washington Post)
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced a bill that would make social media platforms legally liable for health misinformation during public health emergencies by creating an exception to the Section 230 law, which shields the sites from lawsuits on user-generated content. The bill has no Republican support, limiting its chances of passing, but comes as the Biden administration ratchets up its criticisms of tech companies’ role in spreading COVID-19 falsehoods. (Bloomberg)
• The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of advocates for the state’s Medicaid expansion, reversing a lower-court ruling last month that held the voter-passed measure to expand the program was unconstitutional because it appropriated money without identifying a source of funding. The state Supreme Court ruling means expansion can go forward, which would make an estimated 275,000 Missourians newly eligible for coverage. (The Hill)
• The treatment-resistant superbug Candida auris has been reported among people who had never been treated with antifungal drugs for the first time, the CDC said, and there may also have been some transmission of C. auris strains within health facilities. The handful of newly reported cases are concerning because researchers are worried about the toll the dangerous superbug could take on severely ill patients. (Stat News)

U.S. Lags Behind Global Counterparts in Driving Down Vaccine Hesitancy

Morning Consult

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Biden administration sends more cash to hard-hit areas as Delta variant surges

Sarah Owermohle, Politico

The new steps come as new cases and hospitalizations continue to spike while vaccination rates have stalled.

White House disappointed by China rejecting COVID origin probe plan

Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters

The White House said on Thursday it is “deeply disappointed” in China’s decision to reject a World Health Organization (WHO) plan for a second phase of an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus.

Why Vaccinated People Are Getting ‘Breakthrough’ Infections

Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times

The vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness and death, but they are not a golden shield against the coronavirus.

Pfizer Shot Halts Severe Illness, Allows Infection in Israel

Yaacov Benmeleh, Bloomberg

Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine provided a strong shield against hospitalization and more severe disease in cases caused by the contagious delta variant in Israel in recent weeks, even though it was just 39% effective in preventing infections, according to the country’s health ministry.

“Don’t You Work With Old People?”: Many Elder-Care Workers Still Refuse to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

Jenny Deam et al., ProPublica

Amid a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” more than 40% of the nation’s nursing home and long-term health care workers have yet to receive vaccinations.

‘Not Out of the Woods’: C.D.C. Issues Warning to the Unvaccinated

Michael D. Shear, et al., The New York Times

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday that the United States was “not out of the woods yet” on the pandemic and was once again at a “pivotal point” as the highly infectious Delta variant ripped through unvaccinated communities.

White House boosts funding for COVID testing in vulnerable communities

Marisa Fernandez, Axios

The White House announced Thursday that it will invest $1.6 billion to support COVID-19 testing and mitigation efforts in vulnerable communities.

NFL: Covid outbreaks among unvaccinated players could mean forfeits

Nick Niedzwiadek, Politico

The prospect of canceled football games is a major step toward nudging players to get vaccinated without making it an outright requirement.

House Republicans soft-pedal push for Covid vaccinations amid rising infections.

Jonathan Weisman, The New York Times

House Republican leaders and doctors gathered Thursday morning for a news conference ostensibly to urge Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus amid rising infections across the United States, but they used the event to attack Democrats who they said, without proof, had dissembled about the origins of the virus.

Quest Diagnostics is seeing a rise in Covid tests as delta variant spreads, CEO says

Pia Singh, CNBC

Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski told CNBC on Thursday the company is seeing an increase in Covid-19 tests as the more contagious delta variant spreads across the country.

Senate Infrastructure Deal in Sight After Medicare Agreement

Erik Wasson, Bloomberg Law

A bipartisan group of senators is closing in on a $579 billion infrastructure deal after agreeing to pay for it in part by delaying a costly Trump-era Medicare regulation, but they don’t expect to announce details until at least Monday.

Mississippi Asks Supreme Court to End Roe v. Wade Abortion Rights

Jess Bravin, The Wall Street Journal

Mississippi asked the Supreme Court Thursday to abolish federal abortion rights, arguing in a brief that Roe v. Wade and other precedents entitling women to end their pregnancies in some circumstances trample on states’ 10th-Amendment powers to decide public policy within their borders.

How the HIPAA Law Works and Why People Get It Wrong

Aishvarya Kavi, The New York Times

The measure prohibits health professionals from revealing your medical records, but it is perfectly legal to ask whether someone has been vaccinated.

Medicaid Benefits No Barrier to Green Cards, Agency Chief Says

Christopher Brown, Bloomberg Law

Legal immigrants can receive Medicaid benefits without harming their chances of becoming a permanent resident , Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Thursday.

UnitedHealthcare awarding $11.4M to social determinants programs in 18 states

Paige Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare

The insurer first launched its Empowering Health program in 2018 and has since then awarded more than $40 million in grants, establishing partnerships with community organizations across 26 states.

Cigna paying members to use biosimilars draws providers ire

Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Cigna pays members to switch to biological drugs that it says are clinically equivalent and cheaper—a new policy provoking objections from providers, who maintain that it crosses the line between covering medical expenses and practicing medicine—and that it threatens patients’ health.

After 18 Months, Sutter Antitrust Settlement Finally Poised for Formal Approval

Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News

More than 18 months after Sutter Health agreed to a tentative settlement in a closely watched antitrust case joined by the California Attorney General’s Office, the judge presiding over the case indicated she would sign off on the terms, pending agreement on attorney fees. The nonprofit health care giant, based in Sacramento, stood accused of violating California’s antitrust laws by using its market dominance to drive up prices.

Tenet rebounds in Q2, buoyed by volume recoveries

Hailey Mensik, Healthcare Dive

Tenet posted a $120 million profit in the second quarter of this year, up from $88 million during the same time last year, following HCA as the second for-profit system to post a rebound, according to financial results released Wednesday.

When Covid first hit, prostate cancer surgeries fell much more for Black men than white men 

Elizabeth Cooney, Stat News

When Covid first hit, prostate cancer surgeries fell much more for Black men than white men

Last year’s lockdown during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic erased cancer surgery from many hospitals’ calendars as they diverted resources to meet the mounting surge in Covid-19 patients.

Facing Headwinds on New Alzheimer’s Drug, Biogen Launches Controversial Campaign

Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

Facing a host of challenges, Aduhelm’s makers Biogen and its partner Eisai are taking a page right out of a classic marketing playbook: Run an educational campaign directed at the consumer, one who is already worried about whether those lost keys or a hard-to-recall name is a sign of something grave.

Drugmaker Endo settles opioid claims by Tennessee counties, cities for $35 mln

Brendan Pierson, Reuters

Endo International Plc has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a lawsuit by Tennessee local governments and on behalf of a child allegedly born addicted to painkillers accusing the drugmaker of fueling the opioid epidemic, the company announced Thursday.

FDA seeks funds, powers to fix ‘great weaknesses’ in medical device supply chain 

Nick Paul Taylor, Healthcare Dive

In addition to $21.6 million for a shortage prevention program, part of the agency’s fiscal year 2022 budget request, Woodcock wants Congress to give FDA “expanded authority to obtain supply disruption notifications for critical devices any time there is the potential for a shortage.”

AMA seeks overhaul of CDC opioid prescribing guidelines

Steven Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare

The American Medical Association is calling for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to overhaul its 2016 opioid prescribing guidelines. The organization says the guidelines limit patients access to pain management treatments.

FDA classifies Philips ventilator recall as most serious

Mrinalika Roy, Reuters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday classified the recall of Philips’ (PHG.AS) breathing devices and ventilators as Class 1, or the most serious type of recall, saying the use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death.

Most clinical trials failed to meet U.S. transparency requirements for recently approved drugs

Ed Silverman, Stat News

In the latest look at clinical trial transparency, a new analysis found that only 26% of drug makers made results publicly available for all studies used to win approval for their medicines during a recent two-year period.

A.I. Predicts the Shapes of Molecules to Come

Cade Metz, The New York Times

DeepMind has given 3-D structure to 350,000 proteins, including every one made by humans, promising a boon for medicine and drug design.

Virtual doctor visits shrivel

Courtenay Brown, Axios

One pandemic-era phenomenon that may have peaked: virtual doctor visits. Nearly one-quarter of American adults had a virtual doctor appointment within the past month, according to the latest Census Bureau survey.

VA pauses embattled Cerner EHR rollout for 6 months in major revamp 

Rebecca Pifer, Healthcare Dive

The Department of Veterans Affairs isn’t scheduling any more deployments of its new Cerner EHR for six months, an agency official told a House subcommittee on Wednesday.

Nursing Shortage Is Hurting Those Least Among Us: America’s Disabled Children

Patty Jeffrey (Chair, American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment), Morning Consult

The scope and severity of America’s nursing shortage can be understood easily enough: Hundreds of thousands of unfilled job openings in every corner of the country have led to ballooning staffing ratios and declining patient outcomes.