Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:Its About Love And Solidarity: Mutual Aid Unites NYC Neighbors Facing COVIDNancy Perez, a 45-year-old resident of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, contracted COVID-19 in March. She stayed quarantined in her room for a month to isolate from her two sons and grandson. A few days before she got the virus, shed met a volunteer with Bed-Stuy Strong one of the many mutual aid groups around the country that have rallied to provide help in the face of the pandemic. Bed-Stuy Strong assembled an army of volunteers to help vulnerable neighbors with food deliveries and basic supplies. While Perez was in isolation, volunteers regularly delivered cooked food for her sons, ages 17 and 20, and her 4-year-old grandson. (Lawrence, 7/27)
Kaiser Health News:The Color Of COVID: Will Vaccine Trials Reflect Americas Diversity?When U.S. scientists launch the first large-scale clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines this summer, Antonio Cisneros wants to make sure people like him are included. Cisneros, who is 34 and Hispanic, is part of the first wave of an expected 1.5 million volunteers willing to get the shots to help determine whether leading vaccine candidates can thwart the virus that sparked a deadly pandemic. If I am asked to participate, I will, said Cisneros, a Los Angeles cinematographer who has signed up for two large vaccine trial registries. It seems part of our duty. (JoNel Aleccia, 7/27)
Kaiser Health News:Employers Require COVID Liability Waivers As Conflict Mounts Over Workplace SafetyAfter spending a May day preparing her classroom to reopen for preschoolers, Ana Aguilar was informed that the tots would not have to wear face masks when they came back. Whats more, she had to sign a form agreeing not to sue the school if she caught COVID-19 or suffered any injury from it while working there. Other teachers signed the form distributed by the Montessori Schools of Irvine, but Aguilar said she felt uncomfortable, although it stipulated that staff members would be masked. At 23, she has a compromised immune system and was also worried that she could pass the coronavirus on to her fianc and other family members. (Meyer, 7/27)
Kaiser Health News:Last Thing Patients Need During Pandemic: Being Last To Know A Doctor Left NetworkAs the coronavirus spread silently through New York City early this year, Deborah Koeppel had an appointment with her cardiologist and two visits with her primary care doctor. Both physicians are members of Concorde Medical Group, a practice in Manhattan with an office conveniently located a few blocks from where Koeppel works. She soon received notices telling her after the fact that those doctors were not in her health plans network of providers. According to the notices, she was on the hook for $849 in out-of-network cost sharing for three visits, which typically would cost her nothing from in-network providers. (Andrews, 7/27)
NPR:Florida Case Count Surpasses That Of New York, The Country's Original EpicenterFlorida has recorded more coronavirus cases than New York. Only California, the most populous state in the country, has more. As of Sunday afternoon, data from Johns Hopkins University shows 423,855 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus, compared to 411,736 in New York. California leads with 450,242 cases. (Treisman, 7/26)
Tampa Bay Times:Florida Coronavirus Cases Show Little Sign Of Slowing As State Surpasses New YorkThe number of infections and deaths tied to the novel coronavirus in Florida showed little sign of slowing Sunday as the state surpassed New York for the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the United States. Only California, with a population nearly twice as high as Floridas, has more cases. Floridas Department of Health reported 9,344 infections and 78 fatalities. The overall caseload is 423,855 since March 1, and the number of deaths tied to the virus is 5,972. (Dawson, 7/26)
The Hill:US Surpasses 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths For Fourth Straight DayThe U.S. tallied over 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths Friday for the fourth straight day this week, yet another sign of the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.There were 1,178 new deaths Friday alone, according to the COVID Tracking project, compared with 1,038 Tuesday, 1,117 Wednesday, and 1,039 Thursday. Over 137,000 people have died in the U.S. and over 4 million people have contracted the virus in the country since the outbreak began. (Axelrod, 7/25)
NPR:U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spots: Mid-Atlantic And Northeast Could BackslideFor weeks the U.S. coronavirus pandemic has largely been driven by spiraling outbreaks in the South and West. But some forecasters say Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states could soon be in deep trouble again, too. The warning comes from researchers at the PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which has built a model to provide four-week forecasts for every U.S. county. NPR spoke to David Rubin, PolicyLab's director, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. (Aizenman, 7/24)
Stat:Trump Unveils Four Executive Orders Aimed At Lowering Drug PricesThe Trump administration unveiled four executive orders on Friday aimed at bringing down pharmaceutical prices, a last-ditch effort by the White House to cut drug costs before the November election. It remains unclear whether the Trump administration is capable of finalizing many of the actions by Election Day and whether it intends to do so. (Florko and Facher, 7/24)
Politico:Trump Signs Limited Drug Pricing Orders After Last-Minute Debate"The four orders I'm signing today will completely restructure the prescription drug market," Trump said in a speech, hearkening back to his 2016 campaign promise to slash costs. But the ambitious plans are rife with limitations. The rebate order comes with a caveat that any plan cannot increase seniors' premiums, the unworkable problem that led the adminstration to kill its original rebate rule last year. (Owermohle, Cancryn and Luthi, 7/24)
Politico:Trumps Talking Health Care Again, With 2020 In MindPresident Donald Trump is suddenly talking about health care again. He signed several executive orders on drug pricing on Friday. He vowed to unveil some new health plan by the end of next week, although he hasnt provided specifics or an explanation of how hell do it. His aides are touting a speech in which Trump will lay out his health care vision. White House counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has been calling Trump the health care president. (McGraw and Ehley, 7/26)
AP:AP-NORC Poll: US Course At Record Low, Trump Sinks On VirusA new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds Trumps approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic falling to a new low, with just 32% of Americans supportive of his approach. ... Even as he tries to refocus his contest with Biden on divisive cultural issues and an ominous law and order message, Trumps reelection prospects are likely to be inextricably linked to his handling of the pandemic and whether voters believe the country will head back in the right direction under his leadership. The AP-NORC poll makes clear the challenge ahead for Trump on that front: 8 in 10 Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction. (Pace and Fingerhut, 7/26)
Politico:Make America Normal Again: Trump Backers Plead For A Virus PlanPresident Donald Trump restarted the White House coronavirus briefings. He urged Americans to wear masks. He even scrapped his partys convention. To many of his own allies, its still not enough. Trumps political allies, alarmed by his sinking poll numbers, are warning that the presidents best chance to get reelected is to outline more detailed plans to conquer the coronavirus he keeps trying to wish away. They are advising him to offer people something concrete they can look to as the pandemic surges in dozens of states, eroding months of progress. (Kumar, 7/24)
The Wall Street Journal:GOP To Propose Aid Bill, With Extra Jobless Benefits Set To ExpireAfter days of disagreements between the White House and GOP lawmakers, Republicans are set to release their proposal for the next coronavirus relief bill on Monday, with millions of Americans on the verge of losing expanded unemployment benefits.Lawmakers now have little time before the $600 weekly supplement to jobless benefits ends. In negotiations with Democrats, three months before the election, an agreement on unemployment insurance might prove to be the most difficult to reach. (Ballhaus and Duehren, 7/26)
The Hill:White House, Senate GOP Race To Finalize Coronavirus Package Ahead Of Monday RolloutThe White House and Senate Republicans are workingto finalize a coronavirus relief package ahead of a Monday rollout. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were back in the Capitol on Sunday for a second day of meetings with GOP staff as they work to lock down the forthcoming proposal. As he left the Capitol, Meadows told reporters that they had"been working through just some of the technical language" and had reached "an agreement in principle." (Carney, 7/26)
The Hill:Mnuchin: It 'Wouldn't Be Fair To Use Taxpayer Dollars To Pay More People To Sit Home'Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took a hard line Sunday against the $600 increase in unemployment benefits that was a part of the last coronavirus relief measure, saying, It just wouldnt be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home than they would working and get a job. GOP lawmakers have taken a hard line against theenhancement as they negotiate with the White House over a new relief measure. The initial bill won blowback from Republicans who said some people would make more money not working than going to work. (Budryk, 7/26)
The New York Times:Trump Officials Float Idea Of Narrow Bill To Extend Unemployment BenefitsTop Trump administration officials proposed on Sunday potentially short circuiting free-ranging stimulus talks with Democrats to rush through a much narrower bill prioritizing an extension of federal unemployment benefits that are set to expire this week for millions of Americans. Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, said he would now like to see lawmakers act this week to extend and alter the unemployment program, give tax credits to businesses to help ease reopening costs and grant employers new liability protections while setting aside a long list of other objectives, including Democrats priorities. (Fandos and Cochrane, 7/26)
AP:White House Pushes Narrow Virus Aid; Pelosi Blasts GOP DelayHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday assailed Republican disarray over a new pandemic relief package as the White House suggested a narrower effort might be necessary, at least for now. The California Democrat panned the Trump administrations desire to trim an expiring temporary federal unemployment benefit from $600 weekly to about 70% of pre-pandemic wages. The reason we had $600 was its simplicity, she said from the Capitol. (Mascaro and Superville, 7/26)
The New York Times:Fires And Pepper Spray In Seattle As Police Protests Widen Across U.S.Weeks of violent clashes between federal agents and protesters in Portland, Ore., galvanized thousands of people to march through the streets of American cities on Saturday, injecting new life into protests that had largely waned in recent weeks. One of the most intense protests was in Seattle, where a day of demonstrations focused on police violence left a trail of broken windows and people flushing pepper spray from their eyes. At least 45 protesters had been arrested as of early evening, and both protesters and police officers suffered injuries. (Baker and Bogel-Burroughs, 7/25)
AP:Police And Protesters Clash In Violent Weekend Across The USProtests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents outside a courthouse in Portland, Oregon, forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia. A protest against police violence in Austin, Texas, turned deadly when a witness says the driver of a car that drove through a crowd of marchers opened fire on an armed demonstrator who approached the vehicle. And someone was shot and wounded in Aurora, Colorado, after a car drove through a protest there, authorities said. (Martin, 7/26)
Reuters:Seattle Black Lives Matter Clashes Spark 45 Arrests, 21 Police InjuredDozens were arrested and many police injured in clashes around Seattles biggest Black Lives Matter protest in weeks on Saturday, police said, with a renewed energy sparked by violent clashes between activists and federal agents in nearby Portland, Oregon. Police said officers used non-lethal weapons in attempts to disperse the thousands of marchers in the late afternoon after some protesters set fire to the construction site for a King County juvenile detention facility and courthouse. By 10 p.m., police had made 45 arrests in connection with todays riot in the East Precinct, the Seattle Police wrote in a Twitter post. Scruggs, 7/25)
The New York Times:Hurricanes Choice For Texans: Shelter From The Virus Or The StormBartt Howes boat was his refuge from the pandemic. Battling diabetes and H.I.V., he knew that catching the coronavirus as well could kill him, so he had been living alone on the docked boat for three months. Then Hurricane Hanna began to slam the Texas coast on Saturday, forcing Mr. Howe to trade one deadly menace for another: To avoid injury or death in the hurricane, he had to risk infection ashore. I had managed to stay safe all this time, but the storm kicked me out of my boat, he said with a hint of resignation. Now here I am, back on land, on borrowed time. (Sandoval, 7/26)
AP:Tropical Storm Hanna Drenches South Texas Amid Virus CrisisA day after roaring ashore as a hurricane, Hanna lashed the Texas Gulf Coast on Sunday with high winds and drenching rains that destroyed boats, flooded streets and knocked out power across a region already reeling from a surge in coronavirus cases. Downgraded to a tropical storm, Hanna passed over the U.S.-Mexico border with winds near 50 mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It unloaded more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain on parts of South Texas and northeastern Mexico. Border communities whose health care systems were already strained by COVID-19 cases with some patients being airlifted to larger cities found themselves under siege from the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season. There were no immediate reports of any deaths on either side of the border. (Mone and Merchant, 7/26)
The Washington Post:Tropical Storm Hanna Unloading Flooding Rains In South TexasOn Sunday evening, Hanna continued its march southwest as a tropical depression, slipping into Mexico while still lashing the Rio Grande Valley with prolific rainfall. The direct strike by Hanna comes at a time when the Lone Star State is grappling with a spike in coronavirus cases. (Cappucci, Samenow and Freedman, 7/26)
The New York Times:FEMA Sends Faulty Protective Gear To Nursing Homes Battling VirusExpired surgical masks. Isolation gowns that resemble oversize trash bags. Extra-small gloves that are all but useless for the typical health workers hands. Nursing home employees across the country have been dismayed by what theyve found when theyve opened boxes of protective medical gear sent by the federal government, part of a $134 million effort to provide facilities a 14-day supply of equipment considered critical for shielding their vulnerable residents from the coronavirus. (Jacobs, 7/24)
The Washington Post:Sen. Hawley Lays Down New Antiabortion Marker For Supreme Court NomineesSen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he would not support any nominee for the Supreme Court unless they had publicly stated before their nomination that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established federal protection for abortion, was wrongly decided. I will vote only for those Supreme Court nominees who have explicitly acknowledged that Roe v. Wade is wrongly decided, Hawley said in an interview with TheWashington Post. By explicitly acknowledged, I mean on therecord and before they were nominated. (Costa, 7/26)
Politico:Trump Administration Invests $472M More In Moderna Vaccine CandidateThe Trump administration is going to pump another $472 million into expanding Modernas clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. What happened: Moderna announced Sunday that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, known as BARDA, is pouring the additional dollars the day before the phase three trial of the vaccine candidate is slated to start. (Roubein, 7/26)
Reuters:Moderna Gets Further $472 Million U.S. Award For Coronavirus Vaccine DevelopmentThe U.S.-based drug maker said the additional funding will support its late-stage clinical development including the expanded Phase 3 study of Modernas vaccine candidate. In April, Moderna had received $483 million from the U.S. federal agency that funds disease-fighting technology, when the experimental vaccine was in an early-stage trial conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. (7/26)
The Hill:Meadows Says White House Is 'Hopeful' It Can Announce New Coronavirus Therapies 'In The Coming Days'White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that the administration is hopeful it can announce new therapies to treat the coronavirus in the coming days. Meadows told ABCs This Week that the White House has been working around the clock,with a focuson COVID-19 therapeutics, vaccines and mitigation therapies.The president has been very clear whatever amount of money and whatever amount of time needs to be invested, were doing that, the White House chief of staff said. (Coleman, 7/26)
The Hill:Azar: If We Wear Masks, We Can Avoid Further ShutdownsHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that widespread social distancing and mask usage would eliminate the need for resuming shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. If we wear our masks we can avoid further shutdowns but if we dont that will be the consequence, Azar said Sunday on CBS Face the Nation. (Budryk, 7/26)
Politico:Azar Blames Testing Delays On StatesHHS Secretary Alex Azar Sunday blamed the current delays in coronavirus testing on the states, which he said have been too slow to spend federal dollars to boost the countrys testing amid the virus's spread. The Trump administration has frequently sought to put the responsibility for the coronavirus response on governors and local officials, even as many public health officials as well as governors have called for a coordinated national emergency response. (Roubein, 7/26)
Politico:U.S. Testing Czar: Everyone Who 'Needs' A Covid-19 Test Can Get OneAdmiral Brett Giroir, the Trump administration coronavirus testing czar, said that anyone who needs a coronavirus test can get one but he acknowledged that the average turnaround time for tests is too long as states smash records for numbers of cases. Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," he pushed back at former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney who earlier this month called his familys difficulties obtaining tests promptly inexcusable" this many months into the pandemic. (Roubein, 7/26)
The Hill:Ex-CDC Director On US, COVID-19: 'We Are A Laggard'Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden on Sunday said the U.S. had been a laggard in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, specifically pointing to lack of centralized information. Ill be frank, we are a laggard, Frieden said on Fox News Sunday. We are one of the top in the world in terms of the cumulative death rate unlike many other countries that have high death rates, ours is continuing to increase. (Budryk, 7/26)
The Hill:CDC: Even Mild Coronavirus Symptoms Can Persist For WeeksCOVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even in people with mild symptoms, including young adults, according to a newanalysisreleased Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).It has been known that people severely ill after contracting COVID-19 can stay sick for several weeks. But less has been known about theeffects of the disease on people with milder symptoms who dont require hospitalization. (Hellmann, 7/24)
Stat:Covid-19 Vaccines May Cause Mild Side Effects, Experts SayWhile the world awaits the results of large clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines, experts say the data so far suggest one important possibility: The vaccines may carry a bit of a kick. In vaccine parlance, they appear to be reactogenic, meaning they have induced short-term discomfort in a percentage of the people who have received them in clinical trials. This kind of discomfort includes headache, sore arms, fatigue, chills, and fever. As long as the side effects of eventual Covid-19 vaccines are transient and not severe, these would not be sources of alarm in fact, they may be signals of an immune system lurching into gear. (Branswell, 7/27)
The New York Times:Your Coronavirus Antibodies Are Disappearing. Should You Care?Your blood carries the memory of every pathogen youve ever encountered. If youve been infected with the coronavirus, your body most likely remembers that, too. Antibodies are the legacy of that encounter. Why, then, have so many people stricken by the virus discovered that they dont seem to have antibodies? Blame the tests. (Mandavilli, 7/26)
The Wall Street Journal:A Big Unknown In Covid-19 Vaccine Development: How Long Will Protection Last?If any of the most-advanced Covid-19 vaccines prove to work safely, they may protect people for months or years rather than the rest of their lives, according to emerging science and health experts. Only a handful of vaccines generate lifetime immunity for most people, such as the ones for measles, a viral infection that naturally produces lifelong immunity. Experts caution against expectations of such longevity for Covid-19, citing experience with other respiratory viruses plus emerging data on the longevity of the antibodies that can prevent the virus from entering human cells and replicating. (Hopkins, Hernandez and Loftus, 7/26)
The Washington Post:Coronavirus Vaccine Trials Aim To Include The Black And Hispanic CommunitiesEach fall, the Rev. Rob Newells urges the congregation at Imani Community Church in Oakland, Calif., to get a flu shot. He builds bridges everyday between the countrys most vulnerable, marginalized communities and the medical system, defusing suspicion about HIV prevention treatments and educating people about medical research. He prods health-care leaders to think harder about their messengers: Dont send a white doctor to tell black people what they need to do for their own good. But with the first massive coronavirus vaccine trial in people set to start Monday, Newells finds himself in an unfamiliar place: on the fence about what to tell his colleagues, his community, his cousins. Biomedical research, Newells knows, is a long and painstaking process and he is concerned about a vaccine campaign that seems so narrowly focused on speed. (Johnson, 7/26)
Stat:Covid-19 Surge Helps AI Researchers Amass Lung ScansAt first, the images of lungs infected by the novel coronavirus were hard to come by. It was early in the pandemic, and Joseph Paul Cohen, a researcher at the University of Montreal, was trying to stockpile radiology scans to train an artificial intelligence model to recognize warning signs of severe illness. With so few images available, the work was next to impossible. But in recent weeks, the resurgence of Covid-19 in the U.S. and other hotspots has solved that problem, allowing him to amass hundreds of lung scans from clinical reports published around the world. (Ross, 7/27)
The New York Times:Corporate Insiders Pocket $1 Billion In Rush For Coronavirus VaccineOn June 26, a small South San Francisco company called Vaxart made a surprise announcement: A coronavirus vaccine it was working on had been selected by the U.S. government to be part of Operation Warp Speed, the flagship federal initiative to quickly develop drugs to combat Covid-19. Vaxarts shares soared. Company insiders, who weeks earlier had received stock options worth a few million dollars, saw the value of those awards increase sixfold. And a hedge fund that partly controlled the company walked away with more than $200 million in instant profits. (Gelles and Drucker, 7/25)
The Washington Post:ADHD Video Game Treatment Approved By FDACan a video game help children struggling with ADHD? That question inspired hopeful headlines last month after the Food and Drug Administration permitted marketing of the first digital game that may be prescribed to treat children ages 8 to 12 who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In EndeavorRx, designed for iPhones and iPads, children guide an avatar surfing through molten lava and an icy river, dodging fires and icebergs while grabbing flying objects. The game is not yet available for purchase, nor has a price been released, but its Boston-based developer, Akili Interactive Labs, may now feature its unique status in ads and pursue coverage by insurance plans. (Ellison, 7/26)
CIDRAP:Study Finds No Transmission Of COVID-19 From Moms To NewbornsA study yesterday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health found no evidence of COVID-19 transmission between 120 babies born to mothers with COVID-19, even after 2 weeks of breastfeeding with appropriate hygiene precautions. The findings led the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to change its guidance on infants and COVID-19positive mothers. The guidelines now recommend that newborns "room-in" with infected others after delivery if proper hygiene precautions are taken, including wearing a mask when appropriate and practicing hand hygiene. (7/24)
CIDRAP:Pilot Study Evaluates Use Of Dogs For SARS-CoV-2 DetectionA small pilot study suggests trained scent-detection dogs have the potential to be used for mass detection of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, German researchers reported yesterday in BMC Infectious Diseases. In the study, eight dogs were trained for 1 week to detect SARS-CoV-2 from saliva or tracheobronchial secretions of patients infected with the virus. During the training, dogs were presented with positive and negative samples (confirmed by RT-PCR tests) using a device with seven scent holes with tubes leading to metal containers that held the samples. Only one hole had a container with a positive sample, and the other six had containers with control samples. After a week, the researchers conducted a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. (7/24)
AP:US Agency Vows Steps To Address COVID-19 InequalitiesIf Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are hospitalized and killed by the coronavirus at far higher rates than others, shouldnt the government count them as high risk for serious illness? That seemingly simple question has been mulled by federal health officials for months. And so far the answer is no. But federal public health officials have released a new strategy that vows to improve data collection and take steps to address stark inequalities in how the disease is affecting Americans. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stress that the disproportionately high impact on certain minority groups is not driven by genetics. (Stobbe, 7/25)
USA Today:Diabetes And COVID: Coronavirus Highlights America's Health ProblemsDr. Anne Peters splits her mostly virtual work-week between a diabetes clinic on the west side of Los Angeles and one on the east side of the sprawling city.Three days a week she treats people whose diabetes is well controlled. They have insurance, so they can afford the newest medications and blood monitoring devices. They can exercise and eat well. Those generally more affluent West LA patients who've gotten COVID-19 have developed mild to moderate symptoms feeling miserable, she said but treatable, with close follow-up at home. ... On the other two days of her work week, it's a different story. (Weintraub, 7/27)
The New York Times:In Era Of Sickness, Doctors Prescribe Unusual Cure: VotingThe sign is easy to miss in the waiting room of the emergency department at Massachusetts General Hospital, next to the reception desk and a hand sanitizer pump. Register to vote here, it says, above an iPad attached to a podium. The kiosk has stood there since November, before the pandemic began and stayed there through the worst weeks of April, when 12 gasping patients were put on ventilators during a single grueling 12-hour shift. Now, as the number of coronavirus patients has slowed to a trickle, Dr. Alister Martin, the 31-year-old emergency room doctor who built the kiosk, is determined to keep trying to register voters. (Stockman, 7/25)
NPR:Gene Therapy Sees Encouraging Success In Child With Duchenne Muscular DystrophyThis is the story of a fatal genetic disease, a tenacious scientist and a family that never lost hope. Conner Curran was 4 years old when he was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disease that causes muscles to waste away. Conner's mother, Jessica Curran, remembers some advice she got from the doctor who made that 2015 diagnosis: "Take your son home, love him, take him on trips while he's walking, give him a good life and enjoy him because there are really not many options right now." (Hamilton, 7/27)
NPR:Could A Flu Shot Reduce Your Alzheimer's Risk?For years, public health officials have been trying to dispel the myth that people who get a flu shot are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease. They are not. And now there is evidence that vaccines that protect against the flu and pneumonia may actually protect people from Alzheimer's, too. The evidence comes from two studies presented Monday at this year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which is being held as a virtual event. (Hamilton, 7/27)
The Washington Post:References To White Men Still Dominate College Biology Textbooks, Survey SaysCharles Darwin. Carolus Linnaeus. Gregor Mendel. Theyre all men. Theyre all white. And their names appear in every biology book included in a new analysis of college textbooks. According to the survey, mentions of white men still dominate biology textbooks despite growing recognition in other media of the scientific contributions of women and people of color. The good news, the researchers say: Scientists in textbooks are getting more diverse. The bad news: If diversification continues at its current pace, it will take another 500 years for mentions of black/African American scientists to accurately reflect the number of black college biology students. (Brookshire, 7/26)
NPR:ADA At 30: 'We Are Not The Ones That Need To Change'Before the Americans with Disabilities Act granted people with disabilities greater protection and accessibility, a little-known law set the groundwork. In 1977, Judy Heumann helped lead a peaceful protest that forced the government to follow through with Section 504. As part of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the law would force hospitals, universities and other public spaces that received federal money, to remove barriers to accessibility for all Americans. But its implementation was long delayed over the costs necessary to retrofit buildings to comply with the law. (Shapiro and Bowman, 7/26)
AP:TV Reporter Credits Viewer With Noticing Cancerous LumpA television news reporter in Florida is crediting an eagle-eyed viewer for noticing a lump on her neck and emailing her that she should get it checked out. Victoria Price, a reporter for WFLA in Tampa, followed the advice and was diagnosed with cancer. Price tweeted that she is undergoing surgery on Monday to remove the tumor, her thyroid and a couple of lymph nodes. (7/26)
Politico:Sinclair To Delay Segment Featuring 'Plandemic' Conspiracy TheorySinclair Broadcasting on Saturday said it will delay its scheduled airing of a news segment featuring a viral conspiracy theory surrounding Anthony Faucis role in the Covid-19 pandemic.America This Week host Eric Bolling was scheduled to air an interview with Judy Mikovits, a medical researcher featured in the Plandemic video that claims Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus, Media Matters reported. (Eliza Weaver, 7/25)
The Wall Street Journal:Sinclair Postpones Controversial Show About CoronavirusSinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the owner of 191 television stations across the U.S., delayed the airing of an interview about the alleged origins of the coronavirus pandemic that drew widespread criticism on social media. An episode of America This Week, which was slated to air over the weekend, features an interview with medical researcher Judy Mikovits, who has claimed that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious-disease expert, helped manufacture the coronavirus and spread it to China. Dr. Mikovitss claims have previously attracted attention in the documentary Plandemic, which was earlier pulled from major online platforms including Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s YouTube. (Rizzo, 7/26)
AP:Workers Praise Disney Virus Safety, But Will Visitors Come?Every week, it seems, Kaila Barker, her husband and their five children change their minds about whether to travel from their home in Connecticut to Floridas Walt Disney World as planned in September. On the one hand, the lack of crowds means more opportunities to go on rides without long waits. On the other hand, Connecticut and Florida have implemented pandemic-related quarantines for each others residents and visitors, and the Barkers worry whether the Disney magic will get lost with mandatory mask-wearing for visitors and workers, temperature checks and no parades, fireworks shows or up-close meet-and-greets with costumed characters. (Schneider, 7/26)
The Wall Street Journal:Major Truck-Stop Chains Will Require Drivers To Use Face MasksThe biggest U.S. truck-stop operators will require customers to wear masks starting next week, joining major retailers, restaurants and airlines in rolling out policies aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus. Pilot Co., which operates 780 travel centers under the Pilot Flying J and other brands, said its mandate will take effect July 28. Similar policies kick in July 29 at Loves Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. and TravelCenters of America Inc. sites. (Smith, 7/24)
USA Today:Walmart Mask Incident In Minnesota: Pair With Swastikas Banned A YearA Minnesota man and woman who wore face masks with swastikas on them in an incident captured on video have been banned fromWalmart storesnationwide for at least a year.The video, posted to Facebook on Saturday byRaphaela Mueller, shows a man and woman in a Walmart in Marshall, Minnesota, wearing red face coverings with swastikas. The woman flips off the camera while the man checks out groceries. (Culver, 7/26)
AP:Some US Police Resist Enforcing Coronavirus Mask MandatesLang Holland, the chief of police in tiny Marshall, Arkansas, said he thinks the threat of the coronavirus has been overstated and only wears a face mask if hes inside a business that requires them. He doesnt make his officers wear them either. So the day after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed an order requiring masks to be worn in public throughout Arkansas, Holland made it clear his department wasnt going to enforce the mandate in the Ozarks town of about 1,300, calling it an unconstitutional overreach. (DeMillo, 7/26)
AP:Amid Virus, Uncertainty, Parents Decide How To School KidsJoshua Claybourn is leaning toward sending his kindergarten daughter to in-person classes at a private school next month. Holly Davis sixth-grade daughter will learn online, though the family has not yet decided what to do for school for a teenage daughter who requires special accommodations for hearing problems and dyslexia and another whos starting college. As they decide how their children will learn this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, parents are anxiously weighing the benefits of in-person instruction against the risks that schools could shut their doors again or that their children could contract the virus and pass it on. (Webber and Groves, 7/26)
The Hill:McEnany Likens Schools To 'Essential Places Of Business' In Push For ReopeningThe White House would support sending children back to school even if future studies showed kids transmitCOVID-19 at a higher rate than currently known, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday, arguing schools are "essential places of business." McEnany fielded multiple questions from reporters about President Trump's push for a return to in-person learning this fall even as he cancels some events for the Republican National Convention due to concerns about holding a mass gathering during the pandemic. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, also said Friday it's "an open question" how rapidly children under the age of 10 spread the virus. (Samuels, 7/24)
AP:Colleges Plan For Virus Testing, But Strategies Vary WidelyFor students heading to Colby College in Maine this fall, coronavirus testing is expected to be a routine part of campus life. All students will be required to provide a nasal swab every other day for two weeks, and then twice a week after that. All told, the college says it will provide 85,000 tests, nearly as many as the entire state of Maine has since the pandemic started. Colby, a private school of 2,000 students, joins a growing number of colleges announcing aggressive testing plans to catch and isolate COVID-19 cases before they spread. Harvard University says all students living on campus will be tested when they arrive and then three times a week. Boston University plans to test most students at least once a week. (Binkley, 7/26)
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First Edition: July 27, 2020 - Kaiser Health News
