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Category Archives: Transhuman News

The personal, medical, and political consequences of NH’s new abortion law – Seacoastonline.com

Posted: December 10, 2021 at 6:35 pm

Annmarie Timmins| New Hampshire Bulletin

In three weeks, it will not only be illegal to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks, but every person seeking an abortion, even a legal abortion, will have to undergo an ultrasound. In early stages of pregnancy, that means having a camera slid into the vagina, not an over-the-belly scan.

Its not pleasant, especially for sexual assault survivors, providers say.

It has to be inserted and then moved around so they can get an accurate depiction of what is going on in a persons uterus, said Dalia Vidunas, executive director of Equality Health Center in Concord. For men who need clarity, Id ask, How easy are your prostate exams? Is that comfortable? Vidunas said. Its like having your doctor in there checking your prostate for five minutes.

The procedure also carries about a $400 to $500 expense for uninsured women and co-pays for those with insurance.

The ultrasound is required to determine the fetuss age, though one lawmaker said during a legislative debate an ultrasound image would also allow a mother to connect with her baby.

Vidunas said gestational age can be determined by taking a womans medical history and date of her last period. Those steps, she said, are appropriate, non-invasive ways to identify gestational age in early stages of pregnancy, which she said account for 85 to 90 percent of abortions.

The law, which Gov. Chris Sununu signed as part of the budget, takes effect Jan. 1. He has said that he could not veto a whole budget during a pandemic over the law. Its a position and an issue that will take center stage leading up to the mid-term elections. He has also described it as no more restrictive than other states bans on later-term abortions, though many of those dont include New Hampshires ultrasound requirement, threat of criminal charges, and lack of exception for a fatal fetal anomaly.

Politically at stake will be highly motivated voters (especially women) who will want a real demonstration of his pro-choice commitment, said Wayne Lesperance, a political science professor at New England College. Anything short of that will make the race that much more difficult.

The law provides no exceptions except for the mothers life, includes criminal penalties for health care providers, and allows the father, if married to the mother, to sue a health care provider who violates the law.

There is disagreement about whether the failure to perform an ultrasound during a legal abortion could trigger criminal penalties, though the law does not explicitly exempt the ultrasound requirement from criminal charges.

That debate doesnt matter to abortion providers, who say they will follow the laws requirements. The risk of a civil suit from the fetuss father alone is also one they are unwilling to take.

Equality Health Center and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, two of the states three main abortion providers, have said they will perform ultrasounds prior to all terminations. Sandi Denoncour, executive director of the Lovering Health Center in Greenland, said they perform ultrasounds in most terminations and will continue to do so.

As health care providers, we are obligated to comply with all state laws, regardless of whether or not they are supported by medical best practice, said Kayla Montgomery of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Action Fund in an email. This is precisely why politicians in Concord shouldnt be legislating private medical procedures.

Equality Health Center did perform ultrasounds on all abortion patients prior to COVID-19. They stopped doing so except when medically necessary once pandemic health concerns required them to limit contact with patients. The change has been good for women, Vidunas said.

I think Equality is the perfect place to look at in terms of necessity (of ultrasounds), she said. Our patients are not having outcomes that are adverse because of fewer ultrasounds. It shows that taking correct (medical) histories and having those discussions, you can eliminate a large amount of ultrasound being done. When did anybody say having an unneeded test was good?

Asked in a radio interview last week about the ultrasound requirement, Sununu said he thought it applied to only months seven, eight, and nine, but then said he wasnt sure, adding the abortion legislation was added to the budget bill at the last minute. (It was in the budget, which he signed in June, as early as early May.)

The governors statement is incorrect, Montgomery said. This summer Governor Sununu signed New Hampshires first modern abortion ban into law, and it is clear effective January 1, 2022 every person seeking abortion care must first undergo an ultrasound to determine gestational age, even if it is not medically necessary.

Sununu spokesman Brandon Pratt said in an email that Sununu is pro-choice and is working with lawmakers on legislation repealing the ultrasound requirement and adding exemptions for rape and incest.

Sununus confusion over the ultrasound requirement was one of two abortion-related statements he made in recent weeks that drew unwanted attention.

Sununu was asked at a press conference in late November how he would protect abortion access in New Hampshire if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Mississippis 15-week abortion ban, which is widely seen as a threat toRoe v. Wade. (In a legal brief this summer, Mississippis attorney general asked the justices to see it as such.)

That is not an overturning ofRoe v. Wade, Sununu, who identifies as pro-choice, said. It has to do with viability and all this kind of other stuff. So no, Im not really paying attention to that case, and well see where it goes, but that case does not decideRoe v. Wade.

Asked about the remark, Pratt said the matter before the court is whether all pre-viability bans are unconstitutional. The court does not have to overturn Roe to decide this case, and the governor hopes that they will not do so in their ruling, nor does he expect that they will, he said.

That is not how Montgomery sees the case. To be clear the state of Mississippi is asking the Supreme Court to uphold their 15-week abortion ban and overturnRoe v. Wade, she said. The future of abortion access is at risk, and we should all be paying attention.

Lesperance called Sununus remarks unfortunate for a number of reasons.

For the pro-choice community, they see (the case) as an existential threat toRoe. The governors response came across as flippant and dismissive, Lesperance said in an email. For pro-life individuals, the … case represents the greatest opportunity to overturnRoeand make abortion rights a states decision.

He added, For both camps, the stakes are incredibly high. I understand the governors strategy of wanting to avoid getting pulled into what is likely to be one of the biggest issues of the mid-term cycle.

This story was first published in the New Hampshire Bulletin,https://newhampshirebulletin.com/

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The personal, medical, and political consequences of NH's new abortion law - Seacoastonline.com

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Cartman converts to Judaism on South Park after decades of tormenting Jews – Jewish News

Posted: at 6:35 pm

One of televisions most notorious cartoon antisemites is now an Orthodox rabbi.

Eric Cartman, the egomaniacal, hate speech-spouting grade schooler on Comedy Centrals long-running adult animated series South Park, has had a change of heart in a new hour-long special of the show, which is set 40 years in the future.

In South Park: Post COVID, which debuted on Thanksgiving on the Paramount Plus streaming service, Cartman has converted to Judaism, leads a congregation in Colorado Springs, wears a tallit wherever he goes, and has a Jewish wife named Yentl and three children: Moishe, Menorah and Hakham. His trademark blue hat now serves as a kippah.

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Is Cartmans conversion for real, or some elaborate scheme directed at his old nemesis, Kyle Broflovski? Post COVID is only the first part of a new series of South Park movies commissioned as Paramount Plus exclusives, so we wont know for sure whats going on with him until the story arc continues sometime in December.

But his sudden devotion to the Torah is enough of a shocker to send Kyle, the shows long-suffering Jewish protagonist, into fits of rage, as he becomes convinced his ex-friends new life is just a mean-spirited ruse.

The Cartman-Kyle storyline is only the B-plot of the new special the rest involves the old schoolyard gang reuniting to try to uncover long-buried secrets of the pandemic but South Park has long used the dynamic between the two as politically incorrect comic fodder, dating back to the shows debut in 1997. Series co-creators Matt Stone (who is Jewish, and voices Kyle) and Trey Parker (who voices Cartman) have built many episodes around Jewish themes, frequently making note of Cartmans antisemitism usually as a way to mock actual antisemites.

The pint-sized sociopath has previously impersonated Hitler in an attempt to get Passion of the Christ fans to re-enact the Holocaust; faked having Tourette Syndrome in order to spout antisemitic speech in public; and tried to force Kyle to hand over his Jew Gold. Hes even jokingly converted to Judaism before, in a 2012 Passover special.

But this time, Cartman actually seems serious about his faith he even yells out Talmudic lessons while in the bedroom with his wife. Kyle, meanwhile, seems to have lapsed from his own beliefs in the intervening decades, noting at one point, Its been a long time since Ive prayed. The rest of the Broflovski family, who play a large role in the original South Park series and in the 1999 feature-length film, are nowhere to be found in Post COVID, though Kyle still lives in their house and keeps their photos on his wall.

So maybe seeing his longtime frenemy embrace the faith he once ridiculed could open up something in Kyle. But if so, that may take some more healing. When circumstances compel Kyle to host Cartmans family, he instead tries to kick them out. One of Cartmans kids exclaims, This is just like when our people were exiled from the Holy Land!

Jewish fans of South Park are used to Cartmans shenanigans: Odds are, theres something funny going on here. We wont know for sure whats up with him until the next made-for-streaming film, which is due next month.

South Park: Post COVID is now streaming on Paramount Plus.

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Cartman converts to Judaism on South Park after decades of tormenting Jews - Jewish News

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Flags Ordered To Half Staff Today For Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day – NorthEscambia.com

Posted: December 7, 2021 at 6:15 am

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday ordered flags to half staff Monday in Florida in Honorof Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day.

On December 6, 2019, a horrific act of terrorism was committed at Naval Air Station Pensacola, taking the lives of three U.S. Navy sailors and injuring other heroic victims, DeSantis said Sunday when issuing the proclamation.

The proclamation orders all state and federal flags to be flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, December 6, at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds in Florida.

The attack claimed the lives of Ensign Joshua Watson, Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Mohammed Haithamand Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Cameron Walters.

Editors note: Since the original publication of this story, flags across the nation were ordered to half staff Monday by the president through December 9 following the death of U.S. Senator Bob Dole. Flags are also at half staff on Tuesday due to Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Written by William Reynolds Filed Under Archive

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Flags Ordered To Half Staff Today For Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day - NorthEscambia.com

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Mary Werner Obituary (2021) – Jamestown, ND – The Bismarck Tribune – Legacy.com

Posted: at 6:15 am

Mary Werner

Mary Lou (Kourajian) Werner died at the age of 94 on Dec. 2, 2021, in Jamestown. Mary was the first born of nine children to immigrant parents Vahan and Sarah (Geuvjehizian) Kourajian.

Her father was born in Orar, Armenia and her mother was born in Tarsus, Turkish Armenia. Mary's parents fled their homeland to escape the Armenian genocide and were married in Marseille, France. They eventually made their way to Jamestown, where Mary was born on April 21, 1927. Mary attended school in Jamestown and graduated from Jamestown High School in 1945.

Mary became married to Roy Werner on June 25, 1947, in Jamestown. They lived and farmed in Bloom Township for 70 years.

Mary was an active member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church since 1947. She was a faithful servant of her Lord and church and she was always a willing volunteer. Mary served St. Paul's in many capacities for many years including historian, youth leader and as a member of numerous committees and boards. Mary was also active in the Dakota's Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving as a lay delegate.

Mary was a charter member of Church Women United and Nursing Home Volunteers, serving as each organization's first president. She was active in the lives of her children, participating in Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H and PTA. Mary also served nine years as a member of the Jamestown School Board.

Mary served in various capacities as a member of the Bloom Township board, the Stutsman County Township Officer's Association, the Bloom Township election board, Bloom Township Homemakers and Districts 12 & 29 Republican Women.

In her youth, Mary worked at several local shops, including King Photography Studio, where she met her future husband Roy. Her family was most important in her life and she loved to entertain. Anyone who had the pleasure of enjoying one of her home-cooked meals never left the table hungry.

Mary is survived by her daughters Mary Rebecca Werner, Yantis, Texas, and Carol Werner, Littleton, Colo., and her sons Jim Werner, Spokane, Wash., and Dan (Cindy) Werner, Bismarck. She is also survived by her ten grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She is survived by her sisters Helen Peterson, St. Paul, Minn., and Dorothy (Dave) Pokorny, Dickinson, and her brothers Tom (Bonnie) Kourajian, Prior Lake, Minn., and Art Kourajian, St. Paul, Minn.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband Roy and son Ron; parents Vahan and Sarah Kourajian; sister Virginia Skroch Bennett; brothers Casper, Charlie and John Kourajian; several nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and daughter-in-law Karla (Jim) Werner.

As a faithful servant of the Lord, Mary desires that any memorials be sent to St. Paul's United Methodist Church memorial fund or JRMC Hospice Service.

A prayer service will be held at Eddy Funeral Home, Jamestown, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, with visitation prior from 4 to 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Jamestown, at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

We respectfully request that those attending either service should be wearing a mask and practice social distancing to the best of one's ability.

Eddy Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Published by The Bismarck Tribune on Dec. 6, 2021.

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Mary Werner Obituary (2021) - Jamestown, ND - The Bismarck Tribune - Legacy.com

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Sunburn The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics 12.7.21 – Florida Politics

Posted: at 6:15 am

Good Tuesday morning. Lets begin with some good news about a great person.

Erin Ballas has been promoted to vice president at Public Affairs Consultants.

Ballas got her start at Public Affairs Consultants as an intern in 2008. In the nearly 14 years since, shes worked her way up the ladder, holding positions such as legislative assistant and associate before being named VP on Monday.

The firm credits Ballas experience forging strong relationships, crafting legislation and securing funding with its significant growth in the 2010s.

Erin brings a sense of family to our firm, ensuring our clients will always receive excellent service, Public Affairs Consultants President Keyna Cory said. We are thrilled to continue to develop as a firm with Erins enthusiasm and passion for the process.

The firm noted that it was unusual in a good way for someone in The Process to stick with the firm they started with.

I have enjoyed every day with Public Affairs Consultants. Our work ethic is unmatched, and we believe in our clients. Our firm is made up of two of the hardest working individuals in politics, and I am blessed to call them my partners, she said. I look forward to continuing to grow the firm and help our clients achieve their goals.

Ballas is a graduate of Florida State University, where she earned a masters degree in political science and government. She and her husband John Ballas live in Tallahassee with their two children, Dayton and Jett.

___

Florida may have the third-largest congressional delegation in the country, but it doesnt pack the same punch as other states on key committees in the U.S. House.

That may change if Republicans can flip the four seats they need to secure a majority, something that has become an increasingly likely eventuality in recent months.

If that happens, the House Ways and Means Committee will have a new chair: U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.

The Sarasota Congressman is currently the No. 2 Republican on the panel, which serves as the primary committee responsible for overseeing the U.S. tax code, tariffs, and key social programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Buchanans ascent hinged not only on a Republican majority but on the exit of the U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, the current ranking member on the committee.

The second half of that equation was solved Monday when the California Republican announced he would leave Congress this year to run the Trump Media & Technology Group a venture launched by former President Donald Trump.

Buchanan, who is already the only Floridian with a seat on the panel, would make further history as the first member from Florida to hold the gavel.

His business background and experience in Congress make him a natural fit for the position. And, should he land the job, the Sunshine State would have substantially more muscle in the Capitol.

There is no more solid member of Republican leadership than Vern, prominent lobbyist Brian Ballard observed.

___

Rep. Ralph Massullo is running for the Florida Senate.

The Lecanto Republican told Florida Politics late Monday that he has filed paperwork to run in Senate District 10, the seat currently held by Senate President Wilton Simpson, who is term-limited.

Over the past five years, Ive had the honor of representing my district in the Florida House. During that time, Ive worked tirelessly to live up to the trust my community placed in me by standing up for the conservative values we hold dear. Now, there is a new frontier on which to fight to defend those values that is why Im announcing my candidacy for the Florida Senate, Massullo said in a statement first provided to Florida Politics.

While the current SD 10 includes Citrus County, where Massullo lives, it also consists of all of Hernando, the home base of Spring Hill Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, who also filed to run in the district. Reapportionment could complicate things further by removing Pasco and bringing in Sumter.

Both lawmakers have previously acknowledged that they could meet in a Primary in a September interview, Massullo said he wouldnt have any qualms about running against Ingoglia, but that going for re-election to the House was also something he was considering.

Massullo later clarified that he would not run against a current House colleague in a Senate race unless he had support from Senate leadership beforehand, though he did not tout the support of any Senate leaders in his announcement. Ingoglia has not either, though he recently landed a high-profile endorsement from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

Massullos biggest hurdle, however, had been the substantial fundraising gap between him and Ingoglia.

The third-term Representative started November with $228,149 on hand between his campaign and political committee. Ingoglia, meanwhile, had $1.86 million banked between his campaign and multiple political committees. Massullo plans to virtually erase the gap by anteing up $1.5 million of his own money on his first day in the race.

___

Its Election Day in Jacksonville. Voters across Duval County can vote in the First Election for the seat left vacant by the death of Tommy Hazouri, a functional primary for the open City Council seat in at large Group 3.

Four candidates are on the ballot: Republicans Nick Howland and Howland Howdy Russell and Democrats James Coach Jacobs and Tracye Polson. If one candidate somehow gets a majority of the vote, Tuesdays vote will be decisive. If not, the top two candidates advance to the General Election on Feb. 22.

Polson is the leading fundraiser, though with the caveat that she is heavily self-financing, just as she did in her 2018 campaign for state House. Howland is the choice of the Republican business establishment. They are widely expected to be the top two finishers.

Turnout has been tepid, just below 7% in early voting. Democrats have the edge thus far in the raw vote, and the story of Election Day will be how quickly (or if) Republicans close that gap, which was roughly 6,000 at the close of business Monday.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Tweet, tweet:

@JimmyPatronis: There may be no greater failure in American politics than @BilldeBlasio. I have no doubt that blue-checkmark Twitter is loving his vaccine mandate because they dont like a free people. They like big government. They like obedience. Unfortunately, there are people in this country that think that firing a first responder, and cutting their health care, is good for public health. @BilldeBlasio is their hero. He is their patron Saint. It is literally insane. I know for a fact that @BilldeBlasio does not like New Yorkers. Why? Because he has made his entire career about running his residents out of New York and into @GovRonDeSantiss Florida

@AngieNixon: On Friday, myself and 29 of my colleagues sent @GovRonDeSantis a letter demanding that he work with DCF to provide a plan to the U.S. Department of Treasury for more than $660 million in unused Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) Funds. What say you Gov?

@AnnaForFlorida: First, @GovRonDeSantis banned trans students from playing sports, now hes erasing anti-bullying materials that focus on #LGBTQ+ identity. We warned lawmakers that attacking trans kids was not only wrong, but connected to an agenda of LGBTQ+ bigotry. I hate being right on this.

@ShevrinJones: It is my hope that the @EducationFL will replace all necessary resources for parents & students, as soon as possible. Our students and parents must know that we care about their well-being, and that includes providing ACCESS to every tool possible to ensure their safety.

Tweet, tweet:

@ReporterCioffo: Sources: The Gingerbread replica of the Capitol, created and set to be delivered today to its exhibition location, was stymied by a logistical challenge width. The Capitol, on its cart, was too wide to fit through one of the doors between Longworth and the Capitol.

@MarcACaputo: Personal news: after almost 7 years at POLITICO, Im leaving my good friends and colleagues there and moving on to @NBCNews and @NBCPolitics

. DAYS UNTIL

Sex and the City revival premieres 2; Steven Spielbergs West Side Story premieres 3; Spider-Man: No Way Home premieres 3; The Matrix: Resurrections released 15; The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Disney+ 22; Private sector employees must be fully vaccinated or tested weekly 28; final season of This Is Us begins 28; CES 2022 begins 29; Ken Welchs inauguration as St. Petersburg Mayor 30; NFL season ends 33; 2022 Legislative Session starts 35; Floridas 20th Congressional District Election 35; Special Elections in Senate District 33, House District 88 & 94 35; Florida Chambers 2022 Legislative Fly-In and Reception 35; Florida TaxWatchs 2022 State of the Taxpayer Day 36; Joel Coens The Tragedy of Macbeth on Apple TV+ 38; NFL playoffs begin 39; Ozark final season begins 45; Billions begins 47; XXIV Olympic Winter Games begins 59; Super Bowl LVI 68; The Walking Dead final season part two begins 75; Daytona 500 75; CPAC begins 79; St. Pete Grand Prix 80; The Batman premieres 86; The Oscars 112; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premieres 155; Top Gun: Maverick premieres 174; Platinum Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II 177; Thor: Love and Thunder premieres 214; San Diego Comic-Con 2022 225; The Lord of the Rings premieres on Amazon Prime 269; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel premieres 304; Black Panther 2 premieres 339; The Flash premieres 342; Avatar 2 premieres 374; Captain Marvel 2 premieres 437; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres 598; Dune: Part Two premieres 682; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games 962.

TOP STORY

Las Vegas Sands, Seminole Tribe groups get court date in intimidation case via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics Competing gaming interests are set to square off against each other in court for the first time Wednesday in a fight over expanding Floridas gambling scene that one side argues has devolved into harassment and intimidation tactics. Groups backed by casino giants at Las Vegas Sands and the Seminole Tribe of Florida will meet with a Tallahassee-based judge in a time-sensitive case over whether Tribe-backed groups are strongarming members of a Las Vegas Sands-backed ballot campaign. Florida Voters in Charge, a group funded by Las Vegas Sands, has requested a restraining order against the Tribes groups, including Standing Up for Florida and Let the Voters Decide. According to the lawsuit, the Tribe-funded groups would prevent Florida Voters in Charge from getting its initiative to expand gaming in the Sunshine State on the 2022 ballot if the groups arent stopped. The Las Vegas Sands-backed group argues the Tribe is harassing and intimidating people and running a sham petition-gathering effort to siphon manpower from its campaign to add to the Florida Constitution an avenue for cardrooms to become casinos.

STATEWIDE

Nikki Fried blasts Ron DeSantis, DCF over $660M in unaccounted for rental aid via Daniel Figueroa of Florida Politics Emergency Rental Assistance is on Frieds agenda. Fried tore into DeSantis and Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris over $660 million unaccounted for Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds. Fried posted a copy of a letter she sent Harris and DeSantis on her Twitter page. The $25 billion federal relief program began after the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The funds are to help families pay rent and utility bills as the nation still reels from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. An Oct. 4 memo from the Department of Treasury warned that recipients with less than 30% of funds expended, or less than 65% of funds allocated as of Sept. 30, would have to submit a plan for remaining funds to the Treasury by Nov. 15. If not, the funds could be recaptured.

Anti-bullying page, including pro-LGBTQ links, removed from Education Department website via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics DOE removed the anti-bullying page after a right-leaning online publication inquired about the LGBTQ resources listed on the site, sparking a content review on the page. The bullying portal included links to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services StopBullying.gov and its page addressing bullying in LGBTQIA+ Youth. Until this fall, the page instructed educators to protect childrens privacy, guidance that could run afoul of the Parents Bill of Rights. Groups like the pro-LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida criticized the DeSantis administration for pulling the website, calling it a staggering escalation of its anti-LGBTQ agenda. Other links removed from the DOE website included the departments model policy against bullying and harassment for school districts and a checklist for school districts when developing an anti-bullying policy.

Spotted At the Governors Cup at Concession Golf Course in Bradenton for an EOG vs. Legislature tournament with proceeds going to the Gold Seal Foundation: First Lady Casey DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran; Sens. Joe Gruters and Ed Hooper; House Speaker Chris Sprowls; Reps. Tommy Gregory, Lawrence McClure and Will Robinson; former Senate President Bill Galvano; Paul Azinger, Slater Bayliss, Chris Chaney, Tony Cortese, Ashton Howard, Michael Johnston, Andrew Ketchel, Drew Menier, Jerry Pate, Will Rodriguez and Stephanie Smith.

Florida draws 22% of foreign real estate investors, with Miami, Orlando leading pack via Trevor Fraser of the Orlando Sentinel Florida accounts for more than 22% of all foreign real estate investments in the U.S., the strongest market in the country, according to a National Association of Realtors report that came out last month. More than half that is focused on South Florida, with Miami accounting for 52% of foreign buyers. With 10% of the international investment, Orlando is the second strongest market. From August 2020 to July 2021, foreign buyers spent $12.3 billion on Florida real estate, 5% of the total market. That translates to 22,500 homes, or 4% of existing home sales. The states most prominent foreign buyers come from right over the northern border. Following Canada are buyers from Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela.

DATELINE TALLY

DeSantis expected to announce complete 2022 budget proposals this week via Forrest Saunders of WFTS The Governors budget plan for next year will drop sometime this week. But what will be in it, and can Florida afford it? We already know some of DeSantis big ideas for the next fiscal year. He slowly unveiled them throughout last month and, in some cases, seeks to increase spending after lawmakers passed a record-setting budget last Session of $101.5 billion. DeSantis hasnt yet laid out details on infrastructure, economic development or health services. But critics like Rep. Anna Eskamani worry things like affordable housing will be left out. She calls his proposals political.

Rule to implement Florida law nixing employer vaccine mandates is underway via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics The Florida Department of Health announced Monday it is developing vaccine opt-out forms for Florida employers who want to require staff to get vaccinated. A new rule also will include standards for two of the five potential avenues staff can use under the Florida law to exempt themselves from vaccines. A draft copy of the proposed rule has not been published, and the health department did not announce when it would hold a public meeting on the proposed new rule, 64D-3.050. The proposed new rule regarding the forms and medical standards will only apply to private employers. Thats because the Legislature banned vaccine mandates for all public employees.

Medicaid managed care compliance data not so sunny for Sunshine Health Plan via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics Florida Medicaid managed care plans have amassed $717,690 in liquidated damages for breach of contract violations settled during the second quarter of the fiscal year 2021-2022, with Staywell Health Plan accounting for more than half the liquidated damages assessed. State data shows Staywell Health Plan amassed $370,500 in liquidated damages for three state Agency for Health Care Administration actions finalized during the second quarter. Most of the damages, or 95%, stem from one final action regarding provider claims payment or reimbursement. Staywell Health Plan, which was the common name used by WellCare, merged with Centene, the parent company of Sunshine State Health Plan. Beginning Oct 1, the Staywell moniker ceased to exist.

Lauren Book files bill pushing further reforms for infant compensation program via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics Lawmakers approved a NICA reform bill during the 2021 Legislative Session following an explosive report from the Miami Herald and ProPublica. That investigation showed families of injured infants often had trouble getting benefits. Last Sessions bill increased payment for housing assistance up to $100,000 for the injured childs life, including home construction and modification costs, which may be necessary to care for the child. Senate Democratic Leader Books 2022 legislation (SB 1050) would add another $30,000 to that pot to cover costs for devices that will ensure continuous light, heat, and power in the home for the care of the child, including, but not limited to, a generator or another alternative power source.

Lawmakers propose prohibition on employer discrimination against military spouses via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics Rep. Dan Daley is proposing legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination against military spouses. Under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, an employer may not discriminate against an applicant, or an employee, based on factors including race, religion and gender, among others. However, the proposal (HB 853 & SB 550) would add military status to the list of protected categories, thus bolstering protections for military families. Florida is home to 21 military installations and more than 65,000 active-duty service members.

Happening today The Florida Supreme Court will take up a dispute between Duke Energy and the Public Service Commission, 9 a.m., Florida Supreme Court, 500 South Duval St., Tallahassee.

Happening today The Escambia County legislative delegation meets: Sen. Doug Broxson and Reps. Alex Andrade and Michelle Salzman, 5:30 p.m., Pensacola State College, Jean and Paul Amos Performance Studio, 1000 College Blvd., Pensacola.

New and renewed lobbying registrations:

Brian Ballard, Bradley Burleson, Jose Diaz, Ballard Partners: AshBritt

Adam Basford: Associated Industries of Florida

Gus Corbella, Greenberg Traurig: Physician Compassionate Care

Bill Rubin, Heather Turnbull, Rubin Turnbull & Associates: BusPatrol

Amy Virgo, Travel Green Florida: Florida Cannabis Chamber of Commerce

Desinda Wood-Carper, DC Strategies: Town of Pembroke Park

Personnel note: Lillian Tamayo to leave PPSENFL in March Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida President Tamayo will leave her position in March, the organization said Monday. I have had no greater honor in my life than to lead our affiliate of Planned Parenthood in Florida these past 22 years. During that time, we have made huge strides, providing greater access to health services for more patients and defending reproductive rights for all Floridians, she said in a Monday news release. During Tamayos tenure at PPSENFL, the organization said it has expanded to include more health centers, patients served, members, supporters, donors, and activists than at any other time in its history. PPSENFL is currently in the process of selecting Tamayos replacement.

CORONA FLORIDA

Florida COVID-19 update: 2,714 cases and 158 deaths added via Michelle Marchante of the Miami Herald Florida on Monday reported 2,714 COVID-19 cases and 158 deaths. In all, Florida has recorded at least 3,702,338 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 61,789 deaths. Of the deaths added Monday, about 57% occurred over the past 28 days and about 38% in the last two weeks. The state has added 36 deaths and 1,793 cases per day in the past seven days. There were 1,298 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida. COVID-19 patients take up 2.32% of all inpatient beds in the latest reports hospitals.

Happening today U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday will hold a hearing on the states challenge to a Joe Biden administration vaccine mandate rule, 9 a.m., United States Courthouse, 801 North Florida Ave., Tampa.

UF researchers felt pressure to destroy COVID-19 data, faculty report says via the Tampa Bay Times Fear of upsetting state officials is pervasive among faculty at the University of Florida, to the point that race-related references have been edited out of course materials and researchers felt pressure to destroy COVID-19 data, according to a report released Monday by a Faculty Senate committee. The committee received a flood of input from faculty, from stories about attempts to serve as expert witnesses to instances that dealt with race and COVID-19 research across disciplines.The report discusses several challenges faced by UF researchers who were working on COVID-19 with an unidentified state entity. It describes external pressure to destroy data as well as barriers to accessing, analyzing and publishing the numbers. Taken together, the report said, those problems inhibited the ability of faculty to contribute scientific findings during a world-wide pandemic.

Brevard County has some of the lowest COVID-19 related death rates in months via Amira Sweilem of Florida Today Despite being considered a community of moderate transmission by the standards of the CDC, Brevard County continues to see some of the lowest COVID-19 related death rates in months. Between Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, there were two COVID-19 related deaths in Brevard County, according to data released by the CDC. The Space Coast has had a total of 1,705 COVID-19 related deaths since Jan. 2020. Though COVID-19 related deaths may have dramatically decreased since this summers surge, Brevard County remains a community of moderate transmission.

Demand for booster shots rockets in Central Florida, breaks statewide record after omicron enters the U.S. via Caroline Katherman of the Orlando Sentinel A record-breaking 308,217 people in Florida got their COVID-19 booster doses last week as the omicron variant began spreading across the U.S. A rise in booster demand was seen in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties. Statewide, the number of people who got boosters from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2 was almost 40,000 more than the week prior, raising the total past 300,000 for the first time since the week Sept. 3, when the Florida Department of Health began publicly reporting this number. A lot of them are referencing concern about the variants. Some of them are traveling or preparing for the holidays, and they want to maximize their protection, said Florida Department of Health in Osceola spokesperson Jeremy Lanier.

Family of Sofia files $100m federal lawsuit against teachers, Brevard School Board via Eric Rogers of Florida Today The family of Sofia Bezerra, a 7-year-old girl with Down syndrome who came home from school with a mask tied to her face, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the girls teachers and the Brevard County School Board, according to court filings. The childs parents, Jeffrey Steel and Shirley Bezerra Steel, demand $100 million in the suit, court documents showed. The suit also named Brevard Superintendent Mark Mullins and three individual members of the Brevard School Board: Chair Misty Belford, Cheryl McDougall and Jennifer Jenkins.

University of Florida art projects to encourage COVID-19 vaccine confidence via Jenny Rogers of The Gainesville Sun Where traditional communication fails, art prevails. After partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Florida called upon students, faculty and staff to submit proposals for art projects encouraging COVID-19 vaccine confidence on campus. Art can resonate with people in ways that a government or a scientific statement may not be able to, said Natalie Rella, the communications and social media coordinator of the Center for Arts in Medicine and leader of the initiative.

Bruce Arians urges NFL look at vaccination status of more teams via Fred Goodall of The Associated Press Arians would like to see the NFL expand an investigation of the COVID-19 vaccination status of two players on his team to include other rosters around the league. Responding publicly for the first time to the league suspending wide receiver Antonio Brown and safety Mike Edwards for three games for misrepresenting their status with fake vaccination cards, Arians said Friday those might not be the only cases of their kind in the league. The league did their due diligence, and we move on, Arians said after practice. I will not address these guys for the next three weeks. Theyll just be working out, and well address their future at that time. Other than that, theres really nothing to say.

2022

If I run, he wont: Donald Trump downplays DeSantis 2024 hopes via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics Trump continues to say DeSantis wouldnt run against him in 2024, and couldnt beat him if he did, while reminding voters DeSantis wouldnt be Governor without Trumps endorsement. During an interview, Trump offered his latest in a series of statements essentially claiming he made the Governor and that DeSantis knows better than to run against him in 2024. I do think if I run, he wont, Trump said. I know they try and create a friction. I dont think it exists at all. It might, you know, you never know, Trump added. If he wanted to run, thats OK with me. I think wed win by a lot. But hes good. And hes done a good job as Governor.

Florida Democrats already pointing fingers as they steel themselves for November via Gary Fineout of POLITICO Florida POLITICO interviewed more than 20 Florida Democrats, including elected officials, Democratic National Committee members, activists and others about Diaz and his performance so far. Many were supportive, saying that Diaz has to overcome internal divisions that have constantly hindered Florida Democrats. Some, however, were less flattering, using terms such as MIA to describe Diazs term so far.Concerns about Diaz come as Florida Democrats face an existential crisis. Some Republicans are privately confident that 2022 could be the year they consign Democrats to a permanent minority status and remove any lasting doubts about whether Florida is a red state. What Diaz does now will play a key role in determining that outcome.The angst surrounding Florida Democrats was on display during their big Leadership Blue conference held this past weekend at an Orlando resort hotel as they delved into everything from organizing to message training.

Fried turns DeSantis private army plan into fundraising pitch via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics This is horrifying, Fried said of the proposal. Hes not only forming his own army, but its an army thats not accountable to anybody. Not to the people of our state. Not to the Constitution. Fried went on to say: The Governor who is unhinged, who is going out of his way to show that he is an authoritarian dictator here in our state, believes that he is above the law, doesnt listen to the Legislature, doesnt communicate with the Legislature this is an individual who believes he is running for President in 2024. Fried linked to a video in her campaign email and urged donors to support Nikkis fight to end DeSantis authoritarian regime.

Democrats fall flat with Latinx language via Marc Caputo and Sabrina Rodriguez of POLITICO As Democrats seek to reach out to Latino voters in a more gender-neutral way, theyve increasingly begun using the word Latinx, a term that first started to get traction among academics and activists on the left. But that very effort could be counterproductive in courting those of Latin American descent, according to a new nationwide poll of Hispanic voters. Only 2% of those polled refer to themselves as Latinx, while 68% call themselves Hispanic and 21% favor Latino or Latina to describe their ethnic background, according to the survey from Bendixen & Amandi International.

SPLC to put $100M into Deep South voter engagement programs The Southern Poverty Law Center on Monday said it will pump $100 million from its endowment into voter education and engagement in Florida and other southern states over the next decade. SPLCs Vote Your Voice program will provide grants to support year-round civic engagement programs, expand partner groups fundraising bases, train political leaders, engage voters for the 2030 redistricting process and develop innovative tools addressing future problems. Our Vote Your Voice program began as a robust effort to increase voter registration and turnout, particularly in communities of color who would most benefit from a true inclusive democracy in the South, said SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang.

Personnel note: Geoff Burgan to lead comms for Democratic AGs Veteran communications pro Burgan has joined the Democratic Attorneys General Association as communications director. Burgan has worked on several Democratic campaigns during his decade in the field. In Florida, he worked on Andrew Gillums 2018 campaign for Governor. During the 2020 cycle, he served as Arizona Communications Director on Bidens presidential campaign. Most recently, he ran comms for Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward Markey. Burgan was one of several hires DAGA announced Monday. Other new additions include Michelle Ortiz as deputy executive director, Megan Hughes as research director, Emily Rossi as digital director, and David Sanchez as political director.

Happening tonight:

After losing congressional primary by five votes, Dale Holness plans rematch against Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Barbara Sharief more than likely to run again. via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel A 2022 repeat is brewing among the top three finishers in the just-decided, fiercely fought South Florida congressional primary. Holness, who lost the Democratic primary to Cherfilus-McCormick by five votes, is planning another candidacy. Sharief, who finished third in the 11-candidate special primary on Nov. 2, said Monday she is more than likely to run again. The 2022 Democratic Primary could be entirely unlike the 2021 Special Primary in which Cherfilus-McCormick, Holness, Sharief and eight others competed for the Democratic nomination for the vacancy created by the April 6 death of U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.

Equality Florida backs Eunic Ortiz for Senate The political committee for LGBTQ+ rights organization Equality Florida weighed into the SD 24 race, backing St. Petersburg Democrat Ortiz. (SD 24) is going to be one of the most competitive state legislative races of 2022, and were putting a marker down for our members and supporters early and clearly. Eunic Ortiz has a long history of fighting for all marginalized people, especially LGBTQ communities, said Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders. Having Eunic in the Florida Senate would be a game-changer for LGBTQ Floridians. The current SD 24 covers a swath of central and southern Pinellas County and is represented by term-limited Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes. Rep. Nick DiCeglie and Timothy Lewis are running for the GOP nomination.

LaVon Bracy Davis launches campaign for HD 45 Ocoee attorney Bracy Davis announced Monday that she entered the Democratic Primary for HD 45, the seat currently held by Rep. Kamia Brown, who is running for Senate. I am excited beyond measure for the opportunity to serve and represent the people of West Orange County. After careful consideration and learning the concerns of the people of District 45, I have decided to take a leap of faith and run for this position of community service, she said. As state Representative, I will fight for job creation, arts and education, the protection of voting rights and affordable health care. I believe I am the right person for this seat. The FAMU law graduate joins Charles Law Jr. and Melissa Myers in the Primary.

Adner Marcelin, former Tallahassee NAACP president, running for City Commission seat via Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat Marcelin is challenging Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox a candidate he vocally supported four years ago as she vies for re-election to a second term in District 5 next year. While he respects Williams-Cox, he said that the two have serious policy differences. Marcelin had been mulling a run for city office for about a year. He decided to file after listening to a woman speak during Mondays NAACP town hall on a proposal to spend $20-plus million in Blueprint funds to renovate Doak Campbell Stadium. The woman described herself as a mother of six with a full-time job who goes to school and lives on the financial brink. Like other opponents of the plan, Marcelin wants to see Blueprints sales tax dollars spent elsewhere.

CORONA NATION

Clues to omicron variants U.S. spread include test samples, sewage via Brianna Abbott of The Wall Street Journal Researchers are racing to determine how widespread the Omicron variant might be across the U.S., scouring COVID-19 test samples and in some cases even examining wastewater. Federal regulators said Sunday that cases have been identified in 16 states and that the FDA is in conversations about streamlining authorization for revamped vaccines if necessary. COVID-19 surveillance is more robust in the U.S. than when the alpha or delta variants emerged, public-health officials and experts say. Nearly 30% of known COVID-19 cases were sequenced and shared online in Vermont during the past three months. Public-health, commercial and academic laboratories in the U.S. analyze genomic samples from positive PCR tests and report results to the CDC. Some laboratories send the agency test samples directly.

The most-vaccinated big counties in America are beating the worst of the coronavirus via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post About 1 in 420 Americans died of COVID-19, according to official data. And were still averaging more than 1,000 deaths per day. But in certain areas, the story is far less grim. A big reason: widespread vaccination. But even that might undersell just how beneficial vaccination is in preventing the worst that the coronavirus has to offer. From the start of the vaccination effort, a pertinent question has been when we might achieve something amounting to herd immunity. That concept has proved elusive, particularly as the delta variant has rendered the vaccines less effective at preventing the spread while still extremely effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. But those latter metrics remain hugely important.

New York City to impose vaccine mandate on private sector employers via Michelle L. Price and Karen Matthews of The Associated Press From multinational banks to corner grocery stores, all private employers in New York City will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor de Blasio announced Monday in the most sweeping vaccine mandate of any state or big city in the U.S. We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers its causing to all of us, he said. The mandate will take effect on Dec. 27, with in-person workers needing to prove they have received at least one dose of the vaccine. And they will not be allowed to get out of the requirement by agreeing to regular COVID-19 testing instead.

Eric Adams, New Yorks Mayor-elect, does not commit to the new vaccine mandate for private employers. via Dana Rubinstein of The New York Times In less than a month, Adams will succeed de Blasio, and on Monday, Adams declined to commit to enforcing the new rules, which intend to stem the spread of the virus, especially the new omicron variant. The Mayor-elect will evaluate this mandate and other COVID-19 strategies when he is in office and make determinations based on science, efficacy and the advice of health professionals, said Evan Thies, a spokesman for Adams. Adams, who says he is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot, has been vague about some of de Blasios other pandemic measures. Adams was less equivocal about de Blasios requirement that public indoor venues like theaters and restaurants deny entry to unvaccinated adults.

CORONA ECONOMICS

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Sunburn The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics 12.7.21 - Florida Politics

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Cincinnati Children’s teams up with CTI on cell and gene therapies – The Lane Report

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The joint venture will include a new clinical laboratory, which is expected to encompass 40,000 s.f. and house three dozen sterile clean rooms.

COVINGTON, Ky. Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center and the research service provider CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services in Covington have agreed to form a company that will focus on providing cell and gene therapy manufacturing services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Medicine is rapidly evolving toward cell- and gene-based therapies, said Dr. Steve Davis, president and CEO of Cincinnati Childrens. By melding the scientific expertise of Cincinnati Childrens with the operational expertise of CTI, this joint venture will ensure that our community, region and the world have ready access to the most innovative and effective therapies.

Tim Schroeder, CEO and chairman of CTI, said: We anticipate advances in cell and gene therapies to bring about medical breakthroughs with the potential to not only treat, but actually cure some rare and complex diseases including some forms of cancer.

The joint venture will enable Cincinnati Childrens to expand on the work of its existing Translational Core Laboratory, which manufactures and tests services for cell and gene therapy clinical trials, said Hector Wong, MD, vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the medical center.

There is a global shortage of manufacturing capacity, which has begun to impede development of new cell and gene therapies. The industry has less than 1% of the capacity needed to support a growing volume of clinical programs, according to CTI. Fifteen cell and gene therapy products have been approved by global regulatory agencies, and the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine estimates 10 to 20 additional approvals per year by 2025.

CTI and Cincinnati Childrens have been engaging in conversations for some time about ways to further these developments and bring new treatments to the children and adult patients looking for hope, Schroeder said. This joint venture is a natural evolution of our pre-existing relationship involving clinical trials, maximizing the expertise and resources of both organizations to collaborate, innovate, and facilitate scientific developments with the potential to save lives.

The approximately $100 million investment in the joint venture will include a new clinical laboratory, which is expected to encompass 40,000 s.f. and house three dozen sterile clean rooms. The facility will have the potential to support the research of more than 30 clinical trial sponsors at a time. The specific location has yet to be determined, but the facility will be in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region. The opening date is expected to be 2023.

The joint venture will ensure that Cincinnati Childrens faculty and researchers have access to a state-of-the-art, multimodal cell and gene therapy manufacturing laboratory, which is expected to help retain and draw the best talent in the world to the medical center, Wong said. The facility will enhance Cincinnati Childrens ability to participate in early phase cell and gene therapy research and clinical trials, leading to improved treatments and, hopefully, cures.

About 150 jobs are to be created by the joint venture, and the new company will build on the regions growing status as a research hub.

CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services is a global, privately held, full-service contract research organization (CRO), delivering a complete spectrum of clinical trial and consulting services throughout the lifecycle of development, from concept to commercialization. CTIs focused therapeutic approach provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device firms with clinical and disease area expertise in rare diseases, regenerative medicine/gene therapy, immunology, transplantation, nephrology, hematology/oncology, neurology, infectious diseases, hepatology, cardiopulmonary, and pediatric populations. CTI is currently part of more than 30 active COVID-19 projects for treatment and prevention. It also offers a fully integrated multi-specialty clinical research site, as well as complete global laboratory services. Now in its third decade, it is one of the 20 largest CROs in the world with associates in more than 60 countries across six continents.

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Is ‘personalised medicine’ the future of healthcare? – Tatler

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With the emergence of genetic sequencing, advances in diagnostics and wearable devices, there has been a swell of excitement around precision medicine or customised healthcare. The story in itself has fuelled a billion dollar market for public consumption. However, the industry is outpacing the science, and as yet, it is not so straight forward.

I have compiled a list of some of the key areas and advances in personalised medicine, which we will see come in to focus over the next few years:

1. Hormones: Such as oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid, to name but a few. As physicians, we have been fortunate enough to tailor the needs to the individual, depending on the patients blood results and their symptoms. Although this is not new, treatments can vary, based on conventional wisdom, body-identical, bio-identical and natural supplements. It can be difficult for patients to navigate, as some practitioners have become more like alchemists, trialing different treatments (by their very nature it is not always evidence-based). For more detail please read my articles on correcting hormonal imbalance.

2. Cancer risk and diagnosis: Home DNA genetic test-kits have made checking for inheritable diseases widely available, but with some controversy (I have elaborated on this in my other article). They have also discovered new techniques for identifying cancer cell DNA markers in the blood, also known as liquid biopsies. This could potentially pick up of over 50 early stage cancers. Current trials are underway in the US and UK, which could lead to a paradigm shift in early-cancer detection for individuals, the likes of which we have not seen for over 30 years. Using polygenic risk scores (different combinations of genetic variance for a particular disease), multiple data points can be stacked for each individual (i.e. demographics/family history etc) and offer greater diagnostic precision.

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Is 'personalised medicine' the future of healthcare? - Tatler

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Francis Collins on medical advances, vaccine hesitancy and Americans’ ill health : Shots – Health News – NPR

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National Health Institute Director Francis S. Collins served for 12 years under three presidents and presided over an expansion of the agency's budget and efforts to develop new cures to diseases. Graeme Jennings/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

National Health Institute Director Francis S. Collins served for 12 years under three presidents and presided over an expansion of the agency's budget and efforts to develop new cures to diseases.

It's Dr. Francis Collins' last few weeks as director of National Institutes of Health after 12 years, serving three presidents. Collins made his name doing the kind of biomedical research NIH is famous for, especially running The Human Genome Project, which fully sequenced the human genetic code. The focus on biomedicine and cures has helped him grow the agency's budget to over $40 billion a year and win allies in both political parties.

Still, in a broad sense, Americans' health hasn't improved much in those 12 years, especially compared to people in peer countries, and some have argued the agency hasn't done enough to try to turn these trends around. One recently retired NIH division director has quipped that one way to increase funding for this line of research would be if "out of every $100 dollars, $1 would be put into the 'Hey, how come nobody's healthy?' fund."

In a wide-ranging conversation, Collins answers NPR's questions as to why for all the taxpayer dollars going to NIH research there haven't been more gains when it comes to Americans' overall health. He also talks about how tribalism in American culture has fueled vaccine hesitancy, and he advises his successor on how to persevere on research of politically charged topics like guns and obesity and maternal health even if powerful lobbies might want that research not to get done.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Selena Simmons-Duffin: After you announced you'd be stepping down from the director role, you told the New York Times that one of your "chief regrets" was the persistence of vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic. How are you thinking about the role NIH could play in understanding this problem?

Francis Collins: I do think we need to understand better how in the current climate people make decisions. I don't think I anticipated the degree to which the tribalism of our current society would actually interfere with abilities to size up medical information and make the kinds of decisions that were going to help people.

To have now 60 million people still holding off of taking advantage of life saving vaccines is pretty unexpected. It does make me, at least, realize, boy, there are things about human behavior that I don't think we had invested enough into understanding. We basically have seen accurate medical information overtaken, all too often, by the inaccurate conspiracies and false information on social media. It's a whole other world out there. We used to think that if knowledge was made available from credible sources, it would win the day. That's not happening now.

So you mentioned the idea of investing more in the behavioral research side of things. Do you think that should happen?

We're having serious conversations right now about whether this ought to be a special initiative at NIH to put more research into health communications and how best to frame those [messages] so that they reach people who may otherwise be influenced by information that's simply not based on evidence. Because I don't think you could look at the current circumstance now and say it's gone very well.

Looking at how America has fared in the pandemic more broadly, it really is astoundingly bad. The cases and deaths are just so high. CDC Director Robert Redfield, when he was leaving, told NPR he thought the baseline poor health of Americans had something to do with how powerfully the pandemic has hit America. What do you think about the toll of the pandemic, even as it's clearly not over?

It's a terrible toll. We've lost almost 800,000 lives. In 2020, before we had vaccines, there was not a really good strategy to protect people other than social distancing and mask-wearing, which were important, but certainly not guarantees of safety. And yes, it is the case that the people who got hit hardest, oftentimes, were people with underlying medical conditions.

But in 2021, we should have been better off. We had vaccines that were safe, that were available for free to all Americans. The ability to get immunized really went up very steeply in March and April, and yet it all kind of petered out by about May or June. The [vaccine] resistant group of 60 million people remains, for the most part, still resistant. Unfortunately, now, with delta having come along as a very contagious variant and with omicron now appearing, which may also be a real threat, we have missed the chance to put ourselves in a much better place.

Let's step back from the pandemic. In your 12 years as director, the NIH has worked on developing cures and getting them from the lab to patients faster, and the agency's budget has grown.

But, in that time, Americans haven't, on a broader scale, gotten healthier. They're sicker than people in other countries across the board, all races and incomes. When you were sworn in in 2009, life expectancy was 78.4 years, and it's been essentially stuck there.

Does it bother you that there haven't been more gains? And what role should NIH play in understanding these trends and trying to turn them around?

Well, sure, it does bother me. In many ways, the 28 years I have been at NIH have just been an amazing ride of discoveries upon discoveries. But you're right, we haven't seen that translate necessarily into advances.

Let's be clear, there are some things that have happened that are pretty exciting. Cancer deaths are dropping every year by one or two percent. When you add that up over 20 years, cancer deaths are down by almost 25% from where they were at the turn of the century. And that's a consequence of all the hard work that's gone into developing therapeutics based on genomics, as well as immunotherapy that's made a big dent in an otherwise terrible disease.

But we've lost ground in other areas, and a lot of them are a function of the fact that we don't have a very healthy lifestyle in our nation. Particularly with obesity and diabetes, those risk factors have been getting worse instead of better. We haven't, apparently, come up with strategies to turn that around.

On top of that, the other main reason for seeing a drop in life expectancy other than obesity and COVID is the opioid crisis. We at NIH are working as fast and as hard as we can to address that by trying to both identify better ways to prevent and treat drug addiction, but also to come up with treatments for chronic pain that are not addictive. Because those 25 million people who suffer from chronic pain every day deserve something better than a drug that is going to be harmful.

In all of these instances, as a research enterprise because that's our mandate it feels like we're making great progress. But the implementation of those findings runs up against a whole lot of obstacles, in terms of the way in which our society operates, in terms of the fact that our health care system is clearly full of disparities, full of racial inequities. We're not at NIH able to reach out and fix that, but we can sure shine a bright light on it and we can try to come up with pilot interventions to see what would help.

A 300-page report called "Shorter Lives, Poorer Health" came out in 2013 it was requested and financed by NIH and conducted by a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine panel. It documented some of the things you just talked about, in terms of how Americans' health falls short compared to other countries. And it is filled with recommendations for further research, many specifically for NIH, including looking to how other countries are achieving better health outcomes than the U.S.

I'm curious, since this report came out when you were director, if it made an impact at the agency and whether there's been any progress on those recommendations or was a decision not to pursue those ideas?

I do remember that report and there have been a lot of other reports along the lines since then that have tried to point to things that other countries may be doing better than we are. One of the things I've tried to do is to provide additional strength and resources to our Office of Disease Prevention, because that's a lot of what we're talking about here. One of the knocks against the National Institutes of Health is that we often seem to be the National Institutes of Disease that a lot of the focus has been on people who are already diagnosed with some kind of health condition. And yet what we really want to do is to extend health span, not just lifespan, and that means really putting more research efforts into prevention.

One of the things that I'm excited about in that regard is the All of Us study, which is in the process of enrolling a million Americans, following them prospectively, many of them currently healthy. They share their electronic health records, they have blood samples taken that measure all kinds of things, including their complete genome sequences; they answer all kinds of questionnaires, they walk around with various kinds of wearable sensors. That's going to be a database that gives us information about exactly what's happened to the health of our nation and what could we do about it.

You've served under both Democratic and Republican administrations. One thing you've talked about in interviews is the culture wars. What role do you think NIH has to play in terms of developing trust and trying to get past some of that tribalism that you talked about before?

I think medical research should never be partisan. It should never get caught up in culture wars or tribal disagreements. But in our current society, it's hard to think of anything that hasn't at least been touched by those attitudes.

My goal as NIH director over these 12 years, serving three presidents, was to always try to keep medical research in a place that everybody could look at objectively and not consider it to be tainted in some way by political spin. I've made friends in Congress in both parties and both houses, in a way that I think has really helped the view of medical research to remain above the fray. And many of the strongest supporters for medical research over these 12 years have been in the Republican Party.

This is not something that people can really disagree about. You want to find answers to medical problems that are threatening yourself or your family or your community or your constituents. So I don't have a hard job in terms of explaining the mission or why we work so hard at what we do.

But I do have to sometimes worry that for whatever reason, politics will creep into this. And certainly with COVID, politics has crept into the space of misinformation in a fashion that has not helped with vaccine hesitancy. Frankly, I think it's pretty shameful if political figures trying to score points or draw attention to themselves put forward information about COVID that's demonstrably false.

Some of the reasons why Americans tend to be less healthy than people in other countries can get political pretty quickly like healthy environments and gun injuries and drug overdoses and maternal health. But the research is important.

Do you have any guidance or thoughts for your successor on how to support the kind of research that's not as universally embraced on both sides of the aisle?

I think the guidance is you have to look at all the reasons why people are not having a full life experience of health and figure out what we, as the largest supporter of medical research in the world, should be doing to try to understand and change those circumstances. A lot of this falls into the category of health disparities. It is shameful that your likelihood of having a certain lifespan depends heavily on the zip code where you were born, and that is a reflection of all of the inequities that exist in our society in terms of environmental exposures, socioeconomics, social determinants of health, et cetera.

We are ramping up that effort right now, especially not just to observe the situation or, as some cynics have said, admire the situation. We actually want to try pilot interventions to see if some of those things can be changed. But that's about as far as we can go. Again, if there's a major societal illness right now of tribalism and over-polarization and hyper-partisanship about every issue, probably the NIH is not well positioned all by ourselves to fix that. We have an urgent need, I think, across society, to recognize that we may have lost something here our anchor to a shared sense of vision and a shared sense of agreement about what is truth.

You are leaving this post. Where do you imagine the agency might go next? I know you're still going to be doing your work on Type 2 diabetes you'll still be a part of it. So what do you see in NIH's future?

I think it is in a remarkably positive place right now as far as what we are called to do, which is to make discoveries, to learn about how life works and then apply that in a way that will lead to answers for diseases that currently don't have them. I think of NIH as not just the National Institutes of Health, but the National Institutes of Hope, and we are able now to provide hope for lots of situations that previously couldn't have really been confident in that. Look what's happened in terms of gene therapies we're curing sickle cell disease now, something I thought would never happen in my lifetime, with gene therapies. Look at what we're able to do with cancer immunotherapy, saving people who have stage IV disease, in certain circumstances, by activating the immune system. And of course, in infectious diseases not only have we now got mRNA vaccines for the terrible COVID-19 situation, we can apply those to lots of other infections as well.

So, anybody listening to this who's thinking maybe of moving into a career in biomedical research, this is the golden era and we need all the talent and the vision that we can possibly recruit into our midst because it's going to be a grand adventure in the coming decades.

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Gene Expression Analysis Market: Rise in the need for personalized medicine is likely to influence the global market – BioSpace

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Global Gene Expression Analysis Market: Overview

Gene expression makes an analysis of the study of the activity or occurrence of the making of a gene product from its coding gene. This process is considered a delicate indicator of biological activity in which a change in the gene expression pattern leads to a change of biological process.

Growth in the global gene expression analysis market is basically driven by various factors such as increased availability of gene expression databases, emerging areas of genomics, and rise in the incidences of cancer worldwide. Comparison of expression levels of one or more genes from various samples is one of the most common uses of gene expression analysis. Some of the common and interesting comparisons comprise before and after treatment, Mutant versus Wild type, normal versus diseases, spatial variations inside tissues, organs, or any other sample type.

The report on the global gene expression analysis market captures a closer view of the leading changes that have taken place lately in the techniques of chemical analysis. It also provides a view of how those changes are shaping the contours of the global gene expression analysis market. These insights are forecasted to help the industry players and investors to assess the entire ecosystem and accordingly formulate strategies.

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Global Gene Expression Analysis Market: Trends and Opportunities

Declining Cost of Sequencing to Accelerate Growth of the Market

The rise in the need for personalized medicine is likely to influence the global gene expression analysis market over the timeframe of projection. Besides, increase in the funding of associated programs is estimated to fuel growth of the market over the projection period.

In addition to that, a decline in the cost of sequencing is likely to emerge as another growth promoting factor for the global gene expression analysis market. Emergence of new areas of genomics application and augmented availability of database of gene expression is estimated to support expansion of the growth of the global gene expression analysis market in the years to come.

Another significant factor that is likely to influence the growth of the global gene expression analysis market is strong emphasis on laboratory research. The drug discovery and development is another factor that is likely to offer lucrative growth opportunities for the growth of the market.

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Clinical diagnostics is see an increasing application of gene expression analysis over the tenure. The microbiological and biotechnological use of gene expression analysis is estimated to see a rise over the projection period. These factors are expected to drive the market toward growth over the assessment tenure, from 2018 to 2026.

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies make use of gene expression analysis products and services to meet clinical research goals like biotech research, and drug development and discovery. Biopharmaceutical companies emphasize on the invention of targeted therapies, particularly for the treatment of diseases like rare and complicated genetic disorders, cancer, and others. These factors are likely to offer lucrative opportunities of growth for the market.

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Global Gene Expression Analysis Market: Regional Outlook

In the global gene expression analysis market, North America is likely to wield its influence over the market over the tenure of assessment. Augmented focus on life science research on cancer by governments, increased focus on research and development activities, and setting up of bioresearch centers across the regions are likely to fuel regional growth. In addition to that, increased support from the government to raise the standard of healthcare facilities is expected to boost the expansion of the market in North America.

Emerging countries such as Brazil, China, and India are also forecasted to play an important role in offering promising growth opportunities for the global gene expression analysis market. Many established market players are seen to enter into collaborations with local players of the region to widen scope of the regional market in near future.

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Global Gene Expression Analysis Market: Companies Mentioned in Report

Key players mentioned in the report are Luminex Corporation, Oxford Gene Technologies, Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc, Agilent Technologies Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and Eurofins Scientific.

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Gene Expression Analysis Market: Rise in the need for personalized medicine is likely to influence the global market - BioSpace

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Atamyo Therapeutics Obtains First Regulatory Authorization in Europe to Initiate a Clinical Trial for ATA-100, its Gene Therapy to Treat Limb-Girdle…

Posted: at 6:05 am

First approval of Clinical Trial Application was received from United Kingdom Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

EVRY, France, December 06, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atamyo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of new-generation gene therapies targeting neuromuscular diseases, today announced the first authorization of a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) in Europe for ATA-100, its gene therapy for the treatment of the fukutin-related protein (FKRP) limb-girdle muscular dystrophy Type 2I/R9 (LGMD2I/R9). This authorization was granted by the United Kingdom Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Additional CTAs were filed in France and Denmark.

"We are thrilled to obtain our first CTA approval in the U.K. for the devastating LGMD2I/R9 disease," said Dr Sophie Olivier, Chief Medical Officer of Atamyo. "Atamyo plans to initiate dosing in patients for ATA-100 in the first half of 2022".

"LGMDR9 is a severe muscular dystrophy with progressive symptoms for which there is currently no approved treatment," said Pr John Vissing, Director of the Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center at the National Hospital, Rigshospitalet (Denmark), and principal investigator of this trial. "It is a great motivation to know that the work we are doing has the potential to make a life-changing difference for the patients affected by this disease."

"We are eager to start treating the first European patient and mark this as a milestone for the field in advancing a potential one-time treatment for patients with LGMD-R9," said Pr Volker Straub, Professor of Medicine and Director of the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, Newcastle University (UK).

"This is an important step in our mission to bring to patients suffering from limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) a new generation of safe and effective gene therapies, after only one year of activity," said Stphane Degove, CEO of Atamyo Therapeutics.

Story continues

LGMD2I/R9 is a rare genetic disease caused by mutations in the gene that produces fukutin-related protein (FKRP). It affects an estimated 5,000 people in the US and Europe. Symptoms appear around late childhood or early adulthood. Patients suffer from progressive muscular weakness leading to loss of ambulation. They also are prone to respiratory impairment and myocardial dysfunction. There are currently no curative treatments for LGMDR9.

ATA-100, a gene therapy candidate for LGMD21/R9, delivers a normal copy of the gene for production of FKRP proteins. The therapy is based on the research of Atamyo Chief Scientific Officer Isabelle Richard, Ph.D., Research Director at CNRS who heads the Progressive Muscular Dystrophies Laboratory at Genethon.

In preclinical mice models, ATA-100 demonstrated its tolerability and capability to correct symptoms and biomarkers of the pathology at unprecedented low doses for systemic AAV-mediated gene transfer addressing muscle diseases.

About Atamyo Therapeutics

Atamyo Therapeutics is focused on the development of a new generation of effective and safe gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases. A spin-off of gene therapy pioneer Genethon, Atamyo leverages unique expertise in AAV-based gene therapy and muscular dystrophies from the Progressive Muscular Dystrophies Laboratory at Genethon. Atamyos most advanced programs address different forms of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD). The name of the company is derived from two words: Celtic Atao which means "Always" or "Forever" and Myo which is the Greek root for muscle. Atamyo conveys the spirit of its commitment to improve the life of patients affected by neuromuscular diseases with life-long efficient treatments. For more information visit http://www.atamyo.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211206005081/en/

Contacts

U.S. Contact: Charles Craig, Opus Biotech CommunicationsCharles.s.craig@gmail.com, 404-245-0591

European contact: contact@atmayo.com

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Atamyo Therapeutics Obtains First Regulatory Authorization in Europe to Initiate a Clinical Trial for ATA-100, its Gene Therapy to Treat Limb-Girdle...

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Atamyo Therapeutics Obtains First Regulatory Authorization in Europe to Initiate a Clinical Trial for ATA-100, its Gene Therapy to Treat Limb-Girdle…

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