Bay Area News Group: How To Order Free COVID Tests From The Federal Government
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would once again begin mailing rapid at-home COVID tests to American households, free of charge. The news comes amid one of the largest COVID surges the country has seen, with hospitalizations and deaths both rising, though far from record highs. (Rowan, 9/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Your Expired At-Home Covid-19 Tests May Still Work
Don’t throw out that seemingly outdated at-home rapid Covid-19 test just yet. It may still be good. (Adams Otis and Calfas, 9/20)

Deseret News: See Where New Mask Mandates Will Be In Place Until Next Spring
Three northern California counties have imposed new mask mandates for health care personnel that will last until next spring as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations keep rising around the country. The requirements issued this week by officials in California’s Contra Costa, Sonoma and San Mateo counties are set to take effect Nov. 1 and continue through April 30. The mandates do not apply to patients or visitors at hospitals and other health care facilities. (Riley Roche, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: Where You Can Find The New COVID-19 Vaccine 
Although shipments of the newest COVID-19 vaccines started arriving in Southern California pharmacies and clinics last week, Kaiser Permanente members will need to wait just a little longer to get their shot from the healthcare provider. (Ellis, 9/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: High Price For New COVID Vaccines Shocks Some Bay Area Residents
Betsy Davids was among the first Bay Area residents to line up for the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine, scheduling an appointment at her local CVS pharmacy in Orinda as soon as the shots became available last Tuesday. What she wasn’t expecting was the sticker shock that came with it. Despite widespread reports that the reformulated shots from Moderna and Pfizer would be available for $110-$130 per dose on the commercial market, she was charged $190. (Vaziri, 9/20)

The Wall Street Journal: When To Get Your Covid Booster, Flu Vaccine Or RSV Shot This Fall 
Americans are starting to roll up their sleeves for an array of shots to stem the anticipated tide of respiratory infections this fall, including the latest Covid-19 subvariants. (Abbott and Kamp, 9/20)

Axios San Diego: 4,500 Kaiser Permanente Health Care Workers Vote To Strike In San Diego
Nearly 4,500 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in San Diego voted to authorize a strike if the coalition of unions they belong to can't reach a contract agreement by the end of September. The vote, which was announced Wednesday, follows a string of other votes by nearly 70,000 union members in Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. (Murphy, 9/20)

Axios: Medical Devices A Bright Spot As Demand For Lab Space Shrinks
Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and San Francisco are among the U.S. hubs where medical device industries are thriving, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm JLL. While life sciences more broadly have seen shrinking demand for lab space amid a slowdown in investment and hiring, medical devices and medical technologies have emerged as a bright spot, JLL's Life Sciences Industry and Real Estate Perspective shows. (Reed, 9/20)

Reuters: Musk's Neuralink To Start Human Trial Of Brain Implant For Paralysis Patients
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink said on Tuesday it has received approval from an independent review board to begin recruitment for the first human trial of its brain implant for paralysis patients. Those with paralysis due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may qualify for the study, it said, but did not reveal how many participants would be enrolled in the trial, which will take about six years to complete. (9/20)

Bay Area News Group: East Bay Office Tower Lands Lease With Cutting-Edge Stethoscope Maker
A maker of cutting-edge stethoscopes has leased a big chunk of space in an East Bay office tower, offering some signs of hope in a dreary Bay Area office market. Eko Health, which makes digital stethoscopes, leased office space at 2100 Powell Street in Emeryville, according to JLL, a commercial real estate firm that arranged the rental agreement. (Avalos, 9/19)

CBS News: AI Is Helping Doctors Measure Cardiovascular Risks
Artificial intelligence is being used to help doctors better diagnose a number of health conditions. Now, it's showing views of the heart like nothing they've seen before, providing doctors with the ability to predict if someone is going to have a heart attack or develop cardiovascular disease. ... "The artificial intelligence program that we're utilizing looks at plaque and it breaks it down into the types of plaque, because some types of plaque are more dangerous than others," said cardiologist, Dr. Richard Chazal. (Stahl, 9/20)

The 19th: Only 2 Percent Of U.S. Doctors Are Latina. These Women Want That To Change.
When Carolina Montaño began medical school she never questioned if she belonged there. In Colombia, there was no reason to. “I was like everyone else. The concept of being a minority or different didn’t cross my mind,” she said. (Luthra, 9/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Stopped Smelling Smoke? Why Bay Area Air Quality Can Remain Dangerous
As air quality levels plummeted this week, a familiar pungent smell wafted into the Bay Area: wildfire smoke. But Wednesday morning, the campfire smell faded. However, poor air quality persists. (Edwards and Lee, 9/20)

The New York Times: Bay Area Air Quality Hits Unhealthy Levels After Wildfires
Bay Area and Northern California residents woke up to air quality rated as “unhealthy for some” on Wednesday. Winds are bringing smoke from wildfires in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon to the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service. Smoky air from the fires could linger across the Bay Area until Thursday, it said in a post on X. Wind directions are likely to shift late Thursday and Friday, it said, bringing relief from the smoke. (Carballo, 9/20)

The Press-Enterprise: 1,400 Southern California Warehouses Are Violating Clean-Air Rule, Agency Says 
Elected officials on the South Coast Air Quality Management District board voted in May 2021 to enact the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule, which seeks to clear Southern California skies of diesel exhaust from trucks ferrying goods from ports to warehouses. Diesel emissions are linked to cancer, asthma and other health problems in a region notorious for poor air quality. (Horseman, 9/20)

The New York Times: Warming Oceans May Raise Risk Of Bacterial Infections
On a warm day in early July, Ed Houlihan guided kayakers on a four-mile trip on Cape Cod from Popponesset Bay up the Mashpee River to a freshwater pond. It was three hours of paddling round trip, but afterward Mr. Houlihan, 83, felt no worse for wear — at first. Five days later, his left shin was red and sore, his body was aching, and he had fever and chills. Doctors diagnosed him with a Shewanella algae infection, a bacterium that thrives in brackish water. (Caryn Rabin, 9/20)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: San Jose Woman Has Limbs Amputated After Bacterial Infection Possibly Linked To Tilapia
A San Jose woman who became infected with a deadly bacteria had to have her all of her limbs amputated last week to save her life. Now, a friend says tilapia from a local fish market is to blame for the infection. (Swanson, 9/20)

The Washington Post: Dental Health Can Affect Your Brain And Is Linked To Dementia, Alzheimer’s
Poor oral hygiene is associated with an increased risk for myriad health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and early death. The state of our teeth and gums, though, may be vital for our well-being beyond the mouth and body. Emerging evidence suggests that what goes on in our mouth can affect what goes on in our brain — and may even potentially affect our risk for dementia. (Sima, 9/21)

NPR: A Heartwarming Connection Among Music, Memory And Alzheimer's
After 18 years of living with Alzheimer's disease, Marti Kaye spends most of her time in a wheelchair, expressionless. That changes the minute her son Adam Kaye starts playing his guitar. (Jones, 9/21)

Axios: Interest In Doula Care Grows Amid Maternal Health Crisis
The country's worsening maternal health crisis is driving interest in supporting doula care as other parts of the health system caring for pregnant patients face greater strain. (Reed and Goldman, 9/21)

Modesto Bee: Homeless Youth Have New Permanent Home In Downtown Modesto
Alphreia Patterson nearly cried Tuesday morning when she saw for the first time her new, permanent home for her and her 18-month-old son, Samuel. “So far, I think that this is really perfect,” the 24-year-old said before the start of the dedication of the conversion of a downtown Modesto office building into 14 apartments for people ages 18 to 25 who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness. (Valine, 9/20)

Bay Area News Group: Sunol Board Member Goes On The Offensive, Tensions High In First Meeting Since Flag Ban
For the second time in two weeks, the entire audience at a Sunol Glen Unified District School Board meeting emptied the room before the meeting was over–but this time, of their own accord. Wednesday’s meeting came just a week after the three-member board banned the school from flying Pride flags, in a 2-1 vote, during a contentious proceeding that saw the audience thrown out of the building. (McCarthy, 9/20)

Axios San Francisco: Accidental Overdoses Increased In August In San Francisco
San Francisco had one of its deadliest months for accidental overdoses in August since 2020, according to data released this week from the city's medical examiner. San Francisco is facing a grim reality, as it's on pace to have the deadliest year for accidental overdoses since January 2020, when the city began publicly reporting overdose deaths. (Dickey, 9/20)

The Hill: Garcia Looks To Protect Legal ‘Magic Mushroom’ Use Against Federal Intervention 
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Wednesday to prohibit the use of federal funds to prosecute the use of legal psilocybin, commonly known as “magic mushrooms.” The Validating Independence for State Initiatives on Organic Natural Substances (VISIONS) Act would protect legal mushroom use from federal law enforcement intervention in places where psilocybin is legal. (Irwin, 9/20)

Politico: How A Government Shutdown Would Impact Health Programs
With less than two weeks to go, the White House is urging Congress to pass a continuing resolution — a short-term funding fix — that would keep the government open at current spending levels and punt decisions on program cuts or increases to later this year. Even if lawmakers could agree on that, it could have an effect on health programs that, according to the Biden administration, need an immediate infusion of funds. Biden, for example, wants any continuing resolution to include $3.7 billion more for CMS to assist states with their post-pandemic review of Medicaid eligibility. States have cut millions of people from their rolls, some for failing to fill out paperwork. (Hooper, 9/21)