San Francisco Chronicle: COVID Emergency Is Over, WHO Says. Here’s What Bay Area Data Shows
The World Health Organization announced on Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer qualifies as a global emergency, more than three years after the organization declared the virus an international crisis. The decision marks a symbolic end to the devastating pandemic that has upended economies, triggered lockdowns, and claimed millions of lives worldwide. (Vaziri, 5/5)

Bay Area News Group: COVID: Californians Get 6 Extra Months Of Free Tests
If your medicine cabinet is low on COVID tests, you only have a few days left to stock up for free from the federal government. And starting Friday, the feds also will no longer protect patients from being billed for their COVID testing. But there’s good news for Californians: The state legislature has given Golden State residents an extra six months of guaranteed coverage of COVID tests and reimbursements from their insurance. (Blair Rowan, 5/6)

KQED: For Those Suffering From Long COVID, The Pandemic Isn’t Over
The federal COVID emergency will officially end on Thursday. But for those living with long COVID, the end of the pandemic couldn’t feel farther from reality. Dubbed by some as a “mass disabling event,” long COVID has left millions of Americans unable to work and stuck navigating the system of disability benefits in order to survive. Doctors and researchers have yet to pin down the exact cause of long COVID. Meanwhile, patients feel that not enough has been done to help find an effective treatment. (Guevarra, Montecillo, Esquinca, Mizuguchi, 5/8)

CalMatters: Long COVID In California: ‘A Pandemic Of Loneliness And Social Isolation And Rejection’ 
A bout with COVID-19 two years ago left Mindy Lym with such severe sensitivities to light and sound that she and her partner left their San Francisco home and moved to rural Washington, where there were fewer triggers. In the past two months, she has paid more than $7,500 out-of-pocket for medical care. Although she can afford it, she knows few people can do the same. (Hwang, 5/7)

Los Angeles Times: The CDC Is Changing The Way It Monitors COVID-19 In The US
Acknowledging that it is losing some of its eyes and ears across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week unveiled a scaled-down COVID-19 surveillance system for the post-pandemic era. (Healy, 5/7)

Politico: CDC Head Resigns, Blindsiding Many Health Officials 
Rochelle Walensky gave no specific reason for the decision to resign, writing that “at this pivotal moment for our nation and public health, having worked together to accomplish so much over the last two-plus years, it is with mixed emotions that I will step down.” Walensky touted the administration’s Covid response, the CDC’s decision to declare racism a serious public health threat and its efforts to contain mpox among the accomplishments on her watch. (Mahr and Cancryn, 5/5)

The New York Times: In Debt Limit Talks, Biden And Republicans Start Far Apart 
President Biden is set to welcome Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other top congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday for a pivotal round of discussions about the nation’s taxes, spending and debt as a potentially catastrophic government default rapidly approaches. The talks come just weeks before the United States is expected to run out of cash to pay its bills unless the nation’s borrowing cap is lifted. (5/8)

Axios: The Health Care Dangers Of A Debt Default
If the federal government breaches the debt ceiling, Medicare wouldn't be able to pay providers — and states wouldn't get their federal Medicaid funding, experts tell Axios. Losing out on those payments, even for a short time, could be disastrous for providers’ bottom lines — and the effects could trickle down to patients. (Goldman and Knight, 5/5)

Vox: Debt Ceiling: What Happens If US Government Defaults? 
Once we breach the debt ceiling, the federal government will not be able to pay its bills, or for things like Social Security checks, payroll for service members and other federal employees, and Medicare reimbursements. Interest payments on past debt could go unpaid, which would mean the US government would default on its debts. In 2011, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department planned on prioritizing interest payments, acknowledging that they would miss payments of other things like Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, etc. (Zhou and Matthews, 5/6)

Politico: No Good Options If Congress Fails To Raise The Debt Limit, Yellen Says 
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen struck an increasingly troubled tone Sunday as President Joe Biden gears up to meet with congressional leadership Tuesday to discuss raising the debt ceiling.The negotiations “should not take place with a gun really to the head of the American people,” Yellen cautioned Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” With the June 1 “X-date” quickly approaching, Yellen called on Congress to raise the debt ceiling, warning of the economic disaster that will follow should the government fail to come to an agreement. Once that date hits, “really that’s it,” Yellen said on “This Week.” “We have been using extraordinary measures for several months now, and our ability to do that is running out.” (Garrity, 5/7)

The Hill: 14th Amendment Emerges As Last-Ditch Fix To Ward Off Default
Top political figures are swirling the possibility that President Biden could use the powers of a clause in the 14th Amendment as a last-ditch effort to ward off the looming threat that the U.S. could default on its debt as soon as next month.  ... The amendment chiefly extended the Bill of Rights liberties to formerly enslaved people, but also includes a section saying “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” (Mueller, 5/7)

AP: Why So Many Mass Killings? Families, Experts Seek Answers 
Experts point to a few contributing factors: a general increase in all types of gun violence in recent years; the proliferation of firearms amid lax gun laws; the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including the stress of long months in quarantine; a political climate unable or unwilling to change the status quo in meaningful ways; and an increased emphasis on violence in U.S. culture. Such explanations are little comfort not only to the families ripped apart by the killings but to Americans everywhere who are reeling from the cascading, collective trauma of mass violence. (Dazio and Fenn, 5/8)

Politico: Texas Gov. Abbott Calls For Addressing Mental Health Issues In Wake Of Texas Mass Shooting 
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott emphasized the importance of addressing increasing “anger and violence” in the wake of a mass shooting Saturday in Allen, Texas, that left at least eight dead and seven injured. “What Texas is doing in a big-time way, we are working to address that anger and violence but going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it,” Abbott said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” (Garrity, 5/7)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Leaders Focus On Mental Health, Not Guns, After Allen Shooting 
U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Republican who represents Allen, also emphasized mental health as a solution to gun violence. In an interview with CNN, Self said “many of these situations are based on” the closures of mental health institutions. (Dey and Fechter, 5/7)

East Bay Times: 'Ghost Guns,' Assault Weapons Purchased At San Mateo County Gun Buyback
Nine assault weapons and four “ghost guns” were collected at an anonymous San Mateo County gun buyback program on Saturday. Those 13 weapons were among 264 firearms purchased over the course of the four-hour event — about 65 guns an hour. This was the seventh such buyback hosted by the county. The program, operated by five law enforcement agencies, offers the opportunity for people to sell their firearms for cash, no questions asked. The gun buyback program has now yielded over 2,600 guns. (McCarthy, 5/7)

NBC News: FDA Appears Skeptical About Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill
Food and Drug Administration scientists on Friday expressed skepticism about whether the birth control pill can be switched from prescription to over-the-counter. The assessment by FDA staff, included in briefing documents published Friday, comes ahead of a two-day meeting scheduled for next week, when the agency’s advisers will vote on whether to recommend that the agency allow a birth control pill called Opill to be sold over-the-counter. (Lovelace Jr., 5/5)

AP: Abortion Pill Legal Challenge Threatens Miscarriage Care 
A million U.S. women a year suffer miscarriages, which occur in at least 15% of known pregnancies. Mifepristone was approved in 2000 for early abortions but it is often used “off label” to treat early pregnancy loss or to speed up delivery when a fetus dies later in pregnancy. These uses are so common that U.S. senators urged manufacturer Danco to apply to the FDA to add miscarriage to the label of its drug, Mifeprex. Denise Harle, an attorney for the group that filed the Texas lawsuit on behalf of anti-abortion doctors and health care organizations, said they aren’t challenging uses of the drug beyond abortion. But legal experts say if it’s taken off the market for its approved use, it wouldn’t be available for pregnancy loss. (Ungar, 5/6)

Fresno Bee: ‘If We Lose The License, We’re Gone.’ New Hurdle Threatens Madera Hospital’s Future 
A new concern has emerged for a group of citizens including doctors in Madera — the license for their community’s shuttered hospital is set to expire on May 26.The Madera Community Hospital closed its doors in January and filed for bankruptcy in March. Dr. Mohammad Ashraf, who is a specialist in cardiovascular disease, said the hospital owes a license fee of $100,000 before the license expires in the next three weeks. (Amaro, 5/7)

The Desert Sun: New Eisenhower Cardiovascular Center In Rancho Mirage Gains City Approval
Plans for a new cardiovascular center at Eisenhower Health gained approval from the Rancho Mirage City Council last week, clearing a regulatory hurdle for the $156 million facility that will more than double the hospital’s current space for such medical services. (Coulter, 5/7)

San Diego Union-Tribune: A $22 Million Donation To UC San Diego Health Will Establish A Mission Control Center To Manage Emerging AI 
With artificial intelligence rapidly changing health care, UC San Diego Health is planning to treat the situation with a level of attention usually reserved for rocket launches and wildfires. (Sisson, 5/5)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Reports $1.2 Billion Gain In First Quarter
After sustaining big losses last year, Kaiser Permanente swung back into the black in the first quarter with an added boost from financial markets. Oakland, California-based Kaiser on Friday reported net income of $1.21 billion in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $961 million in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 4.2% to $25.22 billion. Expenses, including elevated labor costs and higher prices for goods and services, rose 3% overall to $24.99 billion. (Hudson, 8/5)

Stat: Geisinger Board Member: Consolidation Influenced Kaiser Deal
A long-running flurry of hospital and medical group acquisitions in Pennsylvania — especially among the giants UPMC and Highmark Health — forced Geisinger to make a bigger move of its own and to sell to Kaiser Permanente. That’s according to Gail Wilensky, who has been on the board of Geisinger since 2010. (Herman, 5/8)

Los Angeles Daily News: 4 Considerations When Choosing A Health And Wellness Coach 
It’s routine to have regular checkups with your physician, dentist and other specialists, but have you ever worked with a health coach as part of your healthcare team? If you are focused on wellness and reaching health-related goals, health coaching may be right for you. (Weintraub, 5/7)

LAist: The FDA Has Cleared The Way For An RSV Vaccine – Who Will Be Eligible, And When?
The U.S. approved the first vaccine for RSV this week, shots to protect older adults against a respiratory virus that’s most notorious for attacking babies but endangers their grandparents, too. The Food and Drug Administration decision makes GSK’s shot, called Arexvy, the first of several potential vaccines in the pipeline for RSV to be licensed anywhere. (LAist, 5/5)

San Diego Union-Tribune: New Shelters And Partnerships: South County's Latest Efforts On Homelessness
South County has lagged behind others parts of the region in offering shelter to those experiencing homelessness, but city leaders say collective efforts are underway to change that. (Murga and Warth, 5/8)

Military.com: Fight For Tricare West Region Deal Continues As Health Net Files Second Protest 
Health Net Federal Services, the company that oversees health services for military patients in Tricare's West Region, has filed a second protest against the Defense Department's selection of TriWest Healthcare Alliance to manage the contract for the next nine years, a move that could delay the expected transition in 2024. (Kime, 5/5)

Military Times: Sailor’s Suicide Prompts New, Speedier Process For Troops Seeking Help
Service members can now confidentially request a referral from their leadership to receive mental health services, thanks to a 2021 law the Defense Department implemented Friday. Troops can make a request with any officer or noncommissioned officer E-5 and above in their chain of command, for any reason, to be evaluated as soon as possible, streamlining a process that in the past could be slowed down by commanders seeking details or waiting to process referrals. (Myers, 5/5)

The Bakersfield Californian: Heat Illness Prevention, Wildfire Smoke Training Sessions To Be Held 
A coalition of agricultural organizations will host two training sessions on the dangers of heat and wildfire smoke in the Fresno County community of Easton on May 12. (5/5)

The Bakersfield Californian: 'I Am A Survivor': Relay For Life A Time To Reflect For Cancer Survivors, Families 
Dozens of cancer survivors dressed in purple looked ahead with determination to begin Bakersfield’s Relay for Life. It's a two-day event for the community to remember loved ones who have died from cancer, and for survivors who have endured a taxing battle to walk around a track to raise money for cancer research. (Desai, 5/6)