San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Our Hospital Is Full To The Brim’: California Slammed By Flu Cases
California is grappling with an unusually severe flu season this winter, with hospitalizations rising and concerns that the outbreak could last for weeks. The situation is particularly dire in the Bay Area, where Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, said flu activity has reached alarming levels. ... He noted that at local clinics, more than 70% of respiratory virus tests are testing positive for influenza, outpacing the combined totals of RSV, COVID-19 and the common cold. (Vaziri, 2/12)

Fortune: Experts Warn 2024–25 Flu Season Hasn’t Peaked Yet, Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better
If you haven’t caught the flu this season, perhaps you know someone who has, or are concerned about the virus infiltrating your household. We are, by at least one measure, in the midst of the nation’s worst flu season in recent decades. At least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 influenza-linked deaths—including 57 children—have plagued the U.S. this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu-related emergency department visits necessitated the CDC’s most severe “very high” ranking as of Feb. 7, as did influenza virus activity in national wastewater samples. (Leake, 2/12)

Stat: Global Officials Unsure If U.S. Will Take Part In Critical Flu Vaccine Meeting
Later this month influenza experts from around the world will gather at the Crick Worldwide Influenza Center in London to pour over data in a multi-day effort, led by the World Health Organization, to decide which specific viruses next winter’s flu shot should target. For now, the WHO doesn’t know if U.S. government representatives will show up. Whether they do so could have an impact on the composition, and ultimately the effectiveness, of flu vaccines throughout the Northern Hemisphere and beyond. (Branswell, 2/13)

Los Angeles Times: Feds Won't Test Soil After L.A. Wildfire Cleanup, Potentially Leaving Contamination Behind
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that it won’t order soil testing at properties damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires after they have been cleaned by private federal contractors — breaking with a long-standing safeguard to ensure no lingering contamination is left behind after wildfires. Federal and state agencies have called for soil samples to be collected and analyzed at homes and schools cleaned by work crews after nearly every major wildfire in California for the last two decades. (Briscoe, 2/12)

inewsource.org: Free Air Purifiers For South Bay Residents Impacted By Sewage Odor
San Diego County air regulators have launched an effort to distribute 10,000 air purifiers to South County households affected by odors from the untreated sewage flows in the Tijuana River. Residents in the City of San Diego communities of Otay Mesa West, San Ysidro, Egger Highlands, Nestor, Tijuana River Valley and Imperial Beach are eligible for one purifier per household with proof of residency, according to the San Diego Air Pollution Control District. Due to limited resources, the agency says the program will prioritize households with children and residents over the age of 65. (Salata, 2/12)

Los Angeles Times: Authorities Close More Beaches, Impose Advisories On Others. Here's Why
Some Southern California beaches have lifted fire-debris- and sewage-related closures and advisories, while the arrival of a major storm is shutting down access to the water at other shorelines from Ventura to San Diego counties. Ventura County’s Resource Management Agency announced Wednesday afternoon that visitors were advised to avoid the water at Promenade Park Beach at Figueroa Street in Ventura and Channel Island Harbor Beach Park’s Kiddie Beach in Oxnard. The agency’s decision was made after both beaches failed to meet state standards for bacteria from water sampled. (Campa, 2/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: California Bill Aims To Stop AI From Posing As Health Professionals
California Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, introduced legislation Feb. 10 aimed at curbing the misuse of AI in healthcare. The bill, AB 489, would allow regulators to enforce title protections against developers and deployers of AI systems that falsely present themselves as licensed or certified health professionals. (Diaz, 2/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: Moody's Downgrades California System That Posted -18.5% Margin In 2024
Moody's downgraded Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health's rating to "Caa1" from "B2." The downgrade reflects "further thinning of liquidity resulting in 15 to 20 days cash on hand and limited ability to meaningfully improve given ongoing significant cash flow losses," Moody's said in a Feb. 12 report. Moody's said that although Palomar's forbearance agreements reduce the risks of debt acceleration through January 2026, the two-hospital system's very weak liquidity position challenges its short-term financial viability. (Cass, 2/13)

Index-Tribune: Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Progress Noted In Annual Report 
Sonoma Valley Hospital has made significant strides during the past year in expanding services, introducing advanced technology and meeting the diverse needs of residents, according to its 2024 annual community report. (Johnson, 2/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: Scripps Cuts 14K Bed Days With A Simple Solution
San Diego-based Scripps Health has saved 14,731 bed days since January 2023 by leasing beds at skilled nursing facilities. Many hospitals struggle with boarding patients ready to discharge because the patients do not have a place to go. Meanwhile, skilled nursing facilities across the country have been shutting down and closing beds, leaving those that remain overloaded with patients. (Taylor, 2/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: Cedars-Sinai Pilots 'Virtual Assistant' For Nurses
Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai is piloting the use of an artificial intelligence-powered mobile app designed to reduce nurses' documentation burdens. The health system partnered with its enterprise information services team and Aiva Health to develop the Aiva Nurse Assistant app, which is being tested on a 48-bed surgical unit. The app allows nurses to dictate patient notes via voice commands. It then transcribes the information and maps it into the appropriate fields in Epic, which clinicians validate the data before submission. (Bean, 2/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: How 5 Systems Are Improving Pharmacy Recruitment, Retention
Amid ongoing healthcare workforce shortages, some leading hospitals and health systems are adopting creative strategies to recruit and retain pharmacy technicians. From launching accredited training programs to forging partnerships with military veterans and high schools, more systems are reshaping how pharmacy technicians are entering and growing within the field. Below are responses from five pharmacy leaders [including Sutter Health's Ryan Stice] who were asked: What are the most pivotal or novel strategies you are using to improve pharmacy technician recruitment and retention? (Murphy, 2/12)

Bloomberg: Walgreens’ VillageMD Taps Advisers As Backer Pursues Exit Plan
VillageMD, the health care clinic chain backed by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., is working with Evercore Inc. for assistance as explores options that include a sale or restructuring of its operations, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The health care provider is also working with Alvarez & Marsal Inc. for operational help, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. (Basu, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Insurers Deny 850 Million Claims A Year. The Few Who Appeal Often Win.
After three years of doctors’ visits and $40,000 in medical bills didn’t cure their daughter’s rare condition, April and Justin Beck found a specialist three states away who offered a promising treatment. They set out before dawn last spring for the nine-hour drive to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where Dr. Aravindhan Veerapandiyan explained how infusions of antibodies could help Emily, now 9 years old, and her misfiring immune system. (Wernau, 2/12)

Huffpost: House Republicans Eye Big Cuts To Medicaid And Food Assistance
House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a broad outline of their plans for the federal budget, using cuts to social programs to help pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts. The budget outline indicates Republicans are planning $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over ten years. Spending cuts would offset part of that cost, but only part, so that meeting the blueprint’s goals would add trillions of dollars to the country’s deficit. The document doesn’t specify exactly what programs to cut. But analysts say the clear implication is that Republicans are looking for deep reductions in programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, both of which serve low-income Americans, given the GOP ruling out cuts to Medicare or Social Security. (Cohn, Delaney and Bobic, 2/12)

Politico: Energy And Commerce Committee's Medicaid Problem Just Got Tougher 
It was always going to be tough for House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie to rally his members around cuts to Medicaid; his job could soon get even harder. The House GOP budget blueprint unveiled Wednesday would direct several congressional committees to achieve at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts across programs under their panels’ purviews — necessary to offset a party-line, budget reconciliation bill to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. ... The bulk of those savings would have to come from making changes to Medicaid, which currently insures more than 70 million Americans. And, in an interview Wednesday, Guthrie acknowledged that one major savings option probably won’t have the support to pass the House. (Leonard, 2/12)

Politico: Johnson Says He's Not Changing Budget Resolution Ahead Of Committee Vote 
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Wednesday evening that he’s not planning to make changes to his budget plan, despite hard-liner demands for deeper spending cuts and other adjustments. Several hard-liners on the Budget Committee told GOP leaders Wednesday they want at least $500 billion more in guaranteed spending cuts and a series of other changes. The current budget resolution, which leaders are hoping to pass through the committee Thursday, includes a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. (Hill, 2/12)

MedPage Today: GOP, Dems On Two Different Tracks At House Health Hearing
Democrats and Republicans on the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee appeared to hold two different hearings Tuesday on improving healthcare -- or at least it might have seemed that way to anyone watching the event. (Frieden, 2/12)

Fox News: Senate To Hold Final Vote On RFK Jr Nomination To Serve As Trump's Health Secretary
The Senate is expected on Thursday to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in President Donald Trump's cabinet. The final showdown over Kennedy's controversial nomination was set in motion after the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday - in a 53-47 party-line vote - invoked cloture, which started the clock ticking toward the final confirmation roll call. Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needs a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate. (Steinhauser, 2/13)

Politico: Why The Health Care Industry Is Letting RFK Jr. Cruise To Confirmation 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s expected Senate confirmation on Thursday to lead the nation’s health agencies threatens upheaval for America’s $4 trillion health care industry. The industry is doing little and hoping for the best. From drugmakers to doctors’ organizations, groups thought to have the clout to steer policy and funding in Washington because they enjoyed bipartisan support and huge lobbying budgets have remained silent about Kennedy. They haven’t spoken up even though he has accused them of fraud and conspiracy, and promised to hold them accountable. (Payne, 2/12)

Politico: RFK Jr. Taps Former Border Patrol Agent As Senior Adviser
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tapped a retired border patrol chief to be one of his senior advisers, in a sign of the outsized role that the government’s health department could once again play in managing the fallout of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies. Chris Clem, a longtime U.S. Border Patrol agent who supported Kennedy’s 2024 run for president, joined the Health and Human Services Department in recent weeks, two people familiar with the appointment said and an HHS spokesperson confirmed. (Cancryn, 2/12)

The New York Times: Behind R.F.K. Jr.’s Vow To ‘Follow The Science’ On Vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent the first day of his back-to-back confirmation hearings deftly avoiding questions about his views on vaccines. On the second day, when a prominent Republican senator insisted there was no link between vaccines and autism, Mr. Kennedy shot back that a new study “showed the opposite.” “I just want to follow the science,” Mr. Kennedy declared. (Gay Stolberg and Jewett, 2/12)

Bloomberg: Some Research Universities Face Credit Risk From NIH Funding Cut
Proposed cuts by the Trump administration to a type of federal funding from the National Institutes of Health would pose a credit challenge to universities that receive the funds, analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. The NIH has been ordered to slash funding for research at universities and hospitals, though on Monday a federal judge temporarily paused the change. A hearing date is scheduled for Feb. 21. (Rembert, 2/12)

The New York Times: Top N.I.H. Official Abruptly Resigns As Trump Orders Deep Cuts
The No. 2 official at the National Institutes of Health abruptly resigned and retired from government service on Tuesday, in another sign that the Trump administration is reshaping the nation’s public health and biomedical research institutions. The official, Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, a dentist and researcher, was long considered a steadying force and had weathered past presidential transitions. ... One person familiar with the decision said Dr. Tabak had been confronted with a reassignment that he viewed as unacceptable. (Gay Stolberg, 2/12)

Stat: Trump Cuts Fuel Research Brain Drain, Young Scientists Look Abroad
A torrent of disruptive Trump administration policies is alarming scientists who fear the current political climate is weakening researchers’ resolve to stick with careers in academic science. Already, the anxiety is so deep that many scientists say it could undermine the country’s enduring position as the world leader in biomedicine. (Chen and Wosen, 2/12)

Stat: Resistance Is Organizing Against Trump Attacks On Science
For the first month of the Trump administration, it appeared that there was little organized resistance to its attacks on the existing system of biomedical research. But resistance is starting to form. Unions representing fellows at the NIH and several universities are planning a protest at the headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services next week. Simultaneously, a grassroots group of scientists is planning a protest in Washington, D.C., and state capitals around the country in March. (Oza, 2/13)

Politico: Judge Allows Trump To Implement ‘Fork In The Road’ Deadline For Federal Workers 
A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its plan to downsize the federal workforce by offering employees the option to resign now but stay on the payroll through September. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole, an appointee of Bill Clinton, did not address whether the deferred-resignation program is legal. Instead, the judge ruled Wednesday that several unions that sued over the program lack legal standing to pursue the issue in court. (Gerstein, 2/12)

MedPage Today: Archives Host Missing CDC Data
After learning the hard way that government data may not always be available or reliable, the research community is finding alternative ways to host important government health data and guidance online. The Alt CDC Bluesky account posted about one notable archive of CDC datasets hosted on the nonprofit Internet Archive. It houses hundreds of CSV files, metadata files, zip files, PDFs of infographics, and more -- uploaded before Jan. 28, 2025 -- available to download. Alt CDC also gave a shout out to the data archivists who made it possible. (Robertson, 2/12)

Bay Area News Group: US Department Of Education Takes Aim At CIF Over Transgender Athlete Policy
The U.S. Department of Education is launching a Title IX investigation into the governing body of high school sports in two states, including California. (Babcock, 2/13)

Stat: As Trump Hits Pause On Anti-Bribery Law, Will Pharma Engage In Bad Behavior?
Between 2011 and 2020, 10 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies paid a combined $1.34 billion in fines to the U.S. government for bribing foreign officials in order to boost purchases of their medicines. The law that made it possible is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which has been credited with making changes in long-standing industry business practices. (Silverman, 2/12)

Military.Com: Pentagon Reverses Course, Says Troops Will Be Reimbursed For Travel For Fertility Treatments
The Pentagon will continue to reimburse service members who travel to get fertility treatments, the department confirmed this week, walking back its earlier move to fully repeal its reproductive health care travel policy. Late last month, the Pentagon quietly updated its travel regulations to remove all the language allowing service members to get travel and transportation allowances for trips related to reproductive health care. That meant travel was no longer covered for either abortion or fertility treatments. (Kheel, 2/12)

The War Horse: Veterans Suffering With PTSD, Aid Each Other With Psychedelic Treatment
Lena Ramsay lives with two aging chihuahuas—Diesel and Daisy—in rural Maine, down a long dirt road overlooking a glassy pond surrounded by layers of thick wilderness. It’s here, in her quiet 5-acre outpost, that she started feeling a lot better. A deployment in Afghanistan left her with a traumatic brain injury, a shattered ankle, and a broken vertebra. Like many veterans, she obliged when VA doctors prescribed pain and sleep medication to help numb constant physical pain. But the antidepressants and sedatives she was also taking for PTSD, anxiety, and depression barely touched the gnawing anguish that would occasionally leave her unable to sleep, in a ball beneath her kitchen table. (Marshall-Chalmers, 2/13)