RSV Is Swamping Bay Area Hospitals: Bay Area health officials on Wednesday said a substantial increase in flu activity and other respiratory viruses since the start of the month has led to a spike in emergency department visits and is putting a strain on health systems across the region. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep scrolling for more on the RSV outbreak.
FDA Clears Way For Lab-Grown Meat From California Company: The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday declared a lab-grown meat product developed by start-up Upside Foods to be safe for human consumption. Read more from The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Black Hairy Tongue, An Unsightly But Common Symptom, Gets Fresh Attention
Tongue discoloration is a condition that has been associated with various viral infections long before the coronavirus pandemic, but the symptom has drawn fresh attention since the death last month of author Julie Powell, the inspiration for the movie “Julie and Julia.” In her final tweet, the 49-year-old food writer who had recently recovered from a bout of COVID-19 said she woke up “with something that’s literally Black Hairy Tongue.” (Vaziri, Kawahara and Buchmann, 11/16)
The New York Times:
What To Do For Unusual Covid Symptoms: Hairy Tongue, Hair Loss And More
By this point in the long slog of the pandemic, many people know the telltale symptoms of a Covid-19 infection: a ragged ache in your throat, a pernicious cough, congestion, fever and full-body exhaustion. But a tiny subset of people also develop less common symptoms, ones that can sound like hexes from a children’s story: hairy tongues, purple toes, welts that sprout on their faces. (Blum, 11/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Rocklin High Coach Returns After COVID-19 Almost Killed Him
Dale Eckenberg doesn’t remember much about the start of 2022. The Rocklin High School tennis coach was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 12 and spent 45 days in a coma battling COVID-19. While he can’t recall anything after calling out sick to work the previous day, his family endured the trauma. That includes his wife, Ashley, and children, Sydney and Sam. (Salerno, 11/17)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Indigenous Elders Rebuild Community After Years Of Pandemic-Era Isolation
Months of isolation during the pandemic has inspired Indigenous older adults at the San Diego American Indian Health Center in Bankers Hill to form a group to strengthen the community’s cultural knowledge. (Mapp, 11/15)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: L.A. County Reported 2,215 More Cases And Nine More Deaths, Nov. 16
Los Angeles County public health officials reported 2,215 more cases of the coronavirus since Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 3,511,076 as of Wednesday, Nov. 16. (Goertzen, 11/16)
Bloomberg:
Covid Drug Treatments Aren't Keeping Up With Virus Mutations
Covid-19’s constant mutations have proven nearly impossible for drugmakers to keep up with. Omicron’s newest stepchildren threaten to render the last two antibody drugs on the market ineffective: Eli Lilly & Co.’s bebtelovimab, which is used to treat symptoms, and AstraZeneca Plc’s Evusheld, which helps prevent infections. (Muller, 11/16)
The Hill:
Coalition Calls For Increased CDC Oversight
The Health Innovation Alliance on Tuesday called on congressional leadership to pass legislation that would increase accountability for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health agencies. “Not only has the CDC been provided an extensive amount of additional funding for COVID-19 response, but the agency failed to update and modernize its response plans and systems as required by Congress in 2006, and again twice since then,” the group’s Executive Director Joel White wrote in a letter addressed to top lawmakers. (Mueller, 11/16)
The Hill:
Pediatric Health Groups Call For National Emergency To Fight Respiratory Illnesses
Pediatric health provider groups are calling on the Biden administration to declare a national emergency to help them combat the surge of hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses in children. Seasonal flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory viruses are hitting young children especially hard this year. The resulting hospitalizations are putting an immense strain on a pediatric health system that is still reeling from COVID-19. (Weixel, 11/15)
Stat:
Pfizer Scientist Says A Flu Pandemic Is Only A Matter Of Time
Even after leading the charge combating the worst pandemic in a century, vaccine researcher Kathrin Jansen doesn’t feel that she can relax. Another pandemic — this one based on an influenza virus — is inevitable, Jansen said at the annual STAT Summit on Tuesday. (Goldhill, 11/16)
Bay Area Reporter:
Gay, HIV-Positive SF Supervisor Dorsey Wins Full Term
In winning a full term on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey has become the city's first HIV-positive elected supervisor. (Bajko, 11/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
What GOP Control Of The House Means For Inflation, Taxes, Healthcare
Republicans won the majority of seats in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, ending unified Democratic control of Washington and presenting new challenges to President Biden’s legislative agenda. Here is a look at what divided government means for key issues. (11/17)
Becker's Hospital Review:
U Of California Physicians Hold Rallies To Support Bargaining
Resident physicians and fellows, represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents, participated in rallies Nov. 16 at University of California campuses amid contract negotiations. The rallies, described by organizers as a "unity breaks," are "to bring attention to [physicians'] systemwide fight for fair contracts across all hospitals," according to the union, a local of the Service Employees International Union. (Gooch, 11/16)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego To Act On Falck Ambulance Response Time Problems
With San Diego’s new ambulance provider still falling far short of staffing and response-time goals, city leaders promised Wednesday to take drastic action in January that could include adding a second ambulance provider. (Garrick, 11/16)
Stat:
Across 10 Countries, Primary Care Doctors Report High Burnout
The increased stress doctors have faced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic is making some feel like they are providing worse patient care, according to a new survey of primary care physicians from 10 wealthy countries. (Joseph, 11/17)
Axios:
Burnout Plagues Younger Primary Care Physicians
Half of U.S. primary care physicians under the age of 55 say they're burned out and some anticipate leaving the profession in the next three years, per a new survey from the Commonwealth Fund. It's the latest evidence of doctor shortages that could hamper efforts to reduce health disparities and fill gaps in care as the nation emerges from the pandemic. (Dreher, 11/17)
Voice Of San Diego:
New Tech Can Detect Poo In The Tijuana River In Real Time
An Election Day storm sent one billion gallons of water and muck over the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego in a dramatic brown gush captured on video by the International Boundary and Water Commission. As gross as that water looked, nobody really knows what was in it. A team of researchers at San Diego State University is trying to change that by installing a pair of real-time water quality sensors where the Tijuana River crosses the border and spills into the Pacific Ocean. The instrument looks like a big white PVC pipe stuck in the mud protecting a cylindrical tube filled with sensors sending live water quality data to a website managed by the SDSU team. (Elmer, 11/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Someone Is Severely Injured In S.F. Traffic Every 14 Hours. This Time, It Was A Famous Local Artist
Joen Madonna was blissfully excited on the evening of Nov. 6. Her husband, Paul, was heading home from his art studio to cook his specialty — steak, potatoes and broccolini — before driving her to the airport for a flight to Tulum, Mexico for a women’s retreat. But a phone call from a stranger would change everything. A woman told her there’d been horrible crash. She could hear Paul’s voice in the background. “I’m in the park!” he yelled. “I’ve been hit! Please come!” Every 14 hours, on average, a crash on San Francisco’s dangerous streets sends somebody severely injured to San Francisco General Hospital, upturning their lives and the lives of the people who love them. (Knight, 11/16)
The Hill:
Senators Introduce Bill To Lower Prescription Costs For Seniors With Chronic Illnesses
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would allow people enrolled in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) to choose their prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D and save more in monthly medication costs. PACE is a Medicare/Medicaid program that provides medical and social services through a team of health care professionals which enrollees have regular access to, with the aim of avoiding placement in a nursing home. (Choi, 11/16)
The Hill:
Grieving Parents Push For Kids’ Online Safety Bills During Lame Duck
Congress has a busy itinerary in the lame duck session, but some grieving parents believe lawmakers should have a clear legislative priority: protecting minors from the harms they say led to their children’s deaths. A group of mothers whose children’s deaths were tied to social media are meeting with lawmakers this week, and sent a letter to congressional leaders, to push Congress to pass two bills that would add additional regulations governing how tech companies operate for children and teens. The group includes parents of kids who died by fentanyl-laced drugs purchased on apps, by suicide after being cyberbullied online and by participating in a dangerous viral “choking challenge.” (Klar, 11/16)
NBC News:
Same-Sex Marriage Protections Clear Key Senate Hurdle, Signaling GOP Support For Passage
In a statement, the bipartisan group said the amendment was crafted to “confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality.” (Concepcion, Shabad and Thorp V, 11/16)
Politico:
Congress Sends First Weed Bill To Biden
The Senate passed a bill designed to expand medical marijuana research on Wednesday by unanimous consent. Passage of the legislation, which is sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) in their respective chambers, signaled a new era in federal cannabis policy: It’s the first standalone marijuana-related bill approved by both chambers of Congress. The House passed the bill in July, also by unanimous consent. (Fertig, 11/16)
NBC News:
OTC Naloxone: FDA Opens Door To Make Opioid Overdose Antidote Easier To Access
In a notice published online Tuesday, the agency said that it “strongly encourages” naloxone makers to contact the FDA “as early as possible” to initiate a discussion about a potential switch from prescription to over the counter. (Lovelace Jr., 11/16)
AP:
US Overdose Deaths May Be Peaking, But Experts Are Wary
Have U.S. drug overdose deaths stopped rising? Preliminary government data suggests they may have, but many experts are urging caution, noting that past plateaus didn’t last. U.S. overdose death rates began steadily climbing in the 1990s driven by opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids like heroin and — most recently — illicit fentanyl. Last year, more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses — the highest tally in U.S. history. (Stobbe, 11/16)
Stat:
Top U.S. Addiction Scientist Calls For Broad Methadone Deregulation
The U.S. government’s top addiction researcher is calling for broad deregulation of methadone, a key drug used to treat opioid use disorder. American doctors should “absolutely” be allowed to prescribe methadone directly to patients, Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said Wednesday. (Facher, 11/16)
Fortune:
Researchers May Have Discovered A Breakthrough Vaccine For Fentanyl—The Drug At The Center Of The Opioid Crisis
A team at the University of Houston that developed the new vaccine say it could affect fentanyl’s impact on the brain, eliminating the euphoric feelings it produces. They published their findings in the journal Pharmaceutics. (Mikhail, 11/16)
CNN:
US Home Births Reached Highest Level In 30 Years In 2021
There were more than 50,000 home births in the United States in 2021, an increase of 12% over the year before and the highest level since at least 1990, according to a report released Thursday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. This follows a 22% increase in home births between 2019 and 2020, “corresponding with the initial surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States,” the report says. (Hassan, 11/17)
The New York Times:
Amid the Adderall Shortage, People With A.D.H.D. Face Withdrawal and Despair
By the time Michael Kenneally found himself pacing outside a CVS drugstore in Cambridge, Mass., this summer, he was on a first-name basis with the pharmacist. Mr. Kenneally, 48, had been told multiple times that his Adderall prescription couldn’t be filled. For 25 days, he continued to check by phone and in person. Mr. Kenneally had been on the medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., for 25 years. “It’s been so long for me that I’ve been on it that it’s difficult to function without it,” he said. (Blum, 11/16)