San Diego Union-Tribune: Rady Children’s Hospital Strike Begins 
Nurses started picketing Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego on Monday, kicking off a two-day strike over wages that required the medical provider to bring in about 400 replacement workers to care for pediatric patients who filled about 60 percent of the facility’s 364 acute care beds. (Sisson, 7/22)

Bay Area News Group: Huge San Jose Hospital Project Heads To Key Public Development Review
A massive project that will add a new hospital and medical center in San Jose is now available for the public to scrutinize, an environmental review that’s a crucial step in the project’s approval. (Avalos, 7/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: HCA California Hospital Walks Back Plan To End Trauma Care
San Jose, Calif.-based Regional Medical Center's trauma center will modify heart attack and stroke programs and remain open after pushback from local stakeholders.Its trauma center will transition to a Level 3 center from Level 2 status, according to a July 19 news release. It will also operate as a stroke center with the ability to "address the needs of 97% of stroke patients," transferring the remaining cases to acute care providers, the release said. (Kuchno, 7/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: 15 Health Systems Dropping Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage provides health coverage to more than half of the nation's seniors, but some hospitals and health systems are opting to end their contracts with MA plans over administrative challenges. San Diego-based Scripps Health ended all Medicare Advantage contracts for its integrated medical groups, effective Jan. 1. (Emerson, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: Rural Hospital CEOs Risk Cuts Unless Medicare, Medicaid Pay Grows
Rural hospitals are weighing which services to cut if lawmakers do not boost Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and streamline pay processes, CEOs said. Half of rural hospitals were operating in the red last year, up from 43% in 2022, according to a February report from the consulting firm Chartis Center for Rural Health. As a result, a growing number of providers in rural communities are slashing obstetric and chemotherapy services, among others, the report found. (Kacik, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: Pharmacy Group, Providers Sue UnitedHealth Over Change Outage
Pharmacists and providers are still allegedly waiting on delayed payments from the Change Healthcare outage, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Friday. The National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents more than 19,000 independent pharmacies, joined 39 providers in alleging Change Healthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group's actions in response to a February cyberattack allegedly affected their ability to make payroll, pay rent and purchase medical supplies. (Berryman, 7/22)

Axios: Harris' Chance To Forge A New Health Agenda For Democrats
Kamala Harris is expected to pick up President Biden's policy torch as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, but the reality is that she's stepping into a role leading the party at a time when it's biggest long-term health care goals have to some extent been realized. (Owens, Knight and Sullivan, 7/23)

The Guardian: Biggest US Abortion Rights Groups Back Kamala Harris As Effective Messenger
The biggest abortion rights groups in US politics are lining up behind Kamala Harris’s bid for president, a show of faith in a politician who has already become the face of the White House’s fight over abortion rights – which is not only one of the election’s biggest issues but one of the few where Democrats have the advantage. Within hours of Joe Biden’s stunning announcement on Sunday that he would drop out of the presidential race and endorse the vice-president, Emilys List, which champions Democratic women who support abortion rights, and Reproductive Freedom for All, which advocates for abortion access and was previously known as Naral Pro-Choice America, officially endorsed Harris. Emilys List plans to pour at least $20m into the race in support of Harris. (Sherman, 7/22)

NBC News: Harris' Frank Talk About Abortion And Its Impact On Women's Health Might Energize Voters
Vice President Kamala Harris’ willingness to speak freely about abortion could mark a turning point in the national conversation about women’s health, experts said Monday, a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election. “She talks about abortion rights, and she talks about it unapologetically,” said Kelly Baden, vice president for public policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a nongovernmental research organization that works to expand reproductive rights. “She makes the connection between all facets of reproductive health care and abortion rights.” (Edwards and Harris, 7/22)

The Conversation: 6 In 10 Americans Support Abortion Rights. This Could Be The Advantage Kamala Harris Needs Against Donald Trump
Kamala Harris is assertive and confident on the issue, while Trump and his running mate seem to be at odds over strategy. (Flowers, 7/23)

The New York Times: A Lot Has Changed For Women Since 2016. What Does That Mean For Kamala Harris?
In the eight years since Hillary Clinton failed to win the American presidency, the work force for the first time grew to include more college-educated women than college-educated men. The #MeToo movement exposed sexual harassment and toppled powerful men. The Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion.Will any — or all — of it make a difference for Vice President Kamala Harris? (Mazzei, Russell, Fausset and Morales, 7/22)

Poynter: Kamala Harris Is Running For President. Here's How PolitiFact Has Rated Her Claims On Abortion, The Economy And Trump
PolitiFact has fact-checked Harris 46 times since 2012 in her roles as California attorney general, U.S. senator, Democratic presidential candidate and vice president. Her vice presidency was one of firsts: She is the first woman and first Black and Asian person to hold the position. Here’s a look at Harris’ fact-checked comments on topics including abortion and the economy and her potential 2024 opponents, Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance. (Czopek and Ramirez Uribe, 7/22)

The Washington Post: Trump's Age And Health Now A Focus After Biden's Exit From The Race
Donald Trump, a 78-year-old with a history of heart disease and obesity, according to experts, has not shared any updated bloodwork results or other specific information during this campaign to help experts assess his ongoing medical risks. Instead, he has released a vague, three-paragraph letter from his primary care physician, Bruce A. Aronwald, who wrote in November that the former president was in excellent physical and mental health, and who later said in a statement released by campaign officials to The Washington Post that “there is no need for President Trump to release another medical report in addition to the one he recently made public.” (Kranish, 7/22)

ProPublica: The Biden Administration Says Its Trade Policy Puts People Over Corporations. Documents on Baby Formula Show Otherwise.
The Biden administration has quietly pushed more than a half-dozen countries to weaken, delay or rethink baby formula regulations aimed at protecting the public’s health — sometimes after manufacturers complained, a ProPublica investigation has found. In the European Union, the U.S. opposed an effort to reduce lead levels in baby formula. In Taiwan, it sought to alter labeling that highlighted the health benefits of breastfeeding. And in Colombia, it questioned an attempt to limit microbiological contaminants — the very problem that shut down a manufacturing plant in Michigan in 2022, leading to a widespread formula shortage. (Vogell, 7/22)

CNN: 5 Strategies For Families To Ensure Children Are Safe Online, According To A New White House Report
When it comes to the online safety of their children, parents could build a family media plan to set expectations, maintain open conversations with their kids about their social media use, choose content that’s developmentally appropriate for their child, set good examples and balance time with and without devices by creating “screen-free” times. Those are just some of the latest strategies put forth in a first-of-its-kind report released Monday by the White House’s Task Force on Kids Online Health and Safety. (Howard, 7/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Drug Middlemen Push Patients To Pricier Medicines, House Probe Finds
The drug middlemen that promise to control costs have instead steered patients toward higher-priced medicines and affiliated pharmacies—steps that increase spending and reduce patient choice, a House investigation found. The pharmacy-benefit managers, or PBMs, have devised formularies of preferred medicines that encouraged use of higher-priced drugs over lower-priced alternatives, the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability found. (Whyte, 7/23)

FiercePharma: Sinking Prices For Generic Meds A Major Factor In US Shortage Crisis: Report
As lawmakers and industry groups seek to get a handle on U.S. drug shortages, a new white paper from German market analytics firm QYOBO supports the thesis that disproportionately low prices for generic medicines can make it difficult for drugmakers to keep supplies afloat. Chief among the insights from QYOBO’s research, the company discovered that net sales prices for drugs that have faced shortages in recent years have plummeted in many cases. (Kansteiner, 7/22)

Axios: Six Straight Quarters Of Drug Shortages
The number of active drug shortages fell to 300 in the second quarter of this year after hitting an all-time high of 323, according to a tracker from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. It's the sixth straight quarter with at least 300 drugs on shortage, many of them critical to patient outcomes, the pharmacists' group said. (Reed, 7/22)

FiercePharma: Pfizer Blockbuster Heart Drug Too Pricey, Report Says
Pfizer’s blockbuster drug tafamidis for the treatment of the rare heart disease transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) needs at least a 96% discount off its list price to be considered cost-effective under common benchmarks. The finding came from a draft report (PDF) published Wednesday by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), an influential organization focused on evidence-based drug-cost analysis. (Liu, 7/18)

Los Angeles Times: 15,000-Gallon Sewage Leak Triggers Closures At Two L.A. County Beaches
Parts of Venice Beach and Dockweiler State Beach are closed after 15,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the ocean near Marina del Rey over the weekend, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department said. Beachgoers are being advised to stay out of the water one mile north and one mile south of Ballona Creek until tests there over 48 hours show the water quality meets health standards. The first test was scheduled for Monday, according to the health department. (Deng, 7/22)

Santa Cruz Sentinel: State Cautions Against Recreational Shellfish Harvesting In Santa Cruz, Monterey Counties
According to a release from the environmental health division of the county’s Health Services Agency, the California Department of Public Health has warned consumers not to eat recreationally harvested mussels, clams or whole scallops gathered from Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. State experts have discovered dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, toxins in mussels within the pair of coastal counties that can cause illness or death, according to the release. (Hattis, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: EPA Grants $500 Million To Help Southern California Fight Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Southern California air regulators nearly $500 million in federal funding to electrify the region’s bustling goods movement, the largest grant the federal agency has ever awarded to combat air pollution. The EPA announced Monday it will dole out nearly $4.3 billion in climate grants — funded by the Biden administration’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act. The largest allocation went to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the agency tasked with reducing air pollution in the smoggiest air basin in the nation. (Briscoe, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: 'Long-Duration' Heat Wave To Again Broil Inland California
Another bout of prolonged heat has kicked off across California and much of the West, expected to again bring several days of triple-digit temperatures to most inland areas. July’s second major heat wave isn’t forecast to be as extreme as the last event, which set several all-time records for high temperatures. Nevertheless, the National Weather Service predicted that it will be a “long-duration heat wave,” which creates uniquely dangerous conditions — especially when temperatures barely drop at night. (Toohey, 7/22)

San Diego Union-Tribune: California’s Power Grid Stood Up To A Recent Heat Wave But Summer Is Far From Over
A persistent heat wave that scorched most of California earlier this month essentially amounted to a real-time stress test that the state’s electric grid managed to withstand. But the head of the organization responsible for keeping the lights on says energy officials are still on alert as the summer wears on. (Nikolewski, 7/22)

Bay Area News Group: Desalination Plant Proposed For San Francisco Bay
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, a government agency based in San Jose, has approved spending $1.7 million for Black & Veatch, a Walnut Creek firm, to conduct an engineering feasibility study over the next 12 months for a project near the bay’s shoreline in Palo Alto, Mountain View or San Jose. (Rogers, 7/23)

The Guardian: Most New HIV Infections Occurred Outside Sub-Saharan Africa For First Time – UN Report
The majority of new HIV infections last year occurred in countries outside sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. African countries have made swift progress in tackling the virus, with the number of infections in sub-Saharan Africa 56% lower than in 2010, a new report from UNAids said. Globally, infections have fallen by 39% over the same period. "This reflects both the prevention achievements in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the lack of comparable progress in the rest of the world,” said the report, which found case numbers were rising in eastern Europe and central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and north Africa. (Lay, 7/22)

AP: UN Says Nearly 40 Million People Had HIV In 2023, Lack Of Treatment Means Someone Died Every Minute
Nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS last year, over 9 million weren’t getting any treatment, and the result was that every minute someone died of AIDS-related causes, the U.N. said in a new report launched Monday. (Lederer, 7/23)

Euronews: UN Report: AIDS Could End By 2030 If World Leaders Help Ease Access To Treatment
A new report was released by UNAIDS on Monday saying the AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030 if more is done to fund initiatives and protect human rights. (O'Sullivan, 7/22)

HIV.gov: Conversation At The Opening Of AIDS 2024
The International AIDS Society’s 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) opened [Monday] in Munich, Germany. HIV.gov began its coverage with a video conversation about the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR's Ambassador John Nkengasong and the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy's Kaye Hayes discussedExit Disclaimer the importance of the U.S. government's attendance at the conference and PEPFAR’s activities. Ambassador Nkengasong said PEPFAR is a game-changing initiative that has offered hope to the individuals, communities, and countries it has supported. (7/22)

Stat: A Pricey Gilead HIV Drug Could Be Made For $26 A Person A Year, Researchers Say
Following the release of widely touted study results for a Gilead Sciences HIV treatment, a new analysis finds the medicine — called lenacapavir — could be made for as little as $26 to $40 per person each year, which the researchers argue could alleviate concerns about limited access in many countries. (Silverman, 7/23)

Bloomberg: GSK’s Long-Acting HIV Preventive Drug Is Safe In Pregnant Women
GSK Plc’s long-acting HIV prevention drug is as safe in pregnant women as daily pills, a boost to the company’s efforts to cement its place in the market for antivirals that patients don’t have to take each day. Pregnancy outcomes were similar among women who took the drug, called Apretude, and those who took daily antiviral pills, UK-based GSK said Tuesday in a statement. The drug has already been approved for prevention in other adults, and the company will seek to expand the label to include pregnant women. (Furlong, 7/23)

USA Today: Biden's COVID Symptoms 'Almost Completely Resolved,' His Doctor Says.
President Joe Biden’s symptoms have “almost resolved completely” after testing positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, according to a White House press release. After completing his tenth dose of the antiviral Paxlovid, his pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain normal, his doctor, Kevin O'Connor, said in the release. His oxygen saturation is “excellent” in room air and his lungs remain clear. All those are markers of recovery and general health. (Rodriguez, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: Long COVID Risk Has Decreased But Remains Significant, Study Finds
The risk of developing long COVID — enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection — has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated. But the dip does not mean the risk of developing long COVID has vanished. And given the rise in new infections, particularly during periods like now, when data indicate transmission is elevated, even a lower rate of prevalence means many Americans risk developing symptoms that can last months or years after their initial infection clears. (Lin II, 7/23)

Los Angeles Times: Facing Questions About Pesticides, Cannabis Regulators Scramble To Test Weed
Under intense pressure from millions of weed users, California officials are scrambling to test cannabis products for pesticides following a Times investigation last month revealing that regulators have failed to keep vapes and pre-rolls rife with toxic chemicals out of stores. The revelation shook consumer confidence in the safety of legal products and panicked industry leaders: Three leading dispensary chains announced their own product testing programs in the absence of similar safety checks by regulators. (St. John, 7/23)

Stat: Marijuana Rescheduling Proposal Divides Medical Professionals
The Biden administration’s proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana is dividing some of the nation’s top medical professionals. The nation’s largest and most powerful doctors group, the American Medical Association, has raised multiple concerns with the move, which is known as rescheduling. (Florko, 7/23)

CNN: Prenatal Marijuana Use Linked To Serious Risks For Mother During Pregnancy, Study Finds
Women who use marijuana before they learn of their pregnancy are at higher risk for potentially life-threatening complications like preeclampsia, a new study finds. (LaMotte, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: Koreatown Apartment Building Transforms Into Homeless Housing
The stylish co-living apartment building in Koreatown was all but complete when the bottom fell out. Inflation had eaten up $14 million in construction loans. The interest rate on the primary loan had more than doubled to 10%, and there was nothing left to make payments. (Smith, 7/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: What If AI Puts Everyone Out Of Work? This Software Company Funded Research On Universal Basic Income
San Francisco software company OpenAI spent the last three years quietly helping fund a program that handed out up to $1,000 a month to low-income Americans, one of the largest studies ever conducted on the impact of universal basic income. (DiFeliciantonio, 7/22)

Military Times: Military Families Overseas Scrambling As U.S. Dog Travel Rules Change Over Rabies
A number of military families stationed overseas are scrambling to find other arrangements for transporting their dogs back to the United States because of new regulations taking effect Aug. 1 — in the middle of the military’s heavy moving season. The issue stems from new requirements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that take effect Aug. 1, aimed at preventing the introduction of dog rabies into the United States. While dog rabies was eliminated in the United States in 2007, there are over 100 countries where dog rabies isn’t controlled, according to the CDC. (Jowers, 7/22)