Southern California News Group: LAUSD Sued Over COVID-19 Employee Vaccination Mandate 
Already faced with at least two lawsuits over its coronavirus-related student vaccination mandate, the Los Angeles Unified School District is now being sued over a similar requirement for employees to get their COVID-19 shots. Health Freedom Defense Fund, a Wyoming-based organization that advocates against mandatory masking, testing and vaccinations, and six LAUSD employees filed a lawsuit against the district last week, challenging L.A. Unified’s staff vaccination mandate. (Tat, 11/8)

Bay Area News Group: San Jose’s Police Union Warned 100 Cops Could Quit Over The City’s Vaccine Mandate. Here’s What Really Happened
After a fierce effort to finesse San Jose’s strict COVID-19 vaccination mandate — led by a police union that warned more than 100 cops were ready to quit over it — only six city employees have chosen to forfeit a week of pay for the option to stay unvaccinated. All other city employees, including rank-and-file police officers, have either submitted proof of vaccination, are in the process of getting fully vaccinated or have been awarded a religious or medical exemption, according to San Jose Human Resource Director Jennifer Schembri. As of Thursday, 95% of all city employees had submitted proof that they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, Schembri said. (Angst, 11/8)

CalMatters: California Vaccine Mandate: Are Rules Worsening Inequality? 
Will California’s strict vaccine rules help bring an end to the pandemic that has disproportionately ravaged communities of color — or further entrench and widen those longstanding disparities? Answering that question is an increasingly urgent task for elected leaders and public health officials: Starting today, customers must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter many indoor businesses in Los Angeles, including restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters and beauty salons. Business owners say the mandate — which the city plans to start enforcing on Nov. 29 and could result in fines of as much as $5,000 — could be devastating for small businesses in communities with low vaccination rates, which tend to have more Black and Latino residents. (Hoeven, 11/08)

Sacramento Bee: COVID Vaccine Mandate: Enforcement, Compliance And Fines 
When President Joe Biden announced a federal COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirement for companies with 100 or more employees, legal experts had their concerns. Chief among them was how the historically underfunded and understaffed federal agency tasked with drafting the rule — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA — could enforce it. An estimated 84 million workers will be affected, government officials have said. (Fowler, 11/08)

Politico: Biden Administration: Blocking Vaccine Mandate Could Cost ‘Hundreds Of Lives Per Day’
The Biden administration told a federal court Monday that a stay of its vaccinate-or-test requirement for private employers "would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day." Responding to a temporary stay imposed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday, the administration argued that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was well within its authority to issue the requirements calling for employees at large businesses to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or tested weekly. (Rainey, 11/8)

CNBC: White House Tells Businesses To Proceed With Vaccine Mandate Despite Court-Ordered Pause
The White House on Monday said businesses should move forward with President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses, despite a federal appeals court ordering a temporary halt to the rules. “People should not wait,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing. “They should continue to move forward and make sure they’re getting their workplace vaccinated.” (Kimball, 11/8)

Bloomberg Law: Health Worker Vaccine Mandate Expected To Withstand Challenges
The Biden administration’s mandate that health-care workers at facilities paid by Medicare and Medicare get a Covid-19 vaccination is likely to hold up against future court challenges, putting it on firmer ground than the vaccine-or-test rule for large companies that has already been halted, legal observers said. The two rules released Nov. 4 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration represent a significant flex of federal muscle, testing the liberties and limits of the agencies. (Reed, 11/9)

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE Boeing U.S. Worker Vaccine Exemption Requests Top 11,000 -Sources
The number of Boeing Co employees seeking a vaccine exemption on religious or medical grounds has reached more than 11,000 - or nearly 9% of its U.S. workforce - a level many times higher than executives initially estimated, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The widespread reluctance has left executives scrambling for a strategy that keeps employees safe and complies with President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for federal contractors, but avoids an exodus of engineering and factory labor, the people said. (Johnson, 11/9)

Bay Area News Group: Where's Gov. Newsom? Aide Dispels Bad Booster Reaction Rumor
Gov. Gavin Newsom has made himself such a visible presence running the Golden State that his sudden decision last month to back out of a trip to Scotland for a United Nations conference on one of his pet issues, climate change, and lack of public appearances since, has set off speculation that something’s amiss. Not so, his office insists, saying he’ll be back in the spotlight this week to talk about the economy. (Woolfok, 11/8)

The Washington Post: Pfizer-BioNTech Expected To Seek Authorization For Coronavirus Booster For People 18 And Older
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are expected to seek authorization for their coronavirus vaccine booster shot for anyone 18 and older, a move that could increase booster rates at a critical moment in the pandemic, according to three officials familiar with the situation. The request, which may be filed as soon as this week, is likely to win the backing of the Food and Drug Administration, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. That would essentially fulfill the Biden administration’s booster-for-all-adults goal, announced last August amid concerns about waning vaccine protection. (McGinley, Sun and Pager, 11/8)

FiveThirtyEight: The U.S. Is Relying On Other Countries’ Data To Make Its Booster Shot Decisions
One Thursday in October, the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee gathered to discuss booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines. Yet one of the first presentations wasn’t given by Americans — it featured scientists from Israel’s Ministry of Health and Weizmann Institute. And the presentation wasn’t about Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines — the Israelis shared their findings from the country’s Pfizer booster shot campaign. This was less than ideal. Not only did the presentation focus on a different vaccine from the two up for discussion, it also centered around a population that’s much smaller and more homogenous than America’s. Plus, Israel’s vaccine rollout happened earlier and faster than the U.S.’s — meaning that the population had more vaccine-induced immunity but was potentially more vulnerable to the impacts of waning protection. (Ladyzhets, 11/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Police Officer Dies Battling COVID-19 After Failing To Meet Deadline For Vaccination
A San Francisco police officer died battling COVID-19 after missing the city’s deadline to be inoculated and being placed on leave for failing to follow the health safety rules. Officer Jack Nyce, 46, a 17-year-veteran of the department, died Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus last Tuesday, his wife Melissa Nyce said. By Saturday, his symptoms had become so severe that his wife called an ambulance to transport her husband to a Kaiser hospital in Manteca, where the couple lived. She was by his side when he died that day, she said. (Swan, 11/8)

CBS News: COVID-19 Is Nation's Biggest Cop Killer, Yet Many Officers Are Vaccine Resistant
A Homeland Security officer in Georgia and a deputy sheriff in Kentucky are among the nearly two dozen law enforcement officers who died last month of COVID-19, now the leading cause of job-related deaths among U.S. police professionals. Yet even as COVID-19 kills far more cops than gunfire, those whose duty it is to serve and protect the public are among the most resistant to getting vaccinated. From California to New York, unions representing law enforcement are fighting requirements that members get immunized against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 500 officers since the pandemic began. While law enforcement officers were among the first front-line workers to be offered coronavirus vaccines, their vaccination rates by most accounts remain at or below the public at large. (Gibson, 11/8)

Modesto Bee: Do COVID Vaccines Affect Male Fertility? What To Know After Aaron Rodgers’ Comments
Rumors that COVID-19 vaccines affect both male and female fertility continue to fuel concerns among millions of people who remain hesitant to get vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several other medical organizations have said there is “no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.” (Camero, 11/08)

The Hill: Poll Shows Just How Far COVID-19 Misinformation Has Traveled
Almost 8 in 10 U.S. adults believe or are unsure of at least one false statement about COVID-19, according to polling data published Monday. The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that 78 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said they believe or were unsure of at least one of eight false COVID-19 statements that the organization tested. That includes 38 percent who believe the government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 deaths, 17 percent who believe pregnant women should not get the vaccine and 18 percent who believe deaths caused by the vaccine are being hidden by the government. (Sullivan, 11/8)

Bloomberg: Vaccinated 16 Times Less Likely To Die From Covid, Study Shows
People who are fully vaccinated are 16 times less likely to end up in intensive care or to die from Covid-19 than those who aren’t immunized, an Australian government study found. Nearly 16 out of 100,000 people who had yet to receive a Covid vaccine landed in intensive care or died after contracting the virus, compared to fewer than one in every 100,000 who were fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by health authorities in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. The country has rolled out highly potent mRNA vaccines co-developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, a similar one from Moderna Inc., and a viral vector shot from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc. (11/9)

Los Angeles Times: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising In Parts Of California, A Potentially Ominous Sign
COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen significantly in the Inland Empire and Central Valley, bringing new concerns about whether the shift represents a precursor to a wider spike in COVID-19 in California as the winter holidays approach. Across the state, both cases and hospitalizations hit a plateau after months of decline. Hospitalizations have remained fairly flat in some areas with relatively high vaccination rates, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County. (Money and Gong II, 11/9)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County COVID-19 Update Ahead Of Holiday Travel 
As the U.S. travel ban lifts and people prepare for holiday trips — Sacramento County’s current COVID-19 case rate sits at 14.3, according to the official dashboard. A year ago, the case rate was 21.2, on its way to hitting its December 2020 peak of 63.5, the highest case rate of the pandemic. The case rate is a seven-day average divided by the population per 100,000.Here’s what you need to know in Sacramento County as we enter the holiday season with COVID-19 guidelines. (Taylor, 11/08)

CBS News: "Don't Wait": WHO Urges U.S. To Pay Attention As Surging COVID Cases Flood Europe's Hospitals Again
The coronavirus has been resurging across Europe, including in some places where it was thought to be well under control. A top world health official tells CBS News the trend shows that success today does not necessarily mean success tomorrow, and the United States should pay close attention. Europe has seen a jump of more than 50% in new coronavirus cases over the last month, and the World Health Organization has warned the continent could see another half of a million deaths by February. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata spoke with the top official ringing those alarm bells, who told him there's "grave concern" as Europe is once again under siege by COVID-19. (11/8)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Americans Are So Over Delta 
Americans are increasingly likely to believe returning to normal life is only a low to moderate risk as Delta cases plummet, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. "Delta's over in the popular imagination," said Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson. "People are starting to re-engage with their regular activities. They're not as worried about getting COVID," Jackson said. (Reed, 11/9)

The New York Times: Thanksgiving 2021: How To Host Holiday With Unvaccinated Friends, Family
In addition to the big, juicy turkey on the table, there’s also an elephant lurking in the room this Thanksgiving: the vaccination status of your guests. It’s a tricky thing to talk about. Do you ask your aunt if she received the COVID vaccine after she RSVPs? What if she says no? Do you endure another scaled-back celebration, like last year? Or should you serve up a bunch of precautions? (Caron, 11/8)

NPR: What Dr. Fauci Sees Coming For The COVID Pandemic This Winter
The United States has seen a decline in cases and hospitalizations since the summer's delta surge — but the decline is declining. COVID-19 is still killing more than 1,000 people in the U.S. every day. New cases still hover around 72,000 per day — and infections are actually trending up in some pockets of the country, including parts of the Mountain West and the Northeast. (Jarenwattananon, Intagliata, and Morell, 11/8)

CapRadio: Sacramento City School District To Hold Vaccine Clinics For People Ages 5 And Older 
Sacramento City Unified School District announced today that all upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinics hosted by the district will now be able to serve all community members ages 5 and up. Children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine through the emergency use authorization from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (11/08)

NBC News: What Pediatricians Want Parents To Know About The Covid Vaccine For Kids
As the Covid-19 vaccine has been rolling out for children ages 5 to 11, questions for pediatricians have been rolling in. Many parents are simply wondering where they can find the long-awaited vaccine locally — and fast. Plenty other questions are from parents with a range of concerns about safety and effectiveness in kids. (Stenson, 11/8)

AP: Feds Urge Schools To Provide COVID-19 Shots, Info For Kids
The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids and information to parents on the benefits of the shots as the White House looks to speedily provide vaccines to those ages 5 to 11. First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, on Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954. The visit came just days after federal regulators recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for the age group. The White House says the first lady will visit pediatric vaccination clinics across the country over the coming weeks to encourage the shots. (Miller, 11/8)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: No Widespread COVID School Backlash 
Most Americans — including more than two-thirds of Republicans — give their local schools good marks for balancing public health and safety with other priorities, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Other findings from our national survey suggest Americans are less worried about COVID risks and largely feel the Delta variant is behind them. That's a potential path to redemption for President Biden after months of sinking approval numbers. (Talev, 11/9)

The Atlantic: Will A COVID Vaccine Make My Kid Immune By Thanksgiving?
A first COVID shot will give kids some protection, but none of them will be fully vaccinated until the beginning of December. (Wu, 11/8)

San Diego Union Tribune: Parents Balk At Mental Health Day Off For San Diego Students
After springing an announcement on parents late last week that schools would be closed Friday for a mental health day, the San Diego Unified School District abruptly changed plans, making school attendance optional that day while also allowing anyone who wants to take a mental health day to do so. The news came one day after interim Supt. Lamont Jackson said district staff was planning to ask the Board of Education at its upcoming meeting to approve this Friday as a day off. The news prompted a wave of concern and criticism from parents, some of whom said finding affordable last-minute child care would do more harm than good for their family’s mental health. (Cook, 11/8)

Bay Area News Group: Thousands Of Kaiser Workers Planning To Strike Amid Tense Contract Negotiations 
Thousands of Kaiser workers are preparing to strike, calling for higher wages and better working conditions. In a move that could affect Kaiser pharmacies in the Bay Area and beyond, the Guild of Professional Pharmacists warned the health care giant its members planned to go on strike for a week beginning next Monday, Nov. 15. (Deruy, 11/8)

Quartz: Overworked Kaiser Mental Health Providers Are Threatening A Strike
Mental healthcare providers with Kaiser Permanente have concerns. Working conditions and staffing shortages, they say, have left them unable to properly care for patients at a time when demand for their services is rising. With the backing of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a group of 51 Kaiser mental health clinicians in Maui, Hawaii voted on Nov. 2 to authorize a strike against the healthcare company. (Vinopal, 11/8)

The Bakersfield Californian: Adventist Nurses Receive A Gift Of Gratitude 
It's not just the thought that counts. The caffeine scores points, too. A local medical specialist who worries people are beginning to forget the invaluable contributions of health-care workers on Monday delivered a special gift to the nursing staff of Adventist Health Bakersfield on Chester Avenue. With close to a dozen masked nurses lined up behind him near the main entrance of the hospital, Stockdale Podiatry owner Dr. Brandon Hawkins presented a gift of 900 Starbucks gift cards, each good for $5. (Cox, 11/8)

KHN: As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication
When Martin Njoku saw opioid addiction devastate his West Virginia community, he felt compelled to help. This was the place he’d called home for three decades, where he’d raised his two girls and turned his dream of owning a pharmacy into reality. In 2016, after flooding displaced people in nearby counties, Njoku began dispensing buprenorphine to them and to local customers at his Oak Hill Hometown Pharmacy in Fayette County. (Pattani, 11/9)

Orange County Register: Couple Using IVF Gave Birth To A Stranger’s Baby. Now They’re Suing
In an episode that carries haunting echoes of the UC Irvine fertility fraud scandal 25 years ago, the Cardinales are suing the California Center for Reproductive Health and Dr. Eliran Mor in Los Angeles Superior Court for breach of contract, medical malpractice and negligence, among other allegations. The Cardinales call on government to more strongly regulate the fertility industry — much as critics did when UCI doctors transferred eggs without permission from one woman to another in the mid-1990s. (Sforza, 11/08)

Los Angeles Times: Couple Gives Birth To Wrong Baby In ‘Nightmare’ IVF Mix-Up
“The heartbreak and confusion cannot be understated,” a teary Daphna Cardinale said during a news conference Monday, shortly after the couple filed a lawsuit against their Los Angeles-based fertility clinic, California Center for Reproductive Health, and its medical director, Dr. Eliran Mor. Also named in the suit are In VitroTech Labs, a third-party embryology center, and its parent company, Beverly Sunset Surgical Associates, both owned by Mor. The couple are alleging breach of contract, medical malpractice, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and the knowing misuse of their embryo, among other infractions, and are seeking punitive and compensatory damages. (Smith, 11/8)

The Mercury News: Murder Charges Await California Fentanyl Dealers Whose Merchandise Kills
Alexandra Capelouto, 20, didn’t die of an overdose, her father said. Neither did Alexander Neville, 14. Or Sam Doxakis, 22. Capelouto thought she was taking oxycodone. So did Neville. Doxakis thought he was snorting heroin. But they were actually taking cheap — but convincing — knock-offs packed with deadly fentanyl. These were poisonings, their parents say, not overdoses, and California law needs to treat them as such. Parents are pushing local legislators and law enforcement to handle these crimes more seriously — and local officials are listening. (Sforza and Saavedra, 11/5)

Orange County Register: Homeless Woman Found Not Guilty Of Illegally Camping In Mile Square Park 
An Orange County Superior Court jury on Monday acquitted a 75-year-old homeless woman on four misdemeanor counts of remaining in Fountain Valley’s Mile Square Park after closing hours. The trial verdict caps a battle between Nancy Wood, who demanded that she be allowed to sleep in her tent in the park, and Fountain Valley officials determined to keep her out. (Schwebke, 11/08)

Stat: Hospitals Charge Insurers More Than What Medicare Pays For Infused Drugs
Nearly a dozen of the highest-rated hospitals in the U.S. charged commercial health insurers and cash-paying patients significantly more than what Medicare has recently paid for 10 infused medicines on which the government spends the most money, according to a new analysis. Median prices exceeded the Medicare Part B payment limit by a low of 169% at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, while the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix exceeded the payment limit by 344%. Among cash-paying customers, the prices ranged from 149% of the Medicare payment limit at Rush to 306% at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, both based in Boston. (Silverman, 11/8)

KHN: Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options To Move Into Medigap
Medicare’s annual open-enrollment season is here and millions of beneficiaries — prompted by a massive advertising campaign and aided by a detailed federal website — will choose a private Medicare Advantage plan. But those who have instead opted for traditional Medicare face a critical decision about private insurance. Too often the import of that choice is not well communicated. (Meyer, 11/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Fed Says U.S. Public Health Among Biggest Near-Term Risks To Financial System
The potential for U.S. public health to worsen as the Covid-19 pandemic continues is one of the greatest near-term risks to the financial system, the Federal Reserve said, while noting that asset prices are susceptible to large declines should investor sentiment shift. Any deterioration in the public-health situation could slow the recent economic recovery, particularly if widespread business closures returned and supply chains were further disrupted, the Fed said. The number of new Covid-19 cases has fallen in recent months, but a resurgence this summer, tied to the Delta variant, coincided with a slowdown in hiring and economic growth. (Ackerman, 11/8)

Stat: How Nancy Pelosi Almost Killed Drug Pricing Reform 
The White House stunned health care experts last month when it declared it was abandoning its efforts to reform drug pricing in the major domestic spending package moving through Congress, a seeming death knell for what had long been a major priority for Democrats. But unlike earlier in the negotiations, moderate Democrats weren’t the holdouts. This time, it was Speaker Nancy Pelosi who dealt the blow, late the night before, to the latest deal on offer, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. (Cohrs, 11/9)

Politico: VA Rejects Cannabis Research As Veterans Plead For Medical Pot
Millions of veterans are self-medicating their war-caused ailments with marijuana, and they are frustrated the VA continues to dismiss the drug's possible benefits. The VA will not expand the piecemeal cannabis research it is undertaking, despite recent bipartisan calls from Congress, doctors and veterans. And without that research, the VA continues to deny cannabis recommendations to veterans in 36 states that allow medical marijuana. Veterans say that has forced many to suffer, while some researchers suggest the VA also may be ignoring potential ill effects when used inappropriately. (Fertig, 11/8)

Axios: 25,000 Tons Of COVID-Related Plastic Waste Pollute World's Oceans — Study 
Over 25,000 tons of pandemic-related plastic waste pollute the global ocean, according to a study published in the journal PNAS on Monday. Plastic waste poses a major threat to marine life and ecosystems. COVID-19 only increased the demand for single-use plastic, "intensifying pressure on this already out-of-control problem," the researchers write. The world has generated over 8 million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste. Most of this waste comes from hospitals and mainly accumulates on beaches and coastal sediments. (Chen, 11/8)

CIDRAP: COVID Patients In Poor Areas At High Risk For Death, Heart Events
US residents of low-income, crowded, and racially diverse communities had outsized rates of death, heart attack, stroke, and new-onset heart failure when hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19, according to an abstract on preliminary study results to be presented at the virtual American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions Nov 13 to 15. A team led by Emory University researchers used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to identify US poor and diverse US communities. The index ranks communities based on socioeconomic status, household composition and disability status, racial group and primary language, and housing type and transportation resources. (Van Beusekom, 11/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: So You've Got Long COVID? Here Are 5 Things You Should Know
Four years ago, I developed a debilitating illness that disrupts multiple bodily systems called myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome (otherwise known as ME/CFS). I’d been a strategy consultant for tech startups for years. Suddenly, I was too sick to work full-time. I went from being an avid salsa dancer to needing a wheelchair to walk more than a block. I went from being healthy to disabled in the blink of an eye. But I’m not here to share my sob story. Instead, I want to show you the future. (Seiberg, 11/8)

Bay Area News Group: Airports Host Joyous Reunions As U.S. Lifts Pandemic Flight Ban After 20 Months
The international arrivals terminal here, and at airports across the nation, was a scene of celebration Monday as couples, parents and children, friends and co-workers reunited — some for the first time since COVID-19 ended most international travel into the United States. The first flight restrictions were imposed on travel from China in February 2020 and soon expanded to more than 30 countries. Will this be the shot in the arm that tourist destinations so sorely need? (Kendall, 11/08)

San Francisco Chronicle: Jubilant Reunions As Travelers From Abroad Again Fly Into Bay Area
Reunions played out for other joyful families on Monday, the first day, after more than 18 months, that U.S. pandemic-driven travel restrictions were lifted for flights from 28 European nations plus Brazil, China, India, Iran and South Africa. With international arrivals taking place across the country, airlines reported upticks in passenger-packed flights from abroad. Under the new Biden administration rules, passengers can enter the country as long as they have proof of full vaccination with a World Health Organization-approved vaccine, and a negative COVID-19 test. Those under 18 do not need to be vaccinated.(Duggan and Cano, 11/08)

Fresno Bee: Turlock CA Woman Turns 110; Survived 1918 Pandemic, COVID
About 100 years ago, when returning to her family’s east Turlock home from weekly shopping trips downtown, Doris Johnson remembers dropping face masks in a pot of boiling water. She didn’t expect to live through a second pandemic, Johnson said as she pointed to her surgical mask during a recent interview, nor live to celebrate her 110th birthday. (Lam, 11/9)

Modesto Bee: Stanislaus Reports First 2021 Case Of St. Louis Encephalitis 
Stanislaus County reported this year’s first human case of St. Louis encephalitis Monday, a woman in her 50s. The woman had neurological symptoms from the mosquito-borne virus, but the severity was not disclosed in the news release from the Health Services Agency.St. Louis is less common than West Nile virus but can still do harm to a small percentage of the people who are bitten. The symptoms can include fever, headache, confusion, vomiting, seizures and paralysis and can result in death. (Holland, 11/08)

Bloomberg: Unsealed Emails Show How J&J Shaped Report On Talc’s Links To Cancer
Unsealed emails reveal the role baby-powder maker Johnson & Johnson played in a report that an industry group submitted to U.S. regulators deciding whether to keep warnings off talc-based products linked to cancer. The emails — unsealed in the state of Mississippi’s lawsuit against J&J over its refusal to add a safety warning — show J&J and its talc supplier chose the scientists hired by their trade association, the Personal Care Products Council, to write the 2009 report assessing talc-based powder’s health risks. (Feeley and Edney, 11/9)

The Hill: Study Links Particular Kind Of Fat, Not Amount, To Higher Stroke Risk
A new study finds that eating more animal fat is linked to a higher risk of stroke but the risk is significantly reduced if people get their fat from vegetable sources, even in larger amounts, NBC News reported on Monday. People who consumed mostly vegetable and polyunsaturated fats, such olive oil, were 12 percent less likely to have an ischemic stroke compared with those who ate a minimum amount of vegetable fats. (Rai, 11/8)

Axios: Organ Donation Recovery Rates Worse For People Of Color, Data Show 
Organ donation success rates for people of color, especially for Black Americans, vary widely across the U.S. compared to white people, even in neighboring cities, according to an analysis of recently released 2019 CMS data. Fewer Black donors correlates to fewer Black recipients, which has led to more Black people dying on the organ transplant waitlist. (Fernandez, 11/9)

Stat: Drug To Prevent Premature Births Tied To Higher Cancer Risk, Study Finds
The key ingredient in a controversial medicine used to prevent premature births is associated with a higher risk of cancer in people that were exposed to the treatment in utero, according to a new study. Specifically, those exposed to 17-OHPC had nearly double the risk of any cancer compared to those not exposed, although the risk appeared to vary depending on the cancer. For instance, children exposed to 17-OHPC had more than 34 times greater risk of brain cancer, and as adults had more than five times greater risk of colorectal and prostate cancers. (Silverman, 11/9)

Stat: As The U.K. Nears Elimination Of Cervical Cancer, The U.S. Isn't Close 
A decade ago, a London cancer prevention researcher predicted that the United Kingdom’s national HPV vaccination campaign would take more than 15 years to prevent a majority of cervical cancers. So when he analyzed the data this year, he was stunned to find that the vaccine may already have nearly eliminated cervical cancer in the U.K. among young women. “If this is right,” Peter Sasieni of King’s College London said of his findings, cervical cancers “could be reduced to about 50 – just 50 cancers in the whole of the U.K. for women under 30. It’s really quite exciting to see that day come – excitement and just joy.” (Chen, 11/9)

CBS News: Researchers Trying To Help Patients "Unlearn" Back Pain
Millions of adults are coping with chronic back pain, which can significantly limit their ability to work and do other daily activities. But researchers in Colorado are studying a unique non-drug treatment to eliminate that pain. Daniel Waldrip suffered with chronic back pain for 20 years, and doctors could never find the source. "I made the decision that I was gonna keep running and trying to play golf and skiing. I was just gonna do it and pay the price," Waldrip said. (Ruchim, 11/8)

NBC News: Falling Asleep At This Time May Be Safest For Your Heart, New Study Shows
The time you go to bed may affect your risk for heart disease. In fact, researchers say, there is a heart health sweet spot for falling asleep: from 10 to 11 p.m. An analysis of data from more than 88,000 adults tracked for around six years revealed a 12 percent greater risk among those who dropped off from 11 to 11:59 p.m. and a 25 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease among people who fell asleep at midnight or later. Falling asleep earlier than 10 p.m. was associated with a 24 percent increase in risk, according to a report published Monday in the European Heart Journal—Digital Health. (Carroll, 11/9)