First Edition: January 29, 2020

Kaiser Health News: When Aid-In-Dying Is Legal, But The Medicine Is Out Of Reach
he call came the last week of September, when Neil Mahoney could still stagger from his bed to the porch of his mobile home to let out his boisterous yellow Lab, Ryder. Rodney Diffendaffer, a clinical pharmacist in Longmont, 45 miles away, had left a message. Your prescription is ready, it said. (Aleccia, 1/29)

California Healthline: California Bike Fatalities Hit 25-Year High
Alongside the surging popularity of bike shares and fitness cycling in California comes a sobering statistic: From 2016 through 2018, more cyclists died in traffic accidents across the state than during any three-year period in the past 25 years. Traffic accidents killed 455 cyclists in California from 2016 through 2018, according to new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Reese, 1/28)

Kaiser Health News: Response To Nation’s 1st Coronavirus Case Draws On Lessons From Measles Outbreak
When the first U.S. case of a new coronavirus spreading throughout China was confirmed last week in Washington state, public health workers were well prepared to respond, building on lessons learned during the outbreak of measles that sickened 87 people in the state in 2019. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed five cases of infection from the new coronavirus in the U.S., including two in California, one in Illinois and one in Arizona. (Stone, 1/28)

The New York Times: China Will Admit International Experts To Help Contain Coronavirus Outbreak
After repeatedly declining assistance from international health officials, Chinese authorities agreed on Tuesday to permit teams of experts coordinated by the World Health Organization to visit China to help contain the growing coronavirus outbreak. The news arrived as federal health officials announced expanded screening measures for passengers from China at 20 ports of entry to the United States. (Rabin, 1/28)

Reuters: China Agrees To WHO Sending Experts To Study Virus
“The discussions focused on continued collaboration on containment measures in Wuhan, public health measures in other cities and provinces, conducting further studies on the severity and transmissibility of the virus, continuing to share data, and for China to share biological material with WHO,” the WHO said. This would contribute to developing vaccines and treatments. (1/28)

The New York Times: Death Toll Climbs, And So Does The Number Of Infections
China said on Wednesday that 132 people had died from the virus, which is believed to have originated in the central city of Wuhan and is spreading across the country. The previous count, on Tuesday, was 106. The number of confirmed cases increased to 5,974 on Wednesday, up from 4,515 on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission. (1/28)

Reuters: WHO Weighs Science And Politics In Global Virus Emergency Decision
Most of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) criteria for declaring a global emergency have been met, but it is awaiting clear evidence of a sustained spread of the new coronavirus outside China before doing so, some experts and diplomats said. The U.N. agency is seeking to balance the need to ensure China continues to share information about the virus while also giving sound scientific advice to the international community on the risks, according to several public health experts and a Western diplomat who tracks the WHO’s work. (1/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Travel Barriers Rise As WHO Chief Praises Beijing’s Coronavirus Response
In Beijing, Dr. Tedros, as he is known, expressed confidence in China’s approach to controlling the epidemic at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and called for people to remain calm, according to a readout by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Tedros offered similar praise in a meeting later in the day with Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media reported. (Yang, 1/28)

The New York Times: Researchers Are Racing To Make A Coronavirus Vaccine. Will It Help?
In the early days of January, as cases of a strange, pneumonia-like illness were reported in China, researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland readied themselves to hunt for a vaccine to prevent the new disease. They had clues that a coronavirus, similar to ones that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003 and MERS in 2012, was the culprit. Dr. Barney Graham, deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center at the N.I.H, urged government scientists in China to share the genetic makeup of the virus so his team could begin its race to develop a vaccine. (Sheikh and Thomas, 1/28)

Reuters: Australia Scientists Claim First Re-Creation Of Coronavirus Outside China
A team of scientists in Australia said on Wednesday they have successfully developed a lab-grown version of coronavirus, the first to be recreated outside of China, in a breakthrough that could help combat the global spread of the illness. The researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne said they would share the sample, which was grown from an infected patient, with the World Health Organization and laboratories around the world. (1/29)

The New York Times: Cordoning The Coronavirus: Countries Limit Travel To China
Countries, cities and businesses across the globe issued new travel warnings on Tuesday, vastly expanding a cordon intended to control the flow of people to and from China, where the authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus. In the most drastic measure to limit travel, the Hong Kong authorities reduced by half the number of flights and shut down rail service to mainland China, and they also limited visas — moves that could inspire other governments to follow suit. (Mozur, 1/28)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Spread: Experts Aren’t Sure Containment Will Succeed.
China has ordered an unprecedented quarantine of more than 50 million people. It has closed schools and shut down live animal markets. Airports across the globe are screening passengers coming from the world’s most populous country. But three weeks after the new coronavirus emerged as a health crisis, experts can’t yet say whether these efforts will succeed at containing an infection that now threatens at least 15 countries. (Sun and Bernstein, 1/28)

The New York Times: Virus Crisis Exposes Cracks In China’s Facade Of Unity
From the outside, China’s Communist Party appears powerful and effective. It has tightened its control over Chinese politics and culture, the economy and everyday life, projecting the image of a gradually unifying society. The coronavirus outbreak has blown up that facade. Staff members at prestigious Union Hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, have joined others around China in begging online for medical supplies. (Yuan, 1/28)

The Associated Press: US Beefs Up Screening Of Travelers For New Virus From China
U.S. health officials offered a reality check Tuesday about the scary new virus from China: They’re expanding screenings of international travelers and taking other precautions but for now, they insist the risk to Americans is very low. “At this point Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday. (1/28)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Flight Evacuating U.S. Nationals From China Diverted
A flight carrying government employees evacuated from the U.S. Consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan amid a coronavirus outbreak will land at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County instead of Ontario International Airport, officials announced Tuesday night. Curt Hagman, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, said in a video news release that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told local officials that the flight will be diverted to the base “for the logistics that they have.” (Cosgrove and Wigglesworth, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Expands Airport Screening For Coronavirus; Officials Add Risk Of Extensive Infections Is Low
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he wouldn’t hesitate to declare a national health emergency if needed, but underscored that there are just five confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. so far. “This is potentially a very serious health threat, but at this point Americans should not worry for their safety,” Mr. Azar said at a news conference with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies. (Burton, 1/28)

Los Angeles Times: China Agrees To Accept Help From WHO As Coronavirus Outbreak Worsens
Azar described China’s response as “completely different” than the obfuscation that accompanied the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which sickened more than 8,000 people in 29 countries and resulted in 774 deaths. Still, he encouraged Chinese officials to be more open about the status of the growing outbreak. “We are urging China: More cooperation and transparency are the most important steps you can take toward a more effective response,” Azar said. (Baumgaertner, 1/28)

NPR: Coronavirus In The U.S.: What Federal Agencies Are Doing
At a news conference Tuesday, top U.S. health officials reiterated that the disease — while serious — is not currently a threat to ordinary Americans. “At this point, Americans should not worry for their own safety,” said Alex Azar, health and human services secretary, at the press briefing Tuesday. While risk to most Americans remains low, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that “risk is dependent on exposure” and that health care workers or others who know they have been in contact with a person exposed to the virus should take precautions. (Harris, 1/28)

Politico: What The Best Public Health Minds Know — And Don’t Know — About Wuhan Coronavirus
Four top U.S. health officials — all veterans of previous public health threats and new disease outbreaks — gave a joint news conference Tuesday to discuss the Wuhan coronavirus that has killed over 100 and sickened thousands. The virus is mostly concentrated in one Chinese province but has been detected in more than a dozen other countries, including the U.S. The four officials — HHS Secretary Alex Azar; CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield; Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases — stressed that the situation is fluid but outlined what is known and still unknown about the virus. Here’s a recap of their main points. (Kenen, 1/28)

Stat: The Coronavirus Questions That Scientists Are Racing To Answer
The outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China and its spread to more than a dozen countries has presented health experts with a rapidly evolving and complex challenge. That means there are a lot of unknowns. (Branswell and Joseph, 1/28)

Reuters: One Week Sufficient For Recovery From Mild Virus Symptoms: China NHC Expert
An expert at China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday one week is sufficient for a recovery from mild coronavirus symptoms. The remarks were made by Li Xingwang at a press conference in Beijing, where he also said mild coronavirus symptoms do not present as pneumonia, but just slight fever. (1/28)

The New York Times: How Do Bats Live With So Many Viruses?
If previous outbreaks of coronavirus are any indication, the Wuhan strain that is now spreading may eventually be traced back to bats. Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, who has been working in China for 15 years studying diseases that jump from animals to people, said, “We don’t know the source yet, but there’s pretty strong evidence that this is a bat origin coronavirus.” He said, “It’s probably going to be the Chinese horseshoe bat,” a common species that weighs up to an ounce. If he’s right, this strain will join many other viruses that bats carry. SARS and MERS epidemics were caused by bat coronaviruses, as was a highly destructive viral epidemic in pigs. (Gorman, 1/28)

The Washington Post: Students Studying In China Told To Return To D.C. Area As Coronavirus Spreads
Students from universities in the Washington area who are studying abroad in China have been told to return home amid the coronavirus outbreak that has left more than 100 people dead and thousands infected. American University students were told Tuesday to leave Beijing and return to their campus in Northwest Washington “as soon as possible,” said Jennifer Fei, a junior and international studies major who was studying in the Chinese capital. (Lumpkin, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: As China Locks Down Cities, Residents Battle Virus Fears—And Boredom
Cai Xu has been outside once in seven days. Twice, if you count taking out the trash. Any other year around this time, the 31-year-old manager at an internet company would be 900 miles south in the countryside, playing mahjong with his extended family for the Lunar New Year holiday. Instead, he is sequestered in his Beijing apartment, unable to do much except try—unsuccessfully, so far—to notch a new personal high score in Arena of Valor, a mobile combat game. (Dou, 1/29)

The Associated Press: Warren Offers Infectious-Disease Plan Amid China Outbreak
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has announced a plan to prevent, contain and treat infectious diseases as a new viral illness spreads in China. The Massachusetts senator on Tuesday unveiled a plan that includes fully funding the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s pandemic prevention and response programs. (1/28)

The New York Times: U.S. Accuses Harvard Scientist Of Concealing Chinese Funding
Charles M. Lieber, the chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was charged on Tuesday with making false statements about money he had received from a Chinese government-run program, part of a broad-ranging F.B.I. effort to root out theft of biomedical research from American laboratories. Dr. Lieber, a leader in the field of nanoscale electronics, was one of three Boston-area scientists accused on Tuesday of working on behalf of China. His case involves work with the Thousand Talents Program, a state-run program that seeks to draw talent educated in other countries. (Barry, 1/28)

The Associated Press: Harvard Professor Charged With Hiding China Ties, Payments 
Lieber was arrested early Tuesday at his office at the Ivy League university, officials said. He remained in federal custody after a brief court appearance Tuesday, pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with his attorney. Authorities also announced charges against a researcher at Boston University, who is accused of lying about her ties to the Chinese military. (1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Harvard Chemistry Chairman Charged On Alleged Undisclosed Ties To China
As part of the Thousand Talents program, Wuhan University of Technology gave Mr. Lieber more than $1.5 million to set up a research lab in China, according to the complaint. The school also agreed to pay him a $50,000 monthly salary and offered about $150,000 in annual living expenses for “significant periods” from 2012 to 2017, it said. In exchange, Mr. Lieber was required to work for WUT at least nine months a year by “declaring international cooperation projects, cultivating young teachers and Ph.D. students, organizing international conference[s], applying for patents and publishing articles in the name of” the Chinese school, the complaint said. (Viswanatha and O’Keeffe, 1/28)

Reuters: U.S. Charges Target Alleged Chinese Spying At Harvard, Boston Institutions
Two Chinese researchers were charged with being agents of a foreign government. They were Yanqing Ye, a Boston University robotics researcher who prosecutors said lied about being in the Chinese army, and Zaosong Zheng, a cancer researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who was arrested last month allegedly trying to smuggle research samples out of the country. Prosecutors said Ye is a lieutenant in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which she did not disclose when she obtained a visa to enter the United States. She is accused of passing information on research conducted at Boston University to China’s government. (1/28)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Offer States Medicaid Block Grant Option
Top Trump administration health officials are inviting states to convert part of Medicaid into a block grant — a longtime conservative goal Congress rejected more than two years ago. A letter to every state Medicaid director, to be dispatched Thursday, will offer the possibility of trading away an entitlement program that expands and contracts depending on how many poor people need the government health coverage. In exchange, for able-bodied adults in the program, states could apply to receive a fixed federal payment and freedom from many of the program’s rules, according to several individuals familiar with the plans. (Goldstein, 1/28)

Reuters: Trump Administration Resolves Fentanyl Dispute But Congressional Support Needed For Broader Crackdown
The Trump administration has resolved an internal dispute over how to handle new variants of fentanyl that it believes can beef up the fight against the deadly synthetic painkiller without hindering research to ease the opioid crisis, according to a draft agreement seen by Reuters. The administration had hoped the deal, a copy of which was turned over to the Senate in the fall, would pave the way for Congress to pass their draft legislation into law, but so far it has failed to do so. (1/28)

Reuters: Exclusive: OxyContin Maker Purdue Is ‘Pharma Co X’ In U.S. Opioid Kickback Probe-Sources
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is the unnamed company that surfaced in criminal charging documents filed earlier this week in a probe of illegal kickbacks from drugmakers, according to people familiar with the matter. Purdue Pharma, which faces U.S. Justice Department probes and sprawling litigation over allegations that it played a central role in the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, faces new scrutiny in connection with a case Vermont federal prosecutors unveiled on Monday against a San Francisco electronic health records vendor. (1/29)

Stat: Was Purdue The Unnamed Opioid Maker In Alleged Kickback Case? 
In a statement Monday, Christina Nolan, the U.S. attorney for Vermont, called the conduct of the health-records company, Practice Fusion, “abhorrent.” “During the height of the opioid crisis, the company took a million-dollar kickback to allow an opioid company to inject itself in the sacred doctor-patient relationship so that it could peddle even more of its highly addictive and dangerous opioids,” Nolan said. “The companies illegally conspired to allow the drug company to have its thumb on the scale at precisely the moment a doctor was making incredibly intimate, personal, and important decisions about a patient’s medical care, including the need for pain medication and prescription amounts.” (Joseph, 1/28)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Warns Purell To Stop Claiming It Can Prevent Ebola Or Flu
The Food and Drug Administration has warned the maker of Purell hand sanitizers to stop claiming its products can prevent people from catching the flu, Ebola virus, the MRSA superbug and norovirus. In a notice dated Jan. 17, the F.D.A. told Purell’s maker, Gojo Industries, that its unsubstantiated claims that Purell could reduce the potential for infection or prevent illnesses violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The agency said it was reclassifying Purell as an unapproved drug, rather than an over-the-counter product. (Kaplan, 1/28)

The Washington Post: FDA Warns Purell Over False Claims It Can Eliminate Ebola, MRSA And Flu
The letter came as the United States is bracing for one of its worst flu seasons in decades and worldwide concerns grow amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 100 people in China, where the outbreak originated. The warning targets the ways Gojo Industries, Purell’s parent company, marketed its popular line of alcohol-based gels, foams and sprays in social media materials, blog posts and frequently asked questions on the product and corporate website. Some of the statements that drew the FDA’s ire outlined in the warning appear to have been removed from Gojo and Purell sites since the FDA sent its letter on Jan. 17. (Bellware, 1/28)

Stat: FDA Wants To Know How Instagram Influencers Sway Patient Views On Drugs
In 2015, Kim Kardashian promoted a morning-sickness pill to her millions of followers on social media, boosting sales by 21% over just a few months, a high-profile example of how so-called influencers can hold sway over the public at large. But given that there are countless influencers lurking on social media — some of whom are celebrities, others are lesser-known cheerleaders — the Food and Drug Administration plans to study the extent to which these paid endorsements affect consumers who take prescription medicines. (Silverman, 1/28)

Stat: New FDA Rules Aim To Lower Prices For Expensive Gene Therapies
The Food and Drug Administration released a slew of gene therapy policies Tuesday aimed at encouraging drug makers to bring more of the medicines to market and perhaps forcing them to lower their prices. The FDA has approved just four gene therapies since 2017, and each has carried a sky-high price tag. The FDA’s most recent approval, AveXis’ Zolgensma, costs $2.1 million, the most expensive drug in history. (Florko, 1/28)

Stat: TB Vaccines Can Vary. But Does That Make Some Less Protective? 
After years away from live animal hosts, the bacterium got used to its cushy lab-dish life and lost its barnyard edge. Enough of its tough old self remained to trigger a body’s immune defenses, but not enough to make a healthy person sick. Perfect for a microbial training drill. Word spread. Scientists made pilgrimages to France, to take home some defused bovine tuberculosis of their own — and what began as an udder-swab in 1902 ended up yielding one of the world’s most widely used vaccines, now given to some 100 million infants globally each year. (Boodman, 1/28)

The New York Times: Keeping Aging Muscles Fit Is Tied To Better Heart Health Later
How much muscle you have now could indicate how healthy your heart will be later, according to an interesting new study of muscle mass and cardiovascular disease. The study finds that, for men at least, entering middle age with plenty of muscle lowers the subsequent risk of developing heart disease by as much as 81 percent, compared to the risks for other men. (Reynolds, 1/29)

The Associated Press: Strike By Seattle Nurses, Staff Closes Emergency Rooms
Thousands of nurses and other employees at a Seattle hospital system began a three-day strike over staffing levels, wages and other issues Tuesday, forcing administrators to close two emergency departments and spend millions to bring in replacement workers from around the country. The picketers took to the sidewalks in front of Swedish Medical Center campuses wearing clear plastic ponchos against a heavy morning rain and carrying purple signs that read “Patients Before Profits” and “United For Our Patients.” (1/28)

The Washington Post: Maryland Aid-In-Dying Bill: Another Push This Year
Medically assisted suicide failed by a single vote in the Maryland General Assembly last year. Now, advocates who want to make it legal for doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives are launching another push to get the legislation approved, hoping that growing public acceptance of aid-in-dying laws will win over at least one more lawmaker. (Wiggins, 1/28)

ProPublica/Anchorage Daily News: Sex Offenders Were Becoming Cops. After Our Stories, Alaska’s Governor Wants That To End.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing changes to state law that would improve police hiring standards and oversight after some villages hired police officers that were sex offenders or had been convicted of domestic violence. The proposed legislation, introduced Monday, is intended to deter communities from appointing unqualified people as VPOs and to deter people with certain convictions from applying for the jobs, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Megan Peters said. (Hopkins, 1/29)

ProPublica/Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting: How These Jail Officials Profit From Selling E-Cigarettes To Inmates
A Kentucky river city once rich in tobacco was grappling with growing concerns about the health risks of electronic cigarettes. The former governor had already banned e-cigarettes in some state buildings, and lawmakers had prohibited selling them to anyone younger than 18. So, in May 2017, city leaders in Henderson decided to add vaping to a more than decade-old ban on smoking in local government buildings and other public places. (Dunlop, 1/29)