EDs Cutting Docs to Save $$; Bird Flu Deaths in Seals; A 'Great Toxic Dustbowl'

Note that some links may require subscriptions.

Emergency departments (EDs) staffed by private equity are cutting down on doctors to save on costs. (Kaiser Health News)

Childbirth is more deadly for Black mothers and babies even when they're wealthy, data from California found. (New York Times)

After checking himself in for feeling lightheaded, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was discharged from the hospital on Friday, with tests ruling out stroke or seizure, according to his communications director. (NPR)

Nearly half of children who go to the ED in mental health crisis don't get proper follow-up care, research in Pediatrics found.

Kid influenza deaths topped 100 for the 2022-2023 season, the latest CDC data showed, though national flu activity remains low.

As of Monday at 8:00 a.m. ET, the unofficial COVID toll in the U.S. reached 102,850,877 cases and 1,114,378 deaths, increases of 258,676 cases and 2,883 deaths since this time a week ago.

New York state let pandemic masking requirements for hospitals and healthcare facilities lapse. (AP)

As pandemic precautions relax, older Americans still face the highest risks from COVID-19. (New York Times)

An amendment to a Missouri public safety law that would have banned children from carrying guns in public was voted down. (Huffington Post)

The FDA expanded the approval of aflibercept (Eylea) injection to include treatment of retinopathy of prematurity, the first drug with this indication, said drugmaker Regeneron.

And the agency expanded the indication for abrocitinib (Cibinqo) in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis to include adolescents age 12 and older, Pfizer announced.

The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency has begun a review of medicines containing pseudoephedrine after concerns about links to conditions affecting the brain's blood vessels.

Four dead seals from 2021-2022 tested positive for bird flu in Scotland, indicating what experts say could already be a "step-change" in transmission. (The Guardian)

As it dries up, the Great Salt Lake in Utah could become the "Great Toxic Dustbowl" of mercury, arsenic, and selenium over the coming years. (CNN)

The Navy's nuclear training program is so demanding, students feel pressure to push through dangerous mental states rather than risk having to leave the program -- and some have died by suicide. (NBC News)

An autopsy from a South African rugby player shot and killed by police revealed that the 29-year-old had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) -- the brain condition linked to repeated head trauma. (AP)

In Canada, some patients can afford to pay for private surgeries, effectively skipping ahead of the universal healthcare system's line and raising concerns about two tiers of care emerging in the country. (CBC)

An economics professor at Yale says his comments on mass suicide of the elderly in Japan were misunderstood. (New York Times)

Comment