White House Mum on Putin’s Health; Judge Halts ‘Title 42’ Change; PTSD in the ICU

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The White House refused to weigh in on rumors and speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ill. (Newsweek)

A federal judge has ruled that migrants must still be barred from entering the U.S. for health reasons, halting the Biden administration’s efforts to begin lifting a policy known as Title 42, which is set to end on May 23. (New York Times)

The Biden administration announced that it has secured 20 million treatment courses of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID pill nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid), which is authorized for treating outpatients at high risk for severe disease.

Meanwhile, the CDC issued a nationwide alert to healthcare providers advising against systemic corticosteroids and antibacterial therapy for outpatients with mild cases of COVID-19, citing potential harm, with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir leading the list of preferred therapies for this group.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is adding nine rare respiratory cancers of the larynx, trachea, and lungs to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities due to environmental exposures to fine particulate matter.

As of Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial COVID toll in the U.S. reached 81,074,050 infections and 992,902 deaths, increases of 78,937 and 323, respectively, from this time yesterday.

Families of patients in the ICU for COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to develop post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) compared with ICU visits during pre-pandemic times, with visitation restrictions being a primary driver of family stress. (JAMA Internal Medicine)

Some vaccine experts worry that the U.S. may recommend annual COVID boosters without sufficient evidence showing they are actually needed. (STAT)

Amid an ongoing surge of COVID cases across China, authorities in Beijing announced the city would commence mass testing of its 21 million residents, who are stockpiling food amid fears of a strict lockdown similar to the one in Shanghai. (AP)

Global health advocates, including World Health Organization (WHO) officials, worry that the U.S. and European nations’ easing of pandemic guidance and funding will affect the global response to COVID. (Politico)

And the WHO now say that about 190 cases of unexplained hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide. (Reuters)

A second Ebola patient has died amid a new outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)

As health systems shop for space, they have turned to making over shopping malls. (Kaiser Health News)

A Maine resident died last week from a rare tick-borne illness, Powassan virus. There are about 25 cases reported in the U.S. each year. (USA Today)

The third time docking in San Francisco is not a charm for the Ruby Princess cruise ship: 143 passengers just tested positive for COVID after a trip to Hawaii, which follows more than 70 testing positive in March after a trip to the Panama Canal and a dozen in January after a sail to Mexico. (CBS News)

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    Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today as an enterprise and investigative writer in Jan. 2021. She has covered the healthcare industry in NYC, life sciences and the business of law, among other areas.