SCOTUS Stays Out of Texas Abortion Fight; Hospital ED Attack; New Omicron Variant

Note that some links may require registration or subscription.

The Supreme Court refused to speed up a legal challenge to the 6-week Texas abortion ban. (AP)

Speaking of Texas, in some rural parts of the state “maternity deserts” mean women must travel hundreds of miles for hospitals with labor and delivery services. (Texas Tribune)

And in another tale of resources running low, a 68-year-old unvaccinated pizza shop owner from Massachusetts with COVID-19 died after there wasn’t an open hospital bed within 75 miles. (USA Today)

A 24-year-old man was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder after allegedly attacking two hospital workers at a North Carolina emergency department this week. (AP)

Minnesota’s attorney general is suing the Chicago-based company Center for Covid Control, which had 300 pop-up locations across the country, for allegedly falsifying and delivering inaccurate test results. (NBC News)

As of 8 a.m. ET on Friday, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 69,309,309 cases and 860,248 deaths, increases of 739,351 and 2,470, respectively, from the same time yesterday.

The U.K. Health Security Agency has designated an Omicron sublineage, BA.2, as a variant under investigation. (Sky News)

Austria’s parliament voted to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all adults. (AP)

After having some of the most stringent restrictions in place, Ireland is set to lift nearly all of them in the coming days. (The Guardian)

Staffing crises at U.S. nursing homes have reached new heights in the face of Omicron. (NPR)

In related news, the former owner of Skyline Healthcare, a national nursing home chain, was arrested and is facing 22 federal tax and labor violation charges. (NBC News)

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) said it has agreed to merge with the Association of Academic Health Centers come April — both assuming the name of AAMC.

Some Alzheimer’s patient groups plan on publicly protesting Medicare’s recent proposal to limit coverage of new amyloid-targeting drugs. (Reuters)

A total of 141 House lawmakers are asking Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to waive copays with TRICARE — a military healthcare program — for contraceptive purchases and services. (Military Times)

A researchers at the University of Connecticut developed a new type of synthetic artificial stem cells, helping to circumvent the pitfalls of using traditional stem cells. (PNAS)

A new meta-analysis found a link between pot use and some cognitive deficits. (Addiction)

Sperm donation could soon see tighter regulations as more and more lawsuits continue to mount. (Salon)

In other COVID news, ESPN said it’s keeping its reporters home from the Winter Olympics in China due to pandemic concerns.

As part of a U.N.-backed deal, a slew of generic drug makers located in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East plan to manufacture cheaper versions of Merck’s COVID pill to send to developing nations. (Reuters)

According to a preliminary lab study, Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine showed slightly higher Omicron-neutralizing antibodies compared with Pfizer’s vaccine. (Reuters)

Traveling to Hawaii? You may need your booster first if you don’t want to quarantine. (ABC News)