Health News:

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• The FDA launched new transparency rules, including two new resources for after foodborne illness outbreaks end: an executive incident summary and overview data reports. (FSN)
  
  
• 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants are expected to lose health coverage due to the 2025 tax and budget reconciliation law passed in July. (KFF)
  
  
• Under new guidelines, more Americans meet the criteria for high blood pressure. (PBS)
  
  
• Students are at particular risk from meningococcal disease—but also vulnerable if measles and mumps rates rise. (Atlantic)
  
  
• Unproven Lyme disease tests and treatments are common, including some that can cause harm. (AP)
  
  
• The twice-yearly time change can harm your health, a new study finds. (Washington Post)
  
  
• A new gene therapy appears to slow Huntington’s disease by 75% in a small UK study. (Washington Post)
  
  
• AI will soon have a say in approving or denying medicare treatments. (KFF Health News)
  
  
• The Pentagon has added exemptions to the requirement for all troops to get the flu shot each year. (AP)
  
  
• Meanwhile, after HHS cancelled half a billion dollars in mRNA research last month, it turns out the U.S. military is still funding projects to develop mRNA vaccines against deadly pathogens. (Nature)
  
  
• Congo’s Ebola outbreak is getting worse, with 57 cases and 35 deaths reported. (STAT)
  
  
• There are 17 new measles cases this week in Arizona and Utah, many related to an outbreak at the border of the two states. (Brown Pandemic Center)
  
  

Climate Health News:

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• Exposure to wildfire smoke is expected to kill 70,000 Americans each year by 2050. (Nature)
  
  
• Climate activists are citing health impacts in a bid to sue states and block executive orders on energy and climate issues. (KFF Health News)
  
  
• Air pollution may be harming kids’ vision, leading to increased rates of nearsightedness in a study of children in China. (Washington Post)
  
  
• Illinois announced a severe human case of tick-borne Powassan virus, the first time it’s been seen in the state. (IDPH)

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Best Questions:

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Are nonstick pans harmful to our health? Can we still use them?

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California just passed a bill to ban PFAS, or “forever chemicals” in cookware, cleaning products, and food packaging by 2026. Minnesota already has a similar law, and others are being proposed in at least five other states. 

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The California bill is causing an uproar in the restaurant industry primarily because nonstick pans fall into the category. Celebrity chefs, many of whom have their own lines of cookware, are widely opposed to the ban. They argue that certain foods are significantly easier to cook on nonstick pans, and that Teflon, a type of PFAS, is safe when produced and used properly. 

Critics say that when scratched or overheated, nonstick pans treated with Teflon can release tiny particles into food. But more than that, it’s the actual production process that can contaminate water and get into the food supply. And it’s true - nearly everyone in the U.S. has these chemicals in our blood.

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Scientists have linked exposure to everything from liver disease and cancer, birth defects or low birth weight, and other health issues. That said, there’s still a lot more research that needs to be done on this issue.

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For restaurants, this may mean shifting away from nonstick pans and some plastic storage items that contain PFAS. Regardless of regulation, we think there’s a real chance that this is the next big health trend in the restaurant space, with nonstick pans gone the way of seed oils. 

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Now’s the time to ask vendors what alternatives they’re moving toward and plan ahead for changing rules and attitudes. 

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Sources: Nature, Hill, CBS, NY Times 

Should we still be testing for Covid and encouraging our employees to test?

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Bottom line up front: Use a symptoms-based approach this respiratory virus season, test or no test. 

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Here’s why. During the pandemic, we got used to knowing what we were sick with. Flu, COVID, and even RSV testing became commonplace. But as we collectively build up our immunity to COVID, the actual actions that we take when we’re sick with it have fallen in line with the actions we take when sick with the flu or other illnesses. 

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Instead, what matters more (at least from an employer’s angle) is whether you have fever, severe cough, vomiting or diarrhea, or other symptoms that indicate that you’re still infectious – or make it impossible for you to do the job. That keeps the workplace safer from all respiratory viruses, not just COVID.

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But testing still has real value. First, it changes behavior. When people see a positive COVID result, they’re far more likely to take precautions (like masking, or staying out of work longer) than if they think it’s just a cold. That alone can help prevent a cluster of infections that takes out a whole team. 

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Second, a positive test can make someone eligible for treatment. Antivirals like Paxlovid need to be started quickly, usually within five days, and most providers won’t prescribe them without proof of infection.

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So, while the baseline expectation should be “don’t work sick,” testing when you have symptoms or known exposures is still smart. It reduces spread, supports access to treatment, and ultimately helps keep your workforce healthier and your doors open.

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Sources: CDC, NHS

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Best Read:

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We often underestimate the impact that air quality has on our health. A new study found that wildfire smoke may have killed more than 41,000 Americans per year from 2011-2020.

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Could wildfire smoke become America's leading climate health threat by 2050? - Los Angeles Times

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