Officials at the University of Alabama, which on Monday announced that it had identified more than 560 new coronavirus cases across its three campuses in less than one week, said anyone found to be violating the school's coronavirus protocols could face disciplinary action, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Alabama, California, and Pennsylvania.
- Alabama: The University of Alabama on Monday announced that it had identified more than 560 new coronavirus cases across its three campuses since the university restarted in-person classes on Aug. 19. The university mandates that students and staff wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, and adhere to restrictions for on-campus gatherings and other measures intended to prevent the coronavirus' transmission. University officials said anyone found to be violating those protocols, both on and off campus, could face disciplinary action (Treisman, NPR, 8/25).
- California: Laura Mosqueda, dean of the University of Southern California's (USC) Keck School of Medicine, on Monday announced that she is stepping down from the post effective Sept. 15—after spending just short of three years in the position. According to the university, Mosqueda will move into a new role focused on geriatric health care and elder justice. Narsing Rao, who currently chairs USC's ophthalmology program, will serve as Keck's interim dean (Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 8/24).
- Pennsylvania: The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed federal charges against Teva Pharmaceuticals over allegations that the company conspired with other drugmakers to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for a variety of drugs, including pravastatin, a common cholesterol drug sold under the brand name Pravachol. According to an indictment filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Teva participated in three such conspiracy schemes starting as early as May 2013 and last to at least December 2015. Teva has denied the allegations and said the company was "deeply disappointed that the government has chosen to proceed with this prosecution" (Kendall/Hopkins, Wall Street Journal, 8/25; McLaughlin, Bloomberg, 8/25; DOJ release, 8/25).