CDC this week released new resources to help identify multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare but serious immune response linked to Covid-19, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Illinois.

• District of Columbia: President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the formation of a new science advisory panel, known as the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The advisory panel will consist of 30 scientific advisors from a diverse set of backgrounds—including agriculture, biochemistry computer engineering, ecology, nanotechnology, and neuroscience. The panel will advise the White House on a range of global challenges, including climate change and future pandemics. (Stolberg, New York Times, 9/22)

• Georgia: CDC on Monday released resources to help clinicians identify multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and discuss diagnoses with parents of affected children. If symptoms of MIS-C—including ongoing fever, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rash, bloodshot eyes, and dizziness or lightheadedness—appear within six weeks after Covid-19 infection, providers can conduct several tests to identify the disease—including blood tests, chest X-rays, heart ultrasound, and abdominal ultrasound. (Masson, Becker's Hospital Review, 9/22)

• Illinois: Over the past decade, physicians have prescribed 44% less opioids—but both fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses have continued to increase, according to a new American Medical Association (AMA) report. In response to the alarming overdose statistic, AMA called on lawmakers to "act now" and help provide access to "affordable, evidence-based care for patients with pain." (Coleman, The Hill, 9/21)