• District of Columbia/Kansas: The Children's Hospital Association (CHA) recently announced plans to change its messaging and overall strategy to focus on promoting the health of American children and highlighting the importance of pediatric health. To accomplish these goals, CHA said it will emphasize using evidence in policymaking and building its data capabilities. "You're going to see a bolder CHA," said CEO Matthew Cook, noting that the change aligns with what he believes is a critical moment for American healthcare. "It makes sense for us to have a bolder voice, to be strong, to be clear about our positions." According to Cook, parts of CHA's new messaging align with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda, but the organization will also continue to support vaccinations and advocate for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. "If you just think about children, they're the future of this country," Cook said. "On both sides of the aisle, that's well understood." (Payne, STAT+ [subscription required], 11/4)
• Illinois: Walgreens is launching an expanded flu and COVID-19 tracker to monitor the spread of respiratory illnesses nationwide this winter. According to the company, it is adding COVID-19 data to its existing flu prevalence tracker to gain a more comprehensive picture of when and where respiratory viruses are spreading nationwide. Walgreens will pull data each week on flu and COVID-19 test results, prescriptions for antiviral medications, and sales of over-the-counter flu and cold products from its stores. According to Axios, commercial and academic tools are becoming more important for identifying respiratory illnesses since federal data is becoming less available. Since the government shutdown, CDC's public flu and COVID-19 trackers have not been updated. However, "none of these systems, by themselves or even collectively, will ever replace what CDC does," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health. (Goldman, Axios, 11/4)
• Maryland: FDA has approved the antipsychotic drug Caplyta as a treatment for depression, making it the fourth approved use of the drug. Caplyta was first approved in 2019 and is currently used to treat bipolar I and II disorders, along with depression and schizophrenia. The approval was based on two clinical trials' findings that adding Caplyta to standard therapy significantly improved depression symptoms compared to a placebo. Based on a commonly used measure of depression, patients' scores decreased by 4.9 points in study 501 and 4.5 points in study 502 over six weeks. Other antipsychotic medications approved for major depressive disorder, including Seroquel XR and Abilify, had smaller improvements over six weeks in their own study. Johnson & Johnson, which acquired Caplyta earlier this year through a $14.6 billion deal for Intra-Cellular Therapies, has called the drug a potential "wonder pill" that could bring in over $5 billion in annual sales if found effective for more psychiatric conditions. (Garde, STAT+ [subscription required], 11/6; Bassett, MedPage Today, 11/6)

With the respiratory season underway, health systems are facing the triple threat of COVID-19, flu, and RSV. Discover the key challenges of this season and learn how health systems can effectively prepare for its impact and mitigate the strain on healthcare resources.