 Welcome to Tuesday’s Overnight Health Care, Election Day edition. While we may not know the winner of the presidential race tonight, one thing is for certain: COVID-19 is still raging throughout the U.S., including in swing states that will determine the winner of the White House. More than 93,000 new cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to more than 9 million. More than 230,000 people have died. We'll start with some numbers that are not election returns: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania report record new coronavirus cases They’re key states in the presidential race, and also in the midst of worsening coronavirus outbreaks (as is much of the rest of the country). Wisconsin and Minnesota joined Pennsylvania on Tuesday in reporting a record high number of new coronavirus cases as the nation headed to the polls for Election Day. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 5,771 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, surpassing a previous record that was only set on Saturday, WISN 12 News notes. The Badger State also reported 52 new deaths and 247 new hospitalizations from the virus. The Minnesota Department of Health reported 3,483 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing its cumulative total to 157,096. The state also reported 15 deaths, making 2,499 since the pandemic began. Earlier in the day, Pennsylvania reported its largest single-day increase in cases. The Keystone State reported 2,875 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 214,871. An additional 32 new deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 8,855. Expect more where this came from: As winter approaches, cases and hospitalizations are rising across the country, so we can expect more records in the coming days. Read more here. Related: New Jersey COVID hospitalizations at four-month high as cases rise CDC: Pregnant women with COVID-19 at increased risk for serious outcomes Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe illness and might give birth prematurely if they get COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Reports released Monday by the CDC indicate that pregnant women are at “significantly higher risk” for severe outcomes from COVID-19 compared to women who aren’t pregnant. Still, the reports stress, the overall risks to pregnant women with COVID-19 of serious illness or pregnancy complications remain low. That conclusion comes from an analysis of about 400,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 who experienced symptoms of COVID-19 between January and October — 23,434 of whom were pregnant. Intensive care unit admission, ventilation, death and other serious outcomes were more likely in pregnant women than nonpregnant women, the analysis found. About 10.5 out of 1,000 pregnant women were admitted to ICUs, compared to 3.9 out of 1,000 nonpregnant women, with adjustments made for differences in age, race, ethnicity and underlying health conditions. “To minimize the risk for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection, pregnant women should limit unnecessary interactions with persons who might have been exposed to or are infected,” including people within their households, the authors of the analysis wrote. Read more here. Drugmaker says price tag to settle thousands of opioid lawsuits could total $21B Drug distributor McKesson said Tuesday that it and other pharmaceutical companies could have to pay up to $21 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. In a new quarterly report, McKesson said that it would pay about $8 billion of the $21 billion total settlement over the next 18 years. This marks an increase from the $6.68 billion McKesson was initially set to pay when the settlement framework was first proposed last year. In October 2019, McKesson, along with AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, proposed a combined $18 billion settlement to resolve approximately 3,200 lawsuits, with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson paying an additional $4 billion. Due to pushback from local governments and states, Johnson & Johnson agreed last month to pay $5 billion. In 2019, four attorneys general announced a framework for a $48 billion settlement with the corporations, along with pharmaceutical company Teva, that would include $22 billion in cash and $26 billion worth of a generic opioid addiction treatment, product distribution and data tracking measures. Read more here. Trump ramps up Fauci attacks on eve of election dominated by COVID-19 President Trump's closing message to voters: he'll fire Anthony Fauci. Trump's relationship with Fauci throughout the pandemic has been complicated, and his patience may be wearing thin with the high-profile health expert who’s a member of the White House coronavirus task force. While Trump on Monday hinted to rally-goers that he would fire Fauci, there isn't really a clear path for him to do it, and any attempt to get rid of Fauci would be a drawn-out legal and political battle. Trump could order Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, to fire Fauci. But Collins would likely refuse, and Trump would then have no recourse except to fire Collins and appoint a hand-picked "yes man" to finish the job. One potential avenue: a controversial executive order issued late last month could strip Fauci of his civil service protections, and give Trump the ability to fire him without cause. The executive order gives agencies broad discretion to re-classify policy-related career employees. Those employees could then be removed for performance reasons without the opportunity to contest the decision or rely on union representation. Read more here.
What we’re reading Top Trump adviser pleads for more aggressive action on COVID-19 (The Washington Post) How COVID death counts become the stuff of conspiracy theories (Kaiser Health News) The life and death of a boy whose diagnosis brought hope to other patients (STAT News)
State by state HHS Secretary advises against shutdowns in Wisconsin to limit COVID-19 spread (wkow.com) White House coronavirus task force: Florida now in red zone for rate of new cases (Orlando Sentinel) Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations Near 1,900, New State High (WFYI) Texas passes California for highest number of COVID-19 cases in US (Associated Press)
The Hill op-eds A new round of lockdowns would be a terrible mistake Trump administration shines sunlight into our health care system The data deficits of COVID-19 mirror those of cancer | 
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