Good morning. We bring you President Biden's measured Covid optimism, fresh from last night's State of the Union address, and some food for thought via two court cases.

In State of the Union, Biden walks a fine line on Covid optimism

President Biden delivers his State of the Union address last night. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via AP)

In his State of the Union address last night, President Biden vowed that the U.S. won’t become complacent in its Covid-19 response, even as he attempted to project optimism about returning to normal life. Biden highlighted the country’s progress, arguing that the virus “need no longer control our lives” and touting new guidance that allows most communities to eliminate mask restrictions, reports STAT’s Lev Facher. But the government, Biden said, isn’t letting down its guard. He announced that people who ordered free coronavirus tests through a federal website will soon be allowed to order more. And he reiterated his pledge to develop and ship vaccines specially tailored to new viral variants within 100 days of their detection. “We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases,” Biden said. “And because this is a virus that mutates and spreads, we will stay on guard.”

CDC says Pfizer vaccine does work in kids 5-11

Does the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine provide less protection to children aged 5 to 11 than adolescents 12 to 17? We told you about a New York state study released Monday suggesting that’s so, but new data from 10 states out yesterday tell a different story. CDC data indicate that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine aren’t very protective against Omicron for either age group, but that protection against severe illness appears to hold up equally in both sets of children. They do not suggest more rapid waning, or more marked waning, among the younger group of children. “When you look at the whole picture, we’re not seeing that signal that New York state is seeing,” Ruth Link-Gelles, the CDC’s program manager for Covid vaccine efficacy studies, told STAT’s Helen Branswell. Read more.

When does misprescribing medicines — as in opioids — turn criminal?

Supreme Court justices seemed divided yesterday over where to draw the line for physicians’ prescribing patterns to be considered drug dealing — and whether doctors have to know they are misprescribing medication for it to be criminal. The issue in the case concerns two doctors sentenced to decades in prison for unlawfully dispensing opioids. At yesterday’s hearing, some justices asked the physicians’ attorneys if it was possible for providers to prescribe in such outlandish ways that they could be convicted even if they claimed they thought they were helping their patients. Other justices questioned the government’s lawyer about the risks of juries convicting doctors without having to consider if they purposefully were prescribing in dangerous ways. STAT’s Andrew Joseph has more in STAT+.

Closer look: The study was retracted. Was it the scientific process or defamation?

(molly ferguson for stat)

A retraction often marks the end of a dispute over published scientific research. But after a study of a $300 digital fertility tracker marketed by Valley Electronics was retracted, Valley sued Chelsea Polis, a researcher who lambasted its findings, for defamation. When a federal judge threw out the case, Valley appealed, arguing Polis went too far by calling the company’s study “junk science.” The appeal set for March 22 underscores tensions between loosely regulated technologies and watchdogs insisting published claims be supported by rigorous science. To critics, poking holes in studies is integral to the scientific process. But to companies, debate can be a threat. “Bad science can be used to prop up useless products and interventions, so we have to be able to criticize bad science,” Jonathan Jarry of McGill University told STAT’s Kate Sheridan and Casey Ross. Read more.

A clue to long Covid’s nerve damage

Ever since long Covid patients began describing troubling symptoms that linger long after their infections, nerve damage has emerged as a possible explanation for shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, cognitive problems, chronic pain, strange sensory changes, and muscle weakness. Now a small case series using multiple diagnostic tools suggests this host of symptoms may be connected to peripheral nerve fibers damaged by Covid-induced immune dysfunction. Patients seem to improve after getting immunotherapies used in other neuropathies, such as IV immunoglobulin and corticosteroids, the researchers say in the Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation paper, although none of the 17 patients followed for more than a year had fully returned to normal. They call for more research and encourage patients to ask their doctors about neuropathy and its treatments.

Osteoarthritis is rising with the aging population

The global prevalence of osteoarthritis — the painful joint disease most common in knees, hips, and hands — more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, a new analysis pulling from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 report says. The jump reflects the world’s aging (and growing) population as well as different data sources than used in earlier studies, but the increase is still a cause for concern, researchers say in Arthritis & Rheumatology. More women than men had osteoarthritis and countries with higher development status had higher prevalence. Rising obesity rates also contributed to the increase. In addition to avoiding overweight, the researchers say, “Exercise therapy could delay functional loss and should be recommended as core treatment for knee osteoarthritis.”

What to read around the web today

3 burning questions created by the big CRISPR patent ruling. STAT+
In a Kyiv hospital, children pay the price of Russia's invasion. Wall Street Journal
Next winter, what if we test for even more viruses? The Atlantic
Texas investigates parents of transgender teen, prompting the ACLU to sue. Texas Tribune
FDA warns against using another powdered baby formula after a 2nd death. NPR
Tennessee judge sanctions Endo for withholding opioid documents, refuses to recuse himself from case. STAT+