The Biden administration’s push to make some forms of opioid overdose reversal drugs available over the counter will likely have little impact on the people that need it most, public health advocates warn. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late last year began encouraging drug companies to apply to switch some forms of the drug…
Author: Nathaniel Weixel
Health Care — GOP divided over possible entitlement cuts
“What I do have are a very particular set of skills”…. Dog-nappings are unfortunately on the rise, but one Virginia family was lucky enough to receive the aid of a former Marine Corps intelligence operator in getting their pooch back. Today in health news, childhood vaccination rates fell for the third straight year. But first,…
Childhood vaccination rates fall again, alarming experts, CDC
The percentage of kindergarten students who have not received routine childhood vaccination rose again during the 2021-2022 school year, federal health officials said Thursday, as the lingering COVID-19 pandemic disrupted efforts to get kids vaccinated. Overall vaccination rates among kindergartners remain high, but coverage has dropped 2 percentage points from 95 percent in the pre-pandemic…
GOP divisions over Social Security, Medicare cuts forecast tough fights ahead
House Republicans are divided over cuts to Medicare and Social Security, setting up what could be a fierce internal clash over the future of the nation’s top safety net programs when Congress delves into budget fights later in the year. Entitlements have long been a political third rail, but some in the GOP say everything is…
Alabama AG says women could be prosecuted for taking abortion pills
Alabama’s Attorney General said medication abortion remains illegal in the state despite recent Biden administration moves to expand access to the drugs, and indicated that a law regarding the chemical endangerment of a child could be used to prosecute women who use abortion pills. Alabama’s near-total abortion ban, which took effect immediately after the Supreme…
Sanders tells Moderna planned COVID vaccine price hike is ‘unacceptable corporate greed’
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling Moderna not to quadruple the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, saying Tuesday that the plan amounts to “unacceptable corporate greed.” In a Tuesday letter sent to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, Sanders urged the company to reconsider its decision and refrain from any price increase “in light of the role…
House GOP to focus COVID panel on virus origins, pandemic spending
Republicans have significantly retooled the focus of the House panel investigating the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that aligns with the new majority’s oversight focus. As part of the rules package that passed the House 220-213 on Monday night, the 12-member Select Committee on the Coronavirus Response will be charged with examining…
Health Care — Health officials eyeing subvariant
The Buffalo Bills are encouraging their fans to show support for Damar Hamlin — the Bills’ safety who collapsed on the field last week after suffering cardiac arrest — by learning CPR. Today in health, the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant has swept across the Northeast and while data is limited, health officials have shared some important…
Health Care — Second Alzheimer’s treatment gets FDA nod
Today is Friday, and a 13th vote for House Speaker again failed to elect anyone to the position. Maybe 14 is the lucky number. In health news, the FDA approved a new drug for early stage Alzheimer’s disease, but it may not see widespread uptake unless Medicare changes its coverage rules. Welcome to The…
FDA approves new Alzheimer’s drug that moderately slows disease
An experimental Alzheimer’s drug that moderately slows cognitive decline was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday. The drug, called lecanemab, was granted conditional approval based on a study finding it reduced levels of a protein called amyloid from the brains of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The drug was approved through the…