Health
Related to factors impacting health and healthcare (pandemics, healthcare regulation, new drugs)
May 14, 2022
The US House Committee on Oversight and Reform requested information from four baby formula manufacturers, addressing the nationwide shortage of infant food. The four companies controlling nearly 90% of the US market for infant food are Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA, and Perrigo Company.
May 13, 2022
Speaking in Vienna, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned about the possibility of hunger spreading globally as the Ukraine war threatens food security. The Ukraine war has affected the shipping of grains and other commodities from Ukraine and Russia via the Black Sea.
May 12, 2022
Provisional data released by the CDC has estimated that there were a total of 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2021. Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, called the numbers "truly staggering" and stated that it was indicative of a "continuation of an awful trend."
May 7, 2022
The US health regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has limited the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine for adults. The J&J vaccine can be used in cases where approved Covid-19 vaccines are not accessible or clinically appropriate or if an individual elects to receive the vaccine.
May 6, 2022
On Thursday morning, a severe sandstorm hit 18 Iraqi provinces, including Baghdad and Al-Anbar. Iraq health ministry spokesman, Seid al-Badr, announced that over 5000 people had since sought medical treatment, with one having died due to the storm.
April 30, 2022
An inmate at a correctional facility in Colorado working with poultry has contracted bird flu. The male, less than 40 years old, is largely asymptomatic and reported fatigue.
April 29, 2022
Moderna has submitted an emergency use authorization request to the FDA to fast-track its COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) for usage on kids aged six months to under two years and for those aged two to six. According to Moderna, clinical study results demonstrated a robust neutralizing antibody response and a favorable safety profile after a two-dose primary series vaccination course of mRNA-1273 in the defined age group.
April 29, 2022
On April 28th, the FDA proposed product standards banning menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors (except tobacco) in cigars. According to the FDA, the proposed plan will reduce youth experimentation and addiction and bolster the number of individuals that will quit smoking.
April 24, 2022
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez made his first appearance in a US court after being extradited to face drug trafficking charges. Hernandez was extradited on Thursday from Tegucigalpa, Honduras on a US Drug Enforcement Administration plane.
April 22, 2022
On April 21st, the CDC issued a nationwide health alert notifying health authorities about a cluster of hepatitis and adenovirus infection cases in children. The CDC has advised physicians to be on the lookout for infection symptoms in children and to report any hepatitis cases of unknown origin to their local and state health departments.