Pandemics
WHO says Covid remains a global emergency but pandemic could near its end in 2023
Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends an ACANU briefing on global health issues, including COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland, December 14, 2022. Denis Balibouse | Reuters The World Health Organization on Monday said Covid-19 remains an global health emergency as the world enters the fourth […]
Read More
CDC urges people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions after Covid subvariants knock out Evusheld
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions to avoid Covid after the dominant omicron subvariants knocked out a key antibody treatment. These precautions include wearing a high quality mask and social distancing when it’s not possible to avoid crowded indoor spaces, according to […]
Read More
FDA proposal would allow gay men in monogamous relationships to donate blood
A nurse fills test tubes with blood to be tested during an American Red Cross bloodmobile in Fullerton, CA on Thursday, January 20, 2022. Paul Bersebach | Medianews Group | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed new guidelines that would no longer require gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to […]
Read More
FDA withdraws Covid antibody treatment Evusheld because it’s not effective against 93% of subvariants
Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimab) injection, a new COVID-19 treatment that people can take before becoming symptomatic. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Chris Sweda | Tribune News Service | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday pulled its authorization for AstraZeneca‘s Evusheld, an antibody injection that people with weak immune systems […]
Read More
FDA advisors recommend replacing original Covid vaccine with bivalent omicron shots for all doses
The Food and Drug Administration’s independent advisory committee on Thursday recommended replacing Pfizer and Moderna’s original Covid vaccine used in the U.S. for everyone’s first two immunizations with the new bivalent omicron shots. If the FDA accepts the advisors’ recommendation, the U.S. would likely phase out the companies’ vaccines developed in 2020 against the original […]
Read More
FDA doesn’t see increased risk of stroke for seniors who received Pfizer’s omicron booster
A nurses fills up syringes for patients as they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, September 29, 2021. Emily Elconin | Reuters The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t found an increased risk of stroke for seniors who’ve received Pfizer’s omicron booster shot, a federal health official […]
Read More
Omicron booster shots provide some protection against mild illness from Covid XBB subvariants, CDC says
Pfizer‘s and Moderna‘s omicron boosters reduced the risk of mild illness from the XBB family of subvariants compared to people who did not receive the shot, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Wednesday. The CDC study provides the first estimate of the omicron shots’ real-world effectiveness against the […]
Read More
Abortion pill maker GenBioPro sues West Virginia, argues FDA rules preempt state ban
Abortion pill manufacturer GenBioPro on Wednesday sued to overturn West Virginia’s ban on abortion because it restricts access to a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in West Virginia’s southern district, argues that FDA regulations on medications such as the abortion pill preempt state law under the […]
Read More
FDA proposes new lead limits for baby food to reduce potential risks to children’s health
Jgi/jamie Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration proposed new limits Tuesday on lead in baby food, in an effort to reduce exposure to a toxin that can impair childhood development. The lead limits apply to processed food consumed by children younger than two years old. In a statement, FDA […]
Read More
The FDA’s power to approve drugs faces sweeping challenge in lawsuit seeking to pull abortion pill from U.S. market
Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women’s Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration is squaring off with anti-abortion physicians in an unprecedented […]
Read More