Measles cases in the U.S. this year are "certainly going to surpass those in 2018," mainly due to the lack of vaccination in certain groups, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells Axios.
Why this matters: The extremely contagious virus, which can cause serious complications like pneumonia, brain swelling and even occasional death, requires a vaccination rate of 93%–95% in order to prevent outbreaks. "Whenever the level of vaccination gets below a certain level, you will get outbreaks," Fauci says.
The Food and Drug Administration is planning to impose tougher safety requirements on the ingredients in prescription drugs, following an investigation by Bloomberg's Anna Edney into safety and quality issues at overseas facilities.
The bottom line: The active ingredients in many pharmaceuticals, especially generics, come from China and India, but the FDA has few inspectors on the ground in those countries. So it requires drugmakers to self-report safety or quality issues.
President Trump's health care agenda is making more enemies than friends, hitting brick walls and fierce opposition in the courts, in Congress and even within his own administration.
Driving the news: Yesterday was a bad day for two of Trump's biggest health care priorities.
Brand-name EpiPen barely has any share of the epinephrine injection market these days — a swift change from 2015, when EpiPens controlled 89% of the market and Mylan earned congressional scrutiny for jacking up prices.
Yes, but: Mylan still owns the market through its "authorized" generic, which launched in 2016. That product is exactly the same as EpiPen, except for the label and its smaller price tag, and it has prevented other competing generics from gaining ground.
Reflecting widespread concerns within his party, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has told President Trump he disagrees with the Trump administration's attempt to get the entire Affordable Care Act thrown out in court.
McCarthy told Trump over the phone that the decision made no sense — especially after Democrats killed Republicans in the midterms in part over the issue of pre-existing conditions, according to two sources familiar with their recent conversation. As Bloomberg's Sahil Kapur points out — health care was the top issue for 2018 midterm voters, and voters who cared most about health care favored Democrats over Republicans by more than 50 percentage points.
The Trump administration's new legal argument against the Affordable Care Act is a political risk. It may also be a liability in court.
How it works: The legal issue here is "severability" — if the ACA's individual mandate is unconstitutional, can it be struck down in isolation? Or is it too intertwined with other parts of the law?
Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, was willing to pay handsomely to avoid a high-profile, televised trial over the company's role in the opioid crisis.
The big question: How much more is Purdue willing to pay to settle the 1,600 other lawsuits that have been consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio?
