Axios

People with monkeypox symptoms may want to avoid contact with their pets for three weeks to avoid infecting animals, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Friday.

Why it matters: UKHSA says the spread of monkeypox in the U.K. may put pet rodents — such as gerbils, hamsters or rodents — at risk of the virus.

States that legalized recreational marijuana use for adults were likelier to see teens partake as well, according to a study published in Addiction.

Why it matters: The findings add new evidence of a connection between legalizing adult use and a surge of use among kids.

At least 75 people have been killed and 59 injured in attacks on Ukrainian health facilities and personnel since Russia began its unprovoked invasion, according to World Health Organization data this week.

Driving the news: The WHO has verified over 240 attacks on Ukrainian health care since Feb. 24. On Thursday, it passed a resolution condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine, particularly on the country's health system.

New research casting doubt on vaccines' ability to protect against "long COVID" suggests that as the virus itself becomes endemic, its lingering aftereffects aren't going anywhere without new treatments or vaccines.

Why it matters: Long COVID is emerging as the next phase of the global health care crisis. However, it’s still unclear how many more people will come down with serious health aftershocks as variants continue to evolve and the population continues to develop more immunity.

The baby formula shortage likely won't end until July, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said Tuesday.

Driving the news: “My expectation is that within two months we should be beyond normal, and with a plethora,” Califf said at a Senate Health Committee hearing Thursday, per CNBC.

The growing monkeypox outbreak may appear alarming to people — potentially triggering bad memories of the rapid spread of COVID over the globe — but it does not contain the same threat level as a pandemic, experts tell Axios.

The big picture: How monkeypox is spreading around the world — with nine U.S. cases confirmed so far — is "new and certainly concerning" but the virus isn't behaving completely unexpectedly, says the CDC's poxvirus epidemiology team lead, Andrea McCollum.

More than half of the country's 15 largest cities saw population decreases during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new U.S. census data released Thursday measuring city growth from July 2020 to July 2021.

Driving the news: The switch to remote work during the pandemic enabled many people to move, prompted desires for cheaper cost of living or lifestyle changes.

Pharmacists and drug wholesalers can import prescription medicines from Canada for up to two years as part of state programs aimed at bringing down drug costs, according to final FDA guidance released Thursday.

Why it matters: With President Biden's drug pricing agenda still stalled, the FDA is further clarifying how states could take advantage of lower drug costs abroad without the need to limit prices in the U.S.

The Supreme Court is likely to clear the way for new anti-abortion laws in just a few months — but red states aren't waiting.

The big picture: Conservative legislatures are passing a raft of controversial new laws, many of which push the envelope further than the courts have ever allowed. But with the court poised to significantly weaken Roe v. Wade, if not overturn it altogether, red states appear confident that these new measures will stand.

The first federally backed "test to treat" site is slated to open in Rhode Island on Thursday, an initiative aimed at expanding access to COVID-19 anti-viral pills as virus cases are rising across the country.

Why it matters: The pills dramatically reduce the chances that someone with COVID will become severely ill, making the medication a key tool for living with the virus, writes Axios' Caitlin Owens.

An ongoing surge of reported COVID cases in the Northeast showed signs of easing even as cases continued to jump around the rest of the country.

Why it matters: While this data likely understates the actual number of cases, it's an indicator of a "hidden wave" of cases burning through social circles across the U.S. right now even as America fights to get back to normalcy.

• It comes as anecdotal reports of COVID among groups of friends, and a slew of confirmed cases of high-profile individuals, most recently Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

A renewed focus on health and wellness has been a boon to the reputations of health care companies, according to new rankings from the annual Axios Harris Poll 100.

The big picture: Health care brands helped Americans get through the COVID pandemic, improving their level of confidence and trust with consumers in the process.

Firearms were the leading cause of death for kids one and older for the first time in 2020, the most recent year for which CDC data is available.

Why it matters: The firearm death rate among children is steadily rising, as more kids are involved in gun-related homicides like Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, as well as suicides and accidents.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill aimed at banning all abortions in the state beginning at fertilization that will be enforced by lawsuits from private citizens.

Why it matters: The near-total ban takes effect immediately upon being signed, making it the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. It encourages private citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping a person get an abortion.