Axios

The U.S. government is shipping drugs and vaccines to combat the monkeypox virus to eight states that have requested them, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said in a briefing Friday.

Driving the news: There have been at least 20 cases of monkeypox in the United States across 11 states, and those numbers are expected to rise, the CDC said.

Novavax's COVID vaccine was shown to be 90% effective at preventing new cases in a clinical trial but carried the possible risk of causing heart inflammation, particularly in young males, Food and Drug Administration staff said in a review posted online Friday.

Why it matters: The company is seeking FDA emergency use authorization for the shot, positioning it both as a booster for the vaccinated and an alternative first-line defense for people who have refused mRNA shots.

Modest drug pricing reforms aren't likely to squelch pharmaceutical innovation or jeopardize the future health of Americans, researchers from the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy write in a new post.

Why it matters: Drugmakers have long claimed that controlling the price of their products would result in fewer new cures — a "nuclear winter" argument that could be revived as Congress eyes a slimmed-down Build Back Better package that includes drug cost reforms.

Fewer than half of the public health officials responsible for deploying the new 988 national suicide prevention and mental health hotline are confident their communities have the necessary staff, financing or equipment, according to a new Rand report.

Catch up quick: Phone service providers are required to route calls or text messages sent to 988 to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) by July 16.

EQT agreed to buy Envirotainer, a Swedish medical freight provider, from fellow private equity firm Cinven, as first reported by the WSJ and confirmed by Axios.

Why it matters: Envirotainer has been key to the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain, saying it helped ship over 1 billion doses via its 6,500 temperature-controlled airfreight containers.

With more people preparing coffee at home because of the pandemic, the market for fun-flavored creamers and beans — Almond Joy! S'Mores! Strawberry cheesecake! — is exploding as we bring our Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks taste buds to the living room.

Why it matters: American coffee consumption is at a two-decade high, per the National Coffee Association, and more of us are now drinking it at all hours of the day, sometimes instead of a sugary snack. That's a pandemic-era habit shift that's likely here to stay.

America's COVID treatment arsenal is still dangerously understocked, experts warn, and more government funding may be required to bring new drugs to market quickly enough.

Between the lines: Having one reliable antiviral and one effective monoclonal antibody is far from ideal heading into the fall, but the federal government says it doesn't have enough money to buy more of the existing therapeutics, let alone invest in new ones.

The first 3D printed ear implant has been successfully transplanted on a 20-year-old woman as part of an ongoing clinical trial.

Driving the news: 3DBio Therapeutics and the Microtia-Congenital Ear Deformity Institute announced Thursday that they conducted the human ear reconstruction using a living tissue ear implant.

Over half of Americans identify as "pro-choice," the highest recorded sentiment in support of abortion rights recorded by Gallup since 1995.

Driving the news: The Gallup poll also found that for the first time, a majority of Americans believe abortion is "morally acceptable."

Some local officials in liberal enclaves within red states say they won't help enforce bans on abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

The big picture: Cities have a "wide range of powers they can draw on to try to safeguard and expand access to reproductive health care, including abortion," said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, an organization that supports abortion rights.

The number of reported new COVID cases — along with COVID deaths — appeared to level off over the past seven days.

The big picture: It's unclear if this is a true change or the result of a Memorial Day disruption in reporting.

• But, overall reported case rates are five times higher right now than they were this time last year, even though people are far less likely to have cases reported due to home testing.

Health care workers nationwide are organizing and pushing for workplace changes like better pay or more favorable staffing ratios after waves of pandemic-fueled burnout and frustration.

Why it matters: COVID-19 and its aftereffects triggered an exodus of health care workers. Those who stayed are demanding more from health systems that claim to be reaching their own breaking points.