Planned Parenthood Arizona on Wednesday filed a challenge to the state's attorney general's motion to let a near-total, pre-Roe abortion ban take effect.
Driving the news: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich last week asked a court to lift an injunction on the state's near-total ban, which had been dormant since 1973, when Roe was decided. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned that precedent, Brnovich wants the ban to become enforceable.
Drug overdose deaths surged by 30% during the first year of the pandemic, with Black and Native American communities bearing a disproportionately higher burden, the CDC reported on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The pandemic highlighted long-overlooked disparities in health care and how social determinants like poverty, housing and transportation can hinder access to care, including substance use treatment.
It's no secret that gender pay disparities are a problem in medicine, but it turns out reforms to how we pay doctors — specifically in primary care — could make the problem worse.
Why it matters: The shift to value-based care aims to incentivize better care delivery by paying doctors for what matters most — patient outcomes — rather than by how many services they perform.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's program tracking COVID cases on cruise ships in the U.S. "is no longer in effect," per a CDC website update.
Why it matters: The COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships that became voluntary last January publicly displayed data on the number of reported virus cases aboard ships. Its end enables cruise lines to make their own COVID protocols.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky authorized the use of Novavax’s COVID vaccine as a primary series for adults 18 and over on Tuesday.
Driving the news: Walensky's endorsement of the CDC's panel recommendation makes the Novavax vaccine the fourth COVID shot authorized for use in the U.S.
Caitlin Bernard, the OB-GYN who provided an abortion on a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who was raped, took the first legal step to sue Indiana's attorney general for defamation over his comments alleging medical misconduct.
Driving the news: After news of the child having an abortion gained traction, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said on Fox News that Bernard has a "history of failing to report" abortions to the state, as required by law. In the lawsuit, Bernard's attorneys say that the doctor has no disciplinary history.
The big picture: Even before Roe's fall, almost half of U.S. states had laws in place that made it illegal to access pills via mail. Without federal protections on abortion, more states could implement further restrictions and attempt to make it impossible for people to get the medication.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci is planning to retire by the end of President Biden's current term, he said in an interview with Politico.
The big picture: Fauci has been serving as Biden's chief medical adviser since January 2021 and as NIAID director since 1984.
The big picture: Researchers think patients seeking care too late due to fear of COVID-19 and the disruption in care at hospitals caused by the pandemic both were factors.
Virtual training and practice on anatomical models may soon become the norm for how OB-GYN residents learn how to safely conduct abortions as medical programs navigate new state abortion bans.
Why it matters: As programs retool in the post-Roe v. Wade landscape, there are concerns about how well prepared the next generation of OB-GYNs will be to meet the demand for induced abortions as well as emergency pregnancy care.
Nearly eight in 10 Americans think we won't be rid of COVID-19 in our lifetimes, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Why it matters: The poll is new evidence that most Americans have moved past the pandemic and are likelier to be focused on inflation and making ends meet than what variant is spreading or what COVID treatments are available.
Some 40 million Americans are under heat alerts due to "dangerous and intense," potentially record-breaking heat across the Plains and Mississippi Valley that's expected to expand into the Southeast this week.
The big picture: The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Texas, and there are heightened fire dangers in several states. Firefighters are already battling 89 large fires across 12 states. An excessive heat warning was in effect for all of Oklahoma for Tuesday, with highs of 110-112°F expected — 16°F above the state's average.
