The UN children's agency is raising the alarm on what it says are worrying signs in the global effort to vaccinate every child.
The big picture: Public perception of the importance of childhood vaccines declined during the pandemic in more than 50 countries, including the United States, UNICEF said in a report published on Wednesday.
Cannabis aficionados in 20-plus states and Washington, D.C., will be able to buy marijuana legally for Thursday's high-flying informal holiday known as 4/20. Medicinal use is legal in 38 states.
Why it matters: The legalized marijuana market is worth $64 billion, nearly tripling over the last three years as legalization efforts swept the nation, a Coresight Research report found.
Pharmaceutical companies that fought drug pricing reforms Congress passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act are now weighing a legal challenge as the Biden administration sets about implementing the policy.
"I don't think we've made any decisions at this time, but it's certainly something we're looking into," Lori Reilly, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's chief operating officer, said during a Wednesday meeting with reporters.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released a long-awaited plan for raising the debt ceiling Wednesday, and it includes Medicaid work requirements.
The measure would require Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours per month. There are a number of exceptions, though, including for people with dependent children, those under age 19 or 56 or over, or individuals enrolled in an educational program.
More red states are moving to decriminalize test strips used to detect fentanyl in illicit orcounterfeit drugs as the substance becomes a leading killer of adults under 50.
Why it matters: The paper strips can reducefatal overdoses, especially in instances when people unknowingly consume fentanyl-laced pills that look like prescription drugs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday movedto make a second omicron booster available for adults 65 and older and immunocompromised people as soon as late this week.
Why it matters: The agency's sign-off allows nearly 60 million eligible Americans with waning immunity to COVID-19 receive an additional dose of bivalent vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna and reduce their risk of hospitalization or death.
Driving the news: The go-ahead came hours after outside advisers to the agency backed the change in vaccine strategy first approved by the FDA on Tuesday.
It's also the latest in the Biden administration’s efforts to simplify vaccination schedules and “encourage future vaccination,” said Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics and Research.
Yes, but: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said the more complex considerationsfor children under the age of 5 could stir confusion for pediatricians and parents trying to determine eligibility.
A CDC presentation listed nine different scenarios that depend on vaccination status, brand of vaccine received and the number of doses a child has had.
Other members noted that pregnant patients and immunocompromised children younger than 5 years old who had Pfizer don’t yet qualify for an updated booster, potentially leaving them at higher risk.
What they’re saying: In a Tuesday briefing, Marks acknowledged that the most recent changes are “still somewhat more complicated than desirable.”
“Unfortunately, this was where we were left with the data that we had at hand,” Marks told committee members on Wednesday, adding that more update are likely to come in the fall.
By the numbers: Roughly 55.6 million people, or 17% of eligible Americans, have received a bivalent booster dose, according to the latest CDC data. For those 65 and older, booster uptake is about 43%.
The lowest coverage — 0.5% — is among children under the age of 5, which CDC senior epidemiologist Ruth Link-Gelles said makes measuring vaccine effectiveness challenging.
Nearly 1 in 4 participants surveyed in a January CDC report said they weren’t aware of their eligibility for a bivalent booster.
While close to 70% who hadn’t received a booster said they planned to, less than 30% reported actually getting it in a follow-up survey.
State of play: Outside advisers to the FDA in January unanimously recommended replacing the original COVID shots with ones that specifically target omicron subvariants, the latest of which is driving a surge of infections in India.
The January expert panel, however, stopped short of determining whether a yearly dose will be needed for the general population — a question the FDA requested they consider.
An agency advisory committee will take up the matter in June, about a month after the COVID public health emergency is slated to end,shifting the cost of vaccines and other countermeasures to the commercial market.
Bicyclists suffer more severe injuries when they're struck by SUVs than when they're hit by cars because the point of impact is higher, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study shows.
Why it matters: Fatal bicycle crash rates have risen dramatically over the past decade, and researchers attribute the trend to the growing number of large SUVs and pickups on U.S. roads.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an order extending a freeze on lower court orders that imposed restrictions on a widely used abortion pill in a case that tests the Food and Drug Administration's authority over drug approvals.
Driving the news: Justice Samuel Alito said in an order that the temporary stay they issued last week is extended until Friday, April 21 at 11:59 p.m. while the court continues to evaluate the case.
The manufacturer of the generic version of a widely used abortion pill on Wednesday sued the Food and Drug Administration to prevent the drug from being removed from the market.
Driving the news: The lawsuit comes on the day that the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether restrictions should be imposed on the drug, mifepristone, including potentially revoking the generic version's FDA authorization.
M42, a health care joint venture between Mubadala Investment Co. and Abu Dhabi-based tech firm G42, has agreed to buy Sweden-based dialysis clinic chain Diaverum from private equity firm Bridgepoint.
Why it matters: M42 says the deal makes it the Middle East's largest health care company.
A new report by Senate Republicans lays out one of the most comprehensive public cases to date for the theory that COVID originated from a lab accident, but its reliance on circumstantial evidence means the debate is far from settled.
The big picture: The report focuses largely on missing data and signs of biosafety issues that require interpretation.
Leading wastewater surveillance firm Biobot Analytics is now able to monitor for norovirus, Axios is first to report.
Why it matters: Norovirus — which typically causes gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting — is a little-understood yet highly communicable (and sometimes fatal) disease.
