Axios

Hospitals are beginning to revive mask mandates as the highly contagious COVID-19 variant known as JN.1 overspreads the United States and health systems grapple with a spike in other seasonal respiratory viruses.

Driving the news: There were almost 35,000 COVID hospitalizations across the country for the week ending Dec. 30, a 20.4% increase over the prior week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures updated Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a plan allowing Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, opening the door for states to buy direct from pharmacies there to stock their state-run health programs.

Why it matters: The approval, the first of its kind, allows the Biden administration to show it's addressing a major voter concern in an election year but is likely to draw legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry.

A coalition of Florida abortion rights supporters surpassed the required number of signatures needed to put a referendum on next year's ballot, according to the latest data from the state Division of Elections.

Why it matters: If advocates succeed in enshrining abortion rights in Florida's constitution through the ballot measure, it would have massive implications for reproductive health care across the South.

A new federal study finds a popular obesity and diabetes drug was associated with a lower risk of suicidal ideations compared with other medications treating those conditions.

Why it matters: The findings come as drug regulators are probing reported side effects of suicidal thoughts in people taking such drugs.

A rash of generic drug shortages across the United States can be partly explained by a somewhat counterintuitive and politically inconvenient factor: The prices are way too low.

Why it matters: Proposals for addressing the complex factors driving the scarcity wouldn't come cheap, and that's especially true of the politically popular push to make more drugs in America.

Going sober for Dry January has been popular for years — but if you're intentionally drinking less (but not nothing) this month, there's another term for that: Damp January.

Why it matters: Limiting alcohol can have a number of physical and mental health benefits, but Damp January isn't a fit for everyone.

Eli Lilly is poised to sell medicine directly to consumers — with an emphasis on newly popular weight-loss drugs — in a move toward cutting out the controversial middle players in drug distribution.

Why it matters: Pharmaceutical companies typically aren't in the business of selling their drugs to individuals — but the weight-loss drug boom is sufficiently lucrative to shake up the status quo.

The Food and Drug Administration is examining reports of suicidal thoughts and other possible side effects linked to a class of blockbuster obesity drugs and whether it needs to take regulatory action.

Driving the news: An update to the agency's adverse event reporting system cited the risk of suicidal ideation; alopecia, or hair loss; and inhalation of stomach contents is connected to drugs treating diabetes and weight loss that include Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Vivek Ramaswamy sold $33 million worth of shares in the biotech company he founded, as he fights to stay competitive in the GOP presidential primary race.

Why it matters: Ramaswamy will use some of the proceeds to make a "significant investment" in his campaign, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

Hospital patients are more likely to fall or acquire infections inside of private equity-owned facilities than in peer facilities, according to a study by Harvard Medical School and University of Chicago researchers.

Why it matters: Private equity is coming under more scrutiny as it buys more health care providers, and that could lead to new regulations.

A startup that created a voice-based AI app to manage insulin and other prescriptions is launching Thursday with backing from powerhouses including Mayo Clinic and Eli Lilly.

Driving the news: Palo Alto, California-based UpDoc is among a growing list of companies jumping into the AI-enabled device space. Company officials told Axios first they plan to launch the "remote patient intervention" tool later this year at UCSF Health and Stanford.

Amid growing cybersecurity threats to health care facilities, federal officials and health systems are turning their attention to potential vulnerabilities hiding in plain sight in hospital rooms, imaging centers and even patients' homes: medical devices.

Why it matters: Hackers have especially targeted health systems for their valuable troves of patient data and in some cases have temporarily knocked systems offline, disrupting patient care.