Axios

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital on Tuesday after being treated for a bladder issue.

The big picture: Austin was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center on Sunday "with discomfort and concern from a bladder issue related to his December 2023 prostate cancer surgery," per a Tuesday evening statement from doctors at the hospital.

More than 2 million people have been removed from Texas' Medicaid program since federal pandemic-era coverage protections were lifted last April, new state data shows.

The big picture: That's the most of any state and nearly equivalent to all of Houston — Texas' most populous city, with 2.3 million residents — losing coverage in less than a year.

As the Biden administration mulls a politically sensitive decision on whether to ban menthol cigarettes, another corner of the tobacco industry — cigar makers — is fighting to be left alone.

The big picture: The fate of a proposed ban on flavored cigars has been linked to a separate and closely scrutinized proposal to outlaw menthol cigarettes that's been under White House review for months.

A federal judge in Texas on Monday dismissed a drug industry trade group's legal challenge to halt Medicare drug price negotiations, ruling it lacked standing.

Why it matters: It's the first time a court has thrown out a lawsuit to overturn the talks required by the Inflation Reduction Act, which began earlier this month.

Employees, parents and students are trying to figure out the new norms for taking a sick day.

Why it matters: Schools and businesses largely erred on the side of caution at the height of the pandemic, but expectations are now shifting — in ways that can be difficult to predict.

The return of measles is a "canary in the coal mine" for the country's ability to fight the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine expert Paul Offit warned in an interview with Axios.

Why it matters: That's among the many consequences of vaccine misinformation and politicization that exploded during the pandemic, Offit writes in a new book out Tuesday, "Tell Me When It's Over: An Insider's Guide to Deciphering COVID Myths and Navigating Our Post-Pandemic World."

Menopause is in, toenail fungus is out.

The big picture: A 60-second ad for Astellas' new menopause treatment for hot flashes aired just before Super Bowl kickoff yesterday, while Pfizer had some of history's greatest scientists rocking out to Queen to promote its cancer work.

Efforts in Congress to restrict U.S. market access for Chinese biotech companies and investors face a central dilemma: They could disrupt key relationships and supply chains U.S. life sciences companies rely on.

Why it matters: Bipartisan consensus for action is growing amid deteriorated U.S.-China relations, but it's running into the reality that they'll have to balance moves to address U.S. national security concerns with the risk of setting back companies that underpin the country's competitive edge.