Americans who contract COVID-19 will no longer have to stay home for five days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Fridayeased its isolation guidance for the virus.
Why it matters: The new guidance is similar to the agency's recommendation for the flu: People who test positive for the virus who have been free of fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication may leave home.
There were about 488 deaths per day from excessive drinking in the U.S. during the height of the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, part of a surge in alcohol-related fatalities seen over five years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Why it matters: The increased availability of alcohol carryout and home deliveries may been a factor, along with stress, social isolation and general delays seeking medical care, officials said.
Walgreens and CVS, two of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains, plan to start offering abortion pills this month, the companies told Axios Friday.
Why it matters: The move will increase availability to mifepristone just as the Supreme Court is set to weigh access to the pill in a high-stakes case that marks the top court's first major abortion issue since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
A ransomware attack targeting a popular insurance billing service has prevented some patients nationwide from receiving medications for nearly 10 days.
Why it matters: Patients told Axios they haven't been able to receive medications needed to treat diabetes, migraines and other chronic conditions.
Medicare is taking the rare step of adding pre-treatment approval requirements before patients can get care at certain outpatient surgical facilities that have seen a sharp uptick in billings.
Why it matters: Medicare's decision shows that it still sees prior authorization as a useful tool for controlling costs, even as the Biden administration cracks down on misuse of a practice detested by health care providers and patients.
Rates of obesity in the U.S. and around the world have more than doubled over the past three decades, according to a new study in The Lancet.
Why it matters: More than 1 billion people worldwide now have obesity, a sign of worsening nutrition that's also raising the risk of leading causes of death and disease such as high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes.
Salt Lake City-based Nutraceutical Corporation is recalling more than 102,000 bottles of Heritage Store Hydrogen Peroxide mouthwash for posing a potential poisoning risk.
Why it matters: A lack of child-resistant packaging on the mouthwash that contains ethanol is a hazard if swallowed by young children, according to the recall notice.
WeightWatchers' stock plunged Thursday after longtime celebrity booster Oprah Winfrey announced she's leaving the board and giving away her stock in the company.
Why it matters: Winfrey's decision to join WeightWatchers and the company's board in 2015 improved investor confidence in its fortunes for a time.
Progress on many key health care quality measures was reversed during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new comprehensive federal review.
Why it matters: The report identified a "significant worsening" of patient safety measures and "persistent" health equity gaps for historically disadvantaged patients as COVID-19 overwhelmed the health care system.
Proposed "personhood" laws getting a closer look after Alabama's IVF ruling could vastly complicate reproductive care in some states that require insurance coverage of fertility treatments and drugs, by setting up potentially clashing mandates on what to do with frozen embryos.
Why it matters: Barring the disposal of unused IVF embryos —one possible outcome of such measures — could drive up costs for health plans and employers and force providers to find workarounds like shipping unused embryos out of state or limiting the numberof embryos produced per cycle.
States struggling to house recently arrived immigrants may have a new way to get financial help from the federal government: through Medicaid.
Why it matters: TheBiden administration's push for Medicaid to cover housing and other social needs comes as blue cities and states overwhelmed by the number of immigrants arriving from the border have been demanding more federal support to provide them shelter and care.
