AJMC Staff

CDC warns against EzriCare Artificial Tears, which were recalled by the manufacturer; certain weight loss drugs not covered by most payers; Mississippi's Republican governor denies being privately in support of Medicaid expansion.

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Merck & Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. report sales loss for COVID-19 treatments; Republican state attorneys general tell CVS and Walgreens that mailing mifepristone might break the law; exposure to air pollution over time is associated with a rise in incidence of depression and anxiety.

Pharmaceutical companies will not refund prepayments made by global organization Gavi for COVID-19 vaccines it no longer needs; following the countrywide baby formula shortage of 2022, the FDA looks to consolidate food division leadership; a province in Canada starts a 3-year drug decriminalization program to try to reduce drug overdose deaths.

The government is allowing Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to delay returning hundreds of millions of dollars or more in government overpayments; a proposed new extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) might make birth control coverage more accessible for certain private insurance plans; a study found that students lost around 33% of their school year because of the pandemic’s educational barriers and are struggling to regain that lost time.

A new study estimated Medicare drug price negotiation savings; food benefits provided under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will return to prepandemic amounts; pharmacies reduce hours to cope with staffing shortages, improve work-life balance.

The newest treatment option for endometriosis has benefits over the previous ones available, but there remains a need for a fertility-friendly option, said Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medicine.

The FDA is relaxing some time-based deferrals for donating blood; new guidance aims to streamline the COVID-19 vaccination process; Congress has been called on to solidify cannabidiol (CBD) regulations.

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Affordable Care Act health care sign-ups are breaking records; updated COVID-19 boosters are proving successful against new variants; GenBioPro, which manufactures mifepristone, has filed suit regarding the constitutionality of a state abortion drug ban.

After 3 years of continuous enrollment due to the pandemic, those on Medicaid will need to sign up again for coverage in April; fears about heavy metal levels in baby food prompt FDA to decrease lead exposure; long COVID is keeping large numbers of people out of work or needing medical care after returning.

Eli Lilly will tack on $450 million more to increase capacity in a diabetes drug plant in light of shortages; patients emailing and messaging medical providers online might be charged; 57% of adults in a recent survey think that the federal government should secure health care coverage for all Americans.

States in which recreational cannabis is legal see declining codeine prescriptions; the FDA plans to simplify the use of COVID-19 vaccines; state-wide abortion debates ramp up as Congress deadlocks

Despite a recent influx of new treatments, it is crucial to remind patients there is no cure for atopic dermatitis and follow-up care is important, explained Jerry Bagel, MD, director of the Eczema Treatment Center of New Jersey.

As the country hits the debt limit spending on Medicare and Medicaid may be at risk; the Agriculture Department targets fraudulent claims in products labeled as organic; first cases of drug-resistant gonorrhea strain found.

According to Eli Lilly's statement, the investigational drug worked quickly, so too few patients in the phase 2 study took it for a full year.

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Johnson & Johnson (J&J) ends late-stage HIV vaccine trial; mothers in states with abortion bans are almost 3 times more likely to die before, during, and after birth; Sanofi hopes to release a drug for hemophilia A in 2023.

CMS released accountable care organization (ACO) 2023 data; Chinese Lunar New Year travel threatens a COVID-19 toll in China; nursing homes to be audited for inappropriate antipsychotic drug usage.

The reality of a sickle cell disease cure brings fear, optimism, and questions to patients’ lives; veterans who are in suicidal crisis can receive free emergency care at any Department of Veterans Affairs or private facility; Pfizer to increase access to progressive treatments through sale of drugs at non-profit prices to poor countries.

Medical residents join unions for better pay and working conditions; the World Health Organization (WHO) appeals to China on COVID-19 information; health workers protest in Madrid, Spain.

Endometriosis is a very common disease across ethnic groups and the economic burden can be substantial for women, said Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Greater availability of naloxone spray, including over the counter, may reduce opioid overdoses; vaccination rates drop once again for US children; some experts question the necessity of the updated COVID-19 booster shot.

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Nurses in New York City reach agreement and end strike; hospitals benefiting from volunteer staff may be breaking labor laws; most lingering COVID symptoms will heal on its own, study finds.

Expanded health coverage sees an increase in enrollments; Antiabortion activists protest against CVS and Walgreens; $26,500 Alzheimer’s drug limits affordability

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dominated 2020. This is a look back at how the pandemic evolved and progressed through the year, which closed with the arrival of vaccines, but also continued challenges.

Ublituximab-xiiy, developed by TG Therapeutics, will be sold under the name Briumvi.

President Joe Biden expected to renew COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) one more time; Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer are denied by the Supreme Court; funding for the 988 mental health helpline expands inclusivity efforts.

Pediatricians push for early action against childhood obesity, including prescription weight-loss medications and bariatric surgery; 7000 nurses go on strike in New York City; a new SARS-CoV-2 variant is more contagious but not necessarily more dangerous.