Category: Health News

Big Pharma Paid $24 Million to 1 Percent of US Oncologists, Many in High-Profile Positions: Study

One percent of U.S. cancer doctors, many with leadership roles in hospitals, academia, national health institutes, and guideline-making, received over $24 million in payments from cancer pharmaceutical companies in 2018, according to a new study by Queen’s University in Canada. The study found that 139 oncologists—representing 1 percent of all American cancer doctors—were given over $100,000…


Fixed Packaging of Alzheimer’s Drug May Waste $605 Million a Year for Medicare, Experts Warn

Medicare could potentially waste up to $605 million annually from the packaging of controversial Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab if it is approved for widespread use, according to a University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) study. “Given Medicare’s premium increase in 2022 partly due to aducanumab, greater focus on efficient vial packaging could improve the value of…


North Carolina Physicians Criticize Study Backing Vaccinations for Children

A group of North Carolina physicians is criticizing the study used to back the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to grant emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines for 6-month to 4-year-old children. “It was a weak and underpowered study that in no way proved the efficacy nor safety given the fact that two-thirds…


FDA Warns Against Use of Neck Floats After Death of Baby

Baby neck floats are under fire again after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against their use in water therapies following the death of one baby and hospitalization of another in unsupervised usage. “Do not use baby neck floats for water therapy intervention,” the FDA wrote in a media statement released on June 28….


Cannabis Legalization and COVID-19 Lockdowns Increased Cannabis Use: UN Report

The legalization of cannabis and the COVID-19 lockdowns are likely to have contributed to increased cannabis use, according to a United Nations report. “Cannabis legalization appears to have accelerated the upwards trends in reported daily use of the drug,” said the UN’s World Drug Report for 2022 (pdf), released on June 27. Places that legalized…


CDC Updates Flu Vax Efficacy: Negligible Immunity Increases to Moderate 35 Percent Efficacy

Estimation of the influenza vaccine’s efficacy has increased from negligible to moderate, improving to 35 percent in vaccine efficacy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 22. The CDC announcement backtracked on its previous interim estimates in March for 2021 to 2022 seasonal influenza found that the vaccine did not offer…


Authors Correct Study That Inflated Child COVID-19 Deaths After CDC Officials Promoted It

A study that inflated the number of COVID-19 deaths among children has been corrected after being promoted by top officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The paper falsely stated that at least 1,433 deaths primarily attributed to COVID-19 had occurred among those 19 and younger in the United States, but…


Digital Health Startups Lack Clinical Credibility, Half Not Reliable

A study on American-based digital health start-ups has found that nearly half—44 percent—of digital health startups lack credibility clinically, with a general lack of robustness in clinical findings. “Many venture-backed startups in digital health have limited clinical robustness (reliability),” the authors wrote in the study. The authors examined 224 startups that have received at least…


Researchers Develop a Cheaper and Less Invasive Alternative to IVF Treatments

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have developed a cheaper and less invasive alternative to traditional fertility treatments that is now available at Sydney’s Royal Hospital for women. In vitro fertilisation or IVF has been the established treatment for infertility for a long time. However, this method is expensive, and to stimulate egg growth…


FDA Wants COVID-19 Boosters Targeting Omicron BA.4, BA.5 Subvariants

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday recommended COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change the design of their booster shots beginning this fall to include components tailored to combat the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the coronavirus. If authorized, the changes would mark the first major retooling of COVID-19 vaccines, but also could…