Man Gets 217 COVID Shots; ‘Parrot Fever’ Deaths; Biden Graded on Health Issues
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No needle phobia here: a 62-year-old German man reportedly received 217 COVID-19 vaccinations over 29 months “deliberately and for private reasons,” researchers said. (Lancet Infectious Diseases)
An FDA advisory panel recommended a three-strain flu vaccine for the fall, saying the Yamagata strain should be dropped now that the virus has vanished. (CNN)
Nothing to see here? Florida health officials are providing few details about the state’s growing number of measles cases. (STAT)
A month after a cyberattack, most systems at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago are now back online. (Chicago Tribune)
Pope Francis appeared unable to climb the few steps into his popemobile on Wednesday amid lingering respiratory and mobility issues. (AP via ABC News)
Doctors are charging patients for paperwork more often — some are hoping artificial intelligence can help. (Fox Business)
An outbreak of psittacosis, a bacterial infection also known as “parrot fever,” has killed five people and sickened many others in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. (CNN)
Meanwhile, a WHO report warns of growing resistance to dolutegravir, a cornerstone of HIV regimens.
The FDA approved clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension 0.05% (APP13007) for post-operative inflammation and pain following ocular surgery, drugmakers Formosa Pharmaceuticals and AimMax Therapeutics announced.
And the agency approved the hyaluronic acid dermal filler (Juvéderm Voluma XC) for moderate to severe temple hollows in adults over 21, said maker Allergan Aesthetics.
A 3-day-old baby born with giant omphalocele survived a 3½-hour procedure to get her affected organs back inside her body. (People)
Digital tools to treat chronic pain show promise, but need improvement, says Benjamin Lipp of the Technical University of Denmark. (Nature)
Has President Biden succeeded or failed on healthcare issues such as drug prices, abortion, COVID-19, and overdoses? Politico weighs in.
Meanwhile, Biden says U.S. patients pay double the price for many drugs compared to patients in other industrialized countries. Is he right? (KFF Health News)
Former raw milk cheese manufacturer Johannes Vulto, of New York, pled guilty to manufacturing cheese linked to a 2016-2017 Listeria outbreak, the Justice Department announced.
In other legal news, Barry Cadden, co-founder of the New England Compounding Center, pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter in a case involving people who died of meningitis after receiving injections of mold-tainted steroids. (AP)
How should states spend their opioid settlement money? An addiction medicine physician has devised a mathematical model to help them decide. (NPR)
Smoking is making a comeback — at the Oscars. (USA Today)
Global health donors pledged $600 million toward the goal of eliminating cervical cancer. (Reuters)
Smith Medical is recalling its Model 3500 syringe pump used for precise control of infusion rates, the FDA said; the correction (not a product removal) is due to issues with earlier versions of its software.
