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Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to the ICU at the University of California Irvine Medical Center for a urinary tract infection that developed into sepsis, but is reportedly “on the mend.” (CNN)
Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner in 2016-2017 under President Obama, is President Biden’s top choice to lead the agency, according to sources close to the decision. (Washington Post)
The FDA said an advisory committee will convene on November 30 to discuss Merck and Ridgeback’s emergency use authorization request for molnupiravir, the companies’ antiviral pill for COVID-19.
As of 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 44,770,331 cases and 721,573 deaths, increases of 85,993 and 2,027, respectively, from the same time yesterday.
HHS pledged $100 million for state loan repayment programs as an effort to bolster the healthcare workforce in underserved areas.
Recalls on two of Abbott’s Alinity COVID-19 laboratory test kits were labeled Class I due to possible false positive results, the FDA announced.
And Lupin Pharmaceuticals issued a nationwide recall on all its irbesartan and irbesartan/hydrochlorothiazide tablets due to N-nitrosoirbesartan contamination, the FDA said.
Finally, Magellan Diagnostics’ recall on certain LeadCare blood lead tests was also designated as Class I by the FDA due to the risk of falsely low results.
In other agency news, the FDA doled out 11 new clinical trial research grants totaling over $25 million in funding to support clinical studies on rare diseases, many of which involve children.
While the Justice Department said $7 million in grant funding will go toward a new program to promote mental health among law enforcement workers.
Meanwhile, the president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police is telling union members to resist the city’s vaccine mandate. (Chicago Sun Times)
The U.S. Navy is the latest employer to adopt a get-vaccinated-or-be-fired policy. (Fox News)
Johnson & Johnson on Thursday transferred it’s slew of legal claims against its talc products into a newly created subsidiary, which officially filed for bankruptcy. (Reuters)
A second case of Ebola was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday. (Reuters)
The World Health Organization cited disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for a jump in tuberculosis deaths, the first such increase in over a decade. (Wall Street Journal)
Some insurance plans are now requiring initial telehealth visits for non-emergency primary care. (Kaiser Health News)
In Oklahoma, reproductive rights supporters filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court to pause three pending anti-abortion laws. (AP)
Northwestern Medicine was slapped with a proposed class action lawsuit for failing to protect sensitive patient data from a breach. (Bloomberg Law)
Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold, who was banned from Alaska Airlines for refusing to wear a mask, announced on Facebook that she’s medicating with a “recipe” of discouraged treatments after testing positive for COVID-19. (New York Post)
No, monoclonal antibody infusions can’t replace vaccines. (ABC News)
The U.S. will donate 17 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Kenya, and another 3.6 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to Nigeria. (Reuters)
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
