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The American Academy of Pediatrics released its own immunization schedule for viruses including influenza, RSV, and Covid-19 this morning. The AAP recommends the covid shot for all children 6 months to almost 2 years of age, as well as older kids who are at higher risk for severe disease. This diverts from the FDA’s vaccine framework, which limits access to Covid vaccines to people 65 and older, plus others who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill if they are infected. “The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunizations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children and adolescents,” AAP President Susan J. Kressly said in a statement. It’s unclear what will happen now, as the AAP has been in sync with the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for decades. Read more from STAT’s Anil Oza on what’s ahead. Medical devicesA brain implant to translate inner monologueBrain implant companies like Neuralank have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to give people with paralysis the ability to speak through a computer. A new study shows progress on a related but distinct problem: translating inner speech, or a person’s inner monologue as they think about what to say. As STAT’s Rose Broderick reports, unlike “attempted speech,” inner speech doesn’t activate the muscles involved in talking, so figuring out how to decode it could have advantages for people with movement disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In a proof-of-concept study, four participants a computer semi-reliably decoded inner speech in real time, achieving up to 74% accuracy, from a 125,000-word vocabulary. |
| Abortion pill fight reaches pharmacy CEOs |
| By Maya Goldman |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | ||||
| A year after the Supreme Court preserved abortion pill access, the fight over dispensing mifepristone is shifting from courtrooms to boardrooms as anti-abortion forces press pharmacy chains not to sell the drugs.
The big picture: Costco last week said it won’t stock mifepristone at its more than 500 pharmacies. Conservative groups are pushing other pharmacies — including Walgreens and CVS, which offer the pills in states where abortion is legal — to follow suit.
Between the lines: Pharmacy chains were destined to be involved after the FDA in 2023 allowed retailers to apply for certification to dispense mifepristone, which is part of a two-step protocol used to medically end a pregnancy through 10 weeks.
State of play: Costco says it won’t pursue approval to dispense mifepristone because demand for the drug is low. The company’s understanding is that patients generally get the drug directly from their medical providers, it said in an email. But the decision, which reportedly came after more than a year of deliberations, is one anti-abortion groups have been pushing for. It extends beyond Costco’s membership, since nonmembers can fill prescriptions at its drug counters. Read more
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | ||||
| The Trump administration is undermining or has stopped collecting key nonpartisan data that kept the public informed about the state of the nation and its health.
Why it matters: From Congress to city halls to boardrooms, critical decisions rely on accurate government data and public trust in that data. Without it, leaders risk making costly mistakes that could affect millions of people. Health data of all kinds is evaporating, either as a result of government orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion or due to staffing cuts, the Washington Post reports.
The bottom line: While some states and private organizations are stepping in to fill gaps left by federal agencies, the loss of government numbers and the erosion of public trust in those numbers could have lasting consequences. Go deeper from Endpoint News:
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