Pill for COVID Works, Says Merck; 2M School Kids Vaping; Sexual Abuse at WHO

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Merck said its investigational oral drug for COVID-19, molnupiravir, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in a phase III trial of outpatients with mild to moderate disease.

An estimated 2 million middle school and high school students used e-cigarettes in 2021, with 85% using flavored options, according to an FDA/CDC study.

A Michigan nurse was arrested and charged with making fraudulent COVID vaccine cards, with the Department of Justice saying she stole authentic cards from a VA hospital and vaccine lot numbers to make the cards look legitimate.

Fully vaccinated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing, and is asymptomatic, the high court announced.

As of 8 a.m. EDT today, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 43,461,551 cases and 697,868 deaths, increases of 110,561 and 2,745, respectively, from the same time yesterday.

Even in Maine, where most of the population is vaccinated, pockets of unvaccinated residents continue to be hospitalized. (Wall Street Journal)

The top three reasons prompting COVID vaccine holdouts to finally get the shot included fears over the Delta variant, local hospitals filling up, and knowing someone who became seriously ill or died from COVID, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found.

With flu season upon us, a study from the University of Bristol in England declared it's A-okay to give the COVID-19 vaccine and flu shot at the same time.

In D.C. news, the House Intelligence Committee voted to create an office for medical intelligence, with the aim of getting earlier warnings on outbreaks and potential pandemics. (NBC News)

And a House Judiciary Committee gave the green light to another bill to curb drug prices, with a measure included that would streamline biosimilars' entry to market. (Reuters)

Four pharmacy chains -- Walgreens/Boots, CVS, Walmart, and Giant Eagle -- are set to face their first trial over their alleged role in the opioid epidemic. (Reuters)

A lawsuit says a ransomware attack at an Alabama hospital led to an infant's death after fetal heartbeat monitors that would have alerted staff of an entangled umbilical cord were affected by the attack for multiple days; the baby was born with brain damage and died 9 months later. (Wall Street Journal)

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals won an appeal in an ongoing court battle with the FDA over the approval of a rival company's drug for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome that used the same active ingredient as Catalyst's, all while the company had orphan drug exclusivity. (Endpoints News)

With FDA's focus elsewhere during the pandemic, clinics that were pushing unproven stem cell treatments for a slew of conditions thrived. (AP)

A 36 year-old man details how deep brain stimulation has kept him off benzodiazepines. (NBC News)

Following last month's law banning abortions after 6 weeks, abortion clinics in Texas are crumbling one by one. (Reuters)

"Harrowing" reports of sexual abuse are coming to light from World Health Organization workers placed in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the country's 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak. (NPR)

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