COVID Contrarians Rise; Philly Residents Want Union; What Happens After IVF Mix-Up?

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Skepticism and rage about the COVID-19 pandemic may be a theme uniting President-elect Donald Trump’s top picks to lead the nation’s healthcare system, an article in the Atlantic suggested.

Trump is considering Jim O’Neill, an associate of billionaire investor and early Trump backer Peter Thiel, for the position of HHS deputy secretary. (Politico)

Meanwhile, Trump’s plans to reinstate travel bans have made scientists deeply concerned. (STAT)

Liberal die-hards and conservative moms are finding a political home in the Make America Health Again (MAHA)-verse. (STAT)

Thousands of resident physicians across five major hospital systems in Philadelphia rallied, saying they want to unionize. (WHYY)

Amgen announced positive data from its phase II study of investigational maridebart cafraglutide (MariTide), with findings suggesting about 20% weight loss at 52 weeks.

In 2023, 140 women and girls died every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative, a United Nations report showed.

In response to a New York City stabbing spree last week that left three people dead, Mayor Eric Adams renewed his push for state legislation that would clarify and expand criteria for individuals to be hospitalized for psychiatric care against their will. (Gothamist)

Texas public health officials announced the state’s first locally acquired case of dengue this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a federal requirement that cigarette packaging and advertising include graphic images depicting the effects of smoking. (AP)

Thousands of people have been turning to semaglutide (Wegovy) copies each month as the FDA weighs the drug’s shortage status. (Reuters)

West Virginia ended its subsidy program for GLP-1 drugs. (CBS News)

A pair of rival hospitals in Indiana walked back their merger application, shortly before the state was expected to rule on the deal amid growing backlash against medical monopolies. (KFF Health News)

This is why hospitals are treating patients at their homes. (Washington Post)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency determined that a lab error incorrectly caused an October recall of Church Brothers Farms’ Green Onions; the recall was rescinded.

A shocking discovery and difficult decisions followed an in vitro fertilization mix-up. (New York Times)

The phase III ZENITH study of sotatercept-csrk (Winrevair) in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension functional class III or IV at high risk of mortality had positive topline results, drugmaker Merck reported.

Cassava Sciences said a phase III of investigational simufilam for Alzheimer’s disease missed its primary endpoints and pulled the plug on a second phase III study of the drug.

Long COVID patients and researchers want to see federal research refocused on treatments. (NPR)

A Missouri judge upheld a state law banning some gender-affirming care for minors. (ABC News)

Amid stringent abortion laws, Texas ob/gyns have been fleeing the state. (New Yorker)

High-intensity drinking, which is on the rise in middle-aged drinkers, is reportedly more dangerous. (New York Times)

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