Nationwide Beef Recall; 23% of U.S. Adults Underinsured; Deaths From Tainted Booze

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A nationwide recall involving 160,000 pounds of ground beef was announced after 15 people were sickened by E. coli. (Newsweek)

Meanwhile, federal officials declared an end to the deadly listeria outbreak tied to Boar’s Head meat. (AP)

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs may lead to higher generic drug prices, experts warn. (NBC News)

Despite overlapping views on food reform, author and advocate Michael Pollan told Politico he is not endorsing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS.

FDA’s top vaccine official Peter Marks, MD, PhD, said he expects more scrutiny over vaccine development and safety in the next Trump administration. Here’s what Kennedy can and can’t do with vaccines if confirmed. (Reuters, The Hill)

In other transition news, Project 2025 author and anti-abortion stalwart Roger Severino was reportedly rejected for a position as deputy secretary at HHS. (Politico)

Meanwhile, a resurfaced interview from 2016 revealed that Kennedy compared Trump to Hitler. (Politico)

A little over a third of U.S. adults have received a flu shot this season while only 18% have received a COVID shot, data in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) showed. Among nursing home residents, these numbers were 58% and 30%.

A history of endometriosis and uterine fibroids may be linked with an increased risk of early death, primarily due to gynecological cancers. (The BMJ)

Are less-potent fentanyl pills a factor in the decline in overdose deaths? That’s what the Drug Enforcement Administration just suggested. (CNN)

Meanwhile, addiction experts worry Trump’s plan to address the fentanyl crisis could do more harm than good. (NPR)

A full 23% of working-age U.S. adults are underinsured and 9% are uninsured, according to a Commonwealth Fund report.

Longstanding racial and geographic health disparities in the U.S. have increased over the last two decades, with the life expectancy gap widening to 20 years, a study in The Lancet found.

During court testimony over Idaho’s abortion ban, a doctor described how a woman with dangerous bleeding had to visit four emergency departments in 1 week before being admitted. (ABC News)

In Georgia, people with disabilities continue to be institutionalized. (KFF Health News)

The FDA authorized a long-delayed clinical trial to test if marijuana can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. (The Hill)

And FDA announced a pilot program aimed at accelerating alerts on high-risk medical device removals or corrections.

The agency also broadcast Endo’s expanding voluntary recall of clonazepam over potential strength mislabeling.

Although rates of firearm injury-related emergency department visit in the U.S. decreased from 2021 to 2023, they remained higher than before the pandemic. (MMWR)

Six tourists, including two Australian teens, have died in Laos after drinking tainted alcohol. (AP)

The U.K. plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes starting next summer. (STAT)

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