RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Asks FDA to Pull Polio Vaccine; Pollution-VTE Link; H5N1 in Cats

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The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick health officials to serve in the upcoming Trump administration has petitioned the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. (New York Times)

In other Trump administration news, Ed Martin, an activist who raised the idea of jailing women for abortions, has been selected as chief of staff at the Office of Management and Budget. (CNN)

Drugmakers last year raised prices on five widely used medications without any clinical evidence to justify the increases, resulting in an additional $815 million in U.S. spending, according to an Institute for Clinical and Economic Review report.

The number of U.S. children receiving flu shots is falling, with just over a third getting flu shots through the end of November. (NBC News)

“Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.” A woman in Florida was arrested after police said she ended a phone call to her insurance provider with threats echoing those of the person who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (ABC News)

Meanwhile, the man charged with killing Thompson was not a client of the insurer, police said. (AP)

The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked a state law prohibiting transition-related healthcare for minors. (NBC News)

Long-term exposure to air pollution was associated with a higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), researchers reported in Blood.

Using one inhalation CT scan, a deep learning model was able to accurately stage and diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that governments are deprioritizing health spending.

WHO also announced that global drowning deaths are on the decline.

Over 230,000 bottles of the antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta) have been recalled due to the presence of a potential carcinogen. (USA Today)

The FDA expanded the indication for Impella heart pumps to include pediatric patients with symptomatic acute decompensated heart failure and cardiogenic shock, Johnson & Johnson said.

Senate Chaplain Barry Black was hospitalized after suffering a brain bleed. (AP)

Raw milk has been linked to at least 10 illnesses in California since a recall brought on by the detection of H5N1 virus, but none of the illnesses have been identified as bird flu. (CNN)

Could cats end up spreading bird flu? (New York Times)

Beware of the brown snow, officials warned residents of a town in Maine. (AccuWeather)

Maryland’s health secretary told state lawmakers she was misled about about complaints of patient abuse and violence at a high-security hospital. (Maryland Matters)

A pilot program covering obesity drugs for government employees in West Virginia, the state with the highest obesity rate, has come to an end. (The Atlantic)

More than half of the cases in Puerto Rico’s current dengue outbreak have required hospital care. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)

A report documented rampant fraud and abuse at a New Jersey nursing home. (New York Times)