Serena Williams’ Surgery; Moderna Sued Over COVID Vax; Brighter Nights and Mortality

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Retired tennis star Serena Williams said she underwent a procedure to remove a benign branchial cyst “the size of a small grapefruit” from her neck. (AP)

Time to panic over bird flu? Experts are divided. (STAT)

A San Diego neurosurgeon is one of four people accused of perpetrating a $100 million workers’ compensation fraud scheme. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Walgreens said it will close 1,200 stores in the wake of tougher competition and lower reimbursement for prescriptions. (NPR)

The Agriculture Department has begun an internal investigation into its handling of the listeria outbreak associated with Boar’s Head deli meats. (AP)

Israel’s attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon have seriously disrupted access to healthcare in that country, the WHO says.

Health officials in Brazil are trying to figure out how six transplant patients there received HIV-infected organs. (Washington Post)

GSK sued Moderna in federal court for patent infringement related to GSK’s COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines. (Reuters)

Much more work needs to be done to help people quit smoking, according to researchers from the FDA and NIH.

In other FDA news, the agency approved the tumor-treating fields device Optune Lua for previously treated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, maker Novocure announced.

What’s the “healthiest” Halloween candy? USA Today has the answer.

Yes, it did taste a little too good: Coca-Cola recalled thousands of cans of “zero sugar” lemonade in September because they contained — sugar. (The Hill)

Long-acting birth control is coming to rural areas courtesy of mobile health clinics. (KFF Health News)

The Biden Administration is using the Defense Production Act to speed rebuilding of a Baxter IV fluid manufacturing plant in North Carolina that was damaged by Hurricane Helene. (CBS News)

Nearly 2 million children — most of them in Africa — may die of malnutrition because the supply of ready-to-use therapeutic food is running out, according to UNICEF. (New York Times)

A “digital twin” of the heart improves the precision of cardiac surgery, and the technology may revolutionize healthcare. (Washington Post)

People exposed to brighter nights and darker days had a higher risk of premature mortality, a study found. (PNAS)

Is social media causing more children to become depressed and anxious? (Wall Street Journal)

Meanwhile, firstborn and only children are more likely to have anxiety or depression, data from Epic suggested.

Seniors — especially those belonging to racial and ethnic minorities — hospitalized with sepsis in severely stressed hospitals were more likely to experience adverse outcomes as the hospitals’ COVID-19 burden increased, a study found. (JAMA Network Open)

Abortion access in several states could be decided by several state supreme court races. (The 19th)

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