First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Approved by FDA
On July 13, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first ever non-prescription birth control pill. The progestin-only oral contraceptive known as Opill (norgestrel) is expected to be available in pharmacies, supermarkets, and convenience stores by early 2024. Opill claims a 93 percent efficacy rate in pregnancy prevention.1 Norgestrel Originally Approved in […]
Novel mRNA Lyme Shots Could Be Released in 2025
Two novel messenger RNA (mRNA) shots for Lyme disease currently in late-stage clinical trials could hit the market as early as 2025, Moderna announced earlier this year. Also in the race to develop the first-ever mRNA product to prevent Lyme disease are Pfizer and Austria-based Valneva, which entered into a collaborative agreement in April 2020 […]
Annual COVID Shot. Is it Inevitable?
In a recent interview, the newly appointed director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that the agency may soon come out with a recommendation for Americans to be vaccinated for COVID-19 every year.1 2 Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, who was sworn in as the 20th CDC director on July 10, […]
Basketball Player Dies of Heart Attack After Two Pfizer COVID Shots
Óscar Cabrera Adames, a 28-year-old professional basketball player from the Dominican Republic, suffered a heart attack and died while performing a stress test at a health center. A stress test measures the electrical activity of the heart during physical activity. It has not yet been conclusively determined whether undergoing the stress test is what led […]
“Long COVID Vaccination” Syndrome and “Long COVID” Illness are Similar
Researchers have been working for several years on understanding why some individuals suffer a pattern of persistent health problems after being infected with SARS-CoV-21 2 or after COVID vaccination.3 4 5 Both long COVID syndrome and long post-COVID vaccination syndrome (LPVCS) are associated with similar debilitating symptoms that affect immune and brain function.6 Although U.S. […]
Ozempic Weight Loss Drug Linked to Increased Risk of Thyroid Cancers
New weight loss drug Ozempic has taken the world’s obesity epidemic by storm, but like most weight loss drugs that precede it over the past century, shedding extra pounds may not be the only outcome for consumers: Last month, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), a European Union (E.U.) agency that oversees and evaluates pharmaceutical medications, […]