Congrats to Sharron Sherrer!

GPhA’s 2007–08 president was the recipient of the 2019 National Preceptor of the Year award from the NCPA Foundation! Here she is, accepting it at the NCPA convention in San Diego (while husband John, GPhA’s 1988–89 president, captures the moment from the front row):

And congrats to UGA!

Its team took second place in the NCPA Student Business Plan Competition at the NCPA convention for its proposal for a new kind of independent pharmacy that would offer patients diabetes education classes, nutrition consulting, and fitness classes — in addition to the typical pharmacy services.

High-five to third-year student pharmacists Lauren Brewer, Garrett Faucette, Courtney Gibson, and Makayla Winters!

Vaping deaths: Culprit found, but not a much can be done

The cause of the Mysterious Vaping Illness has (likely) been found: It’s black market THC oils, possibly when diluted with vitamin E oil. But that puts federal health agencies in a bind.

THC (other than in very small quantities) is still illegal on the federal level, even though it’s been legalized or decriminalized in most states*. That means federal regulators can’t regulate these vaping cartridges, nor does the FDA have the power to test and approve/deny products.

As the Washington Post put it: ‘[W]hile THC remains illegal under federal law, the door is closed to federal agencies who might otherwise be able to evaluate how these compounds are manufactured and marketed.”

* Not including Georgia, where it’s only legal in narrow cases for certain medical conditions. But you knew that.

Consumption junction?

A new tuberculosis vaccine, even though it’s only 50 percent effective, could save millions of lives. The current vaccine, BCG, is 98 years old and is only used in infants. The new vaccine could treat adults with latent TB as well. But, as always, there is much more testing to be done.

Alprazolam recall

Mylan has recalled its version of alprazolam tablets: USP C-IV, 0.5 mg in 500-count bottles, lot No. 8082708, with a September 2020 expiration date. The more you know.

Walgreens to close some clinics

It’s closing about 40 percent of its small, in-store clinics in favor of either 1) the ones it runs with local healthcare providers, B) larger primary-care centers, and iii) some Jenny Craig weight loss centers.

Reinventing the wheel … of death

Some scientists, who apparently have never heard of bacteriophages (to target antibiotic-resistant bacteria), are instead looking at using CRISPR to edit the genes of plasmids to attack particular germs. They’re calling it the ‘next antibiotic.’ Editing genes to create killer viruses to attack bacteria*— what could go wrong?

* Phages already do that, and they occur naturally. The trick is finding the phage that attacks a particular bacteria. The U.S. Navy is already working on that.

Pull the other one…

Facebook is launching a new ‘preventive-health tool,’ and it pinkie-promises that this time your personal information won’t be shared with the entire world. For reals. It’s got the best privacy tools. Everyone talks about how great its privacy tools are. Honest.