Remember vaping?

In the Before Times, the health risks of vaping were big news. Then came the pandemic, and we had bigger problems. But vaping is over, right? HA! In fact, vaping injuries are climbing as people turn to drugs to help cope with pandemic stress. … and — fun fact! — vaping lung injuries share eight of 10 symptoms with Covid-19. Thanks, 2020.

Brownie points

Before you use your Eastman Kodak stock certificates to start the grill*, wait just a moment**. Guess who just got a $765 million loan under the Defense Production Act to start producing ingredients for generic drugs? Yep, Kodak.

You can’t argue that the company knows chemicals, so now it’s going to make both “starter materials” and active pharmaceutical ingredients — eventually hoping for that to account for 30 to 40 percent of its business… at least until hipsters discover Tri-X. (The idea, of course, is to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese ingredients.)

* If you use a gas grill you’re not grilling, you’re just cooking outside.
** I didn’t make the obvious “Kodak moment” joke. You’re welcome.

Two pieces of good Alzheimer’s news

First, the big one (well, hopefully): A new, cheap blood test “very, very accurately predicts who’s got Alzheimer’s disease in their brain, including people who seem to be normal.”

Important notes, though:

• It specifically differentiates Alzheimer’s from other forms of dementia.
• It isn’t a test for “Are you at risk?” It’s a test for “Do you have Alzheimer’s?”
• There still is no cure or treatment. So … would you want to know? Because it can identify Alzheimer’s “20 years before memory and thinking problems were expected.”

Second, two separate studies found that A) the flu vaccine and B) pneumococcal vaccine both appear to reduce Alzheimer’s risk.

The researchers found having one flu vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence. Those who were vaccinated more than once over the years saw an additional 13% reduction in incidence.

Do you want triffids? This is how you get triffids

If you happen to get an unlabeled packet of seeds from China (as some Georgians already have), don’t plant them. No one knows what they are or why people are getting them.

Did you hear us the first time?

“FDA Reiterates Warning About Dangerous Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers.” When you have a moment, check out the updated list on the FDA’s site. (Pro tip: Use the search box or you’ll be clicking forever.)

Today’s CoviD-19 updates

“What’s up with all those vaccines?” you ask. In the movies, it takes Our Hero 20 minutes to make one! UPI has your reality check with “Quest for COVID-19 vaccines: Where they stand“.

Meanwhile, Georgia added 4,293 cases and 54 deaths in one day. The state is in the “red zone” for another week (along with 20 others) because it reported more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people.

The Long Read: Remember drug overdoses?

In the Long Long Ago, drug overdoses in the U.S. were skyrocketing. Then they started to fall as we fought the opioid crisis, with a big dip in 2018. But no longer — 2019 had a five percent jump in OD deaths over 2018, and 2020 is on track to be 13 percent higher than that.

The recent deaths aren’t as much from prescription opioids — a large portion are from meth, cocaine, and fentanyl.

Side note — don’t forget to the naloxone: As part of its updated opioid labeling requirements, the FDA recommends that talking about naloxone with patients or caregivers be “a routine part of prescribing these medicines.” And, we assume, a part of dispensing them.