All-weather TB vaccine

In a major breakthrough for health around the world, we may finally have an effective and temperature-stable tuberculosis vaccine. It’s only passed its phase 1 trial, but the freeze-dried vaccine “stimulated both antibodies and responses from the cellular arm of the immune system.” It only needs to be mixed with sterile water before injection.

The good news: This is a freeze-dried version of a vaccine that was already tested, so there’s a good chance it’ll pass it’s phase 2/3 studies.

Meanwhile, in Washington State….

After more than a year of back-and-forth with state health officials (16 separate court visits), a woman who has violated multiple court orders to isolate and treat her tuberculosis is being arrested, “and officials plan to treat her at a nearby detention facility.”

What’s really in the mail

Pharma industry claim: We need to spend millions to search incoming mail for prescription medication because it could contain fentanyl.

Reality: “only a tiny fraction of the drugs inspected contained opioids.”

The FDA said it found 33 packages of opioids and no fentanyl sent by mail in 2022 out of nearly 53,000 drug shipments its inspectors examined at international mail facilities. That’s about 0.06% of examined packages.

What’s actually intercepted? Viagra and other prescription meds that are too expensive in the US.

Ozempic follies continue

Some pharmacies, it seems, are no longer stocking Ozempic — not because it’s in shortage, but because PBMs aren’t reimbursing them enough. And by “enough” we mean they aren’t paid enough to cover the wholesale cost.

The average wholesale price of Ozempic that pharmacies pay is about $900 for a 30-day supply, he said. But [pharmacy owner Nate] Hux said for each prescription, he was typically reimbursed just $860.

The Long Read: Will physicians prescribe buprenorphine?

The roadblocks to prescribing buprenorphine — the “X-waiver requirement” for treating opioid abuse — have been removed. But now comes the real test.

Was the X-waiver and the burdens that came with it the real reason only about 7% of clinicians in the U.S. were cleared to prescribe buprenorphine? Or was it an excuse that masked hesitation about treating addiction, if not outright disdain for these patients?

Required DST story

By rule, at this time of year every news and health organization is required to run a story about the benefits and drawbacks of switching between standard time and daylight saving* time.

Ours: a neurologist explains why the shift is bad, and why standard time is better for us than DST. (Spoiler: It’s because standard time puts the sun in the right place in the sky.)

^* Did you know that it’s officially singular — daylight saving time? Me either. It should probably take a hyphen, too: daylight-saving time.

Short Takes

Another reminder to quit

Today is No Smoking Day, and the folks at Alzheimer’s Research UK would like to remind people that, among all the other health issues that smoking can cause, people often forget it can lead to dementia.

[J]ust 18% of people who smoke know that smoking increases the risk of dementia, compared to more than 70% who know that smoking causes lung diseases or cancers.

Wait — almost 30% of people don’t know that smoking causes lung disease and cancer?

Elsewhere: The World Turned Upside-Down edition

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is now telling stores not only do they not have to require masks, they should specifically ask customers to remove them so they (the customers) don’t look like criminals.