Wrong RSV shot

There are three versions of the RSV vaccine — one for pregnant women, one for infants, and one for people over 60. Apparently there have been at least 143 members of the first two groups who were given the vaccine for the over-60 crowd.

There were only some minor complications (“adverse events”), but worth noting is that most of the mistakes were made “in outpatient settings or pharmacies,” so be sure to double-check those vials.

ICYMI: Alaskapox takes first victim

An elderly, immunocompromised man is the first person to die from a newly discovered virus: Alaskapox. It was first identified in 2015, and so far there have been just seven cases.

The man who died likely got it from a stray cat he was caring for — a cat that hunted small animals that carry the virus, and that had scratched the man.

You know they’re a bit flummoxed when this is all the advice they can give:

Health officials said there hasn’t been any documented cases of humans passing on the virus but they recommended people with skin lesions possibly caused by Alaskapox to cover the affected area with a bandage.

Legal news

Novo settles a couple of semaglutide suits

Novo Nordisk has settled two of its 12 lawsuits against spas, health centers, and compounding pharmacies for claiming they were selling Ozempic® or Wegovy® when they were in fact using compounded versions. In this case it was two spas — Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa and Nuvida Rx Weight Loss, both in Florida.

The issue wasn’t that the clinics were selling compounded drugs — that’s completely legal — it was that they were claiming to be providing the brand-name stuff.

“[The companies] are immediately barred from claiming that their compounded drugs have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Novo Nordisk said.”

Well, they never were legally allowed to say that, so they’ve now pinkie-promised to obey the law.

They are also forbidden from “misleading” advertising and using any Novo Nordisk trademarks or logos in their products.

Again, ditto — that’s kind of Trademark Law 101.

Judge tosses PhRMA suit against price negotiations

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America had its lawsuit challenging the legality of Medicare price negotiations tossed out of a federal court.

The suit wasn’t dismissed because of its merits (or lack thereof). Rather, the judge said the court “lacked jurisdiction to hear its claims because they arose under the Medicare Act and could only be heard by a court following an administrative review by the agency.”

So first Medicare has to review the law, then maybe PhRMA can sue. Still, it’s the second loss for PhRMA on the issue.

CDC loosens Covid-isolation recommendations

For the first time since 2021, the CDC is telling people they don’t have to isolate for five days if they test positive for Covid-19. Now they can go back out once they’re feeling better … well, almost.

Under the new approach, people would no longer need to stay home if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication and their symptoms are mild and improving.

Higher-dose naloxone doesn’t do more

Stopping an overdose with 4 mg of naloxone is just as effective as using 8 mg. So found a study out of Albany (NY) Medical College, based on 354 cases of state troopers giving the nasal spray in rural areas of the state.

“What was really remarkable was the survival was the same, but the amount of withdrawal symptoms^* was significantly larger in the people that got the 8-milligram dose.”

^* “[V]omiting, abdominal pain, sweating, shaking, and diarrhea.”

The X-for-Y Files

Vanoxerine was developed to help treat cocaine addiction, but here’s a twist: It might also work to fight colon cancer. What Canadian researchers found is that it “packs a powerful punch when suppressing cancer stem cell activity.”

In practical terms that means vanoxerine can make tumors more susceptible to the immune system by rewiring some genes leading to “reactivation of ancient viral DNA fragments” that the immune system can hone in on.

So far this has only been tested in animals and in vitro with human cells, but still, “This finding is quite significant, considering that colorectal tumours tend to show poor response to standard immunotherapy.”

Healthy viruses, lower stress

We talk a lot about the effects of gut bacteria on … well, on everything. But what about gut viruses? Maybe they haven’t been getting their due.

There’s plenty of evidence that transferring the gut bacteria of a healthy person into an unhealthy one can do a lot of good, but now scientists in Ireland have tried the same thing with viruses, specifically bacteriophages.

Phages are viruses that kill bacteria, but they’re targeted — each phage kills a particular germ. So transferring phages from one person (or mouse) to another effectively changes their gut biome once the phages start killing.

In the case of the Irish research, they tried transferring phages from chill, relaxed mice into stressed-out rodents. And what happened? “The research […] suggested these transplants reduced levels of stress hormones and curbed depression- and anxiety-like behaviour in the mice.”

Is this a lot different than transplanting the bacteria directly? Probably not, but it shows there are multiple paths to the same goal — and that gut bacteria can affect stress levels.