CDC Raises Monkeypox Travel Alert; BA.4, BA.5 Cases Climb; Pharma Middleman Probe

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The CDC raised its monkeypox travel alert to level 2 as global cases surpassed 1,000.

Here’s what a level 2 travel advisory means. (The Hill)

Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are on the rise, representing a combined 13% of U.S. cases for the week ending June 4, according to CDC estimates.

Moderna said its updated Omicron-containing bivalent COVID vaccine booster produced a stronger antibody response against Omicron.

As of Wednesday at 8 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll was 84,986,636 infections and 1,008,366 deaths, increases of 104,159 and 410, respectively, compared with this time Tuesday morning.

CDC authors called for upgraded HVAC systems and other changes to reduce contaminants like SARS-CoV-2 in shared indoor air. (JAMA)

Oklahoma’s use of a three-drug lethal injection is constitutional, a federal judge ruled. (CNN)

Co-prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines fell drastically between 2016 and 2019. (Annals of Internal Medicine)

The FDA approved dupilumab (Dupixent) as the first biologic for kids 6 months to 5 years old with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said.

And the agency also expanded the approved uses of mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept) to include the prevention of organ rejection (in combination with other immunosuppressants) in pediatric allogeneic heart and liver transplant patients ages 3 months and up.

Florida’s health department undercounted COVID-19 cases and deaths due to technical issues, according to a state audit. (Fox News)

The death rate among people who have not been vaccinated is much higher than that of vaccinated people, even though vaccinated people now make up a significant proportion of deaths. (Scientific American)

Fewer kindergartners in Tarrant County, Texas were vaccinated this year against measles, polio, and hepatitis B; in some cases vaccination rates dipped below the levels needed to prevent outbreaks. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

A South Carolina hospital employee died of cardiac arrest after an aggressive patient struck him in the groin. (Newsweek)

Employment in hospitals and health systems, physician offices, and nursing care facilities grew in May 2022, Bureau of Labor statistics showed.

Most hospitals violated the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule 6 to 9 months after its effective date, an analysis showed. (JAMA)

The Federal Trade Commission will launch an investigation into major pharmacy benefit manager practices and their effect on drug prices. (Fierce Healthcare)

The HHS Office of the Inspector General reported that more than two-thirds of NIH grant recipients failed to meet federal requirements about disclosing foreign financial interests.

Sophie Freud, PhD, the last surviving grandchild of Sigmund Freud and a skeptic about “much of psychoanalysis,” died at 97. (Washington Post)