How Bad Can Monkeypox Get? COVID Mutant May Move Quickly; Okla. Abortion Ban Final

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How bad can the monkeypox outbreak get? “This is one that I think we can nip in, if not in the bud, certainly in the flower,” said Vanderbilt’s William Schaffner, MD. (Vox)

The latest monkeypox toll is up to nine cases across seven states, confirmed by the CDC. (The Hill)

CDC officials also are scrambling to raise monkeypox awareness ahead of Pride Month, as many of the cases have been diagnosed in men who have sex with men. (STAT)

Some people exposed to the virus may be eligible for a vaccine soon. That being said, older people who received smallpox vaccinations might have some lingering immunity to monkeypox. (CNN/New York Times)

Abbott is currently developing a test for the virus, following Roche’s announcement earlier this week. (Reuters)

The FDA announced it’s working alongside Danone’s Nutricia business on getting millions of bottles of specialized medical infant formula to the public over the next few months.

After condemning Russia’s 235 healthcare attacks in Ukraine, the World Health Organization rejected Russia’s counter-resolution on the health crisis after it made zero mention of their hand in the war. (Reuters)

As of Friday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll reached 83,858,261 infections and 1,005,108 deaths, increases of 161,062 and 550, respectively, from this time yesterday.

The dominant coronavirus mutant spreads faster than its Omicron predecessors and is adept at escaping immunity, experts said. (AP)

The real COVID surge in the U.S. may be much bigger than it looks. (NPR)

The University of California, Los Angeles brought back its indoor mask mandate starting today, as cases are expected to almost triple in the area. (AP)

Shanghai is taking small steps toward easing COVID lockdowns. (Reuters)

A professor at Boston University School of Public Health went viral for wearing an N95 mask on a Zoom call alone in his office. (NPR)

Oklahoma’s Governor Kevin Stitt officially signed a bill banning almost all abortions after fertilization, following protests led by abortion rights advocates who slammed the law days earlier. (New York Times/MedPage Today)

Roughly 400 Planned Parenthood employees from five states announced plans to unionize as abortion bans are popping up across the country. (AP)

The husband of one of the teachers killed in the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting passed away only two days later from “broken heart syndrome,” also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy. (NBC News)

Six Texas-based physicians were added to a False Claims Act complaint, alleging the doctors caused claims to be improperly billed to federal health care programs for unnecessary lab work. (Department of Justice)

The FDA warned four companies illegally pushing CBD products made for food-producing animals.

$74 million: that’s the amount of excess healthcare costs the U.S. spent in 2017 on antibiotics inappropriately prescribed to children who weren’t hospitalized. (JAMA Network Open)

Call center employees working on CMS contracts went on strike for two days over poor pay and healthcare coverage. (Government Executive)

Peanut butter-filled foods, like chocolates and sandwiches, are now also being yanked from shelves following the Jif salmonella outbreak recall last week. (NPR)

Doctors at South Shore University Hospital in Long Island removed a 5-pound basketball-sized tumor from a man’s liver. (CBS New York)