Long COVID Easing? Wyoming Bans Abortion Pills; Hep A Outbreak Tied to Strawberries

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A Washington Post analysis suggests long COVID symptoms have become less common since the Omicron variant.

Military pilots have higher rates of cancer, as do aircraft ground crews, a Pentagon study found. (AP via ABC News)

Wyoming has become the first state to ban the use of pills for abortion. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, South Carolina Republicans introduced a bill that could subject women who have an abortion to the death penalty. (NBC News)

In Florida, a bill under consideration would ban young girls from talking about their periods if they begin menstruation during elementary school. (Washington Post)

California announced a 10-year partnership with generic drugmaker Civica to produce state-branded insulin for $30 per 10-mL vial. (AP)

Vaccine manufacturers say they can make millions of avian flu (H5N1) shots within months should a new strain make the jump to human transmission. (Reuters)

Novo Nordisk’s type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide (Ozempic) is back on shelves after a prolonged shortage. (Reuters)

Mexico’s president suggested a lack of hugs as a cause of the U.S. fentanyl crisis. (AP)

An estimated 43,000 Somalians, likely half of them children, died in the region’s prolonged drought last year. (AP)

The FDA denied marketing of two menthol Vuse Solo vaping products as their premarket applications didn’t show a benefit over tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.

The agency also flagged a recall of Datascope/Getinge’s intra-aortic balloon pumps as Class I — its most serious designation.

Olympus got slapped with a warning letter from the FDA after an inspection found that concerns about the company’s manufacturing process for its endoscopes were not properly addressed.

And the FDA said that frozen strawberries sold at a number of national chains and a frozen tropical blend are being recalled over a hepatitis A outbreak.

Researchers think a case of face blindness in a young woman may be linked to her long COVID. (Today)

Extra food stamps are evaporating as the federal government winds down its pandemic assistance programs, impacting the health of families who depended on them. (NPR)

Opioids devastated Cherokee Nation, but its leaders have a plan to use $100 million in settlement money from drug companies on addiction care. (NPR)

An official from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the agency has heard lots of “support” and “skepticism” about its plan to create a national provider directory. (MedCity News)

Convicted former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was at court on Friday making a last-ditch bid to stay out of prison while her lawyers appeal her case. (AP)

According to this years’ World Happiness Report, people are slightly happier than before the pandemic started.