Monks and Meth; China Says Jogger Caused COVID Outbreak; Flu Deaths Close to 3,000

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All four monks at a Buddhist temple in central Thailand were defrocked after testing positive for methamphetamine use. (CBS News)

New York City will begin involuntarily hospitalizing its homeless mentally ill residents, Mayor Eric Adams (D) said. (New York Times)

A Minnesota woman lost part of her peripheral vision and inadvertently put her family’s health at risk, likely by using skin-whitening creams containing mercury. (CNN)

Drug and alcohol deaths are increasing in people 65 and over, according to new CDC data.

Twitter has stopped enforcing its COVID misinformation policy. (CNN)

Chinese health authorities claim a man who went for a 30-minute jog in a park infected 39 people with COVID, but many experts are skeptical. (New York Post)

In the “better late than never” category, Viatris is withdrawing its topical antimicrobial drug mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) from the market because it has not confirmed the drug is beneficial … after 24 years. The company said conducting a confirmatory study was not feasible. (Endpoints News)

A California law requires hospitals in the state to post their charity care policies on their websites — but many hospitals haven’t complied. (Los Angeles Times)

Are you one of the 40 million Americans whose health data has been breached? Now there’s a way you might be able to find out. (USA Today)

Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), 61, has died of colorectal cancer. (New York Times)

He Jiankui, who served 3 years in prison after developing gene-edited babies, is back in the world of science again, saying he is starting a “not-for-profit medical research institute dedicated to rare disease gene therapy.” (STAT)

Nearly 3,000 people have died from flu this season, the CDC says.

Adding less salt to your food could cut heart disease risk by up to one-fifth, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

And a plant-based diet was associated with a lower risk of bowel cancer in men. (BMC Medicine)

How can more technology assist with electronic health records? By adding the patient’s voice of experience. (STAT)