Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|July 26, 2021

Iowa news

Iowa’s state health board is too shorthanded to meet amid the pandemic

As Iowa continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, a state board helping oversee the response is too shorthanded to meet. The Iowa State Board of Health advises the Iowa Department of Public Health. Under Iowa law, the board is supposed to have 11 members, including a mix of medical and public health professionals, substance-abuse treatment experts and members of the general public. (Des Moines Register)

Iowa joining $26 billion opioid lawsuit settlement

Iowa could claim up to $170 million from a lawsuit settlement with four companies accused of contributing to the nation’s opioid addiction and overdose crisis. The state’s share comes as part of a $26 billion dollar agreement. A coalition of state attorneys general reached the deal with the drug-maker Johnson & Johnson and pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen. The companies had been accused of ignoring signs of escalating addiction and overdose deaths tied to opioids, but as part of the settlement they will not admit liability toward the crisis. (Iowa Public Radio)

Iowa may have to toss out tens of thousands of expiring COVID-19 vaccine doses

Iowa might have to throw out tens of thousands of doses of coronavirus vaccine over the next six weeks unless public demand for the shots rebounds. The Iowa Department of Public Health said 38,730 of the state’s doses are set to expire by the end of July, and another 178,651 could expire by the end of August. (Des Moines Register)

 

National news

The most-influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online

The online article began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. Then over its next 3,400 words, it declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity or stop transmission of the disease. Instead, the article claimed, the shots “alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.” Its assertions were easily disprovable. But over the next few hours, the article was translated from English into Spanish and Polish. It appeared on dozens of blogs and was picked up by antivaccination activists, who repeated the false claims online. The article also made its way to Facebook, where it reached 400,000 people. The entire effort traced back to one person: Joseph Mercola. (The New York Times)

Common respiratory viruses are on the rise

Common respiratory viruses are making a comeback, and a particularly severe flu season could be on the horizon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned. Most common respiratory viruses – influenza viruses, common human coronaviruses, rhinoviruses and more – circulated at historically low levels in 2020, likely because of COVID-19 mitigation measures such as wearing face masks and social distancing, the CDC said in its weekly update. (USA Today)

Biden predicts FDA will give final vaccine approval by fall

President Biden expects the Food and Drug Administration to give final approval quickly for coronavirus vaccines, as he pressed for skeptical Americans to get vaccinated and stop another surge of the pandemic. Speaking to a town hall audience in Ohio, President Biden said he was not intervening in the decisions of government scientists, but pointed toward a potential decision soon from the FDA to give final approval for the vaccines, which are authorized for emergency use. Many medical professionals have pushed for the final approval, saying it could help increase uptake of the vaccines. (The New York Times)

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