The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that drug makers cannot be sued in civil court over injuries from mandated vaccines, rejecting the Bruesewitz family's evidence that Wyeth-Lederle could have made a less reactive pertussis vaccine. The NVIC calls the decision a betrayal of consumers.
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Page 7 of 13
Government
Updates from the FDA, CDC and other agencies.
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Government
Unapproved cold and allergy drug crackdown by FDA
The FDA is moving against companies that make, distribute or market unapproved prescription cough, cold and allergy products, which it has never reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality. Officials say approved alternatives exist and expect little impact on consumers.
Government
FDA calls for new labeling on asthma drug terbutaline
The FDA is adding a boxed warning and contraindication to injected terbutaline, which should not treat or prevent preterm labor beyond 48 to 72 hours, and is barring the oral tablets for that use entirely, citing reports of serious maternal heart problems and death.
Government
WA State Vaccine Law Threatens Exemptions & Violates Privacy
Barbara Loe Fisher warns that Washington House Bill 1015 and Senate Bill 5005 would require a doctor or nurse to sign every religious or personal belief vaccine exemption, which she argues invades privacy and sets medical staff in judgment of others' beliefs.
Government
U.S. Department of State recommends avoiding travel to Egypt
The State Department issued a travel warning urging Americans to avoid Egypt during anti-government demonstrations, with violent protests in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere cutting road links to airports. It lists embassy contacts for citizens needing help or wanting to leave.
Government
Counting calories and living longer: New dietary guidelines for Americans
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans urge balancing calories with activity, more vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy and seafood, and less sodium, saturated and trans fat, added sugar and refined grain. They shape school meals and other federal nutrition programs.
Government
Surgeon General's "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding"
Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin issued a Call to Action listing 20 steps families, communities, clinicians, employers and policymakers can take to support breastfeeding. In the U.S., 75 percent of mothers start out breastfeeding but only 13 percent still do exclusively at six months.
Government
FDA removes breast cancer drug avastin from the market
FDA is moving to withdraw Avastin's breast cancer indication after four studies showed it did not prolong survival or slow progression enough to outweigh risks including severe hypertension, bleeding, perforations and heart failure. Its other cancer approvals are unaffected.
Government
FDA says men should put down the Man Up
The FDA told consumers to stop using Man Up Now, a supplement sold for sexual enhancement, because it contains sulfoaildenafil, a chemical similar to Viagra's sildenafil that can interact with nitrates and dangerously lower blood pressure. Six of 17 products it surveyed held such ingredients.
Government
Importance of HIV Testing: CDC Vital Signs Report
A CDC Vital Signs report: more than a million Americans live with HIV and roughly one in five do not know it. The agency calls for routine testing in healthcare settings for everyone and yearly tests for those at higher risk, counting more than 56,000 new infections and 14,000 AIDS deaths a year.
Government
Are airport scanners safe for travelers?
Four UCSF scientists wrote the White House science adviser about cancer risk from airport x-ray scanners, and one called the FDA's reply deeply flawed. Columbia's David Brenner and Arizona State's Peter Rez each put the dose or risk at roughly 10 times the government's figure.
Government
CDC: Advice about Cholera for Travelers Arriving in the United States from Haiti
The CDC tells travelers returning from Haiti's cholera outbreak to seek medical care right away if watery diarrhea appears within five days. Rehydration matters most: oral rehydration solutions work, while sports drinks, sodas, juices and plain water are not sufficient for severe diarrhea.
Government
FDA wants more tobacco warnings
HHS and the FDA proposed nine larger text warnings plus colour graphic images for cigarette packs and advertisements, among them “Cigarettes cause cancer” and “Smoking can kill you.” The FDA sought public comment on 36 proposed images through 11 January 2011.
Government
Travelers' Health - Outbreak Notice, Cholera in Haiti
A CDC outbreak notice on Haiti's first cholera epidemic in many years, with most cases in the Artibonite department about 50 miles north of Port-au-Prince and hospitals strained. Travel warnings already advise against nonessential travel, and no cholera vaccine is available in the US.
Government
U.S. Apologizes for Unethical Studies on Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The United States apologized for experiments a federal doctor ran in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948, deliberately exposing prisoners, soldiers and mental patients to sexually transmitted diseases without consent. Of 497 syphilis subjects, only 85 were documented as fully treated; 71 died.
Government
Consumers to Weigh-in on Drug Information
FDA says the current mix of medication leaflets leaves patients with incomplete or hard-to-read information, and proposes replacing the three existing types with a single approved Patient Medication Information sheet given at every fill. It sought public comment at a September hearing.
Government
Experts Straddle the Fence Regarding Meridia
An FDA advisory panel split on the diet drug Meridia: eight of its 16 members urged pulling it from the US market over heart attack and stroke risk, six backed restricted sales with stronger warnings, and two thought added warnings and patient monitoring were enough.
Government
E-Cigarettes: Questions and Answers
An FDA question-and-answer sheet explains what electronic cigarettes are and why the agency has concerns: it has evaluated none for safety, found cartridges labeled nicotine-free that contained nicotine, and found identical cartridges emitting markedly different amounts per puff.
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