Current Events

The Boppy Co., makers of nursing pillows and baby carriers, is recalling three types of baby pillows after eight infants died from suffocation.

The infants' deaths, which occurred between December 2015 and June 2020, happened after the babies were placed on their back, side, or stomach on a newborn baby lounger and were found on their side or their stomach, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.

The Golden, Colorado-based company is recalling all of the about 3.3 million baby loungers sold.
Read more . . .

Nursing home aides — the staff members who provide the most direct care to residents — were the least likely to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by mid-July, according to a new analysis of U.S. facilities.

The study underscores the influence that President Biden’s new federal mandate for all health care workers may have on populations like the elderly in nursing homes who are vulnerable to coronavirus infections, experts say.

Read more . . .

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday it was recalling all lots of its anti-smoking treatment, Chantix, due to high levels of cancer-causing agents called nitrosamines in the pills.

The drugmaker paused distribution of the drug in June, and has already recalled a number of lots of the medicine so far.

Pfizer asked wholesalers and distributors on Thursday to stop the use and distribution of the tablets immediately.

Read more . . .

Sept 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. drug regulator has asked Pfizer (PFE.N), Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) and AbbVie (ABBV.
Read more . . .

More than two decades after Purdue Pharma launched its blockbuster pain pill OxyContin, a judge approved a bankruptcy plan Wednesday that will grant the drugmaker’s billionaire owners sweeping legal immunity in the opioid epidemic.

Negotiated until the 11th hour, the final terms of the settlement confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert D. Drain grant the family that owned Purdue Pharma, the Sacklers, broad protection from current and future litigation, despite objections from nine states and a branch of the Justice Department.
Read more . . .

For three years, Donald Camp has used a breathing device to sleep. He has severe sleep apnea, so without this device, his breathing is obstructed and he gasps for air.

But in June, Mr. Camp and many others began learning that more than a dozen Philips Respironics machines that deliver pressurized air through a mask were recalled because of potential health risks from faulty components. Since then, millions of people in the United States, and their doctors, have been scrambling to find alternatives for those with common sleep disorders, breathing problems and respiratory emergencies.
Read more . . .

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) has recalled about a decade's worth of its Ingenio pacemakers, citing the risk that the products might permanently go into a backup setting called "safety mode" and lose their ability to pace properly.

Read more . . .

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Friday it is recalling four additional lots of its anti-smoking treatment, Chantix, after finding elevated levels of cancer-causing agents called nitrosamines in the pills.

In June, the drugmaker said it was pausing distribution of certain lots of the anti-smoking drug out of an abundance of caution and pending further testing.

Including Friday's recall, Pfizer has paused distribution of 16 lots of the drug. The lots were distributed to wholesalers in the United States and Puerto Rico from June 2019 to June 2021.
Read more . . .

Aug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday classified the recent recall of some of Philips' (PHG.AS) ventilators as Class 1, or the most serious type of recall, saying the use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death.

This is the second Class 1 recall initiated by the company this year.
Read more . . .

Gunmaker Remington Arms Co. has offered around $33 million to settle a lawsuit brought by nine families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Remington Arms Co. LLC and Remington Outdoors Co. Inc.
Read more . . .

July 19, 2021 - The federal Open Notes Rule (the "Rule") implements a portion of the federal 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) related to "information blocking." It specifies that clinical notes are among electronic health information (EHI) that must not be "blocked." The notes must be available free of charge to patients and their representatives. Such access is through a patient portal or health applications on a smart device. The Rule significantly changes the way patient information will be shared and effectively mandates a Cloud for EHI.
Read more . . .