Current Events

Medtronic has recalled 157 HVAD pump implant kits, which help the heart pump blood to the rest of the body, for delays or failures to restart after the pump is stopped.

Two deaths have been reported in the 29 complaints about the device’s issues, complaints also include 19 serious injuries and eight cases where patients had a life-threatening event but recovered without long-term effects

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. auto safety regulators on Monday said they have opened an investigation into nearly 1.9 million Toyota RAV4 sport-utility vehicles over potential fire risks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the preliminary evaluation looking at 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles comes after 11 reports of fires.
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Johnson & Johnson said it set aside almost $4 billion to cover the biggest verdict against the company over its Baby Powder and other settlements while it’s appealing the 2018 loss to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a Monday securities filing, J&J said it was taking a “litigation expense of $3.9 billion” related to ‘primarily talc-related reserves and certain settlements.
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Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced it is recalling thousands of its profit-rich F-Series trucks due to windshield defects.

The Dearborn automaker said the front windshields on certain 2021 F-150 and 2020 and 2021 Super Duty trucks "are inadequately bonded to the vehicle body structure," meaning the windshield may not stay in place during a crash. The recall affects 79,017 vehicles in the U.S.
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Amazon.com Inc. has failed to comply with workplace safety rules during the pandemic and retaliated against warehouse workers who raised concerns, New York alleged in a lawsuit against the retail giant.

“Amazon’s flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements has threatened serious illness and grave harm to the thousands of workers in these facilities and poses a continued substantial and specific danger to the public health,” Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Amazon sued New York last week, claiming James was overstepping her authority in trying to regulate the company’s workplace safety responses.
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Troops have filed $2.16 billion in medical malpractice claims under a 2019 law that required a system of compensation for victims, according to the military services.

The total, which hasn’t been previously reported, represents 227 cases that have yet to be adjudicated. The Army, which is the largest branch of the military, reported $845 million in malpractice claims. The Air Force reported $530 million, while the Navy and Marine Corps reported a combined total of $781 million.
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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes early in the pandemic under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it accelerated outbreaks, according to new records obtained by The Associated Press.

The new number of 9,056 recovering patients sent to hundreds of nursing homes is more than 40% higher than what the state health department previously released. And it raises new questions as to whether a March 25 directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration helped spread sickness and death among residents, a charge the state disputes.

“The lack of transparency and the meting out of bits of important data has undermined our ability to both recognize the scope and severity of what’s going on” and address it, said Richard Mollot, the executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a residents advocacy group.
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Campbell Soup Co. and its subsidiary Plum Organics were cited in a congressional committee report about heavy metals in baby food from manufacturers like Gerber and Walmart.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing home death toll from COVID-19 — telling them “we froze” out of fear that the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal prosecutors, The Post has learned.

The stunning admission of a coverup was made by secretary to the governor Melissa DeRosa during a video conference call with state Democratic leaders in which she said the Cuomo administration had rebuffed a legislative request for the tally in August because “right around the same time, [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football,” according to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday warned that early results from a safety trial on Pfizer’s arthritis and colitis drug, tofacitinib, revealed an increased risk of heart issues and cancer when compared to another medicine.

The drug, marketed under Xeljanz or Xeljanz XR, was tested against an arthritis drug called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. The FDA is still waiting for more information on blood clots and death.

"Patients should not stop taking tofacitinib without first consulting with your health care professionals, as doing so may worsen your condition. Talk to your health care professionals if you have any questions or concerns," the FDA said in a statement posted Thursday.

Ingredients in many baby foods, including some organic fare, are contaminated with heavy metals like arsenic, lead and cadmium at levels that are far higher than those allowed in products like bottled water, congressional investigators said on Thursday.

Their report underscored the federal government’s persistently lax approach to overseeing the safety of baby food, some experts said, despite clear risks to infants and toddlers. Exposure to heavy metals in particular has been linked to behavioral impairments, brain damage and even death.

“This is an endemic problem that’s been swept under the rug and never addressed,” said Tracey Woodruff, director of the program on reproductive health and the environment at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the preparation of the congressional report.