Alexa Hornbeck

On Wednesday, a panel of advisors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s two-shot vaccine series for kids under 5 years and Pfizer’s three-shot vaccine series for kids under 4.  Moderna’s two shots are found to prevent severe illness from COVID-19 infection by about... Read More

A study published on June 7 from researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital shows that there is a growing life expectancy gap between Democratic and Republican counties.  The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, found a “mortality gap,” meaning there is a widening difference between age-adjusted death... Read More

A report from the two largest cancer centers in the United States released on June 14 finds that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted clinical trials for cancer treatment and care.  Published in the Annals of Oncology, the multi-center study evaluated clinical trial activities at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in... Read More

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System announced on June 7 that they will launch a study to examine if exposure to toxic burn pits can be linked to numerous health problems.  The study will enroll more than 300 Arkansas veterans... Read More

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on June 9 from researchers in Hawaii finds that independent labs are earning huge profits from Polymerase Chain Reaction testing, which could impact health care premiums.  Prior research has examined the variation in the charges for PCR tests... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted on Tuesday to advance legislation that will reauthorize a number of important U.S. Food and Drug Administration user fee programs. “This is the most important, comprehensive FDA legislation to come out of this committee... Read More

WASHINGTON — When Sholanda Thomas, 38, an inmate at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, sent her own and other inmates’ personal identifying information to a friend on parole, she had the intention of committing pandemic fraud. Thomas falsely represented that she and other inmates... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House released an operational plan for COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 5 on Thursday. Next week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider whether to authorize and recommend the first COVID-19 vaccine for children under... Read More

The DC Public Health Lab confirmed on June 5 the first positive orthopoxvirus and potential monkeypox case in Washington, D.C.  The patient is currently in isolation, with close contacts being monitored. So far no other known cases have been identified. As of Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease... Read More