Jill Biden Tests Positive For Covid
The first lady experienced symptoms on Monday and is taking Paxlovid. Meanwhile, after refusing to testify before the House Oversight Committee, gunmaker Smith & Wesson's CEO blames politicians for the surge in gun violence. Also: J&J's bankruptcy, faulty Philips respirators and more.
AP:
Jill Biden Tests Positive For COVID-19, Has 'Mild' Symptoms
The Bidens have been vacationing in South Carolina since Aug. 10, and the 71-year-old first lady began experiencing symptoms on Monday. Jill Biden, like her husband, has been twice-vaccinated and twice-boosted with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She has been prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid and will isolate at the vacation home for at least five days. (Miller, 8/16)
On gun violence —
The Washington Post:
Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith Blames Politicians For Gun Violence
In the statement posted Monday on Twitter, he accused “a number of politicians and their lobbying partners in the media” of trying to “disparage” his company and shift blame to gunmakers. Smith, who refused to testify before the House Oversight Committee, said politicians had “vilified, undermined and defunded law enforcement” and “generally promoted a culture of lawlessness,” causing a wave of crime. (Shammas, 8/16)
In other political, legal and governmental news relating to health —
Axios:
Medicaid Expansion Sees New Life In Longtime GOP Holdout States
Republican-led states that have resisted expanding Medicaid for more than a decade are showing new openness to the idea. (Sherman and Hurt, 8/16)
Modern Healthcare:
FTC Wants States To Scrap Certificate Of Public Advantage Laws
States are not equipped to oversee hospital mergers under certificate of public advantage laws, a new paper from the Federal Trade Commission concluded. Some states have allowed hospitals to merge via COPAs, shielding the merging parties from federal antitrust scrutiny in exchange for prolonged state oversight. While hospital executives and state officials claim that mergers under COPAs will lead to lower costs and better outcomes, some transactions have produced the opposite results, the FTC said Monday in an analysis of hospital deals. (Kacik, 8/16)
Reuters:
Plaintiff In First Zantac Lawsuit Set For Trial Drops Case
The plaintiff in the first lawsuit over the heartburn drug Zantac scheduled to go to trial has agreed to drop his case, according to his attorney and drugmakers named as defendants. The news on Tuesday came days after shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L), Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Haleon Plc (HLN.L) were hit by investor concerns about thousands of lawsuits claiming the drug, which U.S. regulators pulled from the market in 2020, causes cancer. (Pierson, 8/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
J&J Unit Tells Appeals Court Only Bankruptcy Can Settle Talc Claims
A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary urged a federal appeals court to uphold the controversial legal strategy it used to move to bankruptcy roughly 38,000 lawsuits linking its talc-based products to cancer. The subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, said in court papers filed on Monday that chapter 11 is the only option for compensating all claimants relatively quickly. (Randles, 8/16)
Reuters:
U.S. FDA Gets Over 48,000 Reports Of Faulty Philips Respiratory Devices In May-July
he U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had received more than 48,000 reports of faulty Dutch medical equipment maker Philips' (PHG.AS) ventilators and respiratory devices between May and July, which included 44 deaths. This was more than twice the number of reports it had received in over a year until April, the agency said on Tuesday. (8/16)
