Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Drug Overdose Deaths Continue To Fall, Dropping Nearly 14% In 2025
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Drug Overdoses Fall For Third Straight Year On Fewer Fentanyl-Related Deaths
The number of people who died from drug overdoses dropped again in 2025, a promising trend as the U.S. emerges from a national fentanyl crisis that accelerated these fatalities. There were an estimated 69,973 drug-overdose deaths in 2025, a nearly 14% drop from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. (Calfas, 5/13)
CNN: Alcohol Is Toxic To The Body, Yet Scientists Say Much Of The Damage Can Be Reversed
Alcohol can feel deeply entwined in our lives. A beer or glass of wine while catching up with friends. A cocktail at the end of a hard day. A round of toasts at a party. It’s hard to believe that such seemingly innocent behavior reduces our immunity to infectious disease and raises the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases — but according to science, it does. (LaMotte, 5/14)
San Francisco Chronicle: Three More Poisoned By Wild Napa Mushrooms In Unprecedented Outbreak
Three adults were hospitalized over the weekend after eating wild mushrooms in Napa County, public health officials said Wednesday, marking the latest cases in a growing and unprecedented outbreak of mushroom poisonings this year across California. The victims foraged the mushrooms in the Deer Park area near Silverado Trail, according to the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency. None of them are Napa County residents. (Bauman, 5/13)
NBC News: Cheaper Generic Ozempic Is Coming Soon — But Not For Americans. Here’s Why
India got it earlier this year, and Canada approved it last month. But when is the United States going to get a generic version of Ozempic? Not this decade, experts say. Thanks largely to loopholes in the U.S. patent system, Americans aren’t expected to get generic forms of semaglutide, the drug in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, until at least the end of 2031.Even that timing is uncertain, said Arti K. Rai, a professor at the Duke University School of Law and former senior official in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. “It could take much, much longer than that.” (Lovelace Jr., 5/13)
NPR: How New Dietary Guidelines Could Impact School Meals
In a social media era rife with mouthwatering food content, kids will no longer settle for a drab school meal. "I don't have a TikTok account, but they're telling me, 'Hey, I saw this on TikTok. Can you make this? Can we do this?'" said Nichole Taylor, supervisor of food and nutrition services at the Great Valley School District in Malvern, Pennsylvania. (Hernandez, 5/14)
Wisconsin Watch: Parkour For Seniors? Wisconsin Classes Help Prevent Deadly Falls
Wisconsin has the U.S.'s highest reported death rate from older adults' falls. But falls can be prevented through balance drills and classes like parkour. (Costello and Carloni, 5/7)
