Besides one preventive drug that can only be prescribed in some cases, there are no FDA-approved treatments for respiratory syncytial virus — which leaves healthcare workers with limited treatment options. 

Walgreens' vice president of pharmacy of the future, Rina Shah, PharmD, told Politico federal laws are needed to further meld pharmacists into other healthcare roles.

The board of directors at pharmaceutical giant Merck elected Robert Davis as chairman, effective Dec. 1.

Lexington-based University of Kentucky Healthcare opened its eighth pharmacy on Oct. 24 in Southeast Lexington.

At a recent event for community and locally owned pharmacies, William Schimmel, executive director and CEO of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, said people were approaching him and asking for "magic" while seeking more technicians. 

The following 10 hospitals, health systems and hospital operators have posted job listings seeking pharmacy leaders in the last week.

Amid a growing cry from pharmacy organizations to boost pharmacists' roles, Walgreens said Oct. 26 that its 24,000 pharmacy workers will soon be evaluated for patient care and outcomes as the company eliminates "all task-based metrics."

The FDA has postponed its advisory meeting to debate whether HRA Pharma's birth control drug Opill should be authorized for over-the-counter use. 

A California pharmacy offering free monkeypox vaccines wants federal funds to help reimburse the business because payers are not reimbursing the pharmacy's efforts, the owner told ABC affiliate KXTV.

Perimenopause, or the time before menopause begins, usually comes with mood changes, depression and anxiety symtoms. Antidepressants are often prescribed, but researchers are looking for better treatments, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 24. 

CVS released its "Rx Report: A New Day in Retail Pharmacy," which highlighted consumer preference and demand for expanded roles for pharmacists.

Online delivery companies DoorDash and Uber will help Walgreens distribute Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral drug, to those who have a prescription but cannot access it. 

The newly authorized bivalent, omicron-focused boosters elicited a response similar to the fourth dose of the original COVID-19 vaccine formula, according to a preprint study posted Oct. 24.

Systemic side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine jab, such as nausea, fever and fatigue, are correlated with higher antibodies, according to a study published Oct. 21 in a JAMA Network Open research letter. 

The Biden administration is planning to broaden the access of substance use disorder drugs to more pregnant people, according to a report released Oct. 21. 

The antibiotic amoxicillin is in short supply among at least three drugmakers, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Bloomberg. 

Grand Junction, Colo.-based St. Mary's Medical Center is making use of the BoxPicker robotics system to package, dispense and retrieve medications. 

The Health Resources & Services Administration warned Merck in an Oct. 20 letter that the company may face monetary penalties for refusing to give 340B discounts to covered entities. 

Following confusion about a CDC panel's vote to recommend COVID-19 vaccines for children's immunization schedules, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will not mandate the shots for its pediatric population. 

When the FDA advised vaccine-makers in late June to engineer their boosters to target subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, at the time the "sister variants" accounted for a slight majority of infections. Four months later, new mutations BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have surpassed the subvariants the omicron boosters targeted.