Pharmacy

As hospitals struggle to treat the surge of pediatric respiratory syncytial virus infections with a limited repertoire of treatments, the FDA placed Pfizer's RSV vaccine candidate on its fast-track list Dec. 7. 

The Federal Trade Commission has sent a second request for information to Kroger regarding its $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons while the Cincinnati-based company is set to lose $100 million after dropping Express Scripts. 

Pharmacist organizations scolded Cigna and Express Scripts for plans to drop 15,000 pharmacies from their 2023 Tricare networks, which could affect more than 400,000 people in the Defense Department's health plan.  

Two studies have found the omicron booster to be lacking when it comes to its strength against new COVID-19 subvariants BQ.1.1, XBB and BA.2.75.2 — which, together, account for 38 percent of cases. 

As other COVID-19 drugs stumble in efficacy as the virus evolves, Pfizer and Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech startup Clear Creek Bio have partnered to develop a new treatment. 

It's time for a rebrand, hospital pharmacy directors told Becker's. 

On Dec. 5, Pfizer applied for the FDA's emergency use authorization on its updated COVID-19 booster for children between 6 months and 4 years old.

Pharmacists can now prescribe birth control in 20 states, and 10 other state legislatures are working toward expanding access to the contraception at pharmacy counters, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 

Being hesitant toward COVID-19 vaccines could result in more side effects after a shot is administered — a phenomenon of negative opinions spurring negative health outcomes, which is nicknamed "nocebos" — according to a study published Dec. 5 in Nature. 

The national shortage of oseltamivir, the generic of common flu drug Tamiflu, has seen a slight reprieve despite flu hospitalizations hiking and Tamiflu demand spiking weeks earlier than normal.