Less invasive self-administered pap smear now available
Women are known to dread getting a pap smear. While it’s recommended only every three to five years now, depending on age, the cervical cancer screening is known to be invasive, uncomfortable, and often just downright painful. However, new technology is changing that.
The first shipments of self-collection human papillomavirus, or HPV tests, are now arriving at doctors’ offices across the country. The FDA just approved the tests in May, which require patients to gather their own sample with a swab while in a health care setting like the doctor’s office, urgent care or pharmacy clinic.
Cervical cancer has been identified as one of the top preventable causes of death in the nation, and HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. every year and about 4,000 women die of the disease annually. One study found about two-thirds of cervical cancers are diagnosed in women who are not screened within the recommended interval.
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to cover the costs of cervical cancer screening.
Getting vaccinated against HPV can also help. There are more than 150 strains of the virus, and the vaccine is proven to protect against the nine riskiest strains.
VP Kamala Harris formally accepts Democratic presidential nomination at DNC
Vice President Kamala Harris closed out the Democratic National Convention (DNC) by accepting her party’s nomination for president. And one of the largest diamonds ever found was just unearthed in Botswana. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.
VP Kamala Harris formally accepts Democratic presidential nomination at DNC
Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted her party’s nomination for president. The Democratic National Convention came to a close Thursday night, Aug. 22, after Harris addressed the crowd, laying out more of her policy vision for the nation and going after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said. “You can always trust me to put country above party and self. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
During her speech, Harris vowed to create what she called an “opportunity economy.” She also reiterated her stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but pressed for a cease-fire deal and pledged to reform the U.S. immigration system.
When Harris turned her attention to the former president, she blamed Trump for Republicans voting against a bipartisan border bill, said he sent a mob to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and highlighted his now-criminal record.
“The biggest reaction is why didn’t she do the things she’s complaining about,” he questioned. “She could’ve done it three and a half years ago. She could do it tonight, by leaving the auditorium and going to Washington D.C. and closing the border. She doesn’t need a bill. I didn’t have a bill; I closed the border. She could still do them. She’s got four and a half to five months left.”
All eyes will be on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third-party candidate, on Friday, Aug. 23, as he’s set to hold a press conference. The speculation is Kennedy will be dropping out of the presidential race and potentially endorsing Trump.
They had planned to march toward the convention center but were blocked by rows of police in riot gear.
#WATCH : More videos of Massive pro-Palestine protest engulfs DNC convention
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, outraged over Dems' backing for Israel in the Gaza war.
The group of about 40 unconfirmed delegates and supporters spent Wednesday night, Aug. 21, outside the United Center on the sidewalk and remained there until after 8 p.m. Thursday before finally going back inside to the convention.
Supreme Court allows Arizona to enforce proof-of-citizenship law
The United States Supreme Court agreed to temporarily reinstate a portion of a 2022 Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship when people register to vote. In a 5-4 ruling, the high court gave a partial victory to Republicans who have been trying to enforce proof of citizenship as a requirement to cast a vote in November.
While the justices ruled the state can enforce the requirement of proof of citizenship to vote using the state’s registration form, the court turned down other requests that would bar voters who registered using a federal form or by mail unless they showed proof of citizenship.
This is only a temporary ruling while litigation continues. So, it’s unclear as of now if, come November, voters in the state will have to show documentation they’re a legal resident to cast a ballot.
Canadian government orders arbitration to end rail labor dispute
The Canadian government has intervened in a labor dispute involving thousands of freight train workers. The deadlock on workers’ contract negotiations could have led to a major economic disruption, impacting goods coming into the United States.
The trains are expected to resume running in a few days.
FDA approves updated COVID vaccines
The FDA has approved updated COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. This puts the new shots on track to reach most Americans within days.
Today, we approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2. https://t.co/pul33IEnIw
These shots target a strain called KP.2, which was the dominant COVID strain in May when a summer surge of the virus began, but now only accounts for roughly 3% of all U.S. cases, according to the CDC. Still, Pfizer and Moderna said their KP.2 vaccines can produce stronger immune responses against other circulating sub-variants than last year’s shots.
Second largest diamond ever found is discovered in Botswana
The second largest diamond ever found was just unearthed in Botswana, according to the Canadian mining company that discovered the gem in one of its mines in Africa. The massive, 2,492-carat diamond is the biggest to be found in more than a century and it was located using X-ray technology.
The mining company presented Botswana’s president with the huge stone on Thursday, Aug. 22. The diamond will be evaluated over the next several weeks and will likely sell for tens of millions of dollars.
The colossal stone is believed to be the biggest one found since a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and cut into smaller stones — some of which make up the British royal family’s crown jewels.
Microplastics are throughout our bodies, in the brain may be the worst: Study
Recent studies show that humans consume about the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week. However, new research found that these pollutants are probably in every human organ, and the most impacted organ may be the human brain.
“So, most our organs seem to be hovering around 300 to 600 micrograms per gram, and that’s probably difficult to understand,” said Matthew Campen, a toxicologist and professor at the University of New Mexico who authored the study. “It’s a small drop in every organ, probably. But when we look at the brain, we see about 10 times that amount we’re talking about. An adult human brain probably has about five to 10 grams of plastic, that’s about the size of a plastic spoon.”
The study reported that 24 brain samples showed an average of .5% of microplastics accounted for their entire weight.
The findings have triggered alarm within the medical community. Researchers said 12 brain samples from dementia patients showed 10 times higher plastic weight than healthy samples. Microplastics have also been linked to cancers, heart attacks and strokes.
Scientists warn that the problem of microplastics in the human body will only get worse as more and more plastics get used in the world. Researchers have also discovered microplastics in pristine national parks and the Arctic, where there is little human contact.
According to researchers, the only way to limit them in the future is to cut people’s use of plastic, particularly single-use plastics.
Furthermore, to limit microplastics from getting into a person’s body, researchers recommend drinking water from a glass instead of a plastic bottle and to prepare food in the microwave without plastic and limit processed foods.
Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have a designation for unsafe levels of microplastics or nano plastics in food. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of crafting guidelines to measure them.
The Biden administration is reportedly in discussion with the United Nations on how to reduce global production of plastic. The White House said that it is “critical to getting a handle on this problem.”
Nearly half of online semaglutide sellers are illegal, drugs dangerous: Study
As more and more people turn to modern medicine to help them shed some weight, a recent study found a new trend. Nearly half of all online pharmacies selling semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy, are doing so illegally.
The FDA has warned consumers of the dangers of buying weight loss drugs online, because many are fake and can be dangerous.
Researchers found 42% of online pharmacies selling semaglutide drugs are operating without a valid license and selling the medication without a prescription.
The study found drugs ordered from these illegal websites contained significantly more semaglutide than labeled, which can be dangerous. Additionally, one sample also showed signs of potential bacterial contamination.
Many people turn to the internet because their insurance plans won’t pay for the injections, or their doctors won’t write them a prescription – but this research shows it might not be worth it.
For the study, researchers ordered semaglutide from various websites. They found those samples had up to 39% more semaglutide than indicated on label – which could result in an overdose.
The researchers say from January to November 2023 alone, poison control centers across the U.S. reported nearly 3,000 calls involving semaglutide.
More women ‘self-managing’ abortions post-Dobbs decision: Study
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, access to abortion facilities has become more restricted in several states. That’s leading more women to self-manage abortions.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a “self-managed abortion involves any action that is taken to end a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare system.” That includes things like self-sourcing medications — like buying the abortion pill mifepristone online — using herbs, plants, vitamins or supplements; consuming drugs, alcohol or toxic substances; and using physical methods, such as punching oneself in the stomach.
A new study shows the use of these methods is increasing. The number of reproductive-age women who say they’ve self-managed an abortion jumped by about 40% since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, according to the study published Tuesday, July 30, in the medical journal JAMA.
The study’s authors said at the end of 2021, a few months before that decision, 2.4% of women said they had tried to self-manage an abortion. By the summer of 2023, about a year after the Dobbs decision, that had jumped to 3.4%.
Researchers said that number is likely far too low, since many people don’t talk about their abortions. They said it is probably closer to 10%, in reality.
Of those who self-managed an abortion, nearly 15% said they ended up having to see a doctor or nurse because of complications. Nearly 5% said they had to go to the hospital or urgent care for treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends medication abortion as the safest way to end a pregnancy, however, this study found only about 25% of women went that route. About 3 out of 4 women used less safe and effective methods of self-managing abortion, with the most common being emergency contraception, like the Plan B pill.
Emergency contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy, but the FDA said it won’t make a difference once someone is already pregnant.
The study’s authors said the number of people self-managing abortion is likely to increase as barriers to facility-based abortion grow.
Since the Dobbs decision, nearly half of U.S. states have severely restricted abortions, with 14 banning it altogether. The study also said evidence shows more people are traveling to states where abortion is still legally protected.
Bacteria found in tattoo and permanent makeup inks: FDA
Thinking of getting a new tattoo or permanent makeup? It has long been the advice of medical experts to make sure the environment where a person gets new ink is clean. However, a new study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that cleanliness might not matter when it comes to avoiding bacteria.
FDA researchers looked at dozens of inks used for tattooing and permanent makeup application from 14 different manufacturers. Twenty-six of the inks were contaminated, even some labeled as sterile, with 34 different types of bacteria.
Permanent makeup inks were more likely to be contaminated.
Of the inks sampled, 49 were tattoo inks and researchers found bacteria in nine of them. Researchers also tested 35 permanent makeup inks and found 17, nearly half, were contaminated.
About a third of Americans have at least one tattoo, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. While there is no study on how many people have gotten permanent makeup, the proportion of the population that is inked is likely much higher.
Since tattoo inks are injected deep into the skin, it is easier for them to travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system into other parts of the body. That means people do not just have to worry about getting an infection in a fresh tattoo, there is also concern about the potential long-term effects.
Additionally, those who have multiple or large tattoos are at a higher risk, since they are exposed to more ink.
The FDA reported a rise in tattoo infections in 2023 and said this study shows the inks used could be part of the problem. Other issues come from artists using non-sterile techniques or improper aftercare.
The FDA does not regulate tattoo and makeup ink, though it did put out some guidelines last year to help manufacturers avoid contamination.
BVO is vegetable oil modified with the chemical bromine to keep citrus flavoring from floating to the top in drinks. Bromine is the chemical found in fire suppressants. After conducting some studies with the National Institutes of Health, the FDA found BVO could be potentially harmful to humans.
One FDA study in 2022 found BVO can accumulate in the body, leading to nervous system damage, headaches, skin irritation and loss of muscle coordination and memory.
The FDA removed BVO from the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) list in 1970. BVO use has been regulated since then, but this new rule will ban its use completely.
The rule will take effect on Aug. 2, but companies will have up to one year after that to tweak their formulas, relabel products and deplete their current BVO stock.
Biden looks to solidify support from Democrats after debate
The White House released President Joe Biden’s next plans to reassure concerned Democrats after last week’s debate. And July 4 holiday travelers are expected to break records on the road amid soaring temperatures. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Biden looks to solidify support from Democrats after debate
President Joe Biden and his team are taking this holiday week to reassure supporters that his decision to remain in the presidential race is the right one after his performance during the June 27 debate left some in his party questioning his candidacy. During a campaign fundraiser event in Virginia Tuesday, July 2, Biden blamed his poor performance on jet lag from back-to-back European trips, telling donors that “he wasn’t very smart” that he “didn’t listen” to his staff.
Reports also said Biden added that he almost “fell asleep during the debate.” To what extent the president was joking is not clear.
Previously, Biden’s campaign had said the president had a cold going into the debate.
On Wednesday, July 3, the president will speak with Democratic governors and party leaders as he looks to calm their fears. The White House reportedly will also be holding an all-staff meeting which the Associated Press describes as a “morale-booster.”
Biden has also agreed to sit down for an interview ABC News on Friday, July 5.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration really wants to turn the page on this topic with Biden heading to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the coming days, but that didn’t stop reporters from pressing the issue.
“I think the American people need to get a yes or no answer on this: Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s any form of dementia or degenerative illness that would cause these sorts of lapses?” Andrew Feinberg, a reporter with The Independent, said. “And it’s a yes or no question and if you don’t know, why don’t you, as one of his senior staff members, know?”
Jean-Pierre fired back, “I have an answer for you. Are you ready for it? It’s a ‘no’ and I hope you’re asking the other guy the same exact question.”
This all comes as some members of the Democratic party are calling for Biden to step aside.
“I thought it was time for me to speak up, not for any self-gain, but because I think the risk to our country is so great we need to have the strongest candidate possible in order to ensure that the values that we hold for our democracy are not traded for an authoritarian strongman bent on revenge against his opponents,” Doggett told NBC News.
In a Newsweek opinion column, former Ohio congressman and presidential candidate Tim Ryan promoted the idea for Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden on their party’s ticket.
Speaking to CBS News after leaving a fundraiser in California, the vice president confirmed President Biden remains the Democratic nominee.
“Look, Joe Biden is our nominee,” Harris said. “We beat Trump once and we’re going to beat him again. Period.”
Harris added, “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”
Judge delays sentencing in Trump criminal case
Former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York criminal trial has been pushed back to at least September. The judge’s decision came out Tuesday, July 2, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court handed the former president a big win, ruling he has some immunity from being criminally prosecuted on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s sentencing in New York was originally scheduled for next Thursday, July 11. Now, the judge overseeing the trial says Trump will be sentenced on Sept. 18 “if such is still necessary.”
That’s an “if” because Trump’s lawyers say the Supreme Court ruling should not only delay the sentencing but lead to tossing out his conviction completely.
Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social after the decision came down, saying the Supreme Court’s decision awarded him “total exoneration” in this and other criminal cases he faces.
Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony in May, when a Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The Supreme Court’s decision has cast doubt on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump on election subversion charges, and a trial before the November election is highly unlikely now.
Giuliani disbarred in New York for 2020 election interference efforts
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred in New York after a Manhattan appeals court found he repeatedly made false statements about former President Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. The court said Giuliani “flagrantly misused” his position.
Giuliani, once a legal adviser to Trump, has been banned from practicing law in “any form” in New York. Giuliani’s lawyer said his legal team was disappointed by the court’s decision.
Island-wide emergency declared in Jamaica ahead of Beryl
As Hurricane Beryl hurtles toward Jamaica, the country’s prime minister preemptively declared the whole island a disaster area. He’s also instated an island-wide curfew for Wednesday, July 3.
Beryl has been downgraded to a Category 4 storm now, but it’s already caused at least six deaths in the Caribbean.
Beryl is forecast to weaken more as it gets closer to Jamaica, but is still expected to be a major hurricane — at least a Category 3 — when it hits, bringing life-threatening winds and storm surge.
Eli Lilly’s drug has been shown in clinical trials to slow a decline in memory and thinking abilities in people in the early stages of the disease. The drug, which will be sold in the coming weeks under the brand name Kisunla, is an infusion given every four weeks that targets a protein buildup in the brain — considered to be the main indicator of Alzheimer’s.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 6.7 million people in the U.S. 65 and older were living with Alzheimer’s last year. That number’s expected to increase to 13.8 million by 2060.
Watch for heat, rain, busy roads this July 4 holiday
The July 4 holiday is almost here, and while people get set to celebrate America’s independence, they may find themselves having to face two separate issues — the weather and the roads. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the brief break from the heat in the eastern U.S. is over, with heat and humidity pushing through New England.
In California and portions of the southwest, triple-digit temperatures are expected throughout the holiday week. Meanwhile in the Midwest, NOAA said rain could spoil the cookouts.
Then there’s the jam-packed roadways. AAA projects a record 60.6 million people will drive over the July 4 week. That’s nearly 3 million more than last year and would surpass 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, when around 55 million traveled by car.
House committee approves bill to allow Medicare to cover weight loss drugs
A House panel took the first step to pave the way for Medicare to cover the cost of weight loss drugs on Thursday, June 27. For more than two decades, a law has prohibited Medicare from paying for these medications.
The recent uptick in the use of these drugs – like Wegovy and Zepbound – has renewed calls for that to change.
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow Medicare to cover the popular drugs. However, the new plan is significantly more restrictive than prior proposals.
The bill is primarily targeted at making sure people currently taking weight loss drugs don’t get kicked off when they enter the Medicare program – as long as they’ve been taking them for at least a year.
The coverage would also apply only to people with obesity, not those who are overweight with at least one weight-related condition, which the FDA said is also a viable reason to prescribe these medications.
The bill would also change how intensive behavioral therapy is covered. That’s a treatment approach that offers patients counseling on nutrition and exercise but does not include weight loss drugs.
Some lawmakers are concerned over the cost of these drugs. A monthly supply of Wegovy or Zepboud can cost more than $1,000.
The Congressional Budget Office has already warned that if Medicare were to cover weight loss medications, the cost “would be significant over the next 10 years.”
Here’s some perspective: If half of the adults with obesity in America took Wegovy or another similar weight loss drug, it could cost $411 billion per year. Comparatively, Americans spent $406 billion on all retail prescription drugs in 2022, according to a report released by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in May.
The report also looked at the impact these drugs could have on Medicare, specifically. It said if half of all Medicare and Medicaid patients who are obese took these weight loss drugs, the programs could spend $166 billion per year. That’s nearly as much as the two programs spent on all retail prescriptions drugs in 2022 – $175 billion.
Sanders released a statement on that report saying it makes it, crystal clear that “the outrageously high price of Wegovy and other weight loss drugs have the potential to bankrupt Medicare and our entire health care system.”
The legislation will now make its way to the full House, but it’s unclear whether it can get enough votes to be passed. Even if it did, it would still need to pass the Senate and be endorsed by the president.
The current congressional session will end on Jan. 3 and any bills not signed into law by then need to be reintroduced in the next session, starting the whole process over.
CDC studying Michigan farm workers’ blood to fight H5N1 virus
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday, June 25, an unprecedented study on human blood in hopes that it may provide answers on how to fight the H5N1 virus. The agencies will conduct research on the blood of farm workers to see if they carry H5N1 antibodies. Researchers will also look to see if workers exposed to infected cows have asymptomatic infections.
The research could shed light on whether farm workers are spreading the virus through contact with infected raw milk on their clothes or skin, or whether infected humans can spread the virus to other animals, according to scientists involved in the study.
Dairy farmers have previously been reluctant to do testing. Last week, Michigan offered to pay 20 dairy farms up to $28,000 each to participate in research. The money would be in addition to funds the federal government is offering.
Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that it’s launching another round of testing on dairy products, sampling more than 150 products, like raw milk cheeses, cream cheese, ice cream and butter. The additional testing is to shore up gaps in any research the agency may have missed the first time.
The agency’s initial testing showed that some commercial milk and other dairy products contained the remnants of H5N1, but said pasteurization made the products safe to consume.
The latest testing also comes following recent studies on infected milk, in which researchers used a process similar to the flash pasteurization method — the most common process to pasteurize commercial milk in the United States — and found that the process may not fully neutralize all of the virus remnants in milk.
However, scientists cautioned that experiments did not replicate the full flash pasteurization process, including a pre-heating step, and maintained that more research is needed to verify results. An FDA spokesperson said the agency’s studies will be closer to the method used in commercial milk processing.
The testing of farm workers in Michigan comes after two farm workers in the state tested positive for the virus in May.
Meanwhile, efforts across the world are being launched to defend against the virus. Finland announced plans on Wednesday to vaccinate vulnerable populations against bird flu, which would make it the first country to do so.
