States vs Masks; Lyme Vax Trial Begins; Weapons Stockpile in Hospital Closet

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A group of 23 state attorneys general led by Florida told a federal court Monday that the CDC does not have the legal authority to impose a nationwide transportation mask mandate to address COVID-19, asking the court to reject the agency’s “overreach.” (Reuters)

The Biden administration has decided to use a new strategy to stretch its limited supply of monkeypox vaccine, employing a method that would inject a fifth as much of the shot directly into the skin. Now, the administration is waiting for emergency use authorization from the FDA. (New York Times)

This dose-sparing strategy is based partly on a NIH-funded study from 2015, officials told Politico.

Monkeypox can show up in a variety of clinical presentations and clinicians should have a “low threshold” for suspicion of the virus, European researchers reported in The Lancet.

Researchers are testing the first potential vaccine for Lyme disease in 20 years, manufactured by Pfizer and French biotech company Valneva. (AP)

As of Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 92,241,308 cases and 1,034,021 deaths, increases of 128,194 and 464, respectively, since this time yesterday.

Pending regulatory approval, Pfizer/BioNTech’s Omicron-specific COVID vaccine could be ready to roll out as soon as October, BioNTech announced.

Nearly 60% of all known human pathogens have been aggravated by climate hazards, according to a study in Nature Climate Change.

Patients with cancer, autoimmune diseases, ulcers, and acne all have one thing in common: the overturning of Roe v. Wade has disturbed access to medications used to treat their illnesses. (Washington Post)

The CDC sent a federal team to New York to investigate the polio case detected in Rockland County and administer vaccines. (ABC News)

A New Jersey hospital worker was arrested after law enforcement officials found a stockpile of weapons in a hospital closet. (ABC-7)

Around 20% of people who live in households which had a serious illness expressed difficulty accessing healthcare during the pandemic, a new poll found. (NPR)

What is causing tween girls to struggle with their mental health? (Washington Post)

MRI medical device company Bot Image received FDA clearance for ProstatID, artificial intelligence software that aims to improve the speed and accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis, the company announced.

The FTC has taken action against healthcare company Benefytt Technologies, requiring it to pay $100 million in customer refunds for selling sham health insurance plans.

Following a decades-long battle with cancer, actress and singer Olivia Newton-John died at 73. (CNN)