Check today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
About hospitals and healthcare systems
The most common reasons for hospitalizations Top 5 reasons:
Sepsis — 739 stays per 100,000
COVID-19 — 468
Heart failure — 328
Diabetes with complication — 206
Heart attack — 177
About pharma
Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic removed from US FDA shortage list, compounders on notice: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday there was no longer a shortage of Novo Nordisk's popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, a declaration that will curtail widespread sales of cheaper copies made by compounding pharmacies.
About the public’s health
France just banned PFAS. Here’s why the U.S. hasn’t.: hemicals” in common products including cosmetics, ski wax and clothing, a move that could reverberate beyond its borders.
These chemicals, known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, include thousands of compounds manufactured to make products and coatings that repel grease, water, oil and heat. The persistent chemicals are found in hundreds of household items, including nonstick cookware, menstrual products, dental floss and medicines.
Cancer statistics for African American and Black people, 2025: Black men have experienced the largest relative decline in cancer mortality from 1991 to 2022 overall (49%) and in almost every 10-year age group, by as much as 65%–67% in the group aged 40–59 years. This progress largely reflects historical reductions in smoking initiation among Black teens, advances in treatment, and earlier detections for some cancers. Nevertheless, during the most recent 5 years, Black men had 16% higher mortality than White men despite just 4% higher incidence, and Black women had 10% higher mortality than White women despite 9% lower incidence. Larger inequalities for mortality than for incidence reflect two-fold higher death rates for prostate, uterine corpus, and stomach cancers and for myeloma, and 40%–50% higher rates for colorectal, breast, cervical, and liver cancers.
New bat coronavirus discovered in China sparks pandemic concerns:The discovery of a new bat coronavirus in China has sparked concerns about another pandemic.
The virus, named HKU5-CoV-2, is similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in that it targets the same human receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2), according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
HKU5-CoV-2 could potentially lead to human-to-human or even cross-species transmission, the researchers found.
Measles, once eliminated in the U.S., sickens 99 in Texas and New Mexico:Nearly 100 people across Texas and New Mexico have contracted measles, state officials say, escalating anxiety over the spread of a potentially life-threatening illness that was declared eliminated in the United States more than two decades ago.
Ninety cases of measles — the majority affecting children under 17 — were detected in Texas’s South Plains, a sprawling region in the state’s northwest, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday. The spread marks a significant jump from the 24 cases reported earlier this month. The DSHS said “additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities.”
About healthcare personnel
Mass firings at HHS: FDA rescinds termination for 'hundreds' of probationary workers: FDA employees started receiving calls late Friday night from the human resources (HR) department. It’s unclear exactly how many workers the department is hoping to reinstate, but early indications suggest hundreds could be asked to rejoin their teams.