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Amazon to Start Offering Prescription Drugs Through Vending Machines
Amazon announced it is rolling out “pharmacy kiosks” beginning in December. The self-service kiosks will allow Amazon’s One Medical patients to bypass brick-and-mortar pharmacies and get their prescribed medications at the doctor’s office at the end of their appointment. Kiosks will be added to One Medical offices in other locations, as part of a broader rollout in 2026, according to an Amazon spokesperson.
“Over time, we see real potential for this technology to extend to other environments — anywhere quick access to medication can make a difference,” the spokesperson said in an email. The automated machines will carry hundreds of commonly prescribed medications such as antibiotics, inhalers and blood pressure treatments, as well as flu and allergy medications on a seasonal basis.
Patients will be able to pick up medications “within minutes” of their appointment by scanning a QR code from the Amazon app, according to the company.
Experts Must Share the Blame for Falling Vaccine Acceptance
Evidence continues to mount that Americans’ vaccine skepticism is on the rise. Predictably, experts bemoan the fact. Yet many of these same experts “own” the fact: Their actions — specifically, vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic — bear no little blame for today’s vaccine reluctance.
Recently, Morning Consult included polling that shows yet another decrease in Americans’ vaccine acceptance. Since 2022, women’s vaccine acceptance has fallen for polio (78% to 69%), measles (79% to 72%), and chickenpox (77% to 71%), effectively erasing the gap that used to exist between women and men. These are not isolated results.
Another recent survey found 35% of parents felt vaccines did not go through sufficient safety checks before being recommended for children; 26% felt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends too many childhood vaccines. Assuredly, more such results will occur before the trend reverses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, experts were, and continue to be, quick to blame misinformation for the unmistakable decline in vaccine acceptance. However, they have been even quicker to look past the role that the pandemic’s vaccine mandates played in today’s drop in vaccine acceptance.
Georgia Lawmakers Eyeing Bill to Guarantee Access to Vaccines
Four Georgia House Democrats said they plan to introduce legislation that would codify access to vaccines in Georgia. Reps. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, Marvin Lim, D-Norcross, Karen Lupton, D-Chamblee, and Lisa Campbell, D-Kennesaw, said Wednesday that while the prescription requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer in place, more work is needed.
“Every Georgian deserves access to life-saving vaccines without unnecessary barriers,” the lawmakers said in a release. “Our constituents deserve transparency when seeking access to health care, particularly following recent decisions by the federal government.” The lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp in September asking him to ensure the vaccine was available to Georgians.
“To be clear, none of these actions would impose a vaccine mandate that would simply ensure that Georgians who choose to be vaccinated can do so safely, easily, and without unnecessary barriers. This is a matter of access, not compulsion,” the lawmakers said in their letter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices adopted new guidelines for the vaccine at its meeting last week.
Sharp Global Rise in Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Hospitals, WHO Finds
Hospitals across the world have recorded an alarming rise in common infections that are resistant to antibiotics, with doctors saying the number of deaths driven by drug resistance will increase sharply in the years ahead. One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023, with more than 40% of antibiotics losing potency against common blood, gut, urinary tract and sexually-transmitted infections between 2018 and 2023, records show.
The problem was most severe, and worsening, in low and middle-income countries and those with weaker healthcare systems, according to the World Health Organization’s Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report, which gathered data on more than 23m bacterial infections from 104 countries.
“These findings are deeply concerning,” said Dr. Yvan Hutin, the director of the WHO’s department of antimicrobial resistance. “As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we are running out of treatment options and we are putting lives at risk, especially in countries where infection prevention and control is weak and access to diagnostics and effective medicine is already limited.”
FDA Declares Novo Nordisk Plant, Key to Drug Manufacturing for Some Biotechs, out of Compliance
A troubled Indiana contract manufacturing plant recently acquired by Novo Nordisk is considered to not be in compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, a serious designation that could further delay the approval of drugs made in the facility, including some from Scholar Rock and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
STAT previously reported that an FDA inspection of the plant over the summer found a litany of issues, some related to cat hair, pests, and equipment failures. Last week, the agency told Novo that the plant is classified as “official action required,” a regulatory term meaning the site is in an unacceptable state of compliance, Novo said Monday.
Novo said in a statement that it’s in contact with the FDA and its manufacturing customers about the new classification. Ensuring that the company meets manufacturing standards “is a top priority, and we are enhancing our processes and procedures as part of our commitment to continuous improvement,” it said.
