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US FDA Requests Removal of Suicide Warnings From Weight-Loss Drugs
The U.S. health regulator on Tuesday asked drugmakers to remove label warnings about a potential risk of suicidal thoughts from widely used GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The request, also covering Novo’s older weight-loss drug Saxenda, follows a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that found no evidence linking GLP-1 receptor agonists to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior.
GLP-1 receptor agonists were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. They mimic a gut hormone that suppresses appetite, creating a feeling of fullness. The FDA had reached similar conclusion following a preliminary review in 2024, but had acknowledged at the time that it could not rule out a small risk because of limited data.
The regulator said on Tuesday it had conducted further analyses of placebo-controlled clinical trials involving GLP-1 drugs, which did not show an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior versus placebo, or of other psychiatric side effects such as anxiety, depression, irritability or psychosis. The review covered 91 trials involving 107,910 patients, including 60,338 who received a GLP-1 drug and 47,572 who received placebo, it said. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
States Go Their Own Way as RFK Jr. Shifts Federal Vaccine Policy
The Louisiana Illuminator reported:
New federal guidance to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children from 17 vaccines down to 11 comes as states already are charting their own courses on vaccine policy. The new federal guidelines mention a directive issued by President Donald Trump in December calling to align the U.S. vaccination schedule with “peer” countries, including Denmark, that recommend fewer childhood vaccines — even though those countries provide more robust government-funded health systems.
At stake are requirements for attending public schools, where most states have seen lower vaccination rates since the pandemic, as well as insurance coverage that makes vaccines affordable. At least 17 states have announced they will disregard the new federal guidance.
Many have created formal alliances to share health information. The Northeast Public Health Collaborative, composed of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and New York City, announced Monday it will continue following guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
AG Marshall Applauds U.S. Supreme Court’s Affirmation of Religious Liberties in Rural Amish Communities
The U.S. Supreme Court recently vacated a lower court’s ruling that denied religious liberties to members of the Amish community in rural New York State. According to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supported the State of New York imposing significant financial penalties for non-compliance with the State’s school immunization schedule.
In response to the bench’s decision, Alabama led a multistate brief supporting several Amish-only private schools in the region. Marshall, who filed the multistate brief, praised the Supreme Court’s recent decision in a press release. “Alabama joined this legal battle to stop New York’s hostility toward religion from becoming entrenched in federal law,” said Marshall.
“This ruling vacates a bad decision and confirms we were right to take action. While the Supreme Court did not conclusively resolve the issue of religious objections to vaccines, this victory signals to courts that they must respect the religious rights of parents.”
“No family should be forced to choose between raising their children in their faith and accessing a basic education,” added Marshall.
E.P.A. To Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency has calculated the health benefits of reducing air pollution, using the cost estimates of avoided asthma attacks and premature deaths to justify clean-air rules. Not anymore.
Under President Trump, the E.P.A. plans to stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone, when regulating industry, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times. It’s a seismic shift that runs counter to the E.P.A.’s mission statement, which says the agency’s core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, environmental law experts said.
The change could make it easier to repeal limits on these pollutants from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country, the emails and documents show. That would most likely lower costs for companies while resulting in dirtier air. Long-term exposure to both pollutants is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and premature death. Even moderate exposure to PM2.5 can damage the lungs about as much as smoking.
Medical Groups Urge Congress to Probe Kennedy’s Vax Schedule Changes
Hundreds of medical and public health organizations urged Congress to investigate the sweeping changes recently made to the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his administration. In a letter signed by more than 230 organizations representing clinicians, scientists, public health professionals, and patient groups, the signatories called on lawmakers to “conduct swift and robust oversight” of an overhaul they described as abrupt and opaque.
Going against advice from public health experts, Kennedy’s CDC last week slashed the number of universally recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11. The letter said the changes were not based on credible scientific evidence and were made without public input, stakeholder review, or discussion by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. That committee, drastically reshaped last year by Kennedy, includes several members who have espoused anti-vaccine views.
“And yet even this newly constituted committee was not afforded the opportunity to publicly discuss this schedule before it was announced,” the groups wrote. “We urge you to investigate why the schedule was changed, why credible scientific evidence was ignored, and why the committee charged with advising the HHS Secretary on immunizations did not discuss the schedule changes as a part of their public meeting process.”
