Boosters, Brain Age, and Other News

Howie and Harlan discuss recent headlines, including the latest round of COVID and flu vaccines, a lousy report card for the U.S. healthcare system, and a rare case of swine flu. Plus: Howie investigates a mysteriously escalating pharmacy bill.
Links:
COVID and Flu Vaccines
CDC FluView: Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 36, ending September 7, 2024 (www.cdc.gov/fl...)
CDC: Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines (www.cdc.gov/co...)
“Florida discourages use of mRNA Covid vaccines in older adults” (www.nbcnews.co...)
“Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation” (kffhealthnews....)
CDC: COVID Data Tracker (covid.cdc.gov/...)
A Failing Grade
“Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System” (www.commonweal...)
CMS Health Equity Conference (www.cms.gov/cm...)
“What is Driving Widening Racial Disparities in Life Expectancy?” (www.kff.org/ra...)
Swine Flu
“Minnesota reports 2 H3N2v flu infections in fairgoers” (www.cidrap.umn...)
Shohei Ohtani
“Shohei Ohtani reaches 50-50 in spectacular style as Dodgers clinch postseason berth” (www.nytimes.co...)
“The Shohei Ohtani Goal Matrix” ( / the-shohei-ohtani-goal... )
Baseball Almanac: A Definition of 50-50 Club (www.baseball-a...)
Drug Prices
Mayo Clinic: Flecainide (www.mayoclinic...)
“Column: Less choice, higher prices feared in CVS’ takeover of health insurer Aetna” (www.latimes.co...)
“How to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs” (www.nytimes.co...)
Brain Age
“Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations” (www.nature.com...)
“Brain aging patterns in a large and diverse cohort of 49,482 individuals” (www.nature.com...)
“Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank” (www.nature.com...)
“Environmental Cardiology: Studying Mechanistic Links Between Pollution and Heart Disease” (www.ahajournal...)
AirPods as Hearing Aids
“FDA Authorizes First Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Software” (www.fda.gov/ne...)
Oak Street Health
Department of Justice: Oak Street Health Agrees to Pay $60M to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Liability for Paying Kickbacks to Insurance Agents in Medicare Advantage Patient Recruitment Scheme (www.justice.go...)
“CVS Reaches $10.6 Billion Deal to Buy Clinic Owner Oak Street Health” (www.wsj.com/ar...)