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FDA Admits Improper Medical Device Approval–and it plans to fix its process/NYT
Important article by Gardiner Harris about the new, improving FDA: The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that four New Jersey congressmen and its own former commissioner unduly influenced the process that led to its decision last year to approve a patch for injured knees, an approval it is now revisiting… The agency has never…
F.D.A. Restricts Antibiotics’ Use for Livestock
For 60 years, US factory farms have included broad-spectrum antibiotics in the feed for livestock. It is said to promote growth. It also promotes antibiotic resistance. Fully 80% (30 million pounds) of the antibiotics used in the US are fed to animals who provide our meat and dairy products. In 1977, FDA announced it planned…
Doubt of anthrax suspect’s role resurfaces in lawsuit/ Palm Beach Post
Bob Stevens’ family’s attorney has filed papers disputing the role of Bruce Ivins (in a much delayed lawsuit against the federal government), regarding the wrongful death of Bob Stevens, a photo editor at the National Enquirer who died after exposure to an anthrax letter in 2001. From the Palm Beach Post: Maureen Stevens’ attorneys originally…
25 Tons of Bombs Wipe Afghan Town Off Map/ Wired
Shades of Vietnam: we had to destroy this village to save it. And the US plans to spend $1,000,000 to rebuild it. Of course no civilians, only Taliban, were killed. And we managed to save the pomegranite trees: good aim, guys! Read the WIRED story. An American-led military unit pulverized an Afghan village in Kandahar’s…
UN calls on Obama to investigate human rights abuses in Iraq/ Guardian and Todayonline
From TodayOnLine: LONDON – The United Nations has called on United States President Barack Obama to order a full investigation of the involvement of US forces in human rights abuses in Iraq, after the massive leak of military documents by the WikiLeaks website. The intelligence logs show how the US authorities failed to investigate hundreds…
How Good is a Flu Shot? Likely 1-3% chance it will prevent you from getting influenza this year/Lown Institute Blog
Written by Alan Cassels, a British Columbia drug policy researcher, via Lown Institute Weekly: “Normally, the flu vaccine is between 50 to 60 percent effective”— Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) How effective is the flu shot? That’s an important question that generates many headlines across North America…