Free Republic

Cody Hudson was interning in a medical office near his home in Florida, taking a gap year before beginning college in Arizona, when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns went into effect and ended his internship. Like many American families, Cody and his family took the recommended precautions around COVID-19. But when the vaccines became available, his parents were skeptical, Cody told The Defender in an interview. As he began planning for college and started a short-term job at a coffee shop where everyone was vaccinated, Cody started researching the vaccine online and talking to people around him. He concluded the vaccine...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, struggling to convince Americans that he's improved their lives as he runs for reelection, hailed his administration's Tuesday announcement that several drugs would be targeted for Medicare's first-ever price negotiations. The drugs include the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications. The negotiation process was authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed last year, capping decades of debate over whether the federal government should be allowed to haggle with pharmaceutical companies. Any lower prices won't take effect for three years, and the path forward could be further complicated by...

Covid-19 patients with a history of cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk of developing severe illness and could benefit most from the Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid – but there’s a catch. Paxlovid can have dangerous interactions with some of the most common medications for cardiovascular disease, including certain statins and heart failure therapies, a new paper warns. The review paper, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, lists dozens of cardiovascular medications and whether they are safe to give along with Paxlovid or whether they could have interactions. Some medications such as aspirin are safe to...