Sabrina  0:00

After a month-long break, we're back. I'm Sabrina,

Miranda  0:04

and I'm Miranda,

Sabrina  0:05

and this is Supplements, your weekly health news podcast!

Even though it's been a month, just some slight updates. I've moved to Taiwan,

Miranda  0:16

and I am still here in America.

So, first of all, just follow up on our last episode where we talked about the Johnson & Johnson pause. Johnson & Johnson has resumed its operations and is now available for people who want to get vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson. However, the company has hit a few snags along the way. The Baltimore plant that was producing Johnson & Johnson vaccines was investigated by the FDA and they found multiple failings in their safety precautions. And in addition, the Johnson & Johnson supply is dwindling, so it will probably not be able to reach as many individuals as they had originally hoped.

Sabrina  1:15

The FDA is developing regulations to move towards banning the manufacturing, importing, and sale of menthol and flavored cigarettes.

Miranda  1:25

And Biden had his first address to the joint session of Congress and some of the health policy issues that he mentioned included allowing Medicare to negotiate drug pricing, including subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, and also calling for the NIH to create an agency specifically focused on innovative research for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.

Sabrina  1:50

To add on to drug pricing, it's currently a hot topic on the Hill. Several representatives have called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate drug maker AbbVie for its pricing of Humira. When Humira first hit the market, under its former maker Abbott Laboratories, it was listed at $522 per syringe. It is currently $2,984 per syringe, that's a 470% increase. This medication is used for rheumatoid arthritis and commonly prescribed in the US.

Miranda  2:30

And the two major political parties, the Democrats and Republicans have very opposing views on how drug pricing should be regulated. While the Democrats are really pushing for Joe Biden to include drug pricing in his infrastructure plans, the Republicans and some moderate Democrats oppose this and do not want to, I guess, place additional regulations on the pharmaceutical companies that are currently making our vaccines and allowing Americans to get vaccinated.

Sabrina  3:08

As America opens up, amusement parks have started allowing a higher capacity of visitors to visit, such as Disneyland.