What We’re Reading: Emergency Abortion Requirements; Herbicide in Urine Samples; US Buys Novavax Vaccine

Hospitals Have to Provide Abortion Services in Emergencies, HHS Says

The Biden administration reminded hospitals they are required to provide abortion services in cases where the health or life of the mother is at risk and in other emergency situations, The Associated Press reported. Based on legal requirements listed in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, HHS said medical facilities must determine whether someone seeking treatment is in labor or whether they are experiencing or could soon experience an emergency health situation and to provide the necessary treatment. According to HHS, emergency situations include ectopic pregnancies, complications due to loss of pregnancy, or emergent hypertensive disorders such as preeclampsia with severe features.

Herbicide Linked to Cancer Found in 80% of Urine Samples

Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the United States, has already been linked to cancer and is now being detected in more than 80% of urine samples from children and adults in the country, CBS News reported. This total comes from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which found glyphosate in 1885 of 2310 urine samples from a nationally representative population; nearly a third of the samples came from children aged 6 to 18 years. The chemical is the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller owned by Bayer, and this news follows the Supreme Courts rejection of Bayer’s request to shut down thousands of lawsuits linking the weedkiller to cancer.

Biden Administration Purchases Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine

HHS announced the purchase of 3.2 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which has been recommended by the CDC and is expected to soon receive FDA emergency use authorization. According to an HHS news release, the protein-based vaccine will be made available for free to states, jurisdictions, federal pharmacy partners, and federally qualified health centers as a 2-dose primary series. Unlike the mRNA vaccines, the Novavax vaccine contains a very small amount of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to trigger an immune response and an adjuvant to boost the immune system’s response to the vaccine.