Here are the most interesting items we saw this week in women’s health:
⚖️ Texas doctors got 8 hours of continuing education. Two women died. The Texas Medical Board disciplined three doctors after ProPublica’s reporting found unnecessary pregnancy deaths under the state’s abortion ban. One doctor sent an 18-year-old home twice while she was actively infected and septic. Another withheld a D&C from a woman hemorrhaging during a miscarriage. The penalty for each: just 8 hours of continuing education.
🧬 CDC buried a study showing COVID vaccines work. A report showing last winter’s Covid vaccine cut ER visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half was blocked from publication in the MMWR after the agency’s acting director raised methodology concerns. Scientists outside HHS say the methodology is sound and widely used. Women are more likely to experience long COVID than men, and COVID during pregnancy raises the risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and ICU admission — making vaccine effectiveness data directly relevant to outcomes that are uniquely female.
💉 Women using GLP-1s face more social stigma than those who diet. A study of 402 women found that “shortcut” beliefs drove more blame towards women using Ozempic or Wegovy — even with identical weight-loss outcomes to those who used diet and exercise. White women using GLP-1s faced more stigma than Black women, an unexpected finding the researchers flagged for further study.
TOP CLICKED LINKS THIS WEEK
2. Pharmacy Dispensing of Mifepristone After Removal of In-Person Requirements // JAMA
3. Health Officials Nix Publication of Study on Covid Vaccine Effectiveness // NBC News
4. Supplements for Menopause: Here’s What the Evidence Actually Says // The Conversation
5. New Study Examines Stigma Toward Women Who Lose Weight Using GLP-1 Medications // EurekAlert
6. Virginia Law Will Make Some Birth Control Free Under Private Insurance // WHRO