A recent poll found that about 15.5 million Americans have used injectable diabetes medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight. While these drugs are becoming wildly popular, they can cause risks that you should know about.

54-year-old Nham Pham, Orlando doctor, was accused of receiving, proffering delivery, misbranding, and failing to register shipments of liquid silicone with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Teen vaping in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level in a decade.

According to the FDA, 90 percent of Americans are eating more sodium than the recommended amount! And too much could be harming your health.

The FTC and FDA are calling out five sellers of edible cannabis products using packaging that imitates foods popular with kids.

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld access to a drug used in the majority of U.S. abortions, though abortion opponents say the ruling won’t be the last word in the fight over mifepristone.

Nine hundred thousand people undergo back surgery each year. One of the main problems? Herniated or bulging discs. In fact, half a million people remove bulges that are pressing on nerves that are causing severe, debilitating pain.

It’s known as one of the happiest times in the life of a new parent: The birth of their baby. But that’s not the case for every person who just gave birth.

The Supreme Court seems likely to preserve access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion case since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

Congressional leaders have come out with a package of six bills setting full-year spending levels for some federal agencies.

In the quest for a healthier lifestyle, many of us have turned to artificial sweeteners as a guilt-free alternative to sugar. But are they really all that good for us?

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help people with food allergies in the event they are accidentally exposed.

Almost one billion people will suffer from sniffles and sneezes this year. But when you go to the pharmacy to get your favorite cold medicine it may not be there.

A Jacksonville man said he has spent several days in debilitating pain because of a nationwide drug shortage.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladopo called for a halt to the use of COVID-19 vaccines based on mRNA and said the vaccines could result in an illness.

U.S. officials are seizing more shipments of unauthorized electronic cigarettes.

Winter is here and with the cooler weather come viruses, such as the flu, COVID, and RSV. Last year we experienced a rise in all three during December, January, and February.

Nearly 1 in 6 adults has trouble hearing, but few people who could benefit from wearing a hearing aid actually use one. The good news: over-the-counter hearing aids are widely available and Consumer Reports’ tests found there are options that work well.

The Federal Trade Commission says it issued warnings to two food and beverage industry groups, as well as to a dozen online influencers and dieticians for failing to adequately disclose paid social media posts that promoted a sweetener and sugary products.

The FDA issued warnings about 27 eye drop products that contain bacteria that could cause eye infections and potentially lead to vision loss or blindness.

Halloween is right around the corner, and with over 44 million children gearing up to transform into witches, wizards, pirates, and princesses, it's important for parents to be aware of some crucial safety measures. Here are some tips to ensure a safe and happy Halloween.

Health advocates are urging the FDA to finalize a rule that would prohibit flavored cigars as a new report raises concerns about cigar use among children, especially Black youth.

For the first time, after decades of testing and tweaking, researchers have developed – and the FDA has approved – a RSV vaccine for this sometimes-deadly virus. Is it safe, and who should get it?

The FDA approved an oral treatment for older children with peanut allergies, but there was no treatment for children under the age of four, until now.

Artificial Intelligence, might help to weed out the good from the bad, the drugs that will work and the one’s that won’t, making the time a drug takes to get approval quicker than ever before.

The FDA is set to decide whether it will fully approve the first Alzheimer’s drug to show it could slow the disease’s progression in certain patients. But the decision could also have other implications, including who would get access to it.

The FTC and FDA are sending cease and desist letters to sellers of edible Delta 8 products and telling them to stop marketing products that may entice young children.

GammaTile Therapy is an FDA-approved procedure that won’t save you from brain cancer, but experts say it will buy you more time and improve your quality of life while you deal with the brain cancer.

Federal health advisers are recommending that a decades-old birth control pill be sold without a prescription.

There are all kinds of skin care products available these days -- with some focusing on being "natural." And while you may think those are better for your skin, a study found they often contain allergens.

Food safety mistakes you should stop doing right now to avoid getting sick.

Vice President Kamala Harris is urging Americans to take action during “a critical point in our nation’s history” as thousands of people protested new limits to abortion rights in demonstrations across the country.

Missouri’s attorney general announced new restrictions Thursday on transgender care for adults in addition to minors in a move that is believed to be a first nationally and has advocacy groups threatening to sue.

There’s a new salvo in the fight to control Disney World.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has advanced elements of his aggressive conservative agenda though the use of executive power, drawing on appointees, state boards and the state Constitution as he builds toward an expected presidential candidacy.

Missouri's Republican attorney general says his office will limit access to gender-affirming care for minors.

The 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce is out and strawberries and spinach own the top two slots on the so-called "dirty dozen."

The Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee (NDAC) and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee (AADPAC) is discussing supplemental new drug application 208411/S–006, for NARCAN (naloxone hydrochloride) nasal spray, submitted by Emergent BioSolutions Inc.

A product some states have dubbed “Gas Station Heroin” is legally sold over the counter in Florida.

From dodgy designs to dangerous ingredients, experts agree there are more recalls. They also agree that’s because we are getting better at catching problems before they become fatal.

How often should Americans get their booster shot against COVID-19, and how important is the booster to you if you’ve already been infected with COVID-19? Those are questions a panel of experts set out to answer during an FDA meeting, the information will be passed on to the CDC.

Researchers at Baylor test each patient’s virus against a library of phage in their lab.

In a statement, the agency specifically mentioned risk-based screening for HIV.

Both the CDC and FDA say Delta products are potentially dangerous drugs that have resulted in thousands of accidental poisonings.

The American Heart Association recommends eating four handfuls, or one and a half ounces, of unsalted nuts per week.

The FDA recently approved over-the-counter hearing aids, which are now available in stores.

Consumer Reports explains everything you need to know about the new ways of shopping for a hearing aid.

The latest government study on teen vaping suggests there’s been little progress in keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of kids.

Could you be cooking up more than you imagined for dinner tonight?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has posted another negative review of a closely watched drug for the deadly neurodegenerative disease ALS.

The Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is helping the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services investigate a listeria outbreak linked to ice cream, the FDA said Tuesday.

Now that an FDA advisory committee has recommended the Novavax COVID-19 vaccination for emergency use, experts say we could possibly see the FDA give full approval of the vaccine soon.

The FDA is warning about an outbreak of Hepatitis A linked to strawberries sold in major grocery stores across the country last month.

The local departments of health around Northeast Florida sent notices Friday saying they are monitoring the infant formula shortage, which they called a “life-threatening issue.”

The Food and Drug Administration's commissioner says a shuttered baby formula factory could be up and running by next week.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved children ages 5 to 11 to get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new website to help parents find baby formula amid a nationwide shortage. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to make an announcement on infant formula imports amid the shortage that has sent parents scrambling to keep their babies fed, the federal agency said Friday.

Jacksonville woman says the baby formula her five-month-old son needs has vanished from store shelves.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older.

Doctors say the subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, accounts for about a quarter of the cases reported, adding that it’s more transmissible, but not as severe.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled two items that you may have inside your home right now.

Newly-approved eyedrops could help you put your reading glasses in a drawer for good.

It has never been easier to get your hands on an at-home COVID-19 test.

Happy Thursday, News4JAX Insiders. The weekend is right around the corner!

U.S. regulators on Friday put the brakes on their push to speed Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children under 5.

The FDA's move to revoke authorization was not unexpected because the drugmakers said the infusion drugs are less able to target omicron because of its mutations. Omicron now accounts for nearly all U.S. infections.

The FDA has issued new guidelines to encourage food manufacturers, restaurants, and food service companies to scale back on their use of sodium.

Why would they do that and is it safe?

Unauthorized testing kits are popping up online as scammers try to take advantage of the demand for COVID-19 testing.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12.

As the demand for testing has grown, the FDA announced at home COVID tests may not detect the Omicron variant as well as other variants.

We might not be able to claim that 2021 was *the* wildest year in recent history (2020 will likely get that credit for quite some time), but it might be a close second.

For the first time in US history, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses over a one year period.

The FDA is recalling 2 million Ellume at-home COVID-19 tests because of false-positive results.

28 million eligible children are one step closer to being able to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA has approved Pfizer's vaccine for kids 5-11.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that those numbers should go down over the next four weeks if vaccination rates continue at the pace they are right now.

Drugmaker Merck on Monday requested emergency use authorization for its antiviral pill against COVID-Drugmaker Merck asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its pill for treating COVID-19 in what would add an entirely new and easy-to-use weapon to the world’s arsenal against the pandemic.

Around 10 million Americans have had Lasik surgery to correct their vision since it was FDA approved 20 years ago. Now a lesser-known vision correction procedure is offering a smaller incision and quicker recovery. Ivanhoe has details on why doctors are considering this Lasik 2.0.

Pfizer has submitted its clinical trial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 as it moves closer to seeking approval for expanded use of the shots.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said Tuesday it will wait on recommendations from the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) before releasing a plan to administer booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia.

The baby blues, also known as postpartum depression, can send new moms into an emotional spiral.

The Food and Drug Administration will grant full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine in the coming days, according to multiple reports.

More than one out of every three Americans gets sunburned each year and having five or more sunburns doubles your risk of melanoma.

Even though the average American only spends about 7% of their entire life outdoors, the way that time is spent is crucial.

Another group of Americans is now eligible to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

A U.S. health panel said late Friday it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine despite a very rare risk of blood clots.

While the FDA and CDC have put a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, for now, the medical community still recommends people get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to protect against the coronavirus in the meantime.

Gateway Mall and other vaccination sites run by the federal government in Jacksonville discontinued giving Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines after a joint call from the CDC and FDA. State-run sites and private pharmacies have also suspended giving J&J doses but continue with the two-shot vaccines.

Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after 6 people in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination, officials said.

There are now three COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA. And absolutely don’t wait for any specific vaccine. Esper said vaccine supply is still scarce, so if you’re eligible and find availability -- don’t wait. They all bring us one step closer to herd immunity and normalcy. When you can get vaccinated, get vaccinated.”Esper said while the trio of COVID-19 vaccines have been deemed safe and effective, they’re still undergoing testing.

Those are the questions doctors say they’re getting most often as more people are getting COVID-19 shots. Those questions were also raised over the weekend when the former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that more and more evidence indicates the COVID-19 vaccine is also preventing transmission of infection. The statement could send a mixed message to some people that they don’t still need to practice COVID-19 safety measures if they’re vaccinated. “Keep in mind that those clinical trials were not designed to test if the virus is transmissible,” he said. “It was designed to test if you’re getting COVID-19 clinically.”As this is debated, most public health experts have said fully vaccinated persons should continue to wear masks, employ social distancing and continue practicing other public health measures because there had been no evidence the vaccine would prevent transmission as well as infection.

The Florida Department of Health reported Saturday an additional 118 deaths of residents or visitors to the state, bringing the total to 29,179, although many of those deaths occurred days or weeks earlier. According to the state, 32 of the additional deaths were in long-term care facilities, which have reported more than 10,000 deaths since the pandemic began -- more than one-third of Florida’s total. AdSaturday’s report comes a day after the first case of the U.K. COVID variant was reported in Jacksonville, according to the Duval County Health Department. Florida and Duval County COVID-19 cases per dayThere were 4,681 people in Florida hospitalized on Saturday afternoon with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. There have now been 2,293,883 people vaccinated in Florida so far and 1,028,315 -- 4.78% of the state’s population -- have now received both shots.

Baldwin, 67, was instructed that she would receive a call from the state to set up her second vaccine appointment. If they missed their 21-day, or for the Moderna on the 28-day appointment, they were tracked up to 42 days later to receive it.”“If you miss 42 days, that’s probably okay too. Officials did not answer whether they were unable to administer second doses at the same rate as first doses. “We are prepared to provide a second dose for every person who received a first dose at Regency. “I will follow up with it, but bottom line we have said when the second doses come in, fill your appointments.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A government investigation revealed several major brands of baby food products contained arsenic and lead. There are in fact no ‘normal’ levels so any exposure to any levels of these heavy metals will have a significant impact,” Goldhagen said. “The FDA has to take more action to reduce the heavy metals in baby food,” said Consumer Reports Senior Scientist Michael Hansen. Hansen has spent years advocating for more regulation for baby food. He added that parents searching for peace of mind, should make their own baby food, so they know what their child is eating.

A pet food is being taken off shelves after at least 28 dogs died, the FDA announced. The FDA says toxic levels of mold were found in the corn and grains inside some Sportmix pet products. The pet food can cause aflatoxin poisoning with symptoms like sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice and diarrhea, and in severe cases, it can be fatal. In some cases, dogs and cats can suffer liver damage but not show any symptoms. For now, pet owners should stop using this food and consult their veterinarian immediately.

Nurse Melissa Valentin shows a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be applied to medical personnel at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (AP Photo / Carlos Giusti)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When the FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the medical community agreed it would help more people than not. However, the vaccine is not recommended for everyone just yet. She said it’s just that right now there’s no data because no one who falls into these categories were included in the vaccine trials. It’s important to note that it could be months before a vaccine becomes available for widespread public use, and we’re going to learn more about the vaccines by then.

“I feel like healing is coming.”With a countdown of “3-2-1,” workers at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center gave initial injections to applause. High-risk health care workers were first in line. It just represents a moral failing,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins. And later this week, the FDA will decide whether to greenlight the world’s second rigorously studied COVID-19 vaccine, made by Moderna Inc. “We’re also in the middle of a surge, and it’s the holidays, and our health care workers have been working at an extraordinary pace,” said Sue Mashni, chief pharmacy officer at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida is expecting to get around 120,000 doses of the vaccine as part of the first phase of distribution. The priority for health officials are hospitals and long-term care facilities. It’s likely the first doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine will be sent out within 48 hours. Partnering with the Division of Emergency Management and the Florida National Guard, the department said it will form “strike teams” to get those doses to where they’re badly needed at long-term care facilities. With 19,500 going to each hospital facility, UF Health in Jacksonville is one of them.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Health care workers have a big message to the public: Do not come to the hospital right now and ask for the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s already happened at UF Health Jacksonville ahead of the vaccine’s rollout. In the end, it comes down to the FDA approving it and the states deciding who gets it first.”What do we know about Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine? Pfizer’s study does not end if the FDA gives it an emergency use authorization. We are going to learn more about the vaccine and the other vaccines in the pipeline, but it’s the job of the FDA to decide if the benefit outweighs the risk.

Dr. Mobeen Rathore, Professor and Chief of Infectious Disease at UF Health Jacksonville, attended the virtual meeting yesterday when an advisory committee voted to recommend the FDA approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. It is going to be awhile before we know if this vaccine is safe and the effect for children,” said Dr. Rathore. “I think right now the vaccine is not going to be recommended for pregnant women because the studies were not conducted for pregnant women. If you get the vaccine, Dr. Rathore said that does not mean you should stop wearing a mask or stop socially distancing. Dr. Rathore said while the first dose does provide some protection, it is important that recipients receive both doses to be fully protected.