FDA

Kansas-City-based Shaman Botanicals LLC — the leading supplier of 7-OH in Missouri — received letters from both the FDA and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

The FDA approved a new generic form of mifepristone in September, expanding the accessibility of a common abortion medication. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is taking over a lawsuit challenging the approval in federal court.

Certain prepared pasta dishes were recalled from retailers like Trader Joe's, Kroger and Walmart between June and October. Health officials urge customers to dispose of them and clean their fridges. Missouri is one of 18 states that have reported cases.

Dozens of people in the St. Louis region became sick after eating at catered events late last year. Lawsuits seek to tie the poisoning to a national vegetable company.

Deli meats, carrots and fast food onions are some of the products that were recently recalled across the U.S. Experts say improved detection strategies means regulators are able to catch more health risks.

In January, a Parkville family learned their 8-year-old daughter had a rare illness. Though there is no cure, there is a drug that could help slow the disease. The problem? It costs more than $200,000 a year. Plus: Kansas politicians make bold claims about how to stop population declines in rural communities. Their efforts may not be enough to reverse the trend.

In January, the Anstaett family learned their eight-year-old daughter had Batten disease, a rare condition with a difficult — and eventually terminal — prognosis. The drug showing promise in slowing the disease isn't covered by their insurance because it's still in clinical trials.

The FDA banned donations entirely during the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s when little was known about AIDS. But the risk of transfusion-related transmission hasn’t been a real concern for decades. Kansas City University professor Dr. Benjamin Grin says the government’s holdout on changing guidelines is in part because of a lingering stigma.

The FDA and CDC recently approved COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of six months to five years old. Vaccines are available through your pediatrician, some local pharmacies and hospitals.

The authorization comes in the midst of an explosion of COVID-19 cases nationwide driven by the omicron variant — a surge that has brought a spike in pediatric hospitalizations.

Not a single scientific or health authority in the U.S. recommends the use of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19. Still, some Americans see the unproven drug as a way out of the pandemic.

The CDC is now recommending the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the younger age group so we asked a pediatrician what should parents know before their kids get the shot.