Health News Roundup: Trump admin, letting states limit Medicaid benefits; U.S. lawsuits take aim at vaping and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Trump admin to try letting states limit Medicaid benefits

The Trump administration on Thursday said it will test allowing state Medicaid programs to limit health benefits and prescription drug coverage for some patients in return for changing how federal government contributions to the states are made. Medicaid plans currently pay for most prescription drugs. The new approach would align their coverage with that of many private health plans and Medicare prescription drug plans that typically use the threat of excluding a drug from coverage to seek lower prices from manufacturers.

Factbox: U.S. lawsuits take aim at vaping

Several deaths and potentially hundreds of illnesses tied to e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapor, often flavored, without smoking, have been reported by the U.S. public health agency. Lawsuits on behalf of young consumers have targeted leading e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. Altria, which holds a stake in Juul, said the number of cases pending against the e-cigarette maker has surged by more than 80% since October.

Fatal traffic crashes spike after switch to Daylight Saving Time

Fatal traffic accidents are more common right after clocks spring ahead for Daylight Saving Time than at other times of the year, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data on 732,835 fatal motor vehicle accidents between 1996 and 2017 and found the risk of these events was about 6% higher in the week after the springtime shift to Daylight Saving Time. If clocks didn't change, it might prevent 28 fatal car crashes a year, the study team estimates in Current Biology.

WHO declares global emergency as China virus death toll reaches 170

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was declaring the China coronavirus outbreak that has killed 170 people in China a global emergency, as cases spread to 18 countries. The United States reported its first case of person-to-person transmission. Experts say cases of person-to-person transmission - which have also been detected outside China in Germany, Vietnam, and Japan - are especially concerning because they suggest greater potential for the virus to spread further.

Get us out of here, plead foreign students at China virus epicenter

Foreign students stuck in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak, are launching social media campaigns, making phone calls and writing letters urging their governments to get them out as soon as possible. Governments globally are grappling with the challenge of how to get their citizens out of China's Hubei province, where 60 million residents now live under virtual lockdown.

U.S. EPA reaffirms that glyphosate does not cause cancer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the agency's stance on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer AG's Roundup, despite judgments by U.S. juries that have found that use of the weedkiller was responsible for plaintiffs' cancer in some trials.

On eve of Brexit, Britain faces critical test to defend drug trial crown

It's 2023. Britain's brightest and best drug researchers are packing their bags as clinical trials start to dwindle, leaving a nation renowned as a global leader in pharmaceutical development to face a future in the slow lane. This is a worst-case scenario outlined by some scientists and industry experts in the wake of Brexit, which they say could deprive the country of its role as Europe's leader in early-stage drug research, designing and hosting pan-EU trials.

Health workers may not use hand sanitizer properly

Healthcare workers may not be using the right amount of hand sanitizer or letting it dry on their hands long enough to achieve maximum protection against the spread of germs, a recent study suggests. Researchers did lab tests to see how long different amounts of gel and foam versions of alcohol-based hand sanitizer took to dry on nine volunteers' hands. In the test of 0.75-milliliter, 1.5ml, 2.25ml and 3ml dollops, smaller amounts of sanitizer sometimes dried within the 20-30 second time frame recommended by the World Health Organization for optimal effectiveness, but none of the products dried that fast when the largest amounts were used.

Altria takes another $4 billion hit on Juul investment, revises deal terms

Altria Group Inc took another $4 billion charge on its investment in Juul Labs Inc and said it had reworked its deal terms with the embattled e-cigarette maker, which is facing increased regulatory scrutiny amid a backlash against vaping. The Marlboro maker said on Thursday the fourth-quarter charge was mainly due to the increased number of legal cases pending against Juul and the expectation that the number would continue to grow.

Trump launches coronavirus task force as U.S. readies more Wuhan evacuations

The Trump administration launched a task force with a brief to protect the United States from the fast-spreading coronavirus, as the country prepared to evacuate more of its citizens from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. In a statement on Thursday, the U.S. State Department said Washington would arrange extra evacuation flights from Wuhan with capacity for private U.S. citizens, on or about Feb. 3.