Buzz Newsletter 1/22/2026

Welcome to the January 22nd edition of the GPhA Buzz Newsletter. This weekly round up of pharmacy news and information is a member benefit, so if you haven't renewed your membership, please do so now. Don't miss out on this newsletter, the Legislative Update, and your FREE CEimpact Pharmacist or Technician By Design CPE plans.

 

As a reminder, if you have been on auto renewal, you'll still need to renew your membership in our new software system, just this one time. 

Things have been busy on the healthcare front in Washington, D.C. of late. President Trump announced a healthcare plan that is designed to bring the cost of healthcare down by lowering the price of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums. You can read the full plan, called "The Great Healthcare Plan," on the White House's webpage here. It does include PBM reform but as yet details are not available on the published fact sheet. 

 

However, in spite of clear bipartisan support for some of the issues (like PBM reform), Politico is reporting that it might be difficult to get the plan passed through Congress. According to this article, some parts of the proposal won't meet some of the strict Senate rules regarding legislation, and could lack support from the Democrats in Congress. 

 

In the meantime, negotiations with drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription medications for patients. To date, 16 companies have agreed to these "most favored nation" deals; however, 872 brand-name drugs, including some from these 16 companies, saw increased prices this month. 

Measles are still working their way through the country, and we're currently watching an outbreak in neighboring South Carolina. The state is reporting more than 550 cases, mostly in unvaccinated children and concentrated in the Spartanburg area. 

 

It's even made to Clemson's campus, thought currently limited to one patient who is now in isolation. The university says 98% of the students on campus have provided proof of immunity (meaning they're vaccinated). 

 

And Washington State is now reporting some measles cases linked to a holiday visit from family members from South Carolina. 

Vaccines are good at preventing illness, or in the case of flu shots, keeping symptoms mild, especially in older people. The shingles vaccine, though painful (ask how we know), provides 90% protection against one of the most horrifyingly painful conditions (again, ask how we know). 

 

Well researchers are now finding that vaccines have several off-target benefits in older adults, including improving immune systems and lowering risk of cardiovascular hospitalization. It could also decrease the chances of dementia and Alzheimer's. 

 

New research is showing that "Superagers," those over 80 with memory capacity of younger folks, may have more gene variants that protect them from developing Alzheimer's. Meaning, they have more APOE2 alleles, and fewer APOE4 alleles, which carry a greater risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's. It's all early research, though anything we learn about Alzheimer's is a step in the right direction. 

Here's a roundup of news about drugs we found interesting this week: 

 

The makers of six flu vaccines got word from the FDA this week that they have to add notification of the risk of febrile seizures to their labels. Those vaccines are Sanofi’s Fluzone, AZ’s FluMist, GSK’s Fluarix and FluLaval, and CSL’s Afluria and Flucelvax. 

 

The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for Novartis's Iamalumab to treat Sjögren’s disease, a chronic autoimmune disease that is currently without effective treatment. 

 

The New York Times is reporting on a review of more than three dozen studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy and found no link to the risk of autism. Of note, the studies go back more than a decade specifically because of acetaminophen's ability to cross the brain and placental barriers. 

 

Scientists are studying the possibility that ibuprofen could lower the risk of certain cancers due to its ability to reduce inflammation.  

A few stories we found science-y and fun, including puppies (when aren't puppies fun?) 

 

This could be fun news or the stuff of science fiction nightmares, but viruses evolve differently in space. They can still infect subjects but the way they interact changes and slows them down.

 

While it's not fun that six puppies in Washington State had to be revived after a suspected overdose on fentanyl, it is fun that they are now healthy and healed and available for adoption. Potential adopters include the firefighters who rescued them by administering naloxone, oxygen, and performing CPR. 

Each year at the Georgia Pharmacy Convention, we take time to recognize those individuals making a real difference in pharmacy in the state. Nominated by you, our membership, each of these award recipients represents the best and the brightest in pharmacy. 

 

Nominations are open now, and close February 2, 2026. See the full list of awards and their descriptions here. To nominate a pharmacist or technician, please use the form found here and submit before the deadline. To view a full list of all past winners, click here.