Per dose, flu shots are one of the cheapest vaccines you can get. That’s according to the CDC, which insists paying $30 at a pharmacy is a bargain, the Los Angeles Times reports In other drug news, doctors approve of the FDA’s new recommendation to halve the dosage strength of the popular sleep aid Ambien for women, patients fear a return to sleep issues that ruined their lives, the Lakeland Ledger reports.
Meanwhile, biotechnology giant Amgen’s 74 lobbyists pushed for a delay on price restraints for a kidney dialysis drug and got their wish, the New York Times reports. The company can sell the drug for two more years without government control. The extension, which is estimated to end up costing Medicare about $500 million, was included in the bill to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” according to the Times.
