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During last fall’s “tripledemic,” cases of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Covid-19 in children soared nationally. There was a spike in ED room visits, urgent care appointments, and hospital admissions. Amid the strain on providers and patients, medication shortages were an unwelcome addition to an already challenging viral season. (Nishant Pandya, 5/8)

S.B. 171 — An Act Allowing Pharmacists to Prescribe Birth Control Medication, a bipartisan bill currently in the Connecticut legislature, would expand access to birth control for residents of Connecticut by giving pharmacists the authority to prescribe it. (Pia Baldwin Edwards, 5/9)

Researchers have more sophisticated tools not only to identify new drug targets, but also to make drugs to hit those targets. A wide variety of therapeutic agents help make these drugs, including chemically synthesized small molecules; larger molecules made of amino acids like peptides, proteins, and antibodies; and nucleic acids like RNA or DNA. (Daniel M. Skovronsky, 5/9)

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee will meet to discuss the Biologics License Application for Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy delandistrogene moxeparvovec for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. (Emil D. Kakkis and Camille Bedrosian, 5/10)

Logan Rachwal, 19, had just started his freshman year at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. On Valentine’s Day in 2021, he had an argument with his girlfriend and decided to take a Percocet, a painkiller, that he had bought through the social media app Snapchat. (Leana S. Wen, 5/8)

The F.D.A. recently approved Narcan for over-the-counter purchase, an important step in making it accessible to those who might need it or be in a position to give it to someone who’s overdosing. (Elizabeth Spiers, 5/7)