Walgreens to pay up to $350M for illegal opioid fills, Medicare fraud; COVID-19 vaccine slashes long COVID risk in children; high-fat, high-sugar diet and your memory – Morning Medical Update

Walgreens to pay up to $350M for filling illegal opioid prescriptions and defrauding Medicare

Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million to resolve federal allegations that it filled millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions and submitted false claims to Medicare and other government programs. The settlement — the largest ever under the Controlled Substances Act in the Northern District of Illinois — also requires Walgreens to overhaul its compliance procedures and undergo federal monitoring for up to seven years. The DOJ accused the pharmacy giant of ignoring red flags, pressuring pharmacists, and prioritizing profit over patient safety during the height of the opioid crisis.

COVID vaccine slashes long COVID risk in kids by preventing infection

Children and teens who received the COVID-19 vaccine were up to 20 times less likely to develop long COVID, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania published in Lancet eClinicalMedicine. But the vaccine’s protection came mainly from preventing infection in the first place — once infected, vaccinated and unvaccinated youth were equally likely to develop long COVID. Researchers analyzed records from nearly 400,000 children and adolescents, underscoring the importance of vaccination as a key defense against long-term complications.

High-fat, high-sugar diets may harm young adults’ memory

A University of Sydney study reveals that diets high in sugar and saturated fat may impair spatial memory — even in healthy young adults. In a virtual maze test, participants who frequently consumed fatty, sugary foods were less accurate at recalling locations, pointing to potential damage to the brain’s hippocampus. Published in the International Journal of Obesity, the findings suggest that poor diet could impact brain function long before signs of age-related decline appear — but researchers say the effects may be reversible with healthier eating.