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What happened in health news this week? | Health Smart

A look at three of the top health stories in the news from the last week to keep you Health Smart.

YORK, Pa. —

Drinking 2 cups of coffee while pregnant could mean shorter kids 

Children whose mothers drank about two cups of coffee a day when they were pregnant were shorter than kids whose moms didn't drink coffee during pregnancy. 

The findings were published Monday in JAMA Network Open. Researchers studied 2,400 children between the ages of four and eight and said that they believe coffee can impact children until they are eight years old. 

The researchers said that, given that roughly eight in 10 U.S. pregnant women consume caffeine, it is important to determine whether in utero caffeine exposure has long-term growth implications in offspring. The scientists concluded further research is needed to see if these height gaps continue into adulthood.

Strong data for possible RSV vaccine  

Pfizer announced preliminary results from a phase three RSV vaccine trial on Tuesday and said that vaccinating pregnant women appears to help protect their newborns from the virus. In fact, the trial found the vaccine to be nearly 82% effective. 

Experts say the findings give them hope that protection from the virus is close, but say more research is needed to confirm their findings.

CVS agrees to $5 billion settlement of opioid lawsuits

CVS health has become the first major pharmacy chain to reach a national settlement of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic. 

The company will have to pay about $5 billion over 10 years under a deal that would be one of the largest settlements regarding the crisis. CVS did not admit liability or wrongdoing and said non-financial terms remain to be resolved. 

Oher pharmacies including Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart have reached agreements with individual states.

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