Feds sue Walmart over opioid prescriptions; U.S. buys extra Pfizer vaccine doses

Good morning, everybody. Damian Garde right here, filling in for Ed Silverman one final time as 2020 attracts to a detailed. We’re taking an prolonged break by means of the vacations, which implies this article received’t return to your inbox till Jan. 4. We hope you spend the intervening days safely indulging in whichever traditions you like, whether or not they contain stockings, Seamless, or just not studying emails. Within the meantime, right here’s a smattering of things to get your day began. And as all aways, in case you hear one thing notably saucy, do tell us.

The U.S. Justice Division is suing Walmart (WMT) for an alleged position within the nationwide opioid disaster, the New York Instances tells us. In accordance with a 160-page civil grievance, Walmart knew its system for detecting suspicious prescriptions was defective however did little to deal with the matter as its community of pharmacies stuffed hundreds of thousands of scripts for opioid painkillers. Walmart stated the accountability for vetting prescriptions falls on docs, not pharmacies, and stated the federal government was placing the corporate “between a rock and a tough place with state well being regulators who say they’re already going too far in refusing to fill opioid prescriptions.”