About the public’s health
The US has reported its highest one-day Covid-19 death tally: Over 2,800:”More than 2,800 Covid-19 deaths were reported Wednesday in the United States -- the most the country has ever reported in a single day -- as health care officials say their staff and facilities are struggling to support burgeoning numbers of patients.
The number of Covid-19 patients in US hospitals Wednesday -- 100,226, according to the COVID Tracking Project -- also is the highest reported on a given day during the pandemic.”
Vaccination cards will be issued to everyone getting Covid-19 vaccine, health officials say: “The Department of Defense released the first images of a Covid-19 vaccination record card and vaccination kits Wednesday.” See the article for a picture of the card.
The U.S. has spent billions stockpiling ventilators, but many won’t save critically ill COVID-19 patients: “With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across its shores earlier this year, the U.S. government in April announced orders for almost $3 billion of ventilators for a national stockpile, meant to save Americans suffering from severe respiratory problems brought on by the disease.
But of the 140,000 machines added since then by the government to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile, almost half were basic breathing devices that don’t meet what medical specialists say are the minimum requirements for ventilators needed to treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the main cause of death among COVID-19 patients, according to a Reuters review of publicly-available device specifications and interviews with doctors and industry executives.”
How Risk of Exposure to the Coronavirus at Work Varies by Race and Ethnicity and How to Protect the Health and Well-Being of Workers and Their Families: This in-depth report from the Urban Institute is worth reading. Among the findings:
”We find that Black, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx workers are more likely than white workers to have jobs that place them at greater risk of exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus. More than half of all Black, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx workers have essential or nonessential jobs that must be done in person and close to others, compared with 41 percent of white workers. In addition, Black, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx workers who must work in person and close to others have lower incomes than white workers in these jobs and are less likely to have health insurance. Finally, Black, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx households face greater risks of transmission of the virus at home because they are more likely to have a worker who works in person and close to others and to live in households with multiple generations of adults.”
Anthony Fauci slams U.K.'s speedy review of Pfizer, BioNTech COVID shot: “‘If you go quickly and you do it superficially, people are not going to want to get vaccinated,”’NIAID director Anthony Fauci told Fox News. ‘We have the gold standard of a regulatory approach with the FDA.’
The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) did not do it as carefully,’ he added.”
UN commission reclassifies cannabis, no longer considered risky narcotic: “In reviewing a series of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on marijuana and its derivatives, the CND [Commission on Narcotic Drugs] zeroed-in on the decision to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside deadly, addictive opioids, including heroin.
The CND’s 53 Member States voted to removed cannabis – where it had been placed for 59 years – from the strictest control schedules, that even discouraged its use for medical purposes.
With an historic vote of 27 in favour, 25 against, and one abstention, the CND has opened the door to recognizing the medicinal and therapeutic potential of the commonly-used but still largely illegal recreational drug.”
Food insecurity rates high among people with heart disease:”People with atherosclerosis, particularly those who earn a low income and have other socioeconomic disadvantages, are more likely to experience food insecurity than those without the condition, according to new research.
Researchers analyzed several socioeconomic factors from self-reported data for 190,113 U.S. adults. Among the 18,442 (8.2%) adults with atherosclerosis, about 1 in 7 – or 14.6% – reported being food insecure. That was compared with 9.1% among those without atherosclerosis.
The findings also showed food insecurity affects nearly 1 in 2 people with the condition who also are among the most disadvantaged socioeconomic groups.”
The 2020 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: responding to converging crises: An excellent report about climate change and health.
“The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the emerging health profile of the changing climate.
The 2020 report presents 43 indicators across five sections: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerabilities; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. This report represents the findings and consensus of the 35 leading academic institutions and UN agencies that make up The Lancet Countdown, and draws on the expertise of climate scientists, geographers, engineers, experts in energy, food, and transport, economists, social, and political scientists, data scientists, public health professionals, and doctors.
About pharma
Regeneron and UPenn Forge Gene Therapy Pact for COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail:”Regeneron has partnered with the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) to develop a gene therapy nasal delivery system for its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, casirivimab and imdevimab, which received an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA last month for mild-to-moderately ill coronavirus patients at high risk.”
HHS enlists CVS to pilot administering Eli Lilly's antibody drug to high-risk patients: “The Trump administration has purchased an additional 650,000 doses of Eli Lilly's antibody treatment for COVID-19 and enlisted CVS Health to pilot administering the therapy to patients in long-term care facilities and at home.”
About health insurance
CMS' outpatient payment rule for 2021: 5 things to know: An excellent short summary of the 1312 page final rule.
Here is another short summary of the changes.
About healthcare IT
North Korean Hackers Are Said to Have Targeted Companies Working on Covid-19 Vaccines: ”North Korean hackers have targeted at least six pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., the U.K. and South Korea working on Covid-19 treatments, according to people familiar with the matter, as the regime seeks sensitive information it could sell or weaponize.”