About the public’s health
COVID-19 Projections: Projections from the University of Washington are that the peak hospital resource needs (beds, ventilators, etc.) will be on April 15. See the chart and “normal” distribution of dates.
Johnson & Johnson targets Phase I study in September after selecting lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate: “Johnson & Johnson announced Monday the selection of a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate from constructs it has been working on since January. The company noted that it hopes to initiate a Phase I study at the latest by September, accelerated from a previous target of November, with data on safety and efficacy expected to be available by the end of the year.”
Older Americans Act Reauthorized with Funds for Hospice Family Caregivers, Social Determinants: “Congress has reauthorized the Older Americans Act, which provides funds to services for seniors, including those designed to help them age in place. Some provisions of the act allocate dollars to community-based programs that provide meals, transportation and other social determinants of health, allowing seniors to remain in their homes where they later may receive hospice care.
The law, which originally passed in 1965, established the U.S. Administration of Aging, which works in concert with state agencies on aging as well as local entities. The recently passed reauthorization bill extends the funds for another five years. The revised law increases spending by 35% and includes additional programs to address social determinants of health as well as social isolation among seniors.”
2020’s Most & Least Stressed States: Is your state more or less stressed than others in the country.? Check here to find out.
Good news for teaching hospitals: U.S. resumes visa processing for physicians: “…the State Department updated information on visas, signaling that it will resume processing of J and H visa applications for medical professionals seeking to enter the U.S.”
Moderate social distancing yields $8 trillion in economic benefits, study finds: The headline speaks for itself.
About health insurance
Physicians and Other Clinicians: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19: Yesterday, CMS issued what it calls an “unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” Much of the announcement is what CMS will allow for telehealth services and how to bill for them. See, also, Hospital Safety Rules Are Relaxed to Fight Coronavirus.
About healthcare IT
The platforms physicians can and can't use to communicate with patients: The HHS Office of Civil Rights (which monitors and enforces HIPAA compliance) has relaxed its IT requirements for communicating with patients during the COVID-19 crisis. Here are the social media platforms that you can and cannot use. For example, no Tik Tok.
About pharma
FDA lets Novartis off the hook in Zolgensma data manipulation: “When Novartis’ Zolgensma data manipulation problem first went public last August, an angry FDA said it would consider civil or criminal penalties. But it looks like neither of those is going to happen.
In a statement shared with FiercePharma, an FDA spokesperson said the agency has decided it will not punish Novartis’ gene therapy unit AveXis for doctoring Zolgensma mice testing data in its drug application package.”