About the public’s health
How Safe Is It To Eat Takeout?: This NPR article collects expert opinions to answer the headline’s question. In summary: “… safe food-handling rules, required of any establishment that serves food, would also be protective against spreading the coronavirus…. These include wearing gloves, workers staying home when sick, frequent hand-washing and disinfecting of surfaces in the kitchen.
And no food establishment can operate unless there's at least one person on the premises who is trained in food safety…
The FDA has produced guidance on food safety and COVID-19. The only significant change from standing guidance before the pandemic is the recommendation from the FDA to maintain a 6-foot distance between food workers when possible, to reduce the risk of transmission among them.”
The next pandemic is already coming, unless humans change how we interact with wildlife, scientists say: Fascinating article about the ecology of viral pandemics. “Some 70 percent of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin, scientists say, and nearly 1.7 million undiscovered viruses may exist in wildlife. Many researchers are searching for the ones that could cause the next animal-to-human spillover. The likeliest hot spots have three things in common…: lots of people, diverse plants and animals, and rapid environmental changes…Late last year, a horseshoe bat coronavirus is thought to have leaped in China, scientists say, where commerce in exotic animals is driven by luxury tastes in game and demand for parts used for medicinal purposes.”
Coconut Oil’s Health Halo a Mirage, Clinical Trials Suggest: “Despite the rising popularity of coconut oil because of its purported health benefits, our results raise concerns about high coconut oil consumption. Coconut oil should not be viewed as healthy oil for cardiovascular disease risk reduction and limiting coconut oil consumption because of its high saturated fat content is warranted.”
US suicide rate climbs 35% since 1999, new report finds: “The suicide rate in the United States continues to rise, increasing 35% for almost two decades from 1999 through 2018, according to a new data brief released by the National Center for Health Statistics on Wednesday.” Age, sex and geographic differences are pronounced.
About health insurance
Centene Announces Provider Support Program To Assist Providers With Grant Writing, Small Business Loan Applications: This insurer introduced a program to help support providers.
About healthcare IT
Amidst a record $3.1B funding in Q1 2020, digital health braces for COVID-19 impact: From venture capital firm Rock Heal+h: “Digital health venture funding had its strongest start ever in 2020, with a prodigious $3.1B invested across Q1. In February the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US, sending an immediate shock through public markets. The twin crises of a global pandemic and massive economic shifts will rapidly impact all market sectors, including digital health. To assess the scale, direction, and timing of the impact, we surveyed twelve leading healthcare investors between March 16 and March 20, 2020 (and included our own response in the sample).” The survey is a really god in-depth look at this sector’s recent and immediate prospects.
A public data lake for analysis of COVID-19 data: From Amazon Web Services: “Today, we are making a public AWS COVID-19 data lake available – a centralized repository of up-to-date and curated datasets on or related to the spread and characteristics of the novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) and its associated illness, COVID-19.”
About pharma
FDA clears first generic version of Merck & Co.'s Proventil HFA inhaler for bronchospasm: “The FDA on Wednesday said it approved Cipla's filing for the first generic version of Merck & Co.'s Proventil HFA (albuterol sulfate) metered-dose inhaler. The medicine is indicated to treat and prevent bronchospasm in patients four years of age and older who have reversible obstructive airway disease, as well as to prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm in this age group.
Commissioner Stephen Hahn stated that the agency ‘recognises the increased demand for albuterol products during the novel coronavirus pandemic.’”
COVID-19: 90-Day Refills May Strain Supply Chain:”Across the country, pharmacies have been seeing a significant uptick in patients seeking to extend 30-day prescriptions to 90 days to ensure access to their medications amid the growing COVID-19 crisis. While stakeholders say they have been able to meet these requests, several indicate that it’s only a matter of time before the supply chain buckles under these new pressures.”