About the public’s health
Activists halt street protests in South Carolina as some demonstrators become infected:”South Carolina racial justice activists said they would postpone future demonstrations or move them online after at least 13 people who took part in previous protests tested positive for the coronavirus.” Still waiting on the incubation period for other protests.
No, more testing doesn’t explain the rise of covid-19 cases in the U.S.: The headline is self-explanatory. The article goes into a deeper explanation and summary of cases across the country.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations Projected to Cost up to $17B in US in 2020: Recent calculations from Avalere.
Moody's: Patient volume recovered a bit in May, but providers face long road to recovery:”In all, the ratings agency estimated total surgeries at rated for-profit hospitals declined by 55% to 70% in April compared with the same period in 2019. States required hospitals to cancel or delay elective procedures, which are vital to hospitals' bottom lines.
Those declines narrowed to 20% to 40% in May when compared to 2019.
Emergency room and urgent care volumes were still down 35% to 50% in May.”
Certain COVID-19 Serology/Antibody Tests Should Not Be Used - Letter to Clinical Laboratory Staff and Health Care Providers: Most recent guidance from the FDA on which tests should and should not be used.
Judges slam J&J's 'reprehensible' talc defense, cut massive 2018 verdict to $2.11B: “For years, Johnson & Johnson has vowed to appeal each talc verdict it lost, and the company cited a ‘fundamentally unfair process’ and ‘multiple errors’ when jurors in St. Louis ordered the company to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women with ovarian cancer.
Now, an appeals court has reduced that award—but only to $2.11 billion, thanks to J&J's "outrageous" and “reprehensible” defense of the product.
J&J brought 10 arguments in appeals, but the court found that plaintiffs ‘proved with convincing clarity that defendants engaged in outrageous conduct because of an evil motive or reckless indifference.’”
Two related stories about sugary drinks.
Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Volume, Tiered, and Absolute Sugar Content SugarSweetened Beverage Tax Policies in the United States: A Microsimulation Study: “All sugar-sweetened beverage tax designs would generate substantial health gains and savings. Tiered and absolute sugar content taxes should be considered and evaluated for maximal potential gains.” Findings are not new; politics and lobbying have prevented taxes in many places where that measure has been tried.
Billions spent on ads encouraging minority youth to drink sugar-laden beverages despite health consequences: The headline speaks for itself. Time for warnings or regulation of this type of advertising?
About healthcare IT
Patients on board with health trackers but don't trust consumer wearables, survey finds: “Nearly 90% of those surveyed believe they could better manage chronic conditions with a health monitoring device. More than half of patients said they would potentially switch doctors if another doctor prescribed a specialized device, according to the survey of 2,000 people conducted by Sony.
However, while consumer-facing companies like Apple and Fitbit offer wearables with health tracking capabilities, only 28% of patients would trust a consumer device to help manage their chronic condition and 45% said they were unsure, according to the survey.”