About Covid-19
Survey: Many employers rolling out vaccine mandates despite ongoing legal challenges: “Willis Towers Watson surveyed nearly 550 employers in mid-November and found that 57% either currently require workers to be vaccinated or are planning to roll out such requirements. Eighteen percent of those surveyed currently require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In addition, 32% said they were planning to roll out requirements if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency standard takes effect. The remaining 7% said they plan to require vaccinations regardless of what happens to the OSHA standard.”
Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, and Pulmonary Embolism After BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in People Aged 75 Years or Older: “In this nationwide study involving persons aged 75 years or older in France, no increase in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and pulmonary embolism was detected 14 days following each BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine dose.”
The White House's plan to combat winter COVID-19 surges: 8 things to know: A good summary of the recent federal activities geared to pandemic control.
Moderna loses appeal in standoff over Arbutus vaccine patents: “Moderna could face a patent infringement lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday affirmed decisions by an administrative panel regarding patents that belong to Arbutus Biopharma. Specifically, the federal appeals court let stand findings by the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) regarding two Arbutus patents dealing with liquid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, which can be used to deliver mRNA to cells.
The news sent Moderna stock sliding 9%, while shares in Arbutus jumped as much as 57%. The latter company was ‘heavily favoured’ to win the appeals, according to Jefferies analysts Kelechi Chikere and Michael Yee. In court filings, Moderna has indicated that Arbutus could bring a lawsuit demanding royalties from its COVID-19 vaccine if the patents are upheld. The company is expecting that Spikevax will generate a total of between $15 billion and $18 billion in 2021, and up to $22 billion next year.”
5 health systems suspending vaccination mandates: Includes Intermountain and HCA.
COVID-19 Still Widely Named as Biggest U.S. Health Problem: “In a Gallup poll conducted Nov. 1-16, 47% of U.S. adults named viruses as the country's top health problem, with the vast majority of these (45%) mentioning COVID-19 or the coronavirus, specifically. In November 2020, 69% saw viruses as the top threat, including 67% citing COVID-19.” Access was named by 11%. Quality was not mentioned.
GSK says early data suggest its Covid drug is effective against Omicron: “The UK drugmaker and its partner, Vir Biotechnology, said on Thursday that initial tests suggested their antibody treatment, called sotrovimab, was effective against Omicron’s mutations. The research has not been peer-reviewed and lab tests of sotrovimab are still to be completed but the UK health regulator on Thursday approved its use for high-risk patients. The companies said they would provide updated data by the end of this year.”
About pharma
CVS expands 'talking' prescription labels to all locations to support visually impaired patients: “CVS Pharmacy is expanding an in-app feature for visually impaired patients, which reads prescription information out loud, to all of its nearly 10,000 U.S. locations.
The solution, called Spoken Rx, was designed in collaboration with the American Council of the Blind. Patients enrolled in the program can scan the labels on their prescription containers and have their information, including the medication’s name and directions for use, read out loud to them in either English or Spanish.”
About healthcare IT
HHS launches website for healthcare cybersecurity resources: “HHS unveiled a website Dec. 1 for its 405(d) Aligning Health Care Industry Security Approaches Program that offers healthcare providers and public health officials cybersecurity and patient safety resources and best practices.
The 405(d) program was established as a congressional mandate under the Cybersecurity Act of 2015; under section 405(d), HHS created the Cybersecurity Act Task Group to strengthen cybersecurity efforts within the healthcare and public health sectors.”
VA revises timeline for $16B Cerner EHR rollout, taps new project leaders: “The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to pick up deployment of its $16 billion Cerner EHR system in early 2022 after the project was paused earlier this year because of inadequate training and safety concerns.”
Assessment of Patient Preferences for Telehealth in Post–COVID-19 Pandemic Health Care: “This survey study found that participants were generally willing to use video visits but preferred in-person care, and those who preferred video visits were more sensitive to paying out-of-pocket cost. These results suggest that understanding patient preferences will help identify telehealth’s role in future health care delivery.”
TransUnion acquires IT services company for $3.1B: “TransUnion finalized its acquisition of information services and tech company Neustar for $3.1 billion, the credit reporting agency said Dec. 1”
Telehealth take-up: the risks and opportunities: In this Kaspersky survey:
“Half (52%) of remote telehealth providers have experienced cases where patients, not trusting the technology, have refused to have a video call with staff – citing concerns about privacy and data safety. Clinicians have also voiced their own reservations, with eight in ten (81%) raising concerns over conducting remote telehealth sessions. These include concerns about how patient data will be used and shared from these sessions, as well as the security of data and any personal penalties that might arise in the case of a leakage from a remote consultation…
Worryingly, three in ten (34%) remote telehealth providers agree that one or more clinicians in their organization have made a wrong diagnosis because of poor video or photo quality.
When it comes to the safety afforded by operating system upgrades, seven in ten (73%) healthcare providers currently use medical equipment with a legacy OS. Reasons for this include the cost of upgrades being too high (37%), compatibility issues (29%), not having the internal knowledge on how to upgrade (17%), and other reasons (18%).”
About the public’s health
Rhythm Biosciences Gets CE Mark for Colorectal Cancer Test: “The immunoassay measures the presence of multiple protein biomarkers for colorectal cancer that were identified by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.
Rhythm Biosciences says the simple blood test ‘has the potential to become the new first-step screening test’ for people who choose not to participate in the existing screening programs for colorectal cancer.”
Mumps in Vaccinated Children and Adolescents: 2007–2019: “Since 2007, one-third of US reported mumps cases occurred in children and adolescents, the majority of whom were vaccinated. Clinicians should suspect mumps in patients with parotitis or mumps complications, regardless of age, travel history, and vaccination status.”
HPV Vaccine Is Reducing Cervical Cancers in Teens, Young Women: “Since the vaccine went on the market, cervical cancer deaths have declined by 43% and cases by 38% in females between 15 and 24 years of age, researchers found.
By comparison, cervical cancer deaths actually increased on average about 4% in women between 25 and 29 and declined by about 5% in women in their 30s.
Cases fell by 16% for those between 25 and 29 and by 8% for those in their 30s.”
What abortion laws would look like if Roe v. Wade were overturned: An excellent overview of the headline’s subject.
About health insurance
Democrats’ Bill Would Go Far Toward ‘Patching the Holes’ in Health Coverage: A really good summary of the proposal by three of The NY Times’ top health reporters.