About Covid-19
Remdesivir can help keep unvaccinated, high-risk people with covid-19 out of hospitals, study finds: “The antiviral drug remdesivir can help keep unvaccinated people at risk of severe covid-19 out of hospitals, according to a study that found the treatment reduced hospitalization and death by 87 percent when given soon after diagnosis.”
Supreme Court to Hold Special Hearing on Biden Vaccine Mandates: “The Supreme Court said on Wednesday evening that it would hold a special hearing next month to assess the legality of two initiatives at the heart of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the coronavirus in the workplace.”
FDA authorizes Merck’s anti-coronavirus pill, a second at-home treatment option: “Doctors have clamored for easy-to-use medications throughout the pandemic, but the new drug, molnupiravir, has had an uneasy reception because of its modest efficacy and potential safety risks. Some experts say another tool will be helpful as the omicron variant, which is resistant to other key treatments, surges. But others say they would be hesitant to use the drug.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the five-day course of treatment in patients 18 and older who are at high risk of severe covid-19 and ‘for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.’”
Early studies suggest a reduced risk of Covid-19 hospitalization when infected with Omicron compared to Delta: “Omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization compared with Delta, suggests one study, released online Wednesday as a working paper by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. That research was based out of Scotland.
The other paper, posted Tuesday to the online server medrxiv.org, suggests that people with Omicron infections have had 80% lower odds of being admitted to the hospital compared with Delta infections. But once a patient was hospitalized, there was no difference in the risk of severe disease, according to that research, based out of South Africa.”
Hospitals Scramble as Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron: “Two of the three monoclonal antibody treatments that doctors have depended on to keep Covid-19 patients from becoming seriously ill do not appear to thwart the latest version of the coronavirus.
The one such treatment that is still likely to work against Omicron is now so scarce that many doctors and hospitals have already run through their supplies.”
About health insurance
ObamaCare open enrollment hits record numbers: “A record 13.6 million people have enrolled in health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act to date, with another month left before open enrollment ends, Biden administration officials said Wednesday.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), more than 9.7 million Americans enrolled in coverage in the 33 states using HealthCare.gov for 2022 from the start of open enrollment through Dec. 15.
CMS said there were over 900,000 more people compared to the previous all-time high of 8.8 million who signed up during the 2018 Open Enrollment Period, when there were 39 states using HealthCare.gov.”
IN NEW YORK CITY, RETIREES BRACE FOR SWITCH TO PRIVATIZED HEALTH CARE: “STARTING IN JANUARY 2022, over a quarter million former New York City government workers and their dependents are set to be shifted off Medicare and on to privatized health insurance. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Municipal Labor Committee, which represents retired New York City employees, announced the move in mid-July, following several months of scrambled protest from bewildered retirees.
The plan has been cast as a necessary measure to rein in mounting health care costs and reduce strain on the city’s budget. While public sector retirees in New York City are currently insured by Medicare, the federal government’s program for people over 65, the city reimburses them for outpatient care, as well as for a ‘Medigap’ plan that offers additional services. City officials and union leaders have negotiated a deal that they claim will save upward of $600 million by switching to Medicare Advantage, the federally funded privatized health insurance program that launched ostensibly to give consumers more choice and reduce Medicare costs.”
About pharma
Novartis to Buy Gene-Therapy Company Targeting Eye Condition: Swiss healthcare giant to pay up to $1.5 billion for British biotech Gyroscope: “The acquisition will hand Novartis an experimental gene therapy for geographic atrophy, a form of age-related macular degeneration that can lead to permanent vision loss. The treatment, known as GT005, is designed to increase the production of a protein, called CFI, that is thought to reduce damaging inflammation. That treatment is in mid-stage clinical trials.”
Japanese Health Ministry Panel Rejects Biogen’s Aducanumab: “A Japanese Health Ministry expert panel has declined to endorse Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab), citing inconclusive trial results and the need for more efficacy data before signing off on an approval.”
About hospitals and health systems
Tenet closes $1.1B surgery center deal: “Dallas-based Tenet paid $1.1 billion to acquire SurgCenter Development's ownership interests in 86 ambulatory surgery centers and related services, the company said in a Dec. 22 news release. USPI has offered to acquire a portion of equity interests in the ASCs from physician owners for $250 million.”