About Covid-19
CDC Launches Web Tool To Help Americans Find COVID-19 Vaccines: The “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with Boston Children's Hospital and Castlight Health, is launching a new tool that allows Americans to search for COVID-19 vaccine providers with stock of vaccine where they live.The tool, which builds on the existing VaccineFinder.org platform, will capture inventory data from vaccine providers around the country.”
Biden administration to distribute more than 25 million masks: “The Biden administration will deliver more than 25 million masks to community health centers, food pantries and soup kitchens this spring as part of its battle against the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said on Wednesday.”
Clinical Reference Laboratory Makes First At-Home COVID-19 Saliva Test Available Through Walgreens Find Care®: “Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL), one of the largest privately held clinical testing laboratories in the U.S., and Walgreens today announced that the FDA-authorized CRL Rapid Response COVID-19 Saliva Test is now available through Walgreens Find Care®, a digital health platform available on the Walgreens app and Walgreens.com. Sold under CRL’s HealthConfirm® brand, the COVID-19 Saliva Test is non-invasive and highly accurate, offering consumers the convenience of self-collecting the test right in their homes without supervision.”
Real-Time Conformational Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Spikes on Virus Particles: “The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been observed to adopt different structural states. Lu et al. directly visualize the conformational dynamics of spike protein on the surface of virus particles and describe how the conformational landscape changes upon activation by the host receptor or antagonism by antibodies.”
Such knowledge can be used to make more effective vaccines.
White House to ship 3 million to 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to states: “The Biden administration is planning to send states, pharmacies and community health centers 3 million to 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine as early as next week, a White House official said Wednesday.”
Researchers find worrying new coronavirus variant in New York City: “Two separate teams of researchers said this week they have found a worrying new coronavirus variant in New York City and elsewhere in the Northeast that carries mutations that help it evade the body's natural immune response -- as well as the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments.
Genomics researchers have named the variant B.1.526. It appears in people affected in diverse neighborhoods of New York City, they said, and is ‘scattered in the Northeast.’
One of the mutations in this variant is the same concerning change found in the variant first seen in South Africa and known as B.1.351. It appears to evade, somewhat, the body's response to vaccines, as well. And it's becoming more common.”
Finland finds new COVID-19 variant that may not show up in PCR test: “The variant, Fin-796H, showed similar mutations from variants discovered in the UK and South Africa but also its own characteristics.
Taru Meri, researcher of Helsinki-based Vita Laboratories, said the variant was found in a patient last week so it is unclear how easily the virus can spread or if it's resistant to available vaccines.
Meri said it is unlikely the variant emerged in Finland as the country has a low infection rate of the COVID-19.
The researchers of Vita Laboratories also said it is worth noting that the new variant could escape detection in a PCR test (Polymerase Chain Reaction test), which identifies specific genetic sequences in the virus.
A researcher said ‘the newly-discovered variant differs from expectations in that it does not genetically resemble any other known variant.’”
New research shows California coronavirus variant is more transmissible: “A coronavirus variant detected in California this winter rapidly became dominant in the state over five months and now makes up more than half of the infections in 44 counties, according to new research from scientists who believe this version of the virus should be declared a ‘variant of concern warranting urgent follow-up investigation.’”
HHS will stop distributing COVID-19 antibody drugs, says they're no longer in short supply: The headline speaks for itself.
Three-shot combo? Pfizer, BioNTech roll COVID-19 booster trial as real world data back first vaccine: “…the companies are in talks with the FDA and EMA about studying a new booster specifically designed to tackle new variants. They're hoping to validate ‘future modified mRNA vaccines with a regulatory pathway similar to what is currently in place for flu vaccines,’ according to a press release.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said the partners are ‘evaluating a second booster in the current regimen as well as preparing for a potential rapid adaption of the vaccine to address new variants which might escape the current version of our mRNA-based vaccine.’”
'It's Up To You': “The Ad Council is launching a national campaign to promote taking available coronavirus vaccines and a website with answers about their safety.” You should watch this short video and think about its possible effectiveness.
About healthcare IT
Email hack exposes 45,000 patients' data at Covenant HealthCare: “Covenant HealthCare has confirmed that an unauthorized individual gained access to two employees' email accounts, potentially exposing about 45,000 patients' information.
The accounts were accessed May 4, 2020, and contained patients' personal information like names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and medical diagnosis and clinical information.
An FBI investigation found that hackers repeatedly combined vulnerable user IDs with different passwords until a combination worked, allowing them to access the two email accounts…”
Teladoc loses $394M in Q4: 6 things to know: The company provided a partial explanation: “Net loss for the fourth quarter and full year 2020 also includes $54.7 million of stock-based compensation related to Livongo stock awards that continue to vest after the merger. Net loss also includes an income tax benefit of $85.5 million for the fourth quarter 2020 and $90.9 million for the full year 2020.”
20 medical apps most downloaded by iPhone users: Epic’s MyChart tops the list.
Eli Lilly to connect its upcoming digital insulin pen with Welldoc’s diabetes app: “Eli Lilly & Co. has signed a deal to link Welldoc’s digital health platform with its upcoming connected insulin devices and therapies.
The two will collaborate on a new version of Welldoc’s long-running BlueStar diabetes management app, to include dosing data for several insulins produced by Lilly, ahead of the Big Pharma’s future launch of its connected insulin pen.
The BlueStar app has been cleared by the FDA for adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, offering insulin titration support, a bolus calculator and personalized health coaching. It is designed to integrate with a range of blood sugar readers and continuous glucose monitoring systems.”
About pharma
Merck inks $1.9B Pandion takeover to square up against Amgen, Lilly and Roche: ”Merck has struck a $1.9 billion deal to buy Pandion. The takeover will give Merck control of a pipeline of immune modulators led by a rival to IL-2 drugs in development at Amgen, Eli Lilly and Roche.
Pandion went public last year, pulling in $135 million to fund the development of a pipeline led by an engineered IL-2 mutein fused to a protein backbone. The clinical-phase drug, PT101, is designed to selectively activate and expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) and, in doing so, treat autoimmune diseases including ulcerative colitis.”
Merck rolls first Gardasil TV commercial that pushes HPV vaccines for adults: “After years of encouraging parents to vaccinate their kids against HPV, Merck & Co. is launching its first Gardasil campaign aimed at adults.
The TV commercial features a man getting ready to run in a 5K race raising money for cancer…
It's part of a DTC campaign aimed at adults ages 27-45, which includes placements on broadcast, cable, syndication and streaming platform as well as YouTube. Print ads and promotional placement in doctors' offices and pharmacies are also in the mix.”
Head of McKinsey Is Voted Out as Firm Faces Reckoning on Opioid Crisis: “Partners at McKinsey & Company voted out the consulting firm’s top executive, Kevin Sneader, this week as it continues to face blowback over its role in fueling the opioid crisis.
The decision to deny Mr. Sneader a second three-year term as global managing partner came in a vote by more than 600 senior partners, according to a company executive.”
About health insurance
Cost Could Still Be A Deterrent In ACA Special Enrollment Period: “Although 4.0 million uninsured Americans qualify for free bronze level plans during the special enrollment period, deductible costs could continue to be a deterrent.”
Becerra commits to private-sector Medicare but indicates it is too generous: “Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, pledged Wednesday to support Medicare Advantage, the increasingly popular private form of the federal insurance system for older Americans — but indicated he had qualms about more generous benefits it offers.
Testifying at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Becerra said he ‘will make sure that there is a level playing field’ between traditional Medicare and the private-sector version.”
He apparently does not understand the MA plans. They need to bid to get a government contract and the extra benefits they provide are often free to members. Traditionally they have made money reducing discretionary hospital stays- the most costly (and wasteful) part of healthcare expenses.
2 Californians sentenced for national ACA fraud scheme: “The father, Jeffrey White, was sentenced to three years in prison, and his son Nicholas White was sentenced to 13 months in prison for the scheme, which is believed to be the first to involve fraudulent enrollment in ACA plans on a national scale.
To defraud healthcare programs operating in the ACA marketplaces across the nation, the Whites would enroll individuals in ACA plans in states where the people didn't live, according to court documents and statements made in court. To enroll individuals in the plans, the Whites created fake residential leases and phone numbers for the individuals, according to the Justice Department.
They also paid insurance premiums for the individuals and paid to have them transported to California, where they were placed in residential substance abuse treatment programs, the department said. These programs then billed the ACA plans for thousands of dollars and paid the Whites thousands of dollars in kickbacks for each referral, according to the Justice Department.
The Whites admitted that the scheme defrauded more than $27 million from ACA plans across 12 states.”
Trend Toward More Expensive Inpatient Hospital Stays in Medicare Emerged Before COVID-19 and Warrants Further Scrutiny: From the HHS OIG: “Hospitals are increasingly billing for inpatient stays at the highest severity level, which is the most expensive one. The number of stays at the highest severity level increased almost 20 percent from FY 2014 through FY 2019, ultimately accounting for nearly half of all Medicare spending on inpatient hospital stays. The number of stays billed at each of the other severity levels decreased. At the same time, the average length of stay decreased for stays at the highest severity level, while the average length of all stays remained largely the same.
Stays at the highest severity level are vulnerable to inappropriate billing practices, such as upcoding-the practice of billing at a level that is higher than warranted. Specifically, nearly a third of these stays lasted a particularly short amount of time and over half of the stays billed at the highest severity level had only one diagnosis qualifying them for payment at that level. Further, hospitals varied significantly in their billing of these stays, with some billing much differently than most…
Accordingly, we recommend that CMS conduct targeted reviews of MS-DRGs and stays that are vulnerable to upcoding, as well as the hospitals that frequently bill them. CMS did not concur but acknowledged that there is more work to be done to determine conclusively which changes in billing are attributable to upcoding.”
About hospitals and health systems
COVID-19 in 2021: The Potential Effect on Hospital Revenues: This Kauffman Hall report finds that hospital losses this year could range from $55-$122B.