About Covid-19
Johnson & Johnson vaccine use should resume with a warning about risk of rare blood clots, CDC advisers recommend
CDC recommends pregnant women get coronavirus vaccine: “At a White House briefing on the coronavirus Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that vaccination surveillance systems showed ‘no safety concerns’ for more than 35,000 women in their third trimester or for their babies.”
The recommendation is also important because of evidence of increased infection severity during pregnancy.
Pfizer COVID-19 shot effective for people with chronic diseases- Israel study: “The vaccine was 80% effective against symptomatic infection for people with heart or chronic kidney diseases, 86% for people with type 2 diabetes, 75% for cerebrovascular disease, and 84% for people suffering from immunodeficiency, according to the Clalit Research Institue study.”
B.1.526 SARS-CoV-2 variants identified in New York City are neutralized by vaccine-elicited and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies: “The findings suggest that current vaccines and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies will remain protective against the B.1.526 variants. The findings further support the value of wide-spread vaccination.”
COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among U.S. senior citizens: “COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged 80 percent since the start of the year, dramatic proof the vaccination campaign is working. Now the trick is to get more of the nation’s younger people to roll up their sleeves.
The drop-off in severe cases among people 65 and older is so dramatic that the hospitalization rate among this highly vaccinated group is now down to around the level of the next-youngest category, Americans 50 to 64.”
How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?: Nothing new, but it is a good summary. The short answers:
”Experts don’t know yet because they’re still studying vaccinated people to see when protection might wear off. How well the vaccines work against emerging variants will also determine if, when and how often additional shots might be needed…
So far, Pfizer’s ongoing trial indicates the company’s two-dose vaccine remains highly effective for at least six months, and likely longer. People who got Moderna’s vaccine also still had notable levels of virus-fighting antibodies six months after the second required shot.
Antibodies also don’t tell the whole story. To fight off intruders like viruses, our immune systems also have another line of defense called B and T cells, some of which can hang around long after antibody levels dwindle. If they encounter the same virus in the future, those battle-tested cells could potentially spring into action more quickly.”
Shift to virtual care during COVID-19 saved 1.7M gallons of fuel, 15K tons of CO2 emissions: CommonSpirit Health: One consistent benefit of the pandemic is the positive environmental effect of business slowdowns. This article is the first one I have seen that was specific to a healthcare system.
Low-dose Administration of MERS DNA Vaccine Candidate Induces Potent Immunity and Protects From Virus Challenge in Preclinical Models: Recall that MERS is a coronavirus illness. This new technique uses low dose, intradermal (in the skin) injections to confer immunity. If the animal model success is duplicated in humans, it could be used for prevention of other coronavirus infections (like SARS-CoV-2).
Johnson & Johnson said blood clots have been reported with all Covid-19 vaccines. The author of the study they cited says they're wrong: “When news broke that Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine might be linked to rare, potentially fatal blood clots, the company responded by pointing to a study it said had shown there were reports of clots with Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines as well, reported CNN.
However, the study's leader author Eun-Ju Lee disputes the claim, saying ‘we didn't find anyone with blood clots’ with Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines, ‘we didn't find any of those scary things that are happening with Johnson & Johnson.’”
About pharma
Pelosi pushes for drug pricing measure amid uncertainty from White House: “House Democrats on Thursday reintroduced their signature legislation to lower drug prices, known as H.R. 3, and Pelosi pointedly noted in a statement that including it in Biden's proposal is important for Democratic lawmakers. The measure would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices, a long-held Democratic goal.”
Biogen's sales fall 24% in Q1 as aducanumab decision looms large: As biosimilars have eaten into Biogen’s profit, the company is looking to FDA approval for its Alzheimer’s drug.
About health insurance
CMS gives massive $80M increase to navigators for 2022 coverage plan year: “The Biden administration will give Affordable Care Act (ACA) navigators $80 million for the 2022 plan year, reversing slides in funding that occurred during the Trump administration.” And in a related article:
How Agents Influence Medicare Beneficiaries’ Plan Choices: This Commonwealth Fund research found that: “Nearly all (96%) Medicare Advantage and Part D plans contract with agents, who are not required to represent all available plans. An analysis across five markets of three large, online broker plan selection tools found that, on average, each tool includes less than half (43.3%) of Medicare Advantage plans and less than two-thirds (64.7%) of Part D plans. In the analysis of online searches, more than one-third (36%) of results from the first page led to agents’ or health insurers’ websites.
Conclusion: Agents play an important role for beneficiaries; however, the existing approach affects information about coverage options and may not optimally serve beneficiaries’ needs by limiting their choice.”
How UnitedHealth plans to make Optum a $100B business: “UnitedHealth Group bought its first medical practice 15 years ago and now aims to make providing healthcare its next $100 billion business, according to Insider.
UnitedHealth Group's OptumCare business comprises 56,000 physicians and 1,600 clinics, and it's on track to add at least 4,000 affiliated, contracted and employed physicians this year. OptumCare is the bulk of a business unit called OptumHealth, and executives are aiming to grow it from a $40 billion business to a $100 billion one by 2028, according to the report.
OptumHealth CEO Wyatt Decker, MD, told Insider that moving physicians into ‘value-based’ arrangements and away from fee-for-service care is one way the business will grow revenue. He said physicians will be paid to keep patients healthy rather than billing health plans for every patient visit or test.”
Ill. Physician Gets 1 Year For Faking $1M Worth Of Tests - “A physician was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in Illinois federal court Thursday for defrauding Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Medicare of nearly $1 million by submitting thousands of claims for tests his patients never received. U. S. District Judge Ronald Guzman handed down the sentence to Pranav Patel about four months after the physician, who owned Palos Medical Care SC, admitted he submitted more than 10,000 false claims to BCBS and the federal government between 2008 and 2013 for diagnostic tests he never actually provided to patients.”
About the public’s health
Oxford Malaria vaccine proves highly effective in Burkina Faso trial: “The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University, showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso over 12 months.
The hunt for a malaria vaccine has been going on the best part of a century. One, the Mosquirix vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, has been through lengthy clinical trials but is only partially effective, preventing 39% of malaria cases and 29% of severe malaria cases among small children in Africa over four years. It is being piloted by the World Health Organization in parts of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.
The Oxford vaccine is the first to meet the WHO goal of 75% efficacy against the mosquito-borne parasite disease. Larger trials are now beginning, involving 4,800 children in four countries.”
Texting option weighed for upcoming ’988′ suicide hotline: “Recognizing that many Americans rely on texting, U.S. regulators are weighing whether to require that phone companies allow people to text a suicide hotline.
The Federal Communications Commission last summer voted to require a new “988” number for people to call to reach a suicide-prevention hotline. Phone companies have until July 2022 to implement it.
Once it’s in place, people will be able to dial 988 to seek help, similar to how 911 is used for emergencies. Currently, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline uses a 10-digit number, 800-273-TALK (8255), which routes calls to about 170 crisis centers.”
Are texts going to be answered quicker than calls? Are responses also by text? Has texting been more effective? The only clear advantage is for “those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities.” Is texting more convenient when you need a phone anyway to text?
About healthcare systems
Kaiser Reaches $11.5M Settlement To Wrap Up Race Bias Suit: “Kaiser Permanente will pay $11. 5 million to resolve a lawsuit accusing the health care giant of underpromoting and underpaying a class of more than 2,000 Black workers, according to Thursday filings in California state court. The settlement, filed alongside a same-day complaint in San Francisco Superior Court, would cover claims from approximately 2,225 California-based African American or Black employees who worked in administrative support or consulting services at Kaiser or its related entities between January 2015 and March 2021.”