About Covid-19
‘A tipping point’: Government officials, health groups move to require coronavirus vaccines for workers: “The Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs one of the nation’s largest health systems, announced Monday it would mandate coronavirus vaccines for its front-line workers, becoming the first federal agency to do so and signaling what some experts said could be a national pivot to such requirements.
Faced with the explosive growth of a new virus variant, the state of California and the city of New York rolled out similar mandates. And an array of hospitals from coast to coast, including the prestigious Mayo Clinic, declared they would require staff to get vaccinated, following a joint plea from the nation’s major medical groups.”
Single AstraZeneca Vaccine Dose Highly Effective Against Delta Variant, Study Says: “Canadian researchers found that one dose of the AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, was highly effective at preventing hospitalization or death caused by the Delta variant.
A single dose was found to be 87 percent effective against the Delta variant, 90 percent effective against the Alpha variant and 82 percent effective against the Gamma/Beta variant, said researchers from the Canadian Immunization Research Network.”
UK Researchers Endorse Eight-Week Separation of Pfizer Vaccine Doses: “Although the authorized dose interval for the vaccine is three weeks, a study commissioned by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care found that a 10-week interval between doses produced more antibodies and T-cells against infection.
However, given concerns about the rapidly spreading Delta variant, an 8-week window was deemed preferable by the researchers from Oxford and Newcastle universities.”
Families of men in notorious syphilis study speak up for vaccination: “A short-form documentary featuring the descendants of the men involved in the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee sets the record straight on what happened, what has changed and what current generations can learn from the experience to build confidence in public health within Black communities, especially as it relates to the COVID-19 vaccines.”
About health insurance
Healthcare for older immigrants sees momentum among states: “Illinois is among a handful of Democratic-run states extending health insurance coverage to adult immigrants in the country illegally, including seniors. The state, which became the first to offer a Medicaid-like program for older immigrants last year, used a new budget to expand the program. California followed suit, including coverage for those 50 and over in the latest budget. And Oregon’s governor signed a plan this week offering benefits to low-income immigrants over 19. New York advocates are banking on the momentum to do the same.”
Gig Workers Paying 54% Less For Health Insurance, New Data Shows: “According to new data from Stride, a benefits platform for independent workers, health insurance enrollment increased sixfold in April compared to the same time last year. Year to date, nearly as many people have signed up for health insurance as did during the annual open enrollment period at the end of 2020, the company reported.
Of rideshare and delivery drivers who have signed up for health insurance since March, 60% have enrolled in higher-tier Marketplace plans—Silver, Gold, and Platinum—a 33% jump since before the ARP became law. The higher the metallic tier, the more generous the coverage.
At the same time, the costs for coverage have gone down for these workers. The average premium for rideshare and delivery drivers dropped by more than half, from $171 in March to an average of $80 since then.”
A look at SCAN's new medical group for homeless patients: “SCAN Group, which owns SCAN Health Plan, is launching a new medical group that aims to provide specialized care to patients struggling with homelessness.
The new medical group, Healthcare in Action, will serve SCAN's members and is seeking partnerships with other health plans. The group will provide "street medicine" to seniors, which is one of the fastest-growing homeless populations.”
Medicaid Benefits No Barrier to Green Cards, Agency Chief Says: “The CMS is releasing an informational bulletin to the state Medicaid agencies reaffirming that the receiving benefits under the Medicaid program or the Children’s Health Insurance Program will have no bearing on an applicant’s immigration status…”
AHIP, Other Stakeholders Support Medicare Value-Based Care Bill: “In a joint letter to the four representatives who introduced the bill in the House of Representatives, payer and provider organizations have thrown their support behind the Value in Health Care Act of 2021 which seeks to bolster Medicare value-based care.
Signees included AHIP, Premier, and the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).”
About healthcare IT
Connectivity, digital tools becoming the ‘sixth vital sign’ in health care: A fascinating, but obvious concept. People rely so much on the internet (clinical information, appointment booking, insurance information, etc.) that we should make connectivity a standard question.
About the public’s health
Marlboro Maker CEO Says The Company Plans To Stop Selling Smokes In The U.K.: “Tobacco giant Philip Morris International says it will stop selling cigarettes in the United Kingdom within the next decade — including the company's iconic Marlboro brand.
‘It will disappear,’ the company's CEO Jacek Olczak said in an interview… ‘The first choice for consumers is they should quit smoking. But if they don't, the second best choice is to let them switch to the better alternatives.’”
About diagnostics
PerkinElmer inks massive $5.25B deal for reagent producer BioLegend: “PerkinElmer aims to cement itself as a major provider of reagents and consumables for precision medicine and diagnostic test development through a $5.25 billion deal for BioLegend, a global producer of antibodies and other research tools.
In what will become the company’s largest acquisition ever, PerkinElmer will hand over $2.2 billion in stock to BioLegend shareholders, with the remainder made up of cash-on-hand and newly issued debt, as well as bridge financing from Goldman Sachs. The deal is slated to close before the end of this year.”