About Covid-19
A New Report Says The COVID Recession Has Pushed Social Security Insolvency Up A Year: “The sharp shock of the coronavirus recession pushed Social Security a year closer to insolvency but left Medicare's exhaustion date unchanged, the government reported Tuesday in a counterintuitive assessment that deepens the uncertainty around the nation's bedrock retirement programs.
The new projections in the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees reports indicate that Social Security's massive trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits in 2034 instead of last year's estimated exhaustion date of 2035. For the first time in 39 years the cost of delivering benefits will exceed the program's total income from payroll tax collections and interest during this year. From here on, Social Security will be tapping its savings to pay full benefits.
The depletion date for Medicare's trust fund for inpatient care remained unchanged from last year, estimated in 2026.”
1 in 8 Nurses Say They Haven't Been Vaccinated and Don't Plan to: “A survey conducted between July 8 and 29 by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and American Nurses Foundation (ANF) found that among nearly 5,000 nurses, a quarter said they didn't trust the vaccines or were unsure about the safety and effectiveness of the shots.
Of those who don't intend on getting vaccinated, the main concerns included lack of information about long-term effects and vaccine safety, as well as mistrust in the information surrounding the vaccines' development and approval.”
Courts decide whether hospitals can deny ivermectin: Courts are deciding whether or not to force hospitals to use an unproven and potentially dangerous drug for Covid patients. REALLY???
More Americans getting vaccinated following full FDA approval of Pfizer COVID vaccine: “Just prior to the announcement, the U.S. rate of first doses had stagnated. Although the country experienced an increase in people initiating vaccination in July as new coronavirus cases surged across the country, the average number of Americans getting their first dose had then declined.
However, following Pfizer's full approval, the U.S. saw a 17% increase in the number of Americans getting vaccinated with their first dose.”
Moderna reveals source of COVID-19 vaccine contamination as Japan finds yet another suspect vial: “After yet another contamination report for a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vial in Japan, the company on Wednesday said its contract manufacturer has identified the probable source of foreign materials.
After investigating, Spain's Rovi Laboratories has concluded that the particulates discovered are stainless steel. The contamination likely resulted from friction between two pieces of metal incorrectly installed in a production line, Moderna said.”
South Africa identifies new COVID-19 variant — 8 notes: “Researchers have identified a new COVID-19 variant called C.1.2. in South Africa that appears to have similar mutations as other variants of concern, according to research published Aug. 26 in preprint server medRxiv.”
FDA Reauthorizes Eli Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail, But Not Everywhere: “The FDA has reissued its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab for treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections — but only for certain states.
FDA Chief Scientist Denise Hinton said the antibodies can only be used in those states, territories or other U.S. jurisdictions “in which the combined frequency of variants resistant to bamlanivimab and etesevimab administered together is less than or equal to 5 percent.” As of Aug. 27, only 22 states fit into that category.”
About pharma
Bankruptcy judge approves Purdue Pharma plan to resolve opioid claims, giving Sackler family civil immunity: “Negotiated until the 11th hour, the final terms of the settlement confirmed by federal bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain grant the family that owned Purdue Pharma, the Sacklers, broad protection from future litigation, despite objections from nine states and a branch of the U.S. Justice Department.
The family initially sought relief from any civil litigation whatsoever but Drain objected, shouting at one point over an attorney representing the Sacklers that the family should not be immune to legal claims related to the crisis they are contributing roughly $4.3 million to abate. The final settlement will grant relief specifically for claims related to the opioid epidemic.”
Johnson & Johnson scores an FDA first with nod for twice-yearly schizophrenia drug Invega Hafyera: “The FDA Wednesday approved J&J’s long-acting schizophrenia drug, previously known as paliperidone palmitate, for injection every six months. It's the first and only twice-yearly med for the condition.
The new long-acting regime joins J&J’s existing one-month and three-month formulations, dubbed Invega Sustenna and Invega Trinza, respectively, plus a two-week injection known as Risperdal Consta.”
About diagnostics
Visby Medical Gets the FDA’s 510(k) Clearance for PCR Sexual Health Test: “The single-use polymerase chain-reaction diagnostic test is designed to detect sexually transmitted infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis.
The test, which requires no additional instruments, analyzes self-collected vaginal swab samples in less than 30 minutes in the healthcare provider’s office, according to the company.”
About the public’s health
What The Texas Abortion Ban Does — And What It Means For Other States: “With the U.S. Supreme Court mum, a new law went into effect in Texas that bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. That’s well before many women even know they are pregnant.
The law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion — including those who give a woman a ride to a clinic or provide financial assistance in obtaining an abortion. Private citizens who bring these suits don’t need to show any connection to those they are suing.
The law makes no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.”
Incorporation of Social Risk in US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations and Identification of Key Challenges for Primary Care: “This assessment of how social risks have been incorporated into the USPSTF recommendations is part of ongoing work to advance the goal of expanding the systematic inclusion of social risks in future recommendations but also identifies strategies that could be considered to improve USPSTF processes. Despite currently incorporating some social risks in its recommendations and focusing directly on certain social risks in other recommendations, there is the potential to systematically include more social risk evidence in all recommendations and aid the USPSTF to target social risks for preventive services when appropriate.”
In a related article: Screening and Interventions for Social Risk Factors: Technical Brief to Support the US Preventive Services Task Force: “Many interventions to address food insecurity, financial strain, and housing instability have been studied, but more randomized clinical trials that report health outcomes from social risk screening and intervention are needed to guide widespread implementation in health care.”
About hospitals and health systems
Hospital Merger Benefits: An Econometric Analysis Revisited: The American Hospital Association hired Charles River Associates to conduct this study. Below are summary findings:
“Consistent with our previous analyses, hospital acquisitions are associated with a statistically significant 3.3 percent reduction in annual operating expenses per admission at acquired hospitals.
At the same time, performance on key indicators of quality is improved: our empirical analysis continues to show a statistically significant reduction in inpatient readmission rates and a composite readmission/mortality outcome measure. Mortality rates at acquired hospitals also decline, but not by a statistically significant amount. The lack of statistical significance of the mortality outcome may be related to the inclusion of recent hospital transactions in our analyses; for recent transactions, it is difficult to measure quality improvements over the short post-acquisition time period reflected in our data.
Revenue per admission at acquired hospitals also decline relative to non-merging hospitals by a statistically significant 3.7 percent. These results are suggestive that savings that accrue to merging hospitals are passed on to health plans.”
With respect to the last item, many respected economists as well as Justice Department activities have consistently shown that these mergers raise prices.