About Covid-19
Covid-19 vaccines have saved more than 3 million lives in US, study says, but the fight isn’t over “The Covid-19 vaccines have kept more than 18.5 million people in the US out of the hospital and saved more than 3.2 million lives, a new study says – and that estimate is most likely a conservative one, the researchers say.”
About pharma
Moderna says cancer vaccine reduces melanoma’s return by 44% “An experimental cancer vaccine being developed by the biotechnology firm Moderna and the drug giant Merck reduced the risk that melanoma would return after surgery or that patients would die by 44%, the company said.”
About the public’s health
Justices reject industry bid to block California’s ban on flavored tobacco “The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from a group of tobacco companies and retailers to block a California law that bans the sale of flavored tobacco. The state enacted the law in response to an increase in tobacco use by young people, but a group of tobacco companies argued that a 2009 federal law trumps state and local laws like California’s ban.
The justices did not provide any explanation for their decision, and there were no public dissents noted from Monday’s order.”
Judge rejects vaccine choice law in health care settings “A person's choice to decline vaccinations does not outweigh public health and safety requirements in medical settings, a federal judge ruled in a Montana case.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy last week permanently blocked a section of law the state said was meant to prevent employers — including many health care facilities — from discriminating against workers by requiring them to be vaccinated against communicable diseases, including COVID-19.”
About healthcare IT
‘Out of control’: Dozens of telehealth startups sent sensitive health information to big tech companies More and more information is coming out about hidden use of personal transactions and marketing. This article is the second excellent investigative report of this kind from STAT and The Markup.
”A joint investigation by STAT and The Markup of 50 direct-to-consumer telehealth companies like Workit found that quick, online access to medications often comes with a hidden cost for patients: Virtual care websites were leaking sensitive medical information they collect to the world’s largest advertising platforms…
On 13 of the 50 websites, STAT and The Markup documented at least one tracker — from Meta, Google, TikTok, Bing, Snap, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest — that collected patients’ answers to medical intake questions. Trackers on 25 sites, including those run by industry leaders Hims & Hers, Ro, and Thirty Madison, told at least one big tech platform that the user had added an item like a prescription medication to their cart, or checked out with a subscription for a treatment plan.”
Longitudinal Associations Between Use of Mobile Devices for Calming and Emotional Reactivity and Executive Functioning in Children Aged 3 to 5 Years “Findings In this cohort study of 422 parents and 422 children, increased use of mobile devices for calming children aged 3 to 5 years was found to be associated with decreased executive functioning and increased emotional reactivity at baseline; however, only emotional reactivity had bidirectional, longitudinal associations with device use for calming at 3 and 6 months of follow-up. The associations were found to be increased in boys and children with higher temperamental surgency.
Meaning The findings of this study suggest that, particularly in young boys or young children with higher surgency, the frequent use of devices for calming should be avoided.”
8 largest healthcare data breaches of 2022 tied to vendors FYI
About health technology
Plant power: Transplanted plant parts use photosynthesis to slow osteoarthritis progression This discovery is one of the most fascinating I have ever seen. “…scientists at China’s Zhejiang University School of Medicine have harnessed plant power in mammalian cells to get them to produce energy when exposed to light. In a study published Dec. 7 in Nature, they described how they built tiny photosynthetic plant organelles called thylakoids and transplanted them into mammalian cells. They then demonstrated that the cells could stall disease progression in mouse models of osteoarthritis.”
100,000 newborn babies set to have their DNA fully decoded "One hundred thousand newborn babies in England will have their genomes sequenced, in a £105mn research programme that could pave the way for a full-scale neonatal screening plan to detect rare genetic conditions. Genomics England, a government-owned company, aims to read all the DNA carried by a representative national sample of babies shortly after they are born. The two-year project, to be carried out in partnership with the NHS, will begin late next year.”