About Covid-19
COVID DATA TRACKER WEEKLY REVIEW “As of June 22, 2022, the current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (97,430) decreased 5.6% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (103,175). A total of 86,512,787 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of June 22, 2022.”
Check the site for stats in your county.
Pfizer, BioNTech's Omicron-adapted COVID-19 candidate vaccines show promise “Pfizer and BioNTech announced that booster doses of two different Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine candidates elicited a substantially higher immune response against Omicron BA.1 than the companies' current mRNA-based shot Comirnaty. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said ‘based on these data, we believe we have two very strong Omicron-adapted candidates.’
The vaccine candidates tested in the Phase II/III trial include an Omicron-adapted monovalent immunisation and a bivalent shot, which combines Comirnaty with a vaccine candidate targeting the spike protein of the Omicron BA.1 variant of concern.”
About pharma
U.S. Supreme Court sides with doctors challenging opioid convictions “The justices ruled 9-0 in favor of Xiulu Ruan and Shakeel Kahn, who had argued in appealing their convictions that their trials were unfair because jurors were not required to consider whether the two physicians had "good faith" reasons to believe their numerous opioid prescriptions were medically valid.
Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court, said that once defendants produce evidence that they were authorized to dispense controlled substances like opioids, prosecutors must prove they knew they were acting in an unauthorized manner.
The justices sent the two cases back to federal appeals courts that had previously upheld their convictions for further proceedings, where prosecutors may argue that any mistakes in their jury instructions amounted to harmless errors.”
Walgreens settles for $105M in generic drug case “Walgreens agreed to shell out $105 million in cash to its shareholders June 23 after a seven-year class-action lawsuit about the spike in generic drug prices and reimbursement rates, according to court documents.
In the initial complaint on April 10, 2015, investors accused Walgreens of concealing the impact of higher drug costs on its pharmacy business before the company's stock price fell.”
Bristol Myers loses bid to toss $6.4B CVR lawsuit tied to Celgene takeover, Breyanzi approval “A U.S. federal court on Friday shot down Bristol Myers Squibb’s motion to dismiss an investor lawsuit connected to its $74 billion Celgene buyout.
Filed by former Celgene shareholders last June, the suit hinges on a $6.4 billion Contingent Value Rights (CVR) agreement that evaporated when one of three drugs at the center of the megadeal—the CAR-T non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment Breyanzi—failed to snag FDA approval by a Dec. 31, 2020, deadline.
BMS has sought to dismiss the case, which accuses the drugmaker of “blatant misconduct" for failing to apply ‘diligent efforts’ to secure a timely approval for Breyanzi.”
About the public’s health
Three excellent articles in the wake of the SCOTUS’ “Roe” decision on Friday:
Seeking an abortion? Here’s how to avoid leaving a digital trail.
What a post-Roe America looks like A great review of the national landscape
No, Justice Alito, Reproductive Justice Is in the Constitution An op-ed piece in The New York Times views the issue from a racial justice standpoint.
Federal court blocks FDA ban on Juul e-cigarette sales in U.S. “A federal court on Friday granted a request by Juul Labs to temporarily block an order by the Food and Drug Administration to stop selling its electronic cigarettes in the U.S.
The e-cigarette maker had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay what it calls an ‘extraordinary and unlawful action’ by the FDA that would require it to immediately halt its business. The company, which is partly owned by tobacco giant Altria, filed an emergency motion with the appeals court as it prepares to appeal the FDA's decision. “
Biden signs gun-control legislation into law As expected, on Saturday the President signed this bipartisan legislation.
Life Expectancy for White, Black, and Hispanic Race/Ethnicity in U.S. States: Trends and Disparities, 1990 to 2019 “Disparities in LE [life expectancy] across states were 8.0 years for females and 12.2 years for males in 1990 and 7.9 years for females and 7.8 years for males in 2019. When race/ethnicity groups were accounted for, disparities across states were 20.7 years for females and 24.5 years for males in 1990, decreasing to 18.5 years for females and 23.7 years for males in 2019. Disparities across states increased within each race/ethnicity group between 1990 and 2019, with the largest increase for non-Hispanic White males and the smallest for Hispanic females. The disparity between race/ethnicity groups within states decreased for most of the 23 states with estimates for all 3 groups but increased for females in 7 states and males in 5 states.”
About healthcare IT
Trends in telehealth use by Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and its impact on overall volume of healthcare services “From April 2020 through December 2021, the monthly volume of telehealth services slowly declined and has plateaued between 8.5-9.5% of all outpatient E&M services received by Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Importantly, the total volume of outpatient E&M services was lower in 2020 and 2021, suggesting that the COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities have not increased the overall volume of outpatient E&M services received by Medicare beneficiaries. These findings should mitigate some concerns about the impact of telehealth on overall healthcare utilization.”
This research (preprint) confirms that telemedicine is a replacement, not extension, for in-person care.