About Covid-19
Vegetarian and plant-based diets associated with lower incidence of COVID-19 “Plant-based and vegetarian groups had a higher intake of vegetables, legumes and nuts, and lower intake of dairy and meat. After adjusting for important confounders, such as body mass index, physical activity and pre-existing medical conditions, the plant-based diet and vegetarian group had 39% (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.85; p=0.003) and 39% (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.88; p=0.009) lower odds of the incidence of COVID-19 infection, respectively, compared with the omnivorous group. No association was observed between self-reported diets and COVID-19 severity or duration.”
About health insurance/insurers
US sets enrollment record for Obamacare plans “More than 20 million Americans have so far signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) marketplace for this year, the highest since the inception of the law, according to data released on Wednesday.
Over 3.7 million people who have signed up for the 2024 plans are new enrollees, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) showed.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
7 health systems selling labs Many are large systems and all are selling to Labcorp or Quest. Hospital outpatient labs are often money-makers, so this “trend” is a bit puzzling.
About the public’s health
Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule, United States, 2024 The graphics are especially useful.
US FDA allows import of syphilis drug to address shortages “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will temporarily allow the import of a syphilis drug made by France's Laboratoires Delbert, the company said on Wednesday.
Laboratoires Delbert said it was coordinating with the health regulator to bring extencilline into the United States to address syphilis drug shortages, according to a letter on the FDA's website.
In June, Pfizer had warned that it would soon run out of supply of its drug, Bicillin L-A, used to treat syphilis and other bacterial infections in children because it has had to prioritize versions made for adults due to a spike in syphilis infections in that population at the time.”
About healthcare IT
CES 2024: Elevance Health launches program to provide digital health-enabled smartphones to Medicaid members “Elevance Health is launching a new initiative that aims to put smartphones in the hands of Medicaid members who otherwise cannot connect to virtual services.
The offering is backed by funding from the Federal Communications Commissions' Affordable Connectivity Program, which seeks to ensure that individuals and families can secure affordable broadband access….
Through the program, eligible members will be provided with a phone that offers unlimited talk, text and data, and will be pre-loaded with a customized virtual health experience. Elevance is collaborating with Samsung as well as the three largest mobile carriers in Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.”