First Edition: Sept. 12, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
‘Dr. Google’ Meets Its Match: Dr. ChatGPT
As a fourth-year ophthalmology resident at Emory University School of Medicine, Riley Lyons’ biggest responsibilities include triage: When a patient comes in with an eye-related complaint, Lyons must make an immediate assessment of its urgency. He often finds patients have already turned to “Dr. Google.” Online, Lyons said, they are likely to find that “any number of terrible things could be going on based on the symptoms that they’re experiencing.” (Leonard, 9/12)
Politico:
FDA Greenlights Updated MRNA Covid Vaccines
The FDA on Monday cleared two updated mRNA Covid-19 shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, paving the way for an early fall rollout. It will be the first updated shots offered to the public in a year and since the public health emergency ended in May. The new shots target the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, following the FDA’s June recommendation. Both companies said their shots generate substantial antibodies against the XBB subvariants of the virus, as well as the newer EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 subvariants, which now make up more than 30 percent of cases in the U.S. (Foley, 9/11)
Reuters:
US FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech And Moderna's Updated COVID Shots
A third shot, made by Novavax, is still under review by the FDA. Novavax said it did not expect its shot to be authorized in the United States before a meeting of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Tuesday to recommend who should receive the updated vaccines. (Erman and Roy, 9/11)
The Washington Post:
New Covid Vaccine Booster Could Be Available This Week After FDA Approval
If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off Tuesday, injections could be available in pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices by the end of the week. ... The CDC is leaning toward a broad recommendation that covers almost all ages, mirroring the FDA approach, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But it is possible that some on the agency’s panel of outside experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will push for a targeted recommendation focused on those at greatest risk — older Americans or people with weakened immune systems or other illnesses. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday on the matter and CDC Director Mandy Cohen is expected to weigh in shortly afterward, the final step in allowing the new shot to be administered. (McGinley and Sun, 9/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Approves Newest Covid-19 Boosters
The boosters will be the first that their manufacturers sell commercially, rather than to the federal government. ... Moderna said it would price its vaccine at $130 a dose. Pfizer hasn’t specified a price to date, though it has said it was considering up to that sum. The expected prices are significantly more than the U.S. government paid, but the vaccine makers will probably offer discounts to health plans. Many people with health insurance will be able to get boosted without having to pay anything out of pocket. People without insurance should be able to get the shots—at a retail pharmacy and certain government sites—at no cost under a federal program. (Whyte, 9/11)
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Approves New Covid Shots
Also of concern in the handoff to the private market: the nation’s 23 million adults with no health insurance. The Biden administration has made plans to cover costs and offer the Covid vaccine through local clinics and major pharmacies, but some experts are worried about whether people who lack insurance will be aware of the new shots — or where to get them. ... Vaccine manufacturers are expected to donate doses for the uninsured. Kelly Cunningham, a spokeswoman for Moderna, said the company had no cap on the number. (Jewett and Weiland, 9/11)
The New York Times:
What to Know About the New Covid Booster Shots
Unlike the bivalent shots from last fall, the latest mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are monovalent, meaning they are designed to protect against just one variant: XBB.1.5, a recent descendant of Omicron that emerged earlier this year. (Sheikh, 9/11)
The Washington Post:
Threads Blocks Searches For ‘Covid’ And ‘Long Covid’
Instagram’s text-based social platform Threads last week rolled out its new search function, a crucial step toward the platform’s expansion and one that would give it more parity with X, formerly known as Twitter. Not even 24 hours later, the company was embroiled in controversy. When users went to Threads to search for content related to “covid” and “long covid,” they were met with a blank screen that showed no search results and a pop-up linking to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lorenz, 9/11)
CIDRAP:
SARS-CoV-2 Infections May Trigger Islet Autoantibodies In Kids At Risk For Diabetes
Children with a high genetic risk of developing type 1 diabetes see an increase in islet autoantibodies, which develop against pancreatic β-cell proteins, shortly after infection with SARS-CoV-2, illustrating a temporal relationship between COVID-19 and islet autoantibodies not seen with influenza. The study was published in JAMA. ... Of 885 children who agreed to participate in the study, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies developed in 170 children at a median age of 18 months, and islet autoantibodies developed in 60 children. Six of the 60 children tested positive for islet autoantibodies and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the same time, and six tested positive for islet antibodies after having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 2 to 6 months earlier. (Soucheray, 9/11)
The Washington Post:
American Red Cross Announces National Blood Shortage
The American Red Cross announced a national blood shortage and is calling on more people to donate blood and platelets to shore up its supply, which it said has “fallen to critically low levels.” The organization, which is headquartered in D.C. and collects and distributes around 40 percent of the country’s blood donations, said its blood supply has dropped nearly 25 percent since early August, a shortfall of about 30,000 blood and platelet donations. (Amenabar, 9/11)
AP:
Challengers Seek Rewrite Of Missouri Abortion-Rights Ballot Measures, Calling Them Misleading
Abortion-rights advocates asked a judge on Monday to rewrite what they call misleading descriptions of several constitutional amendments on abortion that voters could see on Missouri’s 2024 ballot. Missouri is among several states, including Ohio, where abortion opponents are fighting efforts to ensure or restore access to the procedure following the fall of Roe v. Wade last year. (Ballentine, 9/11)
The Washington Post:
Seven Arrested In Protest At McCarthy’s Office Over HIV Program
Seven people were arrested after occupying the office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Capitol Hill and demanding that Congress reauthorize the PEPFAR global initiative to fight HIV and AIDS. The provisions of PEPFAR — which stands for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — are set to expire Sept. 30. The program has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives. (Silverman, 9/11)
Stat:
Food Makers Tried To Stack Nutrition Panel With Preferred Experts
There’s a panel of 20 nutrition experts that has outsized influence on the American diet — and the food industry has worked hard to get friendly researchers into the group, new documents obtained by STAT show. (Florko, 9/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Generic Drugs Should Be Cheap, But Insurers Are Charging Patients Thousands Of Dollars For Them
The cancer drug Gleevec went generic in 2016 and can be bought today for as little as $55 a month. But many patients’ insurance plans are paying more than 100 times that. CVS Health and Cigna can charge $6,600 a month or more for Gleevec prescriptions, a Wall Street Journal analysis of pricing data found. They are able to do that because they set the prices with pharmacies, which they sometimes own. (Walker, 9/11)
NPR:
Medical Debt Is Putting Some Americans At Risk Of Homelessness
A growing body of evidence shows that stable housing is critical to physical and mental well-being. Some major medical systems – including several in Colorado - have even begun investing in affordable housing in their communities, citing the need to address what are sometimes called social determinants of health. But as hospitals and other medical providers leave millions in debt, they inadvertently undermine community health, said Brian Klausner, a physician at a clinic serving homeless patients in Raleigh, N.C. (Levey, 9/11)
AP:
Helton Teams Up With Organization To Eliminate $10 Million In Medical Bills For Colorado Residents
Retired Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is teaming up with the organization RIP Medical Debt to help eliminate $10 million in medical bills for residents around the state. The program is set to start later this month, with recipients around Colorado receiving letters that notify them their medical bills have been paid in full. Medical expenses have been among the leading causes for bankruptcy in the United States. (9/11)
Modern Healthcare:
LPN Omission From CMS Staffing Mandate Causes Concern
LPNs, who make up about 13% of nursing home staff and as much as 75% of clinical staff at some facilities, were omitted in the proposal the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Sept. 1. The proposed mandate would require nursing homes to provide three hours of care per resident, per day, with 0.55 hours of care coming from registered nurses and 2.45 hours of care coming from certified nursing assistants. No mention is made of LPNs, who provide most of the hands-on care in skilled nursing facilities. Their absence in the proposed rule worries the industry, particularly given the overall staffing challenges in healthcare. (Eastabrook, 9/11)
The Boston Globe:
Primary Care Medicine: Legislation Would Provide Boost For A Health Cornerstone
Primary care is considered by many to be a cornerstone of medicine, keeping patients healthier and avoiding more costly intervention down the line. The “Primary Care for You” legislation, which will be the focus of a Joint Committee on Health Care Financing hearing Tuesday, is only the latest time the state has sought to reform primary care. Former Governor Charlie Baker tried twice — in 2019 and again in 2022 — with proposals that would have required providers and payers to increase spending on behavioral and primary care by 30 percent over three years. (Bartlett, 9/11)
Bloomberg:
Troubled Pennsylvania Hospital Reveals Failure Of Private Equity Deals
When private equity firm Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. bought a cash-strapped hospital outside Philadelphia, it promised a return to profitability that would ensure the long-term sustainability of a facility that thousands of people counted on. Seven years later, Delaware County Memorial Hospital is closed, Prospect is in debt and a community group is suing. (Coleman-Lochner and Church, 9/12)
CIDRAP:
Groups Call On Congress To Improve FDA's Veterinary Antibiotic Stewardship Efforts
Nearly 20 public health, environmental, and food safety groups last week sent a letter to US lawmakers calling for changes to federal legislation that would improve veterinary antibiotic stewardship. The letter urges Senate leadership to revise the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) with specific changes that require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to measure and report on whether its antibiotic stewardship activities have actually improved the use of medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry. The legislation, first passed in 2003, needs to be reauthorized every 5 years and is set to expire on September 30. (Dall, 9/11)
Bloomberg:
Daiichi To File For US Approval Of New Lung Cancer Drug By March
Daiichi Sankyo Co. plans to file for US approval of its novel lung cancer drug by the end of March after the medicine showed a benefit in patients with advanced disease. Patritumab deruxtecan was given to non-small cell lung cancer patients who had seen their cancer progress despite extensive previous treatment efforts. About 30% responded to the drug in the mid-stage trial, according to a presentation at the World Conference on Lung Cancer held in Singapore. (Matsuyama, 9/12)
Reuters:
Moderna Ties Up With Immatics To Boost Cancer Vaccine Development
Moderna said on Monday it has struck a deal with German drug developer Immatics for developing cancer vaccines and therapies, and would pay $120 million in cash and additional milestone payments. Moderna said the companies would use Immatics' drug discovery platform to develop mRNA-based cancer vaccines, and also study its own cancer vaccine for use in combination with Immatics' cancer therapy IMA203. (9/11)
Stat:
New Weight Loss Drugs Vying To Be The Next Wegovy Or Mounjaro
The exploding popularity of drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro has propelled dozens of companies to develop their own obesity treatments, with most of them trying to emulate the same approach as the blockbuster products. Nearly 70 obesity treatments are in development, and about two-thirds use a similar mechanism as Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to the STAT Obesity Drug Tracker, a new database compiled by STAT. (DeAngelis and Chen, 9/12)
Axios:
Walgreens Settles Lawsuit With Theranos Patients For $44 Million
Walgreens settled a class action lawsuit on Sept. 6 with Theranos customers for $44 million, per court documents. Walgreens patients in Arizona and California who received fraudulent blood tests will be refunded for products that did not work, following prison sentences for the company's executives. (Rubin, 9/11)
Reuters:
Doctor Asks Court To Toss J&J Lawsuit Against Her Over Cancer Research
A medical researcher has asked a court to throw out a lawsuit that Johnson & Johnson filed against her over her 2019 study on the links between cosmetic talc products and cancer, saying that her research is sound and protected by free speech rights. Dr. Jacqueline Moline, who has served as a plaintiffs' expert in more than 200 cases alleging that J&J talc products caused patients to develop cancer, said in a Friday court filing in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, that the lawsuit was an effort to "intimidate" scientific experts. (Knauth, 9/11)
The Washington Post:
His Tumor Needed To Be Checked For Cancer. A Hospital Lost It Before Testing
Jeremy Morton-Maxson sued the University of Washington, saying its hospital lost a tumor sample taken from his bladder before it could be checked for cancer. (Wu, 9/12)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Care To Pay $1.3 Million To Settle Patient Privacy Violations
L.A. Care, a Los Angeles-based health plan for Medi-Cal recipients, has agreed to pay $1.3 million in a settlement to resolve two privacy and security rule violations and chart a corrective plan to secure their members' information. The violations involve the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that covers what specific healthcare organizations can share about patients without their consent. (Garcia, 9/11)
The New York Times:
Washington University Stops Offering Gender Medications To Minors
Washington University in St. Louis will stop prescribing gender medications to minors, the school said on Monday, citing “unacceptable” legal liability under a new Missouri law banning such treatments. The change comes seven months after a former employee of the university’s youth gender clinic claimed that doctors there were hastily prescribing the treatments, throwing the center into the cross hairs of politicians trying to outlaw so-called gender affirming care for adolescents. (Hughes, 9/11)
News Service of Florida:
Florida House Creates Select Committee On Health Care Innovation
Signaling that health care could be a key issue during the 2024 legislative session, House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, announced Friday that he has created the House Select Committee on Health Innovation. The committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, will “review issues relating to access and affordability in health care,” Renner said in a memo to House members. (9/11)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
NH Seeing Higher Food Insecurity Because Of Inflation, End Of Pandemic Aid
Earlier this year, people who pay attention to food insecurity in New Hampshire noticed something alarming: The rate of families reporting insufficient food access shot up by more than 10%. By this spring, estimates showed that more than half of Granite State households with children didn’t have enough to eat. (Dario, 9/11)
AP:
Drinking Water Testing Ordered At A Minnesota Prison After Inmates Refused To Return To Their Cells
State officials have ordered additional tests on drinking water at a Minnesota prison after concerns about the water’s quality and other issues were raised when dozens of inmates refused to return to their cells during a heat wave earlier this month. The “additional and more comprehensive water testing” has been ordered at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater “to assure staff and incarcerated individuals that the water is safe for drinking,” the Department of Corrections said in a statement released over the weekend. (9/11)
The Washington Post:
Ferid Murad, Who Won Nobel Prize For Cardiovascular Discovery, Dies At 86
Ferid Murad, a pharmacologist who shared a Nobel Prize in 1998 for discovering that nitric oxide, an air pollutant, plays a key role in relaxing blood vessels, a startling finding that led to treatment advances in heart disease, erectile dysfunction and breathing struggles in premature infants, died Sept. 4 at his home in Menlo Park, Calif. He was 86. Dr. Murad’s discovery dates to the 1970s, when he began studying nitroglycerin, the substance that Alfred Nobel, the namesake of the annual awards given in medicine and other disciplines, used to invent dynamite in 1867. (Rosenwald, 9/11)
AP:
Ian Wilmut, A British Scientist Who Led The Team That Cloned Dolly The Sheep, Dies At Age 79
Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose work was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep in 1996, has died at age 79.The University of Edinburgh in Scotland said Wilmut died Sunday after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease. Wilmut set off a global discussion about the ethics of cloning when he announced that his team at the university’s Roslin Institute for animal biosciences had cloned a lamb using the nucleus of a cell from an adult sheep. (9/11)