Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In A First, FDA Approves Monthly Injectable Drug For HIV Patients
Stat: FDA Approves First Long-Acting Injectable To Treat HIV Infection
In a move that could transform HIV treatment, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a monthly injectable medication, a regimen designed to rival pills that must be taken daily. The newly approved medicine, which is called Cabenuva, represents a significant advance in treating what continues to be a highly infectious disease. (Silverman, 1/21)
AP: FDA Approves 1st Long-Acting HIV Drug Combo, Monthly Shots
U.S. regulators have approved the first long-acting drug combo for HIV, monthly shots that can replace the daily pills now used to control infection with the AIDS virus. Thursday’s approval of the two-shot combo called Cabenuva is expected to make it easier for people to stay on track with their HIV medicines and to do so with more privacy. It’s a huge change from not long ago, when patients had to take multiple pills several times a day, carefully timed around meals. (Marchione, 1/21)
In other pharmaceutical and research news —
CIDRAP: RNA—But Not Live Virus—Found In Corneas Of Deceased COVID Patients
Six of 11 deceased patients—all but one of whom had COVID-19—had SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their corneas, but live virus was not detected, according to a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology. ... The authors noted that current guidelines recommend avoiding transplant of corneas from donors who either had COVID-19 at the time of death or who had been recently exposed to the virus, because the infectivity of contaminated tissue posed to potential recipients is unknown. They said, though, that transmission of a donor disease to a corneal transplant recipient is rare. (1/21)
CIDRAP: CDC: Vaccine Uptake In US Kindergartners Remained High In 2019-20
New data published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) show routine vaccine uptake among kindergarteners across the United States during the 2019-20 school year was high, approximately 95%—but the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to bring that number down. The data came from a national assessment of vaccine coverage among incoming kindergartners reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) annually. Only 2.5% of kindergartners had an exemption from at least one vaccine during the 2019-20 school year. (1/21)
