Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Codeine And Tramadol Use In Kids; Vitiligo; Covid
American Academy Of Pediatrics: Impact Of The 2017 FDA Drug Safety Communication On Codeine And Tramadol Dispensing To Children
Codeine prescribing decreased after the 2013 boxed warning. The national impact of the 2017 DSC remains unknown. We examine the change in codeine and tramadol dispensing for treatment of pain to children aged <18 years after the 2017 FDA DSC. (Renny, 10/19)
New England Journal of Medicine: Two Phase 3, Randomized, Controlled Trials Of Ruxolitinib Cream For Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes skin depigmentation. A cream formulation of ruxolitinib (an inhibitor of Janus kinase 1 and 2) resulted in repigmentation in a phase 2 trial involving adults with vitiligo. (Rosmarin et al, 10/20)
In covid research —
New England Journal of Medicine: Evaluation Of MRNA-1273 Vaccine In Children 6 Months To 5 Years Of Age
Two 25-μg doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine were found to be safe in children 6 months to 5 years of age and elicited immune responses that were noninferior to those in young adults. (Anderson et al, 10/19)
CIDRAP: Study: Milder COVID Cases, Lower Viral Loads In Vaccinated Frontline Workers
A study of essential and frontline workers in six US states who tested positive for COVID-19 and received two or three mRNA vaccine doses before Delta infections and three doses before Omicron infections suggests that they had significantly milder infections and lower viral loads than their unvaccinated peers. (Van Beusekom, 10/18)
CIDRAP: Study Highlights Burden Of Long COVID On Health Systems
Researchers from ICES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) followed 531,702 people in Ontario starting 2 months after they were tested for COVID-19 from Jan 1, 2020, to Mar 31, 2021, a period in which COVID-19 vaccines weren't widely available. (Van Beusekom, 10/17)
