Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Flu Vaccines; Covid; Smoking; Delirium
CIDRAP: Cell-Derived Flu Vaccines Offer Higher Efficacy Than Egg-Derived, Data Show
The cell-derived inactivated quadrivalent (four-strain) influenza vaccine (ccIIV4) was 7.6% more effective than its egg-derived counterpart (eIIV4) during the 2018-19 US flu season, according to a study published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers used primary medical records and medical claims data to create a retrospective cohort consisting of 2,125,430 people who received ccIV4 and 8,000,903 people who received eIIV4. Patients were 4 years and older. Overall, 1.6% of ccIIV4 recipients had a flu-related medical encounter, compared with 2.4% of those who received eIIV4. (1/6)
CIDRAP: Smoking Tied To Worsen COVID-19 Symptoms, More Hospitalization
[Last week] in Thorax, researchers used data collected from the British ZOE COVID Symptom Study App to show that smoking is tied to a worsening of COVID-19 symptoms and that smokers were more likely to be hospitalized for treatment. Eleven percent of the 2.4 million participants of the symptom study self-identified as smokers, and 35% said they felt unwell in March and April of 2020. Those who said they were current smokers were 14% more likely to report three main symptoms of COVID-19—fever, persistent cough and shortness of breath—than were non-smokers. (1/6)
CIDRAP: Report Highlights Delirium, Comas In Sedated COVID-19 ICU Patients
In COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) early in the pandemic, 82% were in a comatose state at some point and 55% experienced delirium, reports a Lancet study published late last week. Previous studies have connected ICU delirium to higher costs, greater mortality risk, and long-term dementia. Patient data from 14 countries showed that 54.9% of 2,088 patients admitted to ICUs prior to Apr 28, 2020, developed delirium for a median of 3 days and 81.6% were in a coma for a median of 10 days. "This is double what is seen in non-COVID ICU patients," said Brenda Pun, DNP, RN, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, co-first author of the study, in a Vanderbilt news release. "It is clear in our findings that many ICUs reverted to sedation practices that are not in line with best practice guidelines," Pun added. (1/11)
CIDRAP: Study Suggests Nonwhite, Poor, Less Educated At High Risk For COVID Death
Nonwhite Americans, those with low incomes or less than a high school education, and veterans were much more likely to die of COVID-19 than others in a simulation study published yesterday in PLOS Medicine, backing the findings of previous research. Harvard University researchers used data from the 2017-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and deaths reported by public health agencies in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and France to simulate COVID-19 deaths among community-dwelling US adults 20 years and older in spring and summer 2020.Those who died of COVID-19 were, on average, 71.6 years old, 45.9% were female, and 45.1% were white. Disproportionate deaths occurred among participants of nonwhite race (54.8%), those with incomes below the national median of $55,000 to $64,999 (67.5%), those with less than a high school education (25.6%), and veterans (19.5%; they make up only 9% of the US population). (1/12)
