Pharma&Tech062421

Calming Computer Jitters: Help for Seniors Who Aren’t Tech-Savvy
By Judith Graham Millions of older adults want to be comfortable going online and using digital tools to enhance their lives. But many need help. A number of groups around the country offer assistance.

Is Rand Paul Mixing Up the Vaccine Message for Covid Survivors?
By Victoria Knight The scientific literature shows that natural immunity does provide protection against covid-19, but experts say getting vaccinated can provide additional protection against variants.

Unused Johnson & Johnson Covid Doses Are Piling Up as FDA Waits to See if Shelf Life Can Be Extended
By Rachana Pradhan and Christina Jewett As vaccine expiration dates loom, states with hundreds of thousands of doses on hand say demand is tanking and there’s no easy way to donate to other states or countries that might want them

What It Means When Celebrities Stay Coy About Their Vaccine Status
By Eric Berger St. Louis Blues leading scorer David Perron took 10 days to explain he had indeed been vaccinated before he caught covid-19, which knocked him from playing in the NHL playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche. His case and those of other public figures raise questions about the role of celebrity in enticing people to get covid vaccinations.

Journalists Follow Up on Unused Vaccines and For-Profit Medical Schools
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

The Hard Realities of a ‘No Jab, No Job’ Mandate for Health Care Workers
By Christine Spolar Despite a hearts-and-minds campaign and millions spent in incentives, managers struggle to get staffs vaccinated against covid. Some workers have threatened to quit over the pressure to get a shot, which employers can’t afford.

Not All Experts Are Ready to Vaccinate Kids Against Covid
By Arthur Allen Rare reports of minor heart damage have convinced some scientists that further study is needed before racing to extend covid shots to more children.

Being Vaccinated Doesn’t Mean You Must Go Maskless. Here’s Why.
By Bernard J. Wolfson It won’t hurt to remain cautious, even as California reopens for business in response to mass vaccinations and diminishing cases of covid.

Biden Kept His Promise to Increase Covid-Testing Capacity, Even as Demand for Testing Drops
By Victoria Knight Experts told us that the system’s capacity has improved and people now have access to different testing options.

An Anti-Vaccine Film Targeted to Black Americans Spreads False Information
By Will Stone A new movie produced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine group tries to capitalize on the covid-19 pandemic, the racial justice movement and renewed interest in the history of medical racism.

In Missouri and Other States, Flawed Data Makes It Hard to Track Vaccine Equity
By Alex Smith, KCUR Racial and ethnic categories for vaccination data vary widely from one state to another, complicating efforts to distribute shots where they are needed most. In Missouri, some red flags in the data surfaced, making health officials question its usefulness.

FDA Weighs Approval of a Lucrative Alzheimer’s Drug, but Benefits Are Iffy
By Harris Meyer The agency is to decide by June 7 whether to greenlight Biogen’s drug aducanumab, despite a near-unanimous rejection of the product by an FDA advisory committee of outside experts in November. Some scientists at the agency have endorsed the drug, though.

Journalists Discuss New Alzheimer’s Drug, Women’s Alcohol Use, the Hip-Hop and Opioids Link
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Change to Gilead Assistance Program Threatens PrEP Access, HIV Advocates Say
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Safety-net clinics especially are bracing for how the drugmaker’s policy shift could reduce their budgets and hamstring their ability to provide care to an at-risk population.

Biden Administration Signals It’s in No Rush to Allow Canadian Drug Imports
By Phil Galewitz Federal officials asked a court to dismiss a suit by drugmakers over the policy enacted by the Trump administration that would allow states to bring in cheaper prescription medications from Canada. The filing said the lawsuit was moot because it’s unclear when or if the FDA would approve any state’s importation plan.

Opioids Like ‘Lean’ Permeate Hip-Hop Culture, but Dangers Are Downplayed
By Chaseedaw Giles In big cities and small towns, opioid use among some young hip-hop fans is about emulating their favorite rap star’s image — while paying little attention to the serious consequences.

In a Murky Sea of Mental Health Apps, Consumers Left Adrift
By Jenny Gold Venture capitalists have poured billions into the digital mental health space, sensing an area of unmet demand that is ripe for disruption. The problem for consumers is separating the apps that might help from those that offer little more than distraction — or could actually do harm.

More Than 100 Missouri Schools Have Bought ‘Often Unproven’ Air-Cleaning Technology
By Lauren Weber and Sarah Fentem, St. Louis Public Radio Across Missouri, more than 100 schools have spent over $3.5 million — often at the taxpayers’ expense — snapping up ionization and other air-purifying devices in an attempt to keep kids safe from covid-19. But experts warn the largely unregulated technology hasn’t been thoroughly tested in classroom settings and is “often unproven.”

Hospitals, Insurers Invest Big Dollars to Tackle Patients’ Social Needs
By Phil Galewitz Eager to control costs, health systems and insurers are trying to address patients’ social needs such as food insecurity, transportation and housing. Yet, after years of testing, there’s slim evidence these efforts pay off.

Doctor on Call? Lawmakers Debate How Much to Pay for Phone Appointments
By Rachel Bluth Phone visits became an option for many Medicare and Medicaid patients during the pandemic. Now policymakers are deciding whether they’re worth the money.

Covid Was a Tipping Point for Telehealth. If Some Have Their Way, Virtual Visits Are Here to Stay.
By Noam N. Levey Pressure is mounting on Congress and the Biden administration to make permanent pandemic-inspired rules that fueled telehealth growth. Some fear fraud and ballooning costs.

Zooming Into the Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills to Push for Changes
By Susan Jaffe Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.

Boeing Tested Air Purifiers Like Those Widely Used in Schools. It Decided Not to Use Them in Planes.
By Christina Jewett and Lauren Weber The technology that schools have been snapping up in the fight against covid “has not shown significant disinfection effectiveness” to install on its planes, Boeing found. Now the company’s study is being debated in a proposed class-action suit.

Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing So Is Complicated.
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony When estimating how well a patient’s kidneys are working, doctors frequently turn to an equation that depends on a question: Is the patient Black? Kidney experts are now debating how to remove the race adjustment and whether the question is a function of sound science. It’s considered just the first step in dismantling institutional racism in kidney care.

Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
By Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas Federal officials say that some of the money changing hands has corrupted doctors and endangered patients.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Our 200th Episode!
The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcast’s 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Drug Price Dilemma
Republicans, Democrats and the public at large agree that prices for prescription drugs are too high. But no one seems to know how to fix it. Vanderbilt University drug price researcher Stacie Dusetzina explains the basics of why drugs cost so much and why it’s hard to do something about it. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the prospects for policy changes.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Return of the Public Option
Lawmakers are working on fleshing out the concept of a “public option,” a government-run or heavily regulated insurance plan that would compete with private insurance. But the details are complicated, both substantively and politically. Meanwhile, bioethicists are debating whether the U.S. should be vaccinating low-risk adolescents against covid-19 while high-risk adults in other countries are still waiting. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.