Biden Administration Looks to Stop Coverage of COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments
As the US government increasingly relaxes COVID-19 guidances, the Biden administration is planning for the end of coverage for COVID vaccines and treatments. A planning session will be held by the Department of Health and Human Services on August 30th to discuss the matter with pharma representatives and officials from state health departments.
NPR Poll: One in Five US Residents with Serious Illness Couldn’t Access Care During COVID-19 Pandemic
A newly released survey from NPR shows that the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted access to care for approximately 20% of [...]
A New Covid Vaccine That’s Effective Against Omicron Could Hit The Market This Year
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are hoping to launch their latest Covid vaccine later this year after trials found it to be [...]
Moderna Makes Deal with US Govt for Augmented COVID-19 Booster
Moderna has signed a contract worth up to $1.74 billion with the US government to provide an updated version of its mRNA vaccine. This version of the vaccine targets the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron strains that are currently dominant. The deal would get the US an initial 66 million doses, which could later include an additional 234 million.
America’s Early-Death Rate was an Outlier Pre-Pandemic
The US has hit been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing the worst outbreak of all wealthy industrialized nations. This has resulted in a dramatic spike in early deaths. Unfortunately, this is only the exacerbation of a pre-existing trend. Researchers using a data from the CDC and an international mortality database found that the US began falling behind Japan and 16 nations in western Europe as early as the 1980’s, with over 600,000 early deaths in 2019 alone.
COVID-19 Pandemic Causes Largest Drop in Childhood Vaccinations in 30 Years
A report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF shows that 25 million children missed key childhood vaccines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coverage with the DTP3 vaccine, which protects against tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria, fell to 81% from 86% in 2019.
On-Demand Webinar: Accelerating Patient Recruitment Post-COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the playing field of clinical trial patient recruitment permanently. As the clinical research industry moves towards [...]
Vin Gupta in the Lead for FDA Medical Advisor Role
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking for a new principle medical adviser to take charge of public [...]
US Govt Signs COVID-19 Vaccine Deal With Pfizer and BioNTech Totalling $3.2 Billion
The US government has signed an agreement to purchase 105 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech. The deal [...]
Promising Results Announced for Omicron-Adapted Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced positive results in the Phase 2/3 trial for two Omicron-adapted versions of their mRNA vaccine. [...]
BioNTech Starts Construction of Africa’s First mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing Plant
With the construction starting for BioNTech’s new plant in Kigali, Rwanda, Africa is finally getting its first mRNA vaccine manufacturing [...]
Enanta Sues Pfizer over Alleged Paxlovid Patent Infringement
Enanta Pharmaceuticals has filed a lawsuit against the pharma giant Pfizer over claims of patent infringement involving its COVID-19 treatment [...]
14 Million May Lose Health Insurance When Public Health Emergency Ends
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 helped provide coverage to millions who lost their employer-provided health insurance during [...]
Pharma Facing Pressure to Renegotiate COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts with EU Govts
As the demand for COVID-19 vaccines dwindle in Europe, many EU nations’ governments look to renegotiate their vaccine deals [...]
Breaking: US FDA Approves Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccines for Children 5 and Under
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) vaccine advisory committee (Adcomm) voted unanimously (21-0) to approve Moderna and Pfizer’s mRNA-based [...]
FDA Vocalizes Support for Moderna and Pfizer Vaccines for Children Under 5 One Day Before Advisory Committee
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has signalled support for authorizing the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children [...]
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Awaits FDA Review of Manufacturing Data
On Tuesday, outside experts at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 21 – 0 to give emergency approval [...]
Call for Abstracts: Health Affairs Article Cluster: COVID-19 – Lessons For Public Health And Practice
Health Affairs is seeking submissions for its March 2023 journal focusing on the lessons that can be gleaned from changes [...]
Emergent and J&J Butt Heads Over Breaches of Contract
On Monday, June 6th, Emergent BioSolutions informed Johnson & Johnson that it will owe $420 million if the company terminates [...]
The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Systems
A recently posted preprint systematic review in medRxiv has assessed the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems [...]
How Managed Care Pharmacists Can Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Rates for Underserved Populations
Despite seemingly widespread access to COVID-19 vaccinations in wealthier areas, many Americans in underserved populations have much more limited access. [...]
Politico: CMS Wasn’t Built for a Pandemic
Despite mandating infection-control measures in hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) haven’t been able to enforce them. [...]
Emergent was Aware of COVID Vaccine Problems Six Weeks Before Alerting FDA
Contrary to what it told the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a new US House committee revealed that Emergent [...]
Pfizer Takes Heat for Alleged Pandemic Profiteering
Several patient advocacy groups have accused Pfizer of profiteering off the pandemic. The company, which made ~$26 billion at the [...]
Congress Begins Two-Week Recess with No Decision on COVID-19 Relief Bill
Members of the US Congress have left for their 2-week recess with progress stalled on the next round of COVID-19 [...]
