About Covid-19
Few Americans get new covid booster shot ahead of projected winter surge “Only about 105 million U.S. adults — roughly 40 percent — have received the third shot of vaccine initially offered a year ago, according to federal data, a far lower rate than countries like the United Kingdom, where more than 70 percent of adults have gotten a third dose. That figure is also well behind the 200 million U.S. adults who completed their primary series of shots.”
About health insurance/insurers
The Role Of Administrative Waste In Excess US Health Spending “Per the research summarized…, administrative spending accounts for between 15 and 30 percent of medical spending. Some of these estimates encompass only billing- and insurance-related expenses and, as a result, are lower than those that include both billing- and insurance-related and non–billing- and insurance-related costs. Even at the lower end of estimates, US spending on administrative costs annually accounts for twice the spending on care for cardiovascular disease and three times the spending for cancer care…
if administrative spending is about 15–30 percent of national health spending, then wasteful administrative spending comprises half of that, or 7.5–15 percent of national health spending (or $285–$570 billion in 2019).”
About pharma
EU says Teva likely breached antitrust rules to delay Copaxone competition “The European Commission on Monday said that Teva likely breached antitrust rules in an effort to delay competition to its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). The Commission noted that Teva ‘artificially’ extended patent protection for Copaxone and spread "misleading" information about a competing product.”
About the public’s health
FDA authorizes Abbott’s monkeypox PCR test for emergency use “The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization to Abbott Molecular for its real-time PCR test for monkeypox using lesion swab specimens from those with suspected virus infection.
The PCR test (Alinity m MPXV) is the first commercial test to be authorized for detection of monkeypox and is limited to laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988, according to an FDA press release.”
FDA Approves Boostrix for Whooping Cough Prevention “The FDA has approved GlaxoSmithKline’s Boostrix (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis) vaccine for immunization during the third trimester of pregnancy to prevent pertussis, or whooping cough, in infants younger than two months of age.”