Category Archives: Vaccine Efficacy

COVID response leads voters’ healthcare concerns

Posted on by • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, ACA, Asymptomatic Transmission, Chronic Care Management, Chronic Conditions, Chronic Diseases, Clinical Testing, Contact Tracing, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Deferred Healthcare, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Election, Essential Health Benefits, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Expert, Expert Opinion, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, Health Policy, High Deductible Health Plans, High Drug Prices, High Premiums, High Prices, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Mortality, National Strategy, Out of Pocket Expenses, Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Preexisting Conditions, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Scientists, Social Distancing, Supreme Court, Underinsured, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, Uninsured, Vaccine, Vaccine Distribution, Vaccine Efficacy, Vaccine Safety • Leave a comment

https://mailchi.mp/f2794551febb/the-weekly-gist-october-23-2020?e=d1e747d2d8

The upcoming election has huge implications for healthcare, far beyond how COVID is managed, ranging from how care is covered to how it’s delivered. The graphic above shows a continuum of potential policy outcomes of the November 3rd vote.

If President Trump wins a second term and Republicans control at least one house of Congress, there will likely be more attempts to dismantle the ACA, as well as continued privatization of Medicare coverage.

 If Democrats win the presidency and sweep Congress, actions to expand the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or even create a national public option, are on the table—although major healthcare reform seems unlikely to occur until the second half of a Biden term.

In the short term, we’d expect to see more policy activity in areas of bipartisan agreement, like improving price transparency, ending surprise billing and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, regardless of who lands in the White House.
 
While healthcare emerged as the most important issue for voters in the 2018 midterm elections, the COVID pandemic has overshadowed the broader healthcare reform platforms of both Presidential candidates heading into the election. As shown in the gray box, many Americans view the election as a referendum on the Trump administration’s COVID response. Managing the pandemic is one of the most important issues for voters, especially Democrats, who now rank the issue above reducing the cost of healthcare or lowering the cost of drugs. 

In many aspects, the COVID policies of Biden and Trump are almost diametrically opposed, especially concerning the role of the federal government in organizing the nation’s pandemic response.

The next administration’s actions to prevent future COVID-19 surges, ensure safe a return to work and school, accelerate therapies, and coordinate vaccine delivery will remain the most important aspect of healthcare policy well into 2021.

U.S. Still in First Wave of COVID-19, Fauci Says

Posted on by • Posted in Asymptomatic Transmission, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Coronavirus, Flu Shot, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Mortality, National Strategy, Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Social Distancing, Vaccine, Vaccine Distribution, Vaccine Efficacy • Leave a comment

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200925/us-still-in-first-wave-of-covid-19-fauci-says

US still in first Covid-19 wave and should be prepared for 'challenge' of fall and winter, Fauci says

Anthony Fauci, MD, says talk about a second wave of the coronavirus is premature because the United States is still dealing with the first one.

The idea of a second wave is based on the 1918 flu pandemic, when many cases were seen in the spring, he says. The spring cases “literally disappeared” and were followed by a spike in flu cases in the fall, he told CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD, on Thursday in an online conversation organized by Emory University.

“Rather than say, ‘A second wave,’ why don’t we say, ‘Are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?’” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force.

Flu shots are an important measure to help the U.S. get through the winter, he said.

He and other health care professionals have observed that the Southern Hemisphere has had a very light flu season, probably because measures to curb the coronavirus, such as social distancing and mask-wearing, have limited the spread of the flu.

“If we listen to the public health measures, not only would we diminish the effect of COVID-19, we might get away with a very, very light flu season if we combine that with getting the flu vaccine,” Fauci said.

In a separate interview, he said the arrival of the coronavirus vaccine will not stop the need for tried-and-true measures such as mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing.

In a Facebook Live conversation with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Fauci said the coronavirus vaccine will not be 100% effective and won’t be taken by the entire population. That means the virus could still spread.

“So when a vaccine comes, we look at it as an important tool to supplement the public health measures that we do,” he said. “It will allow us to more quickly and with less stringency get back to some degree of normal. But it is not going to eliminate the need to be prudent and careful with our public health measures.”

Fauci said that vaccinating 75% to 80% of the population “would be a really good accomplishment.” He expects 700 million doses to be produced by the end of this year or early 2021.

 

 

 

 

Medicare won’t cover coronavirus vaccines approved under emergency use authorization

Posted on by • Posted in Coronavirus, Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, Health Policy, Medicare, Out of Pocket Expenses, Pandemic, Vaccine, Vaccine Distribution, Vaccine Efficacy • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/medicare-won-t-cover-coronavirus-vaccines-approved-under-emergency-use-authorization.html?utm_medium=email

Medicare Wouldn't Cover Costs of Administering Coronavirus Vaccine Approved Under Emergency-Use Authorization - WSJ

Medicare won’t cover the cost of a COVID-19 vaccine if it is approved under an emergency use authorization, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The White House recently concluded that Medicare’s exclusion of emergency-use drug costs could mean 44 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, may have to pay out-of-pocket for a vaccine if it is approved under an emergency use authorization, the Journal reported.

HHS is now exploring coverage options, and a spokesperson told the Journal any vaccine doses bought by the government will be provided free.

The administration of President Donald Trump has pushed for a COVID-19 vaccine to be approved and distributed before the presidential election, which would likely only come with an emergency use authorization, since FDA approvals take more time.

In March, lawmakers passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, which ensures no out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 vaccines for people on Medicare.

HHS also said in August that government health insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, would cover the costs of administering a COVID-19 vaccine. 

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 vaccine verdicts loom as next big market risk

Posted on by • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Clinical Research, Clinical Testing, Contact Tracing, Coronavirus, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Expectations, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Market Outlook, Market Uncertainty, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Scientists, Uncertainty, Vaccine, Vaccine Distribution, Vaccine Efficacy • Leave a comment

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-verdicts-loom-050615809.html

Optimism that vaccines are on the way to end the coronavirus pandemic has been a major factor in this year’s U.S. stock resurgence. That will face a critical test in coming weeks, as investors await clinical data on whether they actually work.

A UBS analysis found that about 40% of the market’s gains since May can be pegged to hopes for vaccines to protect against COVID-19, which has killed over 960,000 worldwide and rocked the global economy.

Global efforts to develop a vaccine are coming to a head, with late-stage data on trials by companies such as Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> and Moderna Inc <MRNA.O> possible as soon as October or November. Disappointing results could further shake markets that have recently grown turbulent on worries over fiscal stimulus delays and uncertainty around the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.

“The anticipation is that this stuff is going to work,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital in South Carolina. “So any news to the contrary could be a risk to the market.”

The number of vaccines in development could blunt the negative market impact of any single setback. More than a half-dozen vaccines globally are in late-stage trials out of over 30 currently being tested in humans, according to the World Health Organization.

“We are setting ourselves up for success in the sense of if you throw enough spaghetti at the wall, hopefully at least one noodle sticks,” said Liz Young, director of market strategy at BNY Mellon Investment Management.

That could explain why stocks overall barely reacted earlier this month, when AstraZeneca Plc <AZN.L> and partner Oxford University paused global trials of one of the leading vaccine candidates after a participant in its U.K. trial became seriously ill. The trials have resumed in Britain, Brazil and South Africa, but remain on hold in the United States.

Some forecasts on vaccine availability have grown less optimistic. Good Judgment, a company whose forecasters make predictions based on publicly available evidence, put the chances that a vaccine will be widely distributed in the United States by the end of March at 54%. That is up from an estimate of less than 20% in early July, but down from above 70% earlier this month.

Pfizer and Moderna could report initial efficacy results in October or November based on an early read of data, followed by data from companies such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> and Novavax Inc <NVAX.O>.

An approval or emergency use authorization this year could lead to a surge in travel, leisure and other stocks that have been decimated by pandemic-related shutdowns, while also fueling a long-awaited shift into value stocks from tech and other growth names that have led the market for years.

Even if a vaccine is approved, questions persist about how easily and quickly it can be distributed. President Trump and his health officials have issued conflicting predictions about when the general public could have access.

“The potential for market disappointment will likely come from the realization that manufacturing and broad distribution will take longer,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.

An approved, broadly distributed and accepted vaccine could result in a gain of about 300 points to the S&P 500, or more than 8% at the index’s current level, according to Keith Parker, head of U.S. and global equity strategy at UBS.

If a vaccine is widely distributed in the first quarter, BofA Global Research projects global gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.3% in 2021, compared with 5.6% if that does not occur until the third quarter.

Disappointing clinical trial news could result in a loss of 100 points from the S&P 500, or about 3%, Parker estimates.

While the market might be able to handle one vaccine setback “reasonably well,” several setbacks could cause a rethink of the vaccine race, he said.