Out of a random selection of 185 virus samples collected from patients between November 22 and December 28, in a genomic sequencing study, none matched B.1.1.7, the so-called UK variant. The smaller 2 main clusters was the predominant SARS-CoV-2 strain. But the larger cluster, making up 36% of the samples, was something different, “a new variant that is homegrown California,” …
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control will stop using the vaccine at federal sites and urge states to do so as well while they examine the safety issues. WASHINGTON — Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six recipients in the United States developed …
In a recent study of 20,495 patients from the US Department of Veterans Affairs health system discharged to skilled nursing facilities after heart failure hospitalization, delirium was associated with poor functional recovery. The baseline Activities of Daily Living score on admission to a skilled nursing facility was significantly worse among patients with delirium; patients with delirium also had significantly lower …
In a recent study published in the Journal of Blood Advances, it was identified that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 may latch more easily onto the airway cells of people with Type A blood compared with those with type B or O blood. The findings hint at a possible explanation for why, throughout the pandemic, studies have found those with type A …
The U.S. government is no longer distributing the monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab due to the sustained increase in coronavirus variants in the United States. The FDA has determined that this monoclonal antibody therapy may not produce the desired effects with the widely spreading variants of the virus. However, when administered with etesevimab, another monoclonal antibody treatment also developed by Eli …
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 117 million cases and over 2.6 million deaths worldwide as of March 7, 2021, as estimated by the World Health Organization. Little is known about protection against SARS-CoV-2 repeat infections but two studies in the UK have found that immunity could last at least 5-6 months after infection. This data suggests that reinfection …
RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDHL), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced that preliminary top-line data from its U.S. Phase 2 study with orally-administered opaganib in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, demonstrated positive safety and efficacy signals. Patients in the study were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive either opaganib or placebo on top of standard-of-care and were followed up for …
As older residents die from the pandemic and as more families choose to keep elderly relatives at home, some facilities are accepting younger patients, including some with drug addictions and mental illness. Some patients have schizophrenia, some have psychosis. This change in clientele can have a dramatic impact on the daily functioning of nursing homes, a change that administrators and …
The Biden Administration is announcing a new partnership with dialysis clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to people receiving dialysis and health care personnel in outpatient dialysis clinics. Kidney disease disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities as 34% of patients on dialysis are Black and 19% are Hispanic. People on dialysis who contract COVID-19 often have severe health outcomes and have …
Why OIG Did This Review In 2012, the OIG issued a report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicating that during 2009, Medicare part D paid for prescription drugs that likely should have been paid for by hospice organizations under the Medicare Part A hospice benefit. They matched Part A and Part D data to identify occurrences …
