An experimental Moderna combination vaccine for influenza and Covid-19 showed in a pivotal study that it can elicit a higher immune response compared to vaccines that are already available to protect against infection from both viruses.

The post Moderna’s Flu & Covid-19 Combination Vaccine Succeeds in Phase 3 Clinical Trial appeared first on MedCity News.

The former Pfizer statistician worked on the clinical trial for the Covid-19 drug Paxlovid. A jury found the employee guilty of insider trading for transactions made before clinical data for the antiviral were publicly announced.

The post Ex-Pfizer Employee Convicted for Insider Trades Ahead of Positive Paxlovid Data appeared first on MedCity News.

Contract development and manufacturing organizations cannot develop or distribute vaccines alone, but through partnerships, their infrastructure can provide the foundation for delivering life-saving tools swiftly and equitably when a new public health crisis emerges.

The post Pandemic Preparedness for CDMOs: Will It Be Different Next Time? appeared first on MedCity News.

Pfizer lowered its revenue projections for 2023, a change it attributed to declining demand for its Covid-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, and antiviral drug, Paxlovid. Citing this revenue decline, Pfizer is implementing a companywide cost-cutting plan projected to save $3.5 billion.

The post Pfizer Shaves Revenue Projections, Starts Cost-Cutting Plan Amid Lower Covid-19 Product Demand appeared first on MedCity News.

New York, Florida, Texas and Minnesota terminated Medicaid coverage for some enrollees for “unallowable or potentially unallowable reasons” during the Covid-19 public health emergency, according to a recent Office of Inspector General report.

The post 4 States Received Enhanced Medicaid Funding During Covid Despite Wrongly Terminating Coverage appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA said the updated messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna will protect against the omicron subvariants now prevalent in circulation. Left out of the FDA decision is Novavax, whose protein-based vaccine is still under regulatory review.

The post FDA Approves Updated Covid-19 Vaccines to Address Now Circulating Variants appeared first on MedCity News.

In order to gain trust from communities, healthcare leaders will need more training on effective communication, said Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy. He made these comments last week during a panel at the AHIP 2023 conference in Portland.

The post What Are the Challenges in Gaining Trust in Healthcare? appeared first on MedCity News.

While the U.S. did very well on the scientific front of Covid-19 with the production of vaccines, it needs to improve on the public health front, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He made these comments Tuesday at the AHIP 2023 conference in Portland.

The post Are We Prepared for the Next Pandemic? Anthony Fauci Weighs In at AHIP appeared first on MedCity News.

Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium, provided hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 tests and vaccines to Black and Brown people in Philadelphia’s underserved neighborhoods during the pandemic. In her view, her work was impactful because she acted promptly and focused on community-based patient engagement.

The post Inside One Philadelphia Doctor’s DIY Method to Tackle Health Inequity appeared first on MedCity News.

Paxlovid, a Pfizer antiviral awarded FDA emergency authorization in 2021 for treating Covid-19, is now approved for treating adults. Results from a pivotal clinical trial showed that Paxlovid led to an 86% reduction in Covid-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause compared to a placebo.

The post FDA Nod Makes Pfizer’s Paxlovid the First Approved Oral Covid-19 Antiviral Drug appeared first on MedCity News.

The Covid-19 public health emergency ended May 11, which will affect employer-sponsored insurance in several ways, said Jeff Levin-Scherz, population health leader of Willis Towers Watson. This includes the coverage Covid-19 tests and vaccines.

The post 7 Things Employers Should Know About the End of the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency appeared first on MedCity News.

Out of the $1 billion in Medicare payments to providers for psychotherapy services in the first year of Covid-19, $580 million were improper payments, an audit by the Office of Inspector General found. This includes $348 million for telehealth services.

The post Medicare Improperly Paid Providers $348M for Telehealth Psychotherapy Services appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA will decide this summer which strains the next Covid-19 vaccines should address. But companies are also taking a longer view, developing shots for the future that offer different features than the current ones and potentially broader protection against a wider range of pathogens.

The post The Public Health Emergency Is Expiring, So What Is the Future of Covid-19 Vaccines? appeared first on MedCity News.

Older adults and immunocompromised people may now get a second Covid-19 booster shot, according to amendments to the FDA authorizations of the mRNA vaccines. Further changes will be discussed at an advisory committee meeting planned for June.

The post FDA’s Covid-19 Changes Set Stage for the Vaccines to Emulate Seasonal Flu Shots appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA granted emergency use authorization to an InflaRx antibody drug that treats hospitalized Covid-19 patients. But Pardes Bioscience’s coronavirus journey is ending following the Phase 2 failure of an antiviral that was expected to compete with Pfizer’s Paxlovid.

The post InflaRx Covid-19 Drug Welcomes an FDA Win; Pardes Bio Throws In the Towel appeared first on MedCity News.

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way we think of diagnostics in our daily lives. In a recent webinar, BD Vice President for Diagnostics Nikos Pavlidis spoke with a clinician and an epidemiologist where they shared their perspectives on how testing developments have changed the way we track respiratory illnesses.

The post The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Served as a Catalyst for Diagnostic Transformation appeared first on MedCity News.

During an interview at the AHIP Medicare, Medicaid, Duals and Commercial Markets Forum held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure discussed CMS’ key focus areas for 2023. This includes the end of the public health emergency, health equity and prescription drug costs.

The post CMS Administrator: Telehealth Flexibilities Greatly Expanded Access, But Up To Congress To Extend appeared first on MedCity News.

Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other providers collected billions in government aid during the pandemic. Federal auditors may soon come knocking to ensure the money was spent correctly.

The post Feds expected to scrutinize Covid-era payments to providers appeared first on MedCity News.

A recent Elevance Health study found that long Covid patients are 2.35 times more likely to experience cardiac arrhythmia and 3.64 times more likely to experience pulmonary embolism. The study also discovered higher mortality rates among long Covid patients.

The post Elevance Health: Long Covid Patients Are at Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Problems, Mortality appeared first on MedCity News.

By the end of March, Medicaid/CHIP enrollment will have grown by 23.3 million members since the start of the pandemic, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. This is largely due to the continuous enrollment provision enacted during the pandemic, which barred states from disenrolling members and is set to expire March 31.

The post Medicaid/CHIP Enrollment Will Grow To Nearly 95M by the End of March, Analysis Predicts appeared first on MedCity News.

Lucira Health now has the first FDA authorized diagnostic that detects the novel coronavirus and influenza in a single test. But the regulatory decision comes too late for the diagnostics developer, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The post FDA Authorizes First Covid-19 and Flu Test, But Its Maker Files for Bankruptcy appeared first on MedCity News.

A webinar sponsored by BD scheduled for March 7 will explore how diagnostics companies are working with healthcare organizations to guard against the perfect storm of Covid-19, RSV and influenza. Register today!

The post How to Leverage Diagnostic Development to Guard Against RSV, Flu and Covid-19 appeared first on MedCity News.

GSK gave Vir Biotechnology a Valentine’s Day break-up message, but it’s not a complete goodbye. Though the two companies are ending their Covid-19 collaboration, they’ll still work together on other respiratory programs, including a prophylactic influenza antibody drug that is in mid-stage clinical development.

The post GSK’s Covid-19 Valentine to Vir Biotech: ‘You Can Go Your Own Way’ appeared first on MedCity News.

The Aligos Therapeutics pipeline reprioritization comes after clinical trial setbacks to two hepatitis B drug candidates led the biotech to end both programs. Still intact is a Merck research collaboration focused on developing NASH therapies.

The post Aligos Trims Staff to Hone Focus on Early Clinical Programs in NASH, Covid-19 appeared first on MedCity News.

R&D spending rose in response to Covid-19, bringing with it higher expectations for returns on all biopharma investments. The once sky-high projections are coming down to Earth, with returns now in line with pre-pandemic levels, according to a new Deloitte report.

The post Pharma Returns Slump as Post-Pandemic Realities Set In, Deloitte Report Says appeared first on MedCity News.

The Covid-19 public health emergency waived a rule that required a practitioner to conduct an in-person medical exam before prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine. Once the public health emergency ends on May 11, those with substance use disorder could be greatly affected, experts are warning.

The post Virtual Substance Use Disorder Companies Sound Alarm Over PHE Ending appeared first on MedCity News.

The Kaiser Family Foundation examined pre-pandemic data to determine what will happen to those disenrolled from Medicaid and CHIP once the continuous enrollment requirement ends March 31. The analysis found that 65% of those disenrolled went through a period of uninsurance.

The post KFF: 65% of People Disenrolled from Medicaid/CHIP Went Through Period of Uninsurance appeared first on MedCity News.

About 51% of U.S. adults are in favor of the Covid-19 public health emergency still in effect, while 39% said it is no longer needed, a recent Morning Consult survey found. Americans’ opinions varied based on political party, generation, race/ethnicity and location.

The post Survey: Americans Are Split on the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency appeared first on MedCity News.

Nearly a quarter of private sector employees don’t have any paid sick days, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. Providing this benefit will save employers down the line, one expert argues.

The post One Simple Action Can Ease ‘Tripledemic’ Pressures: Paid Sick Leave appeared first on MedCity News.

In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, 25 governors argued that the Covid-19 public health emergency should end in April. An estimated 18 million people could lose Medicaid coverage if that happens, according to a recent report.

The post 25 Governors Pressure Biden Admin to End Public Health Emergency appeared first on MedCity News.