New reports show additional doses of Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in Baltimore may be contaminated; legislation extends fentanyl's regulation as a Schedule 1 drug; COVID-19 cases and deaths increase in Texas.
Following reports of 15 million Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine doses spoiled at a Baltimore plant earlier this month, federal regulators have now found more flaws at the facility, The New York Times reports. FDA officials say Emergent BioSolutions, the company manufacturing the vaccine, may have contaminated additional doses because it failed to fully investigate contamination and had faults in its disinfectant practices, handling of raw materials, and training of workers. No doses made at the plant have gone out to the public and all J&J doses distributed in the United States were manufactured overseas.
The US House of Representatives passed legislation to extend a provision set to expire that keeps fentanyl listed as a Schedule 1 drug, according to Roll Call. The deadly synthetic opioid has been responsible for a large proportion of drug overdoses in the United States in recent years. Its listing as a Schedule 1 drug, which would have expired May 6, means it has a high potential to be abused and does not have a medical use. In the 12 months preceding September 2020, at least 87,000 individuals died of drug overdoses. Under the revised version of the bill, fentanyl’s status would remain until October 22, 2021, granting lawmakers time to draft more comprehensive legislation.
COVID-19 deaths and cases continue to increase at an above-average pace in Texas, The Associated Press reports. The state recorded 4518 new cases and 82 COVID-19–related deaths compared with a rolling 7-day average of over 3200 cases and 55 deaths, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Over the course of the pandemic, the state has reported just over 3 million cases and nearly 50,000 deaths, while currently, 36% of Texans have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 23% of the population is fully vaccinated.
The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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