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What We're Reading: UK Variant Not Linked With Severe Disease; COVID-19 Hospitalization in Children; Therapy Setbacks in Huntington Disease
A new study finds no link between the UK COVID-19 variant and more severe disease; study finds more than 1 in 10 US children with COVID-19 hospitalized; therapy setbacks in Huntington disease.
UK COVID-19 Variant Not Linked With More Severe Disease
After prior research indicated that the COVID-19 variant B117, first identified in the United Kingdom, may lead to more severe disease, a new study published this week in The Lancet finds no difference in risks of severe disease, death, or other clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with this strain or other variants. According to Reuters, a separate study published in The Lancet Public Health also finds that currently approved vaccines are likely effective against B117, the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States, with no increase in reinfection rate observed compared with non-UK variants.
More Than 1 in 10 US Children With COVID-19 Were Hospitalized
According to a research letter published late last week in JAMA Network Open, 11.7% of 20,714 examined US children with COVID-19 were hospitalized, of whom 31.1% had severe disease, characterized by requiring intensive care, mechanical ventilation, or comparable treatment. Reported by CIDRAP, the likelihood of severe COVID-19 was found to be greater if the patient had a chronic condition, was between the ages of 2 to 5 or 6 to 11 years vs a teenager, or was male. Notably, 5 US hospitals have started pediatric long-haul clinics to help care for children with lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
Two Therapeutic Setbacks for Huntington Disease
STAT reports that experimental therapies under investigation to treat Huntington disease, tominersen by Roche and 2 therapies developed by Wave, were shelved in back-to-back announcements recently. Roche said it was halting the trial of tominersen, the only treatment to target the roots of neurodegeneration in Huntington disease to reach phase 3 trials, based on the recommendation of independent data experts monitoring the trial, although it is not clear what aspects of the data led to the decision. Currently, there are no approved treatments to slow the progression of Huntington disease.
NCCN Guidelines Update Adds Momelotinib Below Ruxolitinib for High-, Low-Risk Myelofibrosis
November 21st 2023Momelotinib was given category 2A and 2B status for patients with high- and low-risk myelofibrosis (MF) and MF with anemia. However, ruxolitinib retains a higher category of recommendation as a treatment for patients with MF.
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Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Dr Shereef Elnahal, Under Secretary for Health
April 20th 2023Shereef Elnahal, MD, MBA, under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), sat for a conversation with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, Tennessee Oncology, that covered the cancer footprint of the VHA.
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Odevixibat Safe for Alagille Syndrome Based on Hepatic Changes
November 8th 2023Pooled phase 3 data presented at North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition 2023 support the benefit-risk profile of the ileal bile acid transport inhibitor in treating the rare liver disease.
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Exploring Payer Coverage Decisions Following FDA Novel Drug Approvals
May 3rd 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Ari D. Panzer, BS, lead author and researcher, then at Tufts Medical Center—now at Duke University—discusses the findings from his team’s investigation into coverage decisions by health plan insurers of the 66 drugs approved by the FDA in 2018.
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