Article

What We're Reading: UPS Vaccine Service; Americans Want More Healthcare Spending; Alzheimer Trials Halted

Author(s):

United Parcel Service (UPS) is planning to test a service that will dispatch nurses to administer vaccines in a patient's home; survey results reveal that the majority of Americans think the government is spending too little on healthcare; and Biogen has halted 2 clinical trials testing an experimental treatment for Alzheimer disease.

United Parcel Service (UPS) to Test In-Home Vaccine Services

Americans Want More Government Spending on Healthcare

Biogen Halting 2 Alzheimer Drug Trials

Stepping its foot into the healthcare arena, UPS will test a service that dispatches nurses to vaccinate adults in their homes starting next year. According to Reuters, UPS will package and ship the vaccine from its healthcare complex to one of its stores, where a home health nurse will pick up the vaccine, bring it to the patient’s home, and administer it. While the postal service did not disclose which vaccines would be included in the service, Merck is looking into participating in the initiative.Data from the General Social Survey (GSS) indicate that Americans are not satisfied with the amount of money the government is spending on healthcare. Analyzing 2018 data, GSS and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research staff found that 7 in 10 respondents of the survey said the government is spending too little on improving health in the country. Americans also want more spending on helping people deal with drug addiction, with 69% of respondents reporting that the government is spending too little on the issue.Biogen announced that it is nixing 2 late-stage clinical trials assessing aducanumab for Alzheimer disease, concluding that the experimental treatment was unlikely to benefit patients. However, scientists say the failure did reinforce the notion that removing amyloid plaques is too late for symptomatic patients. According to STAT News, the anti-amyloid compound is just 1 of hundreds that have failed to be effective in the disease, resulting in some questioning if a new approach is needed.

Related Videos
Parth Rali, MD
Susan Perlman, MD, an expert on Friedreich's ataxia
Susan Perlman, MD, an expert on Friedreich's ataxia
1 KOL is featured in this series.
IMS Recap
Klaus Rabe, MD, PhD, chest physician and professor of medicine, University of Kiel
April Armstrong, MD, MPH, chief of dermatology, UCLA
Related Content
AJMC Managed Markets Network Logo
CH LogoCenter for Biosimilars Logo