FDA approves Covid-19 boosters for older adults

People 50 years and older can get second Covid-19 vaccine boosters, but FDA officials are expected to stop short of saying people should get them. People 50 and older are now eligible for another shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines four months after their last dose, the FDA said yesterday. Agency officials cited data from Israel showing that second boosters increased antibody levels, while other studies from Israel have shown increased protection against death during the country’s Omicron wave. Pfizer and BioNTech also said they submitted data to the FDA showing some waning of effectiveness three to six months out from the first booster shots. The FDA’s decision came without calling meetings of the FDA’s or CDC’s advisory panels of outside experts, which typically vote to recommend authorizing vaccines and for whom. STAT’s Andrew Joseph has more.

Covid-19 pandemic isn’t over for Black Americans, report warns

(JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

A searing report released yesterday by the Black Coalition Against COVID details the immense toll the Covid-19 pandemic has taken — and continues to take — on Black communities. Even as case rates began to fall sharply across the country earlier this year, the Covid-19 hospitalization rate for Black people was higher than it had been at any time during the pandemic for any racial or ethnic group. The report details massive disparities, including:

Black Americans between 65 and 74 were five times more likely to die than white Americans.
Between April 2020 and June 2021, 1 in 310 Black children lost a parent or caregiver compared to 1 in 738 white children.
Learning time lost by students who were Black or in other racial or ethnic groups was estimated to be one year, compared to four to eight months for white students.

STAT’s Usha Lee McFarling has more.

Big buyout shows increased interest in home health industry

UnitedHealth Group’s proposed $5.4 billion buyout of home health and hospice provider LHC Group serves as another example of the health insurance industry’s ravenous appetite to own more parts of health care delivery, especially the care people receive in their homes. But the interest in home health — a lower-cost venue that remains highly lucrative, particularly for the Medicare population of people 65 and older — has also come from a host of other companies with money to burn, including hospitals and financial investors like private equity firms. “The hospital has been the epicenter of the health care system, and I think we’re seeing that change,” said Mark Kulik of the Braff Group. STAT’s Bob Herman and Tara Bannow have more in STAT+ on the home health deals that have proliferated in the past year and what they mean.

Closer look: Even rich hospitals scramble for the last scraps of federal Covid dollars

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This month, executives at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., hired a lobbyist to get what they believe it deserves: more Covid cash. Executives wanted to know why Freeman hasn’t gotten more from the $187 billion pool of taxpayer money that has helped ease the pandemic-related shocks for hospitals, doctors, and other providers. But Freeman had already collected almost $21 million from the federal fund, and it’s not in a precarious financial position. (STAT’s efforts to reach someone at Freeman went unanswered.) Its attempt to nab more Covid subsidies highlights how some hospitals are using their muscle to catch whatever dollars are left from the nearly depleted fund — even though the subsidies have inflated the fortunes of the wealthiest hospital systems. “The question now is how to identify hospitals that are truly in need,” Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation told STAT’s Bob Herman. Read more.

How boosters held up after a J&J first shot

In more booster news, the CDC has weighed in on vaccine effectiveness of different matchups following a primary J&J vaccine. The agency had already recommended boosting with either Moderna’s or Pfizer/BioNTech’s mRNA vaccines, after reports of rare but serious side effects after the J&J shot. Yesterday’s CDC report says all booster strategies — whether a second J&J shot or mix and match — worked better than a single J&J dose when measured by protection against needing emergency or urgent care visits and hospitalizations during Omicron’s predominance. Here’s how vaccine effiectiveness added up:

After 1 J&J dose: 24% visits; 31% hospitalizations
After 2 J&J doses: 54% visits; 67% hospitalizations
After 1 J&J and 1 mRNA dose: 79% visits; 78% hospitalizations
After 3 mRNA doses: 83% visits; 90% hospitalizations

Based on these new data, the CDC said adults who got two J&J shots at least four months ago may now receive a second booster using an mRNA vaccine.

Staying well-hydrated linked to lower risk of heart failure

We’ve all gotten the message that adding salt to our diets, at the table or in processed food, can be bad for our hearts. A new study in the European Heart Journal looking at the balance of salt and water in blood finds that salt levels at the high end of normal were associated with increased risk for developing heart failure and, in older adults, an enlargement and thickening of the heart. The researchers base their conclusions on data from more than 11,000 U.S. adults followed for 25 years, but they say a randomized clinical trial will be needed to confirm their findings. In the meantime, they suggest staying hydrated, which translates into 6-8 cups (1.5-2.1 liters) a day for women and 8-12 cups (2-3 liters) for men.

On this week's episode of the "First Opinion Podcast," First Opinion editor Patrick Skerrett talks with Mass General Brigham Chief Medical Officer Tom Sequist about mirrored Covid tragedies — 2,000 miles apart. Listen here.

What to read around the web today

How 2 industries stymied justice for young lead paint victims. New York Times
Key senators eye new, more ambitious legislation to lower insulin prices. STAT+
Study conspiracy theories with compassion. Nature
Inflation caused ‘unprecedented’ drops in net pharmaceutical prices, analysis finds. STAT+
At a Tennessee crossroads, two pharmacies, a monkey, and millions of pills. Kaiser Health News