DCMedical News: Friday, April 3, 2020
DCMedical News-DCMN
Washington, D.C.
Friday, April 3, 2020
DCMedical News is published every day both the House and the Senate are in session. The Senate is adjourned until April 20, the House until an indefinite date, when DCMN will resume publication.
THE BIG STORY IN HEALTH CARE
Coronavirus
Tracking by Johns Hopkins shows on 4-2 at 8:00 p.m. EST worldwide 1,011,490 confirmed cases; 52,863 deaths; 210,186 patients recovered.
Public Health Resource Pages (alphabetical):
AMA resource page for physicians here. American Public Health Association information here. Association of American Medical Colleges Clinical Guidance Repository, here. CDC information page here. CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Current Emergencies website, here. JAMA Network’s COVID-19 resource center here. Library of Congress Coronavirus Research Guide, (here) from the In Custodia Legis blog of the Library of Congress (LoC), with links to Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. NIH information page here. National Library of Medicine Coronavirus page here, New England Journal of Medicine update here, New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch here. The Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre here. State actions, Kaiser Family Foundation, here. The White House open research dataset (CORD-19) here. World Health Organization COVID-19 page here.
News, Medical:
Becker’s Hospital Review reports that “Peak demand for hospital resources due to COVID-19 is expected by mid-April in the U.S., according to an analysis (here) from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. The study presents estimates of predicted health service utilization and deaths due to COVID-19 for each state in the U.S. if social distancing measures are maintained.” About one-third of the states will hit peak capacity in the next two weeks, others in May.
By state the projected date of peak resource demand: April 8, New Jersey; April 9, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Vermont; April 11, Delaware, Washington; April 15, Alaska, Connecticut, District of Columbia; April 16, Massachusetts; April 17, Alabama, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire; April 18, Pennsylvania; April 19, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee; April 20, Illinois, Nevada, Rhode Island; April 21, Mississippi, North Dakota; April 22, Minnesota; April 23, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah; April 24, Georgia, New Mexico; April 26, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Montana, North Carolina; April 27, Arizona, Wisconsin; April 28, Kansas, South Carolina; April 29, Maryland; May 1, Iowa; May 3, Florida, Hawaii; May 4, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming; May 5, Oregon; May 6, Texas; May 16, Kentucky; May 20, Virginia; May 21, Missouri.
The FDA has approved the first new test for coronavirus antibodies. A New York Times report (here) notes:
“Currently available tests are designed to find fragments of viral genes indicating an ongoing infection. Doctors swab the nose and throat, and amplify any genetic material from the virus found there. The new test, by contrast, looks for protective antibodies in a finger prick of blood. It tells doctors whether a patient has ever been exposed to the virus and now may have some immunity.”
Nursing home and assisted living residents at significant risk, (Boston Globe report, here), as are older men with cardiac disease.
News, General:
Who is under “stay at home” orders? Statisa reports here. Sample Gubernatorial Executive Order on this and other virus-fighting steps, from New York, here. Who is not staying home? Cell phone data displayed here.
Dr. Anthony Fauci tells the New York Times “I believe that in a few months, hopefully, that we’ll get it under control enough that it won’t be as frightening as it is now, but it will not be an absent threat. And the threat of resurgence will be something that we need to make sure that we are prepared for.”
The AAMC discusses the process of vaccine development, here.
Health insurers are being instructed by states to continue employer-sponsored coverage for employees under group policies, even if employees would otherwise lose eligibility from layoffs or reduced work hours. Sample insurance department instructions from California, Ohio and others at Bloomberg Health Law, here.
The Defense Logistics Agency, responding to a request from FEMA, is seeking 100,000 military-style body bags for civilian use.
New York, an epicenter: among resource allocation steps, the city’s public hospitals will be converted to all ICUs; patients without COVID-19 will be sent to hotels or other temporary locations transformed into health care facilities. The city has 10,000 beds from 20 hotels, according to this New York Times report.
DRUGS AND DEVICES
Immunity from Liability
Bloomberg reports that “Drug and device manufacturers will be protected from the threat of legal liability as they work to combat the new coronavirus through vaccines and testing, the health agency [HHS] said in a declaration. The document waives liability for manufacturers working on ways to combat Covid-19, including diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines. The legal safeguard, which doesn’t include willful misconduct, is intended to create incentives for additional work on the pandemic and protect companies who took an early gamble in working to produce lab tests and vaccines.” This protection is in effect from February 4, 2020 to October 1, 2024.
The HHS announcement/fact sheet is here, Federal Register publication here.
READINGS AND REFERENCES
U.S. House of Representatives:
Members at https://www.house.gov/representatives
Committees and Members at https://www.house.gov/committees
U. S. Senate:
Committees and Members at https://www.senate.gov/committees
CQ 2020 Calendar of Regularly Scheduled Sessions, here.
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE FOR DCMEDICAL NEWS
April 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30
May 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21
Notes to: Fred Hyde, MD, JD, MBA; fredhyde@aol.com.