AstraZeneca will begin clinical trials of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in China; 2 states impose stricter mask mandates; President Donald Trump wins counties with highest infection rates.
AstraZeneca plans to begin early and midstage clinical trials of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate in China this year, Reuters reports. The company and its partner on the project, the University of Oxford, expect data from late-stage trials taking place in other countries to be released soon. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said if the vaccine is successful, the company will file for simultaneous emergency approvals in as many countries as possible. The Chinese government currently has a deal with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products to ensure annual production capacity of at least 100 million doses by the end of the year.
Both Maine and Massachusetts will now require individuals to wear masks in indoor and outdoor public spaces at all times, regardless of distance from others, according to The Hill. Maine’s previous policy allowed individuals to remain maskless if they were at least 6 feet away from others. The announcements come as the country faces record increases in daily COVID-19 cases. Most states in the country that require masks to be worn in public exempt instances when individuals are able to stay distanced outside. Currently, Maine is averaging 99 new cases per day, an increase of 227% from the average of 2 weeks ago.
Counties across the country with the worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump, according an Associated Press analysis. Specifically, in 376 counties with the highest number of new COVID-19 cases per capita, 93% cast their votes for the president. The majority were rural counties in Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. The results are causing public health officials to consider reframing their message on wearing masks and social distancing as they worry about rising numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. The analysis was limited to counties where at least 95% of precincts had reported results. Rates of COVID-19 cases were calculated per 100,000 residents.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
Read More
New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
Listen
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
Listen
ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
Read More