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Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine continues to show strong protection against serious illness and hospitalization after 6 months, but overall protection against the virus appears to wane after a half a year, according to a new study.

The July 28 preprint report of the study, which has not been peer reviewed, suggests a gradual “declining trend in vaccine efficacy” over 6 months after two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in more than 45,000 people worldwide.

The study finds overall effectiveness falls from 96% to 84%.

At the same time, a third booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine increases neutralizing antibody levels against the Delta variant by more than five times, compared to levels after just a second dose in people aged 18-55 years, new data from Pfizer shows.

The third-dose immune response appears even more robust – more than 11 times higher than the second shot – among people aged 65-85 years.

The company noted this could mean an estimated 100-fold increase in Delta variant protection after a third dose. These new findings are outlined in a Pfizer second-quarter 2021 earnings report, which notes that the data are submitted for publication in a medical journal.

The data come from a relatively small number of people studied. There were 11 people in the 18- to 55-year-old group and 12 people in the 65- to 85-year-old group.

“These preliminary data are very encouraging as Delta continues to spread,” Mikael Dolsten, MD, chief scientific officer and president of the Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical organization at Pfizer, said during prepared remarks on a company earnings call July 28, CNN reported.

Availability of a third dose of any of the current COVID-19 vaccines would require amendment of the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization, or full FDA approval for the vaccine.

The possibility of a third dose authorization or approval has not been without controversy. For example, when Pfizer announced intentions to file for FDA authorization of a booster dose on July 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, and the National Institutes of Health were quick to issue a joint statement saying they would decide when the timing is right for Americans to have a third immunization. The agencies stated, in part, “We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.”

In addition, the World Health Organization said at a media briefing on July 12 that rich countries should prioritize sharing of COVID-19 vaccine supplies to other countries in need worldwide before allocating doses for a booster shot for its own residents.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine continues to show strong protection against serious illness and hospitalization after 6 months, but overall protection against the virus appears to wane after a half a year, according to a new study.

The July 28 preprint report of the study, which has not been peer reviewed, suggests a gradual “declining trend in vaccine efficacy” over 6 months after two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in more than 45,000 people worldwide.

The study finds overall effectiveness falls from 96% to 84%.

At the same time, a third booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine increases neutralizing antibody levels against the Delta variant by more than five times, compared to levels after just a second dose in people aged 18-55 years, new data from Pfizer shows.

The third-dose immune response appears even more robust – more than 11 times higher than the second shot – among people aged 65-85 years.

The company noted this could mean an estimated 100-fold increase in Delta variant protection after a third dose. These new findings are outlined in a Pfizer second-quarter 2021 earnings report, which notes that the data are submitted for publication in a medical journal.

The data come from a relatively small number of people studied. There were 11 people in the 18- to 55-year-old group and 12 people in the 65- to 85-year-old group.

“These preliminary data are very encouraging as Delta continues to spread,” Mikael Dolsten, MD, chief scientific officer and president of the Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical organization at Pfizer, said during prepared remarks on a company earnings call July 28, CNN reported.

Availability of a third dose of any of the current COVID-19 vaccines would require amendment of the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization, or full FDA approval for the vaccine.

The possibility of a third dose authorization or approval has not been without controversy. For example, when Pfizer announced intentions to file for FDA authorization of a booster dose on July 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, and the National Institutes of Health were quick to issue a joint statement saying they would decide when the timing is right for Americans to have a third immunization. The agencies stated, in part, “We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.”

In addition, the World Health Organization said at a media briefing on July 12 that rich countries should prioritize sharing of COVID-19 vaccine supplies to other countries in need worldwide before allocating doses for a booster shot for its own residents.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine continues to show strong protection against serious illness and hospitalization after 6 months, but overall protection against the virus appears to wane after a half a year, according to a new study.

The July 28 preprint report of the study, which has not been peer reviewed, suggests a gradual “declining trend in vaccine efficacy” over 6 months after two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in more than 45,000 people worldwide.

The study finds overall effectiveness falls from 96% to 84%.

At the same time, a third booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine increases neutralizing antibody levels against the Delta variant by more than five times, compared to levels after just a second dose in people aged 18-55 years, new data from Pfizer shows.

The third-dose immune response appears even more robust – more than 11 times higher than the second shot – among people aged 65-85 years.

The company noted this could mean an estimated 100-fold increase in Delta variant protection after a third dose. These new findings are outlined in a Pfizer second-quarter 2021 earnings report, which notes that the data are submitted for publication in a medical journal.

The data come from a relatively small number of people studied. There were 11 people in the 18- to 55-year-old group and 12 people in the 65- to 85-year-old group.

“These preliminary data are very encouraging as Delta continues to spread,” Mikael Dolsten, MD, chief scientific officer and president of the Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical organization at Pfizer, said during prepared remarks on a company earnings call July 28, CNN reported.

Availability of a third dose of any of the current COVID-19 vaccines would require amendment of the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization, or full FDA approval for the vaccine.

The possibility of a third dose authorization or approval has not been without controversy. For example, when Pfizer announced intentions to file for FDA authorization of a booster dose on July 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, and the National Institutes of Health were quick to issue a joint statement saying they would decide when the timing is right for Americans to have a third immunization. The agencies stated, in part, “We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.”

In addition, the World Health Organization said at a media briefing on July 12 that rich countries should prioritize sharing of COVID-19 vaccine supplies to other countries in need worldwide before allocating doses for a booster shot for its own residents.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.

With COVID, the fun never ends

Welcome to America’s favorite pandemic-themed game show! Let’s play Covidiot Proof! And now, here’s your host, the lovely and talented Anthony Grouchy!

sabelskaya/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Tony: Hello everyone! Our first category today is America or [blank], and the first clue is for you, Don. This country requires “individuals to use a health pass to patronize indoor establishments such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cinemas.”

Don: Freedom-loving Americans would never stand for that, Tony, so I’m going to say Greece.

Tony: That’s correct, Don. One hundred points for you. Okay Joe, here’s your clue: In this country, some people wear disguises to get a COVID vaccination so their friends and families won’t find out.

Joe: Sounds like communism to me, Tony. I’ll say Cuba.

Tony: Sorry Joe, that’s incorrect. Don?

Don: The friends and families sound like freedom-loving Americans, so it must be America.

Tony: It is America. Missouri, to be exact. And now, one last question for both of you to win the game. True or false? Did the pastor of a church in Tennessee say that mask-wearers would be kicked out of the building because “I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church”?

Joe: That’s fake news, Tony. It’s gotta be false.

Tony: Incorrect! It’s absolutely true. That means today’s winner is … Joe? Yes, I’m being told that Tennessee goes to Joe.

Don: That’s bulls#&@! I won this thing! I’ll see you in court!
 

More money, more life

Does it seem to you that the wealthy live forever, while the less financially comfortable live shorter lives? If you answered, yes, it turns out that you’re right.

utah778/Thinkstock

Researchers analyzed the effect of net worth at midlife with mortality. To take out genetic differences among the sample of 5,400 adults aged 46 years, the investigators also studied a subset of 2,490 twin and sibling pairs.

“The within-family association provides strong evidence that an association between wealth accumulation and life expectancy exists, because comparing siblings within the same family to each other controls for all of the life experience and biology that they share,” said coauthor Eric Finegood of Northwestern University, Chicago.

But what if one sibling has a history of cancer, heart disease, or other health conditions? The cost of treatment and employment limitations could affect someone’s ability to stack their wealth, right? Absolutely. The researchers took that into account and looked at only healthy individuals and found the same results. More money, longer life.

We have the policies and programs in place for heart health, diabetes prevention, and smoking cessation, as they are seen as major threats to public health. So why not do the same for financial security? A low bank account may just be more harmful.
 

Holding the ‘health care and wellness’ gun

Cigarettes are not good for us. We know this.

seanika/ThinkStock

It’s, therefore, not surprising to learn that a business has requested for a U.K. ban on the sale of cigarettes by 2030. However, when that someone turns out to be the CEO of Philip Morris International, tobacco company and maker of Marlboro cigarettes, things get a little confusing.

Banning cigarettes, according to Jacek Olczak, would reduce confusion among consumers, many of whom feel that the alternatives are worse for their health. His company can “see the world without cigarettes ... and actually, the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone.” A truly noble sentiment from the CEO of a large tobacco company. Nothing nefarious going on here.

Philip Morris International is actually leaning hard into nonsmoking means of tobacco consumption, even going so far as to brand itself a “health care and wellness company” on a mission to “unsmoke the world.” And if those aren’t egregious business euphemisms, we don’t know what is.

Of course, for all the completely believable and sincere rhetoric, the fact is that Marlboros are still on the shelves. Philip Morris is still making and advertising them. If their concern was genuine, why wouldn’t they just stop manufacturing them now?

So, we ask ourselves if this a selfless act of kindness or is it an unscrupulous corporate act to get a leg up on their competitors? We’ll leave it up to the readers to decide.

Okay, we lied, it’s the second one.
 

Autopsy of the living dead

Imagine the absolute terror you’d feel if you opened your eyes to bright, blinding white lights only to see a bone saw 3 inches from your forehead and getting closer by the second. Horrifying for you, certainly, but think about the poor pathologist behind the saw who probably thought a zombie apocalypse was coming. This was close to being a reality for a 29-year-old prisoner at the Asturias Central Penitentiary in Spain.

Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez was discovered in his cell unresponsive. Three physicians examined him and found he was showing signs of death, such as cyanosis and rigor mortis. Mr. Jiménez was processed like any other body and was sent, in a body bag, to a hospital mortuary, where he spent time in a freezer for body preservation. Just before he was due for his autopsy, he began showing signs of life.

It’s not completely clear why this happened to poor Mr. Jiménez, but it was reported that he wasn’t feeling well the day before and that he has epilepsy. Hospital officials suggested he may have been cataleptic, possibly because he had trouble adhering to his medication schedule.

Mr. Jiménez was moved to another hospital under armed guard after coming back to life and regained consciousness after a day or so. Talk about cheating death.
 

With COVID, the fun never ends

Welcome to America’s favorite pandemic-themed game show! Let’s play Covidiot Proof! And now, here’s your host, the lovely and talented Anthony Grouchy!

sabelskaya/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Tony: Hello everyone! Our first category today is America or [blank], and the first clue is for you, Don. This country requires “individuals to use a health pass to patronize indoor establishments such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cinemas.”

Don: Freedom-loving Americans would never stand for that, Tony, so I’m going to say Greece.

Tony: That’s correct, Don. One hundred points for you. Okay Joe, here’s your clue: In this country, some people wear disguises to get a COVID vaccination so their friends and families won’t find out.

Joe: Sounds like communism to me, Tony. I’ll say Cuba.

Tony: Sorry Joe, that’s incorrect. Don?

Don: The friends and families sound like freedom-loving Americans, so it must be America.

Tony: It is America. Missouri, to be exact. And now, one last question for both of you to win the game. True or false? Did the pastor of a church in Tennessee say that mask-wearers would be kicked out of the building because “I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church”?

Joe: That’s fake news, Tony. It’s gotta be false.

Tony: Incorrect! It’s absolutely true. That means today’s winner is … Joe? Yes, I’m being told that Tennessee goes to Joe.

Don: That’s bulls#&@! I won this thing! I’ll see you in court!
 

More money, more life

Does it seem to you that the wealthy live forever, while the less financially comfortable live shorter lives? If you answered, yes, it turns out that you’re right.

utah778/Thinkstock

Researchers analyzed the effect of net worth at midlife with mortality. To take out genetic differences among the sample of 5,400 adults aged 46 years, the investigators also studied a subset of 2,490 twin and sibling pairs.

“The within-family association provides strong evidence that an association between wealth accumulation and life expectancy exists, because comparing siblings within the same family to each other controls for all of the life experience and biology that they share,” said coauthor Eric Finegood of Northwestern University, Chicago.

But what if one sibling has a history of cancer, heart disease, or other health conditions? The cost of treatment and employment limitations could affect someone’s ability to stack their wealth, right? Absolutely. The researchers took that into account and looked at only healthy individuals and found the same results. More money, longer life.

We have the policies and programs in place for heart health, diabetes prevention, and smoking cessation, as they are seen as major threats to public health. So why not do the same for financial security? A low bank account may just be more harmful.
 

Holding the ‘health care and wellness’ gun

Cigarettes are not good for us. We know this.

seanika/ThinkStock

It’s, therefore, not surprising to learn that a business has requested for a U.K. ban on the sale of cigarettes by 2030. However, when that someone turns out to be the CEO of Philip Morris International, tobacco company and maker of Marlboro cigarettes, things get a little confusing.

Banning cigarettes, according to Jacek Olczak, would reduce confusion among consumers, many of whom feel that the alternatives are worse for their health. His company can “see the world without cigarettes ... and actually, the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone.” A truly noble sentiment from the CEO of a large tobacco company. Nothing nefarious going on here.

Philip Morris International is actually leaning hard into nonsmoking means of tobacco consumption, even going so far as to brand itself a “health care and wellness company” on a mission to “unsmoke the world.” And if those aren’t egregious business euphemisms, we don’t know what is.

Of course, for all the completely believable and sincere rhetoric, the fact is that Marlboros are still on the shelves. Philip Morris is still making and advertising them. If their concern was genuine, why wouldn’t they just stop manufacturing them now?

So, we ask ourselves if this a selfless act of kindness or is it an unscrupulous corporate act to get a leg up on their competitors? We’ll leave it up to the readers to decide.

Okay, we lied, it’s the second one.
 

Autopsy of the living dead

Imagine the absolute terror you’d feel if you opened your eyes to bright, blinding white lights only to see a bone saw 3 inches from your forehead and getting closer by the second. Horrifying for you, certainly, but think about the poor pathologist behind the saw who probably thought a zombie apocalypse was coming. This was close to being a reality for a 29-year-old prisoner at the Asturias Central Penitentiary in Spain.

Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez was discovered in his cell unresponsive. Three physicians examined him and found he was showing signs of death, such as cyanosis and rigor mortis. Mr. Jiménez was processed like any other body and was sent, in a body bag, to a hospital mortuary, where he spent time in a freezer for body preservation. Just before he was due for his autopsy, he began showing signs of life.

It’s not completely clear why this happened to poor Mr. Jiménez, but it was reported that he wasn’t feeling well the day before and that he has epilepsy. Hospital officials suggested he may have been cataleptic, possibly because he had trouble adhering to his medication schedule.

Mr. Jiménez was moved to another hospital under armed guard after coming back to life and regained consciousness after a day or so. Talk about cheating death.
 

With COVID, the fun never ends

Welcome to America’s favorite pandemic-themed game show! Let’s play Covidiot Proof! And now, here’s your host, the lovely and talented Anthony Grouchy!

sabelskaya/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Tony: Hello everyone! Our first category today is America or [blank], and the first clue is for you, Don. This country requires “individuals to use a health pass to patronize indoor establishments such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cinemas.”

Don: Freedom-loving Americans would never stand for that, Tony, so I’m going to say Greece.

Tony: That’s correct, Don. One hundred points for you. Okay Joe, here’s your clue: In this country, some people wear disguises to get a COVID vaccination so their friends and families won’t find out.

Joe: Sounds like communism to me, Tony. I’ll say Cuba.

Tony: Sorry Joe, that’s incorrect. Don?

Don: The friends and families sound like freedom-loving Americans, so it must be America.

Tony: It is America. Missouri, to be exact. And now, one last question for both of you to win the game. True or false? Did the pastor of a church in Tennessee say that mask-wearers would be kicked out of the building because “I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church”?

Joe: That’s fake news, Tony. It’s gotta be false.

Tony: Incorrect! It’s absolutely true. That means today’s winner is … Joe? Yes, I’m being told that Tennessee goes to Joe.

Don: That’s bulls#&@! I won this thing! I’ll see you in court!
 

More money, more life

Does it seem to you that the wealthy live forever, while the less financially comfortable live shorter lives? If you answered, yes, it turns out that you’re right.

utah778/Thinkstock

Researchers analyzed the effect of net worth at midlife with mortality. To take out genetic differences among the sample of 5,400 adults aged 46 years, the investigators also studied a subset of 2,490 twin and sibling pairs.

“The within-family association provides strong evidence that an association between wealth accumulation and life expectancy exists, because comparing siblings within the same family to each other controls for all of the life experience and biology that they share,” said coauthor Eric Finegood of Northwestern University, Chicago.

But what if one sibling has a history of cancer, heart disease, or other health conditions? The cost of treatment and employment limitations could affect someone’s ability to stack their wealth, right? Absolutely. The researchers took that into account and looked at only healthy individuals and found the same results. More money, longer life.

We have the policies and programs in place for heart health, diabetes prevention, and smoking cessation, as they are seen as major threats to public health. So why not do the same for financial security? A low bank account may just be more harmful.
 

Holding the ‘health care and wellness’ gun

Cigarettes are not good for us. We know this.

seanika/ThinkStock

It’s, therefore, not surprising to learn that a business has requested for a U.K. ban on the sale of cigarettes by 2030. However, when that someone turns out to be the CEO of Philip Morris International, tobacco company and maker of Marlboro cigarettes, things get a little confusing.

Banning cigarettes, according to Jacek Olczak, would reduce confusion among consumers, many of whom feel that the alternatives are worse for their health. His company can “see the world without cigarettes ... and actually, the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone.” A truly noble sentiment from the CEO of a large tobacco company. Nothing nefarious going on here.

Philip Morris International is actually leaning hard into nonsmoking means of tobacco consumption, even going so far as to brand itself a “health care and wellness company” on a mission to “unsmoke the world.” And if those aren’t egregious business euphemisms, we don’t know what is.

Of course, for all the completely believable and sincere rhetoric, the fact is that Marlboros are still on the shelves. Philip Morris is still making and advertising them. If their concern was genuine, why wouldn’t they just stop manufacturing them now?

So, we ask ourselves if this a selfless act of kindness or is it an unscrupulous corporate act to get a leg up on their competitors? We’ll leave it up to the readers to decide.

Okay, we lied, it’s the second one.
 

Autopsy of the living dead

Imagine the absolute terror you’d feel if you opened your eyes to bright, blinding white lights only to see a bone saw 3 inches from your forehead and getting closer by the second. Horrifying for you, certainly, but think about the poor pathologist behind the saw who probably thought a zombie apocalypse was coming. This was close to being a reality for a 29-year-old prisoner at the Asturias Central Penitentiary in Spain.

Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez was discovered in his cell unresponsive. Three physicians examined him and found he was showing signs of death, such as cyanosis and rigor mortis. Mr. Jiménez was processed like any other body and was sent, in a body bag, to a hospital mortuary, where he spent time in a freezer for body preservation. Just before he was due for his autopsy, he began showing signs of life.

It’s not completely clear why this happened to poor Mr. Jiménez, but it was reported that he wasn’t feeling well the day before and that he has epilepsy. Hospital officials suggested he may have been cataleptic, possibly because he had trouble adhering to his medication schedule.

Mr. Jiménez was moved to another hospital under armed guard after coming back to life and regained consciousness after a day or so. Talk about cheating death.
 

Doctor guilty of fraud and identity theft gets 7 years in jail

Grigoriy T. Rodonaia, MD, a family physician in Port Neches, Tex., was convicted of 12 counts of healthcare fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making a false statement toward the end of 2020.

Dr. Rodonaia began his criminal activity in 2015, when he issued more than 600 prescriptions for scar creams using information from more than 140 beneficiaries of TRICARE, a military healthcare program, without their knowledge or consent. The pharmacy billed TRICARE a total of $6.7 million before Dr. Rodonaia’s scheme was detected. Dr. Rodonaia also forged patients’ records to say that he had examined the patients, and he submitted fraudulent records to the Defense Health Agency in response to an audit.

Dr. Rodonaia was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison on June 24, 2021, and was ordered to pay $195,607.76 in restitution.
 

Psychiatric hospital and nursing staff sued for death of patient

Jeremiah Bagley, 37, died after being restrained by psychiatric nursing staff and injected with an antipsychotic and a sedative at the Rio Grande State Center, in Harlingen, Tex.

An autopsy revealed that Mr. Bagley had several fractured vertebrae, cracked ribs, a lacerated spleen, and multiple contusions on his upper body. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as “excited delirium due to psychosis with restraint-associated blunt force trauma.”

Mr. Bagley’s father filed a lawsuit naming the hospital and 10 employees as defendants, saying that his son’s civil rights were violated. The Texas Supreme Court ruled on April 16, 2021, that the staffers who were charged must submit expert reports, despite the fact that medical malpractice was not alleged. Usually, such a lawsuit would be dismissed because a report was not served by the statutory deadline, but in a 9-0 decision, the high court allowed the case to proceed.

Plaintiff attorney Katie P. Klein told the Claims Journal, “He probably struck someone and everybody got mad and they jumped him. He had four or five people on him, which was not permitted.”
 

Ob.gyn. gets 59 years in prison

Javaid Perwaiz, MD, a 71-year-old ob/gyn from Chesapeake, Va., was convicted of performing medically unnecessary and irreversible surgeries, including hysterectomies and sterilizations, on multiple patients for more than 10 years.

Karl Schumann, acting special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Norfolk, Va. field office, said in a statement, “With unnecessary, invasive medical procedures, Dr Perwaiz not only caused enduring complications, pain, and anxiety to his patients, but he assaulted the most personal part of their lives and even robbed some of their future.”

Dr. Perwaiz was also convicted of 52 counts of healthcare fraud and of making false statements in late 2020. His fraud allegedly cost insurance programs nearly $21 million. The investigation began in September 2018 after a hospital employee contacted the FBI after suspecting that Dr. Perwaiz was performing unnecessary surgeries. More than 25 former patients testified at the trial, and the court received more than 60 victim impact statements.

Dr. Perwaiz had a long criminal history, according to the New York Times. In 1982, Dr. Perwaiz lost medical privileges at Maryview Hospital, in Portsmouth, Va., because of performing unnecessary surgeries and displaying poor clinical judgment. His medical license was reinstated in 1998.
 

Doctor who prescribed opioids out of car charged with murder

George M. Blatti, MD, a family physician in New York, was charged with five counts of murder for the opioid-related deaths of his patients and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the New York Times. Dr. Blatti’s medical license has been revoked, and he has pleaded not guilty.

Dr. Blatti had been seeing patients and giving prescriptions out of his car in parking lots, where he would prescribe pain medications without examining the patients. Many of these patients were struggling with addiction to opioids or other drugs. The alleged victims — three men and two women, who were between the ages of 30 and 60 — were prescribed 45,000 pills over 4 years, despite the fact that each showed clear signs of addiction, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that Dr. Blatti knew that several of his patients had died of overdoses, and he ignored pleas from their family members to stop enabling their addictions. They also say he ignored warnings from insurers about excessive opioid prescribing and was questioned by the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct about it in 2017.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Doctor guilty of fraud and identity theft gets 7 years in jail

Grigoriy T. Rodonaia, MD, a family physician in Port Neches, Tex., was convicted of 12 counts of healthcare fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making a false statement toward the end of 2020.

Dr. Rodonaia began his criminal activity in 2015, when he issued more than 600 prescriptions for scar creams using information from more than 140 beneficiaries of TRICARE, a military healthcare program, without their knowledge or consent. The pharmacy billed TRICARE a total of $6.7 million before Dr. Rodonaia’s scheme was detected. Dr. Rodonaia also forged patients’ records to say that he had examined the patients, and he submitted fraudulent records to the Defense Health Agency in response to an audit.

Dr. Rodonaia was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison on June 24, 2021, and was ordered to pay $195,607.76 in restitution.
 

Psychiatric hospital and nursing staff sued for death of patient

Jeremiah Bagley, 37, died after being restrained by psychiatric nursing staff and injected with an antipsychotic and a sedative at the Rio Grande State Center, in Harlingen, Tex.

An autopsy revealed that Mr. Bagley had several fractured vertebrae, cracked ribs, a lacerated spleen, and multiple contusions on his upper body. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as “excited delirium due to psychosis with restraint-associated blunt force trauma.”

Mr. Bagley’s father filed a lawsuit naming the hospital and 10 employees as defendants, saying that his son’s civil rights were violated. The Texas Supreme Court ruled on April 16, 2021, that the staffers who were charged must submit expert reports, despite the fact that medical malpractice was not alleged. Usually, such a lawsuit would be dismissed because a report was not served by the statutory deadline, but in a 9-0 decision, the high court allowed the case to proceed.

Plaintiff attorney Katie P. Klein told the Claims Journal, “He probably struck someone and everybody got mad and they jumped him. He had four or five people on him, which was not permitted.”
 

Ob.gyn. gets 59 years in prison

Javaid Perwaiz, MD, a 71-year-old ob/gyn from Chesapeake, Va., was convicted of performing medically unnecessary and irreversible surgeries, including hysterectomies and sterilizations, on multiple patients for more than 10 years.

Karl Schumann, acting special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Norfolk, Va. field office, said in a statement, “With unnecessary, invasive medical procedures, Dr Perwaiz not only caused enduring complications, pain, and anxiety to his patients, but he assaulted the most personal part of their lives and even robbed some of their future.”

Dr. Perwaiz was also convicted of 52 counts of healthcare fraud and of making false statements in late 2020. His fraud allegedly cost insurance programs nearly $21 million. The investigation began in September 2018 after a hospital employee contacted the FBI after suspecting that Dr. Perwaiz was performing unnecessary surgeries. More than 25 former patients testified at the trial, and the court received more than 60 victim impact statements.

Dr. Perwaiz had a long criminal history, according to the New York Times. In 1982, Dr. Perwaiz lost medical privileges at Maryview Hospital, in Portsmouth, Va., because of performing unnecessary surgeries and displaying poor clinical judgment. His medical license was reinstated in 1998.
 

Doctor who prescribed opioids out of car charged with murder

George M. Blatti, MD, a family physician in New York, was charged with five counts of murder for the opioid-related deaths of his patients and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the New York Times. Dr. Blatti’s medical license has been revoked, and he has pleaded not guilty.

Dr. Blatti had been seeing patients and giving prescriptions out of his car in parking lots, where he would prescribe pain medications without examining the patients. Many of these patients were struggling with addiction to opioids or other drugs. The alleged victims — three men and two women, who were between the ages of 30 and 60 — were prescribed 45,000 pills over 4 years, despite the fact that each showed clear signs of addiction, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that Dr. Blatti knew that several of his patients had died of overdoses, and he ignored pleas from their family members to stop enabling their addictions. They also say he ignored warnings from insurers about excessive opioid prescribing and was questioned by the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct about it in 2017.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Doctor guilty of fraud and identity theft gets 7 years in jail

Grigoriy T. Rodonaia, MD, a family physician in Port Neches, Tex., was convicted of 12 counts of healthcare fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making a false statement toward the end of 2020.

Dr. Rodonaia began his criminal activity in 2015, when he issued more than 600 prescriptions for scar creams using information from more than 140 beneficiaries of TRICARE, a military healthcare program, without their knowledge or consent. The pharmacy billed TRICARE a total of $6.7 million before Dr. Rodonaia’s scheme was detected. Dr. Rodonaia also forged patients’ records to say that he had examined the patients, and he submitted fraudulent records to the Defense Health Agency in response to an audit.

Dr. Rodonaia was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison on June 24, 2021, and was ordered to pay $195,607.76 in restitution.
 

Psychiatric hospital and nursing staff sued for death of patient

Jeremiah Bagley, 37, died after being restrained by psychiatric nursing staff and injected with an antipsychotic and a sedative at the Rio Grande State Center, in Harlingen, Tex.

An autopsy revealed that Mr. Bagley had several fractured vertebrae, cracked ribs, a lacerated spleen, and multiple contusions on his upper body. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as “excited delirium due to psychosis with restraint-associated blunt force trauma.”

Mr. Bagley’s father filed a lawsuit naming the hospital and 10 employees as defendants, saying that his son’s civil rights were violated. The Texas Supreme Court ruled on April 16, 2021, that the staffers who were charged must submit expert reports, despite the fact that medical malpractice was not alleged. Usually, such a lawsuit would be dismissed because a report was not served by the statutory deadline, but in a 9-0 decision, the high court allowed the case to proceed.

Plaintiff attorney Katie P. Klein told the Claims Journal, “He probably struck someone and everybody got mad and they jumped him. He had four or five people on him, which was not permitted.”
 

Ob.gyn. gets 59 years in prison

Javaid Perwaiz, MD, a 71-year-old ob/gyn from Chesapeake, Va., was convicted of performing medically unnecessary and irreversible surgeries, including hysterectomies and sterilizations, on multiple patients for more than 10 years.

Karl Schumann, acting special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Norfolk, Va. field office, said in a statement, “With unnecessary, invasive medical procedures, Dr Perwaiz not only caused enduring complications, pain, and anxiety to his patients, but he assaulted the most personal part of their lives and even robbed some of their future.”

Dr. Perwaiz was also convicted of 52 counts of healthcare fraud and of making false statements in late 2020. His fraud allegedly cost insurance programs nearly $21 million. The investigation began in September 2018 after a hospital employee contacted the FBI after suspecting that Dr. Perwaiz was performing unnecessary surgeries. More than 25 former patients testified at the trial, and the court received more than 60 victim impact statements.

Dr. Perwaiz had a long criminal history, according to the New York Times. In 1982, Dr. Perwaiz lost medical privileges at Maryview Hospital, in Portsmouth, Va., because of performing unnecessary surgeries and displaying poor clinical judgment. His medical license was reinstated in 1998.
 

Doctor who prescribed opioids out of car charged with murder

George M. Blatti, MD, a family physician in New York, was charged with five counts of murder for the opioid-related deaths of his patients and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the New York Times. Dr. Blatti’s medical license has been revoked, and he has pleaded not guilty.

Dr. Blatti had been seeing patients and giving prescriptions out of his car in parking lots, where he would prescribe pain medications without examining the patients. Many of these patients were struggling with addiction to opioids or other drugs. The alleged victims — three men and two women, who were between the ages of 30 and 60 — were prescribed 45,000 pills over 4 years, despite the fact that each showed clear signs of addiction, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that Dr. Blatti knew that several of his patients had died of overdoses, and he ignored pleas from their family members to stop enabling their addictions. They also say he ignored warnings from insurers about excessive opioid prescribing and was questioned by the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct about it in 2017.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again is recommending that some Americans wear masks indoors. The agency has called for masks in K-12 school settings and in areas of the United States experiencing high or substantial SARS-CoV-2 transmission, even for the fully vaccinated.

The move reverses a controversial announcement the agency made in May 2021 that fully vaccinated Americans could skip wearing a mask in most settings.

Unlike the increasing vaccination rates and decreasing case numbers reported in May, however, some regions of the United States are now reporting large jumps in COVID-19 case numbers. And the Delta variant as well as new evidence of transmission from breakthrough cases are largely driving these changes.

“Today we have new science related to the [D]elta variant that requires us to update the guidance on what you can do when you are fully vaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a media briefing July 27.

New evidence has emerged on breakthrough-case transmission risk, for example. “Information on the [D]elta variant from several states and other countries indicates that in rare cases, some people infected with the [D]elta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread virus to others,” Dr. Walensky said, adding that the viral loads appear to be about the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

“This new science is worrisome,” she said.

Even though unvaccinated people represent the vast majority of cases of transmission, Dr. Walensky said, “we thought it was important for [vaccinated] people to understand they have the potential to transmit the virus to others.”

As a result, in addition to continuing to strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant in areas with substantial or high transmission, Dr. Walensky said. “This includes schools.”
 

Masks in schools

The CDC is now recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Their goal is to optimize safety and allow children to return to full-time in-person learning in the fall.

The CDC tracks substantial and high transmission rates through the agency’s COVID Data Tracker site. Substantial transmission means between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 people reported over 7 days and high means more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The B.1.617.2, or Delta, variant is believed to be responsible for COVID-19 cases increasing more than 300% nationally from June 19 to July 23, 2021.
 

“A prudent move”

“I think it’s a prudent move. Given the dominance of the [D]elta variant and the caseloads that we are seeing rising in many locations across the United States, including in my backyard here in San Francisco,” Joe DeRisi, PhD, copresident of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California San Francisco, said in an interview.

Dr. DeRisi said he was not surprised that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections could be capable of transmitting the virus. He added that clinical testing done by the Biohub and UCSF produced a lot of data on viral load levels, “and they cover an enormous range.”

What was unexpected to him was the rapid rise of the dominant variant. “The rise of the [D]elta strain is astonishing. It’s happened so fast,” he said.
 

“I know it’s difficult”

Reacting to the news, Colleen Kraft, MD, said, “One of the things that we’re learning is that if we’re going to have low vaccine uptake or we have a number of people that can’t be vaccinated yet, such as children, that we really need to go back to stopping transmission, which involves mask wearing.”

“I know that it’s very difficult and people feel like we’re sliding backward,” Dr. Kraft said during a media briefing sponsored by Emory University held shortly after the CDC announcement.

She added that the CDC updated guidance seems appropriate. “I don’t think any of us really want to be in this position or want to go back to masking but…we’re finding ourselves in the same place we were a year ago, in July 2020.

“In general we just don’t want anybody to be infected even if there’s a small chance for you to be infected and there’s a small chance for you to transmit it,” said Dr. Kraft, who’s an assistant professor in the department of pathology and associate professor in the department of medicine, division of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
 

Breakthrough transmissions

“The good news is you’re still unlikely to get critically ill if you’re vaccinated. But what has changed with the [D]elta variant is instead of being 90% plus protected from getting the virus at all, you’re probably more in the 70% to 80% range,” James T. McDeavitt, MD, told this news organization.

“So we’re seeing breakthrough infections,” said Dr. McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “We are starting to see [such people] are potentially infectious.” Even if a vaccinated person is individually much less likely to experience serious COVID-19 outcomes, “they can spread it to someone else who spreads it to someone else who is more vulnerable. It puts the more at-risk populations at further risk.”

It breaks down to individual and public health concerns. “I am fully vaccinated. I am very confident I am not going to end up in a hospital,” he said. “Now if I were unvaccinated, with the prevalence of the virus around the country, I’m probably in more danger than I’ve ever been in the course of the pandemic. The unvaccinated are really at risk right now.”
 

IDSA and AMA support mask change

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released a statement supporting the new CDC recommendations. “To stay ahead of the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, IDSA also urges that in communities with moderate transmission rates, all individuals, even those who are vaccinated, wear masks in indoor public places,” stated IDSA President Barbara D. Alexander, MD, MHS.

“IDSA also supports CDC’s guidance recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, until vaccines are authorized and widely available to all children and vaccination rates are sufficient to control transmission.”

“Mask wearing will help reduce infections, prevent serious illnesses and death, limit strain on local hospitals and stave off the development of even more troubling variants,” she added.

The American Medical Association (AMA) also released a statement supporting the CDC’s policy changes.

“According to the CDC, emerging data indicates that vaccinated individuals infected with the Delta variant have similar viral loads as those who are unvaccinated and are capable of transmission,” AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, MD said in the statement.

“However, the science remains clear, the authorized vaccines remain safe and effective in preventing severe complications from COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” he stated. “We strongly support the updated recommendations, which call for universal masking in areas of high or substantial COVID-19 transmission and in K-12 schools, to help reduce transmission of the virus. Wearing a mask is a small but important protective measure that can help us all stay safer.”

“The highest spread of cases and [most] severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates and among unvaccinated people,” Dr. Walensky said. “With the [D]elta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.”

“This moment, and the associated suffering, illness, and death, could have been avoided with higher vaccination coverage in this country,” she said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again is recommending that some Americans wear masks indoors. The agency has called for masks in K-12 school settings and in areas of the United States experiencing high or substantial SARS-CoV-2 transmission, even for the fully vaccinated.

The move reverses a controversial announcement the agency made in May 2021 that fully vaccinated Americans could skip wearing a mask in most settings.

Unlike the increasing vaccination rates and decreasing case numbers reported in May, however, some regions of the United States are now reporting large jumps in COVID-19 case numbers. And the Delta variant as well as new evidence of transmission from breakthrough cases are largely driving these changes.

“Today we have new science related to the [D]elta variant that requires us to update the guidance on what you can do when you are fully vaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a media briefing July 27.

New evidence has emerged on breakthrough-case transmission risk, for example. “Information on the [D]elta variant from several states and other countries indicates that in rare cases, some people infected with the [D]elta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread virus to others,” Dr. Walensky said, adding that the viral loads appear to be about the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

“This new science is worrisome,” she said.

Even though unvaccinated people represent the vast majority of cases of transmission, Dr. Walensky said, “we thought it was important for [vaccinated] people to understand they have the potential to transmit the virus to others.”

As a result, in addition to continuing to strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant in areas with substantial or high transmission, Dr. Walensky said. “This includes schools.”
 

Masks in schools

The CDC is now recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Their goal is to optimize safety and allow children to return to full-time in-person learning in the fall.

The CDC tracks substantial and high transmission rates through the agency’s COVID Data Tracker site. Substantial transmission means between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 people reported over 7 days and high means more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The B.1.617.2, or Delta, variant is believed to be responsible for COVID-19 cases increasing more than 300% nationally from June 19 to July 23, 2021.
 

“A prudent move”

“I think it’s a prudent move. Given the dominance of the [D]elta variant and the caseloads that we are seeing rising in many locations across the United States, including in my backyard here in San Francisco,” Joe DeRisi, PhD, copresident of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California San Francisco, said in an interview.

Dr. DeRisi said he was not surprised that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections could be capable of transmitting the virus. He added that clinical testing done by the Biohub and UCSF produced a lot of data on viral load levels, “and they cover an enormous range.”

What was unexpected to him was the rapid rise of the dominant variant. “The rise of the [D]elta strain is astonishing. It’s happened so fast,” he said.
 

“I know it’s difficult”

Reacting to the news, Colleen Kraft, MD, said, “One of the things that we’re learning is that if we’re going to have low vaccine uptake or we have a number of people that can’t be vaccinated yet, such as children, that we really need to go back to stopping transmission, which involves mask wearing.”

“I know that it’s very difficult and people feel like we’re sliding backward,” Dr. Kraft said during a media briefing sponsored by Emory University held shortly after the CDC announcement.

She added that the CDC updated guidance seems appropriate. “I don’t think any of us really want to be in this position or want to go back to masking but…we’re finding ourselves in the same place we were a year ago, in July 2020.

“In general we just don’t want anybody to be infected even if there’s a small chance for you to be infected and there’s a small chance for you to transmit it,” said Dr. Kraft, who’s an assistant professor in the department of pathology and associate professor in the department of medicine, division of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
 

Breakthrough transmissions

“The good news is you’re still unlikely to get critically ill if you’re vaccinated. But what has changed with the [D]elta variant is instead of being 90% plus protected from getting the virus at all, you’re probably more in the 70% to 80% range,” James T. McDeavitt, MD, told this news organization.

“So we’re seeing breakthrough infections,” said Dr. McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “We are starting to see [such people] are potentially infectious.” Even if a vaccinated person is individually much less likely to experience serious COVID-19 outcomes, “they can spread it to someone else who spreads it to someone else who is more vulnerable. It puts the more at-risk populations at further risk.”

It breaks down to individual and public health concerns. “I am fully vaccinated. I am very confident I am not going to end up in a hospital,” he said. “Now if I were unvaccinated, with the prevalence of the virus around the country, I’m probably in more danger than I’ve ever been in the course of the pandemic. The unvaccinated are really at risk right now.”
 

IDSA and AMA support mask change

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released a statement supporting the new CDC recommendations. “To stay ahead of the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, IDSA also urges that in communities with moderate transmission rates, all individuals, even those who are vaccinated, wear masks in indoor public places,” stated IDSA President Barbara D. Alexander, MD, MHS.

“IDSA also supports CDC’s guidance recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, until vaccines are authorized and widely available to all children and vaccination rates are sufficient to control transmission.”

“Mask wearing will help reduce infections, prevent serious illnesses and death, limit strain on local hospitals and stave off the development of even more troubling variants,” she added.

The American Medical Association (AMA) also released a statement supporting the CDC’s policy changes.

“According to the CDC, emerging data indicates that vaccinated individuals infected with the Delta variant have similar viral loads as those who are unvaccinated and are capable of transmission,” AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, MD said in the statement.

“However, the science remains clear, the authorized vaccines remain safe and effective in preventing severe complications from COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” he stated. “We strongly support the updated recommendations, which call for universal masking in areas of high or substantial COVID-19 transmission and in K-12 schools, to help reduce transmission of the virus. Wearing a mask is a small but important protective measure that can help us all stay safer.”

“The highest spread of cases and [most] severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates and among unvaccinated people,” Dr. Walensky said. “With the [D]elta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.”

“This moment, and the associated suffering, illness, and death, could have been avoided with higher vaccination coverage in this country,” she said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again is recommending that some Americans wear masks indoors. The agency has called for masks in K-12 school settings and in areas of the United States experiencing high or substantial SARS-CoV-2 transmission, even for the fully vaccinated.

The move reverses a controversial announcement the agency made in May 2021 that fully vaccinated Americans could skip wearing a mask in most settings.

Unlike the increasing vaccination rates and decreasing case numbers reported in May, however, some regions of the United States are now reporting large jumps in COVID-19 case numbers. And the Delta variant as well as new evidence of transmission from breakthrough cases are largely driving these changes.

“Today we have new science related to the [D]elta variant that requires us to update the guidance on what you can do when you are fully vaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a media briefing July 27.

New evidence has emerged on breakthrough-case transmission risk, for example. “Information on the [D]elta variant from several states and other countries indicates that in rare cases, some people infected with the [D]elta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread virus to others,” Dr. Walensky said, adding that the viral loads appear to be about the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

“This new science is worrisome,” she said.

Even though unvaccinated people represent the vast majority of cases of transmission, Dr. Walensky said, “we thought it was important for [vaccinated] people to understand they have the potential to transmit the virus to others.”

As a result, in addition to continuing to strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant in areas with substantial or high transmission, Dr. Walensky said. “This includes schools.”
 

Masks in schools

The CDC is now recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Their goal is to optimize safety and allow children to return to full-time in-person learning in the fall.

The CDC tracks substantial and high transmission rates through the agency’s COVID Data Tracker site. Substantial transmission means between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 people reported over 7 days and high means more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The B.1.617.2, or Delta, variant is believed to be responsible for COVID-19 cases increasing more than 300% nationally from June 19 to July 23, 2021.
 

“A prudent move”

“I think it’s a prudent move. Given the dominance of the [D]elta variant and the caseloads that we are seeing rising in many locations across the United States, including in my backyard here in San Francisco,” Joe DeRisi, PhD, copresident of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California San Francisco, said in an interview.

Dr. DeRisi said he was not surprised that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections could be capable of transmitting the virus. He added that clinical testing done by the Biohub and UCSF produced a lot of data on viral load levels, “and they cover an enormous range.”

What was unexpected to him was the rapid rise of the dominant variant. “The rise of the [D]elta strain is astonishing. It’s happened so fast,” he said.
 

“I know it’s difficult”

Reacting to the news, Colleen Kraft, MD, said, “One of the things that we’re learning is that if we’re going to have low vaccine uptake or we have a number of people that can’t be vaccinated yet, such as children, that we really need to go back to stopping transmission, which involves mask wearing.”

“I know that it’s very difficult and people feel like we’re sliding backward,” Dr. Kraft said during a media briefing sponsored by Emory University held shortly after the CDC announcement.

She added that the CDC updated guidance seems appropriate. “I don’t think any of us really want to be in this position or want to go back to masking but…we’re finding ourselves in the same place we were a year ago, in July 2020.

“In general we just don’t want anybody to be infected even if there’s a small chance for you to be infected and there’s a small chance for you to transmit it,” said Dr. Kraft, who’s an assistant professor in the department of pathology and associate professor in the department of medicine, division of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
 

Breakthrough transmissions

“The good news is you’re still unlikely to get critically ill if you’re vaccinated. But what has changed with the [D]elta variant is instead of being 90% plus protected from getting the virus at all, you’re probably more in the 70% to 80% range,” James T. McDeavitt, MD, told this news organization.

“So we’re seeing breakthrough infections,” said Dr. McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “We are starting to see [such people] are potentially infectious.” Even if a vaccinated person is individually much less likely to experience serious COVID-19 outcomes, “they can spread it to someone else who spreads it to someone else who is more vulnerable. It puts the more at-risk populations at further risk.”

It breaks down to individual and public health concerns. “I am fully vaccinated. I am very confident I am not going to end up in a hospital,” he said. “Now if I were unvaccinated, with the prevalence of the virus around the country, I’m probably in more danger than I’ve ever been in the course of the pandemic. The unvaccinated are really at risk right now.”
 

IDSA and AMA support mask change

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released a statement supporting the new CDC recommendations. “To stay ahead of the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, IDSA also urges that in communities with moderate transmission rates, all individuals, even those who are vaccinated, wear masks in indoor public places,” stated IDSA President Barbara D. Alexander, MD, MHS.

“IDSA also supports CDC’s guidance recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, until vaccines are authorized and widely available to all children and vaccination rates are sufficient to control transmission.”

“Mask wearing will help reduce infections, prevent serious illnesses and death, limit strain on local hospitals and stave off the development of even more troubling variants,” she added.

The American Medical Association (AMA) also released a statement supporting the CDC’s policy changes.

“According to the CDC, emerging data indicates that vaccinated individuals infected with the Delta variant have similar viral loads as those who are unvaccinated and are capable of transmission,” AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, MD said in the statement.

“However, the science remains clear, the authorized vaccines remain safe and effective in preventing severe complications from COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” he stated. “We strongly support the updated recommendations, which call for universal masking in areas of high or substantial COVID-19 transmission and in K-12 schools, to help reduce transmission of the virus. Wearing a mask is a small but important protective measure that can help us all stay safer.”

“The highest spread of cases and [most] severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates and among unvaccinated people,” Dr. Walensky said. “With the [D]elta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.”

“This moment, and the associated suffering, illness, and death, could have been avoided with higher vaccination coverage in this country,” she said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

This year, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. again ranked as the top hospital for gynecology, according to U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual rankings today.

The top five hospitals for gynecology were the same this year and were in the same order. In second place again this year was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, followed by the Cleveland Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

Rounding out the top 10 were (6) Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia; (7) the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital; (8) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Stanford Health Care–Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto, California, which tied for the ninth spot.

U.S. News compared more than 4,750 medical centers nationwide in 15 specialties. Of those, 531 were recognized as Best Regional Hospitals on the basis of their strong performance in multiple areas of care.

In 12 of the specialties, including gynecology, rankings are determined by a data-driven analysis that combines performance measures in structure, process, and outcomes. Rankings in three other specialties – ophthalmology, psychiatry, and rheumatology – rely on expert opinion alone, according to the U.S. News methodology report.

The top 20 hospitals overall were also named to the Honor Roll.

Mayo Clinic was again no. 1 on the honor roll, a ranking it has held for 6 years in a row, according to a press release.

In other top specialties, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ranked no. 1 in cancer; the Cleveland Clinic is no. 1 in cardiology and heart surgery; and the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, is no. 1 in orthopedics.

A full list of rankings is available on the magazine’s website.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

This year, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. again ranked as the top hospital for gynecology, according to U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual rankings today.

The top five hospitals for gynecology were the same this year and were in the same order. In second place again this year was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, followed by the Cleveland Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

Rounding out the top 10 were (6) Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia; (7) the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital; (8) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Stanford Health Care–Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto, California, which tied for the ninth spot.

U.S. News compared more than 4,750 medical centers nationwide in 15 specialties. Of those, 531 were recognized as Best Regional Hospitals on the basis of their strong performance in multiple areas of care.

In 12 of the specialties, including gynecology, rankings are determined by a data-driven analysis that combines performance measures in structure, process, and outcomes. Rankings in three other specialties – ophthalmology, psychiatry, and rheumatology – rely on expert opinion alone, according to the U.S. News methodology report.

The top 20 hospitals overall were also named to the Honor Roll.

Mayo Clinic was again no. 1 on the honor roll, a ranking it has held for 6 years in a row, according to a press release.

In other top specialties, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ranked no. 1 in cancer; the Cleveland Clinic is no. 1 in cardiology and heart surgery; and the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, is no. 1 in orthopedics.

A full list of rankings is available on the magazine’s website.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

This year, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. again ranked as the top hospital for gynecology, according to U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual rankings today.

The top five hospitals for gynecology were the same this year and were in the same order. In second place again this year was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, followed by the Cleveland Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

Rounding out the top 10 were (6) Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia; (7) the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital; (8) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Stanford Health Care–Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto, California, which tied for the ninth spot.

U.S. News compared more than 4,750 medical centers nationwide in 15 specialties. Of those, 531 were recognized as Best Regional Hospitals on the basis of their strong performance in multiple areas of care.

In 12 of the specialties, including gynecology, rankings are determined by a data-driven analysis that combines performance measures in structure, process, and outcomes. Rankings in three other specialties – ophthalmology, psychiatry, and rheumatology – rely on expert opinion alone, according to the U.S. News methodology report.

The top 20 hospitals overall were also named to the Honor Roll.

Mayo Clinic was again no. 1 on the honor roll, a ranking it has held for 6 years in a row, according to a press release.

In other top specialties, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ranked no. 1 in cancer; the Cleveland Clinic is no. 1 in cardiology and heart surgery; and the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, is no. 1 in orthopedics.

A full list of rankings is available on the magazine’s website.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Key clinical point: Women with sickle cell disease report high rates of unplanned pregnancy and limited knowledge and use of long-acting reversible contraception despite the high-risk nature of pregnancy for sickle cell disease patients.

Major finding:  In a survey of 78 women with sickle cell disease, 73% had an average of 2.5 pregnancies, and 58% reported unplanned pregnancies. The most frequently reported contraception in the study population was condoms (87%), followed by birth control pills (46%), medroxyprogesterone (44%), and withdrawal (44%), while 22% reported use of long-acting reversible contraception.

Study details: The data come from a survey of 78 women aged 28-65 years with sickle cell disease seen at a single adult and pediatric sickle cell treatment center.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Pecker LH et al. J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Jun 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.05.005.

Key clinical point: Women with sickle cell disease report high rates of unplanned pregnancy and limited knowledge and use of long-acting reversible contraception despite the high-risk nature of pregnancy for sickle cell disease patients.

Major finding:  In a survey of 78 women with sickle cell disease, 73% had an average of 2.5 pregnancies, and 58% reported unplanned pregnancies. The most frequently reported contraception in the study population was condoms (87%), followed by birth control pills (46%), medroxyprogesterone (44%), and withdrawal (44%), while 22% reported use of long-acting reversible contraception.

Study details: The data come from a survey of 78 women aged 28-65 years with sickle cell disease seen at a single adult and pediatric sickle cell treatment center.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Pecker LH et al. J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Jun 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.05.005.

Key clinical point: Women with sickle cell disease report high rates of unplanned pregnancy and limited knowledge and use of long-acting reversible contraception despite the high-risk nature of pregnancy for sickle cell disease patients.

Major finding:  In a survey of 78 women with sickle cell disease, 73% had an average of 2.5 pregnancies, and 58% reported unplanned pregnancies. The most frequently reported contraception in the study population was condoms (87%), followed by birth control pills (46%), medroxyprogesterone (44%), and withdrawal (44%), while 22% reported use of long-acting reversible contraception.

Study details: The data come from a survey of 78 women aged 28-65 years with sickle cell disease seen at a single adult and pediatric sickle cell treatment center.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Pecker LH et al. J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Jun 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.05.005.

Key clinical point: Cesarean delivery was independently associated with missing strings and expulsion of an IUD placed after delivery.

Major finding:  Among women who underwent postplacental copper IUD placement, missing strings were noted in 47.9% 34.2% of women at postpartum visits 1 and 2, respectively, and 8.9% experience expulsions by visit 2. Cesarean delivery was associated with a significantly increased risk of missing strings, but a decreased risk of IUD expulsion (adjusted risk ratios 6.21 and 0.24, respectively). 

Study details: The data come from 705 women who underwent postplacental insertion of a copper T380A IUD. The women were assessed at postpartum visits at 45-90 days and again at 6-9 months.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Barboza da Silva Nobrega A et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021 Jul 1. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.13806.

Key clinical point: Cesarean delivery was independently associated with missing strings and expulsion of an IUD placed after delivery.

Major finding:  Among women who underwent postplacental copper IUD placement, missing strings were noted in 47.9% 34.2% of women at postpartum visits 1 and 2, respectively, and 8.9% experience expulsions by visit 2. Cesarean delivery was associated with a significantly increased risk of missing strings, but a decreased risk of IUD expulsion (adjusted risk ratios 6.21 and 0.24, respectively). 

Study details: The data come from 705 women who underwent postplacental insertion of a copper T380A IUD. The women were assessed at postpartum visits at 45-90 days and again at 6-9 months.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Barboza da Silva Nobrega A et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021 Jul 1. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.13806.

Key clinical point: Cesarean delivery was independently associated with missing strings and expulsion of an IUD placed after delivery.

Major finding:  Among women who underwent postplacental copper IUD placement, missing strings were noted in 47.9% 34.2% of women at postpartum visits 1 and 2, respectively, and 8.9% experience expulsions by visit 2. Cesarean delivery was associated with a significantly increased risk of missing strings, but a decreased risk of IUD expulsion (adjusted risk ratios 6.21 and 0.24, respectively). 

Study details: The data come from 705 women who underwent postplacental insertion of a copper T380A IUD. The women were assessed at postpartum visits at 45-90 days and again at 6-9 months.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Barboza da Silva Nobrega A et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021 Jul 1. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.13806.

Key clinical point: An oral contraceptive combining 15 mg estetrol and 3 mg drospirinone prevented pregnancy and promoted predictable bleeding patterns in women aged 18 to 35 years compared with a placebo during a study period of up to 13 cycles.

Major finding:  The Pearl Index overall was 0.47 pregnancies per 100 women-years, and the method failure Pearl Index was 0.29 pregnancies per 100 women-years. Scheduled bleeding or spotting occurred in approximately 92% to 95% of the women during 12 cycles of contraceptive use.

Study details: The data come from an open-label, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial including 69 sites in Europe and Russia. The study population included 1,553 women aged 18-30 years. The primary outcome measures were the Pearl Index measure of contraceptive effectiveness for women aged 18-35 years, bleeding patterns, and adverse events.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Gemzell-Danielsson K et al. BJOG. 2021 Jul 10. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.16840.

Key clinical point: An oral contraceptive combining 15 mg estetrol and 3 mg drospirinone prevented pregnancy and promoted predictable bleeding patterns in women aged 18 to 35 years compared with a placebo during a study period of up to 13 cycles.

Major finding:  The Pearl Index overall was 0.47 pregnancies per 100 women-years, and the method failure Pearl Index was 0.29 pregnancies per 100 women-years. Scheduled bleeding or spotting occurred in approximately 92% to 95% of the women during 12 cycles of contraceptive use.

Study details: The data come from an open-label, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial including 69 sites in Europe and Russia. The study population included 1,553 women aged 18-30 years. The primary outcome measures were the Pearl Index measure of contraceptive effectiveness for women aged 18-35 years, bleeding patterns, and adverse events.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Gemzell-Danielsson K et al. BJOG. 2021 Jul 10. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.16840.

Key clinical point: An oral contraceptive combining 15 mg estetrol and 3 mg drospirinone prevented pregnancy and promoted predictable bleeding patterns in women aged 18 to 35 years compared with a placebo during a study period of up to 13 cycles.

Major finding:  The Pearl Index overall was 0.47 pregnancies per 100 women-years, and the method failure Pearl Index was 0.29 pregnancies per 100 women-years. Scheduled bleeding or spotting occurred in approximately 92% to 95% of the women during 12 cycles of contraceptive use.

Study details: The data come from an open-label, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial including 69 sites in Europe and Russia. The study population included 1,553 women aged 18-30 years. The primary outcome measures were the Pearl Index measure of contraceptive effectiveness for women aged 18-35 years, bleeding patterns, and adverse events.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Gemzell-Danielsson K et al. BJOG. 2021 Jul 10. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.16840.

Key clinical point: Overall, oral contraceptives were more effective than placebo for treating symptoms of PMS and PMDD, but none of the combined oral contraceptives stood out as more effective than the others, and oral contraceptives had no apparent impact on premenstrual depressive symptoms.

Major finding:  In a pairwise meta-analysis, combined oral contraceptives showed no effectiveness compared to placebo for reducing premenstrual depressive symptoms, with a standardized mean difference of 0.22. However, combined oral contraceptive use overall was moderately effective compared to placebo for improving premenstrual symptomatology overall (standardized mean difference 0.41).

Study details: The data come from a meta-analysis of nine randomized clinical trials including 1,205 women aged approximately 24-37 years who reported premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).  

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: De Wit AE et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Jul 2. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.06.090. 

Key clinical point: Overall, oral contraceptives were more effective than placebo for treating symptoms of PMS and PMDD, but none of the combined oral contraceptives stood out as more effective than the others, and oral contraceptives had no apparent impact on premenstrual depressive symptoms.

Major finding:  In a pairwise meta-analysis, combined oral contraceptives showed no effectiveness compared to placebo for reducing premenstrual depressive symptoms, with a standardized mean difference of 0.22. However, combined oral contraceptive use overall was moderately effective compared to placebo for improving premenstrual symptomatology overall (standardized mean difference 0.41).

Study details: The data come from a meta-analysis of nine randomized clinical trials including 1,205 women aged approximately 24-37 years who reported premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).  

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: De Wit AE et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Jul 2. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.06.090. 

Key clinical point: Overall, oral contraceptives were more effective than placebo for treating symptoms of PMS and PMDD, but none of the combined oral contraceptives stood out as more effective than the others, and oral contraceptives had no apparent impact on premenstrual depressive symptoms.

Major finding:  In a pairwise meta-analysis, combined oral contraceptives showed no effectiveness compared to placebo for reducing premenstrual depressive symptoms, with a standardized mean difference of 0.22. However, combined oral contraceptive use overall was moderately effective compared to placebo for improving premenstrual symptomatology overall (standardized mean difference 0.41).

Study details: The data come from a meta-analysis of nine randomized clinical trials including 1,205 women aged approximately 24-37 years who reported premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).  

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: De Wit AE et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Jul 2. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.06.090.