By , (Reuters) - Black Americans enrolled in Medicare were around four times as likely as their white counterparts to be hospitalized for COVID-19, U.S. government data released on Monday showed, highlighting significant racial disparities in health outcomes during the pandemic.“The disparities in the data reflect longstanding challenges facing minority communities and low income older adults,” said Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which released the data.The data showed that more than 325,000 Medicare beneficiaries were diagnosed with...…By , (Reuters) - Black Americans enrolled in Medicare were around four times as likely as their white counterparts to be hospitalized for COVID-19, U.S. government data released on Monday showed, highlighting significant racial disparities in health outcomes during the pandemic.“The disparities in the data reflect longstanding challenges facing minority communities and low income older adults,” said Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which released the data.The data showed that more than 325,000 Medicare beneficiaries were diagnosed with...WW…

By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill re-election battle and criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Trump has previously proposed most of the changes made by the executive orders he signed on Friday, but this is the first time they have made it into signed executive orders.One order would allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada, while another would require discounts from drug...…By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill re-election battle and criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Trump has previously proposed most of the changes made by the executive orders he signed on Friday, but this is the first time they have made it into signed executive orders.One order would allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada, while another would require discounts from drug...WW…

By , More than a hundred vaccines are under development to try and stop the COVID-19 pandemic, and drugmakers including J&J are working to ramp up supply for their vaccines in the face of unprecedented demand.J&J has already agreed to prioritize an allocation to the United States as part of its funding agreement with the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Wolk said.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would focus on allocating any vaccine it acquired to developing countries, Wolk added. Reuters previously reported that J&J is also...…By , More than a hundred vaccines are under development to try and stop the COVID-19 pandemic, and drugmakers including J&J are working to ramp up supply for their vaccines in the face of unprecedented demand.J&J has already agreed to prioritize an allocation to the United States as part of its funding agreement with the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Wolk said.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would focus on allocating any vaccine it acquired to developing countries, Wolk added. Reuters previously reported that J&J is also...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, it announced on Tuesday, saying demand had fallen in the wake of what it called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid a barrage of legal challenges.J&J faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers and their survivors claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen. Many are pending before a U.S. district judge in New Jersey.“I wish my mother could be here to see this day,” said Crystal Deckard, whose mother Darlene...…By , (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, it announced on Tuesday, saying demand had fallen in the wake of what it called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid a barrage of legal challenges.J&J faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers and their survivors claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen. Many are pending before a U.S. district judge in New Jersey.“I wish my mother could be here to see this day,” said Crystal Deckard, whose mother Darlene...WW…

By , The U.S. drugmaker and German partner said if the vaccine proves to be safe and effective in trials, it could potentially be ready for wide U.S. distribution by the end of the year, shaving several years off the typical vaccine development timeline.The vaccine, which uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, has the potential to be among the first vaccines against the virus that has infected more than 1 million people in the United States and killed some 68,000.There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for the new coronavirus, though some drugs are being used on patients under...…By , The U.S. drugmaker and German partner said if the vaccine proves to be safe and effective in trials, it could potentially be ready for wide U.S. distribution by the end of the year, shaving several years off the typical vaccine development timeline.The vaccine, which uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, has the potential to be among the first vaccines against the virus that has infected more than 1 million people in the United States and killed some 68,000.There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for the new coronavirus, though some drugs are being used on patients under...WW…

By , The United States in recent weeks has made deals to acquire hundreds of millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines from several companies as part of its Operation Warp Speed program, which aims to deliver a vaccine in the country by the end of the year.Moderna’s price per dose comes to around $30.50 per person for a two dose regimen.With the exception of its deal with AstraZeneca, which offered a lower price per drug in exchange for upfront research and development costs, all the deals price COVID-19 vaccines between $20 to $42 for a two dose course of treatment.Moderna’s vaccine...…By , The United States in recent weeks has made deals to acquire hundreds of millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines from several companies as part of its Operation Warp Speed program, which aims to deliver a vaccine in the country by the end of the year.Moderna’s price per dose comes to around $30.50 per person for a two dose regimen.With the exception of its deal with AstraZeneca, which offered a lower price per drug in exchange for upfront research and development costs, all the deals price COVID-19 vaccines between $20 to $42 for a two dose course of treatment.Moderna’s vaccine...WW…

By , (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to issue guidance on reducing “unnecessary” testing for COVID-19 as it works to cut turnaround times for tests, a senior U.S. health official said on Thursday.Details of the guidance are still being hammered out but it would be aimed partly at discouraging COVID-19 patients who have completed home quarantine from getting retested before returning to work or school, said Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Speaking on a call with reporters, he said such unnecessary tests were...…By , (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to issue guidance on reducing “unnecessary” testing for COVID-19 as it works to cut turnaround times for tests, a senior U.S. health official said on Thursday.Details of the guidance are still being hammered out but it would be aimed partly at discouraging COVID-19 patients who have completed home quarantine from getting retested before returning to work or school, said Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Speaking on a call with reporters, he said such unnecessary tests were...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Wall Street is moving some bets on COVID-19 vaccines to large pharmaceutical companies with robust manufacturing capabilities, signaling that a love affair with small biotech firms might be ending after the sector’s best quarter in almost 20 years.Some of the selling was likely driven by end-of-quarter profit-taking, locking in dizzying gains in an otherwise turbulent market. Moderna and Inovio shares have risen nearly 200 percent and 540 percent in the year-to-date, respectively, greatly eclipsing gains for large pharmaceutical companies.Analysts say investors are changing...…By , (Reuters) - Wall Street is moving some bets on COVID-19 vaccines to large pharmaceutical companies with robust manufacturing capabilities, signaling that a love affair with small biotech firms might be ending after the sector’s best quarter in almost 20 years.Some of the selling was likely driven by end-of-quarter profit-taking, locking in dizzying gains in an otherwise turbulent market. Moderna and Inovio shares have risen nearly 200 percent and 540 percent in the year-to-date, respectively, greatly eclipsing gains for large pharmaceutical companies.Analysts say investors are changing...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine, the company said, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new variants that have cropped up.The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the United Kingdom,...…By , (Reuters) - Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine, the company said, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new variants that have cropped up.The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the United Kingdom,...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine, the company said, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new variants that have cropped up.The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the United Kingdom,...…By , (Reuters) - Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine, the company said, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new variants that have cropped up.The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the United Kingdom,...WW…