The big news today is Astra Zeneca’s announcement that its two dose COVID-19 vaccine “demonstrated statistically significant vaccine efficacy of 79% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% efficacy at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.

This interim safety and efficacy analysis was based on 32,449 participants accruing 141 symptomatic cases of COVID-19. The trial had a 2:1 randomisation of vaccine to placebo.

Vaccine efficacy was consistent across ethnicity and age. Notably, in participants aged 65 years and over, vaccine efficacy was 80%.

The vaccine was well tolerated, and the independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) identified no safety concerns related to the vaccine. The DSMB conducted a specific review of thrombotic events, as well as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with the assistance of an independent neurologist. The DSMB found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterised by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. The specific search for CVST found no events in this trial.

Ann Falsey, Professor of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, US, and co-lead Principal Investigator for the trial, said: “These findings reconfirm previous results observed in AZD1222 trials across all adult populations but it’s exciting to see similar efficacy results in people over 65 for the first time. This analysis validates the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a much-needed additional vaccination option, offering confidence that adults of all ages can benefit from protection against the virus.”

Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: “These results add to the growing body of evidence that shows this vaccine is well tolerated and highly effective against all severities of COVID-19 and across all age groups. We are confident this vaccine can play an important role in protecting millions of people worldwide against this lethal virus. We are preparing to submit these findings to the US Food and Drug Administration and for the rollout of millions of doses across America should the vaccine be granted US Emergency Use Authorization [EUA”].”

Typically these trial result announcements have been made a week or two submission of the EUA application to the FDA and then the FDA takes two to three weeks to approve the application. Consequently, it appears that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine will be online in mid-to-late April.

CAVEAT: Bloomberg reports Tuesday morning that

AstraZeneca Plc may have released outdated information about its Covid-19 vaccine trial, giving an “incomplete” view of the efficacy of the shot, said the leading U.S. agency on infectious diseases.

The Data and Safety Monitoring Board, charged with ensuring the safety and accuracy of AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial, has expressed concerns to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases that the information released about the testing results included outdated information.

This “may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” the agency said in a statement early Tuesday, without elaborating.

“We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” said the group headed by Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official.

Astra Zeneca needs this news like it needed a hole in the head as one of the FEHBlog’s grandmothers would say.

The Centers for Disease Control offers guidance on how to talk about COVID-19 vaccines with friends and family. The FEHBlog’s general advice is simply get it. The key consideration is that all three available vaccines as well as the Astra Zeneca vaccine have 100% efficacy on preventing severe hospitalization or death from COVID-19.

The Hill reports that the Senate confirmed by a 68-29 vote the President’s nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be Secretary of Labor. This is an important position with respect to the Affordable Care Act and ERISA as well as labor affairs.

EHR Intelligence discusses the growing role of state run health information exchanges in achieving health information interoperability.

The CMS interoperability rule addresses admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) notifications. Providers need to fulfill a CMS condition of participation that will require all healthcare facilities to send outbound event notifications by May 2021.

All healthcare facilities must send direct electronic notifications to a patient’s provider once the patient is admitted, discharged, or transferred from another facility.

Health information exchanges are in a prime position to help prepare their clients accordingly.

This is a nifty idea, but why not give electronic notice to the health plan too?

In its latest call letter for FEHB carrier benefit and rate proposals, OPM encouraged carriers to pay attention to controlling low value care. Health Payer Intelligence discusses a relevant JAMA Open Network study finding that “there are at least 13 areas of low-value care in which Medicare Advantage and Medicare alike are not reducing healthcare spending,” among them, “antibiotics for acute upper respiratory infection, antibiotics for influenza, anxiolytic, sedative, or hypnotic medication, benzodiazepine for depression, an opioid for headache, an opioid for back pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for hypertension, heart failure, or kidney disease, radiograph for back pain, and MRI or CT for back pain or for headaches.”

From the healthcare innovation front —

• Health IT Analytics informs us that “Statistical suicide risk prediction models could be implemented cost-effectively in healthcare organizations and may help save many lives each year, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.”
• mHealth Intelligence reports that “Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are developing a small drone, that, equipped with telehealth tools, can enter a house to facilitate virtual visits, drop off or pick up supplies, even survey living conditions.”

From the “Big Bowl of Wrong” front, the Wall Street Journal reports that “Hospitals that have published their previously confidential prices to comply with a new federal rule have also blocked that information from web searches with special coding embedded on their websites, according to a Wall Street Journal examination.” Yet, nn the bright side “After the Journal approached hospitals about its findings, the search-blocking code was removed from sites including those of HCA, Penn Medicine and Beaumont, and of South Dakota-based Avera Health, Tennessee-based Ballad Health, Maine’s Northern Light Health and Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin.” Good job Journal.