From the Delta variant front

• Govexec and FedWeek provide their respective updates on implementation of the Administration’s vaccine mandate. It’s not moving quickly.
• Federal News Network informs us that “The Postal Service, as an independent agency, is setting its own rules on masks and vaccines apart from the rest of the federal workforce, but is seeing an uptick in employees who need to quarantine as the delta variant of COVID-19 presents new challenges for the agency.”
• The Society for Human Resource Management offers advice on topics that should be covered in an employer’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.
• Medscape gives us a report on a Delta variant “media briefing today sponsored by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.” “Because the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 spreads more easily than the original virus, the proportion of the population that needs to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity could be upwards of 80% or more, experts say. Also, it could be time to consider wearing an N95 mask in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status * * *. Furthermore, giving booster shots to the fully vaccinated is not the top public health priority now. Instead, third vaccinations should be reserved for more vulnerable populations — and efforts should focus on getting first vaccinations to unvaccinated people in the United States and around the world.”

In the tidbits department

• Healthcare Dive reports that “In what appears to be a break from the gloom physicians have felt over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, independent medical practices “feel stronger, resilient, and positive about the future of their practice and the industry,” according to a new survey by Kareo.”
• The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute tells us that “As the nation’s primary funder of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research, PCORI examines the important questions that patients face and helps create an informed healthcare system. Congressional reauthorization in 2019 broadened this scope, giving PCORI the opportunity to chart a bold new direction as it looks at today’s health and healthcare challenges, including many exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. To realize this opportunity fully, PCORI is crafting an ambitious strategic roadmap to guide future research funding and related initiatives.”
• Fierce Healthcare informs us that “Consumer out-of-pocket spending on healthcare is set to hit an estimated $491.6 billion, or about $1,650 per person, in the U.S., according to a recent report. The number is a roughly 10% increase over last year’s total and is expected to maintain a continual annual growth rate of 9.9% for the next five years, according to healthcare market research group Kalorama Information. * * * Kalorama highlighted a handful of government, business and demographic trends that are expected to drive consumers’ out-of-pocket spending outward in a release summarizing the full report.”