Based on the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker and using Thursday as the first day of the week, here is the FEHBlog’s current weekly chart of new COVID cases for 2021:

Here is a link to the CDC’s weekly chart of new COVID related hospital admissions, and here is the FEHBlog’s current weekly chart of new COVID deaths:

Finally here is the FEHBlog’s current weekly chart of COVID vaccinations distributed and administered:

As of today, 86% of the U.S. population over age 65 has been fully vaccinated and 1/3 of that cadre has received a COVID booster.

Here’s a link to the CDC’s weekly interpretation of its COVID statistics. The CDC points out that “Starting the week of November 8th, vaccines [for children aged five through 11] will be available at pediatricians’ offices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and more. To find vaccine near you, visit vaccines.gov; text your ZIP code to 438829 (GETVAX); or call 1-800-232-0233.”

The CDC’s Fluview informs us that “Seasonal influenza activity in the United States remains low, but the number of influenza virus detections reported by public health laboratories has increased in recent weeks.”

The best summary of where we stand with COVID is found in today’s New York Times column by David Leonhardt on whether it’s time to start back to returning to normalcy on COVID. His theme struck a chord with the FEHBlog:

“Among the Covid experts I regularly talk with, Dr. Robert Wachter is one of the more cautious. He worries about “long Covid,” and he believes that many people should receive booster shots. He says that he may wear a mask in supermarkets and on airplanes for the rest of his life.”” “Yet Wachter — the chair of the medicine department at the University of California, San Francisco — also worries about the downsides of organizing our lives around Covid. In recent weeks, he has begun to think about when most of life’s rhythms should start returning to normal. Increasingly, he believes the answer is: Now. “This belief stems from the fact that the virus is unlikely to go away, ever. Like most viruses, it will probably keep circulating, with cases rising sometimes and falling other times. But we have the tools — vaccines, along with an emerging group of treatments — to turn it into a manageable virus, similar to the seasonal flu.”

In other news —

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finally announced 2022 Medicare Medicare Parts A and B premiums and cost sharing.

• The Part A inpatient hospital deductible will increase from $1484 to $1556.

• The Part B calendar year deductible will increase from $203 to $221.

• The monthly standard Part B premium will increase from $148.50 to $170.10.

All of the changes and the income based Part B premium adjustments for high income beneficiaries is available here.

STAT News informs us that

Robert Califf, President Biden’s new pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, doesn’t have much to show for his first tenure at the agency.

His grand plans for modernizing the way drug makers and the FDA collect patient data were shelved in 2017 after he left the agency’s top spot. His efforts to ban flavored tobacco products were foiled by the Obama White House. Even his push to finally fix the FDA’s hiring woes still hasn’t been fully implemented.

Now Califf, who Biden formally tapped on Friday to retake the FDA’s top job, will have another shot at delivering on those promises.

Health Payer Intelligence tells us that

More than eight out of ten survey participants in UnitedHealthcare’s sixth annual Consumer Sentiment Survey indicated that they are ready to choose a health plan during 2022 open enrollment season.

“Most Americans said they are prepared to select a health plan during this year’s open enrollment season, while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur interest in virtual care for medical services and digital fitness apps to help people pursue at-home fitness routines,” the press release shared.

UnitedHealthcare fielded the survey from September 10 through September 12, 2021 and received 1,013 responses from individuals 18 years old and older.

Health Payer Intelligence also discusses a Humana program for employer sponsored plans in which “Humana is partnering with a type 2 diabetes reversal vendor [Virta] that uses remote patient monitoring and nutrition to help members manage and improve their type 2 diabetes.”

The article included this interesting tidbit on diabetes treatment

Diabetes is one of the top chronic conditions in the US that drive healthcare spending, alongside conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and obesity. As such, payers have heavily targeted this condition with various chronic disease management strategies.

It was not until August 2021, however, that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) officially determined that the phrase “diabetes reversal” was often more clearly identified as “remission,” Humana pointed out in its press release.

“Remission strikes an appropriate balance, noting that diabetes may not always be active and progressive yet implying that a notable improvement may not be permanent. It is consistent with the view that a person may require ongoing support to forestall relapse, and regular monitoring to allow intervention should hyperglycemia recur,” ADA decided. 

“The term reversal is used to describe the process of returning to glucose levels below those diagnostic of diabetes, but it should not be equated with the state of remission.”