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Brazilian Parliament approves the law allowing companies to buy COVID-19 vaccines

2021-03-03T15:30:18.332Z

RIO DE JANEIRO (Sputnik) - The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday the basic text of the law that allows private companies to buy vaccines against COVID-19 (the disease caused by the new coronavirus). The Chamber of Deputies reported that the basic text of Senate law 534/21 was approved, "which authorizes states, municipalities and the private sector to buy vaccines against COVID-19 with registration or temporary authorization for use in Brazil." The text determines that in the case of vaccines purchased by the private sector, at the moment all doses must be donated to the Unified Health System (SUS), the Brazilian public health system.

Once all the priority groups determined by the National Immunization Plan (PNI) of the Ministry of Health are going to been vaccinated, companies will be able to buy, distribute and administer vaccines, but always free of charge.

They must also donate half of the amounts they buy to public health.

The vaccine manufactured in Nicaragua meets international quality standards

2021-03-01T22:08:28.006Z

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed compliance with international quality standards for the Inactivated Split influenza Vaccine produced by the Saint Petersburg’s Scientific Research Institute of Vaccine and Serum (SPbSRIVS), which is the parent company of the Latin-American Institute of Biotechnology MECHNIKOV in Nicaragua and supplies the bulk product of the vaccine for formulation, filling and packaging in our Plant. “After receiving prequalification from the WHO, SPbSRIVS will be able to export its vaccine as part of the dispatch for international organizations and funds”, – the representative of the SPbSRIVS told TASS on Friday.

In February, the official representative of the WHO, Dr. Ute Rosskopf, responsible for interaction with laboratories, regulatory activities and safety, confirmed the full compliance of the influenza vaccine produced by the SPbSRIVS with world quality standards . “The WHO test result supports the acceptability of the Inactivated Split influenza Vaccine produced by SPbSRIVS, Russian Federation, for prequalification,” – the statement said..

Prequalification is a service provided by WHO to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines. Together with SPbSRIVS, the MECHNIKOV Institute plans to receive prequalification of its vaccine in 2021. Prequalification by the WHO is a crucial condition for the access of the drug to markets worldwide.

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Designed to work in tandem

2021-02-26T14:20:55.241Z

Brainlab has secured two FDA clearances for its robotic surgery systems, including an articulated arm for guiding spine procedures and an autonomously mobile imaging robot.

The company’s Loop-X scanner-on-wheels is capable of moving itself into position around the operating table and rolling away when it’s not needed. Its X-ray detector and imaging source can both independently rotate around the patient across its large, ringed gantry, to take 2D and 3D scans while narrowing its use of radiation.

Meanwhile, the Cirq robotic arm helps surgeons align their instruments for drilling and the placement of spinal screws, among other procedures, based on preplanned trajectories. It features interchangeable modules and is compatible with multiple implant sets.

The two are designed to work in tandem and can connect with Munich-based Brainlab’s larger digital surgery portfolio. Both previously received CE marks in Europe last year.

“We’re expanding and diversifying our digital surgery portfolio with robotics across all indications,” Brainlab President Sean Clark said. “Our customers want to offer their patients advanced technologies close to home. Brainlab technologies are designed to enable greater freedom for clinicians and enhance outcomes for patients.”

With a compact footprint and weighing in at just over 1,000 pounds, the Loop-X can be controlled wirelessly with a tablet as well as with a handheld instrument that allows the clinician to physically point to where the scanner should focus.

Nicaragua approves the use of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V

2021-02-25T19:49:58.770Z

The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health has registered the Russian vaccine against COVID-19 Sputnik V, announced the general director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kiril Dmitriev.

As specified in a statement by the RDFI, which markets the vaccine, the registration of Sputnik V by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health was carried out "with an accelerated procedure of 'authorization of emergency use', without carrying out additional clinical trials in the territory of the country ".

"The Government of Nicaragua, through the Ministry of Health, approved the use of the Russian vaccine to deal with the pandemic. It has been registered in Nicaragua for emergency use, as in Mexico," said the Vice President and First lady of Nicaragua Rosario Murillo.

The Vice President cited a group of countries that also approved the drug produced by Gamaleya laboratories and the Russian Fund for Direct Investment.

In addition to Mexico, Murillo mentioned Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, the United Arab Emirates, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Palestine, Paraguay, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

"This Sputnik V vaccine has an efficacy, which has been widely disseminated, of 91.6%, and we trust God that it will be a powerful tool to protect health and life among Nicaraguan families," added the vice president.

Murillo also said that the government is making progress in negotiations with the Russian research institutes to guarantee the supply of the vaccine very soon.

In total, the vaccine was approved in 18 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, United Arab Emirates, Iran, the Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico and Nicaragua.
Sputnik V, the first vaccine approved in the world on August 11, 2020, consists of two doses that are applied with an interval of 21 days. The first is based on human adenovirus type 26 and the second on recombinant human adenovirus type 5.
On February 2, the British scientific journal The Lancet published the intermediate results of phase 3 of the clinical trial of the immunizer, which confirmed its safety and high effectiveness of more than 90%. The substance completely prevents severe cases of COVID-19.

Caracas received the vaccine against influenza

2021-02-18T22:06:51.476Z

Today, the Russian vaccine for the prevention of influenza produced by the St. Petersburg Institute of Vaccines and Serum of the FMBA of Russia and the Latin American Institute of Biotechnology Mechnikov was delivered to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

Annual deliveries of vaccines to Venezuela are carried out on behalf of V.V. Putin as part of the agreements between the presidents of the two countries reached in 2019 during Nicolas Maduro’s visit to Moscow.

In the 2020-2021 season, 3 million doses of influenza vaccine were produced for this Latin American country.

#mechnikov_digest #influenza #noticiasnicaragua

10 million people will need either new or additional mental health support as a direct consequence of the COVID'19 crisis

2021-02-10T15:12:26.751Z

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed the ongoing impact on well-being and mental health from its Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

The survey is aiming to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, households and communities in Great Britain over time.

The ONS found that, in the last week of January 2021, personal well-being scores for life satisfaction and happiness remained at some of the lowest levels recorded since the survey started in March 2020.

The survey also revealed that anxiety scores were at the highest levels since April 2020, during the first national lockdown.

According to the ONS, well-being scores can be an indications of mental health, with a survey conducted over a period in December 2020 finding that one in five adults in Great Britain had experienced some form of depression in November.

The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey also looked at levels of optimism about when life will return to normal.

The ONS found that levels of optimism about the future varied greatly across the course of the pandemic.

The number of adults in Great Britain that felt that life will return to normal in six months or less continued to gradually fall to 17% in the week ending 31 January 2021 – the lowest figure since the end of October 2020.

Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, commented: “These findings demonstrate once again the heavy toll the COVID emergency is taking on people’s mental wellbeing.”

“Figures from the Centre for Mental Health suggest 10 million people will need either new or additional mental health support as a direct consequence of this crisis and the consequent economic downturn.

“Those with existing mental health conditions will be particularly vulnerable. Adequate early support will help reduce the risk of mental health issues worsening,” he added.

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2021-02-10T15:09:10.309Z

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10 million people will need either new or additional mental health support as a direct consequence of the COVID'19 crisis

2021-02-10T14:21:28.611Z

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed the ongoing impact on well-being and mental health from its Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

The survey is aiming to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, households and communities in Great Britain over time.

The survey also revealed that anxiety scores were at the highest levels since April 2020, during the first national lockdown.

The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey also looked at levels of optimism about when life will return to normal.

The ONS found that levels of optimism about the future varied greatly across the course of the pandemic.

Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, commented: “These findings demonstrate once again the heavy toll the COVID emergency is taking on people’s mental wellbeing.”

“Those with existing mental health conditions will be particularly vulnerable. Adequate early support will help reduce the risk of mental health issues worsening,” he added.

How can hospitals weather the financial storms of 2021?

2021-02-09T21:03:09.521Z

Photo: claudenakagawa, Getty Images

Though hospital finances recovered to some extent by the end of 2020, the industry is not out of the woods yet. However, with strategic investments, especially in outpatient care and technology, hospitals and health systems can help buoy their finances in this challenging time, industry observers said.

Patient volumes have fluctuated wildly after the Covid-19 pandemic hit as Covid-19 patients flocked to hospitals and those needing or seeking elective surgery and other care staying away. Not surprisingly, this has had a significant impact on health systems’ financial health.

But outpatient settings and digital solutions offer some revenue-generating opportunities for hospitals.

“A number of the major players and some of the bigger regional systems in the country now are in a place where they get more of their revenue from the outpatient side as opposed to the inpatient side,” said Dr. Sanjay Saxena, global healthcare leader, Payers, Providers, Health Care Systems & Services and managing director at Boston Consulting Group, in a phone interview.

In fact, outpatient care was the only healthcare setting that saw an increase in patient volumes in 2020. Though emergency department visits and inpatient volumes were down from July to December last year compared to the same period in 2019, outpatient volumes actually increased by 5%, according to a report by consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion.

Healthcare providers that have well-established and expansive outpatient and ambulatory care businesses will be able to weather patient volume trends better in 2021 than those who do not, said Saxena.

Take HCA Healthcare, for example. The Nashville, Tennessee-based healthcare giant’s revenues jumped to $14.2 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, up from $13.5 billion in the same period in 2019. HCA’s ability to move care outside of the inpatient setting to the ambulatory environment really helped their financial performance, said Saxena.

On the other hand, smaller and more rural hospitals, which depend heavily on ED and inpatient care, may face a challenging year, he added.

Another key investment for hospitals will be in digital solutions to help them manage the ups and downs of patient volume.

“Resilience as a broad topic for provider executives is absolutely top of mind,” said Gurpreet Singh, health services leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, in a phone interview. “And resiliency can be achieved in a number of different ways. One way is [figuring out] — can you predict demand a little bit better?”

Patient demand forecasting solutions will be popular, with 74% of health executives recently surveyed by PwC’s Health Research Institute saying their organizations would invest more in predictive modeling in 2021.

Further, hospitals will see savings in some unexpected places. For example, with an increasingly remote and mobile healthcare workforce, hospitals may see cost savings on real estate and facility leases, said Singh.

They can use these savings to invest further in telehealth and at-home care programs to expand care outside of the four walls of the hospital, he added.

The industry has to come to terms with changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the shifts in care delivery and patient preferences.

“Some of these things are structurally significant changes,” said Saxena. “Organizations ignore these things…at their peril. Some leading organizations and systems will find a way to embrace [these changes] and leapfrog others in the market coming out of 2021.”

Author: Anuja Vaidya
Brought to you by: medcitynews.com