Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE have asked U.S. health regulators to authorize a second booster dose of their Covid-19 vaccine for people 65 years and older. The companies said Tuesday that they had filed the application. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a decision in time for the Biden administration to begin a potential fall vaccine campaign. The...

Read More

During the State of the Union address, President Biden announced the “test to treat” initiative to allow patients to get tested for the coronavirus at pharmacies and, if positive, receive oral antiviral pills immediately at no cost [”White House ‘test to treat’ plan garners praise, raises questions,” Politics & the Nation, March 5]. This is an impo...

Read More

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed bipartisan bills into law that are designed to reduce prescription drug costs by regulating pharmacy benefit managers that oversee coverage for employers, insurers and others. Parts of the laws took effect immediately while others, including licensing requirements and bans on “spread pricing” and “gag...

Read More

Johnson & Johnson has temporarily suspended production of its COVID-19 vaccine while it pursues a potentially lucrative vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, which takes the lives of approximately 14,000 older adults in America each year. U.S. officials acknowledge that the company was transparent about its plans for the facility in Leiden, the Netherlands, from the start — plans that...

Read More

CMS Developing Initiative to Enable Access to Eight Free Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests for Medicare Beneficiaries in Early Spring   As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to expand Americans’ access to free testing, people in either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage will be able to get over- the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost starting in earl...

Read More