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Experts Say Universal Masking for COVID-19 in Hospitals is Not Necessary

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 08:07:17 GMT

Experts Say Universal Masking for COVID-19 in Hospitals is Not Necessary

A group of medical experts say masks are no longer needed in healthcare settings to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Given recent shifts in the pandemic, the experts argue that healthcare settings should treat the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 like other endemic respiratory pathogens.
Masks can also impede communication with patients who are hard of hearing or who do not speak English as a first language.
They argue health providers should stick with standard infection control now including requiring workers to wear a mask and eye protection when doing activities that could generate sprays to the face.

Universal masking in healthcare settings is no longer needed, a group of U.S. epidemiologists and infectious diseases experts proposed April 18 in a commentary published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine .

These policies, which were enacted early in the pandemic to reduce illness and death associated with COVID-19, required staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

However, given recent shifts in the pandemic, the eight experts argue that healthcare settings should treat the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 like other endemic respiratory pathogens — using standard infection control practices.

A return to pre-pandemic guidelines for masks

These standard practices require healthcare workers to wear a mask and eye protection when doing activities that could generate sprays to the face. Staff should also use additional precautions when caring for patients with a suspected or confirmed respiratory infection.

In addition, those protocols require staff, patients and visitors with respiratory symptoms to wear a mask while in healthcare settings.

“With the arrival of effective vaccines and a large portion of the population who developed immunity from natural infection, transmission from individuals with asymptomatic infection is now less common than in the earlier stages of the pandemic,” commentary author Dr. Sharon Wright , chief infection prevention officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston, told Healthline.

When SARS-CoV-2 first emerged on the scene, it was a silent spreader — more than 50% or so of transmissions resulted from people without symptoms, some studiesTrusted Source

found.

In contrast, recent data — after the emergence of the Omicron variant — suggests that most transmissions now occur around or after the start of symptoms. Given the small number of studies, though, asymptomatic transmission is still a possibility, even among a population with a high level of immunity.

Wright points to other developments that have made COVID-19 easier to deal with in healthcare settings, including treatments for people with infection — such as the antiviral Paxlovid — and widely available clinic-based and at-home testing.

published on www.healthline.com by Shawn Radcliffe . accessed on 21st April 2023

Vertex to use ImmunoGen technology to discover conditioning agents

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 12:23:14 GMT

Exclusive rights to the technology will remain with ImmunoGen for all targets not covered by the Vertex licence.

i mmunoGen has announced an agreement granting rights to Vertex Pharmaceuticals to carry out research using antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology for the discovery of new targeted conditioning agents.

The research using ImmunoGen ’s technology will enable the discovery of the agents for use with gene editing.

After completion of the research period for each target, Vertex can obtain a global and exclusive license for their research, development, and commercialisation employing the technology for that target.

Vertex is also responsible for the related costs.

Exclusive rights to the technology will remain with ImmunoGen for all targets not covered by the Vertex licence.

ImmunoGen Research, Development, and Medical Affairs executive vice-president Michael Vasconcelles said: “Given Vertex’s extensive experience discovering and developing transformative medicines for patients with serious diseases, we are thrilled they have chosen to explore ImmunoGen’s technology to develop ADCs for transplant conditioning in connection with gene editing.

“This agreement reflects our continued innovation in the ADC space and demonstrates the value of our technology platform and related intellectual property.”

ImmunoGen will receive $15m in upfront payment from Vertex as part of the international, multi-target licence and option agreement.

The company will also be eligible for development and commercial milestone payments and option exercise fees of up to $337m per target.

Additionally, Vertex will pay tiered royalties to ImmunoGen as a percentage of global commercial sales of new conditioning agents.

Vertex Cell and Genetic Therapies senior vice-president Mike Cooke said: “We look forward to evaluating the potential of ImmunoGen’s technology to develop a gentler conditioning regimen for use with Vertex’s exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel), for the potential treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT).”

Early R&D projects coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Mimotopes.

Editorial content is independently produced and follows the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Topic sponsors are not involved in the creation of editorial content.

published on pharmaceutical-technology.com website

Stop TB Partnership sounds the alarm on tuberculosis funding crisis

site-eZpVxw — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 07:57:51 GMT

TB deaths increase for second year in a row and cases rise for the first time in 20 years

New data released by the World Health Organization in the Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 showed an increase in TB incidence in 2021 for the first time in almost two decades and a further increase in mortality. This included 4,400 people dying per day, prompting the Stop TB Partnership to express alarm over an increasingly dire situation and the impact it will have on people, health care systems and economies.

The Stop TB Partnership urges the international community to understand the health threat posed by an airborne disease with drug-resistant strains which is showing an upward trend in mortality and incidence, and to take immediate action by providing urgently needed financial investment to combat TB.

The TB incidence rate – the number of new people developing TB per 100 000 population every year – rose by 3.6% between 2020 and 2021, reversing declines of about 2% per year for most of the past two decades.

Globally, the estimated number of deaths from TB increased between 2019 and 2021, reversing 14 years of decline between 2005 and 2019. In 2021, 1.6 million people died from TB, including 187 000 people with HIV. Between 2018-2021, 26.3 million people were treated for TB. This number is a far cry from the 40 million targets set for 2018-2022 at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB.

Dr Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, reflected: “It has become very clear that we now have a very dangerous situation on our hands with an airborne disease that is completely neglected, and which has been allowed to run rampant over the past two years. Transmission has gone up and infections have been left undiagnosed and untreated for longer periods, allowing tuberculosis to fester and develop into advanced forms of the disease and ultimately leading to higher death rates.”

“The World Health Organization report outlines this in black and white – and from seeing this in writing, every single human being should be up in arms and demand that their governments and decision-makers take immediate action, as everyone is now at risk,” she added.

The latest figures in the report predict that TB will replace COVID-19 as the world’s deadliest infectious disease killer. In fact, every day 4,400 people – or 3 people every minute – die from this preventable, treatable and curable disease.

The report did highlight some good news. TB treatment success rates were maintained during the pandemic, primarily in Africa.

written by John Pinching accesed on 12th Dec 2022 https://www.pharmatimes.com/news/stop_tb_partnership_sounds_the_alarm_on_tuberculosis_funding_crisis_1479925

Study: Polypharmacy Leads to More Drug Interactions for Patients

Mon, 30 May 2022 09:10:12 GMT

Taking multiple prescription drugs and supplements can be especially dangerous for individuals with cancer who are about to undergo therapy.

Taking multiple prescription drugs and supplements, known as polypharmacy, can make individuals more prone to harmful drug interactions, which can be especially dangerous for those with cancer who are about to undergo therapy , according to the results of a new study published in The Oncologist.

However, taking multiple medications poses risk and can be difficult to manage for those without cancer as well, Erika Ramsdale, MD, an oncologist, geriatric specialist, and data scientist at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, said in a statement.

“As [physicians], we tell [individuals] to take medications, but we don't always do a great job of following up. From the patient perspective, if it's determined that a medication is no longer needed, it’s hard to stop taking it,” Ramsdale said.

“There’s a sense of, ‘What will happen if I stop?’ or ‘Are you giving up on me?’ A lot of uncertainty and emotions are tied up in this issue,” Ramsdale said.

The longer the list of drugs and supplements taken, the higher the risk of an individual inappropriately using medication and serious drug interactions, she said.

Because there are many specialties across health care, it sometimes lead to additional drugs being prescribed to offset the adverse events of the original medications, Ramsdale said.

The investigators analyzed a nationwide sample of 718 individuals with a mean age of 77 years who had stage 3 or 4 cancer and other common health conditions and analyzed their medication use. They studied data to look for potentially inappropriate medications that have higher risks than benefits, drug interactions, and drug-cancer treatment interactions. Drug interactions include effects, such as falls, functional decline, and even death.

Additionally, individuals who take several medications are also more likely to have anxiety or depression.

Of the 718 individuals, 70% were at risk of drug interactions, and 67% were taking at least 1 drug that was potentially inappropriate.

Furthermore, approximately 61% of the individuals were taking 5 or more medications prior to chemotherapy, and nearly 15% were taking 10 or more medications.

Approximately 68% of individuals also had other serious health issues besides cancer that required medications. Investigators noted that cardiovascular disease was the most common health issue. They also found that individuals with cancer and other health conditions have a greater risk of toxicity from cancer treatment because of polypharmacy.

Additionally, approximately 10% of hospital admissions for older individuals are associated with hazardous drug interactions. Among those with cancer receiving chemotherapy, polypharmacy is associated with dramatic increases of up to 114% in unplanned hospitalizations.

The most common potential drug interactions included cholesterol-lowering medications, minerals, and thyroid therapies.

Furthermore, more than 25% of medications used by individuals in the study were non-prescription and accounted for 40% of the potentially inappropriate medications determined by investigators.

Common non-prescription medications included anti-anemic preparations, such as ferrous sulfate; drugs for acid-related disorders and constipation; minerals; and vitamins.

The goal of the research is to promote better quality of life, and investigators are conducting a clinical trial to evaluate the best way to intervene in cases of polypharmacy among older individuals with cancer.

Reference

If you take several medications, 'polypharmacy' is a word to know. Science Daily. News release. May 17, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220517154614.htm