Big news

Good news: Most Georgians are now eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Bad news: It’s not for a great reason.

In Georgia, that poundage could have one immediate benefit. It qualifies adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine now. Recipients don’t have to be clinically obese to meet the criteria. As of March 8, Georgia expanded eligibility to adults with many underlying conditions, including those who are obese and overweight.

Covid quickies

Don’t let up: Although vaccines are slowing the spread, a combination of premature relaxation, new variants, and asymptomatic spreading has slowed the recovery, and more places are seeing a resurgence. Even with vaccines, we still need to protect against the virus spreading, explain Georgetown researchers.

Three feet: On the off chance you missed it, the CDC now says that kids in schools can (probably) be safely only three feet apart — if they’re wearing masks and observing common sense. Adults, who are more vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, still need to keep six feet away.

Give these folks a hand

When you throw everything you have at a problem, some are bound to stick. So why not a leprosy drug for treating Covid-19 at home? A team of US and Chinese researchers found that “clofazimine may help reduce the impact of the disease,” especially as there really isn’t much in the way of outpatient treatment.

“Clofazimine is an ideal candidate for a COVID-19 treatment. It is safe, affordable, easy to make, taken as a pill and can be made globally available.”

Guess what’s back?

If you had “malaria” in the “Oh Sheesh, What Next?” pool, congrats! Apparently (per the CDC) in 2017 the U.S. had the highest number of malaria cases since 1971.

Something’s being accumulated, for sure

More and more insurers (like, two-thirds) are using “copay accumulators” — basically, it means those medication discount cards don’t count toward patients’ deductibles.

So, certainly at the beginning of the year, patients aren’t really getting a discount … the money is just going to the insurance company.

Not that the insurers don’t need the cash — UnitedHealthCare had a paltry $257.1 billion in 2020 revenue — but as one policy wonk put it:

As the number of high-deductible plans rises, and drug costs soar, Hengst said these policies are particularly harmful to patients who suffer from chronic diseases that cannot substitute generic medications.

Brain like a sieve?

Your memories may literally be leaking out of your brain, according to University of Washington researchers. Apparently, they concluded, as we age the blood-brain barrier begins to leak pericytes — and that people with Alzheimer’s may leak more due to premature aging.

Recent work suggests that preserving pericyte function […] or even transplanting them could lead to a healthier blood-brain barrier.

Enjoy!

The singing, dancing, and medical stylings of Vax’n 8, a group of physicians from Northern California who adapted “My Shot” from “Hamilton”: