Over there

Those shifty Danes (as well as the Norwegians and Icelanders) have temporarily suspended use of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine after a 60-year-old woman died from a blood clot that appeared soon after being vaccinated. There have been enough other reports of blood clots that the EMA is investigating.

Indy pharmacies paying a high price

Independent pharmacies seem to be getting the short end of the stick when it comes to giving Covid-19 vaccines. The issue isn’t with the vaccine, but with the insurance companies.

The vaccine may come free — paid for by the federal government — and administering it is fairly easy, but the work behind those shots is monumental, the reimbursement rates from insurers can be low and the effort to get paid is a major undertaking.

The problem is mostly with private insurers, although Medicare (which still won’t recognize pharmacists as providers) has had issues, too. Even Georgia’s Rep. Buddy Carter seemed to support the idea of single-payer health coverage, as he “roundly criticized the billing nightmares pharmacists have undergone at the hands of private insurers.”

Georgia is among the eight states where Medicaid pays less than Medicare, compounding the problem. And as more patients with private insurance are eligible for the vaccine, the problem is likely to get worse.

Fast fast fact fact

Since the 1980s, the rate of twin births worldwide has increased by more than 30 percent. In the early ’80s it was about 9 twin births per 1,000 deliveries. By the 2010s it was closer to to 12 twin births per 1,000 deliveries.

Reminder: Monday Meet ’n’ Greet

Let off a little steam and hang out with folks are all also burning the candle on both ends at GPhA’s Academy of Employee Pharmacists’ (almost) St. Patrick’s Day Meet & Drink (and Eat): March 15, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

The fun includes a FREE virtual cooking show with Chef Tony Lassic — learn to make bangers & mash, chocolate Guinness mousse, and a Drunken Leprechaun* cocktail to wash it all down.

We’ll send you the recipes and ingredient lists ahead of time, so you can enjoy a taste of Ireland at home. All you have to do is register — but extra credit for anyone dressed as a pot of gold.

* Is there any other kind?

Comin’ down the pike

Another mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, this one from Sanofi, is starting in human trials.

Novavax says its Covid vaccine —nanoparticle, not mRNA — is 96 percent effective against the original strain, but less effective against the newer ones (86% vs the UK’s B.1.1.7 strain, and only 55% vs the South African B1.351 variant).

Apply to be on the GPhA board!

Be a part of the future — apply to be on the 2021-22 GPhA Board of Directors. Go to GPhA.org/2021-board-of-directors-nomination for info and to apply before it’s too late!

(In answer to a reader question, no, board members no longer receive a ceremonial sword.)

Ancillary kit deficiency reporting

Had an issue with the equipment in the ancillary kits that came with a federal vaccine order? There are four steps to reporting to ensure the right folks have enough information to identify any trends:

1. Report deficiencies to McKesson directly. The customer service desk is charged with responding to problems and identifying trends.
2. Report deficiencies to the Georgia Department of Public Health (or your clinic/hospital leadership), who then contacts the Operation Regional LNO.
3. If an error or injury occurs during vaccine administration, enter the information into the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) at vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.
4. Because syringes are a medical device, complete FDA form 3500.

Be prepared to provide photos, lot number, order number, date ordered, and dates received when filing a report for a deficient ancillary kit.

Migraine + opioids = ER

Pharmacy researchers at the University of Texas found that people who were giving opioids in the ER for migraines “were more likely to return to the ED in the next 6 months,” at least based on medical records of 788 people. (They probably returned because of migraines, but it could have been for other reasons.)

It all goes to the pattern, they say, of ‘opioid use leads to more health resource use.’

Electric wound healing

After, we assume, months of testing on unsuspecting grad students, aerospace engineers at an Ohio State University have determined that “Electricity could help speed wound healing”. Specifically, electric stimulation makes the blood vessels more permeable, allowing white blood cells and oxygen to get to wounds more easily.

Even better, they don’t know why that happens, giving them good reason to continue their testing.

Do not self medicate

The Long Read: mRNA edition

It sure looks like mRNA vaccines are pretty darned good. So what’s next, once this pandemic is over? Axios looks at that in “Covid-19 brings a new dawn for messenger RNA vaccines”.