With vaccines, more is more

The latest data seem to show that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine offers a little better protection than Pfizer’s. (Honestly, the protection from either is so high, it’s mostly nitpicking.) So what did Moderna do differently?

It could be simple, the Atlantic muses. What if it’s simply because the Moderna shot is bigger?

Comparing Pfizer with Moderna, you see another dose difference: Each shot of Pfizer contains 30 micrograms of mRNA, while each one of Moderna contains 100.

In other words…

Each shot of Moderna delivers more than three times as much of the active ingredient, compared with Pfizer, and seems to induce a higher antibody count and lead to more durable protection against infection and hospitalization.

Fair infections

Know anyone who got an E. coli infection after eating at the Georgia National Fair earlier this month? The DPH and the North Central Health District would like to hear from you.

Georgia Tech’s got a new injector

Adding to the growing list of ways to deliver drugs — vaccines, in this case, Georgia Tech chemical and biomolecular engineers have created a device they say may allow the widespread use of better mRNA and DNA-based vaccines.

Their device is a “handheld electroporator” called the ePatch. It’s based on an electric grill lighter, and (without batteries) creates an electric field in the skin using drug-carrying microneedles as an electrode, delivering the drug painlessly into the skin surface.

mRNA and DNA vaccines come in two flavors: one can be given the traditional way, but it needs ultra-cold storage; the other can be stored more easily, but it must be delivered by large, expensive electroporation devices.

The Georgia Tech device splits the difference, and could allow those easy-to-store vaccines to be delivered with a simple, inexpensive device. Of course, it will be at least Covid-24 before the device is commercially viable.

ICYMI: Fluvoxamine is still a Covid treatment

Back in August, we told you that the anti-depressant/ADHD drug fluvoxamine was shown (by Canadian and other researchers) to be a treatment for Covid-19.

Now those same researchers have said it even louder (i.e., they published the final results), so it’s all over the news.

Hospitals penalized again

81 Georgia hospitals were among the 2,499 in the U.S. that will be penalized by Medicare in 2022 for “excessive patient readmissions”; 65 others in the state were not penalized.

Penalties range from a 3% cut (Coliseum Medical Centers in Macon and Piedmont Columbus Regional Northside in Columbus) to 0.02% (AU Medical Center in Augusta and Dodge County Hospital in Eastman).

Pharma invests in its future

Democrat or Republican — the pharmaceutical industry has been — well, not pouring in the money, because it’s a lot more targeted than that. So let’s say “aiming the fire hose of cash” at Congress. It’s an investment by the companies to ensure those delicious federal dollars keep flowing. Those executives aren’t going to pay themselves!

Pharmaceutical companies and their lobbying groups gave roughly $1.6 million to lawmakers during the first six months of 2021, with Republicans accepting $785,000 and Democrats $776,200.

In unrelated news, giving into pressure from Republicans and moderate Democrats, the Biden administration says it is giving up on plans to lower drug prices in its budget proposal; Medicare will continue to pay whatever prices drugmakers decide to charge.

Captain Obvious drinks in moderation

“Need for liver transplants due to heavy drinking soared during the pandemic, study finds“

Fast food: no surprises

On the off chance that you’ve been thinking fast foods aren’t bad for you — you’re wrong. Again. The government tries to limit bad plastics, but the fast food industry just substitutes others. It’s almost as if they don’t care how healthy you are.

The problem is ortho-phthalates, which are commonly used in food packaging and easily end up in our food for consumption. And that’s a big problem because these chemicals are linked to a host of health concerns including endocrine disruption, metabolic and reproductive effects across genders and age groups, and even attention problems in kids.