Well that didn’t work

Offering a vaccine lottery — a chance to win cash for getting a Covid shot — didn’t sway people, it turns out. States that offered them didn’t have greater uptake than those that didn’t. So found economics researchers at the University of Colorado.

“[O]ur research points to a disappointing outcome — that is, there was no significant association found between a cash-drawing announcement and the number of vaccinations administered after the announcement date.”

But that was overall. In some states lotteries did work, which makes it tough to draw any conclusions; that’s like saying “In general, kids don’t like fruits” when in fact a lot of kids loved oranges.

Four weeks till TechU!

Are you ready for the 2021 biggest gathering of pharmacy technicians in Georgia? (Of course not! How could you possibly be?)

TechU is a one-day CE and social soireé — a program developed by GPhA pharmacy techs for pharmacy techs, and it even includes three hours of CE and dinner!

• When: November 13, 2021
• Where: Savannah, on the campus of South University

Cost:

• Before October 14: GPhA members: $35; non-members: $45
• October 14 or later: GPhA members: $39; non-members: $49

Thank you to our sponsors Barnes Healthcare, Dogwood Pharmacy, Innovation Compounding, PTCB, Smith Drug, and TrueLearn!

Click here to get the details and register today!

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Covid cases are leveling off in Georgia and going down in most areas. So are hospitalizations and deaths. Still, you know it’s been a bad time when you’re relieved that now ‘only’ 85 Georgians are dying from Covid-19 every day.

Do what we say and no one gets hurt

What happens when you have to pay for your neighbor’s meds, and you’re not allowed to negotiate the price? Indocin happens. The arthritis drug was $198 in 2008, but now lists for $10,350.

Indocin is a small drug within the pharmaceutical industry, but it shows how the Martin-Shkreli-type price increases never disappeared and occur for numerous drugs that fly under the radar.

Humira now has a twin

The FDA has approved the country’s second interchangeable biosimilar — Cyltezo, a biosimilar of Humira, that pharmacists can now substitute without asking the prescriber for a new prescription.

There are a bunch of biosimilars out there, but Cyltezo is only the second interchangeable biosimilar (Semglee was the first, “referencing” (i.e., the same as) Lantus.)

Walgreens plans to expand

Walgreens announced that it’s going full-bore into the healthcare market with Walgreens Health, which will focus on “primary care, post-acute care, and home care.” That is all.

UNLESS, that is, you’re playing “Corporate Buzzword Bingo.” You can win the game with this one statement from the company:

“Our strategy leverages an ecosystem including our trusted brands, exceptional assets, healthcare expertise and scale, integrated with a range of new talent, capabilities, resources and an intensified focus on operational excellence to drive long-term sustainable profit growth.”

Today’s mix-and-match* story

A study out of Sweden’s Umeå University echoes one from the NIH: “Mixing and matching” Covid vaccines seems to be an effective plan. In the Swedes’ case, they found that following the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with an mRNA vaccine worked very well.

“[O]ur study shows a greater risk reduction for people who received an mRNA vaccine after having received a first dose of a vector-based, as compared to people having received the vector-based vaccine for both doses.”

The NIH study found something similar: J&J vaccine followed by an mRNA shot was more effective than getting a J&J booster. So the current perspective: Whichever vaccine you had first, you want an mRNA follow-up. Emphasis on current. As I tell Son of Buzz all the time, Everything is more complicated than you hear.

* I was going to say “Like a Chinese restaurant menu,” but that sounds like trouble.