Pfizer is expanding its coronavirus vaccine clinical trial to include children as young as 12. The Food and Drug Administration also permitted Pfizer to enroll up to 48,400 participants, a 10% increase over the previously stated limit. (WebMD)
Twenty-five states are opposing a settlement being negotiated with Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers. The attorneys general are arguing that funds from future sales of Oxycontin would go to litigators if the deal is approved. (Reuters)
The World Health Organization says health workers, frontline workers and the elderly will receive a COVID-19 vaccine first. The organization also hopes for at least one safe, effective vaccine to be made available in 2021. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, stated that younger, healthier individuals may not get vaccinated until 2022. (CNBC)
Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 has been paused because one of the two study groups has done better than the other thus far. The National Institutes of Health didn’t identify if the placebo or antibody group had shown superior results after five days of treatment. (STAT)
Healthcare analytics software intended to show which chronic condition sufferers need enhanced care to manage their illnesses demonstrates a racial bias, according to an investigation by STAT. The probe found that the software fails in multiple ways in systematically overlooking obstacles to care that people of color confront. (STAT)
