Founder, MJH Life Sciences

As fall begins, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to dominate the news cycle.

Much of the coverage centers on when a vaccine will be available and whether it will be effective and safe. Many are also wondering if a large percentage of individuals opposed to vaccinations in general will opt out. In addition, there are also concerns that others who normally get vaccinated will skip this one, for fear that its development has been rushed.

™ has continued to stay ahead of the curve in terms of this emerging situation, with continuing coverage of the various clinical trials under way, a summary of all trials in the race to develop the vaccine, and pharmacists’ potential role in administering the vaccine once it is available.

™ to continue to report on the latest developments on COVID-19, not just in terms of a potential vaccine, but in all the ways the pandemic has affected patients and pharmacists in 2020. This ranges from pandemic management strategies for patients with cancer, to the increased use of telehealth, to differentiating COVID-19 symptoms from allergies or other illnesses.

In this edition, in the Safe Handling article titled “Consider Real Costs Before Implementing a 340B Program,” contributors Kenneth Maxik, MBA, MBB; Craig Kimble, PharmD, MBA, MS, BCACP; and Alberto Coustasse, MD, MBA, MPH, discuss how changes at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could hurt many health systems that are already struggling due to the pandemic.

“Hospitals must take a systematic approach and undertake financial calculations to ensure a clear understanding of the program’s real cost,” they write.

 Editor-in-Chief Curtis Haas, PharmD, FCCP, looks at patient assistance programs (PAPs) and discusses why maximizer programs may lead to the dwindling or death of PAPs.

“But rest assured other strategies to nullify the management of expensive drug benefits will emerge from the industry…and then the other parties will identify countermeasures,” he contends.

Also in this issue are articles on gastric cancer treatments and the different platforms that offer rapid detection of bloodstream infections, as well as a look at anticoagulants and antiretrovirals preventing strokes in atrial fibrillation for patients with HIV. Thank you again to pharmacists for all your hard work every day of every year and particularly during these critical times. We salute your professionalism and passion for protecting patients and your communities.

Nguyen NL, Nguyen S, Leung CL, Nguyen H, Gogineni H. Summary of current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials. 

. September 3, 2020. Accessed September 3, 2020. 

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/summary-of-current-sars-cov-2-vaccine-trials

Articles

As we head into flu season, count on Directions in Health-System Pharmacy™ to continue to report on the latest developments on COVID-19.

When Will a Vaccine Be Ready?

It has been an unprecedented 6 months in the United States, and slowly, we are readying children to return to a strange new normal that has never been seen before.

Pharmacists have dealt with not only COVID-19 but an ancillary disease that has affected young people around the world: multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). As information continues to emerge about this illness, health officials are struggling with how to best advise school officials about opening their doors.

The school semester as of press time is still somewhat of an unknown in many districts, but as of this point, one thing is certain: bringing students, teachers, and other staff members back into classrooms will require a multilayered approach that will likely, according to the CDC, encourage parents to screen children for signs of illness every morning, make sure that they are up-to-date with recommended vaccines, and provide them with multiple cloth face coverings to be worn throughout the school day.

There is also still much unknown about how both COVID-19 and MISC-C will play out in the long run. The swell of warmer weather has not shown a drop in cases as originally hoped, and in fact, in many states, infection rates and hospitalizations continue to rise. Nevertheless, there is room for optimism: from newly approved drug therapies to a variety of clinical trials for vaccines, medical communities are moving at warp speed to address this illness.

As has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic, 

 will continue to bring readers the latest information on COVID-19 developments, in a variety of formats, including a recent back-to-school webinar that focused on this very topic and another recent webinar, Immunization Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which was designed to inform pharmacists about best practices for how to advise patients during these complicated times. There are also a number of related articles on the subject of COVID-19 and vaccines throughout the pages of this issue.

We wish children and all who work in schools a safe academic year and know that they can count on pharmacists to provide advice and education during these extraordinary times.

Pharmacy Times will continue to bring readers the latest information on COVID-19 developments, in a variety of formats.