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February 11, 2021 Coronavirus

By Henry Miller, M.S., M.D. and Kathleen Hefferon There is ongoing disagreement between the popularly elected European Parliament and the executives in the European Commission over approvals of “genetically modified” (GM) crops, which are made with modern molecular genetic engineering techniques. In December, members of the European Parliament objected to authorizations of no fewer than five new GM crops — one soybean and four corn (maize) varieties — developed for food and animal feedstock. These objections follow dozens of others that have been...

February 9, 2021 CoronaVirusSlide3

Title: Prescription Drug Prices in the U.S. Are Twice as High: Here’s Why By Christopher Curley Most people in the United States know that prescription drugs can be expensive. How expensive? Prescription drugs in the United States on average cost around 2.5 times more than those same drugs do in other Western countries, according to a new report from the nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, RAND Corporation. . . . . . “Since gross prices have been growing much faster than net prices — in fact, over...

February 8, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Dr. Henry Miller joins the John Batchelor Show talks about Israel's success in vaccinating their population and how it compares with COVID-19 vaccine rates in the United States and Europe. Miller and Batchelor also talk about some troubling news out of South Africa, where small studies have shown coronavirus reinfections, resistance to current treatments, and a story out of the Brazilian city of Manaus about supplies and resources being depleted. Miller explains that despite original herd immunity in Brazil, a...

February 5, 2021 Coronavirus

This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released alarming data on COVID-19 vaccine uptake among some healthcare workers. Fewer than 40% of staffers across 11,400 skilled nursing facilities chose to get the vaccine in December and January. That's a big problem. Front-line workers are among those at highest risk of contracting the coronavirus. By holding off on getting the vaccine, they're risking the health of the people they serve. And because they're often first in line, their hesitancy could sow unwarranted doubt about...

February 2, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Henry Miller, M.S., M.D. and PRI's Senior Fellow talks to the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show to talk about his latest op-ed featured in Issues & Insights, "Something to Chew on: A Simple and Smart Approach to Health." Miller talks about how simple practices like chewing sugar-free gum can help prevent disease, bacteria, and other sickness. Miller and Larson also talk about the latest updates regarding the COVID-19 vaccines and cases.  Lars Larson National Podcast · Lars Larson National Podcast 02-02-21...

February 1, 2021 Coronavirus-Alternate2

By Henry I. Miller and Shiv Sharma Even as the amazingly fast development of new high-tech COVID-19 vaccines enthralls the world, a simple piece of fabric has become the surprise emblem of the fight against one of the worst health crises in the nation’s history. The ordinary facemask has brought home a basic truth about public and personal health: simple and smart works. The lost jobs and monumental personal costs of widespread lockdowns have made simple, inexpensive means of deterring the virus’...

January 26, 2021 Coronavirus

By Sarah Downey, Northern California Record With California now predicting it could take months longer than anticipated to vaccinate people ages 65 and older, a health policy expert said a wider distribution network could improve efficacy and help the state advance further in its economic recovery. California has received nearly 5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses but only 2.2 million have been administered, according to the latest data from the CDC. . . . . . “They need to get with the program and get the vaccines out there...

January 19, 2021 Coronavirus-Alternate2

Miller talks about which of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are better for younger and older Americans based on the available data. Batchelor and Miller also discuss the new COVID-19 coronavirus mutation found in the UK and what it means for vaccines and shutdown orders. Miller also explains the long history of other coronavirus vaccines mainly used in the livestock industry and why the new "human" vaccine is different through the use of the messenger RNA technique. ...

January 19, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

By John J. Cohrssen and Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D. The World Health Organization has called attention to a COVID-19 “infodemic” – “an overabundance of information … that includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response and advance alternative agendas of groups or individuals.” Part of that inaccurate information is the patently false and misleading claim that COVID-19 is like the flu, only less lethal. In less than a full year, COVID-19 has killed more than 380,000...

January 19, 2021 Coronavirus

Last week, former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb suggested that we "hit the reset" button on Covid-19 vaccine distribution. That reset should include taking the government out of the equation. The government has largely failed to get life-saving vaccines into the arms of Americans. And the consequences are deadly. The government's botched rollout of the coronavirus vaccine stands out as Exhibit A in the argument against more government control over our health care. Amazingly, inventing a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine may turn out to...

January 13, 2021 CoronaVirusSlide3

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been many thousands of articles and commentaries published on almost every imaginable aspect of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic it has caused. They have appeared online, in journals, on preprint servers, in newspapers, and on blogs. As much as we might try to keep up, there will always be important facts or developments we might have missed, so below are a few that should help us understand some of...

January 13, 2021 Coronavirus-Alternate2

Henry Miller, M.S., M.D., joins the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show based in Portland, Oregon, to discuss little known facts about the rollout and use of the current COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines. One of the main points Dr. Miller makes is the difference in how the two vaccines have performed in various age groups. With the Moderna vaccine, data shows that it is more effective with older Americans. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the Pfizer vaccine had better efficacy with...

January 12, 2021 Coronavirus

By Monday afternoon, of 25.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed across the United States, just 9 million had actually been administered to patients. That's well short of the government's goal of inoculating 20 million people by the end of 2020. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. Government-controlled markets are notoriously inefficient and subject to waste, fraud, and abuse. In this case, tragically, the consequences are deadly. Inexplicably, the government is moving with no real sense of urgency. In December in New York City, vaccinations effectively weren't...

January 7, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Dr. Henry Miller joins the John Batchelor Show to discuss the hesitancy of long-term care givers and staffers in nursing homes to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. Miller talks about the role of the anti-vaccine lobby and conspiracy theories that have painted doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and what we can do to ensure those at the most risk receive the vaccine. Batchelor and Miller also talk about the staggering waste with the current vaccine: in...

January 7, 2021 Innovation

By Henry Miller, M.S., M.D. and Kathleen Hefferon, Ph.D When was the last time you read an online magazine or newspaper, only to find yourself bombarded with shopping ads specifically targeted to your preferences and needs, seemingly by magic? How about the detection of fraud or the filtering of spam from your email inbox? Well, that was most likely the handiwork of "machine learning," a subset of artificial intelligence that uses computer algorithms that over time and multiple experiences, or iterations,...

January 6, 2021 Coronavirus

Dr. Henry Miller, M.S., M.D., joints the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show based out of Portland, Oregon, to discuss the latest issues with the production and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Miller's interview begins at the 47:00 minute mark. Miller talks about his disappointment with the vaccine distribution, but also says that it wasn't entirely unexpected. When you put distribution on the states and farther down the chain, your going to have issues. Miller also says that the timing of the...

December 29, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus - Alternate

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data on Dec. 16 on health expenditures. In 2019, overall spending rose 4.6% to reach a total of $3.8 trillion, or 17.7% of the economy. That's enough to make anyone do a double take. But a deeper look at the data actually shows we're getting a lot of value out of all that spending. Hospital care and physician and clinical services accounted for over 50% of spending. Spending in those two categories grew at a slightly faster...

December 21, 2020 Industry Trends

By Wayne Winegarden and Robert Popovian The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation on November 20, 2020 that removed the safe harbor protections for rebates on prescription drugs paid to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and Part D plans. This analysis evaluates the expected impact from this regulation on Medicare premiums and patient out-of-pocket (OOP) costs. Based on the data from the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), the loss of manufacturer drug rebates would cause the average insurance...

December 16, 2020 Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Alternate, Innovation

By Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D. and John J. Cohrssen Few could have imagined a year ago that by now our world would be so profoundly changed by a pandemic that has killed more than 300,000 Americans; been confirmed in over 16 million; gone undiagnosed in scores of millions more; and caused debilitating, persisting symptoms in many who have “recovered.” Certainly, no credible drug manufacturer would have claimed that a new vaccine for this emerging infectious disease could go through all...

December 15, 2020 Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Alternate, Innovation

To the editor of the Wall Street Journal: Your editorial contains the statement: "There's no evidence that a three-week review is needed." You know this how, exactly? Has anyone at the Journal seen the data (which run to hundreds of thousands of pages)? Has anyone at the Journal ever seen, let alone touched, an application for approval of a drug or vaccine? I have. As an FDA reviewer, I found extraordinary complexity, and sometimes shortcomings or inconsistencies, in many submissions ....