Good Day BIO: What's scarier than a 'twindemic'?

It’s Halloween—and we have scary news about not one, not two, but three viruses circulating in the U.S. Plus, more takeaways from BIO’s Patient and Health Advocacy Summit on the need to center patients, what’s ahead in state legislatures, and engaging with CMS. (710 words, 3 minutes, 33 seconds)

What’s scarier than a ‘twindemic’ of COVID and flu?

We’ve discussed the very scary possibility of a “twindemic” of COVID-19 and influenza—but now, there’s a third virus in the mix.

The news:COVID cases are spiking in the U.S., hospitalizations for flu are the highest they’ve been in more than a decade at this time of year, and now, cases of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), especially among children, are on the rise nationwide.

We’ve already warned you about a twindemic: “If someone contracts both COVID-19 and influenza, there is potentially increased risk of hospital visits and outpatient visits, both of which could overwhelm an already strained healthcare system,” Ashesh Gandhi, PharmD, Regional Head of Medical Affairs, Americas, at CSL Seqirus, recently told Bio.News.

But there’s a vax for that—including different flu vaccines for different kinds of patients, and updated COVID boosters showing signs of stimulating strong neutralizing antibody responses.

RSV is common—and while most cases so far have been mild, “together they may sicken millions of Americans and swamp hospitals,” explains The New York Times, with older adults, babies, and pregnant or immunocompromised people at greatest risk.

There’s no RSV vaccine yet—but one could be coming soon. BIO member GSK recently announced the phase 3 trial of its RSV vaccine reduced RSV cases in adults 60+ by 83%, Bio.News reported. Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer (also BIO members) have promising shots in the works, too.

More takeaways from the Patient and Health Advocacy Summit

Here are more things we learned during last week’s summit.

1. ‘CMS wants data.’

How can patient advocates (and industry) best work with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)?

“CMS wants data—DATA, DATA, DATA!” said Jennifer Young, Partner at Tarplin, Downs & Young LLC, during a panel on working with CMS post-Inflation Reduction Act. “How do you translate qualitative patient journey stories into that kind of data input?”

The CMS has people who are brilliantly smart when it comes to very specific areas, for example, hospital systems, Physician Quality Metrics, and the like,” she explained. “However, they have less understanding around things like the research pipeline. It is places like those that we can come in and advocate most effectively.”

2. We should expect more anti-vaccine legislation.

“What we’ve seen across the states over the past year-and-a-half to two years is an increase in anti-vaccine legislation filed in state legislatures,” said Rekha Lakshmanan, Chief Strategy Officer of The Immunization Partnership.

“In 2022, we saw over 1,300 vaccine-related bills filed across state legislatures. It was in response to some of the federal mandates that came down, but what we are starting to see is kind of a breach that really attempts to erode or to dismantle routine vaccine policies in the states.”

And there’s more to come, said Lakshmanan—read more.

3. ‘You can’t just show up when you need to conclude your clinical trial.’

In one of the highlights of the two days, patient advocates discussed how to engage with communities and build trust—and it starts with showing up.

We have to meet people where they are, said Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, which creates relatable health content to build health literacy. “What if the health system—all of you, all of us—found ways to be in the places where people are paying attention? Because we’re not there.”

“Everything you do is an opportunity to build trust, but it’s also an opportunity to lose that trust,” said Jason Resendez, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving. “Trust is how you design a study protocol, how you translate or don’t translate a flier, how to go about translating that flier,” as well as acknowledging systemic injustices.

“It’s about staying in a community,” added Tonya Winders, CEO of the Allergy & Asthma Network, “and also addressing some of the systemic injustices. We can’t really talk about health inequity without also talking about education, economic policy, transportation, housing policy.”

“Which is why you can’t just show up when you need to conclude your clinical trial,” remarked moderator Mary Stutts, Global Chief Inclusion and Health Equity Officer at Real Chemistry.

Catch up on the summit coverage exclusively at Bio.News.

President Biden’s Monday: Traveling to New York for a private memorial service, then hosting children of local firefighters, nurses, police officers, and members of the National Guard for Halloween trick-or-treating at the White House.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Recess.