Fauci Admits Biden Mask Mandate Is About Preserving 'Authority'

by Steve Watson via Summit News,

Appearing on Fox News Wednesday, Anthony Fauci appeared to admit that the Biden administration’s efforts to reinstate mask mandates on planes and trains is about preserving “authority” over public health decisions, not about keeping people safe.

Earlier in the week, the Justice Department asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s order that mask mandates were unlawful.

As we noted in April, Joe Biden’s CDC extended mask mandates for Americans on planes and public transport, while the administration sought to simultaneously end all COVID restrictions for migrants crossing illegally into the United States.

Fauci said at the time that more time was needed and that mask mandates should be kept in place. Now he admits it’s not about health concerns, but purely about maintaining power.

Speaking with Fox host Neil Cavuto, Fauci said “One of the issues, Neil, that I have articulated in the past and I will in the future – it’s less about mandates on the plane than it is about who has the right and the authority and the capability of making public health decisions.”

He continued, “I believe that the Department of Justice is operating on the principle that decisions that are public health decisions belong with the public health agency, in this case, the CDC.”

“So it’s more of a matter of principle of where the authority lies than it is about whether or not there’s gonna be a mandate on a plane or not,” Fauci declared.

Watch:

When Cavuto further asked Fauci if he believes masks on planes are still necessary, Fauci responded “I do, I mean the CDC continues to recommend that when people fly, that they wear masks,” adding “The mandate has been pulled back on the decision of the court, but that does not change the recommendation of the CDC, Neil, or my own personal preference.”

These tyrants never give back freedoms once they seize power.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/video-fauci-admits-biden-mask-mandate-about-preserving-authority

Bristol Myers, J&J Arthritis Drugs Cut Covid-19 Deaths in NIH Study

 A late-stage study led by the National Institutes of Health to determine whether drugs used for controlling the immune system could be used to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients found that blockbuster drugs from Bristol Myers Squibb Co. and Johnson & Johnson helped significantly improve survival rates.

The study found that J&J's Remicade and Bristol's Orencia, widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, didn't significantly shorten the time to recovery but substantially improved clinical status and reduced the number of deaths.

According to the NIH, patients receiving each drug showed a strong but not statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of time to recovery versus placebo, as measured by day of discharge from hospital.

However, the NIH said patients in the Remicade group had 40.5% lower adjusted odds of dying and 43.8% better odds of clinical improvement than those in the placebo group, while those in the Orencia group had 37.4% lower adjusted odds of dying and 34.2% better odds of clinical improvement.

Roughly 90% of all study patients also received Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Covid-19 antiviral drug Veklury.

The study, which originally also included the investigational drug cenicriviroc from AbbVie Inc., was aimed at evaluating whether any of the medicines, known as immune modulators, could control an overreaction of a patient's systemic Covid-19 inflammatory response, a phenomenon known as a "cytokine storm" for the proteins that trigger the inflammation.

Cytokine storm can lead to respiratory distress, multiple organ failure and other severe reactions in hospitalized patients.

The NIH said the study, which enrolled nearly 2,000 patients from October 2020 through December 2021, showed Remicade and Orencia could potentially add to the therapeutic options available for the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients.

Enrollment in a sub-study evaluating the AbbVie drug was stopped last September after an independent data and safety monitoring board recommended closing it due to lack of efficacy.

Bristol earlier Thursday said that given the study's findings, it plans to discuss the data and potential next steps with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/BRISTOL-MYERS-SQUIBB-COMP-11877/news/Bristol-Myers-J-J-Arthritis-Drugs-Cut-Covid-19-Deaths-in-NIH-Study-40624933/

Locum Tenens Providers Widely Used to Address Staff Shortages

 Nearly nine out of 10 healthcare facilities (88%) used locum tenens providers to address staffing shortages during the past year, according to a nationwide survey of healthcare executives and managers conducted by a large staffing agency.

Among the healthcare facilities that employed these temporary providers, 70% said they were used to bridge a gap for a permanent position, according to AMN Healthcare's 2022 Survey of Locum Tenens Staffing Trends.

In addition to using locum tenens providers, 54% of respondents said they used incentives such as signing bonuses to attract new hires, and 49% reported using new retention efforts such as bonuses to keep current staff on board.

In other cases, some respondents said they were cutting services to address staffing shortages, such as reducing hours of service (18%), canceling elective procedures (14%), or eliminating some service lines and programs (11%).

"The fact that healthcare facilities continue to halt electives or reduce hours due to a lack of staff underscores the direct connection between staffing shortages and patient access to care," Jeff Decker, AMN Healthcare's division president of locum tenens, said in a statement. "Additional provider training, the expansion of telemedicine, and reduced barriers to licensure will be essential to addressing this longstanding healthcare challenge."

AMN Healthcare, which owns the locum tenens company Staff Care, emailed the survey to healthcare executives and managers (both clients and non-clients) at approximately 20,000 healthcare facilities including hospitals, medical groups, and federally qualified healthcare centers across the U.S. in February and March 2022. A total of 202 responses were received.

The survey found that the most common specialty employed was anesthesiology (28%, including both anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists), "underscoring how the number of medical procedures requiring anesthesia has rebounded from COVID-19 related lows," the survey report noted.

The second and third most common specialties staffed using locum tenens were hospitalists (25%) and behavioral health specialists (23%), "suggesting that a nationwide shortage of psychiatrists and other behavioral health specialists continues and may be exacerbated by COVID-19," the report explained.

Roughly one third (37%) of locum tenens providers were brought in to treat COVID-19 patients. Locum tenens providers were considered to be "very important or extremely important in treating COVID-19 patients," according to survey respondents.

The survey also reported on the quality of the work provided by the locum tenens hires. The majority of respondents said the hires were excellent or good (62%) or at least adequate (34%).

As for the financial aspect, 70% of respondents said the locum tenens providers were worth the cost -- a rate that is lower, however, than in previous surveys, which found rates of 73% in 2019, 79.8% in 2016, and 81.1% in 2014.

Nearly half of respondents (47%) said their facilities were looking to hire more locum tenens providers to supplement their current staff in the future.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/99000

Vaxart: Positive Prelim Data from Phase 1b Trial of iOral Norovirus Vax

 Results support safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate in the highly vulnerable elderly population

Preliminary boost study data also reported

Norovirus has been estimated to cost the United States $10.6 billion annually

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vaxart-reports-positive-preliminary-data-123000225.html

Gamida Completes License Application Submission for Blood Cancer Therapy

 Omidubicel is a first-in-class, advanced NAM-enabled stem cell therapy candidate being evaluated as the first potential allogeneic advanced cell therapy donor source for patients with blood cancers in need of a transplant –

- Omidubicel has Orphan Drug Designation and Breakthrough Therapy Designation -

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gamida-cell-completes-rolling-biologics-110000831.html

Dentsply Sirona upped to Buy from Hold by UBS

Target to $47from $58

https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=XRAY&ty=c&ta=1&p=d

Bullish Move Veeva Systems Just Made After Its Quarterly Report

Veeva Systems (VEEV) handily beat quarterly expectations and issued bullish full-year guidance, leading VEEV stock to surge Thursday.

During the April quarter, Veeva earned 99 cents per share on $505.1 million in sales, climbing nearly 9% and 16%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier period. Both measures handily beat the average view of VEEV stock analysts polled by FactSet for Veeva earnings of 92 cents a share on $496 million in sales.

Further, guidance for fiscal year 2023 easily surpassed projections.

"We are starting the year with a strong first quarter and have crossed the $2 billion run rate mark," Chief Financial Officer Brent Bowman said in a written statement.

In afternoon trades on today's stock market, VEEV stock jumped 14.8% near 192.65. The move helped Veeva shares reverse a two-day drop.

VEEV Stock: Subscription Sales Drive Growth

The strong report was driven, in part, by subscription sales. Subscription sales increased 18% on a year-over-year basis to $402.6 million, the medical software company said in its news release.

For the year, Veeva now expects adjusted earnings of $4.16 per share and $2.165 billion to $2.175 billion in sales. The earnings estimate easily topped VEEV stock analyst forecasts for $4.01 a share. The sales outlook was in line with views for $2.17 billion at the midpoint.

First-quarter earnings guidance only narrowly topped projections, however. Veeva guided to $1-$1.01 per share, vs. analyst calls for 99 cents. The company also expects $529 million to $531 million in sales, right in line with forecasts for $530 million.

https://www.investors.com/news/technology/veev-stock-veeva-earnings-q1-2023/