William Dietz of George Washington University Talks About the Importance of Obesity on COVID-19

It was found in a recent study that the updated Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax COVID-19 vaccines, when combined with antiviral treatments like nirmatrelvir and molnupiravir, can significantly decrease the chances of hospitalization and death from current COVID-19 variants.

In this episode, Peter Wehrwein, managing editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, speaks with Dr. Rodrigo Cerda. Dr. Cerda has been recently promoted to the position of senior vice president of health services and chief medical officer of Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. He is also a member of Managed Healthcare Executive’s editorial advisory board. Peter and Dr. Cerda discuss his new role at the Independence Blue Cross, what it means to be a chief medical officer at an insurer these days, valued-based care, social determinants of health, and, of course, the pandemic.

Researchers of a study compared Israel's CVOID-19 booster rollout experience to the United States to ask the question: How many lives could the U.S. have saved if boosters were authorized sooner?

Briana Contreras, associate editor of MHE, spoke with Dr. Maria Hernandez, founder and CEO of Impact4Health. Maria shared not only how healthcare inequities remain to be an issue and what needs to be addressed, but also the progress that has been made over time through awareness, conversations and laws, especially due to the heightened awareness of inequities caused from the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more - which have now occurred over a year ago.

Coffee, rich in polyphenolic compounds like chlorogenic acid (CGA), caffeic acid (CAA), cafestol, melanoidins and trigonelline, has been recognized as a dominant source of CGA in various studies. Previous studies suggest that CGA in coffee can positively impact blood pressure, lipid profile, glycemia and insulin resistance.

COVID-19 misinformation interventions should involve public health experts, establish consistent outcome measures and more to address health misinformation at individual, community and systems levels, according researchers of a recent study.