Good afternoon, readers.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t start off our missive today with a shoutout to our upcoming virtual Brainstorm Health conference. Upcoming, as in tomorrow and Wednesday.
A typically star-studded lineup of business executives and health care experts will be participating in our conversations. We’re talking the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, the heads of CVS Health and Abbott, the chiefs of Cardinal Health, Gilead Sciences, and Amgen. And a whole lot more. Yeah, it’s not too shabby.
We’ll have plenty of coverage of what’re bound to be fascinating conversations and panels over the next few days. But I want to focus on a slightly different kind of enticement today: How to incentivize workers to get immunized against COVID-19.
This is a bit of a tease because I’ll have a more in-depth piece on this soon. But I spoke with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), one of the largest human resources organizations around, on the state of employer incentives for getting a COVID vaccine. As it turns out, some companies are relying on, well, gift cards, free shirts, and water bottles.
“You know, someone had said to me, T-shirts and water bottles, I don’t know that I’d be motivated to get a vaccine if I didn’t want one” with those particular incentives, says Amber Clayton, director of SHRM’s Knowledge Center. “It’s basically going to be gifting those who really were already thinking about getting the vaccine and they are planning to get the vaccine. It may not be a large enough incentive for someone who is on the fence.”
The federal government is expected to issue renewed guidance on vaccination incentives in the next week or two. It’s a tricky subject given the need to balance workplace safety and employee privacy, as I’ll detail in my upcoming piece. But it’s going to be critical for businesses across the country to know what’s appropriate, what’s effective, and what crosses the regulatory line.
Read on for the day’s news, and tune in for Brainstorm Health coverage tomorrow and Wednesday. And while you’re at it, make sure to check out our new Fortune Education platform and its inaugural ranking of online MBA programs.
Sy Mukherjee
sy.mukherjee@fortune.com
@the_sy_guy
DIGITAL HEALTH
Health data breaches have ballooned during the pandemic. Speaking of health privacy issues, medical data breaches - already on the rise prior to the pandemic - have exploded over the course of the outbreak. In fact, cyber attacks have increased 37% over the past 12 months, according to certain estimates, and as much as 58% this year alone. These breaches can expose consumers' personal information, including social security data, emails, and other sensitive intel. Perhaps it's not surprising given the expanded reliance on virtual medical care during a pandemic. It doesn't make it any less concerning. (Pymnts)
INDICATIONS
FDA lifts hold on UniQure's gene therapy. Shares fly. Shares of UniQure rose more than 8% on Monday as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted a temporary hold on its experimental gene therapy to treat the blood disease hemophilia. The clinical trial hold was in place for nearly five months for a biotech that focuses on a very niche sector. UniQure's, and other gene therapy-focused firms, home in on the biological underpinnings that fuel a disease, creating what are often one-shot treatments that lead to a permanent solution rather than a drug that just manages symptoms. But of course, with that level of ambition comes regulatory risks such as these - and the rewards which may ensue. (MarketWatch)
THE BIG PICTURE
Biden administration reaches out to an India in the midst of a COVID crisis. India hasn't exactly been doing a bad job at vaccinating its population against COVID, especially given the extent of its last mile delivery problems for jabs and a population nearing 1.5 billion people. But the situation is grim. Coronavirus cases are shooting off into the stratosphere in a nation where many remain impoverished or unable to access a COVID shot easily. The Biden administration has now reached out to Indian officials, including a phone call between President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the U.S. pledged "oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics" to assist in the crisis. This comes after criticism that the United States has been dragging its feet on international assistance. (Washington Post)
REQUIRED READING
Prices for common goods really are up, by Chris Morris
We've reached the 1 billion vaccine milestone, by Sy Mukherjee
New report shines light on venture capital's blind eye towards minority business, by Sophie Mellor
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