Becker's ASC Review

58 HEALTHCARE NEWS Breakthrough COVID-19 infection risk may differ with vaccine type, Mayo Clinic study suggests By Erica Carbajal P eople who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine may be less likely to experience a breakthrough infec- tion compared to Pfizer vaccine recipients, findings published Aug. 8 in preprint server medRxiv suggest. e retrospective study, led by researchers at Mayo Clinic Health System, compared the rates of infection among fully vaccinated people who received either the Moderna or Pfizer shot. It involved adults who were tested for COVID-19 across Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Overall, findings showed that both vaccines were highly effective against severe infection and hospitalization. In July, however, researchers found Mod- erna's vaccine was 76 percent effective at preventing infection among those fully vaccinated while Pfizer's was 46 percent. Researchers noted that in July, cases of the delta variant became prevalent in states involved in the study. Between fully matched individuals fully vaccinated with Moderna or Pfizer's vaccine, researchers observed Moderna's vaccine "conferred a two-fold risk reduction against breakthrough infection," compared to Pfizer's. e difference was most pronounced in Florida. In July in the state, which is experi- encing its worst COVID-19 case surge yet, researchers found the risk of a breakthrough infection was about 60 percent lower among Moderna vaccine recipients compared to those who received Pfizer's shot. "Our observational study highlights that while both mRNA COVID-19 vaccines strongly protect against infection and severe disease, further evaluation of mechanisms underlying differences in their effectiveness such as dosing regimens and vaccine com- position are warranted," the study said. n Former New York physician gets 15 years for unlawfully prescribing pain pills By Laura Dyrda A former New York physician was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison Aug. 26 after plead- ing guilty to unlawfully distributing oxycodone in 2019, according to a Justice Department report. Emmanuel Lambrakis, 74, operated two medical clinics in New York while he was a licensed physician. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to writing several unnecessary pre- scriptions for oxycodone in exchange for cash from 2011 to 2016. He then charged patients $150 per visit and sometimes saw multiple patients at the same time. Mr. Lambrakis sometimes wrote 100 or more prescrip- tions for oxycodone pills per day and received $3 million in exchange, according to the Justice Department. He was ordered to forfeit the $3 million in addition to his prison sentence. n Physician admits to stealing more than $500K from New Jersey practice By Marcus Robertson W alter Sytnik, DO, of Voorhees, N.J., admitted Sept. 9 to defrauding his former employer, an unnamed New Jersey medical practice, to the tune of more than $500,000. Dr. Voorhees stole checks from the practice and used them to pay personal expenses. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Sytnik worked for the New Jersey practice as a bookkeeper. From May 2013 to April 2018, he used the checks he stole to pay credit card bills, reordering new checks when he ran out. Dr. Sytnik forged the signature of the practice's physician. The mail fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Dr. Sytnik agreed to repay the full amount as part of his plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2022. n

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