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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Health Care, this week convened a hearing on the testing and treatment pipelines for Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease and the corresponding fiscal implications on federal health care programs.
				&ldquo;These problems are compounded by the inequities in the federal funding of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease, which still does not receive its fair share of the NIH investment that is commensurate with its outsize impact on patients, families, and federal health care programs,&rdquo; said Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley.
				Last year, the subcommittee held a hearing on barriers to treatment and care for Alzheimer&rsquo;s patients. Chairman Toomey and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) also sought input from stakeholders &mdash; providers, researchers, patients, patient advocacy groups, states, and others &mdash; to inform the development of regulatory recommendations and potential future legislation. The senators sent a letter to the administration in October, requesting certain regulatory actions to improve care for Alzheimer&rsquo;s patients.
				Notable statements from the hearing&rsquo;s witnesses include:
				&#8226; Nikolay Dokholyan, Ph.D., M.S. &#8211; G. Thomas Passananti Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Hershey &mdash; on the fiscal impact of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease:
				&ldquo;Age is the most critical factor, and as the U.S. population ages, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer&rsquo;s is projected to double by 2050. And among the top 10 leading causes of death, Alzheimer&rsquo;s is the only one that cannot be slowed. The national cost of care for patients is also a staggering $300 billion, and that is not including $240 billion of unpaid labor from caregivers&rsquo; families and friends. These numbers make Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease the most expensive disease in the United States.&rdquo;
				&#8226; Randall J. Bateman, M.D. &#8211; Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology, and DIAN Director at the DIAN Trials Unit at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo., on how chances of identifying a cure and effective treatment by 2025 can be improved:
				&ldquo;One strategy is to try to accelerate the way that we do clinical trials, launch, run, and implement them. Dr. Mohs reviewed some of the strategies that are being developed to do that. [Number] two is to try to treat the disease in prevention mode, so intervene in the disease process before&#8230;brain damage is done.&rdquo;
				&#8226; Richard Mohs, Ph.D. &#8211; Chief Scientific Officer of the Global Alzheimer&rsquo;s Platform Foundation, Chicago, Ill.,on what can be done to increase early-stage engagement from pharmaceutical manufacturers:
				&ldquo;One of the steps that could be taken in the clinical practice world is to implement and make widely available these diagnostic techniques so that patients who are potential participants in clinical trials could be identified much more easily than is currently the case without the use of bio-markers.&rdquo;
				&#8226; Maria Carrillo, Ph.D. &#8211; Chief Science Officer at the Alzheimer&rsquo;s Association, Chicago, Ill., on whether or not there will be an effective treatment or cure by 2025:
				&ldquo;Investments now in bio-markers to help us identify the hallmarks of other brain changes are critical. And of course, we can leave no stone unturned, and we ourselves with our program are funding 65 trials, most of which are not in amyloid and tau, to look for these other approaches. All of that is going to help us get to the end &mdash; whether we make it to 2025 is really going to be determined on what is right now maturing in the Phase 2 and Phase 3 pipeline.&rdquo;
				Cartwright works to forge
				COVID-19 relief compromise
				U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, this week sent a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in both parties urging them to reach a bipartisan deal that provides urgently needed economic relief for Northeastern Pennsylvanians, as the Pennsylvania state government issued new restrictions intended to mitigate the latest surge of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
				&ldquo;As time runs short for a bipartisan COVID-19 relief deal to come together before the remaining CARES Act programs expire, I wish to express the urgency of putting aside our differences and coming together to provide relief for all Americans who desperately need us to act. We need to find common ground and pass a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill immediately,&rdquo; Cartwright wrote in the letter.
				Cartwright outlined the concerns of some of the constituents have raised with him since many of the CARES Act relief programs expired. While the vaccine offers hope, he pointed out that the latest coronavirus surge still threatens lives and livelihoods.
				&ldquo;The emergency authorization and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine is reason for hope that this public health and economic crisis will soon be behind us. However, we are experiencing by far the worst COVID-19 surge our nation has endured since the outbreak began, and the trend-lines are looking worse,&rdquo; Cartwright added.
				He said that economic support is critical in light of the new business and travel restrictions implemented by the state government over the weekend.
				&ldquo;In my home state of Pennsylvania, new lock-downs have been imposed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and to ensure those who contract the disease can be treated in a hospital if necessary. While these painful measures are needed, they are untenable without robust economic support to protect families, jobs and businesses,&rdquo; Cartwright wrote.
				More than 500,000 will lose
				unemployment benefits Dec. 31
				CARES Act programs end
				With less than two weeks remaining before the federal CARES Act expires, Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier this week again urged Congress to act immediately to pass an extension to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs.
				Without an extension, next week will be the final week more than 500,000 Pennsylvanians can file claims for these two critical pandemic unemployment programs.
				&ldquo;More than half a million Pennsylvania workers are careening toward a financial cliff if the federal government does not act now to continue the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs,&rdquo; Berrier said. &ldquo;The Wolf Administration is doing everything in its power to assist Pennsylvanians through other existing programs, but we need Congress to put these workers and their families first and extend the vital, life-sustaining programs in the federal CARES Act.&rdquo;
				In anticipation of the conclusion of the programs, L&I has been working with other agencies and organizations to increase awareness of programs other than unemployment. Pennsylvanians are encouraged to follow L&I&rsquo;s Facebook and Twitter accounts for important updates and share the department&rsquo;s Facebook and Twitter posts about the status of these important programs.
				&ldquo;While we are bound by the rules of unemployment programs and cannot pay unemployment to people who aren&rsquo;t eligible, we are also going to do everything we can to prevent Pennsylvanians from going hungry, losing their homes, and having their utilities shut off if Congress fails to act,&rdquo; added Berrier.
				Congress pass an extension of critical programs in the CARES Act, including unemployment programs. At the beginning of December, Gov. Wolf urged Congress in a letter to extend the PUA and PEUC programs.
				State encourages food safety,
				COVID-19 precautions for holidays
				Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today urged Pennsylvanians to take COVID-19 and food safety precautions as they plan household celebrations during the upcoming holidays.
				&ldquo;We know that one of the best parts of the holiday season is spending time with those we love, but this year, we must rethink what that looks like,&rdquo; Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. &ldquo;This holiday season, choose to celebrate with the people in your household and virtually connect with your loved ones. It is essential that we all follow the orders in place and do all we can to limit the spread of COVID-19 to protect our health system and our hospitals.&rdquo;
				The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends keeping anyone who is not preparing food out of the kitchen for COVID-19 and food safety reasons. Use single-use options like salad dressing and condiment packets. If you must attend a gathering, take your own food, drinks, cups, plates, and utensils.
				&ldquo;The number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are at the highest points we have seen,&rdquo; Dr. Levine said.
				The risk of infection of COVID-19 from food products, food packaging, or bags is believed to be very low. However, it is always important to follow good food safety packages to reduce the risk of illness from common foodborne illnesses:
				&#8226; When unpacking groceries, refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and other perishables within two hours of purchasing;
				&#8226; Do not use disinfectants designed for hard surfaces, such as bleach or ammonia, on food packaged in cardboard or plastic wrap;
				&#8226; If reusable cloth bags become soiled, follow instructions for washing them, and dry them on the warmest appropriate setting.
				&#8226; Gently rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under cold, running tap water;
				&#8226; Do not wash produce with soap, bleach, sanitizer, alcohol, disinfectant or any other chemical;
				&#8226; Scrub uncut firm produce (e.g., potatoes, cucumbers, melons) with a clean brush, even if you don&rsquo;t plan to eat the peel; and
				&#8226; Salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice have not been shown to be effective at removing germs on produce.
				&#8226; Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and increases in demand, some deliveries have been delayed;
				If you have a meal kit or frozen prepared meal delivery, check the temperature of any food that is normally kept in the refrigerator or freezer (such as milk, meat, and eggs) immediately after it is delivered using a food thermometer and make sure the food is 40&#176;F or below;
				Refrigerate or freeze your delivery as soon as possible.

Toomey hearing examines testing and treatment for Alzheimer’s patients