News in Brief: Week of July 11-15

This roundup includes the following news briefs:

The FDA has approved a request by pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK, to further supplement its biologics license application for the drugmaker's tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, vaccine to include adults 65 and older.

The vaccine, which is marketed as Boostrix, initially was approved in 2005 as a single booster dose for people ages 10-18 years. In 2009, the agency approved GSK's application to expand use of the drug as a booster for adults ages 19-64.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the AAFP make the following recommendations (4-page PDF; About PDFs) regarding Tdap vaccine:

Further information on Boostrix is available online.

The Mayo Clinic recently launched a social network to connect its global Mayo Clinic community and provide a place for patients to share information, support and understanding. A July 5 blog post describes the community as a means of "connecting people who have been through the Mayo Clinic experience with others facing a similar health concern."

Joining the Mayo Clinic online community is free and open to everyone regardless of whether a person has ever been a patient at the clinic. Users browsing the community can participate in discussion forums with people who have similar medical problems, read content from Mayo Clinic blogs, watch health and medical videos, and explore links to news articles about research and treatment advances.

HHS has issued proposed rules (63-page PDF; About PDFs) to help states create health insurance exchanges. The exchanges, which were called for in the Patient Protection and Affordable Act, are expected to give individuals and business owners the ability to purchase private health insurance through state-based competitive marketplaces.

The proposed rules establish minimum standards for the exchanges, and are intended to give states the flexibility they need to design exchanges that "best fit their unique insurance markets and are consistent with steps states have already taken to move forward with exchanges," according to HHS. Although the health care reform law requires insurance plans on the exchanges to provide an "adequate" network of physicians and other providers, HHS will allow states to determine what is considered adequate.

The rules focus on two key areas, according to HHS:

The exchanges officially open on Jan. 1, 2014, but the law calls for open enrollment periods to allow consumers to sign up before that date.