Dive Brief:
Ciox Health and Datavant are merging in a deal valuing the combined health data companies at $7 billion, the latest in a string of mergers meant to unite siloed data in healthcare.
The combined company, called Datavant, will facilitate data exchange across a network of thousands of hospitals and clinics, and bring in annual revenue of $700 million, according to the Wednesday announcement.
The merger, expected to close in the third quarter, could pave the way for an initial public offering in the future, unnamed sources close to the deal told Bloomberg.
Dive Insight:
Real-world health data company Datavant and health record IT firm Ciox Health say combining forces will result in the largest health data ecosystem in the U.S., making patient-level medical information more widely accessible to doctors and researchers.
Letters inviting people to get the COVID-19 jab were delayed in the North East, raising concerns about the management of the all-important vaccination booking process.
Sky News has learned that some vaccine letters sent to elderly people in the region did not arrive as expected on Friday 8 January.
The error was discovered when staff at NHS Digital realised no-one was booking appointments at Centre for Life, the mass vaccination site in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
A spokesperson for the NHS in the North East and Yorkshire confirmed that some letters had been delayed, but said that the Centre for Life had appointments booked from Monday, when mass vaccination sites opened.
Communications Officer
Whether fuelled by political and religious leaders, or the media, hate speech in Iraq taps into deeper problems of structural inequality in society and has been greatly exacerbated by conflict and Covid-19 in recent months, as uncovered by researchers from Independent Media Organization in Kurdistan (IMOK), part of the IDS-led Consortium for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) programme. Engaging leaders, training journalists and equipping civil society activists with media literacy may be one way to tackle it.
The spread of hate speech is a prominent issue in Iraq with extremely dangerous effects, particularly given the fragile security, political and social environment of the country. Day after day, there is a significant production of divisive and polarising content targeting certain groups, especially minorities, increasing their vulnerability and provoking hatred and discrimination, risking further social and political conflict.