Vaccinated people: Don’t panic about your odds of a ‘breakthrough’ infection

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• Vaccinated people don't need to panic about the rising possibility of breakthrough infections;
• Check out the 10-slide presentation Cake used to raise $3.7 million for its approach to end-of-life planning;
• Here are Optum Ventures' 18 biggest investments.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

Vaccinated people: Your odds of a COVID 'breakthrough' infection have gone up. That doesn't mean you need to panic.

• Vaccinated people are well protected from severe disease that could be caused by the Delta variant.
• They can catch COVID-19, but their symptoms may be mild, and the risk of transmitting may be low.
• The US is in a precarious position, with a half-vaccinated population.

Get the full analysis>>

A startup that wants to be the Tripadvisor of death planning used this 10-slide presentation to raise $3.7 million

• Cake helps people navigate end-of-life care with educational and planning resources.
• On Wednesday, it raised $3.7 million in seed funding.
• CEO Suelin Chen said the COVID-19 pandemic made end-of-life planning easier to talk about.

See the presentation>>

The biggest US health insurer has a $600 million VC arm that places bets on the future of healthcare. Here are Optum Ventures' 18 biggest investments, including startups reinventing home care and pharmacies.

• Optum Ventures is a $600 million venture fund associated with UnitedHealth Group.
• The fund launched in 2017 and has a focus on digital health, a spokesman confirmed to Insider.

Here are the 18 biggest investments Optum Ventures has participated in over the last few years>>

More stories we're reading:

• Inside Aduhelm's controversial approval (The New York Times)
• CDC director says Delta variant is responsible for 83% of all new sequenced COVID-19 cases (Insider)
• UnitedHealthcare has a new Peloton perk (Axios)
• Singer Marina says she got COVID after being fully vaccinated, and urges people not to ignore mild symptoms (Insider)

- Lydia