Apple’s latest stumble in healthcare

Apple is scaling back its plans for Health Habit, an app that Apple employees could use to track fitness goals and talk to clinicians and coaches, Insider’s Blake Dodge reports

Apple employees spent more than 50 hours working on the app. There could be layoffs. HealthHabit may be closed down or could continue in a reduced scale.

Tech giants’ initial efforts in healthcare have been plagued by setbacks and disappointments. The $3.8 trillion industry certainly has the size to be appetizing to companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple, but they often face challenges in showing health projects can be revenue-makers and win the backing of corporate leaders, as Blake and Hugh Langley wrote about earlier this year.

Blake and Hugh also had the scoop on Google Health’s future as unit head David Feinberg departs. Google is dismantling the division, and moving Google Health’s projects and teams to different parts of the company.

Blake reported that HealthHabit, Apple’s consumer product, could have been another.

Also Read: Three senators test positive for COVID in breakthrough cases

US health officials dramatically changed their messaging on booster shots this week, announcing a plan to offer all Americans an extra COVID-19 shot eight months after their initial vaccination.

It’s a surprise to see the announcement, even though top administration officials had just stated that boosters were not needed at this time.

This plan is also ahead of any recommendations from independent advisory groups that direct the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on when or if to boost.