Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amazon Offers To Distribute Vaccine; States Cope With Freezer Snafus
The Hill: Amazon Offers To Help Biden With Vaccine Distribution
Amazon sent a letter to President Biden in his first hours of office Wednesday offering to assist the new administration with its coronavirus vaccine distribution. Dave Clark, Amazon's CEO of consumer business, said the company is willing to help by leveraging Amazon’s “operations, information technology, and communications capabilities” to assist Biden with his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans within his first 100 days in the White House. (Klar, 1/20)
Stat: Here’s The Letter Amazon Sent Biden Offering Covid-19 Vaccination Support
Amazon has reached out to President Joe Biden to offer logistical and technical support for his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans within his first 100 days in office. In a letter sent Wednesday to Biden and shared with STAT, Dave Clark, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said the company is “prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts.” (Brodwin, 1/20)
CNN: Biden Is Inheriting A Nonexistent Covid-19 Vaccine Plan From Trump Administration, Sources Say
Newly sworn in President Joe Biden and his advisers are inheriting no coronavirus vaccine distribution plan to speak of from the Trump administration, sources tell CNN, posing a significant challenge for the new White House. (Lee, 1/21)
Keeping the vaccine cold causes problems in Michigan and Ohio —
Crain's Detroit Business: 11,900 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Ruined En Route To Michigan
The majority of 21 shipments of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday were spoiled en route to Michigan, likely delaying the state's vaccination efforts this week, the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday. The vaccine's distributor, McKesson Corp., notified the state that the majority of the 11,900 doses in the shipments got too cold and are now unusable. The Moderna vaccine is stored and shipped at roughly 4 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Once on site, the vaccine can be kept at temperatures between 36 degrees and 77 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six hours before being administered to a patient. (Walsh, 1/20)
Fox8.com: Ohio Department Of Health Suspends Provider After 890 COVID-19 Vaccines Wasted
The Ohio Department of Health is investigating after 890 COVID-19 vaccines went to waste. The health department said SpecialtyRX, a vaccine provider in Columbus, was given 1,500 vacines for residents at eight long-term care facilities. “After administering the first doses, SpecialtyRX had 890 doses remaining. The company was exploring a transfer of the doses to another provider when it was discovered that they had failed to appropriately monitor temperatures in their refrigerator and freezer,” the Ohio Department of Health said. The ODH immunization program investigated and found 890 doses of the Moderna vaccine were no longer viable because they were not stored properly, according to the health department. (Steer, 1/20)
In other news about vaccine distribution —
Charlotte Observer: UNC System Gets Freezers To Help COVID Vaccine Distribution
The UNC System’s six historically minority-serving institutions can start storing and distributing COVID-19 vaccine vials with new ultra-cold mobile freezers they recently received. The freezers are the first of 62 scheduled to arrive at 15 UNC System campuses over the next couple months. (Murphy, 1/20)
Kansas City Star: Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Sites Coming To Missouri
Missouri plans to establish mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the state, even as top officials acknowledge demand for shots far exceeds supply. The state Department of Health and Senior Services, with assistance from the Missouri National Guard, will set up nine sites — one in each Highway Patrol region — and will deploy vaccination teams to areas where access to the sites may be limited. (Shorman, 1/20)
Chicago Tribune: COVID-19 Vaccine Signups To Begin Soon For Illinois Seniors
A number of Chicago-area health systems expect, within days, to begin inviting patients ages 65 and older to make appointments to get COVID-19 vaccines, and Walgreens is already allowing some seniors and essential workers to schedule shots. The notifications will come as Illinois prepares to move Monday to the next phase of vaccinations, which will include people ages 65 and older and front-line essential workers, such as those who work in grocery stores, schools and public transportation. (Schencker, 1/20)
North Carolina Health News: Vaccines Arrive To NC’s Prisons
North Carolina began vaccinating state prisoners Wednesday after its prison agency received its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the state health department. Correctional staff who work with COVID-19-positive incarcerated people or in prison units with outbreaks, as well as the health care staff administering shots, are also receiving the vaccine. (Critchfield, 1/21)
Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Legislators Say The State Should Use Up Its COVID-19 Vaccines Rather Than Continuing To Stockpile Them For Second Shots
Utah legislators are pressing the state to expedite its massive COVID-19 inoculation effort by depleting its stockpile of booster doses and by promising to abolish mask mandates and emergency orders as soon as enough people achieve immunity. During a Wednesday legislative hearing, the state’s store of 104,000 booster vaccines emerged as a source of concern for some state lawmakers, who argued that setting aside doses makes little sense given the urgency of protecting people against a virus that has killed more than 1,500 Utahns. “I don’t want to die of dehydration with my canteen half full of water,” state Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, told health department officials during a Wednesday legislative committee meeting. (Rodgers, 1/20)
Dallas Morning News: Dallas County Backtracks On COVID-19 Vaccine Priorities After Texas Threatens To Reduce Supply
Dallas County commissioners, under duress from the state, on Wednesday reversed a decision to focus COVID-19 vaccinations efforts on residents from 11 vulnerable ZIP codes. The five-member body backtracked hours after Texas health officials threatened to reduce the supply of vaccines to the state’s second-largest county if it moved forward with the plan. The warning, in an email to the county’s health director, Dr. Philip Huang, said the decision to focus only on residents of those ZIP codes violated the terms of being a state-approved vaccine hub. (Garcia, 1/20)
