Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Avalanche Of Pfizer, Moderna Shots Coming In Weeks, Companies Say
Bloomberg: Vaccine Makers Set To Tell Congress Supply Strains Ebbing
Vaccine makers indicated that some of the big bottlenecks that have shadowed the U.S. immunization campaign could soon begin to ease, in testimony submitted for a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday. Moderna Inc. said it has received positive feedback from U.S. regulators on a proposal to expand the number of doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in each vial, while Pfizer Inc. said it expects its output to ramp up in coming weeks. And Johnson & Johnson, which could gain clearance for its one-shot vaccine as soon as this week, said it will be ready to ship millions of doses. (Griffin and Langreth, 2/22)
NBC News: Executives With Pfizer, Moderna Say They're Ramping Up Vaccine Supplies
Executives with Pfizer and Moderna said the companies are ramping up their supply of coronavirus vaccines, with shipments expected to double and possibly triple in the coming weeks, according to congressional testimony released Monday. In a prepared statement to be made before a House subcommittee Tuesday, John Young, Pfizer's chief business officer, is expected to say the company plans to increase its delivery capacity of 4 million to 5 million doses a week to more than 13 million by mid-March. (Stelloh, 2/22)
Stat: The Questions Congress Should Ask Pharma About The Covid-19 Vaccines
Executives from Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Novavax will testify Tuesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight arm. The hearing, titled “Pathway to Protection: Expanding Availability of COVID-19 Vaccines,” will give lawmakers a chance to grill drug makers on why supply of Covid-19 vaccines is still so limited — and what they’re doing to fix it. (Florko, 2/23)
In related news on supply and manufacturing of covid vaccines —
NBC News: Pharmacists Say 'Pooling' Covid Vaccines Could Save Thousands Of Doses
As millions of people across the country line up for their coronavirus vaccination shots, health officials are struggling to meet the surging demand, the result of short supplies. "It's more valuable than liquid gold, truth be told," said Melanie Massiah-White, chief pharmacy officer for Inova Health System, a nonprofit hospital network based in Northern Virginia. Some pharmacists say a simple solution could get thousands more people vaccinated each week, but the Food and Drug Administration is standing in the way. (Dunn and Beck, 2/22)
The Washington Post: In Baltimore, 400 Million Vaccine Doses Manufactured By Emergent BioSolutions Shipped Elsewhere
In a city battered by the coronavirus, one biomedical plant is churning out enough vaccine doses to inoculate every resident hundreds of times over. The lifesaving medicine is brewed in stainless steel vats and bottled at subfreezing temperatures — then loaded into trucks that carry the vaccines hundreds of miles away. Most will never return. (Jamison, 2/22)
KHN: Calling All Vaccinators: Closing The Next Gap In Covid Supply And Demand
Beating back covid right now comes down to balancing supply and demand. With hopes pinned to vaccines, demand has far outstripped the supply of doses. But, as an increasing number of vaccine vials are shipped in coming weeks, the concern about shortages may well shift to human capital: the vaccinators themselves. (Appleby, 2/23)
KHN: After Billions Of Dollars And Dozens Of Wartime Declarations, Why Are Vaccines Still In Short Supply?
The U.S. government has invested billions of dollars in manufacturing, used a wartime act dozens of times to boost supplies and yet there’s still not enough covid vaccine on the way to meet demand — or even the government’s own goals for national immunization. President Joe Biden, in remarks at the National Institutes of Health this month, said the nation is “now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July.” But at the current rate of production, Pfizer and Moderna will miss their targets of providing at least 100 million doses each by the end of March, let alone 200 million more doses each has promised by July. (Pradhan and Allen, 2/23)
In other updates on covid vaccine development —
The Hill: Johnson & Johnson Ready To Provide Doses For 20M Americans By End Of March
Johnson & Johnson said Monday that it plans to have enough doses of its vaccine for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March if its vaccine is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine is being eagerly awaited as the next in line to join the COVID-19 vaccines already in use from Pfizer and Moderna. An FDA advisory committee is meeting Friday to consider the application, and emergency authorization could come soon after. (Sullivan, 2/22)
Fox News: GSK, Sanofi Start New COVID-19 Vaccine Study After Setback
GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi on Monday announced the start of a new Phase 2 trial involving their protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate after facing a setback in December. The companies had said previous trials showed an insufficient immune response in older people which sent them back to the drawing board. In a news release posted Monday, the companies announced the initiation of a new Phase 2 study involving 720 volunteers ages 18 and older, which they hope will help determine the appropriate antigen dosage for Phase 3 evaluation. (Hein, 2/22)
