Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Administration Plans Switch To Local Covid Vaccine Distribution
Politico: Biden Admin Remakes Vaccine Strategy After Mass Vaccination Sites Fizzle
The Biden administration is rethinking a costly system of government-run mass vaccination sites after data revealed the program is lagging well behind a much cheaper federal effort to distribute doses via retail pharmacies. The government has shipped millions of doses to the 21 mass vaccination hubs, or “pilot” community centers, in states such as California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas. The hubs are part of a $4 billion federal system that funds more than 1,000 smaller vaccination locations across the country and provides other vaccination support — such as supplies — to states across the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not respond to repeated questions about how much the pilot sites cost. (Banco, 3/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Plans Localized Approach To Promote Covid-19 Vaccine
The Biden administration’s new campaign promoting Covid-19 vaccination will emphasize working with community groups and others to target specific populations that are skeptical of the vaccine, senior administration officials said. Much of the overall messaging budget will be spent on such localized outreach, with a lesser portion to be spent on ads for television, digital, print and radio. The White House didn’t provide a total budget for the campaign, but officials said it would largely be funded by money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that became law this month and will be made available beginning in April. (Siddiqui and Armour, 3/26)
CNBC: White House Weighs Temporarily Lifting Intellectual Property Shield On Covid-19 Vaccines
The White House is weighing whether to suspend intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, in response to pressure from developing nations and subsequent support from progressive lawmakers, according to three sources familiar with the matter. A temporary suspension of intellectual property protections would apply to all medical technologies to treat or prevent Covid-19. South Africa and India made a formal request to the World Trade Organization to waive the protections until the pandemic is over, but the issue was tabled without a resolution. (Tausche and Pramuk, 3/26)
The Washington Post: ‘Vaccine Passports’ Are On The Way, But Developing Them Won’t Be Easy
The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials — often referred to as “vaccine passports” — that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen. The effort has gained momentum amid President Biden’s pledge that the nation will start to regain normalcy this summer and with a growing number of companies — from cruise lines to sports teams — saying they will require proof of vaccination before opening their doors again. (Diamond, Sun and Stanley-Becker, 3/28)
The New York Times: For Biden, A New Virus Dilemma: How To Handle A Looming Glut Of Vaccine
Biden administration officials are anticipating the supply of coronavirus vaccine to outstrip U.S. demand by mid-May if not sooner, and are grappling with what to do with looming surpluses when vaccine scarcity turns to glut. President Biden has promised enough doses by the end of May to immunize all of the nation’s roughly 260 million adults. But between then and the end of July, the government has locked in commitments from manufacturers for enough vaccine to cover 400 million people — about 70 million more than the nation’s entire population. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 3/26)
