Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Panel Could Recommend Halting J&J Shot As Blood Clot Issues Continue
The Washington Post: CDC Advisers To Weigh Limits On Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Because Of Continued Blood Clot Issues
Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting Thursday to weigh possible limits on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of continued blood clot issues, mostly in young and middle-aged women, according to clinicians familiar with the agenda. ... The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be presented with new data that appears to show the rate of the clots in people who received the Johnson & Johnson shot has increased since April, although the problem is still rare. There have been about nine deaths related to the issue, according to a federal official familiar with the situation. (Sun and McGinley, 12/15)
And Dr. Anthony Fauci says we don't need omicron boosters —
Axios: Fauci: No Need For Omicron-Specific Booster At This Time
NIAID director Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that there is "no need for a variant-specific booster" at this time because research shows that the current U.S. booster vaccine programs are effective against Omicron. While the Delta variant still accounts for the majority of coronavirus cases in the U.S., the number of Omicron-driven cases are expected to quickly rise. (Gonzalez, 12/15)
NBC News: Fauci Pushes For Universal Coronavirus Vaccine
The scientific quest for a universal coronavirus vaccine received a boost Wednesday, as three top federal researchers, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, outlined a path to develop new vaccines that could tackle a variety of ailments including Covid-19, some common colds and future viruses. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Fauci and two colleagues said the virus that causes Covid-19 is unlikely to be eliminated, and current vaccines are too limited to prevent the emergence of new variants. Other coronaviruses are also likely to spill over from animals to become future pandemic threats, they wrote. (Bush, 12/15)
In other news about the vaccine rollout —
CIDRAP: Study: US Vaccination Program Averted 1.1 Million Deaths
Researchers updated a Commonwealth Fund study yesterday, and now estimate that COVID-19 vaccination has prevented 1.1 million US deaths and 10.3 million hospitalizations, up from July's figure of 279,000 deaths and 1.25 million hospitalizations prevented. Without the US vaccination program, COVID-19 deaths would have been approximately 3.2 times higher and COVID-19 hospitalizations approximately 4.9 times higher than the actual toll during 2021, Commonwealth Fund researchers said. (12/15)
Roll Call: Burnout Among Pharmacists Slows COVID-19 Booster Shots
Facing a shortage of pharmacists, drugstores nationwide are urging people to make appointments for COVID-19 shots rather than walking up — even as the Biden administration promotes vaccination as the key to ending the pandemic and relies on pharmacies as the main supplier. Between flu season and the rush for COVID-19 vaccines, both neighborhood and chain pharmacies in some places are experiencing a crush of demand. A tight labor market could pose an extra obstacle to vaccination as infections tick up. (Kopp and Cohen, 12/15)
KHN: Covid Shots For Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana
When children ages 5 to 11 were approved for Pfizer’s lower-dose pediatric covid-19 vaccine in November, Annie Edwards was eager to get her daughter Hannah, then 5, the shot because of underlying health conditions she has stemming from her premature birth. “She was on a ventilator for the first month of her life. Throughout this whole covid ordeal, I just keep thinking of those memories,” Edwards said. (Bolton, 12/16)
