Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Don't Cut Doses, Moderna Doc Warns; Trial Results Coming Soon From J&J
Modern Healthcare: Moderna's Top Doc: No Data Supports Halving COVID Vaccine Doses
Moderna's top doctor on Monday cautioned against giving patients only half doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in an attempt to innoculate more people, saying there isn't data to prove its efficacy. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tal Zaks said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which kicked off virtually on Monday, that the company is studying the question but has only preliminary findings to date. Once it has more information, he said the company will discuss the issue with regulators. Moderna's data showing the vaccine is 94% effective is based on two doses administered four weeks apart. "On cutting the dose in half, we're advocating for following the data and the science," Zaks said. "We do not have data on efficacy for half the dose." (Bannow, 1/11)
Modern Healthcare: J&J In 'Final Stages' Of Analyzing Trial Results For Its One-Dose COVID Vaccine
Johnson & Johnson expects to share clinical trial results for its much-anticipated one-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate "very soon," company CEO Alex Gorsky said Monday. Johnson & Johnson last year enrolled 45,000 patients into a phase three clinical trial for its vaccine candidate. Those patients are still being monitored. "We're in the final stages of that analysis as we speak," Gorsky said at J.P. Morgan's annual healthcare conference. "We hope to have that information very soon." (Kim Cohen, 1/11)
Bloomberg: Pfizer, BioNTech Boost Vaccine Output Goal By More Than 50%
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE plan to produce 2 billion doses of their Covid-19 vaccine this year, boosting previously expected output by more than 50% in response to surging global demand. The companies have already agreed to deliver more than 1 billion doses in pacts with various countries, BioNTech said in a presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on Monday. The European Union last week sealed a deal to double its supply of Pfizer-BioNTech shots to as many as 600 million, while the U.S. has locked in a total of 200 million doses. (Kresge and Griffin, 1/11)
