Faster Than ‘Warp Speed’? Trump Tries To Put Pedal To Metal On Already Ambitious Vaccine Timeline
President Donald Trump wants some people to be able to get the vaccine sooner than the end of the year to try to demonstrate that an end to the pandemic is within reach. Meanwhile, some worry that the vaccine race will leave poorer countries in the dust.
The Washington Post:
Trump Is Pushing Officials To Speed Up Coronavirus Vaccine Development
President Trump, faced with multiple crises and falling poll numbers less than five months before the presidential election, is prodding top health officials to move faster on a historically ambitious timeline to approve a coronavirus vaccine by year’s end. The goal is to instill confidence among voters that the virus can be tamed and the economy fully reopened under Trump’s stewardship. In a meeting last month with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar — who is overseeing the effort called Operation Warp Speed, along with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper — Trump pushed Azar repeatedly to speed up the already unprecedented timeline, according to two senior White House officials familiar with the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. (Abutaleb, Dawsey, McGinley and Johnson, 6/17)
The Associated Press:
Race For Virus Vaccine Could Leave Some Countries Behind
As the race for a vaccine against the new coronavirus intensifies, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunized first — leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends. Earlier this month, the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be extremely messy. (Cheng and Larson, 6/18)
Reuters:
EU Calls For Global Alliance To Buy COVID-19 Vaccines Up Front
The European Commission called on Wednesday for global leaders to cooperate to buy bulk quantities of potential COVID-19 vaccines, to avoid “harmful competition” in the race for a shot and ensure any future vaccine is available for poor countries. (6/17)
Boston Globe:
Another Potential COVID-19 Vaccine With Boston Ties To Enter Clinical Trials
A third potential COVID-19 vaccine with ties to Massachusetts will soon enter clinical trials.CureVac, a German company with about 20 employees at its US hub in Boston, said Wednesday it has gotten permission from regulators in Germany and Belgium to begin clinical trials of its experimental vaccine in those two countries. (Saltzman, 6/17)
The Washington Post takes a look at the little-known biodefense company that's secured a coveted contract to manufacture the vaccine —
The Washington Post:
Before The Pandemic, Emergent BioSolutions Received Billions From Government To Help Prepare The Nation For Biowarfare
As it races to create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the Trump administration this month announced that one of its largest pandemic-related contracts would go to a little-known biodefense company named Emergent BioSolutions. “Emergent’s manufacturing capabilities will pave the way,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. The $628 million deal to help manufacture an eventual vaccine cemented Emergent’s status as the highest-paid and most important contractor to the HHS office responsible for preparing for public health threats and maintaining the government’s stockpile of emergency medical supplies. (O'Harrow, Swaine and Davis, 6/17)
