Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Panel Debates Need For Updated Covid Booster Shots This Fall
NPR: Advisers To FDA Weigh In On Updated COVID Boosters For The Fall
In a daylong virtual meeting, a panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration came out in general support of efforts to develop new COVID-19 vaccines tailored to variants. The committee wasn't asked to vote on any specific recommendations to the agency but instead discussed the framework for making decisions about when to change the viral strain or strains used for future vaccines, including boosters. "I think we're in uncharted territory because with SARS-CoV-2 a lot of things have happened that have never happened before," said Dr. Arnold Monto, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and acting chair of the committee. (Hensley, 4/6)
AP: US Experts Wrestle With How To Update COVID-19 Vaccines
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health officials are beginning to grapple with how to keep the vaccines updated to best protect Americans from the ever-changing coronavirus. On Wednesday, a panel of vaccine advisers to the Food and Drug Administration spent hours debating key questions for revamping the shots and conducting future booster campaigns. They didn’t reach any firm conclusions. (Perrone, 4/7)
CNBC: Scientists Divided On Need For 4th Covid Shot After FDA Quietly Approved Another Round Of Boosters
Leading U.S. scientists and physicians worry that the FDA and CDC are moving too fast in approving a fourth round of Covid shots, with little public debate that gives the vaccine makers too big a role in setting the pace with which the doses are distributed across the nation. The top U.S. public health agencies last week endorsed a fourth Covid shot for older adults without holding public meetings, drawing criticism from leading vaccine experts who believe federal health officials haven’t provided enough transparency about the reasons for the decision. (Kimball, 4/6)
NBC News: FDA Advisers Struggle With How To Move Forward On Covid Boosters
The committee members were presented with an extremely short timeline: Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, told the panel that scientists would need to determine which strain or strains to target by May or June, so drugmakers have enough time to produce the shots by the fall. (Lovelace Jr., 4/6)
In related news about booster shots —
Politico: 3 Takeaways Ahead Of Potential Fall Covid Booster Campaign
The U.S. faces a tight timeline to accumulate enough data on a Covid-19 vaccine reworked to address new variants, with late spring emerging as the deadline for a fall vaccination campaign, federal officials said Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration’s independent vaccine advisory panel met to begin outlining the broader U.S. Covid booster strategy — namely, who should receive additional doses and when, and whether and how the vaccines should be reformulated to account for new and circulating variants. (Gardner, 4/6)
