Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Panel Votes Today On Moderna's Vaccine
USA Today: Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Goes Before FDA Committee For Final Review
A second COVID-19 vaccine likely will receive a thumbs up Thursday from an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which authorized the first one a week ago. This time, the committee is reviewing a vaccine made by Cambridge, Massachusetts, biotech Moderna, with similar technology and results as the one it supported last week by Pfizer and its German collaborator, BioNTech. (Weintraub, 12/17)
CNBC: 5 Things To Know Before FDA Panel Votes On Moderna
A key Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to recommend the approval of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, which would help pave the way to distribute a second vaccine in the U.S. The nonbinding decision from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee comes exactly a week after the outside group of vaccine and infectious disease experts voted 17 to 4 with one member abstaining to recommend the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine for emergency use. The FDA approved that vaccine a day later. (Lovelace Jr., 12/17)
Stat: Tracking An FDA Advisory Panel's Review Of The Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine
An expert panel is meeting Thursday to consider whether the Food and Drug Administration should issue a second emergency use authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine, this one made by Moderna. It is almost a foregone conclusion that it will. But the hearing still promises to tell us more about the vaccine and its use. (12/17)
In related news about the COVID vaccines —
CNN: How Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine Differs From Pfizer's
Moderna's coronavirus vaccine candidate is similar to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that was authorized and shipped out to the first Americans earlier this week. But there are a few key differences. Most importantly, Moderna's vaccine can be stored in normal freezers and does not require a super-cold transportation network, making it more accessible for smaller facilities and local communities. (Levenson and Howard, 12/17)
Los Angeles Times: How The COVID-19 Vaccines From Moderna And Pfizer Compare Head To Head
Like the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine primes the immune system to attack the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 by delivering a snippet of the virus’s genetic code. That code — known as messenger RNA, or mRNA — instructs the body to build copies of the spike protein that studs the virus’ surface. The immune system responds by creating antibodies, which remain on standby until confronted by an actual infection. Here’s a closer look at how the two vaccines stack up. (Kaplan, 12/15)
CNN: Katalin Kariko's Work In MRNA Is The Basis Of The Covid-19 Vaccine
Covid-19 vaccines are starting to roll out in several countries, a momentous breakthrough that hopefully signals a light at the end of this dark pandemic. For Katalin Karikó, the moment is particularly special. (Asmelash and Willingham, 12/16)
