Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Will 'Move Quickly' To Approve Covid Shots For Under-5s
AP: What's Next For COVID-19 Vaccines For Youngest US Children
U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks has pledged the agency will “move quickly without sacrificing our standards” in evaluating tot-sized doses from both Pfizer and Moderna. The FDA has tentatively set a June 15 date for its scientific advisers to publicly review the two companies’ vaccines. After the advisers weigh in, the FDA determines whether to authorize the shot. (5/23)
Stat: Pfizer/BioNTech To Seek Covid Vaccine EUA For Children Under Age 5
Vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech said they will complete their submission for emergency use authorization of their Covid-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5 this week after a study of a third dose found it improves the efficacy of the vaccine. Just hours after the news was made public, the Food and Drug Administration announced it expects to convene its independent vaccine advisers, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, on June 15 to review the submission. (Branswell, 5/23)
In updates on vaccine mandates —
Bloomberg: N.Y. School Covid Vaccine Mandate Survives As US Supreme Court Rejects Appeal
The US Supreme Court turned away a challenge to New York’s requirement that schoolchildren be vaccinated against serious diseases, refusing to question the state’s 2019 repeal of its longstanding exemption for families with religious objections. The justices without comment left in place a state court ruling that said New York wasn’t targeting religion when it eliminated the exemption after the worst measles outbreak in a quarter century. The vaccine requirement applies to children under 18 in both public and private schools. (Stohr, 5/23)
New York Post: NYPD Puts 4,650 Vaccine Firings On Hold: Insiders
The city’s vaccine mandate has been put on “pause” for the NYPD so the force can avoid losing nearly 5,000 cops and employees as the weather — and crime — heats up, The Post has learned. Currently, 91 percent of the NYPD’s uniformed cops and other personnel are vaccinated, City Hall says. That leaves an estimated 4,659 NYPD employees unvaccinated despite a deadline to get the shots by Oct. 29. (Edelman and Balsamini, 5/21)
AP: Opponents Of Federal Vaccine Mandate Seek Rehearing
A federal appeals court is being asked to reconsider its decision allowing the Biden administration to require that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month vacated a lower court ruling blocking the mandate and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the policy, which was ordered by President Joe Biden in September. (McGill, 5/23)
