Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Former Glaxo Executive Tapped To Lead Trump's 'Operation Warp Speed' Push For A Vaccine
Reuters: Trump To Tap Ex-Glaxo Exec, U.S. General For Coronavirus Vaccine Effort
President Donald Trump is expected to tap a former GlaxoSmithKline executive and a U.S. general to spearhead the government’s effort at developing a coronavirus vaccine on an accelerated schedule, officially called “Operation Warp Speed,” an administration official said on Wednesday. The former head of Glaxo’s vaccines division, Moncef Slaoui, will serve as chief adviser on the operation and U.S. General Gustav Perna will act as its chief operating officer. Trump previously said he would be the top boss on the effort to develop, test and produce on a shortened timeline a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic. (5/13)
Bloomberg: Trump Taps Slaoui, Gen. Perna For 'Warp Speed' Vaccine Project
Slaoui, 60, and Perna will oversee the initiative known as Operation Warp Speed, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement expected later Wednesday. Slaoui will work on a volunteer basis. Moncef SlaouiPhotographer: Graham Barclay/BloombergThe Trump administration project seeks to produce 300 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year, hastening development by simultaneously testing many different candidates and beginning production before they’ve completed clinical trials. (Jacobs and Armstrong, 5/13)
USA Today: GSK Executive Moncef Slaoui To Head Coronavirus Operation Warp Speed
Operation Warp Speed is the initiative launched by the White House two weeks ago to aid in speeding production and later distribution of any COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the official said four-star Army General Gustave Perna has been selected to serve as the chief operating officer overseeing logistics. Perna is the commanding general at U.S. Army Materiel Command in Huntsville, Alabama. (Weise, 5/13)
Politico: White House To Tap Former Pharmaceutical Exec As 'Therapeutics Czar'
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that vaccine development could stretch into next year or beyond. HHS Secretary Alex Azar, White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner were among the officials who interviewed Slaoui and other candidates for the role last week. Other finalists included former National Institutes of Health Director Elias Zerhouni. Bloomberg first reported that Slaoui had been tapped as the administration’s therapeutics czar in a volunteer role. Army Gen. Gustave Perna, a logistics expert, will support in Slaoui in an operational role. (Diamond, 5/13)
Reuters: Sanofi To Accelerate European COVID-19 Vaccine Access After CEO Prioritizes U.S. Preorders
French drugmaker Sanofi SA said on Wednesday that it is working with European regulators to speed up access to a potential coronavirus vaccine in Europe after its chief executive suggested Americans would likely get the vaccine first. The company said in a statement that it is currently in talks with the European Union and the French and German governments to expedite regional vaccine development. (Erman, 5/13)
Politico: French Drug Firm Boss: U.S. Will Get First Dibs On Its Coronavirus Vaccine
The U.S.'s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has put $30 million toward one of Sanofi's two vaccine candidates, which is also using technology from GlaxoSmithKline. Because of this help, the U.S. expects "that if we’ve helped you manufacture the doses at risk, we expect to get the doses first," Hudson said.Meanwhile, the Sanofi CEO warned that Europe risks falling behind the U.S. and China. (Deutsch, 5/13)
The New York Times: Get Ready For A Covid-19 Vaccine Information War
The other night, midway through watching a clip from “Plandemic” — a documentary that went viral on social media last week, spreading baseless lies and debunked nonsense about the coronavirus to millions of Americans overnight — I had a terrifying thought: What if we get a Covid-19 vaccine and half the country refuses to take it? It occurred to me that all the misinformation we’ve seen so far — the false rumors that 5G cellphone towers fuel the coronavirus, that drinking bleach or injecting UV rays can cure it, that Dr. Anthony Fauci is part of an anti-Trump conspiracy — may be just the warm-up act for a much bigger information war when an effective vaccine becomes available to the public. (Roose, 5/13)
