Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Questions About A COVID Vaccine Rollout
Stat: U.S. Advisory Group Lays Out Proposal On How To Prioritize Covid-19 Vaccine
A new report that aims to prioritize groups to receive Covid-19 vaccine focuses on who is at risk, rather than using job categories or ethnic groups to determine who should be at the front of the line. It was widely expected that health care workers would be the first priority grouping, and some — though not all — are. There were also many voices arguing for people of color to be given priority access, because the pandemic has exacted a disproportionately heavy toll on Black and Latinx people, both in terms of overall numbers of infections and deaths. (Branswell, 9/1)
Kaiser Health News: Health Officials Worry Nation’s Not Ready For COVID-19 Vaccine
Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the global pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work. (Szabo, 9/2)
The Hill: Federal Panel Lays Out Initial Priorities For COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
Initial doses of a COVID-19 vaccine should go to front-line health workers, first responders and people at serious risk for infection, according to new draft guidelines released Tuesday by a federal advisory panel. The draft guidelines were developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help U.S. officials plan for an equitable allocation of an eventual vaccine. The final report will be released later this fall. (Weixel, 9/1)
Kaiser Health News: Fauci Says COVID Vaccine Trials Could End Early If Results Are Overwhelming
A COVID-19 vaccine could be available earlier than expected if ongoing clinical trials produce overwhelmingly positive results, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official, in an interview Tuesday with KHN. Although two ongoing clinical trials of 30,000 volunteers are expected to conclude by the end of the year, Fauci said an independent board has the authority to end the trials weeks early if interim results are overwhelmingly positive or negative. (Szabo, 9/1)
Another vaccine enters the third phase of trials —
CIDRAP: Third COVID Vaccine Candidate Starts Phase 3 Trial In US
Today the United States has three COVID-19 vaccine candidates in phase 3 trials, as AstraZeneca launched the final stage of a trial of its vaccine candidate, which it plans to test in 30,000 healthy adults. The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed at Oxford University, is already in a phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom. The first US volunteers were inoculated today at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and AstraZeneca plans to add 50 participants each day after Sep 7. (Soucheray, 9/1)
AP: Third Virus Vaccine Reaches Major Hurdle: Final US Testing
A handful of the dozens of experimental COVID-19 vaccines in human testing have reached the last and biggest hurdle — looking for the needed proof that they really work as a U.S. advisory panel suggested Tuesday a way to ration the first limited doses once a vaccine wins approval. AstraZeneca announced Monday its vaccine candidate has entered the final testing stage in the U.S. The Cambridge, England-based company said the study will involve up to 30,000 adults from various racial, ethnic and geographic groups. (Neergaard and Johnson, 9/1)
In other vaccine updates —
Stat: Experts See Chance For Covid-19 Vaccine Approval This Fall — If Done Right
There is growing concern that the Food and Drug Administration, under political pressure, could approve a Covid-19 vaccine before it has robust safety and efficacy data. The consequences of such a decision could be significant, particularly if the vaccine is ultimately shown to be less effective than early data suggest. But an approval before the completion of large, Phase 3 trials does not have to be problematic. Experts aren’t ruling out the possibility that a vaccine could be cleared this fall if it is very effective. (Herper, 9/2)
The Wall Street Journal: In Race To Secure Covid-19 Vaccines, World’s Poorest Countries Lag Behind
Developing nations are at risk of being left far short of the Covid-19 vaccine supplies they need as richer countries secure billions of doses even before the drugs pass final clinical trials, according to health experts. The U.S., the European Union, Japan and the U.K. have agreed to purchase at least 3.7 billion doses from Western drugmakers developing vaccines, according to announcements from the companies and countries in recent months. That tally includes options available for additional doses. China and India, two countries with large vaccine-making industries, are also expected to direct much of their production to their own vast populations. (Shah, 9/1)
AP: Large Antibody Study Offers Hope For Virus Vaccine Efforts
Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found. Tuesday’s report, from tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland, is the most extensive work yet on the immune system’s response to the virus over time, and is good news for efforts to develop vaccines. (Marchione, 9/1)
