Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Scientists Say Booster Decision Is 'Premature,' Will Hurt Global Supply
Stat: U.S. Officials' Decision On Covid-19 Booster Shots Baffles Some Scientists
The Biden administration’s decision to start authorizing third doses of Covid-19 vaccine in September is being met with bafflement, concern, and even anger from a number of immunologists, vaccinologists, and people steeped in the normal way such decisions are made. Many flat-out challenged the need for booster doses at this time. Others questioned the morality of administering third shots to Americans when most people on the planet haven’t received one. And some worried that a decision had been made before the Food and Drug Administration had ruled on the need for a booster or a key vaccine advisory committee had evaluated the data — typically the way vaccine policy is set. (Branswell, 8/18)
NBC News: As U.S. Promotes Booster Shots Against Covid, Moral Questions Arise Over Vaccine Equity
As the Biden administration formally released its plan, officials and scientists with the World Health Organization and other international public health experts forcefully pushed back at it as "immoral" and "unconscionable." "We're planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we're leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket," Dr. Michael Ryan, the emergencies chief at WHO, told reporters. (Ortiz, 8/18)
Bloomberg: Biden’s Covid Booster Shot Push Raises Concerns Among Health Experts
“Endorsing boosters before FDA changes the EUA or grants full approval is actually endorsing something that is not currently permissible under the law,” said Holly Fernandez Lynch, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist. “Any use beyond the specific terms of the EUA would be unauthorized.” It would be very strange for the Biden administration to be the one calling the shots on boosters, according to Dorit Reiss, a professor who studies vaccine policy at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. “This is not something that’s generally done by the administration or by political actors,” Reiss said. “If they are going to circumvent the process, then I’m very concerned.” (Rutherford, 8/18)
Axios: Biden's Booster Plan Receives Criticism At Home And Abroad
Wednesday's announcement that all Americans will be eligible for COVID-19 boosters eight months after their second dose was met with skepticism at home and opposition abroad. Many public health experts criticized the decision as premature or even unethical, and that eight months is too long — vulnerability can return as soon as five months after the second dose. (Rothschild, 8/18)
Politico: The U.S. Plans To Offer Booster Shots Next Month. Some Health Experts Are Wary.
The booster policy has also sparked tensions inside and outside the administration, with some health experts arguing that available data does not show a clear-cut need to give additional doses to all adults — especially when large portions of the globe remain unvaccinated. (Banco and Cancryn, 8/18)
