Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Moderna Says It Won't Charge Americans For Its Covid Shots
Stat: Moderna Says Covid Vaccines Will Remain Available At No Cost
In an unexpected shift, Moderna has decided not to ask Americans to pay for its Covid-19 vaccine, a move that follows intense criticism over initial plans to charge $110 to $130 per dose after the company pivots from government contracts to commercial distribution. (Silverman and Owermohle, 2/15)
Reuters: Moderna CEO To Testify In Senate On Proposed Vaccine Price Hike
Senator Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday Moderna Inc's chief executive officer Stéphane Bancel will testify next month in front of the senate on the drugmaker's plans to raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine. In January, Sanders had written to Bancel to refrain from quadrupling the price of COVID-19 vaccine, after Moderna said it was considering pricing its vaccine at $110 to $130 per dose in the United States, when it shifts from government contracting to commercial distribution. (2/15)
Reuters: U.S. Backs Moderna, Says Government Should Face COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit
The U.S. government should face a patent lawsuit over COVID-19 vaccines, not vaccine maker Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), the Department of Justice told a Delaware federal court on Tuesday. The Justice Department's court filing said the United States should be liable for any infringement of Arbutus Biopharma Corp (ABUS.O) and Genevant Sciences GmbH's patents that took place under Moderna's contract to provide shots for the government's nationwide vaccination effort. (Brittain, 2/15)
On the covid antiviral pill ensitrelvir —
Reuters: U.S. NIH Starts Trial For Shionogi's COVID-19 Pill
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Wednesday that it had started a clinical trial to evaluate Japan's Shionogi & Co Ltd's experimental oral antiviral drug to treat COVID-19. The drug, S-217622 or ensitrelvir, will be tested in adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. It is already approved for emergency use in Japan. (2/16)
More on the spread of covid —
CIDRAP: COVID's Aftermath: Persistent Organ Damage At 1 Year, Lung Abnormalities At 2
Two studies published yesterday further reveal the extent of COVID-19's potential aftermath, with one showing residual organ damage 1 year after diagnosis—even in those who were mildly ill—and the other finding persistent lung abnormalities on chest imaging at 2 years. (Van Beusekom, 2/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: WHO Still Pushing For Answers On Pandemic Origins
Despite a report earlier this week in the scientific journal Nature that the World Health Organization has “quietly shelved” the second phase of its investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a lack of cooperation from the Chinese government, officials from the U.N. health agency on Wednesday said their work was not done. (Vaziri, 2/15)
Also —
San Francisco Chronicle: Kids’ Screen Usage Stayed Elevated Even After They Were Back At School, Study Finds
The time that American children spent in front of screens went up during the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed high even after many restrictions that kept people at home and limited their social interactions were lifted, according to a new study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. (Vaziri, 2/15)
