Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Moderna Vaccine Gets Production Boost; Side Effect Worries Spread
Crain's Chicago Business: Moderna Vaccine Deal With Baxter For COVID Shot Production
Baxter International and Moderna have entered into an agreement to help increase COVID-19 vaccine production, the companies announced today. The Deerfield-based medical products company will fill vials with Moderna’s vaccine and supply packaging for approximately 60 million to 90 million U.S. doses this year, the companies said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This additional production will help us continue to scale up our manufacturing capacity in the United States,” Juan Andres, Moderna’s chief technical operations and quality officer, said in the statement. (Goldberg, 3/8)
In news about side effects from the Moderna vaccine —
The New York Times: Women Report Worse Side Effects After A Covid Vaccine
On the morning that Shelly Kendeffy received her second dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, she felt fine. By afternoon, she noticed a sore arm and body aches, and by evening, it felt like the flu. “My teeth were chattering, but I was sweating — like soaked, but frozen,” said Ms. Kendeffy, 44, a medical technician in State College, Pa. (Moyer, 3/8)
The (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette: West Liberty Cancels School Due To COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects
The West Liberty School District canceled classes Monday after several teachers reported experiencing side effects after receiving a second Moderna COVID-19 vaccination over the weekend. On Saturday, district staff received the second dose of the vaccine at a special clinic. When the district checked in with teachers Sunday, 64 percent reported having some kind of side effect and 28 percent thought the side effects made them feel too poorly to go to work. (Hotle, 3/8)
And President Biden will meet with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck —
The Baltimore Sun: President Biden Cancels Visit To Baltimore’s Emergent BioSolutions Plant
The White House has canceled President Joe Biden’s planned visit Wednesday to Emergent BioSolutions’ plant in East Baltimore. It would have been the Democrat’s first visit to Baltimore as chief executive. Instead, the White House said in a scheduling plan, the president will host an event at the White House that day with the CEOs of two of the drug companies—Johnson & Johnson and Merck — who had been scheduled to participate in the Baltimore event. (Baker, 3/8)
