Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Novavax Releases Encouraging COVID Vaccine Results From Early Studies
Stat: Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Promising Immune Response
A potential Covid-19 vaccine from the biotech company Novavax showed a promising immune response in a small, early trial, but not without a high rate of mostly mild side effects. The results, published Tuesday, are the latest encouraging sign in the global effort to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly 700,000 people around the world. But the Novavax data, much like results recently published by Moderna and AstraZeneca, are too preliminary to draw any conclusions about how well the vaccine might protect against Covid-19, experts said. (Garde, 8/4)
The New York Times: Novavax's New Covid-19 Vaccine Studies Praised By Scientists
In one study, 56 volunteers produced a high level of antibodies against the virus without any dangerous side effects. In the other, researchers found that the vaccine strongly protected monkeys from coronavirus infections. Although it’s not possible to directly compare the data from clinical trials of different coronavirus vaccines, John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine who was not involved in the studies, said the Novavax results were the most impressive he had seen so far. “This is the first one I’m looking at and saying, ‘Yeah, I’d take that,’” Dr. Moore said. (Zimmer and Thomas, 8/4)
In other vaccine news —
Kaiser Health News: Covid-19 Vaccines In America Could Be Undermined By The Obesity Epidemic
For a world crippled by the coronavirus, salvation hinges on a vaccine. But in the United States, where at least 4.6 million people have been infected and nearly 155,000 have died, the promise of that vaccine is hampered by a vexing epidemic that long preceded Covid-19: obesity. Scientists know that vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies can be less effective in obese adults than in the general population, leaving them more vulnerable to infection and illness. There is little reason to believe, obesity researchers say, that Covid-19 vaccines will be any different. (Varney, 8/5)
Politico: Canada's Top Doctor: Vaccine No 'silver Bullet,' Return To Normal Could Be Years Away
Canada's top doctor is warning an eventual Covid-19 vaccine will be no "silver bullet," and the public should brace for another two to three years of health precautions. Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday that while a vaccine would be another important tool in the coronavirus response, it's unclear how effective it will be and whether there will be enough of it to go around. (Blatchford, 8/4)
Also —
Boston Globe: Brigham President Had Sold More Moderna Stock Before She Resigned From Biotech’s Board
The head of Brigham and Women’s Hospital sold nearly $2 million worth of Moderna stock in May, just as the institution she led was preparing cost-cutting due to COVID-19, bringing her total earnings from the biotech company to $8.5 million this year. The Globe reported last week that Dr. Elizabeth Nabel sold 73,975 Moderna shares worth $6.5 million on July 15, after the company’s stock nearly quadrupled this year on news of early success with its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. (Saltzman, 8/4)
Stat: BARDA Pressured To Force Moderna To Disclose Costs With Covid-19 Work
Amid concerns over U.S. government Covid-19 contracts and transparency, Moderna (MRNA) has failed to comply with disclosure requirements and publicly report development costs of a vaccine that is being funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Federal law requires the company to report the total cost of the project, and the amount and percentage share of costs provided by the federal government. So far, though, Moderna has not disclosed such details of its contract... with BARDA, which has awarded the company up to $955 million to develop a vaccine based on its mRNA technology that would be jointly invented by the National Institutes of Health. (Silverman, 8/4)
