Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer Speeds Up Vaccine Production; Fauci Sees End To Shortages
USA Today: Pfizer Expects To Cut COVID-19 Vaccine Production Time By Almost 50%
Pfizer expects to nearly cut in half the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of COVID-19 vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 as it makes the process more efficient and production is built out, the company told USA TODAY. As the nation revs up its vaccination programs, the increase could help relieve bottlenecks caused by vaccine shortages. "We call this 'Project Light Speed,' and it's called that for a reason," said Chaz Calitri, Pfizer's vice president for operations for sterile injectables, who runs the company's plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "Just in the last month we've doubled output." (Weise, 2/7)
Politico: Fauci Looking Ahead To More Vaccines In March, April
The demand for Covid-19 vaccine doses may outpace supply at the moment, but availability is already looking better for the months ahead, Anthony Fauci said Sunday morning. “The demand clearly outstrips the supply right now,” Fauci told NBC’s Chuck Todd. “If you look at the escalation of availability of doses purely on the ability and the capability of manufacturing, it’s going to escalate and will continue to escalate as we go from February to March to April and beyond.” (Weaver, 2/7)
In related news about vaccine supply and distribution —
Politico: Biden’s Vaccine Ad Campaign Hits Roadblock: Not Enough Doses
President Joe Biden is planning a massive campaign to sell Americans on getting a coronavirus vaccine — just as soon as there are enough shots for everyone. The limited vaccine supply has curbed the Biden administration’s early ambitions for a national effort to build enthusiasm for shots that can help smother the pandemic. Much of an envisioned $1 billion public awareness campaign remains on hold, with health officials figuring it makes little sense to make their pitch when so few Americans can get vaccinated. The U.S. is not expected to make vaccines widely available to the public until the spring. (Cancryn, 2/7)
The Hill: Vaccine Troubles Overseas Could Haunt United States
The Biden administration and states across the country are slowly making progress with their coronavirus vaccination campaign, but the unequitable scramble for doses overseas threatens to prolong the pandemic indefinitely. Rich countries have essentially cleared the shelves, securing almost 60 percent of global vaccine supply, according to a Duke University procurement tracker, and the U.S alone has pre-purchased enough doses to inoculate the population twice over. (Weixel, 2/6)
The Hill: AstraZeneca Approvals Abroad Fuel Debate Over Speeding US Process
Recent authorization of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom and European Union has sparked the question: Why not here as well? Positive data from the vaccine released Wednesday, combined with the urgent need for more doses in the U.S., is now fueling the debate. (Sullivan, 2/5)
Bloomberg: Putin’s Once-Scorned Vaccine Now Favorite In Pandemic Fight
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement in August that Russia had cleared the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for use before it even completed safety trials sparked skepticism worldwide. Now he may reap diplomatic dividends as Russia basks in arguably its biggest scientific breakthrough since the Soviet era. Countries are lining up for supplies of Sputnik V after peer-reviewed results published in The Lancet medical journal this week showed the Russian vaccine protects against the deadly virus about as well as U.S. and European shots, and far more effectively than Chinese rivals. (Meyer, 2/6)
