Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer To Add Teens To Its Testing Protocol For A Vaccine
CNN: Pfizer To Start Testing Its Covid-19 Vaccine In Kids As Young As 12
Drugmaker Pfizer has plans to start testing its experimental coronavirus vaccine in children as young as 12, and parents have already expressed interest in enrolling their kids, the researcher leading the trial told CNN Tuesday. It will be the first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States. A team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital will begin vaccinating teenagers aged 16 and 17 this week, and will move to enroll 12-to 15-year-olds later, said Dr. Robert Frenck, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the hospital. (Fox, 10/13)
Politico: FDA Pushes Back On Trump Administration Attempt To Rebrand ‘Emergency Authorization’
The FDA is resisting Trump administration pressure to rebrand the emergency authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine as a “pre-licensure,” over worries that it would appear the agency is politicizing its scientific determinations, according to four senior administration officials with knowledge of the debate. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn rejected attempts to alter the terminology tied to its closely watched regulatory process in recent weeks, frustrating health department officials who contend the agency is holding coronavirus vaccines to a far higher standard than normal for an emergency authorization – and that its description should reflect that, the officials said. (Cancryn, 10/13)
In updates on testing and tracing —
Bloomberg: Cue Health Rapid Covid Test Used In NBA Gets $481 Million US Investment
The U.S. government is investing $481 million in startup Cue Health Inc. to expand manufacturing of its rapid, point-of-care Covid-19 test, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense said on Tuesday. As part of the deal, Cue Health plans to ramp up production from several thousands of tests daily to about 100,000 of the assays each day by March. The vast majority of that production will go to the government, which is acquiring about 6 million of the single-use tests and 30,000 associated instruments. (Court, 10/13)
NPR: Contact Tracing Survey: U.S. Workforce Surpasses 50,000 But Falls Short Of Need
The United States has more than 50,000 contact tracers for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to a survey of states conducted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in collaboration with NPR. The total number of contact tracers reported in all U.S. states and territories was 53,116. That's four times the number of contact tracers states reported to NPR in its initial survey in late April, but still falls far short of the more than 100,000 public health experts have been calling for since the pandemic began, seven months ago. (Simmons-Duffin, 10/14)
San Francisco: Rapid Tests. PCR. Antigen. Antibody. These Are Coronavirus Test Options, And What’s Coming
Seven months into the coronavirus pandemic, we’re a far cry from the early days when getting a test was nearly impossible. Now, people have a lot more options, with major coronavirus testing initiatives and more places to get tested. But there are also a wide variety of tests available, ranging from highly reliable to not-so-much. From rapid testing to deep nasal swabs, antibodies to antigens, it can be confusing to sort out. (Vainshtein, 10/12)
