Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer's Deal With Operation Warp Speed Excludes Common Government Rights
NPR: Pfizer's Operation Warp Speed Supply Contract Limits Federal Rights
When the Department of Health and Human Services released Pfizer's $1.95 billion coronavirus vaccine contract with Operation Warp Speed last Wednesday, the agreement revealed that the Trump administration didn't include government rights to intellectual property typically found in federal contracts. The drugmaker has downplayed its involvement in Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's more than $10 billion program to make a coronavirus vaccine available in record time. Although Pfizer didn't receive government funding this spring toward research and development of the vaccine, it nevertheless received one of the largest Operation Warp Speed supply contracts to date on July 21. (Lupkin, 11/24)
In other vaccine news —
AP: Ford Buys Freezers To Store COVID-19 Vaccine When Available
Ford Motor Co. bought a dozen ultra-cold freezers to store a COVID-19 vaccine that —once available— will be distributed to employees on a voluntary basis. The Dearborn-based automaker said the freezer purchase is the first step in a broader vaccine distribution plan, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. (11/24)
The New York Times: What We Know About AstraZeneca’s Head-Scratching Vaccine Results
This month has seen a torrent of news about experimental vaccines to prevent Covid-19, with the latest development from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. On Monday they announced that a preliminary analysis showed their vaccine was effective — especially when the first dose was mistakenly cut in half. The announcement came on the heels of stunning reports from Moderna, as well as Pfizer and BioNTech. But AstraZeneca’s news was murkier, leaving many experts wanting to see more data before passing final judgment on how effective the vaccine may turn out to be. (Zimmer and Robbins, 11/24)
Will people get inoculated? —
The Hill: Slim Majority Plans To Take COVID-19 Vaccine As Soon As It's Available: Poll
A slight majority of Americans plan to receive the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it becomes available, according to new polling from Ipsos released Tuesday. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they will take a first-generation vaccine immediately once it becomes available, up 6 points from the previous week and 14 points up from the same survey about two months ago. (Budryk, 11/24)
NPR: Black People Are More Hesitant About A Vaccine. A Leading Nurse Wants To Change That
Black people are disproportionately getting sick and dying of the coronavirus, but surveys suggest they're more hesitant to get a vaccine than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Ernest Grant, the president of the American Nurses Association, says it relates to a history of abuses. The Tuskegee Institute syphilis study, where Black men were deceived and were withheld treatment, comes to mind. (Doubek and Greene, 11/24)
NPR: Vaccine Expert: Once A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Available, 'Don't Overthink It'
As coronavirus cases continue to surge both in the U.S. and around the world, there's promising news on the vaccine front. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and, more recently, AstraZeneca have all announced that their vaccines have shown better-than-expected results. Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, says that a vaccine release could begin for selected populations by the middle of December — and that a broader vaccination effort could soon follow. (Gross, 11/24)
NPR: As COVID-19 Vaccine Nears, Employers Consider Making Vaccination Mandatory
With promising news from three COVID-19 vaccine trials showing 90% to 95% efficacy, employers are now weighing whether they should simply encourage their employees to get vaccinated or make it mandatory. (Hsu, 11/25)
