Plan For More Doses: Moderna Wants To Add More Vaccine To Vials

The Hill: Moderna Wants To Increase Amount Of Coronavirus Vaccine In Each Vial 
Moderna is seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the amount of vaccine sealed within each vial in the hopes of relieving some pressure on the manufacturing and distribution process, according to a report from CNBC. An anonymous source told the news outlet that the change would allow Moderna to store 15 doses of the vaccine per vial, five more than the 10 that are currently packaged. (Choi, 2/2)

New York Times: Moderna’s Simple Fix To Vaccine Supply: More Doses In Each Vial
Moderna is asking United States regulators to approve what it says could be a remarkably simple proposal to speed up the immunization of Americans against the coronavirus: Fill empty space in its vials with as many as 50% more doses. The Food and Drug Administration could decide in a few weeks whether to allow Moderna, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm that is the developer of one of the two federally authorized COVID vaccines, to increase the number of doses in its vials to up to 15 from 10. Moderna has been ramping up production of its vaccine, but the process of filling, capping and labeling millions of tiny vials has emerged as a roadblock. The company could produce more if regulators allow it to make fuller vials, Ray Jordan, a Moderna spokesman, said late Monday. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 2/2)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Promotes Zocdoc Website To Sign Up For COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments 
The city of Chicago is promoting a national website that will allow people to find and schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments, officials announced Tuesday. The site, www.zocdoc.com/vaccine, is run by an outside provider and will allow users to find and book appointments from some local vaccination sites including city-run mass vaccination sites and those operated by AMITA Health, Erie Family Health, Innovative Express Care and Rush University Medical Center, city officials said. (Pratt and Yin, 2/2)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Plans To Launch Web Portal For Scheduling Second Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Houston officials plan to launch a website this week that will let people schedule appointments for their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Health Director Stephen Williams on Monday said officials plan to send out that link to people who got their first shot from the city “later this week, and maybe even as soon as tomorrow.” The new process would be welcome news to people waiting on their second doses, many of whom have grown uneasy as their windows for the booster shot approach. Currently, city health workers call vaccinees to schedule their shots in the week before the 28-day window when the second dose is recommended. (McGuinness, 2/1)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia To Open Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics, Pharmacies To Get Doses
Philadelphia plans to open six mass coronavirus vaccination clinics this month, officials said Tuesday, aiming to inoculate 500 people a day in the wake of its decision last week to sever ties with Philly Fighting COVID. Grocery and drugstore pharmacies will also begin offering shots to Philadelphians 75 and older, and city officials are hoping some hospitals will open mass vaccination clinics as they transition from inoculating health-care workers to other residents. (McCrystal and McDaniel, 2/2)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Makes Big Strides On Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccinations
Every person who wants a coronavirus vaccine who lives in a skilled nursing facility in Michigan has had the chance to get at least a first dose, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive, in written testimony Tuesday submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. As of Jan. 28, 104,209 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been injected into the arms of residents and staff, she said. And by the end of February, Khaldun said she expects all of the staff and residents at the state's 4,400 long-term care facilities, which include nursing homes, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities as well as adult foster care homes and homes for the aged, will have had a chance to get at least a first dose. (Jordan Shamus, 2/3)

Fox News: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Hits Hurdle At Nursing Homes With Staff Refusing Shots, CDC Report Finds
Many nursing home staff members around the country have declined the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Researchers with the CDC looked at more than 11,00 skilled nursing facilities that held at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January, finding that nearly 78% of residents at these facilities received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. But among staff members, estimates plummeted to 37.5%. "The program achieved moderately high coverage among residents; however, continued development and implementation of focused communication and outreach strategies are needed to improve vaccination coverage among staff members in [skilled nursing facilities] and other long-term care settings," the researchers wrote in the report. (Farber, 2/2)

The Hill: Washington State Officials Warn Providers Offering VIP Vaccine Access 
Washington state authorities on Monday warned hospitals and providers that their supply of coronavirus vaccines may be cut if they are caught providing "VIP" special access to the vaccine, The Associated Press reports. (Choi, 2/2)

Also —

Stateline: These States Found The Secret To COVID-19 Vaccination Success
Most states’ vaccine distributions have been slow, confusing and erratic, with balky signup websites, arbitrary changes in eligibility and frequent mismatches between supply and demand. But a few states with smaller populations have fared better. They started planning early, called up the National Guard to help even before they knew how or when to set up mass vaccination sites and scrapped the idea of using big chain pharmacies for distribution, knowing that smaller local drug stores had better handles on their clients’ qualifications and needs. (Povich, 2/2)

KHN: Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation And Myths In California’s Breadbasket
Dust swirled in the air as Luz Gallegos parked her SUV on the side of a dirt road. She had just learned that her aunt died of covid-19 — the third family member to succumb to the disease in only two weeks. She stepped out of her car at about 11:30 a.m. onto a bell pepper farm in this agricultural community in the Coachella Valley, a little northwest of the Salton Sea. Gallegos, a daughter of farmworkers who had worked in the fields herself, had only 15 minutes to make what she considered a life-or-death pitch to roughly 20 workers who had just finished a break. The farm had already seen two workers fall ill to covid. “We’re losing people in our community each day,” she said. (de Marco, 2/3)