Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
U.S. Invests Up To $1.2 Billion With Drugmaker In Effort To Secure 300 Million Doses Of Potential Vaccine
The New York Times: $1.2 Billion From U.S. To Drugmaker To Pursue Coronavirus Vaccine
Expanding its pursuit of an inoculation against the coronavirus, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday it would provide “up to $1.2 billion” to the drug company AstraZeneca to develop a potential vaccine from a laboratory at Oxford University. The deal with AstraZeneca is the fourth and by far the largest vaccine research agreement that the department has disclosed. The money will pay for a Phase 3 clinical trial of a potential vaccine in the United States this summer with about 30,000 volunteers. (Kirkpatrick, 5/21)
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Invest $1.2 Billion To Secure Potential Coronavirus Vaccine From AstraZeneca, Oxford University
Under the deal, the government will bankroll a 30,000-person vaccine trial in the U.S. starting in the summer, plus the ramp-up of manufacturing capacity to make at least 300 million doses. The first doses will be ready in the fall should the vaccine prove effective, it said. Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, called the deal a “major milestone” in the administration’s effort—code-named “Operation Warp Speed”—to make a safe, effective vaccine widely available to Americans by 2021. (Roland, 5/21)
Reuters: U.S. Secures 300 Million Doses Of Potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
While not yet proven to be effective against the coronavirus, vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their stalled economies, and even to get an edge over global competitors. After President Donald Trump demanded a vaccine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed to provide up to $1.2 billion to accelerate British drugmaker AstraZeneca’s vaccine development and secure 300 million doses for the United States. (Aakash B, Baulconbridge and Holton, 5/21)
Stat: U.S. Gives Up To $1.2 Billion To AstraZeneca For Covid-19 Vaccine
The moves underscore the frantic efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine as quickly as possible as the novel coronavirus has so far infected nearly 4.8 million people and claimed more than 318,000 lives across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., the number of infections has exceeded 1.47 million people and caused more than 89,200 deaths. (Silverman, 5/21)
In other news —
Stat: The World May Also Be Overestimating The Power Of Covid-19 Vaccines
With a little luck and a lot of science, the world might in the not-too-distant future get vaccines against Covid-19. But those vaccines won’t necessarily prevent all or even most infections. In the public imagination, vaccines are often seen effectively as cure-alls, like inoculations against measles. Rather than those vaccines, however, the Covid-19 vaccines in development may be more like those that protect against influenza — reducing the risk of contracting the disease, and of experiencing severe symptoms should infection occur, a number of experts told STAT. (Branswell, 5/22)
The Associated Press: UK's COVID-19 Study Aims To Vaccinate More Than 10,000
British researchers testing an experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus are moving into advanced studies and aim to immunize more than 10,000 people to determine if the shot works. Last month, scientists at Oxford University began immunizing more than 1,000 volunteers with their vaccine candidate in a preliminary trial designed to test the shot’s safety. On Friday, the scientists announced they now aim to vaccinate 10,260 people across Britain, including older people and children. (Cheng and Neergaard, 5/22)
ABC News: ‘Science By Press Release’: Sudden Rise Of Vaccine Developer Moderna Rankles Some In Scientific Establishment
Moderna Inc., a nearly 10-year-old Massachusetts-based biotech company, is suddenly the talk of the scientific community after they announced this week "positive" indications from their early work on a potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Not all of it is complimentary. (Rubin, 5/21)
