Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Buys 500 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To Distribute Globally
CNN: US Has Bought And Will Donate 500 Million Doses Of Pfizer's Vaccine Worldwide
The US has purchased and will donate 500 million doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine worldwide as it seeks to be a key player in getting other nations vaccinated, a person familiar with the move told CNN. President Joe Biden will announce the news at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, this week, the person said. Around 200 million doses will go out in 2021 and 300 million will be distributed in the first half of 2022. Biden's top Covid adviser, Jeff Zients, has been working on the deal for the last month, a person familiar said. (Collins and Vazquez, 6/9)
AP: Biden To Lay Out Vax Donations, Urge World Leaders To Join
One year ago, the U.S. was the deadliest hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the cancellation of the Group of Seven summit it was due to host. Now, the U.S. is emerging as a model for how to successfully recover from more than 15 months of global crisis. In a speech Thursday on the eve of the summit of wealthy G-7 democracies, President Joe Biden will outline plans for the U.S. to donate 500 million vaccine doses around the globe over the next year, on top of 80 million doses he has already pledged by the end of the month. U.S. officials say Biden will also ask fellow G-7 leaders to do the same. (Miller, Madhani and Lemire, 6/10)
USA Today: Pfizer To Donate 500M COVID Vaccine Doses To US For Low-Income Nations
Pfizer and BioNTech announced plans early Thursday to donate 500 million doses to the U.S. government to distribute to 92 low-income countries and the African Union. The news confirms Wednesday's report of President Joe Biden's upcoming announcement to the G-7 summit. Vaccine inequality has become an increasingly pressing concern, and the World Health Organization has warned of a "two-track pandemic'' as wealthy nations inoculate large portions of their populations and developing countries are left exposed to the coronavirus' ravages. (Aspegren, 6/10)
AP: Celebrations (And Questions) Greet US Vaccine Donation Plan
Health officials and experts around the world on Thursday welcomed a U.S. plan to donate 500 million more COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, but the celebrations came with hesitation. For instance, when exactly will those vaccines reach regions left behind in the global race and that are feeling the bite right now with deadly new waves of virus infections? And how many other wealthy nations will follow the lead of the U.S. to fill the gaping need? (Imray and Tong-Hyung, 6/10)
And the United States may buy Moderna shots, as well —
The Hill: U.S. In Talks To Buy Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine To Send Abroad: Report
The United States is reportedly in talks with Moderna to buy doses of the pharmaceutical company’s COVID-19 vaccine to donate to low income countries, according to multiple reports. The discussions were first reported by CNBC on Wednesday, citing a person familiar. According to the news outlets, the discussions could lead to a similar deal that was revealed earlier on Wednesday with Pfizer. (Williams, 6/9)
Bloomberg: Moderna Talking To U.S. About Shots For Low-Income Countries
Moderna Inc. is interested in partnering with the U.S. government on possibly providing additional doses of it Covid-19 vaccine to help address the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries, the company said. Spokesman Ray Jordan said in an email that the company wouldn’t provide additional details about any particular talks. Moderna is in the process of expanding its manufacturing capacity so it can produce up to 3 billion vaccine doses next year, compared with its goal of up to 1 billion this year. (Langreth, 6/9)
In other news about sharing vaccines —
Stat: WTO Members Agree To Step Up Talks About Covid-19 IP Proposals
In what is being described as a “major breakthrough,” a World Trade Organization council agreed to start formal negotiations over a controversial proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines in hopes of widening global access. The step came after months of debate over the proposal, which gained significant momentum after the Biden administration last month unexpectedly agreed to support the initiative, which had been met with pushback by the pharmaceutical industry. The about-face occurred as a lack of vaccines in many low-income countries threatened to prolong the pandemic, especially as new variants emerge. (Silverman, 6/9)
