Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccine Advisers Vote To Update And Simplify Future Covid Vaccines
NPR: An FDA Committee Votes To Roll Out A New COVID Vaccination Strategy
A committee of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on a proposal to simplify the nation's strategy for vaccinating people against COVID-19. The recommendation is that future COVID-19 vaccines should be interchangeable: no matter whether you're getting your first dose or a booster, the vaccines would all have the same formulation targeting the same viral strain or strains, regardless of the manufacturer. The vote was unanimous: 21-0. (Hensley, 1/26)
Stat: FDA Advisers Recommend Updating Covid Vaccines
The panel voted 21-to-0 to direct vaccine manufacturers Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax to “harmonize” the primary series of their vaccines — the first doses that people receive — with the new booster shots that contain both the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a new Omicron strain. Members of the panel were also supportive of the FDA’s plan to move to a single annual vaccine dose for most Americans, which will be matched annually to circulating strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Herper and Branswell, 1/26)
The New York Times: Covid Vaccines Targeting Omicron Should Be Standard, Panel Says
Among their proposals was adopting a streamlined dosing schedule for all Covid vaccines, one that would apply to Americans based on their age and health risks. Under that proposal, most adults and children with previous vaccines could receive a single extra Covid shot each fall, while older adults, people with weakened immune systems and unvaccinated children could be given more than one additional dose. The expert advisers did not vote on that proposal. But they offered an outline for how they wanted federal health officials to consider making the Covid vaccination program more routine, pressing them on how to time boosters for greatest protection and formulate them to best defend against new variants. (Mueller and LaFraniere, 1/26)
CNBC: FDA Advisors Recommend Using Covid Omicron Shots For All Doses
The FDA has proposed moving to a system that resembles how the agency updates and rolls out flu shots every year. The agency would select a Covid vaccine formulation in June to target the variant that is expected to dominate in the fall and winter. That formulation would be used by all manufacturers for all doses. Under the proposal, most people who have been exposed to the Covid spike protein twice, either through vaccination or infection, would only receive one Covid shot a year moving forward. Older adults and people with compromised immune systems may need two shots because they don’t mount as strong of an immune response. (Kimball, 1/26)
USA Today: Future Of COVID Boosters: FDA Panel Moves Toward Simplifying Shots
Most of the committee's discussion was aimed at informing the FDA, rather than providing formal direction. Any changes in vaccine policy will need to be ratified by the FDA commissioner. Implementation of the strategy requires a meeting of a second advisory panel and approval by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Weintraub, 1/26)
KHN: FDA Experts Are Still Puzzled Over Who Should Get Which Covid Shots And When
At a meeting to simplify the nation’s covid vaccination policy, the FDA’s panel of experts could agree on only one thing: Information is woefully lacking about how often different groups of Americans need to be vaccinated. That data gap has contributed to widespread skepticism, undervaccination, and ultimately unnecessary deaths from covid-19. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to support the FDA’s proposal for all vaccine-makers to adopt the same strain of the virus when making changes in their vaccines, and suggested they might meet in May or June to select a strain for the vaccines that would be rolled out this fall. (Allen, 1/27)
Also —
The Atlantic: The Flu-Ification Of COVID Policy Is Almost Complete
For all the legwork that public-health experts have done over the past few years to quash comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu, there sure seems to be a lot of effort nowadays to equate the two. In an advisory meeting convened earlier today, the FDA signaled its intention to start doling out COVID vaccines just like flu shots: once a year in autumn, for just about everyone, ad infinitum. (Wu, 1/26)
Stat: HHS’ Becerra On Enrolling In Medicare And Annual Covid Vaccines
The hottest birthday spot in town: A Hispanic senior center in northwest D.C. That’s where Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra heralded his 65th birthday Thursday morning, with songs sung by the center’s choir, speeches about Covid-19 vaccines, and a giant replica of a Medicare card to signify his new eligibility for the federal program he oversees. Cake was absent – too many seniors with diabetes. (Owermohle, 1/26)
