Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccine Rollout?: Delay Of Freezers, Short Shelf Life Could Stymie Plans
Politico: How Thousands Of Scarce Covid Shots Could Go To Waste
The Trump administration hopes to start delivering millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines in December. But the short shelf life of Pfizer’s shots and uncertainty over how to get them to enough health care workers, frail seniors and other priority patients once vials with vaccines are taken out of cold storage and cracked open could mean thousands of doses go to waste. (Goldberg, Roubein and Lim, 11/22)
Modern Healthcare: Supply Shortages Could Slow Hospitals' COVID Vaccine Distribution
As hospitals race to buy special freezers that can store Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at extremely cold temperatures, the potential for supply shortages—a prevailing theme in the U.S. pandemic response—looms large. A number of manufacturers make ultra-low temperature freezers—Fisher Scientific and Helmer Scientific, to name a few. But as demand skyrockets with potential emergency use authorizations coming as soon as next month, one group purchasing leader said hospitals ordering today will likely wait up to four months to get their freezers. (Bannow, 11/20)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Are Coming. Who Should Get Them First?
A coronavirus vaccine is coming soon. The question now for the world is who will be at the front of the line for an injection. In the initial months, vaccines will certainly be rationed. Demand will outstrip supply. There will be millions of doses available, not billions. (Booth, Dou, Dixon and Beck, 11/21)
The Washington Post: How Doctors And Nurses Could Become Coronavirus Vaccine Advocates
Doctors and nurses, coping with the daily risk of coronavirus exposure, are expected to get top priority to receive vaccines that could become available as soon as next month. But it’s an open question how many will seize their place at the front of the line. Large health systems, medical societies and the federal government are launching an effort to persuade front-line health-care providers to take novel vaccines that were developed, and are likely to be granted emergency approval, in record time. (Rowland, 11/21)
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The Washington Post: Covid Vaccines Hold Promise But A Return To Normal Will Take Time
For many Americans chafing to return to normalcy, recent reports that at least two experimental covid-19 vaccines are highly effective come as welcome news in the midst of a frightening surge of infections and deaths. The first shots may be given in mid- to late December, but that doesn’t mean you can hug your friends, stop washing your hands or throw away your mask any time soon. The return to many of our old familiar ways will take time, and how much time remains unclear. The answers await more research into the vaccines, how they can be distributed and how many people are willing to get them. (Cimons, 11/21)
The New York Times: Politics, Science And The Remarkable Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine
The call was tense, the message discouraging. Moncef Slaoui, the head of the Trump administration’s effort to quickly produce a vaccine for the coronavirus, was on the phone at 6 p.m. on Aug. 25 to tell the upstart biotech firm Moderna that it had to slow the final stage of testing its vaccine in humans. Moderna’s chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, a French biochemical engineer, recognized the implication. In the race to quell the pandemic, he said, “every day mattered.” Now his company, which had yet to bring a single product to market, faced a delay of up to three weeks. Pfizer, the global pharmaceutical giant that was busy testing a similar vaccine candidate and promising initial results by October, would take the obvious lead. “It was the hardest decision I made this year,” Mr. Bancel said. (LaFraniere, Thomas, Weiland, Gelles, Gay Stolberg and Grady, 11/21)
Boston Globe: ‘The End Is In Sight’: Experts Express Optimism About COVID-19 Pandemic Coming To A Close
While the coronavirus continued to rip through the country and daily counts of new infections rose to record heights, the seemingly impossible occurred: good news. Promising trials from Pfizer and Moderna suggest that highly effective COVID-19 vaccines could be available in a matter of weeks, bringing the end of the pandemic in view for the first time since March. (Moore, 11/21)
