Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Offers Supplies In Pfizer Vaccine Negotiations
The New York Times: U.S. And Pfizer Are Negotiating Deal For More Vaccine Doses Next Year
The Trump administration is negotiating a deal to use its power to free up supplies of raw materials to help Pfizer produce tens of millions of additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for Americans in the first half of next year, people familiar with the situation said. Should an agreement be struck, it could at least partially remedy a looming shortage that the administration itself arguably helped create by not pre-ordering more doses of the vaccine Pfizer developed with its German partner, BioNTech. Pfizer agreed this summer to provide the United States with 100 million doses by the end of March, enough to inoculate 50 million people since its vaccine requires two shots. (LaFraniere, Thomas and Weiland, 12/16)
Politico: McEnany: White House In Talks With Pfizer For Additional Vaccine Doses
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday the Trump administration is attempting to secure an additional run of coronavirus vaccinations from Pfizer. The United States has already committed to purchasing 100 million doses — enough to vaccinate 50 million people — from the company, which has begun sending out its first tranche of vaccines after the Food and Drug administration authorized its use late last week. The first batch has already gone out to designated sites throughout the country and the shots have started being administered. (Niedzwiadek, 12/15)
In related news —
Modern Healthcare: Traffic Crashes Indiana COVID Vaccine Sign-Up Site
A state website where Indiana healthcare workers sign up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine temporarily crashed Monday after being overwhelmed with traffic. The vaccination enrollment website crashed before the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the state, according to Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR, which first reported the news. "Due to a large amount of traffic, the site is currently down," reads a message from the state health department Monday morning and obtained by WTHR. "Check back this afternoon." (Kim Cohen, 12/15)
The Oklahoman: Hospital Official Expects Demand To Grow Among Oklahoma Hospital Staff For COVID-19 Vaccine
Lawanna Halstead, vice president for quality and clinical initiatives at the Oklahoma Hospital Association, said she expects the demand among hospital employees to grow as more health care workers get vaccinated. “What I’m hearing from hospitals, as far as people saying they are going to take (the vaccine) and want to actually make an appointment to have it done, is between 30-45%,” Halstead said in a virtual news conference. Those figures are based on informal reports from Oklahoma hospitals, she said. Halstead said she expects many hospitals will mount in-house campaigns to educate their workers on the vaccines and encourage more employees to get vaccinated. (Forman, 12/15)
The Hill: Nursing, Doctor And Hospital Groups Urge Health Workers To Take COVID-19 Vaccine
Nursing, doctor and hospital groups are urging all health professionals to take the coronavirus vaccine and share their experience with others as a way to convince as many people as possible to get vaccinated. In an open letter published Tuesday, the American Nurses Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association said health professionals must "push for high rates of vaccination within the U.S. population if we hope to overcome this virus." (Weixel, 12/15)
Stat: What Does Success Look Like For The Covid-19 Vaccine Effort?
Administration of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine officially began on Monday. It was a joyous kickoff to a massive, arduous effort to vaccinate over 100 million Americans. But how will we know if the vaccination effort is actually going according to plan? (Florko, 12/15)
The Hill: Poll Finds Increasing Number Of Americans, Including Black People, Would Take COVID Vaccine
Americans are increasingly willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine, especially Black and Hispanic Americans, according to a new poll released Tuesday. The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 71 percent of Americans are willing to take a free and safe COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of eight percent from three months ago. (Hellmann, 12/15)
