Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Poised To Begin Overseas Vaccine Donations
Politico: White House Weighs Sending States' Unused Vaccine Doses Abroad — Before They Expire
The Biden administration is considering donating states' unused doses of vaccine to countries in need, two senior officials involved in the discussions told POLITICO. States have built up stores of unused Covid-19 vaccine doses in recent weeks as the number of people signing up for vaccinations has decreased. Some of those spare doses — including tens of thousands of Johnson & Johnson shots — are set to expire at the end of this month. (Banco, Cancryn and Roubein, 6/2)
CNN: White House Prepared To Announce Next Steps In US Global Vaccination Effort After Months Of Debate
President Joe Biden has finalized his plan to distribute millions of coronavirus vaccines worldwide after months of deliberation, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted earlier that an announcement was imminent, and the sources familiar with the plans said that officials could reveal it as soon as Thursday or Friday. (Collins, 6/2)
Bloomberg: Biden To Begin Covid Vaccine Donations Abroad As Variant Threat Looms
The Biden administration is poised to announce which countries will receive the first shipments of vaccines donated from the U.S. stockpile, amid the risk that more coronavirus variants will arise in countries lacking access to the shots, people familiar with the matter said. The White House, which has faced pressure from a range of countries to share its vaccines, has settled on its plan and an announcement is imminent, according to the people, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity. (Wingrove, 6/2)
And in updates on vaccine patent waivers —
Bloomberg: Covid Vaccine IP Waiver: EU WTO Trade Response Stops Short Of Waiver Support
The European Union will encourage World Trade Organization members to phase out export restrictions for vaccines, but will stop short of supporting an American-backed proposal to suspend intellectual property rights meant to boost the supply of Covid shots. The EU will propose to the WTO at a June 8-9 meeting that all 164 members decrease restrictive measures related to health products, expand the production of vaccine facilities and support an easing of regulatory hurdles, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg. (Baschuk, 6/3)
