Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Who Is First? US Has 24M High-Priority People, Only Enough Vaccine For 20M
The Wall Street Journal: Who Gets Covid-19 Vaccine First? Hospitals Assess How To Divvy Up Shots
Hospitals are rushing to firm up plans for deciding which health-care workers can receive the Covid-19 vaccine first, with initial supplies widely expected to fall short of the amount needed to vaccinate all high-priority workers. December vaccine deliveries are expected to be enough for about 20 million people, according to federal officials. That is slightly less than what is needed to vaccinate all front-line medical professionals and long-term care residents—the groups that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel has recommended should be first in line. (Evans, 12/7)
The Hill: Race Heats Up For Workers Getting Early Access To COVID-19 Vaccine
While there’s widespread agreement that health care and other front-line workers should be the first recipients, the competition for the second and third tiers has business leaders making their case to the state-level agencies that will largely be responsible for deciding who comes next. Manufacturers, airlines, banks and the food industry are all pushing for their workers to receive the vaccine sooner rather than later. (Gangitano, 12/7)
NPR: NIH Director Predicts Vaccinations Will Start This Month
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, says millions of people in high-risk groups will likely "start rolling up their sleeves" to get a COVID-19 vaccine soon. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration is meeting on Thursday to talk about the Pfizer vaccine. The same committee of scientists and health experts will meet again on Dec. 17 to talk about the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines have been highly effective in trials, according to the companies. (King, 12/7)
The New York Times: The Elderly Vs. Essential Workers: Who Should Get The Coronavirus Vaccine First?
With the coronavirus pandemic surging and initial vaccine supplies limited, the United States faces a hard choice: Should the country’s immunization program focus in the early months on the elderly and people with serious medical conditions, who are dying of the virus at the highest rates, or on essential workers, an expansive category encompassing Americans who have borne the greatest risk of infection? Health care workers and the frailest of the elderly — residents of long-term-care facilities — will almost certainly get the first shots, under guidelines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Thursday. But with vaccination expected to start this month, the debate among federal and state health officials about who goes next, and lobbying from outside groups to be included, is growing more urgent. (Goodnough and Hoffman, 12/5)
Kaiser Health News: What Seniors Can Expect When Covid-19 Vaccines Become Available
Vaccines that protect against Covid-19 are on the way. What should older adults expect? The first candidates, from Pfizer and Moderna, could arrive before Christmas, according to Alex Azar, who heads the US Department of Health and Human Services. (Graham, 12/8)
Also —
The Washington Post: Black Doctors, Scientists Try To Boost Trust In Coronavirus Vaccine For Black Community
The Rev. Liz Walker’s job is to minister to souls at Roxbury Presbyterian Church in Boston. But lately it’s her parishioners’ physical health — and their immune systems — keeping her up at night. Walker, a former journalist who was the first Black woman to co-anchor a newscast in Boston, was so troubled by her congregants’ suspicion of a coronavirus vaccine that she asked Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, to speak with them. (Fadulu, 12/7)
Fox News: Head Of NYC Firefighters Union: About Half My Members Are Wary Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Around half of New York City's firefighters are not inclined to take a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available, the head of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) told "Your World" Monday. Over the weekend, the New York Post reported that an internal survey showed that 55% of UFA members answered “No” when asked, “Will you get the COVID-19 Vaccine from Pfizer when the Department makes it available?" The paper reported that more than 2,000 of the UFA's 8,200 active members were surveyed. (Creitz, 12/7)
