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Merck and Johnson & Johnson are coming together to churn out millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses. Meg Tirrell has the story. President Joe Biden is challenging states to vaccinate the nation's teachers by the end of this month, Will Feuer reports. Bertha Coombs also reports on closing the vaccine equity gap.
NEXT WEEK: On the one year anniversary of the WHO declaring a pandemic, CNBC takes a look at how far we've come, and what needs to be done to make for a safer future for all. Meg Tirrell speaks to In-Q-Tel VP and Former FDA Acting Chief Scientist Dr. Luciana Borio, Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. Don't miss it. Join us on March 10. Register here.
| | A team of rivals: Merck teams up with J&J to double vaccine output | It was heralded as a partnership the likes of which we haven't seen since World War II: two of the globe's largest pharmaceutical companies, Merck & J&J, coming together to churn out millions of doses of J&J's Covid-19 vaccine. In announcing the deal, the Biden Administration also said J&J would now deliver its promised 100 million doses to the U.S. by May, up from June, and noted that by then the country would have enough supply to vaccinate every adult. How quickly those shots actually get into arms is another question.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Biden challenges states to vaccinate teachers, school staff this month | President Joe Biden this week embarked on a campaign to urge states to prioritize vaccinating teachers and school staff against Covid-19, with the goal of administering at least one shot to every educator and staff member across the country by the end of March. The CDC's official guidance has urged states to prioritize teachers along with frontline essential workers, but many states have chosen not to. Biden said he would use the federal partnership with retail pharmacies to help vaccinate teachers. HHS this week also directed all vaccination sites that use federally purchased doses to make the vaccine available to teachers and school staff.
-Will Feuer | | | | Closing vaccine equity gap | This week, the Biden administration began sending vaccine shipments to 250 of the nation's community health centers that serve low-income Black and Latino communities. Having a dedicated supply is an important step, but community leaders I spoke to in Colorado and Florida say being intentional about outreach is just as important to boost immunization rates.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | Europe faces 'uphill battle' as Italy blocks AstraZeneca shipment | Europe's Covid vaccine rollout has been thrust into the spotlight once again after the Italian government blocked a shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia. The move stopped around 250,000 doses of the vaccine from its Anagni, Italy, plant being shipped to Australia. The EU and AstraZeneca have been at odds since the drugmaker was unable to deliver as many shots as the bloc was expecting for the first quarter.
-Silvia Amaro | | | | Top U.S. health officials warn variants could 'hijack' nation's progress | The U.S. is at a critical point in its pandemic response as highly transmissible coronavirus variants threaten to reverse the nation's progress in a matter of weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned this week. The emergence of the new variants, specifically the variant first identified in the U.K. dubbed B.1.1.7, has largely coincided with the sharp decline in daily new cases across the U.S. since January, but those figures have since stalled. On top of that, Covid fatigue is winning, and fewer people are adhering the recommended public health measures necessary to curb the virus' spread, she said.
-Noah Higgins-Dunn | | | | NIH halts trial of plasma treatment after researchers found no benefit | The NIH said this week it halted a trial testing convalescent plasma in patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 symptoms after the independent data and safety monitoring board concluded it was unlikely to be beneficial. Scientists were already skeptical that convalescent plasma was an effective treatment for Covid, even after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the treatment in August and former President Donald Trump touted it as a "breakthrough."
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Oscar Health's IPO sinks in debut | Oscar Health CEO Mario Schlosser says he and co-founder Josh Kushner considered a listing through a SPAC, but they're prone to take the hard route and an IPO felt more like a real listing. After pricing above range, it got real pretty fast. Shares tumbled 10%. But Schlosser is focused on the health insurer's growth prospects.
-Bertha Coombs | |
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