5 takeaways from the US coronavirus vaccine plan
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Today in healthcare news: American Well is set to make its public-market debut after raising $742 million by pricing at $18 a share on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere: What you need to know about the plan to get Americans vaccinated, when the director of the CDC expects everyone to get a coronavirus shot, and the CEO of Moderna says the biotech is more than just a coronavirus vaccine company.
Nurse Kath Olmstead, right, gives volunteer Melissa Harting, of Harpersville, N.Y. an injection as the world's biggest study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., gets underway Monday, July 27, 2020, in Binghamton, N.Y.AP Photo/Hans Pennink
The US just laid out a 57-page playbook to get free coronavirus vaccines to every American. Here are the 5 crucial takeaways.
- The Trump administration released a playbook about how it would make sure every American in the US gets a free coronavirus vaccine.
- The government will distribute the vaccine to people who need it most and then ramp up to more people as more shots are made.
- Officials expect people will need to get two vaccines that will be administered between 21 to 28 days apart.
Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wears a protective mask during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump administration officials are set to defend the federal government's response to the coronavirus crisis at the hearing hosted by a House panel calling for a national plan to contain the virus.Erin Scott-Pool/Getty Images
CDC director Robert Redfield just told Senators that most Americans won't get a coronavirus vaccine until summer or fall 2021
- At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, CDC Director Robert Redfield said most Americans won't receive a coronavirus vaccine until "late second quarter, third quarter 2021."
- That contradicts the timeline that Paul Mango, deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Health and Human Services, put forward the same day.
- Mango said the US is on track to "vaccinate every American before the end of first quarter 2021."
- Hours later, President Donald Trump contradicted Redfield, calling him "confused," and saying a shot could be available in October.
- Most experts agree that a vaccine won't be available before the election this fall.
Read the full story from Aria Bendix here>>
Moderna's CEO told us we should know if the biotech's coronavirus vaccine works in November
- Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said it's likely we'll know if Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine works in November.
- The timing depends in part on how effective the shot actually is at preventing disease.
- The more effective the vaccine is, the quicker a board of independent scientists will be able to conclude that it works.
- Bancel also laid out why Moderna plans to start working on a shot to prevent the seasonal flu. And he told us it could be combined with the company's coronavirus vaccine.
Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>
More stories we're reading:
- Here's how Lilly and 13 other top drugmakers are sprinting to develop vaccines or treatments that can halt this pandemic.(Business Insider)
- Illumina is nearing a deal to buy cancer detection company Grail (which Illumina spun out a few years ago) (Bloomberg)
- We just got the first data showing that antibody drugs could help keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital. Here are the 9 top drugmakers racing to develop these promising coronavirus treatments. (Business Insider)
- HHS spokesman Michael Caputo is taking leave (Politico)
Back tomorrow for our weekly roundup of the week's news! Be sure to subscribe to this newsletter here in the meantime.
- Lydia