Weekly Roundup COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Policy, and Public Perception in the United States

People, Perceptions, and Polls

NEWS Why Fights Over The COVID-19 Vaccine Are Everywhere On Facebook. Confrontations between pro- and anti-vaccine users aren’t unique to Facebook — the anti-vaxx movement is as old as vaccines themselves — but the site has created an ecosystem that, intentionally or not, has allowed this battle to flourish. And while the social media giant has made efforts to curb the spread of misinformation, it hasn’t been enough to end the battle for hearts and minds. (FiveThirtyEight, 1/22/21) See also: Yes, the Anti-Vaxxers Are Coming for the Coronavirus Vaccines (Gizmodo, 1/26/21) Anti-vaccine activists peddle theories that Covid-19 shots are deadly, undermining vaccination (CNN, 1/25/21) In Tiny Kansas Town, Pandemic Skeptics Abound Amid False Information And Politics (NPR, 1/25/21)

NEWS With painstaking effort, Black doctors’ group takes aim at Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy. The National Medical Association, a professional society of African American doctors, formed its own in-house FDA to vet the data when the official one seemed not to be. At first, the task force was framed as a stand-in — another instance in the long history of Black leaders stepping in where the government had failed. But they’ve moved beyond mere recommendations. They’ve also taken on the slower, more painstaking work of building and maintaining patients’ trust in these vaccines. (STAT, 1/22/21) See also: Four Steps To Help Achieve COVID-19 Vaccine Adoption: How Health Professionals Can Embrace Their Role As Messengers (Health Affairs, 1/22/21)

NEWS The Vaccinated Class. The coronavirus vaccine wasn’t supposed to be a golden ticket. A tiered and efficient rollout was meant to inoculate frontline workers and the most vulnerable before the rest of society. But scattershot and delayed distribution of the still-limited supply now threatens to create a new temporary social class. (New York Times, 1/23/21) See also: Who Goes First? Government Leaders and Prioritization of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines (New England Journal of Medicine, 1/20/21) They've got the Covid vaccination but don't feel relieved. Why some have survivor's guilt. (NBC News, 1/24/21) America's botched vaccine rollout puts its broken health care system on full display (MSNBC, 1/28/21)

NEWS Will public trust in science survive the pandemic? The confluence of rapidly evolving science, mixed messaging, misinformation, and flagrant politicization in the US is creating a perfect storm for eroding trust in science. (Chemical & Engineering News, 1/25/21) See also: Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking (White House, 1/27/21)

POLL Nearly Half of American Adults Now Want the Covid Vaccine — ASAP. About half of those who said they want the shot as soon as possible know someone who has already gotten a dose, a much larger share than among those who said they’ll get it only if required (29%) or will refuse to get it (36%). (KHN, 1/27/21)

SURVEY Healthcare Workers and Vaccine Hesitancy. Survey results show that nearly half (49%) of respondents report that they are definitely planning to get vaccinated. However, of the 53% of respondents that have already been offered the vaccine, a concerning number (15%) say they refused to take it. (Surgo Ventures, 1/21)

PODCAST Considering Ethics and Equity in Vaccinating a Nation—A Two-Part Episode. In part one, Stephanie Desmon talks to Johns Hopkins ethicist Dr. Ruth Faden about the ethics of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and choosing who is and who isn’t eligible to be vaccinated in the near term. In part two, Dr. Josh Sharfstein speaks with Dr. Chidinma Ibe, an assistant professor of medicine and the associate director for stakeholder engagement of the Center for Health Equity at Johns Hopkins. They discuss equity in vaccine distribution, or why we have to do more than just count the number of vaccinations. (Public Health On Call, 1/26/21) See also: COVID Vaccine Rollout Pits Fairness against Speed (Scientific American, 1/26/21)

TOWN HALL The COVID-19 Vaccine: A Town Hall Conversation. During our conversation, we will discuss COVID-19 updates, the science behind the vaccines, the need for fairness in vaccine distribution, and frequently asked questions. Featured speakers include Dr. Oni Blackstock (Health Justice), Dr. Robert Fullilove (Columbia University Medical Center), and Angela Soto (NYC Department of Mental Health & Hygiene). The town hall will take place on February 18, 2021, 6:30-8 PM EST. Registration is required. (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1/21)

NEWS White people are getting vaccinated at higher rates than Black and Latino Americans. A CNN analysis of data from 14 states found vaccine coverage is twice as high among White people on average than it is among Black and Latino people. The analysis found that on average, more than 4% of the White population has received a Covid-19 vaccine, about 2.3 times higher than the Black population (1.9% covered) and 2.6 times higher than the Hispanic population (1.8% covered). (CNN, 1/26/21) See also: Early Data Showed Stark Racial Disparity In NYC Vaccine Distribution. Then The City Stopped Releasing It (Gothamist, 1/26/21)

NEWS Vaccinated People Are Going to Hug Each Other. Risk-mitigation strategies are needed in public spaces, particularly indoors, until more people are vaccinated and infections wane. But not all human interactions take place in public. Advising people that they must do nothing differently after vaccination—not even in the privacy of their homes—creates the misimpression that vaccines offer little benefit at all. Vaccines provide a true reduction of risk, not a false sense of security. (The Atlantic, 1/27/21)

WEBINAR Social Media Interventions and Vaccine Hesitancy. Immunization and communications experts will discuss what action is needed to prevent anti-vaccine efforts from spreading over social media networks, and what challenges the infodemic poses to public health efforts internationally. The webinar will be held on February 9, 2021 at 1 PM EST. Registration is required. (International Vaccine Access Center, 1/21)

OP-ED The Secret to Getting a Vaccine Appointment. What’s the secret to getting an appointment? It’s the same secret to navigating any American system: have a tech-savvy English-speaking person in your life with ample time on their hands. (Culture Study, 1/24/21)

Research, Development, and Clinical Practice

NEWS Johnson & Johnson Announces Single-Shot Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Met Primary Endpoints in Interim Analysis of its Phase 3 ENSEMBLE Trial. Among all participants from different geographies and including those infected with an emerging viral variant, Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, 28 days after vaccination. The onset of protection was observed as early as day 14. The level of protection against moderate to severe COVID-19 infection was 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, 28 days post-vaccination. (Johnson & Johnson, 1/29/21) See also: Johnson & Johnson is 'comfortable' meeting coronavirus vaccine delivery promises, CFO says (Fierce Pharma, 1/26/21)

NEWS Novavax says its Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective, but far less so against one variant. In its 15,000-volunteer U.K. trial, Novavax said, the vaccine prevented nine in 10 cases, including against a new strain of the virus that is circulating there. But in a 4,400-volunteer study in South Africa, the vaccine proved only 49% effective. In the 94% of the study population that did not have HIV, the efficacy was 60%. (STAT, 1/28/21)

NEWS Merck Stops Developing Both Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates. Merck is halting development of its two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, saying that while the drugs seemed to be safe, they didn't generate enough of an immune response to effectively protect people against the coronavirus. (NPR, 1/25/21)

NEWS New coronavirus variants accelerate race to make sure vaccines keep up. Moderna, the maker of one of the two authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States, announced it would develop and test a new vaccine tailored to block a similar mutation-riddled virus variant in case an updated shot becomes necessary. (Washington Post, 1/26/21) See also: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Growing Threat of Viral Variants (JAMA, 1/28/21) Moderna’s vaccine is less potent against one coronavirus variant but still protective, company says (STAT, 1/25/21) Moderna and other companies plan tweaks that would protect against new coronavirus mutations (Science, 1/26/21) Pfizer working on booster shot to protect against COVID-19 variants (Reuters, 1/26/21) Stanford nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine shows early success in mice (ScopeBlog, 1/21/21)

NEWS Protect Pregnant Women 'Through Research,' Not 'From Research,' OB-GYNs Urge. Routinely including on research design teams a pharmacologist who is well versed in the changes of pregnancy would be a start. That sort of specialist could help ensure that once drug safety is ensured, dosing studies throughout pregnancy are conducted, and that would vastly improve the quality of the evidence gathered. (NPR, 1/25/21) See also: The False Rumors About Vaccines That Are Scaring Women (New York Times, 1/26/21)

UPDATE Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. During December 14 to 23, 2020, after administration of a reported 1,893,360 first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (1,177,527 in women, 648,327 in men, and 67,506 with sex of recipient not reported), CDC identified 21 case reports submitted to VAERS that met Brighton Collaboration case definition criteria for anaphylaxis, corresponding to an estimated rate of 11.1 cases per million doses administered. (JAMA, 1/21/21) See also: Covid-19 Vaccine Injuries — Preventing Inequities in Compensation (New England Journal of Medicine, 1/20/21)

Policy

REPORT COVID-19: Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require Focused Federal Attention. In this report, GAO is making 13 recommendations to federal agencies to improve the ongoing response and recovery efforts in the areas of public health and the economy. As the new Congress and administration establish their policies and priorities for the federal government’s COVID-19 response, GAO urges swift action on these 13 recommendations, as well as on the additional recommendations that GAO has made since June 2020. (GAO, 1/28/21)

NEWS Biden Inherits a Vaccine Supply Unlikely to Grow Before April. Federal health officials and corporate executives agree that it will be impossible to increase the immediate supply of vaccines before April because of lack of manufacturing capacity. The administration should first focus, experts say, on fixing the hodgepodge of state and local vaccination centers that has proved incapable of managing even the current flow of vaccines. (New York Times, 1/21/21) See also: U.S. will have enough Covid-19 vaccines for 300 million Americans by end of summer, Biden says (STAT, 1/26/21) Covid-19 vaccine supply is running low. Here’s how Biden hopes to fix that (STAT, 1/21/21) CDC director says federal government does not know how much Covid vaccine the U.S. has (CNBC, 1/24/21) Fauci: There’s No ‘Organized Approach’ to Tracking COVID Vaccine (Daily Beast, 1/28/21) Pfizer Will Ship Fewer Vaccine Vials to Account for ‘Extra’ Doses (New York Times, 1/22/21) In Crises, Vaccines Can Be Stretched, but Not Easily (New York Times, 1/23/21) Why Vaccines Alone Will Not End the Pandemic (New York Times, 1/24/21)

NEWS CDC says 2nd coronavirus vaccine shot may be scheduled up to 6 weeks later. The agency also said that in “exceptional situations,” patients may switch from one of the authorized vaccines to the other between the first and second doses. (Washington Post, 1/23/21) See also: "I Feel Powerless." New Yorkers Lament Struggles With Scheduling Second COVID-19 Vaccine Doses (Gothamist, 1/27/21)

Public Health Practice

NEWS Are Mass Clinics the Solution for Covid-19 Vaccination? Choosing whether to do mass vaccination is effectively a proxy for deciding national priorities: whether to reach herd immunity quickly, by vaccinating as widely as possible in order to suppress infections, or whether to focus on protecting the most vulnerable, by targeting the first doses in order to reduce severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. (Wired, 1/26/21) See also: The Architecture of Mass Vaccine Distribution (CityLab, 1/22/21) Vaccine Rollout Moves Toward a Supply Snag (American Prospect, 1/25/21) Big Business Boosts Vaccine Effort, but It’s ‘Complex Choreography’ to Get Shots in Arms (Kaiser Health News, 1/26/21) The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Has Been Slow And Chaotic. Here’s How That Could Change. (BuzzFeed News, 1/23/21) Let Fire Stations and EMS Crews Administer Covid Vaccines (Wired, 1/22/21) How West Virginia Became a U.S. Leader in Vaccine Rollout (New York Times, 1/24/21) Podcast: Getting Shots Into Arms: The Race to Vaccinate Against COVID-19 (ASTHO, 1/21/21)

PODCAST The Man With the Plan to Beat the Pandemic. In this episode, Surgeon General Murthy walks Ezra Klein through the Biden administration’s plan to beat the coronavirus. They discuss America’s botched vaccine rollout efforts, what the choke points are now, whether the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be approved, why the U.S. government should be shipping out free masks, what’s blocking 24/7 vaccination sites, the F.D.A.’s overly conservative approach to at-home testing kits, what we can and can’t do after getting the vaccine, the vaccine failures in blue states, how to change the minds of the nearly third of Americans who are vaccine-skeptical, why persuasion is as much about listening as talking, the new coronavirus variants, and much more. (New York Times, 1/26/21)

NEWS Google plans vaccination clinics at some of its sites. Google is launching an initiative to provide more than $150 million to promote education and equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines. It’s going to make some Google facilities — buildings, parking lots, and open spaces — available as vaccination clinics, with plans to open sites in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kirkland, Washington, and New York City first, and expand nationally as vaccines become more widely available. (The Verge, 1/25/21)

NEWS When will kids be able to get the Covid-19 vaccines? The National Academy of Medicine, in its fall 2020 recommendations for vaccine allocation, said that children should be in phase 3 of recipients — which falls before the general adult population and in the same group as many essential workers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet decided what group it will put children in. (Vox, 1/25/21) See also: Vaccine Rollout Skips TSA Screeners, Air-Traffic Controllers (Bloomberg, 1/26/21)

This newsletter supports CommuniVax, a research coalition convened by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Texas State University Department of Anthropology, with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.