COVID-19 Vaccine Resources

• Who Will Get the Coronavirus Vaccine First?

  "A C.D.C. advisory panel will decide on its recommendations on Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what we expect, along with answers to other questions about the new shot."

• Here’s how the U.S. government plans to distribute the first Covid-19 vaccines

  "Larry Merlo, the chief executive of CVS Health, said that pharmacists and other medical staff from CVS plan to immunize residents of more than 25,000 long-term care facilities, beginning about 48 hours after a vaccine is approved. He said that for several years, CVS has been going to nursing homes to administer the seasonal flu vaccine, so “we have the systems, we have the processes, and we have built the logistics directly for the Covid vaccine.” "

• Vaccines - From the CDC

  An often updated collection of resources about safety, timelines, and distribution.

• A Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus

  Find out what the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is considering while determining how to roll out the vaccines and read their publications

• How Pfizer Plans to Distribute Its Vaccine (It’s Complicated)

  "Success will hinge on an untested network of governments, companies and health workers."

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Vaccine access and allocation

  Information from the World Health Organization

• Who Should Get a Covid-19 Vaccine First?

  "In short, models can predict what actions might lead to what outcomes, but they can’t say which is right. “There’s ethical considerations and societal considerations,” Matrajt says, “and decision makers have to take those into account.” "

• Who gets a COVID vaccine first? Access plans are taking shape

  "Advisory groups around the world release guidance to prioritize health-care workers and those in front-line jobs."

• Who gets coronavirus vaccine first? Ethics, equity drive plan

  From the American Medical Association interview: “What if you look at the social vulnerabilities? What does it mean to live in a crowded house with three generations living in a house, inability to work from home and every day taking a risk of facing a virus, having problems with transportation, having schoolchildren coming in and out?” Dr. Foege said.

• Trump Administration Releases COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Strategy

• As COVID-19 vaccine nears, states ramp up for biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history

  "Because of the likely need for two doses given three or four weeks apart, the CDC is considering ways of helping Americans remember to get the second shot, including issuing cards that people would get with their first shot, akin to the polio immunization cards many older Americans remember carrying."

Funding Vaccine Distribution

• Missing From State Plans to Distribute the Coronavirus Vaccine: Money to Do It

  "The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have sent $200 million to the states for the effort, with another $140 million promised in December, but state and local officials said that was billions of dollars short of what would be needed to carry out their complex plans."

• Feds issue insurance-coverage rules for COVID-19 vaccine and treatments

  "Congress and President Donald Trump have already enacted legislation that calls for vaccines to be free, but the new rules were needed to align that policy with the many arcane payment requirements for public and private insurance."

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Supply Chain and Distribution

• Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine Has to Be Stored at -80°C. There’s Already a Run on Freezers.

  "It’s unclear how many of these freezers are in the U.S., but there are efforts to produce more, as experts expect there to be a shortage. "

• LA County to Evaluate Schools as Vaccine Sites

  "Hahn said schools are also uniquely positioned to follow up with families if one of the vaccines requiring a series of two doses is ultimately approved."

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FDA and Approval Process

• The man in charge of evaluating coronavirus vaccines for the FDA lays out why it will take weeks to vet a COVID-19 shot

  "What we need here is confidence," Marks said. "Everything that we are trying to do here, this is all about ensuring the public re-develops the kind of trust they once had in vaccines."

• Newsom says California will review FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines before releasing them to public

  “Of course, we don’t take anyone’s word for it,” Newsom said at a news conference on Monday. “We will do our own independently reviewed process with our world-class experts that just happen to live here in the state of California.”

• California to partner with other West Coast states on coronavirus vaccine planning

  "California has added more experts from Washington, Oregon and Nevada to their vaccine task force to help independently review and determine guidelines for allocating vaccine supplies, the governor said."

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Will a Vaccine be Mandatory in America? Why Will Some People Avoid It?

• Should a COVID-19 Vaccine Be Mandatory? Despite evidence that compulsory vaccination programs work, public health experts predict (surprise!) a backlash.

  "The majority of evidence on the effectiveness of mandatory vaccinations comes from kids. A COVID-19 vaccination, however, would need to focus on adults. And to be effective, any such program would require different motivators to ensure compliance."

• Red Cross chief urges vaccine 'fake news' fight

  “We believe that the massive, coordinated efforts that will be needed to roll out the COVID vaccine in an equitable manner need to be paralleled by equally massive efforts to proactively build and maintain trust,” Rocca said.

• A coronavirus vaccine could come soon. Could MLB mandate players and fans take it?

  "...union chief Tony Clark said he is hopeful that vaccines become viable enough to warrant a negotiation with MLB for a vaccine protocol."

• Could employers and states mandate COVID-19 vaccinations? Here’s what the courts have ruled

  "As the U.S. government fast-tracks the development of potential vaccines, it’s important to remember that a COVID-19 vaccine will stop the virus only if enough people get vaccinated. Now is the time for governments and employers to develop policies to ensure it succeeds."

• U.S. Public Now Divided Over Whether To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

  From the PEW Research Center.
  "And when asked about the pace of the vaccine approval process, 78% say their greater concern is that it will move too fast, without fully establishing safety and effectiveness..."

• A COVID-19 Vaccine Has Come Quick, But Expert Says That's No Reason To Fear It

  "And no vaccine will be delivered to the public before it really has enough confidence. And most importantly on the safety, no company wants a bad vaccine. No government wants a bad vaccine. No individual wants a bad vaccine. It's not in anyone's interest."

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Are There Side Effects?

• Time to Discuss Potentially Unpleasant Side Effects of COVID Shots? Scientists Say Yes.

  “A lot of folks don’t have sick leave. A lot of our essential workers don’t have health insurance,” he said, suggesting that essential workers should be granted three days of paid leave after they’re vaccinated. "

• Covid-19 vaccines may have potentially unpleasant side effects

  "Scientists anticipate that the shots will cause enervating flu-like side effects — including sore arms, muscle aches and fever — that could last days and temporarily sideline some people from work or school."

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Global Concerns

• Why Poorer Countries Aren't Likely To Get The Pfizer Vaccine Any Time Soon

  "The U.S., U.K., E.U., Canada and Japan have already claimed, through advanced purchase agreement, about 1.1 billion doses, or more than 80% of the supply."

• How vaccines can reach the world's poorest

  "Even before COVID-19 hit, access to vaccines was deeply unequal with around 20 million children not receiving vaccines that could save them from serious diseases, death, disability and ill health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)."
  From The World Economic Forum

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Companies Making Vaccines 

• Pfizer Says Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective

• Early Data Show Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Is 94.5% Effective

  "Researchers said the results were better than they had dared to imagine. But the vaccine will not be widely available for months, probably not until spring."

• Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker