Axios Vitals: The global vaccine spigot is opening up

Plus, RSV cases spiking | Thursday, June 10, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Vitals By Tina Reed ·Jun 10, 2021 Good morning. Today's newsletter is 758 words, or a 3-minute read.     1 big thing: The global vaccine supply is opening up Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   The global vaccine supply is finally opening up for countries that desperately need the ammo in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Driving the news: The Biden administration will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to share with countries around the world, with the option to buy an additional 200 million. The news came just a day after the Mastercard Foundation donated $1.3 billion to Africa's COVID-19 response. It also comes amid increasingly serious debate over the TRIPS waiver, which would suspend intellectual property protections COVID-19 vaccines. What we're watching: The administration has already said President Biden will press other rich democracies to share doses. The "G7 will vow to deliver at least 1 billion extra doses of vaccines over [the] next year to cover 80% of the world's adult population," according to a draft communique seen by Bloomberg News, their senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted. But, but, but: There needs to be more investment into readiness to deliver the vaccines. "By the end of this year, most countries globally will see distribution, delivery, and demand as the key constraints to vaccination, not supply," Duke's Global Health Institute founding director Krishna Udayakumar told Axios' Caitlin Owens. What's next: Biden could pursue similar deals with Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. "We would be very interested to help ... provide more doses to low-income countries," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told Caitlin via email. "We are investing to get up to 3B doses in 2022 and we are doing this manufacturing capacity increase to ensure we can help."     2. U.S. racial vaccine disparities persist Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios White and Asian Americans' vaccination rates continue to outpace those of Black and Hispanic Americans, though racial gaps have improved over time, per KFF. Why it matters: The pandemic is concentrated almost entirely within the unvaccinated population in the U.S., at least for now, Caitlin writes. That means it will disproportionately impact people of color as long as racial vaccination disparities persist. State of play: Over the last two weeks, the pace of vaccinations slowed among white and Asian Americans, but remained steady among Black and Hispanic people.     3. Pharma insiders boo FDA Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images   A new poll of more than 1,400 people who work in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries by John Carroll of Endpoints News reveals a clear consensus: The FDA made a big mistake approving Aduhelm, Biogen's Alzheimer's treatment, and the $56,000 price tag does not match any possible benefit. Why it matters: Even the industry's own experts are not defending the FDA and Biogen, Axios' Bob Herman writes. What they're saying: Many of the insiders' comments are worth reading in full, but this one captured the general tenor of the responses: "Aducanumab priced at $56K with the efficacy of a sugar pill is taking advantage of patients, the health care system and is ruthless," one commenter said.     A message from PhRMA We are focused on our mission: saving lives     We're not just talking about vaccines. Manufacturers are working to deliver 11 billion vaccine doses in 2021 alone. We have constructive ways to deliver vaccines, continue to innovate and lower the cost of medicine. That is our focus, day-in and day-out and that work continues.     4. U.S. sees RSV cases spike Data: CDC; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios Children's hospitals and pediatricians across the country are bracing for pediatric emergency visits after seeing an unseasonably high spike in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, Axios' Marisa Fernandez reports. Why it matters: A year of masking and social distancing due to COVID led to a decline in other respiratory illnesses like RSV, which has no vaccine and can be dangerous in young children and the elderly. But that break appears to be over. The CDC has reported nearly 500 cases per week. What's happening: Pediatricians in the U.S. have been treating handfuls of RSV cases in February and March but have seen increases in recent weeks as if it were peak season in winter, Matthew Linam, pediatric infectious disease doctor at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, told Axios. Go deeper.     5. Scoop: Venture firms' latest $300M bet Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Virginia-based AllyAlign Health, a Medicare Advantage insurance company focused on senior housing, just raised a nearly $300 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates. Why it matters: It's the latest example of investor interest in the Medicare population, and more specifically, in Medicare Advantage. NEA officials said they were interested in targeting the quality of care coordination in senior living facilities using value-based care and tech-enabled tools seen in other care models. "This is addressing a massive gap in care that the pandemic has exposed," Mohamad Makhzoumi, head of NEA's Global Healthcare Investing practice told Axios. AllyAlign is still a relatively small company operating in 22 states with 24 Medicare Advantage Organizations and about 12,000 members. The growth round included participation from Oak HC/FT, Town Hall Ventures, and existing investors Heritage Group and Ziegler. Mark Price — formerly president of the Nevada region for Intermountain Healthcare, with previous senior leadership roles at DaVita, ChenMed, and Bain and Co. — was named CEO.     A message from PhRMA We are focused on our mission: saving lives     We're not just talking about vaccines. Manufacturers are working to deliver 11 billion vaccine doses in 2021 alone. We have constructive ways to deliver vaccines, continue to innovate and lower the cost of medicine. That is our focus, day-in and day-out and that work continues.   Like this style and format? 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