Axios Vitals: Pfizer's blockbuster

Plus: Next vaccine culture war | Wednesday, February 09, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Feb 09, 2022 Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 807 words or a 3-minute read. 📆 Join Axios virtually at our inaugural What's Next Summit on April 5. Register here to attend livestream sessions with discussions on trends that will revolutionize our future.      1 big thing: "The next culture war" — vaccines for young kids Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Pfizer and federal officials are scrambling to speed up COVID vaccines for kids under 5 — but polls indicate plenty of parents may be on the fence about getting their child vaccinated right away. Why it matters: Officials are trying to get first shots to the littlest arms to protect against severe disease and hospitalization — which, while rare for young kids, is still a real threat. But parents of younger children are generally more cautious, which for some could mean a race to get the shots once their kids are eligible while others choose to wait. "When I looked at these numbers, I thought: 'Buckle up, PTAs. Toddler vaccines are the next culture war,'" John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, told Axios. In a Harris poll of 306 parents of kids under 5 provided exclusively to Axios, 73% of vaccinated parents said they're likely to vaccinate their kids under 5, while only 35% of unvaccinated parents would. On the flip side, 65% of unvaccinated parents said they are unlikely to get their kids under 5 vaccinated, while just 27% of vaccinated parents agreed. By the numbers: Other polls found more evidence of reluctant parents. The Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index, which includes responses from 181 parents of children under 5 across three waves of polling since the beginning of the year, found that 44% of parents with kids under 5 said they were not very or not at all likely to get their kids vaccinated as soon as possible, while 41% said they would be likely. The KFF Vaccine Monitor released last week, which included 162 responses from parents, found just three in 10 parents of children under 5 said they'd get their child vaccinated right away once a vaccine is approved. That was an improvement from one in five in July. The bottom line: If and when Pfizer's vaccines become available for the youngest kids, officials will have a job ahead of them convincing many parents to take advantage of them, even after two years of waiting. Read the rest.     2. A new top-seller: Pfizer's COVID vaccine Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images   Pfizer registered $36.8 billion of sales in 2021 from the COVID-19 vaccine it makes with BioNTech, Axios' Bob Herman writes. Why it matters: This vaccine is now officially the top-selling pharmaceutical product ever in a single year, by a huge margin. Humira is the next highest, with $20.7 billion reported in 2021 as the next highest in a single year. What to watch: Pfizer expects the vaccine will generate $32 billion of sales this year, and the company's antiviral COVID pill, called Paxlovid, will create $22 billion of revenue. Pfizer's stock dropped more than 5% on those forecasts because Wall Street expected even higher revenue numbers.     3. Fertility treatments linked to pre-term births Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   Fertility treatments appear to be associated with an increased risk for preterm births, according to a study released Tuesday in JAMA Obstetrics and Gynecology. The details: In the cohort study led by the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, researchers looked at data from the National Vital Statistics System for more than 14.3 million live, single births by mothers in the U.S. The prevalence of preterm birth was 7.6% in natural conception, compared to 10.7% among those who used assisted reproductive technology (ART) and 9.3% among those that used non-ART treatment like oral medications or injections. What they're saying: After risk adjustment, the authors said those who conceived using fertility treatments had a "significantly higher risk" for preterm birth, a finding which "warrants more investigation." The big picture: Another study looking at fertility treatments and pre-term birth published last month in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology found medically assisted reproduction treatments are associated with adverse birth outcomes. However, that study concluded the risks are unlikely to be associated with the fertility treatment itself.     A message from PhRMA Health care should help patients     Government price setting won't stop insurers from shifting the cost of medicines to patients while they pocket the savings. Instead, let's cap out-of-pocket costs and make insurance work for you. Learn more about how these proposals have potentially devastating consequences for patients.     4. Preventing the next pandemic Courtesy: Gates Notes   It's possible to keep another global pandemic like COVID-19 from happening again, Microsoft founder Bill Gates writes in his new book "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic," to be released May 3. "The world now understands how seriously we should take pandemics, and momentum is on our side," Gates, also the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote in a blog announcing the book release. "No one needs to be convinced that an infectious disease could kill millions of people or shut down the global economy," he wrote. "If we make the right choices and investments, we can make COVID-19 the last pandemic."     5. Catch up quick U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing about youth mental health on Tuesday. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images   U.S. Surgeon General warned members of Congress about alarming rates of youth mental health concerns — and a lack of timely access to care. (ABC News) A critical Johnson and Johnson plant stopped producing COVID vaccines, potentially putting developing countries even further behind. (New York Times) Beth Cameron, the National Security Council's senior director for global health security and biodefense, will be leaving her position this spring. (Axios) Amazon is rolling out its telehealth service nationwide, the company said yesterday. (CNBC)     A message from PhRMA Middlemen are pocketing your discounts     Government price setting policies won't stop insurers and other middlemen from shifting medicine costs to you. Get involved: Use your voice to stand against dangerous health care proposals like government price setting. Get more details.   👋 We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send me tips or comments by replying to this email or on Twitter @TreedinDC. Like this email style and format? Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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