HHS: Best-case vaccine rollout won't be this year
Vaccine trials may take longer than hoped; tech-savvy consumers are becoming tech-savvy virtual patients;
Cutting through the noise: Ignore the predictable pushback that came from the White House and focus on what’s true and important. CDC Director Robert Redfield affirmed what he told lawmakers on Capitol Hill:
The No. 1 way to prevent COVID-19 remains face coverings, and,
No vaccine will be widely available until mid-2021 at the earliest.
Also notable: the official strategy document from the Trump Administration refers January 2021 as the point when a vaccine that is authorized in the next few months would start being available for distribution to states, which, in turn, are responsible for programs to administer vaccinations to the general public.
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Data, data, data: Texas health officials disclosed that the numbers they previously used to justify reopening businesses and other activities in April undercounted the actual number of new COVID-19 cases by counting cases based on the date of results, not the date of testing. After that wave of reopenings, Texas saw a rapid surge of new cases that strained hospitals and killed thousands. Also today, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott relaxed some closure orders - but bars remain shut.
The Health and Human Services Department released its “playbook” for rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine, organized around the expectation of a safe and effective vaccine before the end of this year. Although the preamble cites the importance of getting vaccine to minority and other groups who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the actual “example” guidelines for Phase 1A and 1B distribution include only healthcare workers, first responders, food manufacturing and distribution workers, teachers, childcare workers and people who are 65 and older.
Vaccine company Moderna’s CEO says he expects to know in November whether their candidate vaccine works. However, Stephane Bancel told the Boston Globe that vaccine trial results are taking longer than hoped — and might take even longer because infection rates are going down. This is one of the paradoxes of vaccine research: As communities take more actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 with social distancing, face coverings and hand washing, testing whether a vaccine works becomes harder, since study subjects are less likely to encounter infected people. This is why vaccine trials usually take more than just a few months. Bancel says if the company knows the vaccine works in November, it could deliver 100 million doses in the first few months of 2021.
The pandemic has pushed many individuals to buy and use tech devices and actively self-monitor themselves for various health conditions, with results that can be shared with healthcare providers who are far away, according to a report by STATNews.