COVID-19 Federal Responses: Thursday, December 10, 2020

IMPORTANT VACCINE NEWS

As noted below, today the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committeerecommendedthat the FDA issue an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s vaccine. This is among the final steps before the FDA issues an EUA.The FDA could issue an EUA for Pfizer’s vaccine as early as Friday. Vaccines will be distributed within 24 hours of FDA authorization.The same Advisory Committee will convene to review Moderna’s vaccine candidate on December 17.

Congress

• Congresshas yet to reach an agreementon COVID-19 relief legislation, however, negotiations are ongoing.

White House and Federal Agencies

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) releasednew hospital COVID-19 capacity data at the facility level。Previously released data about hospital capacity was aggregated at the state level. This new, more granular, data release aggregates daily hospital reports into a “week at a time” picture.
  • The public will be able to find more COVID-19 information onHealthData.gov, the home of HHS open data. TheseCOVID-19 datasetsare also discoverable and downloadable on Data.gov.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent aletter to all Governors on strategies for updating hospital capacityin light of increasing hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
• CMSpublishednew information about how it covers and reimburses monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) willdistribute $523 million in second round performance paymentsto over 9,000 nursing homes. These nursing homes are being rewarded for successfully reducing COVID-19 related infections and deaths between September and October.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Updates

• CDC updated its resource page onvaccinations。The webpage provides information for healthcare professionals on preparing for vaccinations, preparing patients, and the process for vaccine approval.
• CDC updated:

• • its webpage withFAQs on Clinical Questions about COVID-19。
  • Information for Clinicians on Investigational Therapeutics for Patients with COVID-19。CDC strongly encourages clinicians, patients and their advocates, and health system administrators to regularly consult theCOVID-19 Treatment Guidelinespublished by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The treatment and management recommendations in these guidelines are based on scientific evidence and expert opinion and are frequently updated.
  • information onWhen to Quarantine– Stay at Home When Exposed.
  • its information onTreatments that your Healthcare Provider Might Recommend if you are Sick。Treatments used for COVID-19 should be prescribed by your healthcare provider. People have been严重伤害,甚至死亡after taking products not approved for COVID-19, even products approved or prescribed for other uses.
  • its information onprotecting yourself during the holiday season。
  • its FAQs related toTravel and COVID-19。
  • testing informationon who should get tested, how to get tested and how to understand testing results.
  • its information forWorkplaces and Businesses。
  • its webpage onThings to Know about the COVID-19 Pandemic。
  • its information onVentilation。布鲁泰克tive ventilation practices and interventions can reduce the airborne concentration, which reduces the overall viral dose to occupants.
  • its information onCOVID-19 and Animals。Based on the limited information available to date, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low.

• CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield isexpectinghigh levels of COVID-19 deaths for the next 60 days.

Economy, Vaccine, Testing and Treatment

• A Federal Drug Administration (FDA) staff review of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccineconfirmsthe vaccine is successful at preventing COVID-19 symptoms.
  • The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committeemet todayto review Pfizer’s vaccine candidate. This is among the final steps before FDA emergency approval.
  • The Advisory Committeerecommendedthat the FDA issues an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s vaccine.
  • The federal government will immediatelydistribute2.9 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine upon FDA approval.
  • The Department of Defense will immediatelydistribute44,000 doses.
• Modernaexpects to produce500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
• New datareleasedby AstraZeneca and Oxford University about their COVID-19 vaccine candidate suggests it will not be as effective as the candidates from Pfizer and Moderna.
• The United Kingdom (U.K.), which recently began vaccinating people against COVID-19,reportedsome allergic reactions to the vaccine. It is important to note that such reactions are not unexpected with vaccines and in the case of this vaccine they are rare.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH)no longer recommendsremdesivir for patients on mechanical ventilators.
• The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 hasmutatedinto seven strains.
• NIH released information about a NIH-funded tool that helps organizationsplan COVID-19 testing。一个创新的在线工具由美国国立卫生研究院资助的帮助s organizations choose a COVID-19 testing strategy that will work best for their specific needs. The COVID-19 Testing Impact Calculator is a free resource that shows how different approaches to testing and other mitigation measures, such as mask use, can curb the spread of the virus in any organization.
• NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins released a blog post about astudy among healthcare workers that shows COVID-19 immunity lasts many months。New findings from a study of thousands of healthcare workers in England show that those who got COVID-19 and produced antibodies against the virus are highly unlikely to become infected again, at least over the several months that the study was conducted.