COVID-19 Vaccines Face Distribution Challenges

The Trump administration has said that the Department of Defense (DOD) will take the lead in distributing the COVID-19 vaccines secured under Operation Warp Speed, but some lawmakers are concerned that the administration has not yet released details of how that will be done.

“Congress, key public health stakeholders and the American people have yet to be informed about how the administration intends to ensure the equitable distribution of a vaccine once it is available,” said Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee, and Diana Degette (D-Colo.), chair of the E&C’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, in an Aug. 5 letter to Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx and HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Distribution efforts by DOD may “risk duplicating or undermining existing public health partners and infrastructure with longstanding experience in supporting the distribution, allocation and tracking of vaccines,” the lawmakers said.

The administration’s apparent lack of engagement with key stakeholders is “deeply troubling,” Pallone and DeGette said.

In the absence of a clear government plan, states are making their own distribution plans. The National Governors Association has urged state governors to take steps to help smooth distribution once a vaccine becomes available, such as ordering staff to develop vaccine distribution scenarios and considering how vaccine delivery should be prioritized.

The Center for American Progress, a progressive policy research group, has come up with some ideas for improving U.S. vaccine distribution, including invoking the Defense Production Act to coordinate manufacturing capacity for glass vials, syringes and needles.

The center called for mapping the nation’s manufacturing capacity for vaccine supplies and materials, including vials, syringes, needles, stoppers, adjuvants and cold storage, and for  immediately investing an additional $70 million to expand manufacturing capacity for syringes and needles.

Read the Pallone/DeGette letter here: www.fdanews.com/08-06-20-TaskForceHHSLetter.pdf. — Martin Berman-Gorvine