House Democrats Request Details on HHS’ COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy

Three House Democrat committee chairs are demanding that HHS Secretary Alex Azar detail how the department is gearing up for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, how it is working to increase public faith in a vaccine and how it will ensure its decisions aren’t influenced by politics.

In a letter to the HHS chief, Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chairman Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Chairman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) posed questions related to distribution preparations, prioritization for at-risk populations, public transparency and measures to keep political considerations out of any vaccine decisions.

The lawmakers stressed that nationwide distribution of a vaccine once approval or authorization is granted “will be a sprawling and complicated endeavor” that requires a massive effort on many fronts.

“As a vaccine is deployed, public health agencies will need to engage in ongoing surveillance for safety and effectiveness. These critical decisions must be made on the basis of science and our shared values—not politics,” they said. “It will take time to manufacture, distribute and administer doses to hundreds of millions of people.  Decisions will have to be made about who will get a vaccine first, whether particular groups will have priority for receiving a vaccine and how to implement the determined order.”

The lawmakers expressed concern about recent statements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that early, limited distribution of a vaccine could start in late October or November and large-scale distribution could possibly begin in the fall, accusing HHS of a “lack of preparation [that] becomes more concerning each day.”

CDC Director Robert Redfield recently sent letters to the governors of all 50 states asking them to be ready for COVID-19 vaccine distribution by Nov. 1. He also requested that they move to expedite the approval of distribution facility permits for McKesson, a major distributor that is working with the government to help distribute vaccine doses.

The CDC has also issued documents to states describing theoretical distribution scenarios in the fourth quarter of the year in an effort to assist them in developing their COVID-19 vaccine distribution strategies (DID, Sept. 3).

The three Democrats requested a response to their questions by Sept. 22 and a briefing for their staff members by Sept. 25.

Read the full letter here: www.fdanews.com/09-08-20-VaccinePriority.pdf. — James Miessler