Business Protections During and Post-Holiday Season ​

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A Summary of the Most-Anticipated Vaccines

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There are currently three (3) vaccines that have shown great promise to protect us against COVID-19. All are in Phase 3 Trials and have been shown to have up to 90% efficacy. All three vaccines will require two-doses which itself may present a challenge given that there is a waiting period between when Vaccination 1 is given and Vaccination 2 can then be given; meaning, you (and the vaccine provider) will need to ensure that vaccines are done at the proper time. Additionally, you can’t mix-and-match vaccines (aka: can’t use one vaccine for dose 1 and another vaccine for dose 2).

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Below is a quick summary of the three vaccines:  

1. Pfizer

   1. Two-dose vaccine – people will need to receive two doses

   2. The biggest challenge will be storage and distribution: Due to the low-temperature storage conditions (-80F), Pfizer has developed temperature-controlled thermal shippers utilizing dry ice to maintain recommended temperature conditions of -70°C±10°C for up to 10 days. If the vaccine is stored in refrigerated (2 – 8°C) conditions, it can be stored for up 5 days. Once thawed and stored under 2 - 8°C conditions, the vials cannot be re-frozen. Read Pfizer’s plan. Once in the refrigerator, the vaccine must be used within 5 days.

   3. Pfizer hopes to receive approval from the FDA on its EUA by early-/mid- December 2020. In its first distribution push, 6.4 million doses (enough for 3.2 million people) will be shipped across the U.S.

   4. Pfizer’s vaccine is anticipated to cost $20/dose.

2. Moderna

   1. Two-dose vaccine – people will need to receive two doses

   2. The biggest challenge will be storage and distribution: Vaccine can be shipped at -20C (-4F) and stored for up to 6 months at that temperature. However, once thawed and in the refrigerator (2 – 8°C), the vaccine can be stored for up to 30 days.

   3. Moderna hopes to have 20 million doses (10 million people) ready to ship in the U.S. by late-December 2020.

   4. Moderna’s vaccine is anticipated to be $15 - $25/dose.

3. AstraZeneca & Oxford University

   1. Two-dose vaccine – people will need to receive two doses

   2. Storage: The AstraZeneca vaccine can be transported and stored at refrigerator temperatures (2 – 8° C), which makes this vaccine much more accessible than the others.

   3. AstraZeneca hopes to have 700 million doses available by the end of Q1 2021.

   4. AstraZeneca has pledged to not make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic; as such, the vaccine is anticipated to be about $2.50/dose.

 

Once a vaccine is approved, the U.S. government anticipates shipping vaccines out within 24-hours of approval. As it stands, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has reported that there will only be enough initial vaccine supplies to immunize 20 million people, while following ethical principles, scientific data, and implementation feasibility.

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Additionally, a key policy goal by the CDC’s ACIP is to determine critical pouplaitons for the COVID-19 vaccination, including groups (e.g. Critical Infrastructure Workforce) that will receive the first doses when supply is first limited. The National Academy of Medicine has shared A Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus that prioritizes a phased approach to vaccination with high-risk workers in healthcare facilities receiving the first dose, and then more. We will update you as we find out more!

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TAG's U.S. Risk Matrix: Week of November 24, 2020

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As of November 25, 2020, 37 states are in the Highest-Risk Quadrant (Outbreak Index > 50). This is down from last week’s 48 states. However, it is important to note that trends ar going in the wrong direction and COVID-19 pandemic will likely get worse before it gets better. To that end, the U.S. Government Stringency Index (a composite analysis of 9 governmental indicators of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, compiled by the University of Oxford), is at 46, indicating that the overall stringency is low. As can be observed, states with higher Stringencies (and Stringency Indexes) generally have lower case rates (Table 1, below).

 

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