AP: AstraZeneca secures orders for virus vaccine under testing
“Drug maker AstraZeneca said Thursday it had secured its first agreements for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it is testing, bolstered by an investment from the U.S. vaccine agency. The Anglo-Swedish company reported it had received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting this fall…” (Kirka, 5/21).

The Hill: Two new studies suggest COVID-19 antibodies provide immunity
“A pair of peer-reviewed lab studies conducted by research teams at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston suggest that antibodies created in response to COVID-19 provide immunity from the disease. The studies suggesting one can’t become reinfected with the coronavirus were both published in the journal Science on Wednesday…” (Johnson, 5/20).

New York Times: Trump’s Vaccine Chief Has Vast Ties to Drug Industry, Posing Possible Conflicts
“The chief scientist brought on to lead the Trump administration’s vaccine efforts has spent the last several days trying to disentangle pieces of his stock portfolio and his intricate ties to big pharmaceutical interests, as critics point to the potential for significant conflicts of interest. … Just days into his job, the extent of Dr. Slaoui’s financial interests in drug companies has begun to emerge…” (Kaplan et al., 5/20).

NPR: What It Would Take To Develop A Coronavirus Vaccine
“NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Prashant Yadav, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, about why vaccines require global cooperation and how the U.S. is approaching the challenge…” (Kelly, 5/20).

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Why developing a COVID-19 vaccine is only part of the struggle (Stirgus, 5/19).

Bloomberg: How China’s Pledge to Give Its Virus Vaccine Could Go (5/19).

CNBC: Trump administration’s ‘Warp Speed’ plan gets this right about speeding up a Covid-19 vaccine (Clifford, 5/20).

Financial Times: AstraZeneca books orders for 400m doses of Oxford vaccine (Rovnick et al., 5/21).

New York Times: A New Entry in the Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine: Hope (Zimmer et al., 5/20).

NPR: New Studies Show That Developing A Coronavirus Vaccine Should Be Possible (Palca, 5/20).

Reuters: U.S. secures 300 million doses of potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (B et al., 5/21).

Reuters: Red Cross aid agency warns against any move to limit vaccine access (Nichols, 5/20).

Washington Post: Trump’s promise of ‘Warp Speed’ fuels anti-vaccine movement in fertile corners of the Web (Stanley-Becker, 5/20).