AP: Global vaccine plan may allow rich countries to buy more
“Politicians and public health leaders have publicly committed to equitably sharing any coronavirus vaccine that works, but the top global initiative to make that happen may allow rich countries to reinforce their own stockpiles while making fewer doses available for poor ones. Activists warn that without stronger attempts to hold political, pharmaceutical, and health leaders accountable, vaccines will be hoarded by rich countries in an unseemly race to inoculate their populations first…” (Cheng, 7/14).

POLITICO: Vaccine makers’ ‘no profit’ pledge stirs doubts in Congress
“Some of the pharmaceutical companies developing Covid-19 vaccine candidates have pledged to not take a profit. But neither the companies nor the U.S. government bankrolling a great deal of the vaccine research has defined precisely what forgoing a profit means or how long that will last. And that’s feeding skepticism and uncertainty among industry watchers and doubts in Congress about who will end up paying what could be a very large tab…” (Brennan, 7/13).

STAT: European Parliament backs WHO effort to create a Covid-19 technology access pool
“In an overwhelming vote, the European Parliament late last week agreed to support a World Health Organization initiative to create a Technology Access Pool, which would collect patent rights, regulatory test data, and other information that could be shared for developing drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to combat Covid-19…” (Silverman, 7/13).

Al Jazeera: How do we develop a COVID-19 vaccine ethically? (7/14).

Fortune: Vanishing antibodies could doom the race to develop a one-and-done coronavirus vaccine, study shows (Dunn, 7/13).

The Hill: Senate Democrats call for $25B for vaccine production, distribution in next package (Sullivan, 7/13).

Homeland Preparedness News: CEPI invests additional $66M into Clover Biopharmaceuticals for COVID-19 vaccine efforts (Galford, 7/13).

Newsweek: Russia Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Distributed Next Month (Kim, 7/13).

Reuters: Russia may start Phase III trial of COVID-19 vaccine in mid-August: RIA (Ivanova, 7/13).

Washington Post: Decades of research on an HIV vaccine boosts the bid for one against coronavirus (Johnson/Bernstein, 7/14).

Washington Post: Operation Warp Speed is pushing for covid-19 therapeutics by early fall (Johnson, 7/13).