The Perfect Enemy | Mass. doc on availability of COVID-19 boosters for fall

Mass. doc on availability of COVID-19 boosters for fall

A SHORTAGE OF UPDATED COVID-19 BOOSTERS FROM MADURAI NOW FORCES SOME PHARMACIES IN THE US TO CANCEL APPOINTMENTS. HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, DR. TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. IT’S GOOD TO BE HERE. DR. ELLERIN, AS YOU KNOW, THE CDC HAS AUTHORIZED THESE TWO TWO UPDATED BOOSTER SHOTS TARGETING THE LATEST OMICRON STRAINS NOW. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PFIZER DOSES AVAILABLE, BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED? THE SUPPLY OF MODERNA. RIGHT. SO, NATALIE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE FDA GIVING AUTHORIZATION, WE TALK ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS AND WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY. BUT WE OFTEN DON’T TALK ABOUT QUALITY. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY’RE VERY INTERESTED IN IS THAT THERE’S THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF MANUFACTURING SAFETY. AND SO IN ONE OF THE PLANTS FOR MODERNA IN INDIANA, THEY FOUND THAT THERE WERE SOME ISSUES WITH SOME QUALITY CONTROL. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME PARTICLES THAT WERE SEEN THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN. I WANT TO BE CLEAR, THIS WASN’T NECESSARILY IN THE MODERNA VACCINES THAT WERE PRODUCED. IT WAS IN THE PLANT IN GENERAL. SO, YOU KNOW, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION DID NOT INCLUDE THIS FACILITY. AND THEREFORE, THERE’S A SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGE. OKAY. LET ME ASK YOU THIS, TOO, BECAUSE WE KNOW WE’VE HEARD FROM VIEWERS WHO’VE RECEIVED MODERNA VACCINE SINCE DAY ONE, AND THEY WANT TO STICK WITH THE SAME BRAND A LOT OF THEM DO, TOO. WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO THEM? SO, JESSICA, HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS. IF YOU WANT TO STICK WITH THE SAME ONE, THAT’S ONE THING. BUT MIXING AND MATCHING, GOING FROM PFIZER TO MODERNA OR MADDERN TO THE PFIZER IS ALSO REASONABLE. AND THIS HAS BEEN TESTED IN THE LAB TO MAKE SURE THERE’S IMMUNE RESPONSE HAS ALSO BEEN SMALL CLINICAL TRIALS AS WELL. NOT WITH THE NEW BIVALENT VACCINE WITH PREVIOUS ONES. SO MOST OF US FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE THAT IF YOU’RE HIGH RISK RIGHT NOW AND YOU’RE EITHER DUE OR OVERDUE FOR THE VACCINE, IT WOULD BE REASONABLE TO GO GET PFIZER. BUT WITH THAT SAID, THE SILVER LINING FOR MODERNA IS THAT THE FDA HAS SAID THAT THE QUALITY CONTROL SEEMS VERY GOOD RIGHT NOW. AND THEY ACTUALLY ALLOWED MADDERN IT TO RELEASE 10 MILLION DOSES OF THEIR VACCINE. SO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, I THINK THEIR SUPPLY WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY AND THEY’LL DRILL IN. YOU HAVE TOLD US BEFORE THE UPDATED BOOSTERS FROM MODERNA AND PFIZER ARE VERY SIMILAR, BUT RESEARCHERS ARE STILL WAITING FOR THAT REAL WORLD DATA JUST TO SHOW HOW MUCH PROTECTION EACH ONE ACTUALLY OFFERS. SO HOW LONG COULD THAT TAKE? RIGHT. SO IMPORTANT QUESTION. I THINK THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE GETTING GOOD DATA WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. REMEMBER THE FDA AND THE CDC REALLY JUST GREENLIT THIS AT THE END OF AUGUST IN THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER. SO, SO FAR, ONLY 4.4 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE RECEIVED THAT BIVALENT BOOSTER. IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW. I ALSO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW PFIZER HAS RELEASED 30 MILLION DOSES AND MODERNA HAS RELEASED 5 MILLION DOSES. SO THERE’S STILL PLENTY OF VACCINE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW THAT HASN’T BEEN USED. BUT I THINK OVERALL, THE KEY IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE THAT REAL WORLD DATA. I EXPECT THAT IT’S GOING TO BE AT LEAST AS GOOD, IF NOT BETTER THAN WHAT WE’VE SEEN BEFORE. WHY? BECAUSE THE VACCINE IS WELL-MATCHED RIGHT NOW WITH THE CIRCULATING STRAIN THAT THAT FIVE. SO ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES, GO OUT AND GET YOUR BOOSTER. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHICH ONE YOU GET. ALL RIGHT, GOOD INFORMATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR. ELLERIN. ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU. TAKE CARE AND TO OUR VIEWERS, IF YOU HAVE COVID RELATED QUESTIONS THAT YOU’D LIKE OUR EXPERTS TO ANSWER, YOU CAN SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO A

Mass. doc on availability of COVID-19 boosters for fall

Dr. Todd Ellerin of South Shore Health talks about the availability of the fall COVID-19 boosters and why there is a shortage of Moderna doses.