LONDON – EU health ministers have given the go-ahead for the European Commission to negotiate COVID-19 vaccines contracts on behalf of all 27 member states, approving the use of a €2.3 billion (US$2.6 billion) emergency fund for down payments.

Before the lessons of COVID-19 fade into yesterday’s news, Congress should start preparing for the next pandemic, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is advising. As the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the senator issued a white paper Tuesday identifying areas that must be addressed.

Threads of hope and caution stitched together a wide-ranging appraisal of COVID-19 vaccines at June 9's BIO Digital plenary, "A Way Forward." The good news, delivered by one of the world's most sober participants in the pandemic response, mercifully came first.

LONDON – The European Commission is laying plans for joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of all 27 EU member states, and is in discussions to agree on a harmonized approach to access and who gets vaccinated first.

PERTH, Australia – Aussie biotech CSL Ltd. and the University of Queensland (UQ) have entered a development agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate  development, manufacture and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Queensland.

LONDON – The foundation stone of a system to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines was put in place by the global vaccines summit on June 4, with 12 donors pledging $567 million in seed money for an advance market commitment (AMC) program.

During a massive disaster or a pandemic, securing the necessary manufacturing capacity, needles, syringes, vials, properly labeled caps, reagents and other supplies is as critical as the development of the product itself. Some experts have been warning about these needs since COVID-19 first began spreading outside of China. Now members of Congress are sounding the alarm.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded much of the FDA, and commissioner Stephen Hahn said on a June 1 conference call that “there have been hiccups along the way” as the enormity of the threat came into view. The agency’s use of emergency use authorizations (EUAs) has drawn criticism, but Hahn defended those EUAs and other regulatory flexibilities even has he declared that the FDA is not “walking away from” randomized, controlled clinical trials as the gold standard for premarket review.

LONDON – The World Health Organization (WHO) is stepping up its effort to try and ensure equitable access to any approved COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, putting in place a system for sharing all intellectual property, information and clinical trials data needed to enable generic manufacturing.