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Q&A
Council member questions health officials on COVID vaccine availability and funding
3:12:20
·
4 min
Council Member Lynn Schulman engages in a discussion with health department officials about recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and their potential impact on vaccine availability and funding. The conversation covers concerns about restricted access, increased vaccine prices, and the city's potential role in funding or negotiating with pharmaceutical companies.
- The FDA announced a risk-based framework for COVID vaccination, focusing on older individuals.
- There are concerns about vaccine affordability and availability if access is restricted.
- The health department is awaiting further federal policy developments before determining the city's approach to vaccine distribution and funding.
Lynn Schulman
3:12:20
So here's the conundrum.
3:12:22
So the federal gov the has the CDC, is it CDC or FDA has determined that the next COVID booster is only gonna be for people who are 65 or who have health issues.
3:12:43
Am I correct?
Michelle Morse
3:12:45
This is a actively emerging area, that we are digging into right now.
3:12:51
I'd actually like to ask our Deputy Commissioner, Doctor.
3:12:53
Quinn, to join me at the table to speak a little bit about it because it is very much in evolution and hot off the presses.
Lynn Schulman
3:13:00
Hi, Doctor.
Dr. Celia Quinn
3:13:01
Thank you, and definitely appreciate everyone's interest and concern about this topic.
3:13:06
So yes, earlier this week, the FDA made an announcement that they believe that the appropriate framework for COVID vaccination should be risk based and specifically focused on older people.
3:13:20
It's true that older people have much higher risk for severe manifestations of COVID.
3:13:25
That said, there's a lot of, you know, reasons why we believe other people may need to get COVID vaccines as well.
3:13:33
Normally, the determination of how those vaccines would be used, like who should get them and when, is made by a recommendation by a different advisory committee of CDC called ACIP.
3:13:45
They are supposed to meet at the June to take up this discussion.
3:13:49
So it's in this moment a little bit unclear what is going to happen.
Lynn Schulman
3:13:53
Because I'm asking because one is if you're gonna restrict it, that means that the pharmaceutical companies are gonna increase the price of getting those vaccines.
3:14:05
That's one.
3:14:07
The other is that as a result of that, I think it's Moderna but I could be wrong.
3:14:12
But one of the companies pulled out, they were putting together a vaccine that was a combination flu and COVID vaccine so they've pulled out of that.
3:14:22
So I wanna and I don't know where we are with the flu vaccine because usually it's WHO and all the stuff and nobody know, we're getting closer to September now and August is actually when or at least in the past when flu vaccines have been available where we are with that because if if people can't afford to get the vaccines, that's gonna put us in a really bad spot.
3:14:45
So that's why I wanna ask in terms of funding, like, where we are.
Dr. Celia Quinn
3:14:50
Sure.
3:14:50
So there are a lot of downstream implications of this announcement that FDA made, and there's a lot that we still don't know about how this is all going to play out.
3:15:00
That's kind of a separate issue from how we're funded to advocate and educate people about vaccines and fund But definitely I think all of the concerns you raised are certainly on our minds.
Lynn Schulman
3:15:11
I mean, because is it something where we're gonna have to fund these vaccines?
3:15:16
That's what I'm trying to figure out here.
3:15:18
Or how that works with this I'm just we don't know.
Dr. Celia Quinn
3:15:23
I think we'll know a lot more in like four weeks.
Lynn Schulman
3:15:26
Okay.
3:15:26
Because we need to know that in terms of the budget and whether that's something we need to figure out.
3:15:34
And do you, I mean this is sort of a odd question, but do you have, do you meaning this, do you New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have relationships with the pharmaceutical companies?
3:15:49
Is that something we're allowed to do directly?
3:15:51
We're not allowed to do that?
Dr. Celia Quinn
3:15:55
Yeah.
3:15:55
I mean, it's it's among the many things that we're considering, and we have been in conversation with the vaccine companies throughout the pandemic and during the MPOXX emergency as well.
3:16:05
So that's definitely a potential.
3:16:10
Again, it's just it's a little the federal policy on this is evolving right now, so it's a little hard to know exactly what it will look like when we get to the fall.
Lynn Schulman
3:16:20
Let us know.
3:16:21
And if I can be helpful at all with any of that, I'm more than happy to do that.
3:16:28
Because we've had we've had I've had insurers come to me to see how they could be helpful.
Constance Lesold
3:16:35
That's great.
Dr. Celia Quinn
3:16:36
That's good to know.
Lynn Schulman
3:16:36
So we should have we should have that conversation.
Michelle Morse
3:16:39
Great.
3:16:39
Sounds good.