Execs Detail Payers’ Role in COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

As the pharmaceutical industry hurtles toward completing a COVID-19 vaccine, payers and PBMs have begun to draft vaccine distribution plans based on emerging guidance from federal public health leaders. Insurance industry leaders say that they anticipate the government and its chosen distributor, McKesson Corp., will handle most of the early work in distributing vaccines, but that payers should anticipate taking a role in educating members and directing inoculations to appropriate populations in later stages.

Official federal vaccine guidance will originate with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine policy body. ACIP generates ongoing public health and distribution guidelines for vaccinations, including the annual rules for influenza vaccines. According to a Sept. 22 report in the Wall Street Journal, ACIP has opted to defer issuing formal guidance for initial COVID-19 vaccine distribution until clinical trials have advanced further. On a related point, ACIP generally waits to issue guidance until vaccines have been approved by the FDA. ACIP’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28-30, and the panel may release guidance at that point.

© 2023 MMIT
Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson

Peter has been a reporter for nearly a decade. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered a wide variety of topics in his hometown of Seattle, where he continues to live. Peter’s work has appeared in publications including The Atlantic and The Stranger. Peter attended Colby College.

Related Posts

businessman-viewing-news-update-journalism-headline-on-a-laptop
November 22

News Briefs: CDC Makes More RSV Immunizations Available to Infants

READ MORE
dna-strand
November 22

Papers Delve Into Payment Options for Gene Therapies

READ MORE
pills
November 22

A Closer Look at the Medicare Part D Landscape

READ MORE

GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND

Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.

subscribe today