News Room

After facing shortages of medical equipment and now computer chips due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for a review of vulnerabilities within U.S. critical supply chains. Biden's EO, which he signed Wednesday, instructed federal agencies to conduct two reviews. The first is a 100-day review of four classes of products, including semiconductors as well as pharmaceuticals and their active ingredients. The second is a more in-depth, year-long review of six sectors including public health and information and communications technology.

Slowly but surely, people are getting vaccinated. As of Thursday, February 25, 6.2% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated, and 14% had received at least one dose. As exciting as this news is, there’s been a lot of controversies as people find ways to skip the line and get it before higher-risk groups. Then there are people who wait in line to see if they can get access to any leftover doses at the end of the day that would otherwise go bad. These people in particular are experiencing “vaccine shaming” and are often accused of being greedy. Fitness instructor and talk show host Amanda Kloots is one of the most public victims of this shaming.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expert advisory committee is meeting today to discuss the emergency use authorization of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine. If authorized, it will be the first single-dose Covid-19 vaccine. Despite some confusing data about its efficacy compared with other vaccines, this new one-shot vaccine has the potential to substantially ease the logistical problems that we’ve seen to date. Healthcare systems, especially in the 130 countries that have yet to give out their first shots, should pay close attention. Americans should, too. First, consider the efficacy issue. Compared to the eye-popping 95% efficacy levels of the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, Johnson & Johnson’s 66% efficacy at preventing moderate and severe disease might seem disappointing. But it is important to realize that 66% is a very high efficacy level in absolute terms.

Walmart is leveraging its ubiquity and logistical know-how to become a major player in the national vaccine rollout, offering vaccinations across its roughly 5,000 Walmart and Sam’s club stores.

Fewer than half of the provinces and territories have online booking systems up and running so members of the public can make their appointments for the largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history. Some of those that have launched their systems have faced crashes and bugs.