January 29, 2021 Dear <<First Name>>, Welcome to this week's issue of the California Pharmacists Association's CEO Message. IN THIS ISSUE Pharmacies to Play Major Role in Distributing COVID-19 Vaccine, Sharing Information A key component of President Biden’s five-step vaccine plan is to “fully activate the pharmacies across the country.” This will greatly expand the number of providers to administer vaccines – and expand the role of pharmacists in the pandemic in the weeks and months ahead. [Read Article] California, Nation's Most Populous State, Struggles With Vaccine Rollout On NPR Morning Edition, CPhA CEO Susan Bonilla spoke with NPR about the confusion surrounding California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and how pharmacists can help. [Read Article] Local Pharmacist has Been Working Days On End to Make Sure People in SoCal get COVID-19 Vaccinations CPhA President-Elect Dr. Richard Dang is featured on News Radio KNX 10.70 where he is highlighted with all the work that he is doing in Southern California's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. [Read Article] The Pharmacist's Impact: Reimagined the Life Sciences Beyond COVID-19 From payer-mix changes, to pricing and profitability concerns, COVID-19 has made the biopharma industry fraught with market and other pressures. However, these circumstances have also presented new opportunities, including accelerated adoption of digital tools and approaches. [Read Article] University of the Pacific Hosts COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic CPhA Past President Dr. Veronica Bandy spoke on KCRA about the vaccination clinic that was held by the University of the Pacific in Stockton. [Read Article] Can the US Keep COVID Variants in Check? Here’s What It Takes The covid-19 variants that have emerged in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa and now Southern California are eliciting two notably distinct responses from U.S. public health officials. [Read Article] Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Vaccine, How it Works and Why It Matters A third Covid-19 vaccine, one made by Johnson & Johnson, could be authorized for use in the United States in the near future. Data about the single-shot vaccine released Friday, and the company is now collating its data to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization. [Read Article] Mass Vaccination Efforts Thrust Pharmacies To Center Of COVID-19 Fight Millions, if not most, Americans will likely get their COVID-19 vaccines at a drugstore or at events hosted by pharmacies at local gyms and churches. Mass vaccination is familiar territory for pharmacies. It's also fraught with new challenges this time around, as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports. [Read Article] U.S. CDC Sees Lower Rates of Allergic Reaction after Pfizer Vaccine The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it is observing a lower rate of severe allergic reactions in people in the United States who have received Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine. [Read Article] CDC Reports Rare Allergic Reactions to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, like the one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, appears to induce rare anaphylactic reactions in a small number of people who receive the vaccine, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest. [Read Article] Blue Shield of California to Oversee State's COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Blue Shield of California reached an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom to oversee the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Los Angeles Times. Under the agreement, Blue Shield will oversee the state's vaccine rollout to California counties, pharmacies and private healthcare providers, according to the news report. [Read Article] Ralphs Forced to Postpone COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments After County Pulls Back Doses Some L.A. County residents who were scheduled to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine shot will have to wait longer after officials pulled back some doses allocated for Ralphs pharmacies. [Read Article] CDC Says Vaccine Doses may be Spaced Further as FDA Eases Stance Follow-up doses of the COVID-19 vaccines could be given up to six weeks later if it’s not feasible to get them in the recommended interval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also offering some flexibility for “modest delays.” [Read Article] Merck to Stop Developing its Two COVID-19 Vaccines and Focus On Therapies Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the COVID-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots. [Read Article] Pfizer Will Ship Fewer Vaccine Vials to Account for ‘Extra’ Doses After the surprise discovery of an extra dose in every vial, Pfizer executives successfully lobbied the F.D.A. to change the vaccine’s formal authorization language. The company charges by the dose. [Read Article] California Activates Statewide 'MyTurn' Vaccine Clearinghouse Website Facing criticism for its chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout, California has quietly launched a long- promised statewide website to help residents learn when they are eligible to receive the vaccine and schedule appointments. Called MyTurn (myturn.ca.gov), the online registry has not yet been widely promoted and still is a work in progress. [Read Article] Governor Newsom Signs Executive Order to Help Bolster State’s Vaccination Efforts CPhA's advocacy efforts resulted in the Governor signing an executive order confirming that existing law protects certain health care professionals, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, from legal liability when they render services at the request of state or local officials during a state of emergency. [Read Article] California Group Creates Website to Help Seniors Find COVID-19 Vaccines The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been confusing for many across the state, so a group of volunteers came together to help seniors easily figure out where to get the shots. A team in Silicon Valley came together and within two days, the group created a website called Vaccinate CA. [Read Article] COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: How High-Tech California is Now Trying to Fix It California's muddled county-based coronavirus vaccine distribution system has stoked confusion, frustration and angst for citizens across America's most populous state. [Read Article] Biden and Health Care: What Can He Do in 100 Days? Joe Biden ran on an expansive health care platform during his 2020 presidential campaign, with a broad array of promises such as adding a government-sponsored health plan to the Affordable Care Act and lowering prescription drug prices. Perhaps most significantly, he pledged to get control of the COVID pandemic that claimed more than 400,000 American lives by Inauguration Day. [Read Article] Google Commits $150M to COVID-19 Vaccine Education Google is committing $150 million to promote COVID-19 vaccine education and equitable distribution to underserved communities, the tech giant announced Monday. Google also pledged to open up its own facilities to serve as vaccination sites as needed. [Read Article] What Lies Ahead For Pharmacists in 2021 Long gone are the days when pharmacists were sometimes referred to as pill-counters and considered just dispensers of medication. Pharmacists have become recognized as critical front-line workers in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while remaining active members of the patient care team. [Read Article] Why this is Digital Healthcare’s Moment Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare weaknesses in health systems and healthcare approaches as the world works to cope with the dual challenge of a global pandemic and ongoing patient needs. [Read Article] 2020 FDA Approvals Show Innovation Despite COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges A new report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes that the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) approved 53 novel drugs last year. These figures are in addition to innovative medicines that are approved through FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research —which include for example, cell therapies, gene therapies, vaccines and other biologic medicines. [Read Article] Risk-Based Analytics Can Breakdown COVID-19 Vaccination Bottlenecks The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxed COVID-19 vaccine restrictions and the vaccine supply is growing, yet some areas are begging for more vaccines to meet demand. [Read Article] Global Health Leaders On what Went Wrong in the Pandemic Health officials from around the globe have been vigorously discussing that question over the past week at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's Executive Board. The members, whose nine-day-long, mostly virtual gathering concludes on Tuesday, have heard recommendations from four separate panels. [Read Article] New Insulin Report Highlights How Incentives Benefit Middlemen, Harm Patients The Senate Finance Committee has released a new report detailing findings of their investigation into the role that market dynamics play in the pricing of insulins. The report conclusions further solidify what we already know: perverse incentives in the market drove up insulin costs for patients. [Read Article] Coordinated Efforts in Healthcare is Essential for Safe, Timely Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines Dan Rodriguez, R.Ph, BS, Pharm, a healthcare thought leader/strategist, facilitator of pharmacist training programs and provider of “medication management education” for patients, sheds some light on these questions from a pharmacist’s perspective. [Read Article] U.S. Drug Prices Were More than Double those in Dozens of Countries in 2018 As debate intensifies over the cost of medicines, a new analysis found that prescription drug prices were on average 2.5 times more expensive in the U.S. than in 32 other countries. And that gap widened to 3.4 times costlier when looking specifically at brand-name medications.