COVID-19 Update #58 for 12/14/2020

On 12/11/2020, the FDA granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID‐19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 for individuals 16 years of age and older. Vaccine Fact Sheets are available for Healthcare Providers and Vaccine Recipients/Caregivers. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 11-0, with three recusals to recommend use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine on 12/12/2020. ACIP also had a unanimous vote to include the vaccine in 2021 immunization schedules. The committee noted there are little data on vaccine outcomes in patients who are pregnant, lactating, immunocompromised, or have severe allergies.  The CDC will offer guidance for use of the vaccine in these groups before the end of the year. The CDC officially accepted ACIP’s recommendation to use Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 and older, the same day.
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APhA’s Webinar Series addressing the COVID-19 Crisis: An Open Forum Webinar Series for Pharmacists on December 10, 2020, discussed breaking information about COVID-19 vaccines, including the latest in the development, approval, allocation, and distribution, as well as vaccine hesitancy. This is part of weekly webinars conducted every Thursday. Each open forum webinar is moderated by APhA President Michael Hogue. Here’s the link to the slides from the December 10th Webinar

ASHP has upcoming webinars discussing the Pfizer-BioNTec COVID-19 vaccine EUA on 12/16/2020, a conversation with the Pfizer team regarding the vaccine on 12/17/2020 and a description supply chain management at five health systems on 12/21/2020. Several podcasts are also available, including a recent one on COVID-19 vaccine administration, allocation and uptake. Several resources are also available on ASHP’s COVID-19 vaccine page.

Prescribe Right’s COVID-19 resource page, https://www.prescriberight.com/covid19.html contains links to the following content:

• Current Updates for COVID-19
• Vaccines being developed to prevent COVID-19
• ​Antivirals being developed to treat COVID-19
• ​Blood-derived products under evaluation for the treatment of COVID-19
• Anti-Inflammatories being tested to treat cytokine storm associated with severe and critical COVID-19 
• Remdesivir Expanded Summary
• Chloroquine & Hydroxychloroquine Expanded Summary

In addition, we have added these new resources

COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Healthcare Providers (HCP)

CDC COVID-19 Vaccination page
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) Interim Recommendation for Allocating Initial Supplies of COVID-19 Vaccine: United States, 2020 
ACIP Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: United States, December 2020
Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: Web page where the CDC will provide recommendations for special populations 
Training and Education materials for healthcare professionals preparing for COVID-19 vaccination: including Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit; COVID-19 Vaccine Training Module for Healthcare Professionals; and COVID-19 Vaccination Training Programs and Reference Materials for Healthcare Professionals.
Post Vaccine Considerations for Healthcare Personnel: The CDC recommends scheduling vaccinations, so HCPs have 1-2 days off after vaccination, to help distinguish adverse effects from COVID-19 or influenza symptoms.
CDC Guidance for Outpatient Pharmacies

Information Systems Support

COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Data Systems: 
COVID-19 Vaccine IT Overview: Vaccine Allocation, Distribution, Administration, Data, and Reporting: 
COVID-19 Reporting Systems - Technical Standards & Reporting Data to CDC
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)

Patient Education

COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit
Talking to Patients about COVID-19 Vaccines
Answering Patients’ Questions
Making a Strong Recommendation for COVID-19 Vaccination