What the world needs now is booster shots?

Vaccine makers putting more revenue over public health needs

With COVID-19 cases rising again in many parts of the U.S., vaccine manufacturers showed up at a media forum yesterday to argue that what the world needs now is booster shots. “We will not get it (the pandemic) under control without boosting,” Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech told a STAT News event.

“The booster situation is not about making money,” insisted Kathrin Jansen, the head of vaccine research at Pfizer, BioNTech’s partner. She said the data show booster shots will protect the already vaccinated against the delta variant that’s now spreading across the globe at a rapid pace.

Bad timing, folks. The data show the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases is happening in places where vaccination rates are low. Globally, just under a billion people or 12% of the world’s population have been fully vaccinated. Only one in four have had at least one dose.  

In the U.S., the five states with the largest recent outbreaks (measured on a per capita basis) had vaccination rates well below the national average of 55.6%: Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%; Nevada, 50.9%; Louisiana, 39.2%; and Utah, 49.5%. All but two states reported rising caseloads over the past two weeks.

The half of the population that is still unvaccinated remains the greatest roadblock to reaching herd immunity, which can only be achieved when more than two-thirds of the population gets their shots. Unless half the unvaccinated change their minds, this fall we could see the return of masking mandates and economic restrictions.  

Meanwhile, Republican Party leaders in states with below-average inoculation rates continue to turn vaccination into a culture war issue. In Tennessee, the state’s largest newspaper reported yesterday the health department will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach and stop all COVID-19 vaccine events on school property. There have been several recent reports of “super spreader” events among children leading to outbreaks in the broader community.

Clearly, what the world needs now isn’t a booster shot – although researchers should continue their efforts to develop one that works against the variants of the virus that are gaining ascendancy. What it needs is stepped up production of existing vaccines to vaccinate the entire world and a mass advertising and outreach campaign in vaccine-hesitant precincts in the U.S. and elsewhere, which are most at risk of renewed outbreaks.

Ad spending

The vaccine manufacturers have spent some money on advertising addressing vaccine hesitancy. But it is nowhere near the spending levels major drug manufacturers routinely pour into television, print and online ads touting their latest and most expensive treatments for cancer, arthritis and psoriasis. The industry spent $6.6 billion on advertising in 2020, nearly five times the amount it spent in 1997 when the Food and Drug Administration lifted restrictions on television ads.

Earlier this year, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced legislation that would prohibit pharmaceutical firms from expensing direct-to-consumer advertising, which in effect levies the corporate income tax on the ads. “The influx of drug ads on the airwaves isn’t just frustrating for viewers and listeners,” she said in the press release. “It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars and it drives up the cost of prescription drugs.”

The Democratic Party-controlled Congress hopefully will include that measure in the revenue raising portion of either the infrastructure or reconciliation bills up for consideration over the next several weeks. But it should add a rider: allow companies to maintain the exemption for any ads that address vaccine hesitancy or encourage people to “see their doctor” about getting the vaccine.