January 15, 2021
7:58 PM ET
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The additional stockpile of coronavirus vaccine doses promised to be released by the Trump administration this week does not actually exist, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Friday.
Azar said Tuesday that a reserve supply of doses that were previously being held back would be released in full to states to speed up inoculations. States are learning the reserve doses they planned to receive aren’t coming, according to the Washington Post.
Both Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines require two doses, taken weeks apart, for full efficacy. Trump administration officials initially said they would hold back roughly half of the nation’s vaccine supply to ensure they had enough doses to give everyone who received their first dose a second shot without a delay in case of lagging production.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Days before leaving office, President Trump’s top health official is proposing to permanently exempt from regulatory review a wide swath of artificial intelligence products used to help physicians detect serious conditions such as cancer and respiratory disease on medical images.
The proposal, posted to the Federal Register on Friday and signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, asserts that FDA review of several categories of products, including AI imaging devices, is not necessary because they are seldom associated with reports of adverse events. Unlock this article by subscribing to STAT+ and enjoy your first 30 days free! GET STARTED
Health Secretary Alex Azar is stepping down at noon on Jan. 20 when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, condemning the Capitol riot as he leaves.