Today, Vice President Mike Pence led a discussion with the chief executives and senior leaders of approximately 50 states, territories, and the city of Washington, D.C., and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to discuss local, state, and federal COVID-19 response and recovery efforts including the continued collaboration on vaccine distribution and administration planning.
The Vice President discussed with governors the ongoing whole-of-government effort to mitigate and respond to COVID-19, ongoing robust partnership to prepare in distributing and administering a safe and effective vaccine with our nation’s governors and public health jurisdictions, and provided an update on key state and federal medical supply chain management efforts. Governors highlighted their best practices on distributing and administering a safe and effective vaccine including:
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards
The Federal government has worked towards 90-day Federal stockpile for PPE and supplies, and establishing ongoing mechanism to replenish the stockpile.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Hahn and Dr. Fauci provided an update on vaccine and therapeutic developments, and reminded governors about the multi-layered, transparent, and independent vaccine approval process. Specifically, Dr. Hahn reiterated that the rigorous standards of the approval process—even in the context of an expedited timeline created by Operation Warp Speed—leads to no cut corners.
General Perna provided an update on vaccine distribution and administration planning efforts including reviewing outstanding State-Federal needs, ongoing table top exercises with public and private partners, and ongoing communication with state partners. Further, General Perna called on governors to ensure that healthcare providers are included in State distribution plans to increase States’ operational effectiveness.
Secretary Azar provided on update on Moderna’s vaccine trial and the impending submission of the company’s EUA application. Additionally, Secretary Azar provided an update on an aspect of Operation Warp Speed that has resulted in 99% of nursing homes partnering with private pharmacies to ensure the safe and effective delivery of vaccines to nursing home residents.
Director Redfield provided an update on state vaccine planning and CDC planning activities. All 64 public health jurisdictions submitted their vaccine distribution interim plans to the CDC earlier in October, the CDC reviewed these iterative documents providing feedback to states recently, and states are working to finalize their plans in the coming days.
Ambassador Birx provided an update on data and trends from across the Nation and discussed engagement meeting with state, local, and community leaders.
Participants from the White House Coronavirus Task Force:
- Vice President Mike Pence
- Secretary Alex Azar, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
- Ambassador Deborah Birx, M.D., White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator
- General Gustave F. Perna, Chief Operation Officer, Operation Warp Speed (OWS)
- Director Anthony Fauci, M.D., National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, HHS
- Director Robert Redfield, M.D., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HHS
- Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D., Food and Drug Administration (FDA), HHS
- Brigadier General David Sanford, Defense Supply Center & Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
- Assistant Administrator David Bibo, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Since January 2020, the Trump Administration has organized and hosted 43 governors-only briefings to drive effective communication and collaboration at every level of government. Public health incidents, like natural disasters, are locally-executed, State-managed, and Federally-supported. This is likely the most robust Federal-State collaboration in our Nation’s history.
