U.S. needs to gain access to as much of each vaccine as possible
“This is not the time for a lean supply chain,” expert says
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management professor Craig Garthwaite is available to comment on the possibilities and challenges surrounding vaccine rollout.
Quote from Professor Garthwaite:
“I was optimistic that we'd get a COVID vaccine based on the number of companies pursuing it this year. Even that being said, I have been amazed at the success of Pfizer and Moderna – which has surpassed my expectations.
“That said, vaccines don’t’ save lives vaccinations do and we should be securing enough supply from each vaccine candidate for all of the U.S. This is not the time for a lean supply chain. We simply can’t rely on any individual candidate – even those that have been demonstrated to work. There are going to be manufacturing issues, there will be delays, and as we learned today from Sanofi and GSK, some promising candidates might not ever emerge. A failure to gain access to as much of each vaccine candidate as possible is a failure of government.”
About Craig Garthwaite
Garthwaite is the Herman R. Smith Research Professor in Hospital and Health Services, associate professor of strategy, and the director of the Program on Healthcare at Kellogg (HCAK). He is an applied economist whose research examines the business of healthcare with a focus on the interaction between private firms and public policies. Media interested in interviewing Professor Garthwaite should contact Abby Daniel at abby.daniel@kellogg.northwestern.edu.