The COVID pandemic pits competition against collaboration

Good afternoon, readers.

First off, I want to thank everyone who sent their thoughts about whether or not they’d receive a COVID vaccine that proved less effective in clinical trials but would be more convenient to procure. The overwhelming response was: I’ll take whatever shot I can get if it’s safe.

Readers also made the astute observation that while Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which might be a one-shot vaccine (we’ll see), has a seemingly lower efficacy rate than Pfizer’s or Moderna’s COVID shots, things get more nuanced once you get past the topline, overall efficacy number. The J&J vaccine is still plenty effective at preventing death and hospitalization related to COVID, which is, well, kind of a big deal.

But this question also goes to the heart of what will happen over the course of an immunization campaign that’s pushing usual rivals into partnerships. One or two vaccines won’t do when there’s a global pandemic. It’s all hands on deck. These facilities and partnerships will be tested as production capacity ramps up, since you only have so many resources.

But look at how the campaign has manifested to date and the bedfellows it has made. Pfizer and BioNTech, with a dash of French drug giant Sanofi thrown in. Merck lending a helping hand on COVID vaccine manufacturing (to date, which company it will work with is unclear, though early bets are on Novavax). Israel’s generic drug giant Teva is in talks to help boost vaccine production, too.

Sanofi and Merck representatives have said they’re trying to do all they can to help the scale-up process, since they have considerable vaccine-manufacturing experience but don’t have authorized COVID vaccines of their own.

There’s a simple practical element to that: You only have so many manufacturing facilities across the world to create mass inventory of these vaccines, which will eventually need to reach hundreds of millions, even billions, of people across the world in order to achieve herd immunity.

In a moment like this, cooperation is key, especially when the first months of vaccine distribution haven’t been all that smooth.

I’ll have a lot more on that latter point in the coming days, including on issues such as COVID vaccine eligibility requirements and how they are (or aren’t) enforced.

And speaking of… It’s been more than two months since regulators in the U.S. and the U.K. approved the first COVID vaccines. Now that we’ve had some experience with the earliest cohorts, and faced the challenges of scaling distribution, what have we learned? On Tuesday, February 23, at 11 a.m. ET, you can join a discussion with leaders including:

Dr. William J. Kassler, Chief Medical Officer, Government Health & Human Services and Deputy Chief Health Officer, IBM Watson Health
Dr. Marc Watkins, Chief Medical Officer, Kroger Health

You can register right here for the event.

In the meantime, read on for the day’s news, and see you next week.

Sy Mukherjee
sy.mukherjee@fortune.com
@the_sy_guy

DIGITAL HEALTH

Zocdoc raises $150 million with a boost from COVID scheduling. Digital health firms have made huge strides over the course of the pandemic. It's not surprising—no one's exactly itching to go to a hospital right now (if there's even one that can accommodate you). Zocdoc, one of the better-known names in the telehealth space, is no exception when it comes to seizing the business moment by expanding its services. The online appointment firm has rapidly been moving into the virtual care and vaccine scheduling space, fueling a 35% increase in revenue growth and $150 million in new financing from an investment round led by Francisco Partners. (FierceHealthcare)

INDICATIONS

McKinsey to pay $600 million to settle opioid crisis allegations. Consulting juggernaut McKinsey has agreed to pay $600 million to settle allegations that it helped fuel the opioid addiction crisis via its work with massive opioid manufacturers, which incentivized the highest possible sales of the addictive and potentially deadly drug. But there's a twist, as NBC reports, that could give McKinsey a fairly convenient exit strategy. Since "most of the money to be paid by McKinsey will go to state programs funding addiction treatment centers and recovery services, the deal may allow a McKinsey hedge fund affiliate to generate investment gains," according to the outlet. "That's because the firm's wholly owned hedge fund affiliate, called MIO Partners, holds indirect stakes in addiction treatment centers and a maker of overdose treatment products." (NBC News)

THE BIG PICTURE

COVID mask counterfeits. As if a dearth of protective equipment, lags in testing, and a tough vaccine rollout weren't enough, the American health system is grappling with yet another problem: Fake versions of products like protective N95 masks. Modern Healthcare outlines the problem and paints some pretty scary scenarios, including one involving health workers who have received counterfeit N95 masks that were ostensibly manufactured by 3M (but actually weren't). In Washington state alone, some 1.9 million of these masks made it to about 40 hospitals. (Modern Healthcare)