Open Eligibility For Covid Vaccines: How’s It Going?
As you might expect: crowds. But in some places, supply exceeds demand.
The Washington Post:
Long Lines, Frustration At Walk-Up Vaccine Site In Maryland
Excitement gave way to frustration outside a mass vaccination site in Hagerstown, Md., on Tuesday, as hundreds of people seeking the coronavirus vaccine without appointments were turned away and others were left waiting as long as seven hours for their shots. (Tan, 4/6)
WUSF Public Media:
On First Day Of Open Vaccine Eligibility, Steady Stream Of Walk-Ups At FEMA Site
On Florida's first day of open vaccine eligibility, a line wrapped around the Tampa Greyhound Track, one of the state's four federally supported vaccination sites. As people poured out of the vaccination tents smiling, the relief was palpable. "Me and my family have been kind of living in a bubble and really quarantining hard for like 16 months. So it felt like hope for the future for the first time,” said Jasmine Keyes, of Land O’ Lakes. (Miller, 4/6)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Mass COVID-19 Vaccine Sites In Las Vegas Crowded But Not Overwhelmed
In stark contrast to earlier this year, Clark County has plenty of COVID-19 vaccine this week, as well as staff to administer it and space in which to do so. Local public health officials now face a different challenge. “Now we need people to come and get vaccinated,” JoAnn Rupiper, chief administrative nurse for the Southern Nevada Health District, said on Tuesday. The health district, county government and partnering agencies have ramped up to vaccinate thousands of residents who are newly eligible for doses. Monday marked the first day that anyone 16 or older could get a shot in Nevada. (Hynes, 4/6)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Vaccine Appointments In Louisiana Are Going Unfilled -- Sooner Than Officials Thought
“We’ve hit the low-hanging fruit of people who are very anxious, ‘I want to be vaccinated yesterday,’” said Dr. Jeffrey Elder, LCMC Health medical director of emergency management who oversees the system’s mass vaccination effort at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. “Now, we’re in the trenches.” The change in vaccine demand and supply represents a shift that public health experts knew was coming, but did not expect this soon, said Elder, a situation spurred by the supply increase. And it could be a sign that Louisiana may have a lot of work ahead. (Woodruff, Rddad and Gagliano, 4/7)
Georgia Health News:
Employer Teamwork Boosts Vaccine Access For Latino Community
Three rival Georgia carpet companies took a break from their floor-covering competition to focus on a foe that united them: COVID-19. Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries and Engineered Floors collaborated on a COVID vaccination event for the workers at their Dalton-area plants recently. Almost 5,000 shots were administered over two weeks in the northwest Georgia city that’s called the “carpet capital of the world.” (Miller, 4/6)
NBC News:
Meet Some Of The 'Vaccine Fairies' Helping Vulnerable Americans Book Appointments
Once upon a time, when the Covid-19 vaccines first started being distributed, the states and drug store chains set up websites to book appointments that were so glitchy and so maddeningly hard to use that many people were plunged into despair. Then, like magic, the “vaccine fairies” appeared. (Siemaszko, 4/5)
In updates about side effects of the covid vaccine —
Drudge Report:
Local Teen Diagnosed With Guillain-Barre Syndrome Questions COVID-19 Vaccine After Receiving First Dose
Wyatt McGlaun, a teenager in The Woodlands, said he got Guillan-Barre syndrome a few weeks after his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “I wanted to get the vaccine. I felt it was the right thing to do,” McGlaun said. “I wanted to travel and enjoy my last summer before college.” However, he said, he got extremely weak and had difficulty walking when he was admitted to CHI St. Luke’s in The Woodlands where he was diagnosed. (Hernandez, 4/5)
USA Today:
COVID Vaccine Side Effects Study: Rashes, Skin Reactions Not Dangerous
Getting COVID-19 can cause all manner of odd skin reactions. A new study finds some of them, including COVID toes, a measles-like rash and shingles also can be rare, and thankfully brief, side effects of getting the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. The minor, though sometimes itchy and annoying, reactions were seen in a database of 414 cases of delayed skin problems linked to the vaccines and reported to health care professionals. The cases were collected between December and February before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been authorized, so it was not included. (Weise, 4/7)
