Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
600,000 Children Vaccinated Against Covid
NBC News: 600,000 Children, Ages 12-15, Have Received Their First Covid-19 Vaccine Dose
At least 600,000 children, ages 12 to 15, have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a media briefing Tuesday. The count comes just over a week after the Food and Drug Administration greenlighted it for emergency use in this age group, a total of 17 million in the U.S. — though many major pharmacies and hospitals did not start administering the shots until last Thursday, after the CDC also signed off on it. (Edwards, 5/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Shots For Teens Can Hit Legal Snags And Parental Pushback
A 16-year-old in South Carolina can get a Covid-19 vaccine without a parent’s permission. A 17-year-old in New York can’t. In Oregon, anyone 15 or older can, but not if a pharmacist is the one giving a shot. With children aged 12 to 15 newly able to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, the patchwork of state laws that govern whether minors can receive the shots without their parents’ permission brings a new wrinkle to inoculation efforts. And vaccine providers—from family doctors to drugstores—are sorting out how to navigate situations in which children want the shot but their parents say no. The situation is creating consternation for some as the U.S. aims to speed its vaccination campaign. (Terlep, 5/19)
AP: Biden Adviser Makes Personal Appeal To Young To Get Shots
A top White House aide made his pitch for young people to get vaccinated personal on Tuesday, sharing the struggles his son has experienced since contracting COVID-19 last fall. Andy Slavitt, President Joe Biden’s senior adviser for the coronavirus, revealed during a White House briefing that one of his sons came down with the virus late last year and continues to suffer lingering side effects. He used it to appeal to younger Americans to roll up their sleeves, even if they feel they’re at relatively lower risk than older Americans to serious consequences from the virus. (Miller, 5/18)
CNN: Uneven Vaccination Rates Across The US Linked To Covid-19 Case Trends, Worry Experts
Tuesday was a "landmark day," as the United States reached a new Covid-19 vaccine milestone: 60% of adults have now received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the US Centers and Disease Control and Prevention. But vaccination rates across the United States are uneven -- a worrisome trend that could obstruct efforts to end the Covid-19 pandemic. Rates range from more than 78% of adults in Vermont with at least one vaccine to less than 45% of adults in Mississippi. (McPhillips and Cohen, 5/19)
In other news on vaccination rates —
CIDRAP: Disparities In US COVID Vaccine Distribution Spotlighted
Two studies today describe US COVID-19 vaccination disparities, one evaluating vaccine allocation plans aimed at reducing distribution differences, and the other revealing urban versus rural inequities. The first study, led by University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia researchers and published in Nature Medicine, involved analysis of COVID-19 vaccine allocation plans provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) 64 jurisdictions, which consist of 50 states, five large cities, eight territories, and Washington, DC. (Van Beusekom, 5/18)
The Hill: State Vaccine Rates Fall Along Red, Blue Divide
The U.S. vaccine map looks a lot like a map of how states vote in presidential elections, with most blue states vaccinating at levels well above the national average and GOP states bringing up the rear. The politics of COVID-19 have been partisan from almost the onset of the pandemic, and polls consistently show that Republicans, particularly men, are more hesitant than Democrats to get vaccinated. The deep-blue state of Vermont has the highest share of its population with at least one vaccine dose, at 65 percent, according to data compiled by The New York Times, followed by Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Connecticut. (Weixel, Sullivan and Coleman, 5/18)
Axios: The Social Predictors Of Coronavirus Vaccination Rates
Where you live, how educated you are, whether you have health insurance and whether you have access to the internet are all correlated with how likely you are to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. None of these factors has anything to do directly with an individual's risk. Instead, this emphasizes, yet again, the powerful role played by social determinants of health. (Owens, 5/19)
