Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Sets Out Rough Timeline For Starting Kids' Vaccinations
Newsweek: Joe Biden Outlines Timeline For COVID-19 Vaccinations In Children
Joe Biden has cautiously outlined a timeline for when he expects the COVID-19 vaccine to be offered to children under 12 in the U.S. Speaking at a CNN town hall in Cincinnati on Wednesday, President Biden said the decision would be led by scientific data, but added that he expected the rollout to begin between the end of August and October. (Cannon, 7/22)
CNN: Vaccines For Children: Biden Says He Believes Kids Under 12 Will Be Able To Get Covid-19 Vaccines 'Soon'
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that children under the age of 12 could be eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine "soon," predicting that the government could green light the rollout for young Americans in the next few months. "Soon, I believe," Biden said when asked by CNN's Don Lemon when most children under 12 would be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine. (Cole, 7/21)
The Guardian: Biden Says Children Under 12 Could Be Eligible For Covid Vaccines Within Months
Last week, an FDA official told NBC News that Covid-19 vaccine approval for younger children could come by midwinter. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech both launched trials of their Covid-19 vaccines for kids under 12 in March, with results expected in the fall. “They’re not promising me any specific date, but my expectation, talking to the scientists,” Biden said at the town hall, “is that sometimes, maybe in the beginning of the school year, at the end of August, beginning of September, October, you’ll get a final approval” for vaccinating kids. But, he added, the ultimate decision lay with officials at the FDA and CDC. “I do not tell any scientists what they should do. I do not interfere,” Biden said. Meanwhile, he said, the CDC would probably recommend that “everyone under the age of 12 should probably be wearing masks in school”. (Singh, 7/21)
Tennessee clarifies parental consent for kids' vaccines —
ABC News: Lawmakers: Parental OK Needed For Minors To Get COVID Shot
Two Tennessee Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they received assurances that the state's health agency won't vaccinate minors for COVID-19 without parental consent, doubling back on a decades-old provision about children's vaccination rights that was a lightning rod in the firing of the state's top vaccine official. (Mattise, 7/21)
And in Maryland —
The Baltimore Sun: State Agencies Encourage Maryland School Systems To Set Up COVID-19 Testing In The Fall
Maryland’s health and education departments are encouraging schools to expand COVID-19 testing programs in the fall and offering to help pay — a total of $182 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The money would fund routine testing in public and private schools to catch coronavirus cases as early as possible. (Bowie and Cohn, 7/21)
