Biden To Visit Michigan Over July 4 Weekend In Vaccine Push

CNN: Biden Will Travel To Michigan Over July 4th Weekend To Celebrate Progress In Covid-19 Fight 
President Joe Biden will travel to Traverse City, Michigan, on Saturday as the White House looks to use the July Fourth holiday weekend to mark progress in the fight against Covid-19 after more than a year of the pandemic, according to a White House official. The White House's theme for the holiday weekend is "America's Back Together," according to the official, and the administration is looking to promote the idea that the country is returning to a pre-pandemic normal. First lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and members of Biden's Cabinet will also travel across the country over the holiday weekend. (Sullivan, 6/28)

CIDRAP: White House Begins Final COVID-19 Vaccine Push 
The White House launched a week-long blitz to encourage vaccination against COVID-19 this weekend, 1 week before the Fourth of July holiday, which the president has said will mark the country's independence from the pandemic. The administration had hoped 70% of Americans over age 18 would have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Jul 4, but last week officials said they miss that mark. (Soucheray, 6/28)

Houston Chronicle: First Lady Jill Biden Joins Astros In Vaccines-For-Tickets Giveaway Tomorrow
President Joe Biden has scored a compromise on a major infrastructure package, has taken his first major foreign trip and has dispatched Vice President Kamala Harris to the Texas border. But through it all his administration is making it clear with first lady Jill Biden’s trip to Texas on Tuesday that it’s not easing up on its No. 1 campaign promise to quell COVID-19. Jill Biden will make stops in Dallas and Houston on Tuesday to encourage more people to get vaccinated at splashy events with big sports themes. In Houston, the first lady and Doug Emhoff, vice president Kamala Harris’s husband, will attend a Houston Astros event to give free vaccinations to all who show up, along with tickets to the game or a future game. (Wallace, 6/28)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Vaccine Makes Americans Ready To Celebrate July 4 Again 
Just four in 10 Americans say attending a Fourth of July celebration this year feels risky — about half as many as a year ago, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Our weekly national survey finds broad awareness and concern around the emerging Delta variant. But people's behaviors really aren't changing in the face of that threat. (Talev, 6/29)

In more news about the vaccine rollout —

WUSF Public Media: Manatee Commissioner Will Not Face Criminal Charges For VIP Vaccination Event 
A Manatee County commissioner will not face charges for her role in setting up a controversial vaccination event that appeared to benefit her constituents. The investigation followed public criticism when it was revealed that Vanessa Baugh directed county health officials to secure vaccinations for herself, political donors, and likely voters for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hosted the event in Lakewood Ranch. The vaccination event allowed some residents of the wealthy subdivision to secure shots and bypass the county's vaccine lottery system. (Carter, 6/28)

Georgia Health News: A Disturbing Number Of Hospital Workers Still Unvaccinated 
Tim Oswalt had been in a Fort Worth, Texas, hospital for over a month, receiving treatment for a grapefruit-sized tumor in his chest that was pressing on his heart and lungs. It turned out to be stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Then one day in January, he was suddenly moved from his semi-private room to an isolated one with special ventilation. The staff explained he had been infected by the virus that was once again surging in many areas of the country, including Texas. “How the hell did I catch COVID?’” he asked the staff, who now approached him in full moon-suit personal protective equipment (PPE). (Goodman and Miller, 6/28)

AP: Make-A-Wish Clarifies Policy After Confusion On Vaccinations
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is disputing what it calls a “misinformation” campaign about whether children who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will be eligible to have their wishes granted. The foundation says these children are in fact still eligible. An edited video of Make-A-Wish Foundation CEO Richard Davis that went viral on social media over the weekend caused a stir by seeming to suggest that only vaccinated children would be eligible to have wishes granted. Stars like actor Rob Schneider and numerous donors declared that if the foundation had decided not to grant wishes to unvaccinated children, they would no longer support it. (Gamboa, 6/28)

Stateline: Yes Some People Really Are Faking Their COVID Vaccine Cards
More than 150 million Americans have been handed a small white card with a federal logo showing that they’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In some areas, that card is required to get into concerts, sporting events and workplaces. But the cards can easily be fabricated by fraudsters and are being sold to people who don’t want to get vaccinated but want to show a record that they have been. This thriving black market in fake vaccine cards has alarmed law enforcement officials—and prompted some state legislators to act. (Bergal, 6/29)

KHN: Without Enough Boots On The Ground, California’s Vaccination Efforts Falter 
Gov. Gavin Newsom routinely boasts that California has “one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States of America.” But Newsom, facing a recall election this fall, rarely mentions that the state’s covid vaccine uptake has largely stagnated in Black and Latino neighborhoods hardest hit by the coronavirus, and in rural outposts where opposition to vaccines runs rampant. In these communities, deep distrust of government and the U.S. health care system has collided with the state’s high-stakes effort to finish vaccinating its 34 million vaccine-eligible residents. (Hart, 6/29)