Biden’s Covid Vaccine-Promoting Ad Campaign Revealed

The New York Times: Biden Administration Announces Ad Campaign To Combat Vaccine Hesitancy
The Biden administration on Thursday morning announced an ambitious advertising campaign intended to encourage as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The campaign, with ads in English and Spanish that will air throughout April on network TV and cable channels nationwide, as well as online, comes as the administration is rapidly expanding access to coronavirus vaccines but skepticism about the vaccines also remains high. (Karni, 4/1)

The Washington Post: ‘We Can Do This’: Biden Unveils Pro-Vaccine TV Ads, Network Of Grass-Roots Leaders To Push Shots
The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled its first television advertisements to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, part of a series of pro-vaccine messages as the White House pushes to achieve the president’s goal of returning the country to some normalcy by July Fourth. The “We Can Do This” campaign will air across cable and broadcast stations nationwide and include targeted multimillion-dollar ad buys for Black and Spanish-language media. (Diamond, 4/1)

Stateline: Just Half Of Long-Term Caretakers Are Vaccinated Against COVID 
Union leaders, facility owners and staff members who led by example, such as [Alice] Hakata, have been working to curb vaccine hesitancy of long-term caretakers nationwide, but only about half those workers have been vaccinated so far, according to Ruth Link-Gelles, an epidemiologist and member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Task Force. Vaccinating the remaining half of these frontline workers may fall only on states and the facilities themselves when a federal program to inoculate caretakers ends in the next few weeks. As of March 18, 1.86 million staff members at long-term care facilities nationwide had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data, shared with Stateline. The numbers were reported by pharmacies that partnered with the agency to administer vaccines through the national Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. (Hernández, 4/1)

Other frequently asked vaccination questions —

CNN: Wait To Be Fully Vaccinated Before Resuming Normal Activities, Health Experts Plead With Americans 
With fears growing that the US may be facing a fourth surge of Covid-19 cases, health experts are pleading with Americans to keep taking precautions until they are fully vaccinated. "Please wait until you're fully vaccinated before you're traveling, before you're engaging in high-risk activities," said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. "No doubt when you become vaccinated, the activities that were once higher risk are now going to be lower risk and so just wait until then." Wen said she worries the US is on the "precipice" of a fourth surge as data is showing that infections are now skewed toward a younger generation. (Holcombe, 4/2)

AP: Can I Still Spread The Coronavirus After I'm Vaccinated?
Can I still spread the coronavirus after I’m vaccinated?It’s possible. Experts say the risk is low, but are still studying how well the shots blunt the spread of the virus. The current vaccines are highly effective at preventing people from getting seriously sick with COVID-19. But even if vaccinated people don’t get sick, they might still get infected without showing any symptoms. Experts think the vaccine would also curb the chances of those people spreading the virus. “A vaccinated person controls the virus better, so the chances of transmitting will be greatly reduced,” said Dr. Robert Gallo a virus expert at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. (Renault, 4/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Long Will Your Coronavirus Vaccination Last? Here's What We Know About Immunity So Far
More than three months into the rollout of coronavirus vaccinations in the U.S., many may already be wondering: How long will the protection last? The short answer is, we do not yet know for certain. Not enough time has passed to gather the research to determine a more exact estimate. The only definitive answer is that vaccine immunity will last at least three months, because that is how long vaccine trial participants were studied. But experts believe that immunity will last longer, with some convinced it could be years. (Hwang, 4/1)

CNBC: Can I Be Forced To Get The Covid Vaccine
President Joe Biden said in March that the U.S. aims to have 200 million Covid vaccine doses administered during his first 100 days in office. By May, every American adult who wants a vaccine will be eligible to get in line for a shot. That said, 30% of U.S. adults still don’t want to get the Covid vaccine. But many of them may not have much of a choice. (4/1)

CNN: Covid-19 Vaccine Side Effects: Why You Shouldn't Freak Out Of These Happen To You 
With millions more Americans getting vaccinated every day, some have complained about fever, fatigue and other ailments they weren't expecting. Don't panic, doctors say. Side effects from Covid-19 vaccines won't last long. And they're actually proof that your immune system is working the way it's supposed to. (Though vaccines are still very effective even without side effects.) (Yan, 4/1)

The Oregonian: Ask A Pediatrician: Do Kids Really Need The Coronavirus Vaccine? 
A big question among parents and teachers as more schools reopen is when their kids will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Some have wondered whether the vaccine is even necessary for children. (4/1)

On the thorny issue of vaccine "passports" —

The Atlantic: Social Distance: No Shirt. No Shoes. No Shots. No Service. 
Vaccine passports are almost certainly in our near future. But what are they exactly? And with concerns about vaccine equity now complicated by partisan fear mongering, how should they be implemented? Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist with NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine who’s spent years thinking about vaccine ethics, joins James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins on the podcast Social Distance to explain. Listen to their conversation here: (4/1)

Grow: Why Not To Share Your Vaccination Card On Social Media
You might want to share online that you received your Covid-19 vaccine, but posting the CDC vaccination record card on social media can make you a target for identity theft. “It’s great that people are excited about getting vaccinated — it’s one step to getting back to normal,” says Sandra Guile, director of communications at the International Association of Better Business Bureaus. “What they’re doing is saying, ‘Hey, I got my first shot or my second shot.’ And they’re sharing their card online.” (4/1)

The Washington Post: Vaccine passport apps are here. Without a common standard, tech challenges are myriad
Coming soon to your smartphone: Digital codes that afford you access to airplanes, concert venues and even restaurants. Vaccine passports are new apps that will carry pieces of your health information — most critically your coronavirus vaccination status. They may soon be required to travel internationally or even to enter some buildings. (Lerman, 4/2)

Stat: Businesses, Health Experts Join Ranks Of ‘Vaccine Passport’ Opponents
When it comes to decrying the concept of “vaccine passports,” conservatives have company. The idea’s detractors now include certain business owners, who fear customer backlash and the hassle or danger of enforcing the policy, and even prominent public health advocates, too. The proof-of-vaccine concept is gaining traction in some circles globally and within the U.S., including among some professional sports teams, a major university, and highly vaccinated countries like Israel. In New York and Hawaii, among other states, governors have pitched the idea as a means of returning to normal life. (Facher, 4/1)

KHN: Beating The Pavement To Vaccinate The Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone
Leonor Garcia held her clipboard close to her chest and rapped on the car window with her knuckles. The driver was in one of dozens of cars lined up on a quiet stretch of road in Adelanto, California, a small city near the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. He was waiting for the food bank line to start moving and lowered the passenger window just enough to hear what Garcia wanted. Then she launched into her pitch. “Good morning! We’re here to talk about covid-19 today! Do you have a minute?” she said in Spanish. (Almendrala, 4/2)