Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Miscounted Number Of Americans Who Have Received First Covid Shot
Bloomberg: Vaccine Data Gaps Point To Millions More In U.S. Who Lack Shots
The U.S. government has over-counted the number of Americans who are at least partly vaccinated against the coronavirus, state officials warn, meaning millions more people are unprotected as the pandemic’s winter surge gathers steam. Last weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised a bellwether metric -- the share of people 65 and older with at least one shot. The agency reduced the proportion from 99.9%, where it had been capped for weeks, to 95%, without changing its raw shot totals. The move acknowledged a dynamic state officials have discovered: in collating reams of data on vaccinations, the U.S. has counted too many shots as first doses when they are instead second doses or booster shots. (Wingrove, 12/18)
Reuters: U.S. Administers 495 Mln Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccines - CDC
The United States has administered 495,101,938 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed 605,236,885 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 493,632,529 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Saturday out of 605,954,475 doses delivered. (12/19)
The Washington Post: Less Than A Third Of People Have Boosters In The U.S., And Some Medical Experts Are Calling For More Urgency
Officials and public health experts are strengthening their calls for people to get booster shots as the omicron variant proliferates across the United States, where less than a third of the fully vaccinated population has received an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. As of Sunday, more than 60.2 million booster doses had been administered across the country — that’s enough for about 30 percent of the fully vaccinated U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 54 percent of vaccinated people 65 years and older have gotten a booster, the CDC said. (Firozi and Villegas, 12/19)
In more news on the vaccine rollout —
The Hill: Nursing Homes Scramble To Get Residents Boosted
Nursing homes are scrambling to get residents vaccinated with coronavirus booster shots, as the looming omicron wave brings new urgency to the effort. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 55 percent of nursing home residents have received a booster shot, despite being eligible for more than two months. Officials more recently said the number has risen to 60 percent. Infections among nursing home residents have been rising in recent weeks, averaging close to 4,000 new cases a week. (Weixel, 12/19)
Politico: Colorado Governor Supports Redefining What It Means To Be Fully Vaccinated
After a series of controversial remarks about the pandemic, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Sunday said his state is likely headed toward changing the definition of what it means to be “fully vaccinated” to a three-dose regimen. “It looks like from everything that we know that to significantly reduce the risk of the Omicron variant, three doses of the vaccine are needed,” Polis told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.” (Greene, 12/19)
AP: Troops Find Religious Exemption For Vaccines Unattainable
More than 12,000 military service members refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are seeking religious exemptions, and so far they are having zero success. That total lack of approvals is creating new tensions within the military, even as the vast majority of the armed forces have gotten vaccinated. The services, urgently trying to keep the coronavirus pandemic in check by getting troops vaccinated, are now besieged with exemption requests they are unlikely to approve. Meanwhile, troops claiming religious reasons for avoiding the shots are perplexed because exemptions are theoretically available, yet seem impossible to obtain. (Baldor, 12/19)
KHN: Vaccine Promoters Struggle To Get People Boosted In California’s Fields
Since the start of the pandemic, Luz Gallegos and her team of 56 advocates for immigrants have battled the scorching sun, illiteracy and deadly propaganda in the fields and fruit groves of the Coachella Valley. As they fanned out to educate farmworkers on how to protect themselves from covid-19, they quickly learned that rumors and disinformation often account for most of the news farmworkers in the area are getting about the disease. The need for boosters and the looming threat of the omicron variant have made covid communication extra challenging. (de Marco, 12/20)
KHN: The Vaccine Rollout Was A Success. But Events Within And Beyond Biden’s Control Stymied Progress
Eleven months ago, President Joe Biden assumed office during one of the most critical moments of the covid-19 pandemic. Case counts and death rates were shockingly high. The vaccine rollout, which had started under former President Donald Trump, was disjointed. People were generally sequestered in their homes, and kids were relegated to remote learning. Biden promised to change all that. He said he would differ from Trump in that he would listen to the scientists, encourage the use of masks and give the federal government a stronger role in addressing the pandemic. He also pledged to deliver the “most efficient mass vaccination plan in U.S. history” and to get 100 million covid shots administered in his first 100 days. (Knight, 12/20)
KHN: Journalists Review Public Views On Vaccines And The Arc Of Covid Testing
KHN correspondent Rachana Pradhan discussed how the public opinion of vaccines has changed in the past year with Newsy on Tuesday and how supply chain disruptions hurt hospital care with KCRW’s “Press Play” podcast. ... KHN interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller discussed the health and economic benefits of testing incarcerated people for HIV on WUGA’s “Georgia Health Report” on Dec. 10. (12/18)
