Covid Vaccine Eligibility Expands To Include Even More Americans

Bloomberg: New York Lowers Age For Covid-19 Vaccine Eligibility To 60 Years Old
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said he would lower the age for Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to 60 years old from 65 on March 10, as states qualify more groups in response to increasing supply from the federal government. Essential in-person workers from government agencies and nonprofits will be able to get the shots starting March 17. Public-facing building-service workers also will be eligible, Cuomo said Tuesday while visiting a vaccine site at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. This includes sanitation, motor-vehicles and election workers, county clerks, government inspectors and caseworkers. (Clukey and Young, 3/9)

Health News Florida: DeSantis: Florida Vaccine Eligibility Drops To 60 And Older On Monday
Starting this Monday (March 15), people ages 60 and older in Florida will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he was lowering the age to qualify for a shot during a press conference on Monday in Tallahassee. (Colombini, 3/9)

Axios: Minnesota Expands Vaccine Eligibility To Include Frontline Workers, People With Underlying Conditions 
Minnesota is opening up vaccine eligibility to include 1.8 million more people, including those with underlying conditions and essential workers, Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday. The expansion, effective Wednesday, comes as the state hits its goal of vaccinating 70% of seniors weeks ahead of schedule. (Van Oot, 3/9)

AP: Tennessee: Some Inmates Now Qualify For COVID-19 Vaccine
After initially deeming that inoculating prisoners could be a “PR nightmare,” Tennessee officials on Tuesday said some inmates were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine — but only those who qualify as part of other groups the state has prioritized. The Department of Correction has ordered 2,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and 980 doses of the Moderna vaccine to be distributed to inmates who are 65 and older or have health conditions that put them in groups already given priority status by the state, department spokesperson Dorinda Carter said in an email. (Kruesi, 3/9)

The Washington Post: People Who Qualify For The Covid Vaccine Because Their BMI Says They're Obese Have Mixed Feelings About Getting An Early Spot In Line 
In late February, Claire DiYenno opened her inbox to discover the golden ticket: An email from her doctor’s office with a subject line telling her that she was now eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine. It was welcome news, but unexpected. “I was trying to think of all the different things that maybe I could have been eligible for, because I have migraines. I’ve had recent surgery,” says DiYenno, who lives in Upstate New York. Then she opened the email and found out the real reason: Her body mass index, or BMI, was considered to be in the “obese” category. (Judkis, 3/9)

The New York Times: How America’s Vaccine System Makes People With Health Problems Fight For A Place In Line 
As states have begun vaccinating Americans with medical conditions that may raise their risk for a severe case of Covid-19, they are setting widely varying rules about which conditions to prioritize. The morass of guidelines has set off a free-for-all among people with underlying health problems like cancer or Type 2 diabetes to persuade state health and political officials to add particular conditions to an evolving vaccine priority list. (Harmon and Ivory, 3/9)

In related news —

The New York Times: Hunting for a Leftover Vaccine? This Site Will Match You With a Clinic.
In the hustle to score an elusive vaccine appointment, the leftover dose has become the stuff of pandemic lore. Extra shots — which must be used within hours once taken out of cold storage — have been doled out to drugstore customers buying midnight snacks, people who are friends with nurses and those who show up at closing time at certain grocery stores and pharmacies. At some larger vaccination sites, the race to use every dose sets off a flurry of end-of-the-day phone calls. (Thomas, 3/9)

AP: Volunteers Are Key At Vaccine Sites. It Pays Off With A Shot
When Seattle’s largest health care system got a mandate from Washington state to create a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, organizers knew that gathering enough volunteers would be almost as crucial as the vaccine itself. “We could not do this without volunteers,” said Renee Rassilyer-Bomers, chief quality officer for Swedish Health Services and head of its vaccination site at Seattle University. “The sheer volume and number of folks that we wanted to be able to serve and bring in requires … 320 individuals each day.” (Tang and Valdes, 3/10)

NBC News: Discos, Luaus, '80s Vax-A-Thons: Themed Vaccine Events Encourage People To Get Shots
Across the country, vaccination sites are coming up with creative solutions to encourage people in the U.S. to get their vaccine shots. In cities both big and small, facilities are hosting themed events to break the tension and get people excited about being vaccinated against Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus — all while having some fun. A vaccination site in Texas made headlines Saturday after hosting an '80’s-themed, 24-hour “Vax-A-Thon,” according to ABC affiliate KVUE. The Family Hospital Systems partnered with Williamson County to vaccinate 7,000 people in 24 hours at the Kelly Reeves Complex in Austin, the station reported. (Wong, 3/9)

Also —

CIDRAP: Poll: 1 Of 4 Americans Will Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine 
Despite the unprecedented rollout of three COVID-19 vaccines, 25% of Americans in a new poll from Monmouth University said they are still unwilling to be vaccinated. Many experts believe that without 70% to 80% of the public gaining COVID-19 immunity through infection or vaccination, herd immunity will be difficult for the nation to obtain, especially because 24% of the population is children, who are as yet ineligible for vaccination. (Soucheray, 3/9)

CNN: What The Next CDC Guidelines For The Fully Vaccinated Could Look Like 
Some celebrated when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came out with its long-awaited guidelines for the fully vaccinated Monday. Others were hoping for more, especially about travel. With daily new cases hovering around the 60,000 mark and the threat of variants spreading, navigating the pandemic is admittedly tricky, even for the fully vaccinated. The director of the CDC made clear these guidelines will not be the last word. (Christensen, 3/9)