First Nursing Home Vaccinations Administered; Who Will Be Next?

AP: Vaccinations Reach Nursing Homes As California Faces Crisis
The first COVID-19 vaccinations are underway at U.S. nursing homes, where the virus has killed more than 110,000 people, even as the nation struggles to contain a surge so alarming it has spurred California to dispense thousands of body bags and line up refrigerated morgue trucks. With the rollout of shots picking up speed Wednesday, lawmakers in Washington closed in on a long-stalled $900 billion coronavirus relief package that would send direct payments of around $600 to most Americans. Meanwhile, the U.S. appeared to be days away from adding a second vaccine to its arsenal. (Geller and Spencer, 12/17)

Politico: Groups Mount Lobbying Blitz To Be Next In Line For Covid Shots
Teachers, firefighters and camp counselors all say they should be next in line to get coronavirus vaccinations. The question is who’s most “essential.” The Centers for Disease Control will begin to settle that on Sunday, when an advisory panel will recommend who should follow medical workers and nursing home residents in the next tier for immunizations. The vote will mark the start of a veritable land rush for Covid shots that will play out over the coming months, as more than 80 million essential workers not in health care jobs jockey for priority designations. (Roubein and Ehley, 12/17)

KHN: With Vaccine Delivery Imminent, Nursing Homes Must Make A Strong Pitch To Residents 
Imagine this: Your elderly mother, who has dementia, is in a nursing home and COVID-19 vaccines are due to arrive in a week or two. You think she should be vaccinated, having heard the vaccine is effective in generating an immune response in older adults. Your brother disagrees. He worries that development of the vaccine was rushed and doesn’t want your mother to be among the first people to get it. These kinds of conflicts are likely to arise as COVID vaccines are rolled out to long-term care facilities across the country. (Graham, 12/17)

Boston Globe: Health Officials Prepare For A New Challenge — Snow
As the first major snowstorm approached the region, health officials on Wednesday prepared for the first weather-related challenge to the state’s COVID-19 testing system, which largely relies on a web of tented outdoor sites that will likely be shut down in high winds and heavy snowfall. At least a half-dozen state testing sites from Holyoke to New Bedford to Hingham had already announced they would be closed Thursday, with the storm predicted to hammer the area with a foot or more of snow. Officials warned residents to expect further closures. The testing site closures come at a tenuous time for the state, which is experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths ahead of the holidays. A total of 5,450 new cases and 71 more deaths were reported Wednesday. (Krueger and Andersen, 12/16)

KHN: Trusted Messengers May Help Disenfranchised Communities Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy
Gloria Torres-Herbeck gets the flu vaccine every year, but the 53-year-old teacher in Rochester, Minnesota, isn’t yet convinced she wants to be first in line for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. “I’m not super old, but I’m not as strong as other people,” she said. “So, I need to be realistic on my own situation. Do I want to participate in something that might be a big risk for me?” (Mulrooney Eldred, 12/17)

Some states may let teachers go next —

The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Expected To Make Teachers Higher Priority For Vaccine
Keith Reed, the state’s deputy commissioner of health, said distribution “is actively taking place across the state, but we want to remind everyone that we still have a long road ahead of us. The first people to receive the vaccine will be frontline health care workers, followed soon after by long-term care facility staff members and residents and public health staff who are critical to the COVID-19 vaccination program. We need Oklahomans to continue doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine is widely available to the public later in 2021.” State officials are expected to announce on Thursday that teachers will be made a higher priority than they were in the state’s original vaccination plan. (Casteel, 12/17)

AP: California Sets Teachers, First Responders For Next Vaccines
Teachers, first responders, and grocery and restaurant workers were among those recommended Wednesday to get the next round of scarce vaccines in California, as were florists and sawmill operators who fall into the same broad category of those deemed essential workers. “We’ve got to figure who we’re going to prioritize,” said Dr. Oliver Brooks, co-chairman of a 16-member panel of medical experts recommending who makes the potential life-and-death cut after the first round of about 3 million vaccines began going this week to health care workers and those in long-term care facilities. (Thompson, 12/17)