Flood Of Newly Eligibles Primed To Pump Up Vaccine Demand

The New York Times: Six States Open Vaccines To All Adults On Monday
Kansas is one of six states — Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas are the others — that are expanding eligibility for the vaccine to all adults on Monday. Minnesota will follow on Tuesday, and Indiana and South Carolina on Wednesday. Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas urged residents last week to seek out appointments, saying, “With the anticipated increase in supply from the federal government, we must get every dose of vaccine into arms quickly.” (McDonnell Nieto del Rio, 3/28)

USA Today: Why Some States Have Opened Vaccine Eligibility Faster Than Others
When Alaska led the nation in offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all adults earlier this month, officials could point to the state’s vaccination pace – the best in the country. But as a growing number of states have removed eligibility requirements for getting vaccinated, it’s become less clear why some states are acting faster than others. Mississippi, which eliminated requirements in mid-March, ranks near the bottom in the share of adult residents who have been vaccinated. In fact, of the 28 states that have either opened up eligibility to all, or will be doing so in the next two weeks, seventeen have below average adult vaccination rates, according to figures available Sunday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eleven lag behind other states on fully inoculating those 65 and older, one of the highest-risk groups. (Groppe, 3/29)

Axios: U.S. Sets New Vaccine Record With 3.4 Million Doses Administered In One Day 
The U.S. broke its previous record for most COVID-19 vaccines administered in a single day, with 3.4 million doses reported on Friday, according to the White House. President Biden on Thursday set a new goal of 200 million doses administered in his first 100 days in office. At the current seven-day average, which increased to 2.62 million daily doses with the new record on Friday, the U.S. would comfortably reach that goal before his 100th day on April 30. (3/26)

USA Today: New York COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Leads Some To Small, Rural Potsdam
Vetia Searcy could get her vaccine. But she had to go to somewhere called Potsdam, New York, to get it. Searcy had never heard of the place. Scanning through New York's vaccine portal in February, refreshing the website and hoping to snag an appointment somewhere near her home in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the name kept coming up as the only location with sporadic open slots. Searcy, who qualified for the vaccine on Feb. 15 because of her asthma, made some calls to see if she would be allowed receive the shot at the state-run facility at the State University of New York at Potsdam. The answer was yes — as long as she was willing and able to travel. For two days, she checked constantly. Finally, an appointment opened up in Potsdam again. (Silvarole, 3/28)

More vaccination news on key demographics —

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Shots For Children Hold Key To Herd Immunity
Countries are racing to immunize adults against Covid-19 and move toward a more normal future. To achieve the vaccination rates that health authorities are aiming for, the shots must eventually reach the arms of children and teenagers, too. Children aren’t going to be vaccinated for several months at least, however, because drugmakers are still testing shots in younger ages. That means health authorities can’t be confident of securing community protection against the virus, known as herd immunity, until later this year at the earliest, because children under 18 make up a significant proportion of many countries’ populations. (Abbott and Douglas, 3/28)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine In Pregnancy Triggers Strong Immune Response In Moms, Babies
COVID-19 vaccination can prompt a vigorous immune response in pregnant women, who then pass the resulting antibodies on to their newborns through the placenta and breast milk, according to a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, who call it the largest such study yet, the prospective analysis involved the blood and breast milk of 131 women of reproductive age, including 84 pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 nonpregnant participants, who received two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from Dec 17, 2020, to Mar 2, 2021. (Van Beusekom, 3/26)

Dallas Morning News: Vaccine Hesitancy In Texas Is More Than A Republican Issue
Public opinion polling shows that vaccine hesitancy remains prevalent and diverse in Texas, even as the number of Texans vaccinated against COVID-19 slowly climbs. Perhaps the most important lesson after a year of extensive polling is that although there are well-documented partisan differences in the stated intention to get vaccinated among Texans, hesitancy is not only a Republican problem. More Republicans than Democrats expressed hesitancy or outright refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but 1 in 4 Texas Democrats (27%) also expressed reluctance in a recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. This is representative of a broader underlying problem: Skepticism about vaccines exists among a broad array of Texans. (Jim Henson and Joshua Blank, 3/29)

Axios: GOP Vaccine Hesitancy Is A Big Obstacle For Iowa's Herd Immunity 
Republicans, especially men, are among the most reluctant to receive a COVID vaccine, Iowa and national polls show. That runs counter to the dominant narrative that minority groups are the most hesitant, as explored last week in a New York Times podcast. (Clayworth, 3/29)