Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Now Allows Anyone Who Is 'Extremely Vulnerable' To Get A Shot
Tampa Bay Times: DeSantis Order Expands Coronavirus Vaccine Options For High-Risk People Under 65
People under age 65 who have prior conditions that put them at risk to the coronavirus could soon receive vaccines outside hospitals after a quiet executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis late Friday. The order says that physicians, advance practice registered nurses and pharmacists can vaccinate a person deemed extremely vulnerable by their physician. (Ellenbogen, 2/28)
Axios: Most States Aren't Prioritizing Prisons For COVID Vaccines
Jails and prisons have seen big outbreaks and a higher death rate than the general public, but with supplies still limited, most governors aren't putting prisoners at the top of the list for vaccines. (Fernandez, 3/1)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Vets Focus Of Vaccination Effort
Health care workers in the covid-19 isolation ward at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System started receiving covid vaccine shots within hours of the system receiving its first doses on Dec. 16. Since then, the facility has administered both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to 3,096 veterans and the first doses to 7,234 more as of Friday, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data. The Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks, based in Fayetteville, has given both doses of only the Moderna vaccine to 2,667 veterans and the first doses to 6,616 more since Dec. 30. (Vrbin, 3/1)
KHN: Connecticut Is Doling Out Vaccines Based Strictly On Age. It’s Simpler, But Is It Fair?
With covid vaccines expected to remain scarce into early spring, Connecticut has scrapped its complicated plans to prioritize immunizations for people under 65 with certain chronic conditions and front-line workers. Instead, the state will primarily base eligibility on age. Gov. Ned Lamont pointed to statistics showing the risk of death and hospitalization from covid-19 rises significantly by age. Yet, shifting to an age-based priority system — after health workers, nursing home patients and people 65 and up have been offered vaccines — has frustrated people with health conditions such as cancer or diabetes who thought they would be next in line. (Galewitz and Heredia Rodriguez, 3/1)
Anchorage Daily News: Unscathed: These Alaska Villages Are Reaching Herd Immunity — Without A Single Case Of COVID-19
For years, residents of the Southeast Alaska fishing town of Pelican decried cuts to state ferry service that left them increasingly isolated. Then came news of a deadly pandemic spread around the world by travelers. “Everybody claims that it’s so hard to get in and out of here. I say, that’s perfect,” said Walt Weller, Pelican’s mayor. “There is no better time to be stranded in the middle of nowhere.” A year into the pandemic, Pelican — reachable only by bush plane or boat — has zero recorded cases of COVID-19 and has vaccinated more than half its adults. (Herz, 2/28)
KHN: Black Churches Fill A Unique Role In Combating Vaccine Fears
In the hospital with covid-19 in December, Lavina Wafer tired of the tubes in her nose and wondered impatiently why she couldn’t be discharged. A phone call with her pastor helped her understand that the tube was piping in lifesaving oxygen, which had to be slowly tapered to protect her. Now that Wafer, 70, is well and back home in Richmond, California, she’s looking to her pastor for advice about the covid vaccines. Though she doubts they’re as wonderful as the government claims, she plans to get vaccinated anyway — because of his example. (Almendrala, 3/1)
Also —
Axios: Most Think It's A Good Idea To Give NBA Players Early COVID Vaccine Access
54% of Americans think it would be a good idea to give NBA players early access to the COVID-19 vaccine in order to increase public confidence in it, according to a survey administered last week by The Harris Poll. (Tracy, 2/26)
NPR: Obesity Specialist Says BMI Is A 'Good Measure' For Vaccine Priority Group
Several cities across the country that count obesity as an underlying condition have opened COVID-19 vaccine appointments to people with a body mass index of 30 or higher — the medical benchmark for obesity. While BMI isn't a foolproof standard by which to assess potential health risk factors, obesity medicine physician Dr. Fatima Stanford told NPR, "overall, it's a good measure" in this case. It would be dangerous for people with obesity to not get vaccinated, she said, given that obesity is a risk factor for both severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. (Garcia-Navarro and Bowman, 2/28)
The Verge: Vaccine Centers Embrace Stickers And Selfie Stations
As the vaccine rollout continues, clinics and distribution centers across the country are embracing things like stickers and even selfie stations decked out with colorful backgrounds to help people celebrate getting the shot. The selfie stations are set up as colorful backgrounds, often with pro-vaccine messaging tiled with the name of the healthcare provider. It’s good branding. And hey, if social media-friendly backgrounds helped make some trendy restaurants popular, there’s no reason they couldn’t work for vaccine sites too. Added bonus — if the vaccines are being given in a healthcare setting, it gives people a designated space to take pictures without compromising other patients’ privacy. (Beth Griggs, 2/27)
The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine Selfies Are Drawing Backlash
Given a shot at a coronavirus vaccine, many Americans say they would roll up their sleeves. But the decision to post a photo of the moment isn’t as black and white. People are divided over “vaccine selfie” etiquette. ... Some people despise the smiley selfies, as the virus that has killed more than 2.5 million people worldwide continues to take its toll. And most Americans who want to be vaccinated still are unable to get a dose. (Kornfield, 2/27)
