Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mobile Vaccine Centers, Walk-In Clinics Among Efforts To Curb Hesitancy
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore County To Deploy Mobile Unit In Areas With Low COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
Baltimore County officials announced Tuesday the county will use a new way to reach neighborhoods with low vaccination rates: a mobile vaccine center. The mobile outreach unit will be staffed by Baltimore County Department of Health employees and will deliver shots — and information about the vaccines — in ZIP codes where data shows residents have been affected disproportionately by COVID-19 and have lower vaccination rates, said county Health Officer Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch. (Deville, 4/27)
The Wall Street Journal: New York Opens Vaccine Appointments To Walk-Ins As Demand Wanes
New York state mass-vaccination sites will open to walk-ins beginning Thursday, removing another barrier to vaccination efforts. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said demand for Covid-19 vaccines across the state was waning and people are no longer chasing appointments. About 115,000 New York residents are vaccinated every 24 hours now, down from 175,000, he said Tuesday during a press briefing. (West, 4/27)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Skipped Or Late Vaccine Doses In Nevada Total More Than 100K
More than 143,000 Nevadans are behind on getting their second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, state health officials report. Close to 13 percent of the 1.1 million state residents who had intiated the vaccination process as of Monday were more than four days past due for their second dose, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Shannon Litz wrote in an email. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine require two doses given weeks apart to be fully effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose. (Scott Davidson, 4/27)
WLRN 91.3 FM: Herd Immunity And Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy In South Florida
Half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida is trailing close behind the national numbers, with 40 percent of the population having received at least one dose. Everyone 16 or older is eligible to receive the vaccine in every state. But demand and interest in the vaccine is wavering, and that could put herd immunity at risk. WLRN's "Sundial" assembled a panel of experts and people knowledgeable on vaccine rollout to discuss the hesitancy. (Ovalle and Remington, 4/27)
Roll Call: Republican Doctors In Congress Try To Boost Vaccine Confidence
A group of Republican doctors and health care providers in Congress, led by Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, launched a public service campaign Tuesday to encourage COVID-19 vaccine participation among constituents. Polling shows that Republican voters have some of the highest rates of vaccine skepticism of any demographic in the country. (Cohen, 4/27)
In other updates on the vaccine rollout —
AP: U Of Portland, Willamette U To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations
University of Portland officials announced on Tuesday that the school will require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all students, faculty and staff when the fall semester starts. The Catholic university said in a news release that employees must provide proof of vaccination by Aug. 1 and students must provide proof by Sept. 1.The news release says more than 100 colleges and universities nationally have announced vaccination requirements for students and/or employees, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. (4/28)
Philadelphia Inquirer: People With Intellectual Disabilities Are Helping Providers Improve The Vaccination Experience
When Natasha Black learned that she was eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, she said she was excited — and hopeful that daily life might finally get back to normal .Black, a member of a self-advocacy group for people with intellectual disabilities, had spent the year away from family, friends, and work. Isolated in her group home in the Pennsylvania suburbs, she missed being able to take walks, chat with neighbors, play a game of pickup soccer. “I was staying at home every day — we couldn’t do nothing,” said Black, who knew she needed to be especially careful not to get coronavirus. “I was worried. I was bored. I had some hard times,” she said. (Whelan, 4/28)
CNN: The Covid-19 Vaccine: How To Add It To Your Medical Record
Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 and receiving a vaccination card has become a rite of passage for many Americans who have endured the pandemic for the last year. Securing a vaccination card, however, doesn't necessarily mean your Covid-19 vaccine status is in your medical records. (Marples, 4/26)
WLRN 91.3 FM: North Miami Beach Apologizes After Mayor’s Vaccine Invite Ripples Across Latin America
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo caused a stir that shot across Latin America this weekend after he said in an interview Friday that international tourists could come to his city to get the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that “thousands and thousands” had already done so.State rules restrict the vaccines to Florida residents. (4/27)
KHN: Ohio’s Amish Suffered A Lot From Covid, But Vaccines Are Still A Hard Sell
The Amish communities of northeastern Ohio engage in textbook communal living. Families eat, work and go to church together, and through the pandemic, mask-wearing and physical distancing have been spotty. That has meant that these communities bore a high rate of infection and death. Despite this, health officials are struggling to encourage residents to get vaccinated against covid-19. Holmes County, where half the population is Amish, has the lowest vaccination rate in Ohio, with just 10% of the population fully vaccinated. (Huntsman, 4/28)
KHN: You Don’t Have To Suffer To Benefit From Covid Vaccination — But Some Prefer It
If you think vaccination is an ordeal now, consider the 18th-century version. After having pus from a smallpox boil scratched into your arm, you would be subject to three weeks of fever, sweats, chills, bleeding and purging with dangerous medicines, accompanied by hymns, prayers and hell-fire sermons by dour preachers. That was smallpox vaccination, back then. The process generally worked and was preferred to enduring “natural” smallpox, which killed around a third of those who got it. Patients were often grateful for trial-by-immunization — once it was over, anyway. (Allen, 4/28)
