Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More States Offer Covid Vaccination To All Adults Over 16
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland To Open COVID Vaccine Eligibility To All Adults, Starting Tuesday At Mass Vaccination Sites
Everyone in Maryland who is 16 or older will be eligible next week to get the coronavirus vaccine at any site offering shots in the state, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday. And people 16 and older can get shots this week, starting Tuesday, at the state’s five mass vaccination sites. The state will require the hundreds of other vaccine providers in Maryland to offer shots to adults and older teenagers, a total of almost 4.9 million people, as of April 12. (Cohn and Wood, 4/5)
The Hill: Washington, D.C. To Expand COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility To Those Ages 16 And Older
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced on Monday that all residents of the nation’s capital over the age of 16 will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine beginning later this month. Bowser said all Washingtonians ages 16 and older will be eligible for the vaccine on April 19. Essential workers who fall under the third tier of the city’s Phase 1C category, which includes essential higher education employees, individuals working in construction and essential employees working in information technology, will become eligible on April 12. (Pitofsky, 4/5)
AP: Iowa Opens Vaccinations To All Adults As Virus Spreads
Iowa opened coronavirus vaccination to everyone age 16 and older on Monday, as the state dealt with increasing spread of the virus and a seven-day death rate that was among the highest in the nation. State public health officials reported 68 more deaths on Sunday. Many of those people died weeks earlier because there is a delay between when someone dies and when the the National Center for Health Statistics processes the death certificate, attributes the death to COVID-19 and gets the information to Iowa. (Pitt, 4/5)
AP: Vaccinations Open To Everyone 16 And Up In Wisconsin
Everyone age 16 and up became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin on Monday, the same day that an outbreak of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus was reported at a Dane County child care center and positive cases statewide continued to increase. (Bauer, 4/5)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Vaccine Eligibility Expands Across Philly, Pa., And N.J.; Del. Opens To All Adults Tuesday
UPS workers have been a critical part of the Philadelphia region’s vaccine supply chain, yet for months weren’t eligible to receive shots. That all changed on Monday, when Philadelphia’s vaccination eligibility expanded to include sanitation workers, maintenance and janitorial staff, utility workers, and postal and package delivery workers. ”This will be good,” said Richard Hooker Jr., secretary treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 623, which represents about 4,500 UPS warehouse workers and drivers in Philadelphia who have experienced, “a lot of anxiety, a lot of concern, again because we’re not getting the vaccine but we’re delivering the vaccine.” (Laughlin, Whelan and Steele, 4/5)
Boston Globe: State’s New COVID-19 Eligibility Rules Open The Flood Gates For People To Seek Vaccinations
New state eligibility rules for COVID-19 vaccinations effectively flung the doors wide open to the vast majority of residents, allowing immediate shots for people who are even slightly overweight or smoked as few as 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes. The rules, which took effect on Monday, allow anyone who suffers from a single co-morbidity, such as being overweight or a former smoker, to immediately seek an appointment regardless of age — a full two weeks before the general public was scheduled to become eligible. (Lazar, 4/5)
