Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NFL, MLB Up The Ante For Sports Fans As Vaccinations Slow By 37%
Bloomberg: Biden’s Vaccine Path Gets Tougher As Tempo Of Shots Slows By 37%
President Joe Biden is running out of Americans willing to roll up their sleeves for Covid-19 shots, dragging out his bid to vanquish the pandemic and forcing the administration to refocus its vaccination strategy. Biden and his aides detailed the latest phase of his pandemic response this week as domestic demand for vaccinations dries up and inoculations slide. The U.S. is now giving an average of 2.13 million shots a day, down from 3.37 million about three weeks ago. And on Tuesday, which has the lowest shots of any day of the week, fewer than a million were given for the first time since February. (Wingrove, 5/6)
The Hill: NFL To Give 50 Free Super Bowl LVI Tickets To Vaccinated Fans
The NFL announced on Wednesday that fans vaccinated against the coronavirus will have an opportunity to win free tickets to next year's Super Bowl. Fans who share why they got vaccinated, or soon will, will be eligible to win a pair of tickets to Super Bowl LVI. The league said it is giving away 50 free tickets. Super Bowl LVI will be held at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13. (Schnell, 5/5)
CBS News: Yankees And Mets Will Offer Free Tickets With COVID Vaccine Shots At The Games
The Yankees and Mets will offer free tickets to spectators who get vaccinated against COVID-19 at sites set up right at the game. Fully vaccinated spectators will also be able to attend Yankees and Mets games in sections designated for 100% capacity starting this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday. Separate sections for unvaccinated guests will still enforce six feet of social distancing between parties, at 33% of total capacity. The changes will go into effect on May 19. (5/5)
The Courier-Journal: CVS Drugstores Now Offering Walk-In COVID-19 Vaccinations
People may now get COVID-19 vaccinations at most CVS pharmacies without an appointment. The drugstore chain announced Wednesday it is now accepting walk-in clients for the vaccine at 8,300 CVS locations nationwide, including 76 in Kentucky. The announcement comes the day after President Joe Biden said he was taking additional steps to increase the availability of vaccines around the country, including asking pharmacies to offer shots to walk-ins as well as people scheduling appointments. CVS Health President Karen Lynch said in a news release that the pharmacy chain already has administered 17 million vaccine doses through its stores and in nursing homes and other senior housing sites. (Yetter, 5/5)
AP: State Expands Walk-Up COVID-19 Shots; Field Hospital Closing
Massachusetts will begin expanding walk-up COVID-19 vaccination opportunities as it tries to make it easier for residents to protect themselves against the disease. ... A COVID-19 field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester is expected to close for good within the next couple of weeks, UMass Memorial Health Care said in a statement. The 220-bed field hospital was first set up last spring, then reopened in December to treat patients during a second surge of coronavirus cases. It stopped taking new patients in March but remained in place and ready to reopen in the event of another surge. (5/6)
In other news on the vaccine rollout —
Salt Lake Tribune: Man Who Developed Blood Clots After Getting Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Treated By University Of Utah
University of Utah Health recently treated a man for blood clots he may have developed as a reaction to his immunization with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the health system announced Wednesday. Doctors suspect the man, who is now is recovering at home, developed a rare case of VITT, or vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not confirmed the case, but the patient’s testing is consistent with VITT, U. doctors said. If the case is confirmed, it could become the first one officially documented in an American male patient who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was recently paused, and then resumed, after the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC investigated reports of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in patients who received it. (Tabin, 5/5)
ABC News: California Bar Owner Busted For Making Phony Vaccination Cards: Investigators
A bar owner in California was arrested this week for making fake IDs that had nothing to do with drinking, investigators said. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control announced on Wednesday that it arrested the owner of the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, California, allegedly for selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards. (Pereira, 5/5)
KHN: For Kurdish Americans In Nashville, A Beloved Leader’s Death Prompts Vaccine Push
On a sloppy spring day in mid-March, hundreds of Kurdish Americans gathered in a field outside Nashville, Tennessee, under a sea of black umbrellas. Some of the men carried a stretcher to an open grave, where a yellow backhoe waited. In accordance with Muslim tradition, the body of Imad Doski — a prominent community leader — was buried within 24 hours of his death. He was another casualty of covid-19. (Farmer, 5/6)
