Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oh My! Lions, Tigers And Bears Get Covid Shots
CBS News: Denver Zoo Joins Oakland Zoo In Vaccinating Animals Against COVID
A donation of doses from the veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis will allow Denver Zoo to vaccinate some of its animals against COVID-19 within the next few weeks, CBS Denver reports. The zoo joins Oakland Zoo in aiming to vaccinate some of its residents. Denver Zoo VP of Animal Health Dr. Scott Larsen stressed that the doses are specifically made for animals. "We are not taking any vaccines away from humans," Dr. Larsen told the station. (Siese, 7/7)
ABC News: Oakland Zoo Begins Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Program On Its Wildlife
The Oakland Zoo has begun a vaccination program to inoculate its highest risk animals from COVID-19 with an experimental vaccine that has been authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Oakland Zoo received its first shipment of the experimental vaccine developed by veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis and began to give doses to its tigers, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions and ferrets, who were the first animals to receive the vaccine, according to a statement from the Oakland Zoo. The zoo next plans to give doses to primates, including chimpanzees, as well as fruit bats and pigs. (Haworth, 7/4)
In other news about the vaccine rollout —
Axios: America Is Hitting Its Vaccination Ceiling
The U.S. appears to be reaching its ceiling on COVID-19 vaccinations, at least among adults. Why it matters: The more transmissible and dangerous variant Delta variant is spreading fast, and experts fear another wave of infections among the unvaccinated. "We’ve hit the wall in the number of vaccinations in recent weeks," Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute told Axios. (Reed, 7/6)
Houston Chronicle: Half Of Eligible Texans Now Fully Vaccinated For COVID-19
Texas has reached a new milestone in the effort to vaccinate people against COVID-19: As of Monday, more than 50 percent of Texans eligible for the shot — those ages 12 and older — have been fully vaccinated. The current vaccine rate of 50.1 percent, reported by the state on Tuesday, is a far cry from the original goal set by President Joe Biden’s administration, at 70 percent of eligible Americans fully vaccinated by the holiday weekend. In recent months, immunization rates have slowed considerably, forcing local officials to rely on incentives to bring people in for shots. (Wu, 7/6)
Los Angeles Times: O.C. Health Officials Boast 70% Vaccination Among Adults
Orange County has hit what both public health officials and experts describe as a significant milestone: 70% of residents 18 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of last week. The county has been working to get to some level of so-called herd immunity by the beginning of July. That’s gaining more urgency as the new, highly infectious Delta variant is spreading. Delta is now the dominant variant in California, and is blamed for a rise in new cases in L.A. County. (Cardine, 7/6)
