Over Half Of Allocated Shots Still Sitting In 16 States’ Freezers

The Hill: CDC Reports 16 States Have Used Less Than Half Of Their Distributed Vaccine Doses 
Sixteen states have used less than half of their distributed coronavirus vaccines even as the country at large faces a crunch in the number of shots going into arms, according to data released Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC’s vaccine tracker, Alabama, Wisconsin, Kansas, Hawaii, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, Minnesota, Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio have all administered less than 50 percent of the vaccine doses they’ve received. (Axelrod, 1/28)

In related news about the vaccine rollout —

The Baltimore Sun: Being Asked For Insurance Information To Sign Up For A COVID-19 Vaccine? It Will Still Be Free. 
Trying to sign up for a coronavirus vaccine appointment and confused about why you’re being asked for insurance information? Don’t worry. Baltimore City Health Commissioner Letitia Dzirasa said the state’s registration system asks for Medicare or insurance information, even though the vaccine is free. She said it’s not required to provide the information. (Oxenden, 1/28)

AP: Maine Unveils New COVID-19 Vaccine Information Website
Maine public health authorities have unveiled a new website to help the public keep track of the state’s coronavirus vaccination effort. The website includes a “vaccination dashboard” that reports the number of coronavirus vaccines delivered in the state. It stated on Thursday that 128,704 total doses had been administered, including 97,033 first doses. (1/29)

Boston Globe: Mass. Will Offer More Help For People Struggling To Get Vaccination Appointments
Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that Massachusetts will soon unveil a telephone hot line to help people struggling to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments, responding to widespread complaints that the online system has proved maddening for eligible residents, seniors especially. The move is a tacit acknowledgement that the current patchwork system made it difficult for many to even find available slots, forcing them to navigate a constellation of online registration systems run by individual vaccine providers. (Rosen and Bray, 1/28)

Houston Chronicle: 'Nobody Is Getting Enough': Why Texas Ranks Near The Bottom For COVID-19 Vaccines Per Capita
As Texans scramble for appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine, federal data helps explain why: Relative to its population, the Lone Star State ranks near the bottom in the country in number of doses received. Texas has received the second-highest number of doses in the country. Per capita, however, Texas comes in closer to the bottom at 49th out of all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Federal officials say there is a good reason for that: Vaccine distribution is based on the adult population of each state. And roughly a quarter of Texans are under the age of 18. Still, even when adjusted for adults only, Texas ranks 48th. (Rubio and Serrano, 1/28)

AP: State Health Officer On Vaccine: 'Not Enough To Go Around'
Alabama will soon announce a time frame for expanding who can get COVID-19 vaccinations, the state health officer told lawmakers Thursday. But he said the supply of vaccine coming into the state remains far short of what is needed. “You’ll hear very soon about expanded eligibility as other states have done,” State Health Officer Scott Harris told lawmakers during budget hearings. Harris told reporters he expects to be able to discuss a time frame Friday. Currently, only health care workers, people 75 and older, first responders and nursing home residents are eligible for vaccinations. (Chandler, 1/28)

Dallas Morning News: White Dallas Residents Outpace Blacks, Hispanics In Registering For COVID Vaccine
Early efforts to boost registrations among Dallas’ Black and Hispanic communities have yet to produce more equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, new data obtained by The Dallas Morning News shows. Six out of every 10 city residents who have enrolled for the shot with the Dallas County health department through Jan. 24 were white, according to data obtained Thursday. That’s twice the rate of the city’s overall white population. Hispanics — which make up the city’s largest ethnic group at 42% — were the second-largest enrollment group, making up about 20%. Only 1 out of every 10 Dallas residents who registered for the vaccine was Black, a 14 percentage-point gap compared with the overall city population. (Garcia and Jimenez, 1/28)

KHN: As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind 
Black Americans are still receiving covid vaccinations at dramatically lower rates than white Americans even as the chaotic rollout reaches more people, according to a new KHN analysis. Almost seven weeks into the vaccine rollout, states have expanded eligibility beyond front-line health care workers to more of the public — in some states to more older adults, in others to essential workers such as teachers. But new data shows that vaccination rates for Black Americans have not caught up to those of white Americans. (Recht and Weber, 1/29)

Also —

AP: Health Workers Stuck In Snow Give Other Drivers Vaccine
Oregon health workers who got stuck in a snowstorm on their way back from a COVID-19 vaccination event went car to car injecting stranded drivers before several of the doses expired. Josephine County Public Health said on Facebook that the “impromptu vaccine clinic” took place after about 20 employees were stopped in traffic on a highway after a vaccination clinic. Six of the vaccines were getting close to expiring so the workers decided to offer them to other stranded drivers. (1/28)

The Washington Post: Reporter CD-Davidson-Hiers Helps Seniors Get Their Vaccine Appointments 
The coronavirus vaccine had arrived in Leon County, Fla., and suddenly CD Davidson-Hiers’s iPhone was lighting up with calls and texts. Seniors over 65 could now get the shots, but many said they were hitting a wall when they tried to register with the local health department. The agency’s phone played an error message when they dialed, and an online appointment form seemed to go nowhere. Readers asked: Could Davidson-Hiers help? (Hawkins, 1/28)

KHN: Journalists Stay On Top Of Rocky Vaccine Rollout 
California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester discussed California’s rocky covid-19 vaccine rollout with KALW’s “Your Call” on Wednesday. (1/29)