Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Puncture The Vial Just For One Shot: CDC Addresses Vaccine-Giver Hesitancy
Stateline: CDC Urges Docs To Puncture Vaccine Vial Even For Just One Person
More than 15,000 pharmacies will be ready to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds, according to President Joe Biden. And schools will host vaccine drives to inoculate as many adolescents as possible to get them ready for in-person classes in the fall. But so far, only a small minority of pediatricians have Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots in their refrigerators. Largely playing a supporting role in the vaccine rollout until now, private practice doctors have been encouraging patients to get vaccinated, answering their concerns about side effects and pointing them to nearby sites to get shots. That may soon change. (Vestal, 5/14)
In other updates on the vaccine rollout —
ABC News: Inside The Tiny NY County With One Of The Nation's Highest Vaccination Rates
New York's Hamilton County is rural, remote and Republican. It also has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. In general, vaccine hesitancy is estimated to be higher in rural areas, according to an ABC News analysis of county-level data. Counties with high estimated hesitancy also tend to be younger, poorer and more likely to have been won by former President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential election. (Schumaker, 5/16)
PBS NewsHour: As More Americans Get Vaccinated, 41% Of Republicans Still Refuse COVID-19 Shots
As fewer people die from the coronavirus, the pace of vaccinations is stalling, and four out of 10 Republicans say they do not plan to get a vaccine, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus no longer need to mask up in most situations. But how state and local governments, along with individual businesses, interpret that guidance remains to be seen, and some adults who are vaccinated may be uneasy about adopting the new restrictions. (Santhanam, 5/17)
Axios: Unvaccinated Hispanic Americans Are More Likely To Say They Want A Shot ASAP
Hispanic Americans are more likely than Black or white Americans to say, if unvaccinated, they want to get a shot as soon as possible, per new KFF polling. The disproportionate level of vaccine enthusiasm among those who aren't yet vaccinated suggests that Hispanics may be facing additional access issues. (Owens, 5/14)
And Delta Air Lines will require its workers to get vaccinated —
Axios: Delta To Require All New Employees Be Vaccinated
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in a CNN interview that all new hires will be required to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. The decision makes Delta the first major U.S. airline to require vaccines. The company said that more than 60% of its employees are vaccinated and it wants "to help maintain this trajectory." Delta added it will not implement a mandate requiring current workers to be inoculated. (Gonzalez, 5/15)
