Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Second Dose Of Vaccine: Canada Endorses Delaying Timeline
Bloomberg: Canadian Health Officials Back Delaying Second Dose Of Vaccine
Canadian public health officials are endorsing plans by some local governments to delay the second dose of Covid-19 vaccines beyond the timeline recommended by pharmaceutical companies. An advisory group overseeing the vaccine rollout said Thursday that provinces can likely wait as long as six weeks to give a second dose without impacting the vaccine’s effectiveness -- double the timeline recommended. (Bolongaro, 1/14)
NPR: Israel To Start Vaccinating Palestinian Prisoners Next Week
Israel's health minister announced Thursday the country would vaccinate Palestinian prisoners against COVID-19, after Israel's president said withholding vaccines was against Israel's Jewish and democratic values. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the prisoners would be vaccinated early next week, on Monday or Tuesday. The minister informed NPR of the decision before making a public announcement. The decision comes amid a larger debate about whether Israel, which is leading the world in vaccinations per capita, should ensure vaccines for the Palestinian public in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which is blockaded by Israel and Egypt. (Estrin, 1/14)
Bloomberg: Norway Warns of Vaccination Risks for Sick Patients Over 80
Norway says there are risks that Covid-19 vaccinations may be too risky for the very old and terminally sick, after 23 people died within a short time of receiving their first shot. Of those deaths, 13 have so far been autopsied with the results suggesting that common side effects may have contributed to severe reactions in frail, elderly people, according to the Norwegian Medicines Agency. “For those with the most severe frailty, even relatively mild vaccine side effects can have serious consequences,” the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said. “For those who have a very short remaining life span anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.” (Treloar and Erik Taraldsen, 1/15)
AP: China Builds New Quarantine Center As Virus Cases Rise
A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush. State media on Friday showed crews leveling earth, pouring concrete and assembling pre-fabricated rooms in farmland outside Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province that has seen the bulk of new cases. That recalled scenes last year, when China rapidly built field hospitals and turned gymnasiums into isolation centers to cope with the initial outbreak linked to the central city of Wuhan. (1/15)
The New York Times: Hopes For Tokyo’s Summer Olympics Darken
Plans for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games are growing more uncertain by the day. As coronavirus cases rise throughout Japan and in several large countries in Europe and the Americas, officials both in Tokyo and with the International Olympic Committee have begun to acknowledge that holding a safe Games might not be possible, endangering dreams that the Olympics could serve as a global celebration of the end of the pandemic. (Futterman, 1/15)
