Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
To Avoid Wasting Vaccine, Some States Expand Rollout On Their Own
Los Angeles Times: California OKs Expansion Of Who Can Get COVID-19 Vaccine To Avoid Doses Going To Waste
In an effort to avoid wasting COVID-19 vaccine and help speed up the vaccine rollout, the state is instructing local health departments and providers to expand vaccine prioritization to community healthcare workers, public health field staff, primary care clinics, specialty clinics, laboratory workers, dental clinics and pharmacy staff. The state has also told officials that if a surplus remains even after all those eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine under expanded criteria have been granted access, they should move to Tier 1 of the next phase of distribution, which has not yet officially taken effect. (Shalby, 1/7)
Des Moines Register: Polk County Offers COVID Shots To Expanded List Of Health Care Workers
The Polk County Health Department on Thursday released a list of professions whose members will be eligible for coronavirus vaccinations starting Monday. A department news release said shots would be available for people who have direct contact with patients or infectious materials and who are in one of these categories: Blood bank staff; chiropractors; clinical lab staff; dental professionals; dialysis center staff; emergency medical workers; environmental services staff; home health workers; health care students who provide patient care; hospice staff; mental health professionals; medical practice employees; occupational health staff; optometrists; physical therapists; rehabilitation staff; respiratory therapists; and school nurses. (Leys, 1/7)
NPR: Why West Virginia's Push To Vaccinate Against COVID-19 Is Ahead Of Other States
Nearly two weeks before most states started vaccinating anyone, pharmacist Gretchen Garofoli went to a long-term care facility in Morgantown, W.Va., on Dec. 15 and administered one of the first COVID-19 vaccinations in the state. "Psychologically, yes, it was a beacon of hope," she says. So far, West Virginia is outpacing the rest of the country. Having delivered vaccine to health workers and completed a first round of shots at all its long-term care facilities, the state is now administering second doses and moving on to other populations, including people age 80 and over, and teachers who are 50 and older. (Noguchi, 1/7)
Albuquerque Journal: NM Launches Call Center To Boost Vaccination Effort
New Mexico established a vaccination call center Thursday as it prepares to announce who will be part of the next priority group for COVID-19 shots. The state has already announced it expects those 75 and older to be part of the next group, and federal recommendations suggest offering the next round of vaccinations also to teachers, grocery store employees and other front-line workers. Meanwhile, the call center is intended to help people who have had trouble registering for the vaccine online or can’t access the internet. (McKay, 1/7)
In related news —
Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Switch Delayed Coronavirus Vaccines For Nursing Homes
More than 29,000 coronavirus cases have been reported among nursing home residents and staff, with 3,683 residents (more than 28% of the state's 12,918 deaths) and 34 staff dying so far in the pandemic. A few facilities said they had a delay in getting shots into arms because the state switched from the Pfizer to the Moderna vaccine for its long-term care facilities, whose populations are being vaccinated through a federal pharmacy program. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the switch was made to "maximize the use of the doses of both vaccines being made available to Michigan. At the time of the decision, we understood that we would have more doses of Moderna vaccine available than Pfizer and, because of the nursing homes, we made this switch," spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said. (Hall, 1/8)
Houston Chronicle: Texas' New 'Large Vaccination Hubs' Could Serve 100K People Per Week
State officials will start distributing most of Texas’ vaccine doses next week to a handful of large pharmacies and hospitals, creating “vaccination hubs” where more people can get a shot quickly, the Department of State Health Services announced Thursday. “As the vaccination effort continues to expand to people who are at a greater risk of hospitalization and death, in addition to frontline health care workers, these vaccination hubs will provide people in those priority populations with identifiable sites where vaccination is occurring and a simpler way to sign up for an appointment with each provider,” the department said. (Harris, 1/7)
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage School Nurses Deployed At What Unexpectedly Became The City’s First Large-Scale Vaccination Effort For Seniors
What began as a small vaccine clinic intended for health care workers unexpectedly became the first large-scale vaccine operation for seniors in Anchorage. The Anchorage School District, which is working with the state on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, didn’t plan to take on a role in vaccinating Anchorage’s senior population, according to district Healthcare Services Director Jennifer Patronas. But on Thursday morning, on the first floor of the Anchorage Education Center, a team of school nurses at a cluster of stations lining the hallway gave senior citizens their first COVID-19 vaccine shots. (Goodykoontz and Berman, 1/7)
