Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Uncle Sam Wants You! — To Get A Covid Shot, That Is
AP: Military Begins Delivering Vaccines In Texas, New York
The U.S. military on Wednesday began delivering shots at coronavirus vaccination centers in Texas and New York and announced that service members will start staffing four centers in Florida and one in Philadelphia next week. The expanded vaccination effort came as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with military commanders overseeing the COVID-19 response effort. He also visited the vaccination center in Los Angeles, the first staffed by the new active-duty military teams that are being developed. (Baldor, 2/25)
In other updates on the vaccine rollout —
CNN: The Florida Official Who Set Up A Vaccine Site For Affluent ZIP Codes And Created A VIP List Is Under Investigation, Sheriff's Office Says
A Florida sheriff's office is investigating whether a Manatee County official broke the law when she organized a Covid-19 vaccine drive limited to two of the county's most affluent ZIP codes. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office said it has launched the investigation after a citizen watchdog filed a complaint regarding County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who last week admitted she chose the ZIP codes herself and also selected some people for the vaccination list, so she and others could access the Covid-19 vaccine. (Flores, Weisfeldt and Andrew, 2/24)
The Hill: Pennsylvania Health Network Prioritized Vaccines For Employees' Relatives
One of Pennsylvania’s largest health networks gave special access for coronavirus vaccines to employees' relatives, prompting criticism from health officials who said that other groups should have been prioritized. (Castronuovo, 2/24)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Expands To People With Health Conditions
Illinois is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to people under age 65 with health conditions Thursday, but it likely will be difficult for Chicago-area residents to find shots in coming days. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Feb. 10 that he planned to expand vaccination phase 1b — which includes seniors and front-line essential workers — to include younger people with certain health issues, starting Feb. 25. (Schencker, 2/24)
Boston Globe: Massachusetts Hospitals To Resume Offering COVID-19 Vaccine
A week and a half after abruptly cutting off new supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to hospitals, Massachusetts officials have reached an agreement with hospitals and health systems allowing them to rejoin the massive state effort to vaccinate all residents. Under the plan, vaccine doses will be allocated to certain organizations willing to inoculate any eligible Massachusetts resident. Additionally, two health systems with large numbers of patients spread over a wide geographic area — Mass General Brigham and Beth Israel Lahey Health — can offer the vaccine exclusively to their patients. (Dayal McCluskey and Freyer, 2/24)
Houston Chronicle: Want A Vaccine At NRG Park's Super Site? Show Up With Wheels.
The region’s largest COVID vaccine site — created to cater to vulnerable communities — is drive-thru-only, a process that frustrated some observers as health officials work to balance better access to shots, huge demand and the need to inoculate as many people as fast as possible. Opened Wednesday, the vaccination site at NRG Park is accessible only by automobile, Harris County officials said. “We want to operate at full speed — 6,000 vaccines a day — and the only way to reach that number safely in the very limited amount of time we’ve had to set up the site is via drive-thru,” said Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “Unfortunately, a walk-up option at that particular site would significantly cut into the number of people we’re able to provide vaccines for overall.” (Begley, 2/24)
Charlotte Observer: NC Doctor’s Office Feels Excluded In COVID Vaccine Rollout
Charlotte’s largest independent doctor’s office, Tryon Medical Partners, finally will receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week — between 100 and 200 doses. But that’s not enough, according to Tryon Medical CEO Dr. Dale Owen. Primary care physicians have been left out of the state’s vaccine rollout from the beginning, he said. (Smoot, 2/25)
Also —
Axios: Republicans Are Least Likely To Want The Coronavirus Vaccine
Americans of all ages, education levels, genders, races and political parties say they're more likely than not to get the coronavirus vaccine — except Republicans. ... By the numbers: 41% of Republicans say they don't plan to get a vaccine if it's available to them. Only 33% say they do plan to get vaccinated. (Owens, 2/25)
PBS NewsHour: For Americans Of Color Considering The COVID-19 Vaccine, Here’s Why Trust Is So Important
Memories of historical atrocities run long and suspicions high when it comes to medical care. Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to say they do not trust their health care provider, rooted in both contemporary experiences — like that of Dr. Susan Moore, a Black physician who died of COVID-19 after posting on social media that her pain and calls for help were not taken seriously — and other painfully recent history. From 1932 to 1972, federal researchers examined the effects of syphilis on Black men when left untreated. None of the 623 participants in the United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study were told what was happening, and, in one of the worst examples of unethical medical research in modern U.S. history, researchers secured no one’s consent. They were told they had “bad blood,” but researchers withheld actual treatment from them, even after penicillin was discovered as an effective, affordable and readily available therapy for the disease. (Santhanam, 2/24)
The Washington Post: Doctors And Nurses Face Endless Covid Misinformation Battle
Atul Nakhasi couldn’t stop thinking about Dodger Stadium. The storied ballpark-turned-coronavirus-vaccination-site just 10 minutes from his apartment in downtown Los Angeles had been briefly shut down by anti-vaccine protesters, and Nakhasi, a doctor, was horrified. To him, the nearly hour-long delay amounted to an act of “public harm” and served as a chilling example of how far people who oppose vaccines are willing to go to make their point. He had to do something to respond, but what? (Chiu, 2/24)
