Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Universal Covid Vaccine Eligibility For Adults Is Close
The New York Times: The U.S. Is Nearing Universal Covid-19 Vaccine Eligibility For Adults
The state of Pennsylvania and the city of Los Angeles are accelerating plans for wider Covid-19 vaccine eligibility this week, as the United States approaches universal eligibility for adults. Most states and U.S. territories have already expanded access to include anyone over 16. Others, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State, have plans in place for universal adult access to start in the next few days. All states are expected to get there by Monday, a deadline set by President Biden. Some states have local variations in eligibility, including Illinois, where Chicago did not join a statewide expansion that began Monday. (Baker, 4/12)
CNN: How The US Hit Its Vaccine Stride
With an average of 3.1 million doses of Covid-19 administered each day, the United States is on pace to hit another vaccination milestone: Half of adults in the country are expected to have received at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of this week. This signals remarkable progress especially if you consider that at the end of December, less than three million doses had been administered in total and governors were crying out for more supply. (Sealy, 4/12)
CNN: Here's What Can Help The US Soon See A Covid-19 Turnaround, Fauci Says
US officials are racing to vaccinate as many Americans as possible to beat another Covid-19 surge -- and doses are being administered at a record pace. But that's not all the US needs to be doing right now. "Don't declare victory prematurely," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on CNN Monday night. "We see so many pulling back on some of the public health measures, the mask mandates, the restaurant opening, the bars, we can't be doing that. We've got to wait a bit longer until we get enough vaccine into people that we will clearly blunt any surge." (Maxouris, 4/13)
CNBC: White House Using NASCAR, Country Music TV To Reach Vaccine-Hesitant Americans
The White House is using alternative methods to reach Americans who remain reluctant to get a Covid-19 vaccine: NASCAR, CMT, the country music television channel, and shows like “Deadliest Catch,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. “We’ve run PSAs on the ‘Deadliest Catch,’ we’re engaged with NASCAR and country music TV. We’re looking for a range of creative ways to get directly connected to white conservative communities,” Psaki said. (Nunley, 4/12)
Axios: Facebook To Push Vaccine Eligibility Notifications Outside Of The U.S.
Facebook plans to begin delivering notifications to users in their News Feed about vaccine eligibility in 20 countries starting this week, the company said Monday. It's part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pledge to help bring 50 million people closer to getting COVID-19 vaccines. Facebook has been scrutinized for misinformation on its platform that may deter people from wanting to get vaccinated. (Fischer, 4/12)
WJCT 89.9 FM Jacksonville: FBI: That Post-Vaccine Selfie Might Be More Dangerous Than You Think
The FBI is warning Floridians about the risks of sharing photos of COVID-19 vaccine card on social media. Scammers may steal personal information off the cards or use the images to create fake vaccine cards that they can sell. The Federal Trade Commission echoed the warning, saying the innocuous-seeming information on the cards might reveal more than you think. (Boles, 4/9)
Reuters: Native Health Providers Drive Alaska's Vaccination Success Story
Despite its sprawling geography and often-inhospitable climate, Alaska ranks among the top U.S. states for getting COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of its residents, and its indigenous population has played a major role in that achievement. With a history and culture deeply shaped by deadly outbreaks of disease that have periodically ravaged remote corners of their subarctic homeland, Alaska Natives have aggressively led the way on inoculations against COVID-19 for the state as a whole. (Rosen, 4/13)
Politico: How New Mexico Became The Country’s Unlikely Vaccination Star
Shortly after the first Covid-19 vaccine was cleared for emergency use in December, leaders of New Mexico’s largest health care system suggested they should shut down the slick coronavirus vaccine appointment website they had opened weeks earlier. That way, they explained, they could avoid conflict with the statewide registry that New Mexico’s health department had already set up. That decision proved to be crucial, helping New Mexico streamline its vaccination campaign and become the unlikely U.S. leader, local and national experts say. That success came despite the sprawling state’s longstanding public health challenges, including a high poverty rate and routinely poor health care outcomes, and caught the attention of other states interested in replicating its model. (Goldberg, 4/12)
