Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Starts Vaccinating Migrants Seeking Asylum At Southwest Border
The Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Begins Vaccinating Asylum Seekers At Southern Border
The Biden administration has started vaccinating migrants claiming asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border for Covid-19, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday. The decision comes after months of debate within the Biden administration, in which time nonprofit organizations along the border including Catholic Charities started administering Covid-19 vaccines to those migrants released to nonprofit shelters so they could apply for asylum. (Hackman, 3/28)
The New York Times: Biden Administration Will Vaccinate Migrants At Border
According to directions given to senior homeland security officials on Sunday, if single adults refuse to be vaccinated, they will be detained and put into deportation proceedings. If they request asylum and cannot remain in detention, they will be released with a monitoring device “with stringent conditions.” If migrant families refuse vaccination, they will also be given monitoring devices with the same conditions. The White House has said little about whether it will soon lift the public health order, which the Trump administration put in place at the start of the pandemic. (Sullivan, 3/28)
The Texas Tribune: Border Bus Brigade Vaccinating Mexican Citizens With Unused COVID-19 Shots
The COVID-19 vaccine shot that went into Nohemi Lima Eusebio’s arm as she sat on a dusty yellow school bus at the U.S. border checkpoint in Laredo was just days away from going in the trash in Dallas. The dose had been in a batch earmarked for Texas residents, but it was about to expire at a clinic nearly 500 miles away because nobody used it. Instead, it turned out to be a potential lifesaver for Lima Eusebio, a 44-year-old single mom whose job in the close quarters of a factory across the border in Nuevo Laredo put her at risk for the virus and made her fear for the safety of her loved ones. (Harper, 3/29)
In other news about the vaccine rollout —
NBC News: WHO Examining Covid Vaccines Linked To Potential Hearing Problems
The World Health Organization is examining rare reports of hearing loss and other auditory issues following Covid-19 vaccinations. In a newsletter posted on its website, the international public health agency said that it has been made aware of sudden hearing problems, particularly tinnitus, or ringing of the ears, that may be associated with Covid vaccines. (Edwards, 3/28)
Los Angeles Times: Only 30% Of L.A. County Kids Are Vaccinated, Months After COVID Shots Became Available
As kids were spilling out of the gates at Helen Keller Elementary School in Lynwood, outreach worker Alma Aracen tried to talk to the parents crowded outside. “We’re offering COVID vaccines,” Aracen said in Spanish to one mother, gesturing to the mobile clinic and tables set up by St. John’s Community Health near the school. The woman, glancing over, replied in English, “Her daddy doesn’t want her to have it.” In Los Angeles County, some parents jumped at the chance to get kids vaccinated when the shots first became available for them. But here and across the country, new immunizations for kids fell after an initial rush. (Alpert Reyes and Do, 3/28)
Also —
FiercePharma: Pfizer And BioNTech Go To Hollywood With Splashy Oscars Sponsorship
Oscar-winning actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock made the biggest headlines out of the Oscars Sunday night. But the sponsorship from Pfizer and COVID shot partner BioNTech was for the pharma marketing world a bigger moment. The vaccine-making pair, which teamed up two years ago and produced the world’s biggest-selling product last year in Comirnaty, their COVID-19 shot, joined forces again to sponsor the biggest night in Hollywood. (Adams, 3/28)
