Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccine Distribution Efforts Encounter Confusion, Technical Setbacks
The Baltimore Sun: Hogan Doubles Down On Baltimore COVID Vaccine Comments As Data Reveals Most City Doses Going To Noncity Residents
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan doubled down Tuesday on his comment last week that Baltimore received more COVID-19 vaccines than it was “entitled to,” though data released this week by his administration shows the majority of immunizations directed to providers in the city have been shot into the arms of people from other jurisdictions. (Mann and Kamidi, 3/2)
Tampa Bay Times: Publix Gets 1 Out Of 4 Florida Coronavirus Vaccines, Which Officials Don’t Track
State officials have shipped 70,000 COVID vaccine doses a week to Publix’s central distribution hub in Lakeland in Central Florida, without knowing exactly where the shots will go, a Miami Herald analysis of state vaccine distribution data from the past five weeks and interviews with state officials found. The grocery chain — a major financial supporter of Gov. Ron DeSantis — is the state’s single-largest vaccine supplier and receives nearly a quarter of Florida’s available doses without providing state officials a store-specific distribution plan ahead of time, according to Jared Moskowitz, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the agency leading the vaccination campaign. (Blaskey, Conarck and Ross, 3/2)
Tampa Bay Times: New Federal Coronavirus Vaccine Site Opens In Tampa
Tampa Bay residents have another venue to get COVID-19 vaccine shots when one of the state’s first federally run vaccination sites opens Wednesday at the Tampa Greyhound Track. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working with states to open several large-scale vaccination sites around the nation in an effort to boost the administration of shots. (Ross, 3/2)
Bay Area News Group: Sutter Cancelling 90,000 Vaccine Appointments Because Of Supply Shortage
Sparking new frustrations over California’s vaccine rollout, Sutter Health on Tuesday said it may have to cancel about 95,000 coronavirus vaccine appointments across its system because it has not received enough supply. Many of the health care giant’s customers were surprised to discover their appointments had been cancelled by checking Sutter’s website, sparing some from hours-long drives to clinics as far away as Modesto. (DeRuy, 3/2)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's COVID Vaccine Registry Site Delayed Due To Glitches
Wisconsin's promised vaccine registry site will be delayed for a second time as the state health department works out glitches with the Microsoft-designed software. And when the website does launch, it will likely feature just a few local health departments at first, health officials said. In a news briefing Tuesday, state Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said the department "ran into some components that were not functioning the way we anticipated" during pilot testing last week and over the weekend. "We made the decision that quality trumped speed in this one," she said. (Chen, 3/2)
Also —
Capital & Main: An Equity Conflict Shadows The Release Of A New Vaccine
On the face of it, the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears a pure good. The vaccine requires only a single shot and can store in a standard refrigerator, and the White House said Monday that the manufacturer’s entire current supply – 3.9 million doses – will go out immediately, providing a short-term boost to the nation’s effort to get shots into arms as quickly as possible. The newly approved vaccine “is a much needed addition to our toolbox and increases the number of vaccine doses available,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said at a video briefing. “We now have three safe and highly effective vaccines that prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.” (Kreidler, 3/2)
CNN: These Black Women Have Been On The Frontlines Of The Fight Against Covid-19
They have administered Covid-19 vaccines on college campuses, provided testing at churches and spent long hours in labs developing an effective vaccine. Some have given up their regular jobs and personal free time to do this work. Black women have been at the helm of the nation's fight against the pandemic since the coronavirus hit US soil a little over one year ago. (Ellis, 3/2)
