Morning Briefing

CIDRAP: Survey Reveals Entrenched US COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

A detailed national survey of Americans, which included residents of the four largest US metropolitan areas, found that about half of those unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 were unlikely to change their minds. A research team based at Emerson University published their findings yesterday in Scientific Reports. The 36-question survey of 6,037 Americans was conducted in April 2021, roughly a year into the pandemic. One third of the respondents were part of the national sample, and two thirds were from Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. (11/5)

NBC News: These Southern California Groups Are Fighting To Close Latino Vaccination Gaps

A Latino Covid-19 vaccination gap in California's third largest county has medical workers and community groups scrambling to close the disparities before the holidays. Latinos are the second largest demographic group in Orange County, making up 35 percent of the population, but they have the lowest vaccination rate — 21.8 percent —according to OC Health Care Agency data. (Flores, 11/5)

The path to getting more high school students vaccinated against COVID-19 might go through parents. (Brubaker, 11/6)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: ‘People Have Lost Their Empathy For Others’: Health Care Providers Angry, Bitter About Vaccine Hesitancy As COVID-19 Cases Continue To Overwhelm Area Hospitals 

Doctors and nurses have had enough. Nineteen months on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed many of them to more death and misery than they might have expected in an entire career. ... Some of these health care heroes are giving up. And it’s really not surprising. They’re exhausted from the latest surge of cases that could have been prevented – and angry that so many who are hospitalized with COVID didn’t take the most basic step to protect themselves. (Drown, 11/6)

AP: NBA To Players, Coaches, Refs: Booster Shots Are Recommended

The NBA told its players, coaches and referees on Sunday that they should receive booster shots against the coronavirus, with particular urgency for those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The league and the National Basketball Players Association — working jointly based on guidance from the NBA’s public health and infectious disease experts — said those who received Johnson & Johnson shots more than two months ago should get a booster. The booster recommendation also was made for those who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine at least six months ago. (Reynolds, 11/7)

CBS News: When Will Americans Be Able To Get A COVID-19 Antiviral Pill?

As the U.S. braces for a potential new wave of the virus this winter, there are promising signs that the first pill to treat COVID-19 in some at-risk Americans could be available by the end of the year. A panel of the Food and Drug Administration's outside advisers is scheduled to meet on November 30 to weigh a potential emergency use authorization for molnupiravir, an antiviral drug developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics that recently won authorization in the United Kingdom. (Tin, 11/5)