Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccine Rollout Failing People With Visual Impairment, The Homebound
Health News Florida: COVID Vaccinations A Struggle For Visually Impaired
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine has been difficult for many in Florida. But the visually impaired have several additional hurdles that sighted people don’t. Maggie Saldana of Naples is legally blind. She calls the process to get a vaccine appointment online “long and hopeless.” “Because I am legally blind, the computer is not my friend,” Saldana said. (WGCU, 3/22)
Stat: Inside The Scramble To Bring Covid-19 Vaccines To Homebound Americans
Karen Meadows’ plans on Wednesday did not involve leaving her house, and they certainly did not involve a Covid-19 vaccination. Wired to an oxygen tank and largely homebound with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it’s a challenge for Meadows to make it up her driveway. The voyage to her county’s mass vaccination site, at a basketball arena 10 miles to the east, is all but impossible. (Facher, 3/23)
The Texas Tribune: Asian Americans In Texas Are Struggling To Get The COVID Vaccine. Here's Why
Asian people across the country and in Texas have already experienced an increase in racist attacks since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and now, many are finding themselves left out as the vaccine rollout trundles forward. From refugee communities across the state to older people living in low-income housing, many face language barriers, technological difficulties and lack of access to transportation, leaving community organizations to ensure their most vulnerable groups do not fall through the cracks. (Bohra, 3/22)
KHN: ‘Press 1 For English’: Vaccination Sign-Ups Prove Daunting For Speakers Of Other Languages
In late February, a week after Virginia launched a centralized website and call center for covid-19 vaccine preregistration, Zowee Aquino alerted the state to a glitch that could prove fatal for non-English speakers trying to secure a shot. Callers who requested an interpreter on its new 1-877-VAX-IN-VA hotline would be put on hold briefly and then patched through. Then the line would automatically hang up on them. (Pradhan, 3/23)
Also —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Metro Atlanta Schools Offer Vacations, Raffles To Boost Staff Vaccines
Atlanta and Fulton County school districts are dangling a host of incentives — from tropical vacations to relaxed dress codes — to entice employees to get vaccinated at special events this week. Fulton County Schools started mass vaccinations Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta Public Schools will begin Wednesday. ... APS will raffle off a host of prizes provided by businesses. There’s a chance to win resort stays in Antigua, the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Barbados and Panama. There’s also gift cards to Amazon, Jiffy Lube and Delta Air Lines. Fulton calls its big push “Project Vaccinate 2021.” (McCray, 3/22)
Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: America Reemerges From Coronavirus Lockdown
With each shot in the arm, more and more Americans are letting down their guard — seeing family and friends outside the home again, venturing out to eat or relaxing social distancing precautions, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Nine in 10 respondents said they know someone who's already been vaccinated, and 36% said they've been vaccinated themselves. Meanwhile, the share who know someone who died from COVID-19 has leveled off at around one in three, after climbing through 2020. (Talev, 3/23)
CNN: Fully Vaccinated People Can Visit Unvaccinated Family And Friends, But One Household At A Time, CDC Official Says
Fully vaccinated people should feel free to visit their unvaccinated family and friends without restrictions, but visits should be limited to one unvaccinated household at a time, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said Monday. And sorry, but even fully vaccinated grandparents should not be bringing their grandkids to church or otherwise exposing them to crowds, CDC officials said during a web briefing. (Rios, 3/22)
Modern Healthcare: Why A 70% COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Doesn't Ensure Herd Immunity
Reaching that 70% threshold statewide or even citywide isn't a guarantee against future outbreaks. If vaccination rates lag in some areas, the virus could continue to circulate and mutate, generating new variants impervious to vaccines and making the entire region vulnerable again. With a mutating virus, it becomes "much harder to get to herd immunity, and it requires a different public health response than what we typically think of for measles or some other childhood vaccine-preventable diseases," says Dr. Marielle Fricchione, a medical director at the Chicago Department of Public Health. (Goldberg, 3/22)
