White House Slams Efforts In Some Red States To Undermine Vaccine Outreach

AP: White House Calling Out Critics Of Door-To-Door Vaccine Push
“A disservice to the country.” “Inaccurate disinformation.” “Literally killing people.” For months, the Biden White House refrained from criticizing Republican officials who played down the importance of coronavirus vaccinations or sought to make political hay of the federal government’s all-out effort to drive shots into arms. Not any longer. With the COVID-19 vaccination rate plateauing across the country, the White House is returning fire at those they see as spreading harmful misinformation or fear about the shots. (Miller, 7/10)

Politico: Biden’s Vaccine Charge Hits A Wall
The Biden administration is running out of ideas for jumpstarting the pace of coronavirus vaccinations, raising the prospect that more than a quarter of American adults could still be vulnerable to the virus into the fall. The federal immunization campaign has slammed into rising partisanship and deep resistance among the 91 million adults who remain unvaccinated, turning what was once an all-out sprint into a marathon with no clear end in sight. (Cancryn, 7/12)

The Washington Post: Fauci Says There Should Be More Covid Vaccine Mandates At The Local Level
Anthony S. Fauci, the White House’s chief coronavirus medical adviser, said there should be more coronavirus vaccine requirements at the local level, though he has continued to insist the federal government will not mandate them. “I have been of this opinion, and I remain of that opinion, that I do believe at the local level, there should be more mandates. There really should be,” Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when host Jake Tapper asked whether he thought it would be a good idea for businesses and schools to require coronavirus vaccinations. (Wang, 7/11)

Politico: POLITICO-Harvard Poll: Americans Sharply Divided Over Vaccine Mandates
Americans are almost evenly divided over whether schools or most private employers should require Covid-19 vaccinations as part of reopening, according to a POLITICO-Harvard survey that shows how politically fraught any kind of mandate would be. Most Democrats support forcing employees and students to be vaccinated before they return to work or the classroom, and approve of government-issued documents certifying their status. Republicans oppose the government or most employers infringing on their individual choice. (Goldberg, 7/11)

The unvaccinated divide —

The Wall Street Journal: Young Americans Aren’t Getting Vaccinated, Jeopardizing Covid-19 Fight
Millions of Americans have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated against Covid-19, but one group is well behind: young adults. Their reluctance is a significant part of why the U.S. missed the Biden administration’s goal of getting 70% of the adult population a first dose by July 4, and it is impeding efforts to develop the communitywide immunity sought to move past the pandemic and fend off Delta and other variants. Now government health authorities are dialing up efforts encouraging 18- to 29-year-olds to get vaccinated. (Cooper and Siddiqui, 7/11)

Axios: Most People Who Haven't Gotten A COVID-19 Vaccine Have Low Incomes 
More than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually, according to the latest Census Bureau data. Making it easier for the working poor to get the COVID-19 vaccine, without dinging their already-low incomes, could help boost the country's vaccination rates. (Herman, 7/12)

Axios: Republicans' Push To Ban "Discrimination" Against Unvaccinated People 
State Republican lawmakers around the country are pushing bills — at least one of which has become law — that would give unvaccinated people the same protections as those surrounding race, gender and religion. These bills would tie the hands of private businesses that want to protect their employees and customers. But they also show how deep into the political psyche resistance to coronavirus vaccine requirements has become, and how vaccination status has rapidly become a marker of identity. (Owens, 7/12)

The New York Times: Fox News Hosts Smear Covid Vaccine, Despite Outbreaks Among Unvaccinated
Back in December, before the queen of England and the president-elect of the United States had their turns, the media mogul Rupert Murdoch received a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Afterward, he urged everyone else to get it, too. Since then, a different message has been a repeated refrain on the prime-time shows hosted by Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham on Mr. Murdoch’s Fox News Channel — a message at odds with the recommendations of health experts, even as the virus’s Delta variant and other mutations fuel outbreaks in areas where vaccination rates are below the national average. (Hsu, 7/11)

ABC News: Fauci Urges People To Put Politics Aside To Get Vaccinated As 'Nasty' Delta Variant Rages
Unvaccinated Americans should put politics aside and get vaccinated to protect themselves from the highly transmissible and "nasty" delta variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. "What we're trying to do is to just put politics aside, this is no time for politics. This is a public health issue and viruses, and public health don't know the difference between a Democrat and Republican or an Independent,'' the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos. (Morales, 7/11)

From the states —

The Washington Post: Everything Was Going Wrong In His Life. Then He Won D.C.’s Vaccine Lottery.
He lost his job, his home and his van during the pandemic. He says the free Metro fare that he won when he got vaccinated will help him get back on his feet. (Zauzmer, 7/11)

NPR: Getting Creative To Reach Unvaccinated Latinos In Denver
Bringing the mobile vaccine program to an international soccer match was the latest effort by the state of Colorado and its local partners to meet unvaccinated residents, wherever they are, rather than asking them to find the vaccine themselves. ... Colorado, and most of the nation, has now moved into a new phase involving targeted efforts and individual interactions and using trusted community influencers to convince the hesitant to get jabbed. (Daley, 7/10)

Associated Press: Minnesota To Close All But One Mass Vaccination Sites
Minnesota is planning to close all but one of its COVID-19 mass vaccination sites by Aug. 7. A statement from Gov. Tim Walz late Friday said the state will focus on the several hundred smaller vaccination sites around the state, at pharmacies and healthcare providers. (7/11)