Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Who's Next In Line? Strategies Differ As Confusion Mounts
The Washington Post: Native American Tribes Prioritize Vaccinations For Speakers Of Endangered Languages
Following decades of concerted attempts to stamp out Native American languages, the number of fluent Cherokee speakers has dwindled to about 2,000 people, most of them tribal elders. And since the pandemic hit the Cherokee Nation, at least 20 of those last remaining speakers have died of the coronavirus. So when the Oklahoma-based tribe began deciding who should be first in line to receive the vaccine, Cherokee speakers were at the top of the list. (Noori Farzan, 1/6)
The Washington Post: Maryland Places Disabled Adults In Group Homes High On Vaccine Priority List
Thousands of Marylanders with intellectual disabilities who live in group homes, and those who care for them, learned Tuesday that they would soon be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, putting an end to weeks of lobbying and worry. In what came as a surprise announcement to providers, advocates and relatives of the disabled, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said residents and staff of “special-needs group homes” will be included in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan, along with individuals over 75, teachers and child-care workers. This group, which totals about 860,000 residents, could start receiving doses of the vaccine by late January, Hogan said. (Tan, 1/5)
Bangor Daily News: Maine Health Care Workers Don’t Have To Get COVID-19 Vaccine, But The Vast Majority Are
The vast majority of Maine’s health care workers are accepting early coronavirus vaccines as their employers pursue an opt-in approach that seems to be working better in hospitals than in long-term care facilities for now, according to early reports. Maine has been one of the leading states in vaccinating residents since the December rollout began, with 2.5 percent of people here getting initial doses by Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg News tracker. Only three states have vaccinated a larger share of residents so far. (Andrews, 1/6)
NBC News: 'There Was No Plan': Private Health Care Workers Shortchanged By Vaccine Distribution
Independent doctors say big hospitals are "hogging" Covid-19 vaccine and inoculating management and other workers ahead of front-line physicians. (Siemaszko, 1/5)
Stateline: Prioritizing Prisoners For Vaccines Stirs Controversy
“The fact that people in prison have been convicted of a crime should not deprioritize their need for an important public health measure like the vaccine,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit authorized to investigate conditions inside the New York prison system. Scaife and other advocates say the vaccines are desperately needed inside prisons and jails. Approximately 20% of all inmates in state and federal prisons have been infected, a rate more than four times as high as that in the general population, according to a recent analysis by the Associated Press and the Marshall Project. Nationwide, at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected and more than 1,700 have died, according to the report. (Montgomery, 1/5)
Also —
AP: Hank Aaron, Civil Rights Leaders Get Vaccinated In Georgia
Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia on Tuesday, hoping to send a message to Black Americans that the shots are safe. Getting vaccinated “makes me feel wonderful,” Aaron told The Associated Press. “I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.” (Warren and Harris, 1/5)
And Tennessee rolls out a new online tool —
AP: Tennessee Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Tool
Tennessee officials have set up an online tool that helps people figure out when they will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Gov. Bill Lee’s office announced the initiative Tuesday as the state reported more than 169,000 Tennesseans have been vaccinated with their first dose so far. (1/6)
