The New York Times -
May 3, 2021
[Daily] vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable — at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever. Instead, they are coming to the conclusion that rather than making a long-promised exit, the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers.
ProPublica -
May 3, 2021
As the U.S. rushes to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus, most counties with the sickest residents are lagging behind and making only incremental progress reaching their most vulnerable populations. A ProPublica analysis of county data maintained by the CDCshows that early attempts to prioritize people with chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and obesity have faltered. At the same time, healthier — and often wealthier — counties moved faster in vaccinating residents, especially those 65 and older.
Kaiser Health News -
May 3, 2021
Even as the nation has moved on to vaccinating everyone 16 and older, the vast majority of homebound people have not yet been vaccinated, said Kelly Buckland, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living. … Across the nation, an estimated 4 million Americans are homebound by age, disability or frailty, unable to easily leave their homes to receive a covid vaccine.
Kaiser Health News -
May 3, 2021
The CDC recorded 182,874 wasted doses as of late March, three months into the country’s effort to vaccinate the masses against the coronavirus. Of those, CVS was responsible for nearly half, and Walgreens for 21%, or nearly 128,500 wasted shots combined. CDC data suggests that the companies have wasted more doses than states, U.S. territories and federal agencies combined.
Kaiser Health News -
May 3, 2021
The small Israeli study drew wide attention on social media and other outlets, and currently is the most-read article in the British Medical Journal’s Rheumatology. Some outlets, including the New York Post, ran stories on its findings, often with misleading headlines. That got us wondering: How strong is the science behind this connection?
Vox -
May 3, 2021
I asked public health experts if it’s natural to be hesitant about our new dining normal (it is) and whether eating at restaurants indoors is still risky (you probably shouldn’t if you’re not fully vaccinated, and you should still mask indoors if you are).
NPR -
May 3, 2021
After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in COVID-19 hospital wards. … Nationally, adults under 50 now account for the most hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the country — about 35% of all hospital admissions. Those age 50 to 64 account for the second-highest number of hospitalizations, or about 31%. Meanwhile, hospitalizations among adults over 65 have fallen significantly.
NPR -
May 3, 2021
Wearing a face mask will continue to be a requirement at airports, aboard commercial flights and on other public transportation across the country through the summer. The federal mask mandate, which was set to expire on May 11, will remain in effect through Sept. 13, according to updated guidance issued by the TSA on Friday.
AP -
May 3, 2021
Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory. Now, a spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes and a prolonged financial crisis.
TIME -
April 30, 2021
[Bancel] says that his scientists are studying a new version of the Moderna vaccine that won’t need to be frozen, and instead would simply need to be kept under refrigerated conditions for up to three months. Right now, it can only be stored at those temperatures for one month after the doses are thawed from their frozen storage temperature of about -20°C (14°F)—which requires special equipment that is not widely available.
ABC News -
April 30, 2021
Chicago plans to roll out a "Vax Pass" next month that vaccinated residents can use to attend events like summer concerts, according to top city health officials. … the forthcoming pass is not a vaccine passport, nor is it an app that businesses check before patrons can enter. Instead, it will be more similar to city passes that give residents discounts, free admission to museums or let them skip lines to city attractions…
HealthDay -
April 30, 2021
U.S. resistance to getting a COVID-19 vaccine is slowly diminishing, a new online survey finds, but it still exists and at especially rates in some blue-collar jobs. For adults under age 65 who are hesitant, reluctance is mainly driven by concerns about safety, side effects and distrust in government, the poll found. It's also largely linked to people's line of work…
CNBC -
April 30, 2021
A broad majority of U.S. employers, 65%, plan to offer employees incentives to get vaccinated and 63% will require proof of vaccination, according to an ASU/Rockefeller Foundation survey. Overall, 44% will require all employees to get vaccinated, 31% will just encourage vaccinations and 14% will require some employees to get vaccinated.
NBC News -
April 30, 2021
Specific directions showing how to forge Covid-19 vaccination cards have proliferated on conspiracy, pro-Trump and anti-vaccination forums throughout the internet in recent weeks, as users have exploited a largely makeshift verification system.
Washington Post -
April 29, 2021
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines being deployed to fight the coronavirus pandemic are highly effective in preventing hospitalizations among older adults, the group most at risk for severe disease and death, according to a federal study released Wednesday. …. In the study, fully vaccinated adults 65 and older were 94 percent less likely to be hospitalized with covid-19 than than unvaccinated people of the same age, according to the CDC. People who were partially vaccinated were 64 percent less likely to be hospitalized with the disease than the unvaccinated.
The Wall Street Journal -
April 29, 2021
Vaccines appear to be starting to curb new Covid-19 infections in the U.S., a breakthrough that could help people return to more normal activities as infection worries fade, public-health officials say. By Tuesday, 37.3% of U.S. adults were fully vaccinated against Covid-19, with about 2.7 million shots each day. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the seven-day average for new U.S. cases has fallen below the 14-day average for more than a week, which epidemiologists said is a strong signal that cases are starting to slide again after a recent upswing.