�������ýҕ�l

New York City plans to offer tourists a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine as part of a push to draw more foot traffic to city attractions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. Mobile vans would be set up to jab visitors at Central Park, the Empire State Building and other sight-seeing locations, the Democratic mayor said at a press conference. Tourists would be offered the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Mr. de Blasio said the vaccinations would offer a positive message to people looking to travel to the city, which saw tourism plummet during the pandemic. (Honan, 5/6)

This weekend is the first of two in May for a full-on Get Out the Vax campaign, where Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky health care organizations, community groups and private businesses are encouraging people to get COVID-19 vaccines. Free public transit will be available again as part of the goal to get 80% of people in the region who qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine inoculated by July 4. As of Wednesday, 49% were vaccinated, according to the Health Collaborative, the region's consortium of health systems. (DeMio, 5/6)

Commissioner Stephen Wantz said it feels like just yesterday when Carroll County officials were trying to figure out how to get more COVID-19 vaccine and then ways to get it to the people. That’s all changed. “Now you can just walk in to the mall, where there’s plenty of parking ... and just do this,” Wantz said during Thursday’s Board of Commissioners open session. “You get your shot, wait for 15 [minutes] and then you’re out. It’s just so easy and it’s going to get us back to normal so much more rapidly.” (Blubaugh, 5/6)

Though West Virginia got a fast start on its vaccination rollout and expanded Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to residents as young as 16 on March 22, the pace of vaccinations has slowed in recent weeks, especially among young adults. With less than half of its eligible population one dose in, this cohort represents a major threat to tamping down disease — and a barrier to reaching Governor Jim Justice’s goal of inoculating more than 70% of the state. “West Virginians from 16 to 35 years of age are transmitting this thing faster than anyone,” Justice said in a press conference on April 28. “How many people are we going to have to put in body bags? How many people are going to have to die?” (Holder, 5/6)

As of late last month, roughly 51,000 people who received their first inoculation through the Houston Health Department were “overdue” for their second dose. The department’s number is preliminary but includes any person who has gone at least 42 days since their first round without returning for a second shot. Statewide, more than 630,000 of the roughly 11 million people who’ve received one dose are more than six weeks overdue, the Texas Department of State Health Services told the Houston Chronicle. (Downen, 5/6)

Officials in Orange County and elsewhere in California are preparing to close a number of COVID-19 mass vaccination sites as bookings for appointments continue to drop dramatically and authorities look to shift doses to mobile vaccine clinics, pharmacies and doctor’s offices. Orange County officials said the demand for first doses has dropped by over 75% since the end of April. As a result, efforts will be made to boost vaccine clinics in neighborhoods. The county said that on June 6, it will close mass vaccination sites at the Anaheim Convention Center, OC Fair & Event Center, Soka University and Santa Ana College. (Lin II, 5/6)

As more smaller vaccination sites become available and interest in the vaccine wanes, several Florida counties are making plans to scale back their vaccination sites. Maggie Hall with the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County said when the sites first opened, there was big demand to vaccinate many people as quickly and efficiently as possible. “As you have more availability of sites, there's less of a need for huge, larger site to be there to provide vaccines,” Hall said. (Miller, 5/6)