Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Vaccine Eligibility Coming To All Adults In Every State
All 50 states have announced when they plan to open up coronavirus vaccinations to everyone eligible under US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations -- if they haven't done so already. Arkansas is the latest state to announce plans to expand vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older, starting on Tuesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced. (Howard, 3/30)
Some states are expanding vaccine eligibility partially because of a troubling reason: Not enough people want to get vaccinated. Vaccine supplies are still limited, but they're already outpacing demand in some parts of the country, especially rural areas. And that could be a bad sign for the future. (Owens, 3/31)
As of today, more than 565 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world, at a rate of about 14 million doses a day. Shots are being given at mass-vaccination sites, hospitals, small clinics, and in people鈥檚 homes, as governments and organizations work to reach everyone currently eligible. The work has only just begun, though; despite encouraging early numbers, only 4 percent of the global population has received at least one dose so far. Collected here are images from around the world over the past few months, of people delivering and receiving vaccines to protect against the dreaded COVID-19. (Taylor, 3/30)
While millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses are available, it could be months until anyone can just walk into their local pharmacy for a dose, a frustrating situation for big chains like Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and CVS Health Corp., as well as their customers. People still need to make appointments online or over the phone to get vaccinated at drugstores, a policy designed to prevent crowds from forming and help pharmacists manage scarce supplies. The system isn鈥檛 working optimally and is unlikely to change anytime soon, said Rina Shah, Walgreens vice president of pharmacy operations. (LaVito, 3/30)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), battling a surge of coronavirus infections in her state, appealed on Tuesday to White House officials to shift away from a strict population-based formula for vaccine allocation and instead rush more doses to hard-hit parts of the country. 鈥淚 know that some national public health experts have suggested this as an effective mitigation tool,鈥 she said during the White House coronavirus response team鈥檚 weekly call with governors, according to a recording of the conversation obtained by The Washington Post. 鈥淎nd I know we鈥檇 certainly welcome this approach in our state.鈥 (Stanley-Becker, 3/31)