Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States Adapt Inoculation Plans, Extend Access To More Age Groups
Facing a daunting budget crisis and a surging second wave of the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday unveiled his vision of New York鈥檚 agenda for the year, focused on righting the state鈥檚 finances and its citizens鈥 health in a moment of profound concern about the nation鈥檚 well-being. Speaking from a nearly empty room in the State Capitol 鈥 the ceremonial War Room just steps from his office 鈥 Mr. Cuomo unveiled a seven-point plan for the state, with many of the points touching on the coronavirus and its ramifications. (McKinley and Ferre-Sadurni, 1/11)
Top New Jersey and Pennsylvania officials criticized the federal government鈥檚 rollout of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday, saying the president鈥檚 administration hasn鈥檛 delivered enough doses and set unrealistic expectations about how many people could be vaccinated. Touring a new vaccination 鈥渕ega-site鈥 in South Jersey, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, both Democrats, expressed frustration with the federal government for delivering fewer than the expected number of doses to the state. (McDaniel, Steele and McCarthy, 1/11)
The District and much of Virginia moved into their next phases of coronavirus vaccinations Monday, targeting older residents and other vulnerable populations as a post-holiday surge of new infections in the Washington region continued to reach record highs. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said the city will begin vaccinating residents 65 and older, while some jurisdictions in Virginia on Monday began making appointments to inoculate residents 75 and older. Health officials previously had worked to inoculate residents of nursing homes and assisted-living communities before moving to the next phase. (Olivo, Fadulu and Wiggins, 1/11)
In updates from West Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Alaska 鈥
Since late last month, the Boone County Health Department has been barred by the state from receiving and distributing COVID-19 vaccines, according to Allison Adler, spokeswoman with the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The exclusion came after more than 40 Boone County residents were mistakenly given an antibody treatment instead of COVID-19 vaccines at the health department on Dec. 30. (Coyne, 1/11)
Georgia鈥檚 worst-in-the-nation status for COVID vaccination rate is a glaring hole in the state鈥檚 fight against the disease. Some hospital officials are pointing to trouble inputting data into the state immunization registry about shots that have been given. Gov. Brian Kemp has talked about 鈥渁 significant underreporting鈥欌 of how many vaccinations have been carried out. (Miller, 1/11)
Local health departments soon will be able to start vaccinating those 65 and older against COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday, preparing the way for the much-awaited next phase of the vaccination program. Currently, the state is in phase 1a of its COVID-19 vaccination plan, which provides shots to health care workers and staff and residents of long-term care facilities, amounting to some 850,000 people. (McCoppin and Petrella, 1/11)
Nevada has revised its COVID-19 vaccination plan to put front-line and essential workers and the general public on concurrent paths, a rollout that would deliver more doses to more senior Nevadans sooner. The new approach would start after the initial vaccinations of health care workers are completed, perhaps by the end of this month. With its parallel lanes, the new plan sets people in the general population on equal footing with groups such as police officers, educators and supply chain workers, roughly in descending age order, with those 70 and older getting initial priority. (Dentzer, 1/11)
Numerous industry sectors and groups, including teachers, are urging state officials to move up their eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine even as it became clear Alaska鈥檚 allocation for the month is all but used up. During a hearing Monday, several educators and the president of the Anchorage teachers union urged the state鈥檚 vaccine allocation committee to move teachers into 鈥渋mmediate鈥 vaccine status before in-person learning begins for K-2 and special education classes through sixth grade at the Anchorage School District in about a week. (Hollander, 1/11)