CommuniVax's next national webinar, "Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward: Guidance Informed by Communities of Color," will be held on July 15, 2021, 12 PM ET. Registration is required.

Don't miss the latest op-eds from and news coverage of our local teams!

How Do You Convince Tough-Minded People to Protect One Another? Rather than view the decision to forgo vaccination as an exercise in freedom from government, perhaps vaccine-resistant Wyomingites can, instead, come to see getting vaccinated as a step toward protecting their local community from another hard time. (New York Times, 7/3/21)

Unvaccinated Black Virginians More Likely to Get a Shot Than White Virginians. About half of the unvaccinated said they did not believe getting vaccinated was necessary. And three quarters worry the vaccines were developed too quickly. Wilder says the poll shows a need for a better strategy of messaging surrounding vaccination, especially with the threat of variants on the horizon. (WVTF, 7/2/21)

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: Race/ethnicity, trust, and fear. Sociodemographic differences in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy raise concerns about the potential of vaccine implementation to widen existing health disparities in COVID-19 related infections, particularly among Black/African Americans. Fear of infection and general mistrust in vaccines are significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy. (Clinical and Translational Science, 7/2/21)

Success of COVID-19 vaccines may be convincing people not to get vaccinated. Overall, the country's current lowered rates of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths—mainly attributable to highly effective vaccines and successful vaccination efforts—appears to be acting as a deterrent for further vaccinations. Among all unvaccinated people polled, 50 percent said the low case numbers mean there is no more need for people to get vaccinated. (Ars Technica, 7/1/21)

See also: Demand For Vaccines Are Dropping — So Local Doctors Are Working To Convince Patients (NPR, 7/5/21)

COVID-19 Vaccination Confidence, Access and Roll-out: COVID-19 Global lessons from the field using behavioural science. This report describes work which has integrated behavioural science into global vaccination efforts. It

intends to offer meaningful considerations to policymakers tasked with increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake, efficiency and effectiveness considering the unique challenges the pandemic poses. (World Bank & UN Innovation Network, 7/21)

Vaccine hesitancy continues for some younger Americans. Here's one reason why. "These lower rates may be due in part, to vaccine hesitancy, but they may also be due to inequities in vaccine access," Dr. Lisa Cooper, founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, told CNN. "Many African Americans in the South live in rural areas with limited access to health care facilities. Furthermore, many people may have other stressors related to housing, food, or job insecurity, which may be preventing them from getting vaccinated." (CNN, 7/3/21)

Why this mom got the COVID-19 shot but hesitates for her daughter. Dr. Hina Talib, a pediatrician, adolescent medicine specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, emphasized that there is “no biological mechanism for future fertility to be impacted by the COVID vaccine or any other vaccine to date, which should be reassuring given the long history of world populations with vaccinations.” (19th News, 7/6/21)

Many Schools Don’t Teach About the Science of Vaccines. Here’s Why They Should. To unpack how vaccine education in K-12 schools can have long-lasting impacts on students’ attitudes toward vaccines, Education Week spoke with Charlotte Moser, the assistant director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The center has developed a free to use, K-12 science curriculum on vaccines through its Vaccine Makers Project. (EdWeek, 7/2/21)

Deaths and Hospitalizations Averted by Rapid U.S. Vaccination Rollout. Without a vaccination program, by the end of June 2021 there would have been approximately 279,000 additional deaths and up to 1.25 million additional hospitalizations. If the U.S. had achieved only half the actual pace of vaccination, there would have been nearly 121,000 additional deaths and more than 450,000 additional hospitalizations. (Commonwealth Fund, 7/7/21)

COVID-19 Communications: Promoting Prevention Measures and Vaccine Confidence. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) convened a multidisciplinary expert roundtable in January 2021 to share research, insights, and best practices for improving and harmonizing communication to the public about the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of following evidence-based public health prevention measures. This new report, COVID-19 Communications: Promoting Prevention Measures and Vaccine Confidence, provides a framework for developing effective communications. (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 7/21)

15 million people in the U.S. have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, CDC says. Health officials have explained that people — in this case, nearly 15 million people — skip their second shots for a variety of reasons, such as mistakenly believing that they only need one dose to be protected. Some people also want to avoid the sometimes-unpleasant side effects that come with the second dose, and others simply miss their second appointment and can’t or don’t reschedule. (Washington Post, 7/2/21)

Trump Country Rejects Vaccines Despite Growing Delta Threat. Two Americas have emerged from the growing vaccination gap. In one, dominated by states that Biden won in the November election, most adults got their shots and daily life is rapidly returning to normal, with assurances from health officials that the worst is over. But in the other — overwhelmingly Trump country — fewer adults are vaccinated and health officials fear that the new, more transmissible delta variant, first observed in India, is driving a surge of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. (Bloomberg, 7/7/21)

Chicago Public Schools Unveils Student Vaccination Program, Including Three Standing Sites And Mobile Clinics. In the proposal made public Tuesday, CTU called for the district to vaccinate 80% of students over 12 by Oct. 1 through a mix of home visits and vaccine clinics on school grounds. CTU pressed for a vaccination partnership between the district, CTU, and the Chicago Department of Public Health, but the district is only partnering with the health department. (Block Club Chicago, 7/8/21)

See also: Chicago teachers union wants a fall deal with student vaccination targets, housing help (Chalkbeat, 7/6/21)

Meet Maryland's Secret Weapon In The Battle To Close The Latino Vaccination Gap. As of last week, 50% of Maryland's Latino population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making it one of a handful of states to hit that milestone, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And public health experts say the promotora model of community outreach has been key to Maryland's success. (NPR, 7/7/21)

We tried out the first statewide vaccine passport. The pass now has about 2 million downloads, which represents just 10% of fully vaccinated New Yorkers. Implementation has been rocky—marked by persistent glitches, privacy concerns, and outrage over the state government’s failure to prioritize the material needs of working-class communities of color—and businesses that require vaccination proof are already seeing backlash. (MIT Technology Review, 7/6/21)

Out of luck — COVID-19 vaccination lotteries don’t work. The real long-term solution to addressing COVID-19 vaccination rates — and future pandemics — is to cultivate a sense of duty, so that individuals get vaccinated because it’s the right thing to do to protect themselves and their communities. (Boston Globe, 7/6/21)

See also: Lottery-Based Incentive in Ohio and COVID-19 Vaccination Rates (JAMA, 7/2/21)

Biden misses July 4 vaccine target as nation's 'independence' from virus remains elusive. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 66.7% of adults have received at least one shot, and just over 149 million adults are fully immunized. (ABC, 7/3/21)

Largest teachers union to debate demanding vaccinations before returning in person. The National Education Association will debate whether to demand mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all students and staff returning to school in person this fall, a polarizing move that would apply to 3 million teachers. (Yahoo! News, 7/1/21)

See also: Construction unions battle vaccine reluctance among members (People's World, 7/2/21)

Prepare for mandatory COVID vaccines in September, Army tells commands. “Commanders will continue COVID-19 vaccination operations and prepare for a directive to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for service members [on or around] 01 September 2021, pending full FDA licensure,” the order said. “Commands will be prepared to provide a backbrief on servicemember vaccination status and way ahead for completion once the vaccine is mandated.” (Army Times, 7/1/21)

See also: A $500 COVID Vaccine Incentive Is Coming For UCHealth Workers. A Mandate Is Next (CPR News, 6/30/21)

Navigating Vaccine Requirements for International Students. For the more than 500 American colleges that plan to require COVID-19 vaccines for students coming to campus this fall, a major challenge will be implementing this requirement for international students who might not have access to one of the three vaccines currently authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the U.S. (Inside Higher Ed, 7/6/21)

Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Vaccine Boosters. Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time. FDA, CDC, and NIH are engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary. This process takes into account laboratory data, clinical trial data, and cohort data – which can include data from specific pharmaceutical companies, but does not rely on those data exclusively. (HHS, 7/8/21)

Johnson & Johnson's COVID Vaccine Is Effective Against The Delta Variant, Studies Find. In one small laboratory study, researchers observed what happened to the blood of eight vaccinated individuals when it was exposed to the delta variant. And they found that antibodies and immune system cells in the blood were highly effective at neutralizing the virus. (NPR, 7/1/21)

Protecting The Immuno-Compromised Against COVID Could Be Key To Ending The Pandemic. Vaccines may not be effective for people who are immuno-compromised for other reasons such as individuals with cancer or organ transplant recipients who are taking immuno-suppressing drugs to keep their bodies from rejecting the transplant. (NPR, 6/28/21)

See also: Should People With Immune Problems Get Third Vaccine Doses? (New York Times, 7/4/21)

Zoo Animals Are Getting Experimental Coronavirus Vaccines. Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, is donating 11,000 doses of the vaccine to about 70 zoos as well as sanctuaries, universities and other animal conservation sites in 27 U.S. states, and the Oakland Zoo is one of the first to benefit. The vaccine is solely for animals, goes through a different approval process than for people, and cannot be used to protect humans. (New York Times, 7/2/21)

Journal Retracts Terrible Study That Claimed Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Deaths. A study looking at the impacts of covid-19 vaccination—condemned by other scientists as seriously flawed and irresponsible—has now sparked a mutiny of sorts. This past week, several well-respected researchers have resigned from their involvement in the journal that published the paper, which argued that vaccines are killing almost as many people as they’re saving from the pandemic. Today, the paper was retracted.. (Gizmodo, 7/2/21)

Doctors Are Puzzled by Heart Inflammation in the Young and Vaccinated. The shots themselves, which are excellent, haven’t changed. But the context in which we’re deploying them has. This potential side effect is the first to concentrate like this in children, who are still relatively new to COVID-19 vaccination. Post-vaccine myocarditis still isn’t well defined; neither are the full consequences of pediatric COVID-19. (The Atlantic, 7/1/21)

See also: Use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine After Reports of Myocarditis Among Vaccine Recipients: Update from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, June 2021 (CDC, 7/9/21)