This week’s corner is dedicated to the first CommuniVax webinar, which will be held on March 18^th at 2 PM ET. The webinar is titled “Equity in Vaccination: A Plan to Work with Communities of Color Toward COVID-19 Recovery and Beyond,” and will feature a discussion on the first CommuniVax report published last month. CommuniVax panelists will address specific recommendations from the report and offer insights from their ongoing research with local initiatives across the country. Register here!

Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes. Many are quick to blame “vaccine hesitancy” as the reason, putting the onus on Black Americans to develop better attitudes around vaccination. But this hyper-focus on hesitancy implicitly blames Black communities for their undervaccination, and it obscures opportunities to address the primary barrier to Covid-19 vaccination: access. (New York Times, 3/5/21)

Maryland’s governor says Black residents don’t want to get vaccinated. But thousands are seeking shots. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has repeatedly cited vaccine hesitancy among minority groups as the key cause for the lagging rates, saying at one point that African American and Latino residents in Prince George’s, who represent 84 percent of the county’s population, are “refusing to take the vaccine.” But local, state and federal leaders from across Maryland — all of them Democrats — blame the state’s decentralized sign-up system, which they say prioritizes those with more time, technology and information at their disposal over those who are disproportionately dying. (Washington Post, 3/8/21)

See also: Poll: Little difference in vaccine hesitancy among Black and White Marylanders (Washington Post, 3/8/21)

L.G.B.T.Q. People Face Increased Risks From Covid, but Many Don’t Want the Vaccine. Research has shown that sexual and gender minorities, and especially people of color, are more vulnerable to becoming infected with the coronavirus and also more likely to have underlying conditions that could make them severely ill if they were to contract Covid-19. But many of the very people who are most at risk within these communities are also hesitant to take the vaccine, according to a recent study and interviews with health care workers as well as people of color who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. (New York Times, 3/5/21)

See also: We Need More Covid-19 Data on the LGBTQ+ Community (Wired, 3/11/21)

Vaccine Passports || With Ada Lovelace Institute and Data & Society. To facilitate a global understanding of possible vulnerabilities that will arise from vaccine passport adoption, we are bringing together Ranjit Singh, expert on digital identity systems, Amy Fairchild, public health ethicist, and Imogen Parker, Head of Policy at Ada Lovelace, to discuss the past and future of digital health systems. Audience Q&A will follow the discussion. The webinar will take place on March 18, 2021, 12 PM EST. Registration is required. (Ada Lovelace Institute, 3/21)

The Differences Between the Vaccines Matter. There’s a problem here. It’s certainly true that all three of the FDA-authorized vaccines are very good—amazing, even—at protecting people’s health. But it’s also true that the COVID-19 vaccines aren’t all the same: Some are more effective than others at preventing illness, for example; some cause fewer adverse reactions; some are more convenient; some were made using more familiar methods and technologies. As for the claim that the vaccines have proved perfectly and equally effective at preventing hospitalization and death? It’s just not right. (The Atlantic, 3/7/21)

What vaccine shamers should really be upset about. Shaming people, especially when it comes to disease, is something Americans have proven themselves to be really good at. The US has a history and culture of associating disease with blame, shame, and personal failure. One of the big reasons we scapegoat people who get sick is that it helps us rationalize our own fears about a disease. The pandemic has been no exception. (Vox, 3/4/21)

See also: No One Owes You an Explanation About Their Vaccine (Vice, 3/5/21)

The media plays a crucial role in battling vaccine misinformation. But here’s what not to do. What journalists shouldn’t concentrate on, according to one misinformation expert I talked to, is spending too much energy debunking myths. But even though such notions are incorrect and damagingly so, “the media should not be playing Whack-a-Mole by debunking every obscure rumor,” said Claire Wardle, founder of First Draft, a nonprofit that fights online misinformation. (Washington Post, 3/7/21)

Meet the GOP voters who could decide whether the U.S. reaches herd immunity. Some worry they were developed too quickly. Others argue without evidence that many vaccines are unsafe or will make them sick. Still more echo Trump’s repeated contention that the coronavirus threat is overblown and simply don’t trust the government’s involvement. (Washington Post, 3/8/21)

On Vacci-Dating: Singles Seem Enamored of Sharing Vaccination Status Online. Is That Wise? Think about this open communication the way you would talk to a potential sexual partner about the precautions you’re taking to prevent sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy. If it’s not something the person is willing to discuss, then perhaps they aren’t someone with whom you want to meet up. (KHN, 3/8/21)

Project VCTR: Vaccine Communication Tracking & Response. Project VCTR (pronounced “Vector”) tracks, identifies and responds to vaccine-related media conversations across the nation. Every day, our team of analysts monitor all publicly available media channels, from broadcast and blogs, to social media and news. They apply public health expertise to themes and trends observed at both the national and state level. (The Public Goods Project & New York State Health Foundation, 3/21)

Growing Share of Americans Say They Plan To Get a COVID-19 Vaccine – or Already Have. Overall, 19% of adults say they have already received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Another 50% say they definitely or probably plan to get vaccinated. Taken together, 69% of the public intends to get a vaccine – or already has – up significantly from 60% who said they planned to get vaccinated in November. (Pew Research, 3/5/21)

See also: One in Five U.S. Adults Say They May Not Take Covid-19 Vaccine (Bloomberg, 3/10/21)

Health Disparities Roundtable: Disparities in COVID-19 — Social Justice, Policy, and Ethical Considerations in Vaccinating the U.S. Population. The Health Equity Work Group at the UMN School of Public Health is pleased to host the annual Health Disparities Roundtable. Join keynote speakers Rachel Hardeman, Camara Phyllis Jones, and Michael Osterholm, for a timely conversation, moderated by Jaime Slaughter-Acey, that will explore COVID-19 policy considerations and vaccination strategies through a lens of social justice and structural racism. The webinar will take place on April 16, 2021, 9-10:30 AM CST. Registration is required. (University of Minnesota, 3/21)

Vaccinated Americans Making Less Effort to Social Distance. Whereas 38% of adults who have been fully vaccinated say they are completely or mostly isolating themselves from people outside their household, majorities of those who have been partially vaccinated (51%) or not yet vaccinated but plan to be (57%) say the same. Americans who indicate they will not get vaccinated are least likely to be completely or mostly isolating themselves, at 28%. (Gallup, 3/10/21)

“Natural Is Better”: How the Appeal To Nature Fallacy Derails Public Health. At the end of 2020, our behavioral science think tank, BEworks, completed one of the largest North American surveys of the public’s attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination to date, covering over 3,700 nationally representative Canadians. Like other surveys in this sphere, we found that up to a third of respondents are opposed to getting the vaccine. But what really shocked us was how often individuals endorsed the belief that vaccination is unnecessary because the body’s “natural defenses” would do a better job at protecting it from infections. (Behavioral Scientist, 3/8/21)

What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can, and Can’t, Teach Us About Covid Vaccines. Does childhood immunization data show us which communities will shun the COVID vaccines? Maybe yes, maybe no. Vaccine hesitancy experts say the concerns some people have about the COVID vaccines are not identical to those around childhood vaccines. So pockets of childhood vaccine refusal may not correspond to COVID vaccine-hesitant pockets. (KHN, 3/10/21)

Using the new Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to create equity and trust. To forestall any perception that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is inferior or is being targeted to disadvantaged people, immunization programs should start with the presumption that the J&J and either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines will be made available to all communities. Deploying the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in well-resourced areas will help contain the pernicious public health and equity implications of the narrative that it is a second-class vaccine. (STAT, 3/5/21)

We Asked a Doctor All Our COVID-19 Vaccine Questions. Dr. Uché Blackstock is one of many medical professionals in the country burdened with fighting fake news with facts. Her take: People should feel confident about getting the vaccine. Here’s what else she has to say. (Bon Appetit, 3/4/21)

Moderna Announces First Participants Dosed in Study Evaluating COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Candidates. Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced that the first participants have been dosed with the Company’s modified COVID-19 vaccines, designed to address the potential need for booster vaccine candidates, in an amendment to the ongoing Phase 2 clinical study. (Moderna, 3/10/21)

Women Report Worse Side Effects After a Covid Vaccine. Research has shown that, compared with their male counterparts, women and girls produce more — sometimes twice as many — infection-fighting antibodies in response to the vaccines for influenza, M.M.R., yellow fever, rabies, and hepatitis A and B. They often mount stronger responses from immune fighters called T cells, too, Ms. Gee noted. These differences are often most robust among younger adults, which “suggests a biological effect, possibly associated with reproductive hormones,” she said. (New York Times, 3/8/21)

Guidance for design and analysis of observational studies of fetal and newborn outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. There are several unique methodological challenges that face observational assessments of vaccination during pregnancy, some of which may be more pronounced for COVID-19 studies. In this contribution, we discuss the most critical study design, data collection, and analytical issues likely to arise. We offer brief guidance to optimize the quality of such studies to ensure their maximum value for informing public health decision-making. (Vaccine, 3/2/21)

See also: Sex-disaggregated data in COVID-19 vaccine trials (The Lancet, 3/5/21)

For Some COVID Long-Haulers, Symptom Relief After a Vaccine. It's a phenomenon some researchers and providers are taking note of, although they say it's too soon to tell whether the COVID-19 vaccines currently in use could be helping or even curing long COVID. (U.S. News & World Report, 3/9/21)

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy: Things to Know. Physicians specializing in maternal-fetal medicine discuss the current recommendations that pregnant and lactating women receive the vaccine. (JHU Hub, 3/4/21)

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Shot Neutralizes Brazilian Strain in Lab. In lab experiments, the shot demonstrated “roughly equivalent” levels of neutralizing activity against the Brazil and U.K. strains compared with a version of the virus from early last year. It also showed “robust but lower” activity against the South Africa variant, according to a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. (Bloomberg, 3/9/21)

How to Overcome Fear of Needles to Get Vaccinated. This is a common problem, and you shouldn’t let it prevent you from getting vaccinated. I asked people who use needles in their everyday work — a piercer, some nurses, and psychologists who counsel needle-phobic patients — how you can quell your fear and crush the virus. (New York Magazine, 3/5/21)

Acute Allergic Reactions to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Anaphylaxis to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is currently estimated to occur in 2.5 to 11.1 cases per million doses, largely in individuals with a history of allergy.1 Allergic concerns contribute to vaccine hesitancy; we investigated acute allergic reaction incidence after more than 60 000 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine administrations. (JAMA, 3/8/21)

President Biden to Announce All Americans to be Eligible for Vaccinations by May 1, Puts the Nation on a Path to Get Closer to Normal by July 4th. Today, in the next phase of our vaccination effort, the President will announce that he will direct states, Tribes, and territories to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine no later than May 1st. The Administration will more than double the number of federally-run mass vaccination centers, run by FEMA, the U.S. military, and other federal agencies in partnership with states, to ensure that we reach the hardest-hit communities in this historic effort. Tomorrow, the Administration will expand the pool of qualified professionals able to administer shots to include: Dentists, advanced and intermediate Emergency Medical Technicians, Midwives, Optometrists, Paramedics, Physician Assistants, Podiatrists, Respiratory Therapists, and Veterinarians, as well as medical students, nursing students, and other healthcare students in the previously listed professions under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. (White House, 3/11/21)

US officials believe Russia launched a disinformation campaign against the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to boost the status of its own. Russia is peddling misleading information designed to make Americans question whether the US rushed the approval process for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. (Business Insider, 3/7/21)

A pandemic expert weighs in on the long road ahead for Covid-19 vaccine distribution. STAT spoke recently to Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. Hatchett told us the group will later this week launch the strategy for its next set of goals and take part in an important discussion at the London think tank Chatham House aimed at finding ways to unblock the vaccine production bottlenecks without harming non-Covid vaccine production. (STAT, 3/8/21)

DOD Identifies More Troops to Help Administer COVID-19 Vaccine. FEMA has asked the Defense Department for as many as 50 Type 1 teams to support community vaccination centers, as well as 50 Type 2 teams. A Type 1 team is made up of 222 service members, and can administer about 6,000 vaccinations a day, while a Type 2 team is made up of 139 service members and can administer about 3,000 vaccinations a day. The department is also staffing 25-person teams as well in some locations. (Department of Defense, 3/6/21)

See also: FEMA Supports Vaccine Distribution: COVID-19 Response Update (FEMA, 3/5/21)

America could soon be swimming in COVID-19 vaccines: The shift from scarcity to surplus could bring its own problems. In just two months, the United States could be swimming in COVID-19 vaccine. The 500 million 0.5 or 0.3-milliliter doses expected to be shipped by then literally are enough to fill a 55,000-gallon swimming pool. (USA TODAY, 3/9/21)

Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. This is the first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. This guidance will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of SARS-CoV-2, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines. (CDC, 3/8/21)

Pharmacists Wish People Would Stop Calling Over and Over About Vaccines. The retail pharmacy COVID-19 vaccine rollout has incited national public frustration. According to internet wisdom, the secret to getting an appointment is being “persistent” and “clicking incessantly.” When that doesn’t work, complaints of crashing appointment sites, ghost appointments, and calendars with no availability swarm social media feeds and flood pharmacy phones. (Slate, 3/3/21)

See also: How to Find a Covid-19 Vaccine Appointment in Your Area (Wired, 3/11/21)

To Combat Inequitable Vaccine Access, Look to the Numbers. The key to equitable vaccination lies in social vulnerability data, which includes variables such as race, language, socioeconomic status, and household composition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aggregates this information using census tract data, which enables the agency to measure the resiliency of communities and make geographically-based recommendations to local officials using their Social Vulnerability Index. (ACLU, 3/1/21)

Experts: States must implement teacher vaccination plans, tracking to ensure safe school reopenings by fall. "There is an accumulating body of scientific evidence that should be reassuring the public that kids can be brought back to school safely when appropriate mitigation measures are in place and community transmission is low. Right now, there is a massive disconnect between where schools are open and whether or not teachers have been prioritized for vaccination," says Megan Collins, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions, who helped create the new eSchool+ Teacher & School Staff COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard, which provides state-by-state information on school reopening status, teacher vaccination policies, and other vital data. (JHU Hub, 3/9/21)

How America’s Vaccine System Makes People With Health Problems Fight for a Place in Line. At least 37 states allow people with certain health conditions to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a New York Times survey. But a new skirmish has emerged over who will go first. (New York Times, 3/9/21)

See also: People With High-Risk Disabilities Feel Left Out By California's Vaccine System (NPR, 3/9/21)

Why A Staggered Vaccine Rollout Is Better Than First Come, First Served. Despite a slow start and an ongoing debate over whether prioritizing shots for the most vulnerable is the best option, the current scientific evidence clearly shows that prioritizing who gets a vaccination is well worth the effort. By strategically distributing the limited supply of doses we have, we’re reducing hospitalizations and deaths by as much as one-third, which lets us resume normal activities more quickly than if we used a first-come, first-served approach. (FiveThirtyEight, 3/8/21)

Alaska Opens Vaccines To Everyone Over 16. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the vaccination expansion a "game changer." He said eligibility requirements for the vaccinations are dropped, effective immediately. (NPR, 3/10/21)

Racial equity in vaccination is ‘mission critical,’ experts say. Mass sites are trying to help. So far, women have been vaccinated at higher rates than men, a reflection of the demographics of both the health care workforce and the nation’s most elderly people. But across genders, Black and Latinx people remain far less likely to have gotten a vaccine than White people, despite their increased exposure rates and deaths by coronavirus — and, for Black women and Latinas, their overrepresentation as essential frontline workers. (19th News, 3/8/21)

See also: Mass-Vaccination Sites — An Essential Innovation to Curb the Covid-19 Pandemic (New England Journal of Medicine, 3/10/21)

Mandatory Vaccinations and the Big Freeze in Texas. Should businesses require their employees to get vaccinated before they can return to work? HBR debates the pros and cons of mandatory vaccinations. They also discuss why the energy market in Texas failed during a recent winter storm and how best to encourage investments in infrastructure resilience. (Harvard Business Review, 3/10/21)