NEW: The CommuniVax coalition welcomes your assessment of the reach, utility, and impact of CommuniVax activities and products (e.g., reports, webinars, newsletter). As a stakeholder in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, you can help us identify what work remains to advance equity in COVID-19 response, recovery, and beyond. As such, we request ~5 minutes of your time to complete this survey.

Additionally, if you missed our most recent webinar, "Community Experiences with CommuniVax: Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward in Local Areas," be sure to view the recording at Communivax.org.

Views Of COVID-19 Vaccines Among LGBT Adults. This new analysis examines the experiences of LGBT adults from the July COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor and finds that as a group they are more likely to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and less likely to view getting the vaccine as a health risk compared to non-LGBT adults. Previous analyses have found that the LGBT population bears a disproportionate burden from the pandemic, including economic hardships and mental health problems. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 8/27/21)

Anti-Vaxxers Only Have Two Historical Reference Points, Apparently. So it seems we have a new twist on Godwin’s law on our hands: The longer any discussion of mask and vaccine mandates wears on, the more likely it is that some knucklehead will compare themselves to a Holocaust victim or Rosa Parks, possibly while physically pinning a yellow star to their chest or wearing blackface. (Slate, 9/21/21)

Low Vaccination Rates Among Young People Indicate Vaccine Hesitancy is Not Just Political. College-aged students may face several considerations that downplay the necessity of getting a vaccine, including their age, their health, the vaccination status of the older adults in their lives and their environments, such as a college campus where they would be primarily surrounded by other young, healthy people. (Newsweek, 9/15/21)

See also: A direct recommendation from a doctor may help with vaccine hesitancy (UMass Med News, 9/17/21)

Why doctors can't prioritize care based on vaccine status. Prioritizing medical care based on someone's vaccine status is problematic since it is often unclear to doctors why patients aren't vaccinated. Many refused the shot because they believed disinformation spread on social media, or by right-wing pundits and members of their community. Others may have had medical reasons or limited access to the vaccine. Many people are also understandably hesitant due to the long-standing discrimination embedded in our medical institutions. (CNN, 9/20/21)

U.S. Racial Vaccine Gaps Are Bigger Than We Thought. Overall, states are still generally lagging behind in vaccinating Black and Hispanic people, though the gaps have closed significantly since doses became widely available to people over age 12. Some of the remaining disparities among Black and Hispanic communities in certain states are a result of who has approval to get vaccinated, but hesitancy—for a variety of reasons—is keeping people of all races and ethnicities from getting the shots. (Bloomberg, 9/21/21)

See also: A COVID diary: My Black family’s struggle with vaccine hesitancy (Los Angeles Times, 9/15/21)

Vaccine mandate backlash sparks concerns of other health crises. If more parents decide to refrain from getting routine vaccinations for their kids, experts warn, it could cause the childhood immunity rate for certain diseases such as measles to fall below the herd immunity threshold, allowing them to spread more easily. (The Hill, 9/19/21)

DeSantis says cities, counties could face millions in fines over vaccine mandates for employees. The governor has clashed with local leaders over masks in schools and is among a chorus of Republican governors denouncing or vowing action against President Biden’s sweeping order requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to require their workers to either be vaccinated or to be regularly tested for coronavirus. (Washington Post, 9/13/21)

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities. A STAT investigation shows a disturbing trend: a gold rush mentality where researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research, often white and already well-funded, are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers. STAT has documented dozens of cases where white researchers are building on the work of, or picking the brains of, Black and brown researchers without citing them or offering to include them on grants or as co-authors. (STAT, 9/23/21)

Nurses Are In Short Supply. Employers Worry Vaccine Mandate Could Make It Worse. Vaccination rates remain low in some states and among some subgroups of health care workers such as nursing assistants. As part of his push to get more Americans vaccinated, Biden has essentially told 17 million health care workers: Get vaccinated or get out. He has not offered them the testing option he's given workers in most other industries. (NPR, 9/23/21)

The pace of first Covid-19 vaccine doses is the slowest in two months, CDC data shows, worrying health professionals as flu season approaches. More than 312,000 people have initiated the vaccination process -- gotten their first shot -- over the last week, CDC data shows. That's a 7% drop from last week and a 35% drop from the previous month. (CNN, 9/22/21)

The U.S. is discarding millions of Covid vaccines. One cause: Multi-dose vials. The United States has wasted at least 15.1 million vaccine doses from March through August — and has raised questions about the decision to continue distributing Covid vaccines in multi-dose vials, which offer less flexibility to providers as they focus on getting shots to the people who are hardest to reach. (NBC, 9/23/21)

Biden doubles US global donation of COVID-19 vaccine shots. The stepped-up U.S. commitment marks the cornerstone of the global vaccination summit Biden convened virtually on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where he encouraged well-off nations to do more to get the coronavirus under control. It comes as world leaders, aid groups and global health organizations have growing increasingly vocal about the slow pace of global vaccinations and the inequity of access to shots between residents of wealthier and poorer nations. (AP News, 9/22/21)

USOPC will require Covid-19 vaccine for all US athletes at Beijing Games. Athletes and staff would have an opportunity to obtain a medical or religious exemption to the mandate, the USOPC said. None of the major North American sports leagues require their athletes to be vaccinated. The International Olympic Committee did not require athletes who competed at the Tokyo Games to be vaccinated, although it was encouraged. (CNN, 9/23/21)

How ‘Vaccine Discrimination’ Laws Make It Harder for Schools to Limit COVID Spread. Vaccine antidiscrimination laws—which bar policies that treat those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 differently from those who have not in school, work, or other areas— are making contact tracing, quarantines, and other mitigation efforts challenging for education leaders coping with a Delta-driven surge of COVID cases in their schools and communities. (EdWeek, 9/21/21)

Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine generates robust antibody response in children, without serious safety issues, company says. It used a lower dose of the vaccine than the one currently being administered, because earlier studies showed that the adult dose could cause more side effects. Adults receive two 30 microgram doses of the vaccine three weeks apart. In school-aged children, this was lowered to 10 micrograms. (STAT, 9/20/21)

What Clinicians Need to Know About the Latest CDC Recommendations for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Booster Vaccination. This COCA Call will give clinicians an overview of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster vaccination. Clinicians will learn about the vaccine booster recommendations, safety of booster dose, and clinical guidance for using the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster vaccine. The call will take place on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET. (CDC, 9/21)

FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Covid-19 booster for people over 65 or at high risk. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday granted an emergency use authorization to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine booster, though for now the FDA said use of the booster should be restricted to people over the age of 65, adults 18 and older at high risk of severe Covid, and those who, like health care workers, are at higher risk of infection because of their jobs. That list includes teachers. (STAT, 9/22/21)