Weekly Roundup COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Policy, and Public Perception in the United States

JUST RELEASED: Equity in Vaccination: A Plan to Work with Communities of Color Toward COVID-19 Recovery and Beyond This plan provides elected and appointed officials with the tools to create, implement, and support a vaccination campaign that works with BIPOC communities to remedy COVID-19 impacts, prevent even more health burdens, lay the foundation for unbiased healthcare delivery, and enable broader social change and durable community-level opportunities. Download the report here.

People, Perceptions, and Polls

OP-ED 60 Black Health Experts Urge Black Americans to Get Vaccinated. Disinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines has pervaded social media, feeding on long-held and absolutely warranted distrust of health institutions in Black communities. The lies are an assault on our people, and it threatens to destroy us. (New York Times, 2/7/21)

NEWS Should you get the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant? Here's what experts say. Pregnant people might hesitate to get vaccinated because there’s no data on how it works for them. Medical experts lay out what is known and how each person can weigh their own risks and benefits. (National Geographic, 2/8/21) See also: NIH calls for greater inclusion of pregnant and lactating people in COVID-19 vaccine research (NIH, 2/10/21)

OP-ED Opinion: The best vaccination strategy is simple: Focus on Americans 65 and older. The primary reason to prioritize people in this age group is simple: They account for more than 80 percent of covid-19 deaths, even though they are only about 16 percent of the population. This disproportionate toll is why the Biden administration’s vaccine plan encourages states to expand vaccine eligibility to those who are 65 and older. (Washington Post, 2/8/21)

REPORT COVID-19 Vaccination Intent, Perceptions, and Reasons for Not Vaccinating Among Groups Prioritized for Early Vaccination — United States, September and December 2020. From September to December 2020, intent to receive COVID-19 vaccination increased from 39.4% to 49.1% among adults and across all priority groups, and nonintent decreased from 38.1% to 32.1%. Despite decreases in nonintent from September to December, younger adults, women, non-Hispanic Black adults, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas, and adults with less education and income, and without health insurance continue to have the highest estimates of nonintent to receive COVID-19 vaccination. (CDC, 2/12/21) See also: Percent of Delivered First Vaccine Doses Administered by U.S. States and Territories (CDC, 2/19/21) Vaccine hesitancy could put progress against covid-19 at risk (The Economist, 2/13/21) Seeing Others Vaccinated May Be The Best Cure For Vaccine Hesitancy (KHN, 2/10/21)

NEWS Covid-19 Vaccine Scams Spread Under Facebook and Telegram's Watch. Facebook and other social media platforms with Covid-19 scams for almost as long as the disease has had a name. Now, as desperation builds for access to a limited vaccine supply, internet charlatans have escalated in kind, offering shipments of doses in Facebook groups and Telegram chats. (Wired, 2/9/21) See also: A Shot from the Darkest Corner of the Internet: COVID-19 “Vaccines” For Sale on Social Media Platforms (Digital Citizens Alliance, 2/21)

REPORT The Impact of the Fall 2020 COVID-19 Surge on LGBT Adults in the US A smaller percentage of non-LGBT people of color (40.3%) report that they intend to get the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines than LGBT White (54.0%) and non-LGBT White respondents (49.0%). (Williams Institute, UCLA, 2/21)

WEBINAR Overcoming COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Immigrant Communities. While efforts to administer the COVID-19 vaccine are ramping up across the country, there is a dramatic rise in misinformation being shared. As a result, many individuals and families are hesitant to receive the vaccine, and this is especially true in many immigrant communities. The webinar will take place on February 17, 2021, 2 PM EST. Registration is required. (Welcoming America, 2/21)

NEWS Clinicians Concerned About Vaccine Hesitancy Among People Experiencing Homelessness In Boston. Health Care for the Homeless is collecting information on the race and ethnicity of people in shelters who are getting the vaccine. As of now about 46% of the shelter guests vaccinated are white, 37% identify as Black, 16% identify as Hispanic, and 3% are Asian. (WBUR, 2/10/21)

SURVEY 95% of Those Vaccinated Got or Intend to Get All Required Doses. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines seem to be improving in some parts of the world, a survey of thousands of people in 15 countries has found. Researchers have welcomed the results, which suggest that an increasing proportion of people are willing to be immunized. But they caution that some problems persist, such as concerns about vaccine safety. (U.S. Census Bureau, 1/27/21) See also: Trust in COVID vaccines is growing (Nature, 2/10/21) AP-NORC poll: A third of US adults skeptical of COVID shots (AP, 2/10/21)

NEWS Facebook, Instagram announce crackdown on anti-vaccine misinformation. The new policy was developed in consultation with the World Health Organization expanding a list of debunked claims to include those that COVID-19 was man-made in a lab; that vaccines are not effective, toxic, dangerous or cause autism; or that "it's safer to get the disease than to get the vaccination." (UPI, 2/8/21)

Research, Development, and Clinical Practice

ANALYSIS How New Models Of Vaccine Development For COVID-19 Have Helped Address An Epic Public Health Crisis. In this article, we describe and analyze how resources, cooperation, and innovation have contributed to the accelerated development of COVID-19 vaccines. Similar levels and types of public investment, models of cooperation, and harnessing of innovative processes and technologies could be applied to future epidemics and other global health challenges. (Health Affairs, 2/4/21)

BLOG How You Make an Adenovirus Vaccine. The other day I had a look at the process used to make the mRNA vaccines, so I thought it would be a good idea to do the same for the adenovirus vector ones, such as J&J, Oxford/AstraZeneca, CanSino, Gamaleya et al. It’s a different system, with its own advantages and disadvantages, and that’s the broad story of scale-up manufacturing all the way: tradeoffs at every turn. (Science Magazine, 2/8/21)

NEWS A COVID-19 vaccine life cycle: from DNA to doses. Making a vaccine against the coronavirus is a complicated, months-long process. Pfizer is working to get it done faster. It still takes time. (USA TODAY, 2/7/21)

NEWS A Few Covid Vaccine Recipients Developed a Rare Blood Disorder. It is not known whether this blood disorder is related to the Covid vaccines. More than 31 million people in the United States have received at least one dose, and 36 similar cases had been reported to the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS, by the end of January. The cases involved either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the only two authorized so far for emergency use in the United States. (New York Times, 2/8/21)

NEWS The factory that's racing to make Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to manufacturing doses for Johnson & Johnson, Emergent has also been churning out the key ingredient for millions of doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. (CBS, 2/11/21)

NEWS Single Dose of Pfizer Shot Gives Two-Thirds Protection, Data Suggests. Early findings from the U.K.’s vaccination program, due to be released within days, show that the first dose reduced the symptomatic infection risk among patients by 65% in younger adults and 64% in over-80s, a person familiar with the matter said. (Bloomberg, 2/10/21) See also: FDA Aims To Be 'Nimble' On COVID-19 Vaccine Changes For Variants (NPR, 2/11/21)

NEWS Is It Safe to Delay a Second COVID Vaccine Dose? Some evidence indicates that short waits are safe, but there is a chance that partial immunization could help risky new coronavirus variants to develop. (Scientific American, 2/10/21) See also: Could a Single Vaccine Work Against All Coronaviruses? (New York Times, 2/9/21)

GUIDANCE Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the United States. These interim CDC clinical considerations are informed by data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the vaccines, other data sources, general best practice guidelines for immunization, and expert opinion. These considerations for mRNA vaccines only apply to the currently authorized vaccine products in the United States (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines). (CDC, 2/10/21) See also: Vaccine Innovations — Past and Future (New England Journal of Medicine, 2/4/21)

NEWS Fauci: Vaccines for Kids as Young as First Graders Could Be Authorized by September. For this to happen by the start of the next school year, trials need to prove the vaccine is safe and effective in children. Experts say manufacturers aren’t moving quickly enough, and that this is important for achieving herd immunity and stopping the spread of variants. (ProPublica, 2/11/21)

COMMENTARY The COVID-19 Pandemic as an Opportunity to Ensure a More Successful Future for Science and Public Health. The pandemic is a clarion call for a thoughtful examination of ways to bolster and modernize systems that support and guide science, technology, and public health. (JAMA, 2/9/21)

Policy

NEWS Biden administration finalizes purchase of 200M additional vaccine doses. The 200 million doses just purchased will be available by May, rather than June as originally predicted. That puts the country on track to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of July, Biden said during a visit to the National Institutes of Health. (POLITICO, 2/11/21)

REPORT COVID-19 and the cost of vaccine nationalism. Experience shows that, in response to pandemics, national governments tend to follow their own interests instead of pursuing a more globally coordinated approach. This nationalistic behavior could have negative consequences on how well the COVID-19 global pandemic is managed and contained. (RAND, 2/21)

COMMENTARY Reducing Health Disparities Requires Financing People-Centered Primary Care. Spurred by the nationwide reckoning on the interlinked challenges of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and racism, health systems, hospitals, and physician groups are mobilizing to promote health equity. This mobilization is long overdue and urgently required, as we attempt to protect and heal our patients in an era of worsening divisiveness amid the ongoing pandemic. (JAMA, 2/1/21)

NEWS George W. Bush Set Out to Vaccinate Health Care Workers in Case of a Smallpox Bioattack. It Was a Disaster. As the United States struggles to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines, we’re looking back at the history of vaccine rollouts in our country, including the logistical roadblocks to shots and communicating with a fearful public. (Slate, 2/9/21)

NEWS What Are Vaccine Passports and How Would They Work? With millions being vaccinated against Covid-19 every day, some political and business leaders are suggesting nations can help get life back to normal by rolling out a so-called vaccine passport: an easily accessible and verifiable certification that a person’s been inoculated. (Bloomberg, 2/9/21) See also: Vaccine Passports: Why Should Boomers Get Priority Treatment? (Bloomberg, 2/11/21)

REPORT Accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine Development Status and Efforts to Address Manufacturing Challenges. analyzed the program's vaccine candidates and found that their development followed traditional practices, with some adaptations. For example, some clinical trial phases overlapped with each other and with animal studies to accelerate development. We also found that agencies are working to help mitigate vaccine manufacturing challenges. (GAO, 2/11/21)

BRIEFING President Biden Announces Members of the Biden-Harris Administration COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced the following individuals to serve as non-federal members of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. (The White House, 2/10/21) See also: As Biden Pushes for Racial Equity in Vaccination, Data Is Lagging (New York Times, 2/9/21)

Public Health Practice

NEWS Across The South COVID-19 Vaccine Sites Missing From Black And Hispanic Neighborhoods. The health care locations that are logical places to distribute a vaccine tend to be located in the more affluent and whiter parts of town where medical infrastructure already exists. That presents a challenge for public health officials who are relying on what's already in place to mount a quick vaccination campaign. (NPR, 2/5/21)

TYPE Employers can play a bigger role in making sure Americans get COVID-19 vaccines. Employers have reason to prioritize equitable vaccine access: Workplace outbreaks have been a major contributor to community surges. Essential workers, made vulnerable by their working conditions, are still at great risk for exposure and spread. And many essential workers live in predominantly Black and brown communities that are unfairly experiencing the highest rates of COVID-19. (USA TODAY, 2/5/21) See also: Workers With COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Deserve Time Off To Recover (Health Affairs, 2/5/21)

NEWS 'So Angry, So Scared': California COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Change Leaves Disabled People Behind, Say Advocates. Last week, the state shifted its vaccine allocation plan to prioritize recipients based on age, instead of occupation or underlying medical condition. That change, set to begin in mid-February, will prioritize residents 65 and older, potentially pushing back millions of younger people who thought they were getting close to the front of the line. (KQED, 2/1/21) See also: COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Dashboard (Johns Hopkins Disability Research Center & Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities) Whose Underlying Conditions Count for Priority in Getting the Vaccine? (Scientific American, 2/6/21) With Demand Far Exceeding Supply, It Matters That People Are Jumping the Vaccine Line (KHN, 2/2/21) Is It Ever OK To Jump Ahead In The Vaccine Line? (NPR, 2/6/21) Podcast: The Ethical Dilemmas Prompted By The Vaccine Rollout (FiveThirtyEight, 2/5/21)

NEWS Lessons from the U.S.’s Rocky Vaccine Rollout. The United States is blessed with highly trained, excellent, and compassionate care providers and terrific research and development that has led to novel medical treatments. Yet, despite these many advantages, its health care system has an inability to deliver that excellence to patients in a consistent, high-quality, and cost-effective manner. (Harvard Business Review, 1/28/21) See also: We Know Very Little About America’s Vaccine Debacle (New York Times, 2/7/21) Demographic Characteristics of People Receiving COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States (CDC, 2/21) Half of Americans say the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is moving too slowly (YouGov, 2/5/21) The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired. (New York Times, 2/10/21) Audio Interview: Covid-19 and the States — A Conversation with Ralph Northam (New England Journal of Medicine, 2/4/21)

BLOG To Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, Engage Behavioral Health Providers. These providers are well positioned to educate their clients about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines and link them with health departments, pharmacies, or other providers that can help them access vaccines. Certain types of behavioral health providers already have the medical staff and some infrastructure to administer vaccines. (Health Affairs, 2/2/21)

NEWS Biden Calls in Active-Duty Troops for COVID-19 Vaccination Effort. On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request to deploy 1,110 troops across the country to help combat the deadly disease with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There will be a total of five teams, each comprising 222 personnel, including nurses, vaccinators and clinical staff. (TIME, 2/5/21)

NEWS 'Vax trash' increases as worldwide COVID-19 vaccination effort ramps up. As coronavirus vaccines roll out across the world, we're seeing an increase in discarded medical products heading to the dump. Many are calling it vax trash. There’s a lot of it. "Really what we’re talking about are syringes from the (coronavirus) vaccination programs, the needles," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. That’s hundreds of millions of those needles. (KCBS Radio, 2/8/21)

CONFERENCE National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine. In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is organizing a virtual National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine that will bring together practitioners from national, state, tribal, local, and territorial levels who are engaged in vaccinating communities across the nation. The forum will take place February 22-24, 2021. (CDC, 2/21)

NEWS No internet, no vaccine: How lack of internet access has limited vaccine availability for racial and ethnic minorities. Signing up for the vaccine has predominantly occurred online. This means that far fewer older adults from underresourced racial and ethnic minority communities have been able to make appointments. (The Conversation, 2/8/21) See also: Getting vaccinated is hard. It’s even harder without the internet. (MIT Technology Review, 2/3/21) Why Issues With Medical Records Interfere With Vaccine Rollouts (NPR, 2/10/21)

PODCAST The Last Mile in Vaccine Distribution. Science journalist and author Maryn McKenna discusses the disparate outcomes of state vaccination rollouts and what to expect from the national expansion of pharmacy supply. (The Open Mind, 2/10/21)

This newsletter supports CommuniVax, a research coalition convened by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Texas State University Department of Anthropology, with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.