Agreement between the president and Republican senators on funding for basic public health matters such as vaccine distribution and covid testing was an easy target. That money can’t move out, though, until accord is reached on some of the president’s big-ticket economic plans.
Glitchy websites, jammed phone lines and long lines outside clinics are commonplace as states expand who’s eligible to be vaccinated. The oldest Americans and those without caregivers and computer skills are at a distinct disadvantage.
Who knows whether banning outdoor dining was a good idea in the first place. But even the experts aren’t sure it was smart to bring it back.
President Joe Biden’s promise to reach this milestone is an important step forward in vaccine rollout. But it is only the beginning of the sweeping vaccination effort required.
Even though farmworkers are vulnerable to covid, many hesitate to get the vaccine, worried the shot could have severe side effects or signal their whereabouts to immigration officials. Immigrant advocates in the Coachella Valley and other farming regions are visiting workers to try to allay their fears.
The east side of Austin has few of the chain stores key to the Texas vaccination plan. But local officials have done pop-up vaccination events in the community to get more shots to Blacks and Latinos.
City officials gave coronavirus vaccines to Philly Fighting Covid, whose brash CEO had no health care experience. After a WHYY investigation, the city cut ties with the group over alleged mismanagement.
When hospital administrators and politicians’ spouses get immunized before people more at risk, it undermines confidence in the system.
Both conditions are linked to viral infections in ways that are poorly understood. But the outpouring of sympathy — and research dollars — produced by “long covid” has given hope to those who struggled in the past to gain sympathy for their symptoms.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s surprising choice of Blue Shield to lead the state’s covid vaccination effort raised questions about the role politics played in the decision — and whether the insurer is up to the task.
