Feb 23, 2021
Top COVID-19 News
What you need to know this week about vaccine access, development and infection rates
Amid the pandemic, news is fast-moving – and sometimes confusing. Coverage is here to help. Our new series provides a clear, fact-based digest of the top news for health consumers.
Broader vaccine access
The Baker administration has widened vaccine eligibility to residents 65 and older, along with people 16 and older living with two or more conditions including: asthma, cancer, Down syndrome or diabetes. Also eligible are health care workers, first responders, and staff and residents of nursing homes and other congregate settings. The expanded access, more robust vaccine shipments from the federal government, and new mass vaccination sites last week boosted the state’s ranking to No. 9 in the U.S. for vaccinations per capita.
Where can you sign up? Vaccination locations can be found here. Availability remains limited as demand currently exceeds supply.
More vaccines will go to the country’s underserved residents
The Biden administration announced a plan to send vaccine doses directly to community health centers nationwide. The centers serve communities that have been disproportionately hard-hit by the virus. Two-thirds of patients at these centers are living at or below the federal poverty line, and 60% belong to an ethnic or racial minority group.
What about the underserved in Massachusetts? The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers will receive $1 million to support vaccination in historically underserved communities. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts also is providing $1 million to assist community health center patients with transportation to vaccination sites.
FDA panel to review Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine was 100% effective at preventing COVID hospitalizations or deaths in vaccinated volunteers who took part in a massive clinical trial, according to an FDA review this week. On Feb. 26, the FDA's advisory panel, which consists of independent, scientific and public health experts from around the country, will review the vaccine and discuss whether to recommend emergency use authorization to the agency.
When will it be available? If authorized, J&J expects to be able to deliver 20 million doses by the end of March, and plans to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June. The other authorized vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, said this week that they will be able to deliver a total of 400 million doses by the end of May, well ahead of schedule.
Lower infection rates, more variants
The infection, hospitalization and death rate across the country continues to decline, a trend public health experts attribute to broader mask-wearing, reduced travel and social gatherings, and increasing vaccination rates. The rate of positive tests in Massachusetts dipped below 2% for the first time this winter.
Can we relax? Public health officials urge continued vigilance and adherence to public health measures until the vast majority of the public is vaccinated, particularly as new, more infectious variants of the virus circulate in the U.S., including Massachusetts where dozens of cases have been identified.