Covid-19 and vaccine in the US: news summary for 11 April

Q&A on taking the covid-19 vaccine 

Even though the covid-19 disease has been around for just over a year, there still remain questions about it and new discoveries. So obviously with the vaccine going into its 5 month of widespread use people have questions regarding what they can and cannot do once vaccinated. The Chicago Tribune talks to health experts to answer some of those questions.

How the covid-19 vaccine was created in record time 

Many of the innovations deployed to counter the coronavirus were once obscure Pentagon-funded projects to defend soldiers from contagious diseases and biological weapons. The life-saving vaccine developed in record time owes a debt to these programs. 60 Minutes met the man who has been leading the rapid vaccine effort to learn more, retired Colonel Matt Hepburn

Chile offers a cautionary tale about relying only on covid-19 vaccination 

Chile has been inoculating its residents faster than any other country in the Americas and could be among the first in the world to reach herd immunity. However, experts say the country’s speedy and efficient vaccination drive gave Chileans a false sense of security. The nation is now experiencing a sharp spike in new infections and deaths that is overloading the health care system.

Where and when you can get your vaccine in the US

In over half the states in the US any adult over 16 is eligible to get vaccinated. The White House has said that all adults will be eligible to get vaccinated by 19 April.

Find out where you can get vaccinated near you

Texas Governor orders ban on covid-19 vaccine ‘passports’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order last Monday banning government-issued vaccine “passports” statewide.

Abbott, a Republican, said vaccinations against covid-19 cannot be government-mandated and that state residents’ choice to not receive one should not prevent them from going about their lives.

“Every day, Texans are returning to normal life as people get the safe and effective covid-19 vaccine,” Abbot said in a public statement Tuesday. “But as I’ve said all along, these vaccines are always voluntary and never forced. Government should not require any Texan to show proof of vaccination and reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives.”

Abbott added that Texas would continue to vaccinate residents “and protect public health” without “treading on Texans’ personal freedoms.”

Nearly 40% of Marines decline covid-19 vaccine

Nearly 40% of US Marines who have been offered the covid-19 vaccine have declined it, according to the Pentagon. 

Of the 123,500 Marines who have had access to the vaccine, 75,500 Marines are either fully vaccinated or have received one dose, and about 48,000 have declined it, Communication Strategy and Operations Officer Capt. Andrew Woods told USA TODAY.

"We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the covid-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to defeat this pandemic. The key to addressing this pandemic is building vaccine confidence," he said, confirming a statistic first reported by CNN.

Woods said the Navy and Marines were working to ensure that soldiers have accurate information about the safety of the vaccine.

Covax falls short of goals to get covid-19 vaccine to low and middle income nations

Covax, a global initiative dedicated to distributing coronavirus vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, has delivered just 38 million doses so far, falling short of the 100 million doses it had expected to distribute by now, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

“Most countries do not have anywhere near enough vaccines to cover all health workers, or all at-risk groups, never mind the rest of their populations,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the W.H.O. “There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines.”

How long does the Moderna vaccine last?

Questions continue over the efficacy of the various covid-19 vaccines including the results of Moderna Inc's early trials over how long the antibodies remain.

Thanks to painstaking scientific work, there are already several covid-19 vaccines in circulation all over the world - AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sputnik, Pfizer, Moderna - and they are proving highly effective. But one of the great unknowns is the length of time the vaccines protect us against covid-19. We need more time to truly understand.

The most recent trial results have come out showing some interesting data on Moderna's offering.

Read the full story.

France: under 55s who got first AstraZeneca shot should follow up with different vaccine

Recipients of a first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine who are under 55 should get a second shot with other vaccines, France’s top health regulator said on Friday.

Several European countries briefly suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine last month because of the risk of rare blood clots. France resumed administering shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine after European health regulators vouched for it, though only to people 55 and older. That left over 500,000 younger people who had received a first dose wondering how they would get their second.

Full story on The New York Times

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

Fastest US states to administer covid-19 vaccines

Officials in New Hampshire are confident of having enough shots to vaccinate out-of-state residents by April 19. Oklahoma have begun allowing nonresidents to get vaccinated in the state.

Read more on the fastest US states to administer covid-19 vaccines.

Texas to get fewer doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Texas expects to receive fewer vaccine doses for use next week because of production problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, state health officials said Friday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said more than 1.9 million covid-19 vaccine doses will be shipped to providers across Texas. The state will be getting 350,000 fewer doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use next week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told states to expect smaller weekly allocations of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Johnson & Johnson had to discard 15 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine last month because the batch did not meet quality standards.

US hits new record

The US set a new record on Friday with 4.6 million covid-19 vaccine administered in a single day.

Vaccines doses administered in Texas surpass 9m

Texas has now administered more than 9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with more than 40% of all people over 16 having received at least one dose.

In pictures: Volunteer Miriam Lopez Ambrosio (2nd R), a folkloric dancer from Oaxaca, assists people with their vaccination appointments on their phones at a clinic targeting Central American Indigenous residents at CIELO, an Indigenous rights organization, on April 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.

CIELO launched an outreach campaign for vaccinations to address language barriers, accessibility, mistrust of government and misinformation among Mexican and Guatemalan Indigenous residents. They have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic with many losing work in the hospitality industry. St. John's Well Child and Family Center is administering COVID-19 vaccines across South L.A. in a broad effort to bring vaccines to minority communities. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP)

US prepares for shortage of J&J vaccines after 15m doses spoiled

The US is facing a shortage of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine after 15 million doses were accidentally spoiled at Baltimore vaccination facility. The J&J vaccine became the third jab to get FDA emergency use authorization in late February, following those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, which began rolling out in December.

Facebook opens public vaccination site in California

Facebook has opened a public vaccination site at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California in collaboration with Ravenswood Family Health Center, where it is hoped some 10,000 people will be vaccinated over the coming weeks.

Reports of severe reactions to vaccine in Florida

Health experts are concerned that Florida residents may be hesitant to get the Johnson & Johnson as several people in the state have suffered severe reaction to the jab. Around 400,000 people in Florida have received the J&J vaccine.

FDA to evaluate Pfizer request to expand authorization to children

The FDA said it evaluate "as quickly as possible" Pfizer's request to expand emergency use authorization of its vaccine to include children between 12 and 15 years old.

Pfizer released a statement in which it said it will seek similar rulings by other authorities around the world in coming days.

“These requests are based on data from the pivotal Phase 3 trial in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age with or without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which demonstrated 100 percent efficacy and robust antibody response after vaccination with the COVID-19 Vaccine,” Pfizer said in a statement.

Vaccine rollout in Illinois

Starting Monday, April 12, all Illinois residents over the age of 16 will be eligible for the vaccine. You can find locations and makes an appointment here. More than 80 of Illinois' 102 counties have already expanded COVID vaccine eligibility to state residents 16 years and older, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Chicago will open COVID vaccine eligibility to all residents age 16 and older on April 19, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday.

More Black people open to receiving vaccine, survey finds

More Black people in the US are open to receiving the coronavirus vaccine, according to a recent survey, with one community leader describing the situation as “almost a 180-degree turnaround”.

According to the late March poll by the Associated Press news agency and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about 24 percent of Black people said they would probably or definitely not get vaccinated.

Getting the vaccine in Texas

As of Monday, March 29, 2021, everyone age 16 and older is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. You can sign up to get a vaccine with by registering online at GetTheVaccine.dshs.texas.gov. You will be notified by email or text when and where to get the vaccine. If there’s not an available clinic near you, you will be directed to other places to get your vaccine.

As of Friday, Texas providers have administered more than 13.6 million doses of the vaccine, 1.8 million of those administered within the last week and 3 million since vaccination was opened to everyone 16 years and older. More than 8.8 million people have received at least one dose, and more than 5.2 million are fully vaccinated.

Florida eligibility and how to get vaccine

As of Monday, April 5, all Florida residents are eligible to receive any covid-19 vaccine. Florida has many sites that are providing covid-19 vaccines, but supplies are limited and appointments may not be available at many of these sites. Florida residents should be aware that some locations are only serving very specific populations, such as frontline health care workers.

Find a location using the state's vaccine location finder.

Data from the Florida Health Department shows as of Saturday, 7,103,884 people have now been vaccinated for the virus.

Almost 40% of US marines have declined the vaccine

As reported by USA Today, almost 40% of US Marines have offered the coronavirus vaccine have declined, according to the pentagon.

Of the 123,500 Marines that have had access to the vaccine, 75,500 Marines are either fully vaccinated or have only received one dose while about 48,000 have declined it, Communication Strategy and Operations Officer Capt. Andrew Woods told USA TODAY.

Vaccine rollout in California

To date, 22,063,939 shots of have been given out to Californians across the state. 37.3% of Californians have received at least one dose.

All Californians 50 or older are now eligible for vaccination. Every Californian 16 and up will be eligible for vaccination on April 15, 2021.

My Turn is where Californians can find out if you are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, schedule appointments, and sign up for notifications.

New York vaccine locations and appointments

All New Yorkers 16 years of age and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. People who work or study in New York are also eligible. Use the City's Vaccine Finder to search for a location near you.

117m people have no received vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday about 117.1 million people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with 70.7 million people have been fully vaccinated. Around 3.11 million doses per day are being administered on average.

Good morning

Good morning and welcome as we begin our live blog this Sunday, 11 April focusing on all the latest news and updates regarding covid-19 and the vaccine rollout in the United States.