COLORADO VACCINE EQUITY TASKFORCE LAUNCHES OUTREACH EFFORTS TO ENSURE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HAVE CORONAVIRUS VACCINE FACTS

Jan 14 2021

(DENVER, Jan. 15, 2020) – The Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce formally kicked off its work this week with plans to focus on community outreach that will help people who are Black, Latinx and Native American get the facts they need about the COVID-19 vaccines and how these vaccines can help to protect their families and their communities. Formed last fall to support vaccination across the lifespan in communities of color, the taskforce pivoted to focus on COVID-19 vaccines because of the disparate impact the coronavirus has had on communities of color across Colorado and the nation due in large part to systemic inequities fueled by past and ongoing racism. The taskforce has set the goal of ensuring 80 percent of all Colorado adults who are Black, Latinx and Native American get vaccinated against the destructive and deadly by the Fall of 2021.

Source: Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce

Coloradans Age 65-69 Will Soon Be Eligible For The Early Vaccine Plan, But The Pace Remains Slow

Jan 14 2021

Gov. Jared Polis said he plans to add Coloradans aged 65 to 69 to the priority list for an early COVID-19 vaccination after the federal government recommended expanded eligibility for protection from the coronavirus. The decision follows Polis’ earlier choice to make the vaccine available to anyone 70 and older, an announcement that triggered widespread questions and concerns because it was not accompanied by a distribution plan — or a sudden influx of vaccine to cover the more than 530,000 people in that age category.

Source: CPR

The Next Phase of Vaccination Will Be Even Harder

Jan 08 2021

The vaccine rollout is not going as planned. Since mid-December, the U.S. has distributed 21.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines; fewer than one-third have actually made it into people’s arms. The problems have been many and varied: holiday delays, scheduling scams, long lines in some places, and not enough demand in others. These initial kinks are getting worked out, but that alone will not get us back to normal anytime soon. The next phase of the vaccine campaign—reaching tens of millions of elderly people and essential workers, along with the rest of the community—will be even harder.

Source: The Atlantic

Meet 10 Female Scientists Instrumental In Developing COVID-19 Vaccines Around the World

Jan 08 2021

Dr. K Sumathy is an Indian scientist who leads the research and development wing of Bharat Biotech. The Indian biotech company headquartered at Hyderabad developed India’s first indigenous vaccine Covaxin. A member of the core team of scientists responsible for COVID vaccine development, she was also instrumental in developing successful vaccines against diseases like Zika and Chikungunya too.

Source: She the People

The Covid vaccine is safe, whatever anti-vaxxers say. Here's why we can trust it.

Jan 08 2021

I've researched autism for more than a decade. Specifically, I've investigated how some antibodies in expecting mothers could complicate fetal development and lead to the condition. Through all my research and that of my colleagues, one thing is clear: Vaccines are not the cause of autism. And yet, that connection is on the tip of many tongues.

Source: NBC

Vaccines Are Safe, No Matter What Robert Kennedy Jr. Says

Jan 08 2021

My hospital, along with hundreds of others across the country, recently began to administer the first Covid-19 vaccines. My social media feed is filled with pictures of friends and colleagues, sleeves rolled up, writing about how much this vaccination means to them. In an otherwise dark year, it’s a moment of hope. And yet, not everyone is celebrating the historic vaccine rollout. I stopped following my uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a noted anti-vaccination activist — on social media in 2019, when he was posting misinformation about the dangers of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the midst of an outbreak.

Source: NYT

Surgeon general tells states not to let priority guidelines slow vaccinations

Jan 08 2021

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday urged states to speed up vaccinations by moving down the list of priority groups if supply is outstripping demand from one group. Adams’s comments about a way to increase the pace of vaccination come amid widespread concerns about the slow rollout of vaccines so far. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker, only about 4.8 million out of about 17 million vaccines distributed have actually been administered so far.

Source: The Hill

Don’t Let the Pandemic Stop Your Shots

Jan 08 2021

Peggy Stein, 68, a retired teacher in Berkeley, Calif., skipped a flu shot this year. Her reasoning: “How could I get the flu if I’m being so incredibly careful because of Covid?” Karen Freeman, 74, keeps meaning to be vaccinated against shingles, but hasn’t done so. A retired college administrator in St. Louis, she quipped that “denial has worked well for me these many years.”

Source: NYT

How COVID deniers are taking pages out of the anti-vaccine movement’s playbook

Jan 08 2021

One of the most notable things about the COVID-19 pandemic has been how fast two science denialist movements made common cause and, in essence, fused to become one movement. I’m referring, of course, to the antivaccine cranks/grifters and COVID-19 deniers/minimizers/antimaskers/cranks/grifters, who rapidly formed an unholy alliance that ultimately added QAnon conspiracy theorists to the mix to form one of the most toxic groups of conspiracy theorists ever seen. Note that by “toxic,” I don’t just mean toxic personalities, but I also mean toxic to science, medicine, public health, and the politics of trying to respond to the pandemic, with antivaxxers frequently augmenting COVID-19 deniers at various rallies and events, all the while crying “censorship,” infusing the COVID-19 denialist movement with antivaccine pseudoscience and conspiracy theories, and even launching a pre-emptive disinformation war against COVID-19 vaccines.

Source: Genetic Literacy Project

“It’s like Lady Gaga tickets”: Colorado health officials need help managing vaccine demand

Jan 08 2021

At Lyon’s Corner Drug, a historic pharmacy and old-fashioned soda fountain on the main strip in Steamboat Springs, more than 100 older residents lined up on a bitter cold morning when the temperature dipped to single digits. The pharmacists’ children, two of them dressed as Disney princesses, delivered ice cream and caramels to the folks waiting for their coronavirus vaccines. Nearby businesses passed out free coffee and donuts.

Source: Colorado Sun