Good morning.
Today's word count is 1,231, or a 5-minute read.
Good morning.
Today's word count is 1,231, or a 5-minute read.
There are growing signs that parts of the country may be close to meeting demand for the coronavirus vaccine — well before the U.S. has reached herd immunity.
Why it matters: For the last few months, the primary focus of the U.S. has been getting shots to everyone who wants them, as quickly as possible. Soon, that focus will abruptly shift to convincing holdouts to get vaccinated.
State of play: Red states in the South are administering the lowest portion of the vaccine doses that they receive from the federal government — a sign of low demand, slow public health systems, or both.
Driving the news: An analysis released by Surgo Ventures yesterday concluded that "the supply-demand shift for the vaccine will happen earlier than expected — as early as the end of April — and before the nation reaches the 70–90% threshold for achieving herd immunity."
A separate survey of rural Americans, released by KFF this morning, found that while they're more likely to have already been vaccinated than urban and suburban Americans, there are fewer remaining rural residents who are eager to get their shots.
The bottom line: Rural, Republican-heavy states are likely blowing through their vaccine-eager populations.
Antiviral drugs can be a key pandemic-fighting tool, but so far there's only one approved in the U.S. for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Axios' Alison Snyder reports.
Why it matters: Because some people won't get vaccinated, and because there will likely be new variants of the virus, we'll need effective treatments — including antivirals, former FDA commissioners Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan wrote earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal.
Driving the news: This week, Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said the antiviral molnupiravir "significantly reduced infectious virus in subjects in a mid-stage study after five days of treatment," WSJ reported.
Where it stands: So far, remdesivir — a drug investigated earlier to treat Ebola and other diseases — is the only antiviral approved in the U.S. for COVID-19.
Working-age and young Latinos face disproportionately high COVID-19 death rates as states move toward reopening. Foreign-born Latinos who work essential or front-line jobs are especially in peril, Axios Latino reports.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday declared racism "a serious public health threat."
New York will offer one-time payments of up to $15,600 to undocumented immigrants who lost work due to COVID-19, the state legislature announced this week.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday announced he has filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, demanding cruise ships be "reopened immediately."
Axios Re:Cap spoke with Atul Gawande, author and Biden administration adviser, about what vaccine hesitancy means for the U.S. and the world.
A tiny British territory on the southern tip of Spain may now be the most protected place on Earth, with all but a sliver of the population vaccinated against COVID-19, Axios' Dave Lawler reports.
Why it matters: Gibraltar offers the rest of Europe a glimpse of what life might soon be like, if supply shortfalls and vaccine hesitancy can be overcome.
The backstory: With its 34,000 residents densely populated in the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar, the territory imposed a strict lockdown last spring, knowing that any outbreak could sweep quickly through the population.
How it happened: Health authorities set a goal of vaccinating 70% of the population, but worried they might not reach it due to supply limitations or skepticism in the population.
You've got your COVID vaccine, and the CDC says it's OK to travel this summer, even internationally. But you're likely to find that your overseas options are limited by border restrictions in many countries, Axios' Joann Muller reports.
Why it matters: If you don't do your homework before traveling, you could wind up stranded in a foreign airport or quarantined in your hotel room for two weeks.
Reopening international travel is not a one-sided decision. While the U.S. is ahead of most of the world on vaccinations, other countries like France are imposing new lockdowns amid fresh COVID surges as they wait for more vaccines to become available.
What they're saying: If you want to go to Albania, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico or Tanzania, you're good to go. There are no restrictions, even for those who are not vaccinated.
The catch: The trickiest part of international travel might be getting home. All travelers, including vaccinated Americans, need to test negative before boarding their return flight.
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