Health and Science
How are States Prioritizing Who Will Get the COVID-19 Vaccine First? CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Released an Interim Recommendation For the Highest Priority Group
All states have released updated prioritization criteria for Phase 1, primarily in response to ACIP deliberations and guidance. Some had planned emergency meetings in anticipation of the FDA’s announcement and ACIP’s follow-on recommendation. Importantly, most indicate that these criteria could change depending on supply, vaccine characteristics, and other factors. more »
GAO & VETERANS HEALTH CARE: Agency Efforts to Provide and Study Prosthetics for Small but Growing Female Veteran Population
Prosthetics for female veterans has been a national research priority for the Veterans Health Administration since 2017. VHA has funded 8 related studies, but officials said recruiting participants is a challenge. Although the female veteran population is growing, it remains small. Women make up just about 3% of the veteran amputee population. Female veterans received other "prosthetics" from VHA — like eyeglasses and wheelchairs — in addition to artificial limbs. Women made up 7.9% of those receiving prosthetic services in FY 2019, and accounted for about $889 million of the $15.4 billion cost of prosthetics VHA provided from FYs 2015-19. One study aims to develop a prosthetic ankle-foot system that allows female veterans to more easily change footwear with different heel heights. more »
Stateline, Biden Likely to Help States Increase Health Care Access: December 15, 2020, Last Day to Enroll In or Change Plans for 2021 Coverage and GAO Reports on Breast and Cervical Cancer.
President Donald Trump has spent four years trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to bolster the law and give states new tools to expand coverage. Among them: more money and additional guides to help people buy health insurance on the ACA exchanges; support for states that want to allow more people onto Medicaid rather than fewer; and a crackdown on health care plans that don’t offer the minimum benefits required by Obamacare.
President Donald Trump has spent four years trying to undermine the Afforda… more »
Fauci’s Hierarchy of Safety During COVID: What Would a National Mask Mandate Look Like to You? When will I trust a vaccine? "I always answer: When I see Anthony Fauci take one"
Q: And will the decisions that are being made in this transition period — like the vaccine distribution plan — in any way limit the options of a new administration?
Fauci: No, I don’t think so. I think a new administration will have the choice of doing what they feel. But I can tell you what’s going to happen, regardless of the transition or not, is that we have people totally committed to doing it right that are going to be involved in this. So I have confidence in that.
Q: When do you think we’ll all be able to throw our masks away?
Fauci: I think that we’re going to have some degree of public health measures together with the vaccine for a considerable period of time. But we’ll start approaching normal — if the overwhelming majority of people take the vaccine — as we get into the third or fourth quarter [of 2021]. more »