New CDC studies point to reasons behind vaccination slowdown; Moderna to add production lines: Live COVID-19 updates

Young Americans are less likely to get vaccinated against COVID than their elders, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed.

By May 22, 2021, 57.0% of adults had received at least one vaccine dose, the study said. But coverage was highest among those 65 and older (80%) while it was lowest among those 18-29 years old (38.3%). 

Nearly 25% of the latter age group reported that they probably or definitely would not get vaccinated, while 23% were unsure. Their biggest questions: concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness, a second study said.

Adults aged 18–39 years with lower incomes, lower educational attainment, without health insurance, who were non-Hispanic Black adults who lived in suburbs areas had the lowest reported vaccination coverage and intent to get vaccinated, the study added.

Urban counties and women were more likely to get vaccinated, the first study said. Perhaps pointing to the causes of falling rates, the study also notes that “people living in counties with higher social vulnerabilities or higher percentages of the population who are uninsured, living in poverty, lacking access to a computer, and lacking access to a computer with Internet were less likely to be vaccinated.” 

In the past week, an average of about 370,000 adults have received their first vaccine each day. To reach President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% of adults partially vaccinated by July 1, that number will need to increase to about 839,000 adults newly vaccinated each day.

But the pace of vaccine administration has fallen significantly from its peak in early April, even in the face of new variants. 

Also in the news:

►Forty percent of new COVID-19 cases in Colorado are the delta variant, state health officials said Monday.

►In a federal lawsuit filed Monday, eight students from Indiana University allege that the requirement that students, staff and faculty be vaccinated against the virus before returning to campus in the fall violates the Fourteenth Amendment, which includes rights of personal autonomy and bodily integrity and the right to reject medical treatment, and Indiana’s recently passed “vaccine passport” law. 

►The Biden administration announced plans to send 55 million COVID-19 vaccine doses overseas on Monday, part of its pledge to donate 80 million shots to other countries by the end of June.

►The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, is hosting a free vaccine clinic Tuesday. Anyone who gets a first shot will get a free ticket to the Hall of Fame that can be used when they return for their second dose on July 13.

►Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will pay off all the past-due rent that accumulated in the nation’s most populated state because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a promise to make landlords whole while giving renters a clean slate. 

? Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 33.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 602,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 178.68 million cases and more than 3.87 million deaths. More than 150.46 million Americans have been fully vaccinated — nearly 45.2% of the population, according to the CDC. 

? What we’re reading: Kids’ birthday parties may be partly to blame for increased coronavirus transmission rates, a new study shows. Read more here. 

Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

COVID-19 cases are increasing in California, analysis shows

New coronavirus cases increased 6.2% in California in the week ending Sunday as the state added 6,530 cases. The previous week had 6,148 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

California ranked 31st among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 19.6% from the week before, with 79,884 cases reported. With 11.87% of the country’s population, California had 8.17% of the country’s cases in the last week.

Across the country, eight states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Within California, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Modoc, Sierra and Mendocino counties. Adding the newest cases overall were Los Angeles County, with 1,489 cases; San Diego County, with 546 cases; and Sacramento County, with 439. Weekly case counts rose in 26 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Los Angeles, Tulare and San Diego counties.

– Mike Stucka

Study shows mRNA vaccines don’t decrease sperm count

Fertility concerns surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines aren’t exclusive to women. Men are worried, too.

Seeking to dispel these fears, researchers at the University of Miami conducted a study to assess men’s fertility after vaccination and found no negative effects on their sperm.

From Dec. 17, 2020, to Jan. 12, 2021, they recruited 45 healthy volunteers ages 18 to 50 who were scheduled to get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to the study published in JAMA Network.

The participants were prescreened to ensure they had no previous or underlying fertility issues. Semen samples were taken before the first vaccine dose and approximately 70 days after the second, which is about how long sperm takes to regenerate.

– Adrianna Rodriguez

Moderna to add production lines in preparation for booster shots

Moderna will be adding two new production lines to their plant in Norwood, Massachusetts, to prepare for making booster shots. Officials said the additions will allow for a 50% increase in production capacity.

The biotechnology company struggled to get investors for their mRNA technology prior to the pandemic. Now it has a market capitalization of $81 billion. Its manufacturing partners are also preparing for expanding production outside of the U.S., preparing to triple their annual global output of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Our plan and our hope is that, as soon as the U.S. has enough doses, we’re allowed to export so we can help as many countries as we can around the world,” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel told the Wall Street Journal.

Source: Read Full Article