Vaccinations are up, but deep disparities persist
to me
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A person receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., April 6, 2021. Carlos Barria/Reuters
By many measures, the United States so far has pulled off an effective COVID-19 immunization campaign. Almost seven months after the first COVID vaccine was authorized in late 2020, more than 50 percent of the nation’s eligible population -- or around
150 million people -- has been fully vaccinated. Nearly 90 percent of those aged 65 or older, a demographic that is particularly vulnerable to the disease, are at least partially vaccinated.
But it’s not all good news. President Joe Biden aimed to get at least one shot into the arms of 70 percent of adults by the July 4th holiday, a goal that the White House has conceded it will not meet. During a COVID task force briefing Tuesday, officials announced their intent to focus on
convincing adults under the age of 30, many of whom have been reluctant to get their shots, of the overwhelming benefits of vaccination.
The success of local vaccination campaigns
differs dramatically from community to community. Coastal states are seeing much more interest in vaccinating their populations compared to those in the South and West. Seattle, for example, has fully vaccinated more than 70 percent of its eligible residents, while in Jackson, Mississippi, just 40 percent of the same group has completed a vaccine series.
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Across the U.S., including in cities that have successfully immunized a significant portion of their population, the same racial and ethnic disparities that have defined the pandemic are playing out when it comes to vaccines. Black and Latino residents are often getting vaccinated at lower rates than other groups.
That’s of particular concern because the majority of COVID-19 related deaths are
occuring in those who are unvaccinated, according to the Associated Press. Black, Latino and Indigenous people are all more likely to be hospitalized or die as a result of COVID. Vaccination is a key tool to protect vulnerable populations from severe disease and death, particularly in the face of
more transmissible variants of the coronavirus.
A new study found that between 2018 and 2020, U.S. life expectancy decreased by the biggest margin since World War II. The pandemic took an outsized toll in America compared to other countries, with life expectancy as a whole
dropping by nearly two years. The drop in life expectancy for Black and brown Americans was more than double the change among white Americans.
COVID-19 has taken a disproportionate physical toll on people of color — especially Black Americans, who are nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from it than whites. Experts are now also warning of the
longer-term mental health toll this last year has taken on those same communities.
A recently leaked draft United Nations report paints the starkest picture yet of the accelerating danger caused by human use of fossil fuels. It warns of coming unlivable heat waves, widespread hunger and drought, rising sea levels and extinction. Experts say that
now is the time to act in order to cut emissions in the hope of mitigating worsening effects of climate change, and adapt to the ones that have already taken hold.
Plastic pollution is a global threat to our lands and seas. Since World War II, humans have generated over 9 billion cubic tons of it, yet
recycling options remain extremely limited. Engineers are working toward new, innovative solutions to the world’s plastic problem that would allow polymers to be more efficiently reused, keeping more plastics out of landfills.
Introducing: A new video series from the PBS NewsHour
“5 Stories,” our
new weekly YouTube show, features headlines from around the world you may have missed. Host Deema Zein brings you stories about science, politics, health, international affairs ... or just about anything you ought to know.
This week, Deema covers record-low water levels in America’s largest reservoir, a bubbly approach to keeping trash out of the ocean and more.
Ask the science desk:
There’s evidence that combining vaccine doses from different manufacturers could offer multiple advantages to recipients. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, recently received a dose of Moderna’s vaccine
weeks after first being vaccinated with a dose of AstraZeneca’s shot.
It’s possible that the mix-and-match approach
could trigger a stronger immune response, better protect recipients from more transmissible variants of the coronavirus, and potentially speed up the global vaccination process by allowing people to get any shot that’s available to them when they arrive for their second dose, according to The Conversation.
Some countries allow a mix-and-match approach to vaccination for those who first received a dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, while others only permit it in certain situations.
In the United States, the CDC permits getting a combination of the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines, or following either with Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine — but only under “
exceptional” circumstances, such as if a second dose of the original vaccine is not available, or if a second mRNA shot is not recommended for a particular patient.
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What we’re reading, watching and listening to this week:
Incursions into Indigenous lands not only threaten tribal food systems, but the planet’s well-being. (Inside Climate News)
- “Nearly half a billion Indigenous people live off, and help preserve, the land. But a UN report concludes they are besieged as protectors of biodiversity.”
A startup deploys black soldier flies in the Philippines’ war on waste. (Mongabay)
- “The flies are fed kitchen waste, turning the food waste into compost, while their larvae, rich in protein, are touted as alternative feed for livestock.”
Moray eels enjoy surf ’n turf with a surprise second set of jaws (Popular Science)
- “Most fish are suction feeders, and require water to help usher food into their bellies, but the snowflake moray overcomes this with its unique physiology.”
What is a heat dome? Deadly hot weather descends on Pacific Northwest. (National Geographic)
- “In the Pacific Northwest, the warming effect of burning greenhouse gases is expected to warm the region as much as 5.8 degrees F, on average, by mid-century.”
Never-before-seen colossal comet on a trek toward the sun. (Space.com)
- “The comet, which may be an impressive 62 miles wide, is 20 times the distance from Earth to the sun away, heading toward our blue dot.”
Atmospheric science is overwhelmingly white. Black scientists have ignited a change. (Science Magazine)
- “Many of the communities most at risk from climate-related extremes, such as heat waves or hurricanes, are those least represented in the science that explores those threats.”
Until next time,
because i can and did
ya'all realise of course,millions of your poplace spent several years allowing themselves to be manipulated by there chosen leader,and its henchpersons,science deniers
porr/pathetic follow thy leader types
how sick/embarrass ing
