Coronavirus Briefing: Expanding vaccines to people over 65

The Trump administration instructed states to begin vaccinating a wider group of Americans.

View in browser|nytimes.com January 12, 2021 An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.) The New York Times By Jonathan Wolfe A new virus variant was detected in four people who traveled to Japan from Brazil. Brazilian researchers found that a Chinese vaccine once hailed as a triumph is far less effective than thought. The U.S. will require negative virus tests from air passengers from other countries. Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and vaccines in development. Vaccines for everyone over 65 In an attempt to speed up the sluggish pace of the U.S. vaccination campaign, the Trump administration changed course today and instructed states to immediately begin vaccinating Americans over 65, as well as adults with conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus. Health Secretary Alex Azar said that states would lose shots if they don’t quickly give out doses, and that starting in two weeks, how much a state receives will be based on the size of its population aged 65 and older. Currently, vaccines are largely being distributed to frontline health workers and older people in nursing homes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the next group include “frontline” workers who cannot work from home. But some states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska, decided to vaccinate people 65 and older before most essential workers, and other states are following suit. Florida is already inoculating people 65 and older, which has led to overwhelming demand, long lines and confusion over how to get a shot. As for those with pre-existing conditions, Mr. Azar said they would need to provide “some form of medical documentation, as defined by governors,” but he did not elaborate. Millions of Americans have conditions that the C.D.C. has determined increase the risk of severe Covid, starting with obesity, which affects at least 40 percent of adults. The administration also announced today that it would release all available doses of the vaccine, which mirrors a proposal by President-elect Joe Biden, who will release his vaccination plan on Thursday. Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses, 21 days and 28 days apart respectively, and the Trump administration had been holding back roughly half of its vaccine supply to guarantee second doses for those who had gotten the first. Mr. Azar said the administration always expected to make the shift when it was confident in the vaccine supply chain. Some health workers and researchers worry that releasing the shots could lead to the delay of second doses, and there’s no good data on how much protection the vaccines offer if the second shot is postponed. The incalculable loss of Native American elders Ira Taken Alive at the burial of his parents.Victor J. Blue The coronavirus has ripped through Native American communities at a ferocious pace, and the death of many elders is inflicting an incalculable toll on the languages and traditions that are passed on through the generations. “It’s like we’re having a cultural book-burning,” said Jason Salsman, a spokesman for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in eastern Oklahoma. “We’re losing a historical record, encyclopedias. One day soon, there won’t be anybody to pass this knowledge down.” My colleague Jack Healy, who covers rural America, writes that among the Muscogee elders who have died were mikos, traditional leaders who knew how to prepare for annual green-corn ceremonies and how to stoke sacred fires their ancestors had carried to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. The virus has claimed fluent Choctaw speakers, a Tulalip family matriarch, and members of the American Indian Movement, a group founded in 1968 that became the country’s most radical and prominent civil rights organization for American Indians. The virus has killed Native Americans at roughly twice the rate of white people, and the disparity is highlighting what critics call a tattered health system and generations of harm and broken promises by the U.S. government. Now, tribal nations and volunteer groups are trying to protect their elders by delivering meals and medical supplies, and putting elders and fluent Indigenous language speakers at the head of the line for vaccinations. But the effort is facing huge obstacles. There is deep mistrust of the government in a generation that was subjected without consent to medical testing, shipped off to boarding schools and punished for speaking their own language in a decades-long campaign of forced assimilation. Sisters placed a bundle of sage in their mother’s coffin.Victor J. Blue Resurgences Facing a deluge of cases, California has turned baseball stadiums into vaccination sites. New York is setting up a mass vaccination site at the Mets’ home stadium in Queens that will be open around the clock, seven days a week. In Malaysia, the king declared a national state of emergency to stem a surge in coronavirus cases, suspending Parliament, closing nonessential businesses and locking down several states and territories, including the largest city, Kuala Lumpur. Because of high infection numbers, Berlin residents will be restricted from traveling more than about nine miles outside the city. Taiwan reported two locally transmitted infections. They are the country’s first cases since Dec. 22, when it reported its first case since April. Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states. What else we’re following The pandemic cut U.S. emissions more than 10 percent last year, but the effects may not last. President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, wrote about her plans for the agency in a column for The New York Times Opinion section. As cases of the coronavirus continue to surge, some people are wearing two masks — a move that researchers say is increasingly being backed up by data. Experts are warning people to be extra-vigilant in masking and social distancing because of the South African and U.K. virus variants. Here’s what you need to know about the variants. In Sherbrooke, Quebec, residents are excluded from a nightly curfew if they are walking their dogs. A couple who were out walking on Saturday night told the police that they were in compliance because the wife was walking her crawling husband on a leash like a dog, CTV News reports. What you’re doing My boyfriend and I are long distance, so when quarantine started, we got really close while working “together” from home over FaceTime. We learned how to meditate during lunch, and we grew spiritually, emotionally and relationally. We got engaged in July (he drove 14 hours to Florida for a surprise proposal!), and we’re getting married in five days! Covid has — for better or for worse — been our constant companion during our small, intimate engagement celebrations, our wedding shower, and now, and our upcoming intimate wedding. — Mary, Tampa, Fla. Let us know how you’re dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. Email your thoughts to briefing@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward you the briefing? Sign up here. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Coronavirus Briefing from The New York Times. 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