Five on Friday: Preparing to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine

Fri, 11/13/2020 | by MCN Admin

Five on Friday: Preparing to Distribute the COVID-19 Vaccine

It’s Friday again! It’s time to pull up five recommendations from MCN staff, including plus our “weekly win,” because we all need a little good news every week. Here they are:

Kaethe shared “Association Between Health Care Utilization and Immigration Enforcement Events in San Francisco,” and writes: “This research letter on a study, if replicable, has important implications. It suggests that local communities can do a lot to support their undocumented and immigrant populations to buffer them from the isolation and withdrawal from medical care that seems apparent in other communities during times of upheaval.”

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While advances in a COVID-19 vaccine were welcomed, Amy forwarded a new ProPublica article pointing to the hurdles to come in distributing a vaccine in harder-to-reach areas, where many vulnerable populations may be left out: “Most States Aren’t Ready to Distribute the Leading COVID-19 Vaccine.”

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Jillian recommended Hesperian Health’s excellent “A Community Guide to Environmental Health,” available online for free in six languages and in print in many additional languages.

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Claire shared, “Public Charge and Private Dilemmas: Key Challenges and Best Practices for Fighting the Chilling Effect in Texas, 2017-2019,” a new report from the Children’s Defense Fund Texas that doesn’t just give the new data but some moving stories to illustrate why the data matter.

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Double Weekly Win: We have two worker-related COVID-19 wins this week! As PPE shortages again make headlines, Amy shared the good news that some clinicians are getting access to reusable respirators: “FDNY to Switch from Disposable to Reusable Masks.” Another reason to celebrate, from the LA Times: “LA County Approves Program for Workers to Form Public Health Councils to Curb Coronavirus Spread.”