| | | | | | | Presented By PhRMA | | | | Vitals | | By Caitlin Owens ·Apr 06, 2021 | | Good morning. Today's word count is 1,136, or a 4-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Parents split on vaccinating kids |  Data: Axios/Ipsos Poll; Note: 3.3% margin of error; Chart: Axios Visuals Just half of U.S. parents plan to get their children vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as they can, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Why it matters: High vaccination rates are seen as a key to achieving herd immunity, but many parents don't want their kids to be the first in line once pediatric vaccinations become available, Axios' Margaret Talev writes. - Republicans surveyed were most resistant to vaccinating their children.
The big picture: As millions of adults get vaccinated and receive new stimulus payments, confidence is rising and pandemic risk perceptions are declining. - For the first time in a year, the survey showed a net improvement in how people perceive their ability to do their jobs effectively — and a respite from declining ability to afford household goods.
- Just 28% said they're now working at home or remotely — the lowest share in a year. Education was a major predictor: 43% with a bachelor's degree or higher are still working from home, compared to 18% with less than a bachelor's degree.
- 55% said it would be very or moderately risky to return to their pre-coronavirus lives — the lowest in a year — and 37% said airplane or mass transit travel is a large risk, down from 73% last April.
Between the lines: Seven in 10 respondents said they've already gotten (47%) or are somewhat or very likely to get (24%) the vaccine. - But that eagerness dropped sharply when parents were asked about their children under 18: 48% say they're not likely to get them vaccinated as soon as shots become available for their age group.
- Vaccines currently are authorized for adults and children 16 and older, while research and data related to younger children is being collected.
Go deeper. |     | | | | | | 2. African countries struggle to deliver shots |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The first shipment of long-awaited coronavirus vaccines finally arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on March 3. One month later, they're still sitting in a warehouse in the capital, Kinshasa, Axios' Dave Lawler reports. Why it matters: Africa is at the back of the global line for vaccines, and most countries only expect enough doses to cover a fraction of their populations this year. But in some cases, even those limited supplies may not be fully deployed before they expire. Zoom in: The DRC has received 1.7 million Oxford/AstraZeneca doses from the global COVAX initiative. The government delayed the rollout, citing health concerns stemming from the AstraZeneca rollout in Europe. But the challenges don't end there. - Health workers in the provinces haven't yet been trained to administer the vaccine due to funding shortfalls, and once the rollout begins, it will be difficult to transport doses even to nearby provinces.
- But those 1.7 million doses will expire in three months. If large quantities go unused, that will not only set back the first wave of vaccinations, it will undercut appeals for further shipments.
The DRC isn't alone. In Ivory Coast, where a slow rollout could cause thousands of shots to expire, health officials are blaming "a kind of systematic refusal of the vaccine," per the Washington Post. - While Rwanda has distributed nearly all of the vaccines it received last month and Ghana isn't far behind, most African countries that received vaccines through COVAX are moving very slowly.
Countries had to submit distribution plans to receive doses through COVAX, but funding to help implement those plans has been slow to arrive. Go deeper. | | | | | | | | 3. Health industry grapples with vaccine mandates | | As coronavirus vaccines become less scarce, employers such as nursing homes and hospitals are debating whether to require their employees to be vaccinated, the Washington Post reports. Why it matters: Health care workers often interact with the members of society most vulnerable to severe coronavirus infections, making a particularly strong case for vaccine mandates. - But a much broader array of employers are also considering mandating the shots, meaning this debate will likely play out well beyond the health care industry.
- As vaccines become less scarce, the debate is gaining steam.
State of play: At least a half-dozen long-term care companies have announced imminent vaccine mandates, per the Post. - Houston Methodist last week became the first health system in the country to announce that vaccination would be mandatory for its workers.
- But other hospitals are being more cautious, instead trying to encourage workers to get vaccinated.
By the numbers: Around six in 10 health care workers support their employer requiring the vaccine. A little more than four in 10 said they'd oppose such a requirement, according to a recent Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll. - One in six said they would leave their jobs rather than get vaccinated.
The big picture: "Everybody is thinking about it," Lorraine Martin, president of the National Safety Council, a group of 16,000 U.S. businesses and organizations, told the Post. "A lot of companies are calling each other, trading notes, trying to land in the right place." | | | | | | | | A message from PhRMA | | We are committed to being a part of the solution | | |  | | | | America's biopharmaceutical companies are committed to ending the pandemic by: - Continuing to develop treatments and vaccines to combat COVID-19,
- Working closely with governments, insurers and others to make sure vaccines and treatments are accessible and affordable.
| | | | | | 4. An additional pandemic toll on children | | Nearly 40,000 children have lost a parent to the coronavirus, according to a new model published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Why it matters: Children who lose a parent are at greater risk of traumatic grief, depression, poor educational outcomes, and unintentional death or suicide, the authors write. Over 500,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., Axios' Shawna Chen reports. By the numbers: The number of children who have experienced a parent dying of the coronavirus is "staggering," said the research letter, which was led by Stony Brook University's Rachel Kidman. - Black children made up 20% of those who have lost a parent to the disease despite comprising only 14% of children in the U.S.
- Each coronavirus death leaves 0.078 children between the ages of 0 and 17 parentally bereaved, the model estimates, representing a 17.5–20.2% increase in parental bereavement absent the coronavirus.
- That means 37,300 children between the ages of 0 and 17 — three-quarters of whom were adolescents — had lost at least one parent to the coronavirus as of February this year. Factoring in excess deaths bumps the number to 43,000 children.
For comparison, the authors noted, the 9/11 attacks left 3,000 children without a parent. "The burden will grow heavier as the death toll continues to mount," they wrote. - The estimates rely on modeling, not survey or administrative data, and do not include bereavement of nonparental primary caregivers, according to the letter.
| | | | | | | | 5. Catch up quick |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The federal government will not mandate the use of vaccine passports for travelers or businesses post-pandemic, President Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the Politico Dispatch podcast Monday. Regular household cleaners and soap — not disinfectant — are fine to use to clean indoor surfaces and lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution partnership with Publix grocery stores weeks after the company gave $100,000 to his PAC, CBS' "60 Minutes" reported Sunday, citing campaign finance records. DeSantis and Publix deny any wrongdoing. The U.S. services sector notched the fastest pace of growth on record last month, new data from a closely watched index shows, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that England will proceed on April 12 with phase two of its four-step roadmap to reopening its economy, announcing that all nonessential shops, hairdressers and gyms can reopen, and that pubs and restaurants will be permitted to serve customers outdoors. | | | | | | | | A message from PhRMA | | Biopharma is committed to being a part of the solution | | |  | | | | As we usher in a new administration and Congress, there are many things on which we can all agree, like building a more just, equitable society. | | | | This newsletter is written in Smart Brevity®. Learn how your team can communicate in the same smart, clear style with Axios HQ. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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