News: Hot Vax Summer, meet Not Vax Summer

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Hot Vax Summer, meet Not Vax Summer

Jun 23, 2021

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BREAKING: INFRASTRUCTURE FRAMEWORK REACHED — A group of bipartisan senators announced tonight that they had agreed on an infrastructure framework with the White House . The senators are meeting with President Joe Biden on Thursday to discuss the plan, but members of both parties said that his advisers had signed off today.

MISSOURI COMPROMISED — Missouri is leading the country in new Covid cases , a sign that the pandemic's recovery is fleeting and fragile in the face of widespread vaccine resistance. After an explosion in Covid cases and hospitalizations this month in Southwest Missouri, Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., announced today it was reopening its Covid ward, which it had closed in March.

"We were kind of hopeful that we were coming out of it," Larry Bergner, administrator at the Newton County Health Department which includes parts of Joplin, told Nightly today.

At one point in May, the county had only eight active Covid cases. Today, Newton County has recorded 68 active Covid cases.

The state's growing case counts and hospitalizations demonstrate that more than a year and half after Covid first entered the U.S., unvaccinated pockets of the country remain deeply vulnerable to Covid and the hope of herd immunity through natural infection remains elusive for now. Nearly 30 percent of new Covid infections in Missouri are caused by the potent Delta variant, first identified in India — by far the highest rate in the country, according to the most recent CDC data.

And if Newton County is any guide, there may be little policymakers can do to dislodge the fierce resistance to Covid vaccinations.

About 17 percent of Newton County's 58,000 residents are fully vaccinated, compared with more than 45 percent nationally and more than 38 percent statewide in Missouri. During the last seven days, about 310 county residents received a dose. That compares with about 1,100 to 1,200 during the height of the vaccination drive in March, Bergner said.

The problem isn't supply, and it isn't access. The county health department even does house calls. Two nurses will administer vaccines to residents in their homes if they can't get to one of the pharmacies, health clinics or other sites doling out doses, Bergner said. Walk-ins are welcome. Many vaccine sites don't require an appointment.

The problem is demand. After an initial rush, "the bottom fell out" of the Covid vaccination drive in mid-April, Bergner said. The J&J vaccine pause that same month fueled even more fear and vaccine misinformation.

Most eligible adults in Newton, which is majority white, are more worried about the vaccine than the virus, according to Bergner. Mostly they believe incorrectly that the vaccine will cause long-term heart problems or infertility. The FDA said today that it plans to add a warning label to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines about heart inflammation risks, but still says the benefits of shots outweigh the risks.

Many Newton County residents just don't believe the virus is all that deadly, Bergner said. "It is frustrating, especially when you hear of someone who dies and you hear they are unvaccinated."

Bergner, who describes himself as a conservative Republican, said he doesn't think the resistance is rooted in politics. But nationally, counties that voted for Trump have the lowest vaccination rates. Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson downplayed the state's rising cases today, arguing that "Covid's going to still be here for a while."

Bergner sighed when I asked him if there's anything left to be done to persuade people to get a shot. He has talked to other county leaders who have offered free tickets to sporting events, but they said that it didn't help much. In Alabama, only 100 people showed up to get the vaccine in exchange for a drive on the Talladega Superspeedway.

"Over time, whenever we get more data as far as safety of vaccine, I think we will see people come around," Bergner said. "My only fear is that it will be too late."

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at rrayasam@politico.com, or on Twitter at @renurayasam.

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What'd I Miss?

— Kamala Harris to visit the border: Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to the U.S.-Mexico border this week , after an unrelenting chorus of criticism from Republicans over her failure to visit there. Harris, who was tasked by Biden to lead diplomatic efforts to stem the flow of migrants arriving on the southern border, will visit El Paso, Texas, on Friday. She will be accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

— Senate Republicans grow skeptical of Biden's interest in an infrastructure deal: Senate Republicans are questioning Biden's willingness to reach a bipartisan deal on infrastructure , a new and potentially troubling sign as talks threaten to drag into July. A bipartisan group of negotiators met again this afternoon with White House officials to discuss a possible $1 trillion infrastructure package. But a growing number of GOP senators say the Biden administration isn't showing enough flexibility when it comes to how to pay for any agreement, rejecting their proposals to raise user fees on drivers and resisting their push to raid coronavirus relief accounts for infrastructure.

— Top general fires back at 'offensive' criticism of military being 'woke': The military's top officer today pushed back against GOP lawmakers who said the Pentagon's efforts to combat racism and promote diversity have made the armed forces too "woke." Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley gave a fiery defense of open-mindedness in the ranks during a House Armed Services hearing, saying he's offended at the accusation that those efforts have undercut the military's mission and cohesiveness.

— Supreme Court sides with teen in Snapchat case: The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania high school student who was suspended from the cheerleading program over a profane Snapchat post lamenting being denied a spot on the varsity squad. The justices' 8-1 decision found that the First Amendment imposes broad limits on public schools' ability to regulate off-campus speech delivered via social media, but the high court left the door open to educators regulating messages that are highly disruptive to school operations.

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Around the Nation

'THE TEA PARTY TO THE 10TH POWER' — Former top aides to President Donald Trump have begun an aggressive push to combat the teaching of critical race theory and capitalize on the issue politically, confident that a backlash will vault them back into power, Maggie Severns, Theodoric Meyer and Meridith McGraw write.

These officials, including Trump's former campaign chief and two former budget advisers, have poured money and organizational muscle into the fight. They've aided activists who are pushing back against the concept that racism has been systemic to American society and institutions after centuries of slavery and Jim Crow. And some of them have begun working with members of Congress to bar the military from holding diversity training and to withhold federal funds from schools and colleges that promote anything that can be packaged as critical race theory.

The immediate goal, two Trump alumni said, is to get legislative language included in a must-pass bill. The larger one is to harness a national movement that could unseat Democrats. "This is the Tea Party to the 10th power," Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser who has zeroed in on local school board fights over critical race theory, said in an interview. "This isn't Q, this is mainstream suburban moms — and a lot of these people aren't Trump voters."

AROUND THE WORLD

PLAYING FOOTY WITH COVID RULES — Attendees of the Euro 2020 soccer tournament semifinals and final in the U.K. will be exempt from rules on self-isolation and hotel quarantine after changes were made to domestic legislation. Britons returning from countries on the "amber list," from which the majority of the football VIPs will be coming, currently have to isolate at home for 10 days and pay for at least two PCR tests.

But these restrictions will not apply to thousands of UEFA officials, sponsors and politicians, who are expected to arrive in London next month for the crucial last games of the tournament at Wembley Stadium. Ministers amended the relevant travel regulations on Tuesday without a debate or vote in parliament.

The prime minister's spokesman would not confirm exactly how many invitees will attend. "Discussions are ongoing with UEFA and Public Health England on the final detail of this," he said. "We wouldn't do anything that compromises the safety of the public."

"THE WOMEN REOPENING AMERICA" – A THURSDAY CONVERSATION: With more than 100 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, a strengthening economy and relaxed Covid restrictions on businesses and public gatherings, America is on a path to fully reopening. What policies and systemic changes can help women recover from the disproportionate impact of the pandemic? Join Thursday for a "Women Rule" conversation with leading women who are playing a pivotal role in determining what normal will look like for business, politics, schools and the workplace. REGISTER HERE.

Nightly Number

1960

The last year the U.S. had a socialist mayor of a large American city. Political newcomer and unabashed socialist India Walton defeated Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in a Democratic primary , and would become the first socialist large-city mayor in six decades — since Milwaukee's Frank Zeidler, who left office in 1960 — should she win in November.

Parting Words

TRUMP AIDES SNUB COLLEGE IN BOSTON — Every four years, Harvard University's Institute of Politics has hosted a panel discussion with the winning and losing managers of each presidential campaign. This year, that joint discussion won't take place . In fact, the Trump side might not end up participating at all, Daniel Lippman writes.

For almost half a century, the institute, a branch of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, has hosted its campaign managers conference in the weeks following each presidential election. The IOP bills the quadrennial event as a "first draft of history" — an opportunity for journalists to grill the chief architects of pivotal campaign decisions, and for operatives from both parties to respond to one another.

That won't be happening this year.

On Saturday, there will be a "look back" discussion, but only featuring one half of the 2020 campaign: the Democrats. A parallel effort to invite former aides to Donald Trump for a separate event is foundering over scheduling problems, amid internal worries of a backlash over hosting allies of the former president.

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