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A new analysis found that cases dropped more quickly in nursing homes where residents and staff had been vaccinated than they did in facilities in the same county that had not yet hosted vaccination events. The comparison was made just three weeks after first shots were given, too early for recipients to have reached full immunity. Both vaccines currently being administered require two doses given three or four weeks apart. A couple of weeks after the second dose, the vaccines are 95% effective at preventing symptomatic disease, clinical trials found. After just three weeks from the first dose, studies show they are closer to 52% effective. It is still unclear how often vaccinated people might spread disease without having symptoms. (Burling, 2/16)

New York City’s vaccines are disproportionately going to wealthier neighborhoods in Manhattan and Staten Island, according to data the city released Tuesday. The disparities highlight the inequities of a vaccine drive that has already been criticized for what New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called “profound” racial disparities. White residents composed almost half the people who had gotten at least one dose, despite being only a third of the population. More than a quarter of those getting the Covid-19 vaccine are nonresidents, who tend to be younger and are more likely to be White than those living in the city. (Goldman, 2/16)

We now have a better idea of how well Georgia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout is going. The state started publishing a new and much more detailed online vaccine dashboard. The dashboard, which is posted on the Georgia Department of Public Health's website, breaks down both statewide and individual county vaccine numbers. (Teichner, 2/16)

Virginia’s state health department has launched a centralized website where people can pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine. The website went live Tuesday. Previously, Virginia’s local health districts were handling pre-registration. The state says Virginians who have already pre-registered will be automatically imported into the new system and do not need to sign up again. (2/16)

Iowa Senate Republicans advanced a bill Tuesday that would broaden the state's exemptions for childhood vaccinations, forbid Iowa employers from requiring their employees to be vaccinated and provide other protections for people who decline to be vaccinated. The bill, Senate File 193, passed through a Senate subcommittee after more than 90 minutes of testimony, with Republican Sens. Jim Carlin of Sioux City and Mark Costello of Imogene supporting it and Democratic Sen. Pam Jochum of Dubuque opposed. It is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate Human Resources Committee, although the Republican senators suggested parts of the measure could be rewritten. (Gruber-Miller, 2/16)

Doctors and nurses trying to build confidence in Covid-19 vaccines on social media are mounting coordinated campaigns to combat anti-vaccination forces prevalent on those platforms. At the same time, public health groups are mobilizing a global network of vaccine advocates to come to their aid when they are attacked online by activists, who closely monitor certain hashtags and keywords. The groups use monitoring software to swiftly identify online attacks, then tap their networks to flood social media posts with supportive messages countering vaccine opponents. (Ravindranath, 2/15)

Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s health emergencies director, had a conversation recently with his mother, the kind that lots of public health people are having these days, much to their dismay. Ryan’s mother was concerned about one of the Covid-19 vaccines in use in Ireland, where she lives. The one made by AstraZeneca. (Branswell, 2/17)

KHN: Rural Hospital Remains Entrenched In Covid ‘War’ Even Amid Vaccine Rollout

The “heroes work here” sign in front of St. James Parish Hospital has been long gone, along with open intensive care unit beds in the state of Louisiana. Staffers at the rural hospital spent hours each day in January calling larger hospitals in search of the elusive beds for covid-19 patients. They leveraged personal connections and begged nurses elsewhere to take patients they know are beyond their hospital’s care level. (Weber, 2/17)

Couples who vowed to cherish each other in sickness and in health are facing a new challenge—a dose of marital vaccine envy. Jennifer Baum, a 55-year-old New Yorker, navigated the search online for Covid-19 vaccines to grab an appointment for her 71-year-old husband, Charles. But she is among the last in line for eligibility because of her age, job and medical status. “I don’t fit in any categories,” she said. “There are a few 3-year-olds after me.” (Brody, 2/15)

The coronavirus vaccine rollout has been chaotic and confusing in many states, leaving some elderly residents and front-line workers unprotected, while those further down the priority list have been able to obtain shots. That’s leading to a new affliction: vaccine envy. (Haupt, 2/16)