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This policy watch examines global access to COVID-19 vaccines by country income level, assessing country income levels' shares of purchased doses and potential vaccination coverage, while also looking closely at the potential impact of COVAX in addressing vaccine access disparity between high-income and low- and middle-income countries.
As part of the Biden administration’s plans to facilitate more equitable access to vaccinations, the administration has formed a partnership with community health centers, known for providing health care to some of the hardest-to-reach populations. This Policy Watch post examines the initial group of health centers to participate early in the Health Center Vaccination Program and the patient populations they serve.
This brief reviews some of the possible actions of the incoming Trump administration and new Congress based on campaign statements, policies implemented by the first Trump administration, and proposals forwarded by allied conservative think tanks and antiabortion advocacy groups.
This brief examines U.S. policy options for helping expand global access to COVID-19 vaccines, focusing on four main areas: in-kind donations of vaccine doses, additional funding for global access mechanisms like COVAX, helping expand global vaccine manufacturing, and relaxing or waiving intellectual property protections on vaccine technologies. We summarize what the administration has done to date in these areas and policy issues related to each.
More than half (54%) of rural adults say they have already gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or will do so as soon as possible, as rural residents report less issues with both supply and access than those living in urban and suburban areas, according to a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report focused on rural America. A somewhat larger share of rural residents (39%) than those living in urban (31%) or suburban…
With supply having increased significantly and eligibility fully open to adults in all states as of April 19, this analysis estimates that COVID-19 vaccine supply will exceed demand across the U.S. over the next 2 to 4 weeks.
This analysis of claims data estimates that six in ten people with private health insurance - or about 100 million people - used at least one preventive service covered without any out-of-pocket costs through a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a typical year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2018). The provision that requires most private health plans to cover many preventive services without any cost-sharing for their enrollees is being challenged in…
This brief provides an overview of the major health-related COVID-19 federal emergency declarations that have been made since early on in the pandemic, summarizes the flexibilities triggered by each, and identifies the implications for their ending, related to coverage, costs, and payment for COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines; Medicaid coverage and federal match rates; telehealth; access to medical countermeasures through FDA emergency use authorization (EUA); and other Medicaid, Medicare and private health insurance flexibilities.
This issue brief presents current state-level data about COVID-19 cases and deaths in settings that primarily serve nonelderly people with disabilities and summarizes available research on this population’s elevated risk of severe illness and death; explains how nonelderly people with disabilities and their LTSS providers are reflected in state vaccine prioritization plans; and discusses key issues related to vaccine access for these populations.
In this Axios column, Drew Altman paints a more optimistic picture of the prospects for getting to herd immunity as vaccine confidence grows, but underscores the urgency of building vaccine confidence in Black and Latino communities where barriers to access and good information are obstacles to getting vaccinated.
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