Health Care — Presented by Emergent — COVID vaccinations fall to lowest levels since 2020

View Online    Health Care Health Care   PRESENTED BY EMERGENT COVID vaccinations fall to lowest levels since 2020 © AP Welcome to Friday's Overnight Health Care, where we're following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here.   Some potentially disturbing, non-health care news: A giant ice shelf in Antarctica has collapsed.   Today we'll look at new numbers showing COVID-19 vaccinations dropping to their lowest levels in two years, despite many people lacking booster shots.     For The Hill, we're Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Send us tips and feedback at psullivan@thehill.com, nweixel@thehill.com and jchoi@thehill.com.   Let's get started.  Daily COVID-19 vaccinations hit 2-year low © Getty The number of COVID-19 vaccinations per day in the United States has fallen to the lowest level since the early days of the inoculation campaign in 2020, despite many Americans not having received their booster shots.      The seven-day average of vaccine doses of all types given in the U.S. fell to 127,000 per day this week, according to figures from Our World in Data. That marks a steady decline since January, when more than 1 million shots per day were being administered.      The Washington Post reported earlier on Friday, citing its own data, that vaccinations had fallen to 182,000 per day.      Lagging boosters: While the number of Americans with two doses has risen to 75 percent of adults, the numbers for booster shots lag behind that.      Booster shots are particularly important in the face of the omicron variant, which has a greater ability to evade the protection from two doses of the vaccine.      About half of the eligible U.S. population still has not received a booster dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.      That leaves the U.S. more vulnerable to a potential new increase in cases, as is starting to happen in Europe, even with higher booster rates in many countries.      Read more here.   A MESSAGE FROM EMERGENT We Go to protect public health. The vaccines and treatments we manufacture have protected people from cholera, smallpox, anthrax and more. Learn how we're preparing for what's next at http://www.emergentbiosolutions.com/.  3 in 4 counties had more deaths than births in past year © iStock Nearly 3 in 4 counties across America suffered more deaths than births between the middle of 2020 and the middle of 2021, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, as the coronavirus pandemic claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and slowed the nation's growth rate to its slowest pace in history.    More people died than were born in 2,297 of the nation's 3,143 counties last year, the largest number of counties to record a natural decrease in American history.    The new figures show more than 3.4 million Americans died in the yearlong period covered by the new data, the highest number of deaths ever recorded in a single year. The figure is 20 percent greater than it was two years ago, before the pandemic began.    Fewer than 3.6 million children were born over the same period, according to an analysis by Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. That is the lowest number since 1979 — when the United States had 100 million fewer people than it does today.    "The number of deaths have increased dramatically nationally," said William Frey, senior demographer at the Brookings Institution. "On top of it, you have lower natural increase. People are putting off having children. Put it together and that's the equation."    Read more here.   YANKEES, METS OWNERS PRESSED TO LIFT VACCINE MANDATE  The heads of New York City baseball teams the Mets and Yankees pressed Mayor Eric Adams (D) to lift the city's vaccine mandate for performers and athletes ahead of his decision this week to do so, according to The New York Times.    Yankees president Randy Levine spoke with Adams' administration about baseball being an outdoor sport and thus less dangerous for the spread of the coronavirus, The Times reported. And Steven Cohen, the owner of the Mets, has paid $10,000 per month to a lobbying firm to push on several issues, including COVID-19 protocols.    Adams, a Mets fan, told The Times he spoke to sports teams about the issue, but emphasized he had not been lobbied.    "I've heard all sides and then I made the final determination, but this is not based on lobbying coming in," he said.    Adams on Thursday lifted the vaccine mandate for New York City performers, venues and athletes, citing high vaccination rates in the city and lower virus case counts.    Read more here.   Moderna chief: Getting kids under 6 vaxxed a high priority © AP Moderna's chief medical officer is hopeful that parents will be able to vaccinate their children under age 6 against COVID-19 by this summer at the latest.     The company's chief medical officer, Paul Burton, told Katie Couric Media on Thursday that parents can expect to get their small children vaccinated "later this spring or early summer — if not sooner."    "It's really one of our highest priorities," Burton said, "We're working around the clock and our teams are on it all the time."    His comments came just one day after Moderna announced on Wednesday that it would seek emergency authorization of its coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 6, after preliminary data showed kids in that age group had a similar immune response to adolescents and young adults when given a smaller dose of the vaccine.    The company said it will be submitting data to the Food and Drug Administration "in the coming weeks."    Parents of children under 5 have been anxiously awaiting a vaccine for months.     Read more here.   FIRST LADY TO VISIT WITH UKRAINIAN CHILDREN EVACUATED TO ST. JUDE First lady Jill Biden was set to meet Friday with Ukrainian pediatric cancer patients that were evacuated from Europe to Tennessee to receive treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the first lady's office confirmed to The Hill.     The first lady was previously scheduled to visit the hospital in Memphis to highlight programs and services that support pediatric cancer patients and caregivers as part of the administration's Cancer Moonshot initiative.    The Associated Press first reported on Biden's private visit with the Ukrainian children.    The State Department announced on Tuesday that it had coordinated with St. Jude to provide necessary life-saving and immediate care to four Ukrainian children whose ongoing cancer treatment was disrupted by Russia's invasion of their country.    The department assisted in an airlift of the children and some of their family members from Poland to the international airport in Memphis, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.    Read more here.   A MESSAGE FROM EMERGENT We Go to protect public health. The vaccines and treatments we manufacture have protected people from cholera, smallpox, anthrax and more. Learn how we're preparing for what's next at http://www.emergentbiosolutions.com/.  WHAT WE'RE READING Senators ask GAO to examine Medicaid's low Covid vaccination rates (Kaiser Health News) We know about long COVID. Should there be a medium COVID? (NPR) The internet's funniest doctor is in on the joke (Stat)   STATE BY STATE A new abortion Battleground, in South Dakota (The New Yorker) 'It's clearly in a growth phase.' The BA.2 subvariant of omicron is rising in South Florida (Miami Herald) 'Not a Moment for Panic': Rising COVID Cases Reported in Schools Across Mass. (NBC Boston)  That's it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill's health care page for the latest news and coverage. See you Monday. 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