Do you have a source for this? I am not aware of insurers paying the manufacturers (Pfizer/Moderna/JNJ) for the covid vaccines at this point in time, but I may have missed it. Insurers are paying (reimbursing) the vaccine giver (doctor, pharmacist, etc) and/or their organization for the procedure/injection, according to whatever contract is in place.
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This is an amazing turn of events.These data demonstrate that (proper, well thought out and executed) public health initiatives can make a difference/narrow inequities.
During Covid’s early months in the U.S., the per capita death rate for Black Americans was almost twice as high as the white rate and more than twice as high as the Asian rate. The Latino death rate was in between, substantially lower than the Black rate but still above average.
Over the past year, the Covid death rate for white Americans has been 14 percent higher than the rate for Black Americans and 72 percent higher than the Latino rate, according to the latest C.D.C. data.
The successful part of the story is the rapid increase in vaccination among Black and Latino Americans since last year. Today, the vaccination rate for both groups is slightly higher than it is for white Americans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s surveys.
Certainly, there are important caveats to the Covid story. For one thing, the total death rate remains higher for Black and Latino Americans, because the early disparities were so huge. For another, the unequal nature of underlying health conditions — and access to good care — means that a Black person remains more vulnerable on average to severe Covid than a white person of the same age, sex and vaccination status.
Even with these caveats, the larger story remains: Covid has killed a smaller percentage of Black, Latino or Asian Americans over the past year than white Americans. To deny that reality is to miss an important part of the Covid story.
It also serves as a reminder that rigorous, well-funded public health campaigns have the potential to narrow racial gaps. And there are many stark racial gaps in public health: Traffic deaths, which have surged during the pandemic, disproportionately kill lower-income Americans and people of color. Gun violence, which has also surged, has an even more disproportionate effect. Diabetes, H.I.V., high blood pressure and infant mortality all take a higher toll on Black America. With Covid, the country mobilized to reduce the racial vaccination gap — and succeeded. With many other public health problems, a similar focus could probably save lives.
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The White population in the US does have an older age distribution (i.e. more COVID-19 vulnerability) than the various other race / ethnicity populations, so it is not surprising that raw death rate from COVID-19 is higher. But it is not exactly the same story after accounting for age distribution.
YLE writes about that:
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Back again to say it happened again. Monday: My husband tested positive on an antigen test taken in a health care facility, with results returned within 15-20 minutes. Then PCR was taken to confirm. Came back a day later. Negative. Subsequent home antigen rapid tests: negative. Thursday: Repeat PCR. Negative.
Similar to what happened to one of my kids the week before. Positive on antigen. Negative on PCR.
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If only it was as simple as the NYT would make it out to be. As per the article posted by UCB:
“After we adjust for age, the story changes: Whites account for 31 per 100,000 while Blacks account for 40 per 100,000.”
(Biostat 1 in every public health school.)
What may also be of interest if it were also adjusted for SES, which tends to correlate to access to health care. An SES adjustment can have a similar effect, but in the opposite direction. I.e. how do White, Black, Hispanic / Latino, Asian compare within similar age and SES?
In addition to SES, or perhaps related to it, you could also adjust for other diseases/factors. If one race dies of a disease (age-adjusted of course) at a higher rate of another race, there are fewer survivors of the first race to die of covid and therefore the death rate per 100k would be lower. (But way too nuanced for a Journalist with a pov on deadline.)
Wouldn’t be surprised to see this article updated, or even retracted.
The point that public health initiatives can work, as significant outreach and marketing have greatly increasing covid vaccination rates among Blacks and Hispanics, is still important to note.
Have to think that the proportion of people who have taken this class is in the low single digits lol.
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No quention. Additionally, I’d bet that the number of journalists that have even taken AP Stats is also in the low single digits.
But my broader point is that there are plenty of experts available to make things correct, if one would take the time to reach out, and not fall into the confirmation bias trap.
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Just fyi my antibody level 6 months after first booster was 6074 and 7 months after was 5368 (just received, done 6/1).
Six months after second shot it was 1068.
I had my second booster on 6/4 and will post my antibody results at one month.
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No ID doc would tell you to rely on antibody level to determine your degree of immunity.
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Of course. I am not relying on antibodies at all. Johns Hopkins asked me to enroll in a study for people who are immunocompromised or have chronic illness. I have posted about that before and omitted that context in my last post.
I have a friend in the same study, who has RA but stopped meds awhile back. Her antibody level 43 days after her second booster was 15,000+.
The study originally only reported up to 2500 but in the last few months is reporting up to 25,000.
The media covers antibodies so much I thought people would be interested. There needs to be more coverage on B and T cells and I wear an N95.
These numbers do not guide my behavior.
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Sorry, I did not know the background. I thought you were intending to convey the effectiveness of vaccines. Thanks for the info.
Well, I forgot to provide the background! I have posted my results several times and just left the study out!
FDA advisory committee endorses Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for under 5 years old kids.
More on vaccines for age <5 years:
Not surprising based on past research and current anecdotal evidence. I wonder who all spent the 20 (22?) billion in 2022 for this therapeutic. I hope the study, that is continuing, at least shows positive results for immunocompromised and hospitalized patients. It will hopefully add to the toolkit of doctors. No word about how vaccination affects the efficacy of this therapeutic? Curious.
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UK study found that long COVID (defined as symptoms 4 or more weeks after) occurred in 4.5% of breakthrough infections during the Omicron-dominant period and 10.8% of the breakthrough infections during the Delta-dominant period. Only vaccinated people with no prior infection before vaccination were included.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00941-2/fulltext
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