- Vaccination data from dialysis facilities: A recent addition to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, this dataset reports vaccination coverage among patients and staff working in dedicated dialysis facilities, which offer treatment to patients with chronic kidney diseases—a group at high risk for severe COVID-19. The vaccine coverage rates for dialysis staff are new as of this week. Overall, about 74% of dialysis patients and 79% of staff are fully vaccinated, and smaller percentages are boosted, as of late January.
- CDC report provides vaccination data by sexual orientation and gender identity: As health equity advocates have pushed for more demographic data describing who’s been vaccinated in the U.S., the focus is often on race and ethnicity data. But it’s also important to track vaccinations among the LGBTQ+ community, as these Americans are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 due to HIV, mental health issues, and other conditions common in this group. This new CDC report provides a snapshot of these important data, sourced from the National Immunization Survey. Notably, the report found that vaccine coverage was higher overall among gay and lesbian adults compared to straight adults—but lower among Black LGBTQ+ people across all identities.
- Association of child masking with COVID-related childcare closures: A new paper published in JAMA Network Open this week provides additional evidence showing that mask requirements can help keep schools and childcare centers open. The paper found that childcare programs where children were masked were 14% less likely to close over the course of a year than programs without child masking. For more commentary on the paper, see Inside Medicine.
