Welcome to the Friday, April 16, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- All U.S. adults to be eligible for coronavirus vaccine starting April 19
- Join our State of Redistricting briefing April 21
- Nebraska governor appoints new Insurance director
All U.S. adults to be eligible for coronavirus vaccine starting April 19
Beginning Monday—April 19—everyone 16 and older will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Alaska was the first state to offer vaccines to all residents 16+ on March 9.
The final seven states that will open eligibility to all adults between today and April 19 are:
- Virginia (April 18)
- Hawaii (April 19)
- Massachusetts (April 19)
- New Jersey (April 19)
- Oregon (April 19)
- Rhode Island (April 19)
- Vermont (April 19)
Five of those states have Democratic governors, and two (Massachusetts and Vermont) have Republican governors.
Currently, all residents 16 and older are eligible for a vaccine in 43 states. Of those 43, 18 have Democratic governors and 25 have Republican governors.
On April 13, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended all state and local vaccine providers stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. By that evening, every state and Washington, D.C., had paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The recommendation came after six recipients in the United States developed blood clots within two weeks of vaccination. All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One recipient died, and three are still hospitalized.
On April 14, the CDC announced its advisory panel needed at least a week to investigate the blood clot connection before determining whether to lift the pause recommendation. As of April 15, this pause had not caused any states to roll back or delay vaccine eligibility for everyone 16 and older.
Want daily updates about changes to government policies regarding vaccine eligibility, travel restrictions, and more? Our Documenting America’s Path to Recovery newsletter delivers the latest coronavirus-related updates to subscribers’ inboxes each weekday. Click here to subscribe.
Join our State of Redistricting briefing April 21
On Tuesday, we looked at congressional and state legislative redistricting deadlines in each state. With the Census Bureau scheduled to release congressional apportionment counts by April 30, our redistricting team is gearing up to review that data and what it means for states. We’ve also been following how states are responding to expected delays in getting detailed, local data from the Census Bureau due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Next Wednesday, April 21, join our election policy and redistricting expert Jerrick Adams and staff writer Amée LaTour for a briefing on the state of redistricting following the 2020 census. They will touch on the most recent developments, including:
- State lawsuits against the Census Bureau
- State-specific proposals to postpone or condense the redistricting process
- Efforts in some state legislatures, such as Texas, to postpone primary elections and candidate filing deadlines
The briefing will take place at 11 a.m. Central Time on April 21. You can click here to register, or follow the link below. If you sign up but can’t watch live, we’ll send you a link to the recording when it’s available so you can watch it whenever it works for you. I hope you’ll join us!
In the meantime, check out our page listing apps and software that provide access to population and election data and allow users to create, modify, and share district maps based on criteria such as competitiveness and demographics. Some of these programs are designed for state governments to use, while others are geared toward the general public, but they’re all really interesting to see in action!
Nebraska governor appoints new Insurance director
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) appointed Eric Dunning on April 2 to serve as the state’s Department of Insurance director. Dunning starts his new job on Monday—April 19—and succeeds Bruce Ramge, Nebraska’s longest-serving Department of Insurance director, who retired on April 9. Former Gov. Dave Heineman (R) appointed Ramge in November 2010.
The insurance commissioner or director is a state-level position in all 50 states. The duties of the position vary from state to state, but the office generally serves as a consumer protection advocate and insurance regulator. The nation’s longest-serving current insurance commissioner is Mike Kreidler, Washington’s commissioner since 2001.
The position is elected in 11 states and appointed in 39. The office is nonpartisan in 38 states. The 12 states in which the position is partisan include the 11 states where the insurance commissioner is elected, as well as Ohio. Currently, Republicans hold the office in nine states where it is partisan, and Democrats hold it in three.
