American Coronavirus: Nearly a third of American adults are undecided about vaccine. They say friends and family can influence them

According to a report released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), about 31% of American adults say they plan to “wait and see” how things turn out for other people. Many said that a close friend or family member who got vaccinated was likely to influence their decision.

To achieve immunity to the herd, about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated, estimates the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Almost all American children live in red zones

Meanwhile, about 99% of children in the US live in a county with such high transmission levels that they are considered a “red” zone under the CDC’s new guidelines for school opening, according to a CNN analysis of federal data.

The CDC has released guidelines, including “Five Major Risk Mitigation Strategies,” for returning to personal school safely.

The five strategies, according to the CDC, are universal and correct mask wearing, physical distance, hand washing, cleaning facilities and improving ventilation, as well as conducting contact tracing, isolation and quarantine.

But for schools in the red zones, the CDC recommends virtual learning for middle and high schools and hybrid learning or reduced attendance for elementary schools. The school districts should reassess weekly, the CDC said.

Fewer than 100,000 children in the US live in a county considered “low” or “moderate transmission,” where the CDC recommends K-12 schools be open to full in-person instruction. Most of those are in Hawaii or Washington.

After nearly a year of distance learning, officials were eager to reopen public school campuses, including President Joe Biden who promised to reopen most U.S. elementary schools within 100 days.

But some teachers’ unions have pushed back, in some cases with lawsuits and threats of strike, out of concern it is not safe to reopen, while many teachers remain unvaccinated.

People with underlying health conditions are eligible for vaccines in 11 states

In most states, the priority for coronavirus vaccination went to health workers and the elderly. But some have started qualifying people who are vulnerable to the virus because of their underlying health conditions.

According to an analysis by CNN, the approach has not been uniform nationally.

In some states, people with underlying health conditions are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine – and in states where they qualify, there are variations in the circumstances that make someone eligible to be vaccinated and whether or not paperwork is needed to get those condition.

According to a CNN analysis of public health department websites.

Some of those states have started to vaccinate this group, while others are only doing pre-registration. Within a state, the country can differ per province.

California announced Friday that millions of residents “at high risk with developmental and other disabilities” and those with “serious underlying health problems” will be eligible next month.

The plan, outlined by state health officials at a Friday briefing, begins March 15 and will allow cancer patients, pregnant women and other disabled individuals to join health workers, seniors, teachers and farm workers in line for a vaccine .

The expansion could add as many as 6 million Californians to the priority list. It also broadens the age of 65 and older to 16 to 64 in those categories.

But California Health and Human Service Agency secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, warned that the expansion depends on the state’s resolving the vaccine shortage.