Week of December 14, 2020

This week's episode covers six MMWR COVID-19 reports. In the first, ACIP issued an interim recommendation for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 years and older. The second report estimates the added costs of adopting recommended prevention and control measures to reduce the risk for spread of COVID-19 in schools. The third report compares the differences in school and community close contacts exposures in children testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and those testing negative. Another report investigated factors that might affect spread of COVID-19 among workers at 2 poultry processing facilities in Maryland. The fifth report discusses how health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA, have provided access to COVID-19 tests for racial and ethnic minority populations. The final report shows how telehealth is a promising approach to promoting and expanding access to care.