News Information and Media Site: Getting the jab done

THE BIG STORY

On the road with the vaccine van: How one city is "getting out the vax"

The good news is that some 60% of adults in the US have now received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine. The bad news is that demand has been declining over the last month.

That means the US vaccination campaign has reached a more challenging phase — the stage where it's time to target people who are harder to reach.

Not every yet-to-be-vaccinated person is necessarily anti-vaccine. For some, the main issue is one of access. That means getting vaccines needs to get a lot easier.

As a result, officials are now seeking out creative solutions. In New York City, officials are offering vaccines to commuters in subway stations. Some New Orleans residents are getting their shots right in their front doorways.

And in Paterson, New Jersey, the creative solution is a mobile vaccine clinic. After all, what could be easier than happening upon a clinic as you're going about your day? So we hitched a ride with the vaccine van, to meet the folks doing whatever it takes to get the jab done.

A medical vehicle on the street seen through a business's window during a mobile COVID-19 vaccination event put on by the Paterson Department of Health on Main Street in Paterson, New Jersey, on May 11, 2021. Bryan Anselm / Redux for BuzzFeed News

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

House Republican leaders are against an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection

For months, representatives have been negotiating to launch an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection modeled after the 9/11 Commission, which sought to uncover and explain the circumstances of the attack and the government's response.

But now, GOP leadership has sent out a letter to Republican members of Congress, urging them to vote against the bipartisan proposal to launch the investigation.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out against the bipartisan deal, saying the scope of the investigation is too narrow.

Democrats overwhelmingly support the commission and control both chambers of Congress, making its passage likely. A vote is expected in the House later this week, followed by one in the Senate.

SNAPSHOTS

A 19-year-old asylum-seeker forced to wait in Mexico was killed days before he was scheduled to enter the US. Cristian San Martín Estrada had been waiting in Mexico since 2019 after asking US immigration authorities for asylum, according to his uncle. He was fatally shot a few days before he was to be allowed into the US, according to United Nations officials.

Mark McCloskey, the guy who pointed his gun at protesters outside his mansion, is running for Senate. McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, were charged last year after viral photos captured them waving guns at racial justice protesters outside their St. Louis home. He officially declared he was throwing his hat into the crowded Republican primary to fill the Missouri Senate seat.

The Dear Evan Hansen trailer just dropped, featuring a very 27-year-old Ben Platt. People are excited for the movie, but can't get over the fact that Platt, who is playing a teenager, looks 27 af. Platt is certainly not the first adult to play a teenager onscreen, nor is he the first to look his age while doing it.

Demi Lovato announced they identify as non-binary. The singer made the announcement in an Instagram post, revealing that they officially changed their pronouns to they/them.

UNDOING THE MPP POLICY

They missed their US asylum hearings fearing the cartel would kill them. Now they're stuck in Mexico.

Under former president Donald Trump, the US introduced the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy that sent more than 71,000 immigrants and asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while a US judge ruled in their case.

But one major consequence of the MPP is that it has meant many asylum-seekers have had to miss their hearings. Like Veronica, who had an awful choice to make: either miss the court hearing, or return to the border city where the cartel had threatened to kill her family.

Veronica is far from the only one. Nearly 28,000 immigrants were ordered deported without them being present at their last hearing. Some missed the hearings because it was too dangerous to travel to the border. Others missed their hearings because they were kidnapped by cartels, or were denied entry because they were pregnant.

The Biden administration has started to undo the MPP. In recent weeks, Homeland Security officials have agreed that those ordered deported in absentia should have their cases reopened — but it's unclear when this next phase of the rollback would be implemented.

A Salvadoran woman seeking asylum in the United States poses for a portrait in a relative's home behind a page from her court documents in Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 5, 2019. Gregory Bull / AP

THE FRIENDS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY

This woman's chaotic bathroom DIY turned into a TikTok saga that had people ridiculously invested

Let me just say this whole ordeal is a bit stressful. The saga involves Grace O'Heeron, 23, who was watching do-it-yourself home renovations on TikTok when she got the idea to paint and stencil her bathroom floor.

That didn't turn out great. Then she got the idea that maybe the sink should have glitter embedded in it. "I thought it was going to be a vibe," she said. Reader, it was not.

But every step along the way, O'Heeron built a loyal following deeply invested in the chaos of this unfolding disaster. The journey has a good ending, but perhaps the point was the friends we made along the way.

Wishing you the quiet resolve that can power you through today,

Elamin

📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.

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