As country wide ‘reported’ virus averages continue to drop by more that 30% for infection cases, and in more that 5% for deaths and hospital stays, and the vaccine rate moves towards 60%, healthcare experts turn what ‘they think’ should be the next moves for Americans….
Their views may not be embraced by the Biden admin and other politicians….
Booster shots….
A vocal contingent of prominent doctors and scientists is pressing the Biden administration to scrap its plans to provide booster shots to all previously vaccinated adults, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Several of these outside experts, including some who advised President Joe Biden’s transition team, objected to the administration’s approach during a private, off-the-record call last week with federal health officials. Current U.S. data on vaccine performance does not justify using boosters widely to reduce the risk of breakthrough infections and slow the virus’ spread, the experts said.
They told officials on the Sept. 27 call — including Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci; White House policy adviser Cameron Webb; and the heads of the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — that the shots should be given to people most at risk of severe Covid-19 to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.
The growing split between Biden’s team and outside health experts on boosters threatens to disrupt a key source of support the administration has relied on to sell its vaccination drive to the American public. Biden, who took office pledging to “follow the science,” until recently enjoyed the enthusiastic backing of eminent physicians and researchers as he attempted to crush Covid-19 and revive the U.S. economy. But the White House’s sweeping vision for boosters has weakened those ties….
Planning for the end of the Virus Healthcare Emergency….
The United States has been in a declared state of public health emergency since late January 2020, shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the nation’s first coronavirus case.
The public health emergency, which allows for emergency authorization of vaccines and deployment of the military trauma care providers, among other powers, has already been extended six times. It’s likely to remain in place at least through the end of 2021 — and possibly beyond. (States have their own emergency orders, although some have let them expire).
But at some point, the pandemic emergency — both in its legal designation and its intense impact on daily life — will have to end. The U.S. is learning to live with an endemic virus, albeit one whose worst effects are blunted by the protection of vaccines and prior immunity.
The Health 202 asked experts via email to reflect on the following questions:
- At what point will we be able to declare the state of public health emergency over?
- What indicator will tell us when we’ve reached that goal?
- When can we ease up on public health restrictions?
- Are there any restrictions that may stick around?
The White House on Wednesday is set to expand access to rapid coronavirus tests, a plan hailed by public health experts who called the move long overdue.
The administration said the plan to buy $1 billion worth of rapid, at-home coronavirus tests and other actions should address ongoing shortages and quadruple the number of tests available to Americans by December, according to a White House official and senior administration official with knowledge of the pending announcement. The news follows Monday’s decision by the Food and Drug Administration to allow the sale of an antigen test from U.S.-based Acon Laboratories.
The White House expects the FDA decision and the purchase of the additional tests to increase the number of at-home tests to 200 million per month by December….
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Rhode Islanders aren’t as enthusiastic about a universal COVID-19 vaccine mandate as they were a few months ago.
A new survey from the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States shows that 64.6 percent of residents approve or strongly approve a federal, state, or local government vaccine mandate, down from 73.9 percent in August.
That’s still a clear majority and nearly identical to the national average, but Rhode Island’s support for a vaccine requirement is now the lowest in New England. Here’s a breakdown of the region:
Connecticut: 76.1 percent
Massachusetts: 74.8 percent
New Hampshire: 71.9 percent
Vermont: 66 percent
Maine: 65.5 percent
Rhode Island: 64.6 percent
Washington, D.C., leads the country with 84 percent support for a vaccine mandate, while Montana and North Dakota are tied for the lowest support at 47 percent.
Governor Dan McKee has imposed vaccine requirements for health care workers, and many of Rhode Island’s private employers have adopted similar rules, but there has been no talk of a universal government requirement.
The survey also shows that 64.6 percent of Rhode Islanders support a vaccine mandate for schools, while 73.9 percent support a requirement for getting on planes, and 72.4 percent support a requirement for returning to college campuses….
Dan McGowan in The Boston Globe’s “Rhode Map” newsletter.
Vaccinating Kids Promises New Challenges
Washington Post: “The kickoff of the long-awaited children’s vaccination campaign is expected as soon as early November. And this time around, the government has purchased enough doses to give two shots to all 28 million eligible children ages 5 to 11.”
“Still, federal and state officials and health providers say that vaccinating children is likely to be a more challenging process than it was for adults and teens. The federal government plans to allocate the initial shots according to a formula to ensure equitable distribution, likely based on a state’s population of eligible children, according to a federal health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share planning. Enlisting besieged health providers and persuading reluctant parents will complicate the process.”
More on the sharp decline in virus cases….This is NOT a ‘all clear’…But I join others in pointing to the good news that ‘reported’ case’s ARE dropping
David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said he thinks it’s “unlikely” that the U.S. will endure another COVID-19 wave “to the level” of the summer delta and previous winter surges.
With the vaccination level rising and a “fair amount” of the unvaccinated getting infected, Americans’ immunity is “higher now than it’s ever been,” he said.
Fauci says he ‘strongly suspects’ that COVID-19 deaths will go down…
The emergence of a new variant could potentially threaten that immunity if the strain evades the vaccines. But Dowdy said he doesn’t expect that in the short-term, as delta has reigned as the dominant variant worldwide for months without another strain usurping it.
“I think anyone who says that they can predict the future of this pandemic is probably lying to you,” Dowdy said. “But I think we have a lot of reasons to be optimistic that we will not see another massive wave the way that we have…
More…
GOP Governors Move to Undercut Vaccine Mandates
“With the governor of Texas leading the charge, conservative Republicans in several states are moving to block or undercut President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private employers before the regulations are even issued,” the AP reports.
“The growing battle over what some see as overreach by the federal government is firing up a segment of the Republican Party base, even though many large employers have already decided on their own to require their workers to get the shot.”
“The dustup will almost certainly end up in court since GOP attorneys general in nearly half of the states have vowed to sue once the rule is unveiled.”
White House Prepares for Vaccinating Kids
“The White House told governors to start preparing to vaccinate children as young as 5 by early next month in anticipation of clearance of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for the age group in the coming weeks,” NBC News reports.
“The Biden administration has purchased 65 million pediatric doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, enough to vaccinate the estimated 28 million children who would be eligible should the Food and Drug Administration approve Pfizer’s request to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11.”
Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to reject the COVID-19 vaccine if taking it “would violate the sanctity” of their conscience, said Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio in a statement out Tuesday.
Why it matters: Broglio encouraged troops to get the vaccine, but acknowledged that some people have questioned whether the church’s position encouraging the shot “precludes an individual from forming a sincerely held religious belief that receiving the vaccine would violate his conscience.”
“It does not,” wrote the archbishop.
Driving the news: The Pentagon mandated the vaccine for troops back in August, but many service members are still unvaccinated as deadlines approach….
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A federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York state must allow for religious exemptions in its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.
Why it matters: The move is a new obstacle in the course of Gov. Kathy M. Hochul’s effort to require inoculation for all health care workers.
The ruling comes the same day unvaccinated employees were to prevented from working, per the New York Times.
Catch up quick: New York’s initial vaccine mandate for health care workers —passed under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — included religious exemptions, but an updated mandate under Gov. Kathy Hochul did away with the exemptions, the ruling noted….
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(NY Gov Hochul forecasted this ruling previously)
The Los Angeles school district has extended its deadline for staff to get the COVID vaccine from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.
Why it matters: The second-largest school district in the nation, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has struggled to fill thousands of vacancies, including teachers, counselors and maintenance staff, per the Los Angeles Times.
One in five employees remained unvaccinated as of Sept. 27….
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The Biden 100 employee mandate has this in it……
“The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been working expeditiously to develop an emergency temporary standard that covers employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing to protect employees from the spread of coronavirus in the workplace,” a Labor Department spokesman said Tuesday…..
More….
What kind of “religion “ opposes something that could save a human life?
That’s why I want freedom “from” religion.