Biden announces vaccine mandates: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-executive-branch-18fb12993f05be13bf760946a6fb89be . In a 5 pm (Eastern) address, President Biden announced sweeping vaccine mandates. These cover federal employees, federal contractors and employers with more than 100 employees. The article indicates that these mandates will face legal challenges. See also WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-new-vaccine-mandates-what-do-they-do-and-whom-do-they-affect-11631229224 . More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-require-all-federal-workers-government-contractors-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19-11631195011 .
However, we know that employers have the right to mandate vaccination for their employees. Many have been requesting the cover of a federal mandate in order to move forward with this policy. My expectation is that many will do so quickly to avoid the confusion which these legal challenges may create.
Children must be vaccinated before COVID can be controlled: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/571468-fauci-covid-19-infections-10-times-higher-than-needed . Yes, my summary describes an idea not reported in the article. But it is the logical conclusion and more important headline.
Fauci says that daily infections must be cut by 90% to have significant control of COVID. Given the Delta variant’s infectiousness, the 90% seems like a minimum. However, children currently represent more than 25% of daily cases and that percentage is growing. Furthermore, this will be a problem for some time because all children under 12 are unvaccinated. Biden today announced extensions of vaccine mandates for federal employees and businesses with over 100 employees. But that doesn’t touch this problem.
Once vaccines are approved for all ages, by necessity the focus will shift to vaccinating children. Biden’s actions foreshadow the promotion of vaccine mandates for children to attend school. Without them, the pandemic will continue to drag on. The phrase “pandemic of the unvaccinated” will be with us for the remainder of the pandemic.
Furthermore, the political battle over masks damages another important control technique. This makes vaccination mandates even more critical. Substantial case reduction then makes contact tracing and testing a meaningful strategy to control spread. Could we please prepare for this now? Given the anti-vaxxers, this must be part of the long-term control strategy.
The science is pretty clear. The failure of Abbott and Costello-Dementis to respect it will continue to become their personal failure. Good. They deserve responsibility for their selfish and dangerous actions. And, without naming them, Biden called out their dangerous behavior in his speech.
WSJ: Austin has two worlds: the educated and the state government: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-policies-ignite-battle-at-ut-austin-11631179800 . As noted previously, there are sane people in Texas. The feds look to ride to their rescue.
The stress on healthcare workers: https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-health-care-workers-120322730.html . You will note from the Oregon map that Multnomah County (Portland) is light yellow. However, patients from southern and eastern Oregon, as well as Idaho, currently flood our hospitals.
LA School Board set to adopt vaccine mandate for eligible students: https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-09-09/los-angeles-school-board-poised-to-require-vaccinations-for-all-eligible-students . This mandate will likely extend to the under-12’s when the FDA approves a vaccine for them. Update: The mandate was enacted: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/los-angeles-schools-covid-vaccine-mandate-passes/ . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/los-angeles-school-district-requires-students-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-11631230734 .
FDA approval did not have major effect on vaccinations: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/the-fda-approval-of-pfizers-vaccine-didnt-cause-the-uptick-in-vaccinations-that-people-had-hoped-data-shows/ar-AAOgsci?li=BBnb7Kz . No, but it makes mandates more palatable. Also, most people who resist vaccination will still realize post-vaccination that they are better off.
WSJ: White House tries again to cut prescription drug prices: https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-unveils-plan-to-cut-prescription-drug-prices-11631181600 . This has been a common election promise of both parties, and the public strongly supports these efforts. Will any administration ever cross the finish line on this?
WSJ: Delta variant sets back travel, again: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-airlines-warn-of-dimming-outlook-amid-delta-variant-11631188178 .
Ivermectin: is connecting rural America to the Internet a good idea?: https://www.azfamily.com/news/continuing_coverage/coronavirus_coverage/ivermectin-shortage-due-to-covid-controversy/article_5d83cfa0-1119-11ec-a309-174258f6eef6.html . Poison control centers continue to have significant call volume for people who have taken a horse-sized dose of de-wormer. To say these people are slow learners overstates their capacity.
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims at lowest point in pandemic: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/09/weekly-jobless-claims-.html . But again, this number is still higher than any pre-pandemic numbers. Federal supplemental unemployment benefits ended Monday and many people have burned through their unemployment entitlement. This remains a very high number indicative of continuing economic trouble for lower-paid workers.
WSJ: California recall vote is next Tuesday: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsom-california-recall-what-to-know-11630411624 .
People’s House gets a picket fence: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-nancy-pelosi-6c8a4be780f5165d350920405afe8f68 .
WSJ: More on the federal challenge to the Texas abortion law: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-expected-to-file-suit-soon-challenging-texas-abortion-law-11631205764 .
US looks to remote warfare in the Middle East: https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-dubai-united-arab-emirates-bahrain-fe5517a7979e037ae6e266b885cc7719 . Gee, what could go wrong here? An armed drone race with China will not have a good outcome for either side.
Proud Boys arrange the deck chairs: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-proud-boys-leader-urged-group-not-turn-each-other-riot-probe-2021-09-09/ . I have houseplants smarter than this guy. Recall that he has the reputation as a “prolific informer” for law enforcement.
Florida judge blocks DeMentis anti-riot law: https://news.yahoo.com/federal-judge-blocks-floridas-anti-185647569.html . Ron’s not much of a lawyer, either.
More evidence that Orange Julius’ involvement in the 2022 election has significant risks for the GOP: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/571320-senate-candidate-reveals-trump-endorsed-primary-rivals-wife-sought . These competitions mean that well-funded Republican candidates will fund and publicize opposition research. Historically, this has weakened the eventual primary winner in the general election. In this particular case, there is a pattern of conduct for which OJ’s choice has no answer.
WSJ: Why is anyone doing business with Wells Fargo?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wells-fargo-fined-250-million-for-problems-in-its-mortgage-business-11631223671 . How is repeated, widespread customer abuse a business model? Is the idea of the stagecoach not-so-subtly advertising that passengers get held up periodically?