News for November 2 — Vaccines Available for Young Children

Vaccines available to young children: https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-kids-five-to-eleven-science-health-032f7ed4fa60a3c0e08ba418446cfe2b . CDC has signed off on the Pfizer COVID vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. Millions of doses have already been shipped: https://news.yahoo.com/operations-and-logistics-biden-administration-prepares-to-vaccinate-children-172205898.html . WSJ: Many parents will wait before vaccinating children: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-covid-19-vaccines-approach-for-young-kids-many-parents-plan-to-wait-11635863532 . The studies show results in young children which exceed those for older children. These people do not understand science. More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-advisers-to-discuss-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-for-young-children-11635845401 .

WSJ: Pfizer raises COVID vaccine sales forecast: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-ups-covid-19-vaccine-forecast-as-sales-more-than-double-11635853492 .

Military discipline for failure to vaccinate: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-11-02/how-the-military-is-handling-troops-who-refuse-coronavirus-vaccines .

US prisons short of staff due to COVID: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-texas-prisons-d367722492d903e9299fd66ea3518998 .

How Puerto Rico achieved highest US vaccination rate: https://time.com/6113069/puerto-rico-vaccination-rate-covid-19/ .

Experimental ALS drug starts FDA approval process: https://www.wsj.com/articles/experimental-als-drug-submitted-to-fda-for-approval-11635854400 .

CMS raises fines for hospitals failing to implement price transparency: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-raising-penalty-for-hospitals-that-dont-publish-prices-11635900197 . Still, a $2 million annual fine is “chump change” for a hospital system.

Medicare drug price negotiation deal reached: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pelosi-says-build-back-better-disputes-may-be-resolved-end-n1282989 . The deal only allows Medicare to negotiate on 10 expensive drugs, but finally this door will open. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-reach-deal-on-prescription-drug-pricing-schumer-says-11635879481 .

GOP wins Virginia governor’s race; NJ governor’s race very close: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/election-day-2021-results-virginia-governor-new-jersey/ . This link will likely update by the time you read this. Democrats will freak out over the Virginia loss, although McAuliffe made some major blunders. NJ should have been easy for Phil Murphy, but he’s slightly behind with 84% of the vote in at this writing. However, this may push Congressional Democrats to pass the reconciliation and infrastructure packages in the next two weeks.

The Rittenhouse trial opens: https://news.yahoo.com/prosecution-depicts-kyle-rittenhouse-as-tourist-agitator-in-murder-case-195836797.html . I’ve included this article for a specific reason. The media frequently repeats surprise at the judge’s instruction not to refer to the persons shot as victims. However, I saw an interview with another attorney who tries cases before this judge. The attorney said that the judge always issues this instruction. The judge believes the term can be prejudicial before a crime has been proven. That is a reasonable perspective.