COVID Today: Boosters And Supply Chain

Despite what you might think from posts, I’m very much pro-vaccine. I’m anti-mandate. I got the vaccine the minute I was eligible to protect myself. And I will get the booster to continue protecting myself, so, this is good news, as I’d like something different from Pfizer if possible

Pick any vaccine: CDC OKs COVID boosters – even mixing and matching – beginning as soon as Friday

Americans are now free to get a free booster dose of all three COVID-19 vaccines, and can even choose to mix and match their vaccines, after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on new recommendations Thursday night.

At the same time, CDC recommended boosters for certain people who got Moderna vaccine and all 15 million Americans who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Clinics, doctors and pharmacies can begin giving boosters as soon as Friday.

“The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe – as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, said in a statement.

Pfizer seems low at 88.8% effectiveness, so, perhaps a Moderna, if they have it in my area. I’m going to check with Wake County next week, see what’s possible. Lest people go “I thought all it would take was the 1 or 2 shots required, depending on vaccine? No? It doesn’t work?”, many vaccines require more than 1 to 2 shots. Smallpox is like 5 shots over a period of time, and then you are virtually 100% safe.

Get the vaccine because it protects you.

Oh, then there’s

Biden’s vaccine mandate has cargo giants in a pre-holiday panic

A trade group for air cargo giants like UPS and FedEx is sounding the alarm over an impending Dec. 8 vaccine deadline imposed by President Joe Biden, complaining it threatens to wreak havoc at the busiest time of the year — and add yet another kink to the supply chain.

“We have significant concerns with the employer mandates announced on Sept. 9, 2021, and the ability of industry members to implement the required employee vaccinations by Dec. 8, 2021,” Stephen Alterman, president of the Cargo Airline Association, wrote in a letter sent the Biden administration and obtained by POLITICO.

The letter, sent to the Office of Management and Budget , asks the administration to postpone the deadline until “the first half of 2022.” At issue is the requirement by the Biden administration that federal workers be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8. Unlike private businesses, companies that act as federal contractors cannot opt out by instead submitting their workforces to frequent Covid testing.

So, great, Let’s Go Brandon is going to make the supply chain issues even worse. It also goes to show that the federal government is way, way, way to involved in the economy and the workforce.