Boosters For All Or Boosters For Some: FDA Set To Decide Strategy Today

Bloomberg: FDA Expected To Decide On Pfizer Covid Vaccine Booster Shots On Wednesday
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide as soon as Wednesday on a recommendation for Covid-19 boosters made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, two people familiar with the matter said, the latest step in a process that could open the door to extra shots in the coming days. The agency’s decision would tee up consideration by an advisory panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday and Thursday to discuss boosters. (Wingrove and Langreth, 9/21)

CNBC: Dr. Scott Gottlieb Weighs In On Pfizer's Covid Booster Approval Process
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC he anticipates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon offer greater clarity on who will be eligible for Covid booster doses. Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member, elaborated on the FDA and CDC’s booster approval process during an interview Tuesday on “The News with Shepard Smith.” The FDA could make a formal decision on Pfizer’s boosters before the CDC begins a two-day series of meetings on third doses Wednesday and Thursday, where Gottlieb said health officials may expand upon the FDA’s direction. (Towey, 9/21)

Philadelphia Inquirer: COVID-19 Booster Shots Coming Soon To Pa. And N.J. For Eligible Groups
Suzie Oswald, an emergency medical technician, has been ready for her coronavirus booster shot since last month, when she first heard the Biden administration discuss its plan for a broad rollout. While the ensuing mixed messages from federal officials on the need for boosters have left the 39-year-old Jenkintown resident with questions, she said she is still ready to roll up her sleeve. “I’m a little confused, only because it seems they’re not sure how long the vaccines are working for,” she said. “But for me, if it’s going to protect me longer, I’m all for it.” (McCarthy, 9/21)

In other news about the vaccine rollout —

Bloomberg: U.S. Racial Vaccine Gaps Are Bigger Than We Thought
The White vaccination rate is not as bad as it had seemed, and Hispanic communities are lagging more than previously thought. Updated city and state population figures from the 2020 U.S. Census released last month gave a clearer picture of the country’s racial and ethnic makeup. In every state, the White-only share of population was smaller than projected, and, as a result, a larger percentage of White people in many places have received shots than previously reported. As of this month, around 30 states have vaccinated a majority of their White populations with at least one dose, according to new calculations by Bloomberg using the 2020 Census data. Florida saw the biggest jump, with an increase of almost 14 percentage points among White people. (Tartar, 9/21)

CNN: 'Funeral Home' Ad Spreads Message For The Unvaccinated 
The truck had the name of a funeral home on it. But instead of a soothing thought that might double as a company slogan, the message on the side read: "Don't get vaccinated." The black truck advertising for "Wilmore Funeral Home" delivered that blunt and unexpected message on Sunday to football fans in downtown Charlotte as they headed to watch the Carolina Panthers play the New Orleans Saints. (Ebrahimji, 9/21)

Houston Chronicle: Dr. Hasan Gokal, Cleared Of Vaccine Theft Charge, Sues Harris County For Racial Discrimination
When Dr. Hasan Gokal was fired by Harris County Public Health a week after he drove around his Sugar Land community to administer 10 leftover doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine, he was stunned by the termination. Gokal, who oversaw a Humble vaccination site on Dec. 29, said the county had not yet established wait lists or protocols for leftover doses. After staff on site declined the shots, he took the vial home and called his phone contacts, hoping to line up 10 elderly or immunocompromised people before the doses expired at midnight. (Zong, 9/21)

The Washington Post: His Dad Died Of Covid Last Year. On His 12th Birthday, His Only Wish Was To Get Vaccinated.
Gavin Roberts didn’t want a big party, the newest gaming console or sports gear for his birthday this year. Instead, the soon-to-be 12-year-old wanted something free that he had waited over a year to get: protection from the virus that killed his dad. The wait was over on Sunday. At 10:10 a.m., 20 minutes before he was scheduled to get his first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, Alice Roberts and her son, Gavin, arrived at a pharmacy miles from their Glen Ridge, N.J., home. The preteen was so set on getting the vaccine on his birthday that his mom said he asked to be driven to a pharmacy farther from their home rather than waiting for one closer by to open on Monday. (Salcedo, 9/21)

Misinformation continues to spread unabated —

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Clark County Declares COVID Falsehoods A Health Crisis
A majority of the Clark County Commission took a formal stand Tuesday against COVID-19 misinformation, declaring it a public health crisis amid concerns from other lawmakers that doing so might agitate a deep division within Southern Nevada. The 5-2 vote made the county one of few jurisdictions in the U.S. to label falsehoods related to COVID-19 — often rooted in an extreme mistrust of the government — a crisis that has prolonged the pandemic by undermining efforts to combat spread of the disease. “It’s important for our governing board to declare health misinformation as a public health crisis and commit to doing all we can to combat the falsehoods that continue to jeopardize the lives of our citizens,” Commissioner Justin Jones, who proposed the resolution, said in a statement immediately following the vote. (Johnson, 9/21)

AP: Hawaii Anti-Vaccine Leader Has Regrets After Getting COVID
A man who helped organize a Hawaii group that opposes COVID-19 vaccines and mandates says he contracted the disease and now has regrets. Chris Wikoff told Hawaii News Now this week that he helped start the Aloha Freedom Coalition last October. He said he believed government shutdowns and mandates were threatening liberties and harming businesses. ... But then he and his wife contracted COVID-19. “We were told the COVID virus was not that deadly. It was nothing more than a little flu. I can tell you it’s more than a little flu,” he said. (9/22)

KHN: Will ‘Dr. Disinformation’ Ever Face The Music?
Earlier this month, Dr. Rashid Buttar posted on Twitter that covid-19 “was a planned operation” and shared an article alleging that most people who got the covid vaccine would be dead by 2025. His statement is a recent example in what has been a steady stream of spurious claims surrounding the covid vaccines and treatments that swirl around the public consciousness. Others include testimony in June by Dr. Sherri Jane Tenpenny before Ohio state legislators that the vaccine could cause people to become magnetized. Clips from the hearing went viral on the internet. On April 9, 2020, Dr. Joseph Mercola posted a video titled “Could hydrogen peroxide treat coronavirus?” which was shared more than 4,600 times. In the video, Mercola said inhaling hydrogen peroxide through a nebulizer could prevent or cure covid. (Knight, 9/22)