Different Takes: PCPs Vital In Vaccination Effort; Employers Have Authority To Mandate Vaccination
Opinion writers explore these covid and vaccine topics.
Modern Healthcare:
Primary Care Will Play Crucial Role In Getting Vaccination Efforts Across The Finish Line
As a country, we have made outstanding progress on the national vaccination effort. The U.S. has crossed over 330 million shots. More than two-thirds of adult Americans have at least one shot, and 58% are fully vaccinated. The strides we have made are a testament to the hard work and collaboration across the public, private and healthcare sectors. (Dr. Bechara Choucair, 7/20)
Bloomberg:
Vaccine Mandates Protect People And Speed The Pandemic Recovery
In much of America, vaccine hesitancy has turned into vaccine defiance. Several states have banned or are considering banning demands by businesses that people show proof of vaccination. Tennessee — where only 38% of adults are fully inoculated and the Covid-19 caseload is growing fast — has gone so far as to cancel public schools’ efforts to encourage eligible children to get their shots (including flu shots). For good measure, the state has fired its medical director for vaccine programs. These actions make it harder to protect the public from Covid-19 as the highly infectious delta variant spreads. States should instead be issuing their own vaccine passports, and requiring health-care workers to be vaccinated — as President Emmanuel Macron has done in France. President Joe Biden should go beyond cajoling the vaccine-hesitant and call on hospitals and nursing homes across the U.S. to insist that their employees get their shots. (7/20)
The Atlantic:
Suddenly, Conservatives Care About Vaccines
“Just like we’ve been saying, please take COVID seriously. Enough people have died. We don’t need any more deaths. Research like crazy. Talk to your doctor,” Fox News’s Sean Hannity said last night. “It absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated.”Hannity’s “just like we’ve been saying” is doing a lot of work. He reportedly called the pandemic a “hoax” early on, and his colleague Tucker Carlson continues to cast doubt on vaccines, including on yesterday’s program. But Hannity is not alone now. His statement comes as several other major conservatives are speaking up too. (David A. Graham, 7/21)
CNN:
One Way To Stop The Dangerous Spread Of Vaccine Myths
On Tuesday, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the Biden administration is reviewing whether social media companies should be held legally accountable for the spread of misinformation on their sites by changing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects their ability to moderate users' content. This statement comes at a time when misinformation -- especially about Covid-19 vaccines -- is spurring both public outcry and the belief among many that social media companies should be more aggressive in their efforts to fight back. (Kara Alaimo, 7/20)
Chicago Tribune:
Unvaccinated? We Think You Should Look Anew At The Delta Variant Data.
These many pandemic-rattled months, the Tribune Editorial Board has argued many times that the residents of Illinois should shoot off to their vaccination appointments, ideally faster than Jeff Bezos’ rocket ship. Most wise Illinois heads have quietly read the efficacy data of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, assessed the risks to self, family and community, and done precisely that. No need for any governmental admonition nor lottery prize. According to public health officials, around half the state’s population is fully vaccinated. (8/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Why Face Mask Mandates For All Should Be Back On The Table
Last week, nearly every state in the U.S. experienced an increase in daily coronavirus cases. Driven by the Delta variant, this rise and an accompanying increase in hospitalizations have sparked a debate about returning to indoor mask mandates for all, regardless of vaccination status. Los Angeles County announced Thursday that face masks will be required indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and the state of Hawaii has maintained a similar requirement amid rising cases. However, officials in both New York City and Chicago recently rejected the idea of a new universal indoor mask mandate. (Peter K. Enns and Jake Rothschild, 7/20)
Houston Chronicle:
Masks Back On. Deadly New COVID Variant Means This Isn't Over.
We know. You are so done with this pandemic. And many of you can honestly say you’ve done everything you can, as a responsible citizen, as a parent, as a good neighbor, to stop the COVID curse from spreading. You wore your mask even though it itched. You kept your distance in grocery store lines. And when that vaccine came available, you called every drugstore to get on the list. (7/20)
The New York Times:
The Anti-Vaccine Movement Is Much Bigger Than Facebook
Late last week President Biden achieved something I’d thought impossible: He got me to feel bad for Mark Zuckerberg. Sure, it was only a little bad, but that’s no small feat. As I spent the weekend brushing up on funereal dirges to play on my tiny violin, I couldn’t help but marvel at the president’s rhetorical shoddiness regarding Facebook’s role in Americans’ refusal to get vaccinated, the most important obstacle to the nation’s full recovery from the pandemic. (Farhad Manjoo, 7/20)
