Perspectives: Ways To Persuade The Vaccine-Hesitant; New England’s Success With Data-Driven Mask Policies

Dallas Morning News: Mocking Vaccine Resisters Isn’t Helping
You’ve likely seen the headlines about COVID-19 killing radio hosts and activists who opposed vaccines and masks. Several of those headlines were about Caleb Wallace, a Texan who helped organize a “freedom rally” this summer to protest mask-wearing. Some corners of the internet reacted with ridicule to news of his death last month, sparing no thought to Wallace’s grieving wife and daughters. It’s important that we all resist the impulse to scream, “I told you so!” Yes, it’s maddening to find ourselves swept up in yet another wave of COVID-19 cases eight months into the rollout of vaccines that should have ended this pandemic by now. But every death is a tragedy and should be treated as such. (9/10)

USA Today: Use Data, Masks To Manage COVID As Vaccinated Regions See Cases Climb
The six New England states lead the country in achieving high vaccine coverage that reduce the severity of COVID-19. Unfortunately, rapidly growing cases and hospitalizations in New England show high levels of vaccination alone will not control the spread of delta, a COVID-19 variant that is more transmissible among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. As schools reopen and many workers return to offices, New England has seen a 700% rise in COVID-19 hospital admissions and a 1900% rise in cases since early July. The surge threatens economic recovery and has already started to close schools in the region. (Julia Raifman, Anne Sosin, Gregg Gonsalves, Brandon D. L. Marshall, Elizabeth Samuels and Tania D. Strout, 9/9)

The New York Times: Are Covid Booster Shots Really Necessary? 
Starting Sept. 20, millions of Americans who received their second shot of either of the mRNA coronavirus vaccines at least eight months ago are supposed to become eligible for a third dose. But America’s nascent booster campaign has a problem: When the Biden administration announced it last month, the idea of offering third doses hadn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration — and it still hasn’t. The timing of the decision drew criticism from some scientists and accusations of vaccine hoarding from the World Health Organization, whose director said booster programs “make a mockery of vaccine equity.” (Spencer Bokat-Lindell, 9/9)

Houston Chronicle: I Got My Coronavirus Booster Early. It Was Infuriatingly Easy
I recently received a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. I am not immunocompromised. I do not have any conditions that would put me at higher risk if I were to get COVID-19. I do not live in a nursing home or work in a health care setting. I am not, in any way imaginable, an ideal candidate for receiving a booster dose now. Though the Biden administration initially anticipated making booster shots available to the general public by Sept. 20, eight months after people received their initial doses, that plan has been delayed as health agencies review safety data. (Rachel Fairbank, 9/13)

The Washington Post: Biden’s Six-Step Covid Strategy Does Not Go Far Enough To Compel Vaccinations 
President Biden’s much-hyped new strategy for fighting covid-19 is a tepid half-measure that falls short of the dramatic reset the country needs. The six-pronged strategy announced on Thursday can be summarized as “more of the same” — these are good steps in the right direction, but they’re not enough to get the job done. (Leana S. Wen, 9/9)

The New York Times: Biden's Vaccine Mandate, Enforced By OSHA, Is A Big Mistake
There’s one person that President Biden desperately needs to consult about his new federal vaccine mandate: President-elect Biden. In December 2020, as the prospect of imminent mass vaccination against Covid-19 was finally becoming a reality, Mr. Biden leveled with the American people: He said he would not force anyone to get the jab. “No, I don’t think it should be mandatory,” he told reporters. “I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory.” (Robby Soave, 9/10)

The Boston Globe: The COVID Cavalry Has Arrived 
As the summer ends and fall begins, COVID-19 continues to thwart the celebrations we had all planned to mark the fading of the pandemic in the United States. Instead, anxiety and foreboding have become more common as we look ahead. And everyone is wondering: What’s next? President Biden’s new pandemic plan recognizes the urgency and challenges of this moment. Americans seem to have hit a wall on vaccinations, and the Delta variant is sending too many, almost all unvaccinated, to hospitals and deadly illness. Children are returning to schools, workers to their workplaces, and the air is starting to get a bit cooler, signaling that outdoor activities will become harder. It is understandable why so many Americans are feeling a sense of dread and worrying that we are returning to 2020, when the pandemic hit. (Ashish K Jha, 9/9)

Bloomberg: 12 Of Today’s Most Pressing Covid Questions Answered 
The race to tame Covid-19 has resulted in a wealth of research, new vaccines and promising treatments that hold out the promise of an end to the pandemic. But many questions remain. Here, Max Nisen and Sam Fazeli, who cover health care and the pharmaceutical industry for Bloomberg Opinion and Bloomberg Intelligence, discuss some of the most pressing ones. The dialog has been edited and condensed. (Sam Fazeli and Max Nisen, 9/9)