Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Vaccine Mandates Are Constitutional; Do Vaccines Provide Better Protection Than Infection?
Los Angeles Daily News: A COVID Vaccine Mandate Would Pass Constitutional Muster
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an anti-COVID measure. The reasoning of the court’s opinion, however, would support the CDC if it imposed a vaccine mandate. So also would settled law regarding the states’ authority over public health. There are many vaccine mandates already in force in America. (Tom Campbell, 9/5)
Bloomberg: Vaccines Versus Covid-19: The Great Immunity Debate
People who don’t want to get vaccinated will grasp at any new piece of information to justify their reluctance — the latest being some pretty good data suggesting that the natural immunity left after recovering from Covid-19 is stronger over the long run than immunity generated by the Pfizer vaccine. It’s a finding that’s worth taking seriously — several scientists sent the study to me or mentioned it, and a number of others noted its importance in a news story in Science Magazine. (Faye Flam, 9/7)
USA Today: Vaccine? What Happened When Identical Twins Got COVID?
Bobby and Billy Ford hung out together even before they were born one after the other Jan. 21, 1962. The identical twins were inseparable as youngsters growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia, where their father started an auto repair shop after fixing helicopters for 20-plus years in the Army. They worked in the shop, but also were together in the outdoors, playing football and enjoying all the perks associated with Colonial Williamsburg and a mom who worked at nearby Busch Gardens. (Laurence Reisman, 9/6)
NBC News: Back To School At A College Without Covid Mask Or Vaccine Mandates
When I walked into my first class of the fall semester at the end of last month, my eyes welled up with tears. “Oh, my. Hi, everyone!” I said, as my voice broke, overcome by emotion to see my students in-person together, ready to learn, for the first time in a year and a half. But my joy was tempered by an extra variable: fear laced with uncertainty. As I return to in-person classes, there are no mask or vaccine requirements at my university nor in the city or state where I live. I now carry a grave responsibility for not only my students’ learning and professional development, but also for their safety and, potentially, their lives. (Emily Contois, 9/7)
East Bay Times: Vaccine Diplomacy Isn’t Working. It’s Time For A New Approach
COVID-19 vaccines were supposed to be a golden diplomatic opportunity for great powers and aspiring rivals to woo friends — and even enemies — in need. It isn’t going to plan. Russia was the first to approve a vaccine and the most enthusiastic marketer, but has fallen far short of its hyperbolic delivery promises. China has done a better job of stepping up, but is plagued by questions over the relatively lower efficacy of its shots — even if they appear to hold up against more troublesome variants. Western countries, meanwhile, were providing far too little even before the current scramble to secure booster doses began. And neither scattered bilateral efforts nor unimpressive global ones are translating into real geopolitical influence. (Clara Ferreira Marques, 9/7)
