Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #112

[Inthedetails]

This is worth reading

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership is “unlike anything our country has ever experienced,” nine former directors and acting directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in a scathing guest essay Monday for The New York Times.

The piece — which appeared online under the headline “We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health” — came days after President Donald Trump fired CDC director Susan Monarez. Through her lawyers, Monarez has maintained she refused to sign off on reckless and unscientific orders.

Former CDC directors cast RFK Jr. as 'dangerous' in New York Times guest essay

The essay, signed by nine former directors and acting directors, comes amid a crisis surrounding President Donald Trump's firing last week of director Susan Monarez.

www.nbcnews.com

President Trump has called on pharmaceutical companies to justify the success of drugs and vaccines used to fight COVID-19. Trump himself hailed the vaccines as a "modern-day miracle" back in 2020....

As Trump posted about vaccines this morning, several former CDC leaders from both Republican and Democratic administrations published an op-ed in The New York Times. In it, they expressed serious concern that Kennedy and his policies are endangering the health of Americans.

https://www.npr.org/2025/09/01/nx-s1-5524911/trump-questions-covid-19-vaccines

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

We received a postcard from Meijer pharmacy today indicating that appointments are now available for flu and Covid shots. We'll do flu shots sometime this month but hold off on Covid injections until November.

 

[Gemmie]

We received a postcard from Meijer pharmacy today indicating that appointments are now available for flu and Covid shots. We'll do flu shots sometime this month but hold off on Covid injections until November.

I called my Fred Meyer today (Kroger) to ask why their online scheduling tool was saying "Service Unavailable
Your selected service is unavailable here. Please try another location."

The guy said that they are waiting on a decision from the CDC on who gets the Covid vaccine. Odd that CVS is taking reservations for the new 2025/2026 vaccine (or so they say).

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I queried both my local pharmacies via facebook asking about the updated COVID vaccine and whether it would be available "to anyone who wants it". They both replied saying they have placed their order, implying they haven't received the vaccine doses yet.

One of them said it would be available "to anyone who can receive it" which suggests they might make recipients who aren't age 65+ declare they are at high risk (which I will have no problem stating, because we are ALL at high risk from this virus...)

The other said as soon as the vaccine arrives "it will be made available to the public" which sounds even more encouraging. I'll be watching for their announcements that the doses have arrived and will get it as soon as possible after that.

 

[Gemmie]

I queried both my local pharmacies via facebook asking about the updated COVID vaccine and whether it would be available "to anyone who wants it".

SBMFF

That's pretty much what CVS told me. 65+ or anyone 12-64 if they had underlying conditions. He said they'd have to answer Yes, but didn't need proof of what the underlying condition is.

 

[charminglane]

SBMFF

That's pretty much what CVS told me. 65+ or anyone 12-64 if they had underlying conditions. He said they'd have to answer Yes, but didn't need proof of what the underlying condition is.

That's what I wanted to hear.
They did ask on the online questionnaire for CVS.
I'm front-facing staff at work--protect me!

 

[IceIce9]

Our Meijer pharmacy has been advertising flu vaccinations for the past week or so. But no COVID vaccinations yet.

 

[Sundog]

I called my Fred Meyer today (Kroger) to ask why their online scheduling tool was saying "Service Unavailable
Your selected service is unavailable here. Please try another location."

The guy said that they are waiting on a decision from the CDC on who gets the Covid vaccine. Odd that CVS is taking reservations for the new 2025/2026 vaccine (or so they say).

I talked to the pharmacist at our local Kroger today and she told me that they were told just today that the order was ready to be shipped (of the new covid vaccine) but that they were holding it until the CDC makes their decision on who is eligible for it. She said it's hard to know when that decision will be made, but they are anticipating that they will receive the order by mid - to late September. She suggested calling back sometime next week.

 

[Lilibet]

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” said her lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell.

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has been a controversial figure to lead the country’s health agencies. He has cut $500 million in contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines, drawing sharp criticism from the scientific community and former government officials, and under his guidance, HHS has made a number of vaccine policy decisions that limit access to vaccines or call vaccine safety into question in recent weeks.

CDC director Susan Monarez fired by Trump administration after refusing to resign

Monarez’s lawyers said she “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives.” The White House responded that she was “not aligned with the President’s agenda.”

www.nbcnews.com

I discuss vaccinations with my physician.

And who is allowing Kennedy to make all these anti-vaccine decisions? I think we know. Cabinet members can be fired by the president.

 

[sds71]

DeSantis and Ladapo to ‘end all vaccine mandates in Florida law’

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the move in Hillsborough on Wednesday.

www.tampabay.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Florida surgeon general says state will eliminate all vaccine mandates

"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Dr. Joseph Ladapo said. "Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?"

www.nbcnews.com

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Wednesday that the state will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates.

“All of them. All of them,” he said during a news conference as the crowd stood and erupted in applause. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery." He said the Florida Department of Health will work in partnership with the governor.

He said forcing vaccine mandates is “wrong” and “immoral.”...

Making America healthy again?

 

[Inthedetails]

Florida surgeon general says state will eliminate all vaccine mandates

"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Dr. Joseph Ladapo said. "Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?"

www.nbcnews.com

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Wednesday that the state will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates.

“All of them. All of them,” he said during a news conference as the crowd stood and erupted in applause. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery." He said the Florida Department of Health will work in partnership with the governor.

He said forcing vaccine mandates is “wrong” and “immoral.”...

Making America healthy again?

All vaccines?!

Whoa.

Not good.

I hope this isn't a step toward making vaccines unavailable completely.

jmopinion

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

All vaccines?!

Whoa.

Not good.

I hope this isn't a step toward making vaccines unavailable completely.

jmopinion

With RFK, Jr. at the helm of HHS, I think this is the direction things are headed. Vaccines won't necessarily be completely unavailable but likely more difficult to access. Insurance companies might decide not to cover vaccinations, and there probably won't be federal funding for those who can't afford to go to a doctor's office for the shots. JMO

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Kennedy wants to limit CDC’s role to infectious diseases

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the direction he has taken the public health agency in, saying he will restore trust.

www.nbcnews.com

A day after nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s actions at the agency are “unlike anything our country has ever experienced,” he pushed back in a Wall Street Journal editorial.

The CDC “was once the world’s most trusted guardian of public health,” Kennedy wrote Tuesday. “Its mission — protecting Americans from infectious disease — was clear and noble. But over the decades, bureaucratic inertia, politicized science and mission creep have corroded that purpose and squandered public trust.”

He argues the agency should return to its original focus on infectious diseases, shifting away from efforts to improve public health by moving programs focused on chronic disease like diabetes or heart disease away from the CDC.

He described the nation’s response to the pandemic as a “failure,” saying public health officials prioritized “cloth masks on toddlers, arbitrary 6-foot distancing, boosters for healthy children, prolonged school closings, economy-crushing lockdowns, and the suppression of low-cost therapeutics in favor of experimental and ineffective drugs.”

“The CDC must restore public trust — and that restoration has begun,” he wrote...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Key GOP senator declines to elaborate on planned 'oversight' of RFK Jr. after CDC exodus

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he is "reserving judgment," while other Republicans expressed skepticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s job as HHS secretary following a recent CDC shake-up.

www.nbcnews.com

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chair of the health committee, is holding his cards close to the vest, declining to elaborate after he said he will conduct “oversight” of the country's top health official and a recent shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cassidy, a doctor who has been supportive of vaccines, is in a delicate position as the top Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee who provided a pivotal vote to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he secured assurances about vaccines. Cassidy is also running for re-election next year.

Cassidy declined Tuesday to say whether he regrets his vote for Kennedy or whether he has confidence in him after Kennedy triggered CDC Director Susan Monarez's removal, leading to a spate of resignations by top CDC employees who accused Kennedy of undermining an influential vaccine committee...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

West Coast states band together to provide vaccine recommendation after RFK Jr. replaces CDC panel

The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced a public health alliance to "ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics."

www.nbcnews.com

Three West Coast states are forming a public health alliance to provide "credible information" on vaccine safety in response to the turmoil within the Trump administration.

This announcement heralds a shift from the federal vaccine recommendation system that has been in place for decades to a patchwork structure that varies from state to state.

The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced Wednesday that they were working to provide unified recommendations to "ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics." The action comes after months of upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the termination of the agency's director last week...

 

[Sundog]

Kennedy wants to limit CDC’s role to infectious diseases

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the direction he has taken the public health agency in, saying he will restore trust.

www.nbcnews.com

A day after nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s actions at the agency are “unlike anything our country has ever experienced,” he pushed back in a Wall Street Journal editorial.

The CDC “was once the world’s most trusted guardian of public health,” Kennedy wrote Tuesday. “Its mission — protecting Americans from infectious disease — was clear and noble. But over the decades, bureaucratic inertia, politicized science and mission creep have corroded that purpose and squandered public trust.”

He argues the agency should return to its original focus on infectious diseases, shifting away from efforts to improve public health by moving programs focused on chronic disease like diabetes or heart disease away from the CDC.

He described the nation’s response to the pandemic as a “failure,” saying public health officials prioritized “cloth masks on toddlers, arbitrary 6-foot distancing, boosters for healthy children, prolonged school closings, economy-crushing lockdowns, and the suppression of low-cost therapeutics in favor of experimental and ineffective drugs.”

“The CDC must restore public trust — and that restoration has begun,” he wrote...t

These are good points and legitimate concerns about how the CDC managed the Covid years, but going totally in the other direction is not good, either.

 

[Inthedetails]

West Coast states band together to provide vaccine recommendation after RFK Jr. replaces CDC panel

The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced a public health alliance to "ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics."

www.nbcnews.com

Three West Coast states are forming a public health alliance to provide "credible information" on vaccine safety in response to the turmoil within the Trump administration.

This announcement heralds a shift from the federal vaccine recommendation system that has been in place for decades to a patchwork structure that varies from state to state.

The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced Wednesday that they were working to provide unified recommendations to "ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics." The action comes after months of upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the termination of the agency's director last week...

I hope other states join in.

jmo

 

[sds71]

In anticipation of federal restrictions on COVID booster shots, Governor Maura Healey on Wednesday essentially wrote a prescription for COVID boosters for every person in the state over the age of 5.

The standing order authorized pharmacists to administer four different types of booster shots and overruled in Massachusetts an FDA approval that limited use of the boosters to people over the age of 65 and those with medical conditions that put them at high risk of severe COVID infections.

Healey’s order is the latest in an ongoing process meant to give Massachusetts independence from federal health guidelines, which many local and national experts now consider unreliable. The governor has submitted to the legislature two proposals that would give the state health commissioner more authority to ensure access to vaccines for children.

Healey counters FDA, makes COVID boosters widely available in Mass. - The Boston Globe

Healey essentially wrote a prescription for COVID boosters for every person in the state over the age of 5.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Inthedetails]

In anticipation of federal restrictions on COVID booster shots, Governor Maura Healey on Wednesday essentially wrote a prescription for COVID boosters for every person in the state over the age of 5.

The standing order authorized pharmacists to administer four different types of booster shots and overruled in Massachusetts an FDA approval that limited use of the boosters to people over the age of 65 and those with medical conditions that put them at high risk of severe COVID infections.

Healey’s order is the latest in an ongoing process meant to give Massachusetts independence from federal health guidelines, which many local and national experts now consider unreliable. The governor has submitted to the legislature two proposals that would give the state health commissioner more authority to ensure access to vaccines for children.

Healey counters FDA, makes COVID boosters widely available in Mass. - The Boston Globe

Healey essentially wrote a prescription for COVID boosters for every person in the state over the age of 5.

www.bostonglobe.com

Good. Let's hope this gets the ball rolling for other governors to follow suit.

jmopinion