I keep seeing people say that if conservatives' don't get vaccinated, it's their own problem. That's not how it works. Every human body gives the virus a chance to mutate & thus a chance to become vaccine evasive. If this happens, it will be a problem for all of us.
It's not like scientists would have to start from Square 1. But they'd still have to figure out how to modify the vaccine, get approval, manufacture, & then distribute the vaccine. I'm not sure why kind of trial/safety data the FDA would require.
*what kind
To be clear, I'm not trying to fear-monger here. A variant becoming vaccine evasive is a possible event, but not necessarily a probable one. While there are mutations of concern, there is some good evidence that the vaccines create an adaptive immune response.
But the science is still out on a lot of this, including T/B cell memory (though the evidence there so far looks good). And different vaccines may be more/less robust. All that said, the longer COVID circulates globally & nationally, the worse shape we're all in.
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Noble Jeff Flake knew about this incident which, in and of itself, would make someone's appointment to the *Highest Court in The Land* somewhat questionable
There's been some chatter about whether Hunter Biden writing a book & selling art violates ethics rules/norms. Here are emails between the White House & the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) pertaining to Ivanka Trump's publication of a book while she was a WH employee
The OGE seemed primarily concerned that:
-Ivanka made the deal before employment at the WH
-That she should *not* promote the book as a WH employee & that she should make a public statement saying why
-That she should use a scripted response when asked to avoid promotion
In one case the OGE expressed concern when VOA network promoted the book. They checked with the White House & were reassured when told Ivanka knew nothing about the promotion.
There's a thirst for chaos and drama and a lack of any real interest in policy detail. Trump would have been exciting to cover if all you cared about was the former. But you should really also care about the latter. Also a fair amount of ageism.
Like, why is a white house reporter saying this, even off the record?
Was beating children for speaking their Native languages also part of the soul-saving process, or was that just limited to all of the murder and negligent homicide? theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-m…
Quick fact-check, here, as I try to suppress my nausea:
In 2021, I believe 3 sites have been discovered. At 1, 215 bodies of *children* have been found. At the 2 others, 751 & 182 bodies have been found, respectively, & could be a mixture of both children and adults.
Previously, a report in 2015 identified 3,200 Native children who had died at "residential schools" (concentration camps). reuters.com/world/americas…
Even if you do not have humanitarian impulses, you should be deeply invested in vaccinating the whole world. Every person is a possible vector for a new mutation. New mutations can translate into increased transmissibility, mortality, or, worst case: vaccine resistance
Data are still being collected on the new Lambda variant, but preliminary reports suggest it could be more deadly, more transmissible, &/or more resistant to vaccines. 1st case was noted in Peru in 12/20. It now accounts for 80% of cases in Peru & has spread to 30 countries