When the history of Biden’s presidency is written, it will be hard to determine which week was the most full of fail.
While the withdrawal disaster of Afghanistan is a strong contender, this week is competitive. The French have recalled their Ambassador after being “stabbed in the back” over a new US submarine contract with Australia. The USA military, due to poor or misleading intelligence, droned innocent civilians (including 7 children).
Now one of Biden’s 6 booster plan prongs has been nixed by an FDA panel.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel overwhelmingly voted Friday against giving Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots to most people on Friday, agreeing only to distribute them to people ages 65 and up as well as those at high risk of severe illness.The committee of outside experts was first asked whether a third shot of Pfizer’s vaccine would be safe and effective for everyone ages 16 and older. Members overwhelmingly voted against that recommendation, citing concerns about the level of evidence showing the boosters are safe for younger people.“We’re being asked to approve this as a three-dose vaccine for people 16 years of age and older, without any clear evidence if the third dose for a younger person when compared to an elderly person is of value,” said committee member Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Such feedback led to further debate among the committee members about specific age groups or populations that may be most appropriate for a third dose of vaccine.
The vote was not even close.
The panel did unanimously agree to recommend boosters for those 65 years old and older.
…[I]in an 18-0 vote, it endorsed the extra shot for select portions of the U.S. population — namely, those most at risk from the virus.That would help salvage part of the White House’s campaign but would still be a huge step back from the huge plan proposed by administration a month ago to offer booster shots of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to nearly all Americans eight months after they get their second dose.Friday’s vote was just the first step. The FDA itself is expected to make a decision on boosters in the next few days, though it usually follows the committee’s recommendations.
The move follows challenges to Biden’s booster proposal from FDA officials, two of whom had resigned as a result with the disagreement with Team Biden.
There is something to consider in the timing of Biden’s press to have the booster. He, clearly, needs a win and needs it badly.
As I have noted previously, COVID cases will come in waves and each wave seems to have a 8-week cycle. We appear to be coming off the Delta variant cycle.
Covid-19 case counts in the U.S. are showing signs of easing off their latest highs but remain elevated as the country heads into the fall season and colder weather.The seven-day average of daily Covid cases is about 144,300 as of Sept. 12, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That figure is down 12% over the past week and 14% from the most-recent peak in case counts on Sept. 1, when the country was reporting an average of roughly 167,600 cases per day.
If wide distribution of the booster had occurred, corresponding with the wave decline, what are the chances Biden wouldn’t have claimed credit for it? Infinitesimally small, I would say.
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