�������ýҕ�l

You see it everywhere here in Germany, day in and day out: People taking the subway or bus or train put masks on as they prepare to board. And when they arrive at their stop or station and disembark, nearly all of them take the mask off, almost in unison. For someone who arrived here after spending the first year and a quarter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, it is a remarkable sight: a communal, matter-of-fact approach to mitigation, turning what has become such an intensely charged symbol for Americans into a mere practicality. (Alex MacGillis, 10/12)

A man recently brought his elderly mother to my hospital – she was very ill with sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It took significant effort to save her life, involving ventilators, large IVs in the neck and extended rounds of powerful antibiotics. Her son told us she had been suffering with a bad urinary tract infection for a week before coming. It was easily treatable at that point, but because he waited, it spread to the blood. He said he was afraid to bring her into the hospital earlier, because he feared we would force the COVID-19 vaccination on her. (Dr. Thomas K. Lew, 10/13)

If the goal of policymakers was to warm the public to the COVID vaccines, it is hard to imagine a worse strategy than insulting the vaccine-resistant population while forcing mandates onto their employers. I know a lot of people who have made the journey from outright resistance to hesitancy to ambivalence to grudgingly (or not so grudgingly) getting the shot. I am always glad to share my own vaccinated status as a persuasive factor, free of side effects and replete with maskless benefits. I have also had plenty of conversations with those who show no intent of making that journey. (Mark Davis, 10/13)

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s supposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff in California public schools had some obvious holes from the start. And the gap between “mandate” and “do what you want” grows wider with time, to the extent that it’s unclear the new requirement will accomplish anything. To begin with, under Newsom’s mandate students would not be required to get a shot until the school term after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to a vaccine for their age group. Yet kids 16 and older have that approval now for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; why not begin the process for them at this moment? It makes little sense to wait. Put parents on notice now that the mandates will be coming as soon full FDA approval is in place. (10/12)

On the road to normalcy, the world must assemble a mixed toolbox for combating the pandemic. The most powerful instruments are the vaccines that protect against infection. But others include therapies that can tamp down sickness and save lives. The application for an emergency-use authorization for a new oral antiviral drug is a welcome sign that these additional tools are coming. (10/12)