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This month, President Biden announced a comprehensive plan to reinvigorate America’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. A big part of this plan hinges on mandating the vaccination of millions of federal workers. Employees of companies with more than 100 staff members will have to provide proof of vaccination or test negative for the coronavirus at least once a week. The businesses and other institutions that must enforce these mandates will have to verify vaccination status and test results to make this system work. (Tom Frieden, 9/21)

Suddenly, a lot of Americans are getting that old-time religion. With more cities, schools and universities, and businesses enacting vaccine mandates, some trying to avoid getting vaccinated are claiming religious exemptions. Federal civil rights law states that companies must recognize “sincerely held” religious beliefs. But something doesn’t add up about this Great Awakening. After all, no major denomination has forbidden any of the COVID-19 vaccinations. (9/21)

What is a COVID-19 vaccine mandate worth if it includes exemptions for “sincerely held religious beliefs”? Very little, if anything at all. If the definition of religious beliefs were contained to major, established religions, there would basically be no exemptions because no major religion bans vaccination against COVID-19 or other diseases. In fact, leaders of many large congregations have been telling their flocks during the pandemic, “Don’t look to me for a religious excuse.” (9/20)

A lot of kids have been getting Covid-19 in the U.S. this summer, thanks to the more-transmissible delta variant, the full return to in-person schooling and the unvaccinated status of virtually every American under 12. Those under 18 accounted for 28.9% of reported Covid cases in the first week of September, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than their 22.2% share of the population and much more than their 15.5% share of cumulative cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (Justin Fox, 9/19)

Unvaccinated children are now among the groups at highest risk of catching COVID because older Americans are mostly shielded by vaccines, and some evidence suggests the delta variant spreads more readily among the under-18s than other variants, said Dr. Inci Yildirim, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Yale School of Medicine. She is working on a COVID vaccine for children. Madsen agreed to be named in this column in the hope his experience would inform those who are unfortunate enough to follow in his footsteps. (Rob Curran, 9/21)

With recent spikes in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country — including in children — the Delta variant has dramatically changed the country’s back-to-school risk calculus. Fearing outbreaks, many schools are scrambling to adjust their reopening plans. Discussions about school safety have largely focused on mitigation measures like improving ventilation and requiring students and staff to wear masks and get vaccinated. Some have also noted the value of routine school-wide testing of students and staff for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, to detect infections early and prevent transmission. (Alyssa Bilinski and Joshua A. Salomon, 9/21)

Keeping schools open is of paramount importance, but we are approaching it the wrong way, targeting the wrong groups, prioritizing the wrong tools. Too much attention is being paid to masks in the news media and by politicians on both sides of the issue. Although a proper fitting surgical or KN95, or especially an N95, have a distinct value in the fight against a highly transmissible respiratory virus, a mask is of limited value especially if it is the wrong kind of mask or isn’t worn properly, as is frequently the case with young children. (Marc Siegel, 9/21)