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Winter is drawing in, Covid-19 cases are rebounding and European Union countries with middling vaccination rates are tightening the screws. What began as an arm-twist in July, when France’s Emmanuel Macron rolled out a mobile health pass to control access to leisure venues, has become a headlock. In Austria, where intensive-care wards are filling up and 64% of the population is fully vaccinated (below the EU average), the government is implementing new restrictions, including what’s effectively a lockdown for those refusing to get their remaining jabs. Latvia has banned unvaccinated lawmakers from parliament. (Lionel Laurent, 11/18)

Federal, state, and local vaccine mandates are being opposed by several high-profile groups, including firefighters, nurses, and corrections officers. Opposition of the latter to vaccine mandates highlights an illogical situation that has developed with little discussion: To date, neither the federal government nor any state or municipality has officially mandated the jab for their incarcerated populations. That doesn’t make sense: Prisoners, who are at higher risk for infection and death than corrections officers, aren’t required to get vaccinated while corrections officers, who are at lower risk, are being told they must get vaccinated. (Chandra Bozelko, 11/18)

The muddled messaging from U.S. church authorities creates confusion and has given license to Catholics to refuse to get the shots, increasing the likelihood of illness, death and Covid spread. From June through September, vaccines could have saved an estimated 90,000 lives in the U.S. (Celia Viggo Wexler, 11/17)

The Funari family of Olathe planned a big outing last week — to a Walgreens to get the two young sons vaccinated for COVID-19. The boys even got to miss some school for it. “Honestly, this is the one thing we’ve been waiting for. For us, this is the end of the pandemic, when we get our boys vaccinated. Our lives come back to normal,” said dad Anthony Funari. But as they walked into the store at 151st Street and Black Bob Road in Olathe they saw a sign that said the pharmacy was closed. It’s a scene playing out at other pharmacies here and around the country, with vaccine appointments out the window and patients struggling to get urgent prescriptions filled. (Lisa Gutierrez, 11/17)

Another Covid winter looms, but this moment of the pandemic feels hopeful. At age 87, I’m becoming reacquainted with the social life I had put on pause for many months. I’m going out to restaurants and museums, attending church and visiting my grandchildren who live in a neighboring town. I’ve always seen myself as a risk-taker and an optimist. But every day as I venture out, there’s a drumbeat in mind, a constant accompaniment: “Is this too risky for me?” (Katharine Esty, 11/17)