I think they will also approve the J&J "booster" (which is really the 2nd shot they should have had all along) shortly as well. I am hoping they will also remove the prohibition on mixing vaccine & booster doses, especially since people who got the J&J are much better off getting an mRNA booster.

AY.23 is a sublineage of Delta Plus, so it's not so much that a new variant that has replaced Delta, it's more like that's the version of Delta that is dominant there, like AY.4 is dominant in the US. Delta Plus = Delta + the K417N mutation that also exists in Beta and Gamma, and I think there are 29 AY sublineages so far (Wiki lists 28, but I recently saw a report about AY.29 in Japan.)

The US has already pledged to send more than one billion doses of Pfizer to poor countries, more than all other countries combined. That is separate from what is being purchased for use in the US. The mRNA vaccines are shipped in specially designed containers to keep them at the required temperature, and one container can hold up to 5000 doses. That makes it difficult to just send a few doses here and there, so some pharmacies, especially in areas with a lot of vaccine resistance, end up with a lot more doses than they can use just because of shipping and storage constraints. Plus each vial contains multiple doses — Moderna's vials can contain up to 15 doses — and they have to be used within 6 hours once they're opened. If they use two doses out of a vial and no one else shows up that day then the other 13 doses are wasted. There's no way to instantaneously transport those doses from a pharmacy in the US into an arm in a 3rd world country in the minutes before they expire. The "surplus" doses in the US wouldn't be surplus if so many Americans hadn't fallen victim to lies and misinformation.

Here is the preprint with the data on different vaccine/booster combos: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.10.21264827v1.full.pdf It's unfortunate that they used a full 100 µg dose of Moderna for the booster instead of the 50 µg dose Moderna plans to actually use, since it's not clear how the results for the full dose would compare to a half-dose. It's also super frustrating that they published this without the 4 week neutralizing antibody data for subjects who originally had J&J or Pfizer. Between those two issues, it's difficult to determine whether boosting Pfizer with 50 µg of Moderna would provide a statistically significant advantage over just boosting Pfizer with Pfizer. Another weakness of the study is that it was less than 6 months between 2nd shots and boosters (the authors do not specify what the interval was), so the actual effectiveness of boosters at 6-plus months may be more (or less) effective than their data show. One data point that I found interesting was that the antibody levels for those boosted with Moderna peaked at two weeks and then declined between 2 and 4 weeks, while levels rose between 2 & 4 weeks for those boosted with J&J (although they ended up with lower levels overall). In all three of the booster groups, subjects who had originally had Moderna had pre-boost antibody levels that were roughly double those of Pfizer recipients. It will be interesting to see if they approve mixing vaccines and boosters. The data for boosting J&J with an mRNA vaccine is pretty clear cut, so I certainly hope they at least do that, although IMO it would make the most sense just to remove the prohibition on mixing vaccines entirely, since there has never been any evidence suggesting that mixing doses causes any issues. And it may encourage more people to get a booster if they can choose which one to get — e.g. people who had J&J may want to choose a stronger one, and maybe some who had a really unpleasant experience w/Moderna might prefer to boost with a lower dose of Pfizer.

I'm aware that those factors reduce the risk of severe illness once an individual is infected, but I have not seen studies indicating that they actually prevent infection if exposed. I would love to see the data, if you can link that.

I believe the distinction between companies with >100 employees vs <100 employees has to do with the overall size and resource level of the business, not how many of those employees happen to work in the same space. It's designed to avoid over-burdening small businesses and is a somewhat arbitrary cut off. But they either have to draw the line somewhere or the mandate has to apply to all businesses of every size, even a mom & pop operation with 1 or 2 part-time employees. So they drew the line at 100 employees. Last year my son's university required weekly testing from all students who lived within a certain radius of the university, even if all their classes were online and they had no intention of being on campus. For such a large organization, it's just too difficult to try to assess thousands of individual students' circumstances on a case by case basis, so it was simpler to just mandate it for everyone who lives within a somewhat arbitrarily-chosen distance, since some students within that radius were likely to be on campus at some point for some reason. It was inconvenient for the students who never did go on campus, but it helped protect those who lived, worked, or attended classes there, and who were tested regularly, from being infected by untested people from off campus.

If vitamin deficiencies and general flabbiness were contagious, maybe you'd have a point. But they're not, so you don't.

I just ran a BMI calculator and apparently my 6'7" 225 lb college athlete does technically meet the booster criteria with a BMI of 25.3, even though he has barely an ounce of fat on him — which is ridiculous. So it's a "lie" if he gets a booster when he weighs 221 lbs, but not at 225? Does an extra 4 lbs have any impact whatsoever on the safety and efficacy of the booster, or his risk of infection? My 19 yr old was working 15-20 hrs/wk stocking shelves overnight in a grocery store, but one of her classes this semester is at 9 AM and she was having trouble staying awake in that class so she quit. If she goes back to work for a week, gets the shot as a grocery store worker, and then quits the next day, that's not fraud, but if she checks the grocery store worker box because she does Instacart and Postmates, that's fraud even though her exposure risk is actually much higher now than it was when she was stocking shelves? Someone with a BP of 128/80 who works in a crowded office is not lower risk than someone with a BP of 130/80 who works at home. A retail worker in FL who deals with unmasked, unvaxxed people all day every day has a much higher risk level than someone who stocks grocery store shelves overnight in an area with a mask mandate and high vax rate, yet the latter "qualifies" while the former does not. The regulations are designed to present a certain appearance to the international community, not to provide the best level of protection to the American public. The functional effect of the FDA's garbled policy has not been to restrict the booster to those who need additional protection but rather to exclude a small percentage of the US population from access to the same protection as everyone else. Half of US adults have hypertension and 3/4 have a BMI of 25 or higher — add in everyone over 65, everyone who's ever had cancer or smoked, everyone with diabetes or asthma, everyone who lives or works in a congregate settling, and all first responders, corrections workers, education staff, everyone who works in food, agricultural, or manufacturing jobs, postal employees, transit workers, and grocery store workers, and it's a very small number of people who don't fall into any of those categories. Why are they being discriminated against? How is it ethically defensible to try to prevent those people from accessing the same protection everyone else can get?

Unfortunately, I think the only option for under 18s will be to find a doctor who will prescribe a Pfizer booster off label (which is legal), as none of the boosters will be approved for under 18s.

I don't think the rules are going to change any time soon, if ever. The FDA is also meeting this week to discuss J&J, as well as mixing vaccines and boosters, and my best guess is that they will approve Moderna and J&J under the same terms as Pfizer, in order to have a simple, standardized booster policy. I think people who fall into the very small percentage of adults who do not meet any of the criteria may have to choose between flexibility in checking a box versus agreeing to be sacrificial lambs who risk their own health so the US can claim we are "only boosting the most vulnerable" (who just happen to comprise like 90% of the population). I happen to meet the criteria for a Pfizer booster, but my kids, who are exposed through college classes and work/travel/competition technically do not, even though they have far more exposure than many people who do qualify. I have no qualms about checking a box so that they can get a shot that has been proven to be not only safe and effective, but also necessary to protect against infection. They shouldn't have to risk their own health because of a public policy that says the risk of long covid in under 65s, or even "just" missing a few weeks of classes and/or income, is NBD and not worth approving a $20 shot.

Since what the WHO thinks the US should do as a country is irrelevant to my assessment of my personal health risks, I will go with the data over the opinion of a committee that is trying to walk a very thin line between protecting Americans and appeasing the WHO. The fact that the committee members consider protection against hospitalization and death to be "good enough" does not mean that I consider that "good enough" for my own personal heath. The idea that a fit, healthy 18 year old who works the overnight shift stocking grocery shelves qualifies for a booster, but a 64 year old with a BMI of 24 does not, is simply ridiculous. There is a clear difference between someone who is going above and beyond the recommendations in order to protect themselves and others around them, and someone who is lying in order to defy requirements and put others at risk. Someone who gets booster without strictly meeting the criteria takes a very small personal risk that does not affect others; those who lie to avoid getting a vaccine are risking the lives of others without their knowledge or consent. There is no comparison.

Everyone over 18 with BMI of 25 and above is eligible — that's literally 3/4 of the entire adult population. Add in all the other criteria and probably 90% of adults meet at least one of the criteria. IMO the FDA basically tried to approve it for everyone without making it obvious they were approving it for everyone. If you're in the tiny minority who don't technically meet any of the criteria, I'd just pick one of the boxes to check — if you're not technically overweight but your weight fluctuates and you've been over 25 BMI in the past, check the BMI box. If you've ever been a smoker (including weed in college), check the "current or former smoker" box. If you're a homeschooler, check the "teacher" box.

Protection from Pfizer starts to drop quite sharply around 4 months, and is very low by 6 months. The data from Qatar suggests that by 6 months there is little to no protection against infection, although there was still decent protection against hospitalization and death. I haven't seen any evidence, or even suggestion, that waiting more than 6 months leads to better immunity, and you will be at increased risk of infection by that point. I'm in a similar situation to you in that I live in a very high vax area and my current level of exposure is quite limited. But I also recognize that just because my current activities (like a quick trip to TJs in a Happy Mask) are low risk, doesn't mean I couldn't suddenly find myself in a high risk situation, e.g. if I or a loved one were in an accident and ended up hospitalized, if I needed to fly on short notice if my son or parents in another state were seriously ill or injured, if I needed to go to a hotel due to a house fire or storm damage or even just burst pipes or something, etc. I would not want to suddenly find myself in a high risk situation with little to no protection against infection. So, based on the data I have seen so far, and not seeing any evidence that waiting more than 6 months increases protection, I plan to get a booster the minute I am eligible.

It's on there!

So he and his wife, who is vaccinated, were both treated with monoclonal antibodies, and while his wife immediately went home he's in the hospital, on oxygen, with pneumonia. But the vaccine doesn't make any difference, and the people whose loved ones died totally preventable deaths, who are now urging others to get vaccinated, are the ones engaging in "manipulative deception." He is such a clown.

The water source in the Jack & Jill rhyme was most likely a "dew pond," which was usually dug at the top of a hill and mostly provided water for livestock. Being at a higher elevation, it supposedly captured water through dew/fog/mist as well as rain, and it didn't have an outlet so it tended to retain water longer than natural ponds at lower elevations. They were common in England when the nursery rhyme was written. I learned that when I did a nursery rhyme study with the kids many years ago!

What does the transition look like? Are you planning to move everything in a day, or spread over a few days? Hiring a moving company or renting a U-Haul and having friends/relatives help out for a few days? Are you planning to put your current home on the market empty, or leave some furniture behind for staging? Are you planning to do any painting (including touch up painting if the previous owners are removing things like curtain rods, mirrors, large paintings, or other heavy objects that may leave holes in the wall), replacing any carpet or flooring, replacing light fixtures, etc., in the new house? If so I would gather supplies for those things and set aside a day or two to get those done before moving any furniture over.

Moderna is testing 50 and 100 µg doses in ages 2-11 and 25, 50, and 100 µg in ages 6 months to 2. So the doses these children got are lower than any dose Moderna would use even in a 2 yr old, and only slightly higher than the lowest dose they are testing in 6 month old babies. If the children do in fact have cardiomyopathy, that is definitely concerning, but I would want to hear that from another source besides the family's lawyer (who is presumably planning to sue Walgreens). At this point the info is basically 3rd hand: the lawyer says that the family says that the cardiologist said that were signs of heart issues. It could be that the doctor said something like "we need to continue to monitor the children for cardiac issues," and the family told the lawyer "the doctor said there may be cardiac issues" and the lawyer said "the cardiologist says there are cardiac issues." Also, WTF Walgreen's? They just did the same thing a few weeks ago with a 4 year old in Maryland. They seriously need to review their safety procedures!

https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2017/march/diet-soda 1. causes weight gain 2. linked to type 2 diabetes 3. increased risk of heart problems including congestive heart failure, heart disease, and/or heart attacks 4. 50% higher risk of stroke

Have you looked into Thomas Edison State University? They take pretty much any transfer credits as well as all CLEPs and DSSTs, and they have their own credit-by-exam program, TECEP, that coordinates with free courses offered by Saylor Foundation. What most people seem to do is study for and pass all the CLEPs and DSSTs that TESU accepts towards a degree, then register once they've almost got enough credits to graduate, and then take any remaining requirements through TESU, so they graduate quickly. It's specifically designed for working adults and it's a fairly cheap, flexible, fully accredited way to finish a degree. There are a few other colleges and universities with programs similar to TESU (Excelsior College, Charter Oak State University, and I think a couple more), but I'm more familiar with TESU because my SIL finished her degree through them and found them really helpful and easy to work with. The InstantCert forum has tons of information and support for people doing degrees like this, and that part of the forum is open and free. There is also a paid subscription available for access to targeted advice and study aids for all the CLEPs and DSSTs (I think it was like $20/month when DS used it for CLEP prep). If you're interested, you can poke around on the InstantCert forum, there are whole threads on TESU and the other colleges, as well as general information about the requirements for these degrees, which CLEPs/DSSTs transfer, which TECEPs are easiest, etc. InstantCert Forum: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/index.php TESU: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/online-degrees

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I originally thought the bathroom was right inside the front door, but looking at the front of the house in the link that Gardenmom posted, you can see that it's actually on the 2nd floor and the door opens onto the balcony deck. So at least it's part of the primary suite, and there is a door that closes off the bedroom and bathroom from the hallway. The other really weird thing is that, of the two rooms in the front of the house, they turned the nice big room into the bathroom and left the much smaller room for the bedroom. The smaller room actually has some kind of pipe in it, and if you put the bed on the only wall without a door or low windows, then the pipe prevents you from pushing the bed all the way to the wall AND you probably can't open the door. It would have made so much more sense to put the bathroom in the smaller room, add a wall, and use the big room for the primary bedroom. But really the whole remodel in that house is just a disaster — the kitchen is not well laid out and the huge stone column and walled-up passageway are just bizarre. They basically stripped out all of the original character and what they added was dysfunctional and poorly planned. And looking at the sales history, they lost a HUGE amount of money — looks like they bought it in April for 849K, "fixed it up," and then sold it for $741K. And now the new owners will likely have to spend a ton of money putting everything back the way it was!

With the exception of the formal living room and entry hall, which face the street, yes. There are only a few windows on the sides of the house, which you can't really see into from the houses next door, and the back of the house faces a small wooded area and most of the windows in the house (including bedrooms) face that way. So someone could walk around naked in all of the upstairs and most of the downstairs without anyone seeing in.

I'm extremely lucky that the nearest TJ's to me is less than 15 minutes away, has a huge parking lot, and isn't busy at all early in the morning. I usually get there when they open at 8, and there will only be a few other customers there, and usually no wait for a cashier. It's basically the only grocery store where I shop in person, and the only foods I can think of that I can't get there are a certain brand of cauliflower snacks (although TJ's kale chips and broccoli snacks are a pretty good substitute) and So Delicious nondairy ice cream, so I just get those delivered from Whole Foods. Things like paper towels, TP, detergent, etc., I get from Costco every few months. I love the fact that the selection there is small but really well-curated and I can get everything I need in a few minutes. I think I've only been in a regular chain grocery (Fred Meyer, which is part of Kroger) maybe 3 or 4 times in the 7 years we've lived here. To me the huge chains are just sensory overload, and so much of what's there barely qualifies as food. Around 80% of the products TJ's stocks is their own label, and they don't use any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, and no GMOs, HFCS, MSG, or trans fats. They also donate 100% of usable food waste. Love love love TJs!

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