Coronavirus Update 8-24-21: FDA grants full approval to Pfizer Covid vaccine … but will it make any difference

Yesterday, the FDA granted full and final approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Calling the agency's approval "a pivotal moment" in the battle against Covid, FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said:

While this and other vaccines have met the FDA's rigorous scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA approved Covid-19 vaccine, the public can be confident that this vaccine meets the FDA's gold standard for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality that we require for an approved product.

Coronavirus Update 8-23-21: I’ll have a side of Covid with my burger, please

PERRYSBURG, OH — @InsideTheFive is a cool brewery started by two NFL vets. Great food and spirited waitresses!

Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew they were short servers.

These are the type of American workers that make our country strong. pic.twitter.com/o0VFkDkjuo

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) August 20, 2021

That is perennial political loser and 2022 Senatorial candidate Josh Mandel tweeting in support of a local restaurant. 

WIRTW #592 (the “welcome back” edition)

Covid has taken a lot from us. One of the things it robbed from this space is its weekly "What I'm Reading This Week" ("WIRTW") feature. For 591 pre-Covid Fridays, I published a list of the best workplace-related things I read on the Internet that past week.

Today (and hopefully for every Friday from this point forward), I am delighted to bring this feature back from its pandemic slumber.

Here is the 592nd edition of What I Read This Week. 

Coronavirus Update 8-19-2021: The (Un)Healthy American, along with other more reputable organizations, help Americans dodge vaccine mandates

Meet Peggy Hall. She runs a website called The Healthy American. 

What is The Healthy American? For starters, it's a website that NewsGuard ranks 22.5/100 (a failing grade no matter how you slice it), for, among other sins and errors, publishing false and irresponsible misinformation about the Covid vaccine. 

Coronavirus Update 8-18-2021: Back to school presents fresh challenges for working parents and employers

Today my kids go back to school. 10th grade for Norah and 7th grade for Donovan. I am so thankful that their school is requiring universal masking regardless of vaccination status. Not all students, however, are so lucky. Only 10 states currently require masks in schools, while eight states outright prohibit schools and school districts from mandating them. That means that 32 states leave this decision up to individuals school districts and parents.

This presents a major problem. Just look at these headlines from schools that are already back in session.

• Florida school district calls emergency meeting after 5,500+ students forced to quarantine over COVID-19 outbreak
• Virus outbreaks temporarily close 4 Texas school districts
• Second George County school closes due to COVID-19 outbreaks
• Ash Fork Schools Close Temporarily After COVID-19 Outbreak

And that's just the tip of the Covid outbreak iceberg. This will be an absolute crisis in a matter of weeks unless all schools and school districts mandate universal masking regardless of vaccination status and get as many vaccinated as possible. 

Coronavirus Update 8-17-2021: Are your work-from-home employees working more one job from home?

This headline in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye: These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs.

A small, dedicated group of white-collar workers, in industries from tech to banking to insurance, say they have found a way to double their pay: Work two full-time remote jobs, don’t tell anyone and, for the most part, don’t do too much work, either.

Alone in their home offices, they toggle between two laptops. 

Coronavirus Update 8-16-2021: With more businesses implementing vaccine mandates, more people turn to illegal fake vaccine cards

With more employers mandating vaccines for their employees, and businesses, cities, and schools doing the same for customers and other non-employee visitors, more people who resist the vaccine are turning to fake vaccine cards to remain employed or otherwise gain access.

As I wrote a few months ago, using a fake vaccine card is a federal crime. 18 U.S.C. sec. 1017 criminalizes the fraudulent or wrongful use of a government seal (in this case, that of the CDC). It is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years. 

The illegality, however, hasn't stopped people, and the market is growing.