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It seems we don't really know how long the vaccine's work. Am worried about having to shut down mid-production at the end of this year or early next year when vaccine protection runs out.  Can you speak to this?

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For the whole panel of speakers: how can our industry shift practices so that freelance workers aren't penalized financially for not working if they're sick?

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For the whole panel of speakers: how can our industry shift practices so that freelance workers aren't penalized financially for not working if they're sick?

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POST-EVENT RESOURCE: We also want to make sure everyone has seen this news from the EEOC, and the online discussion about it

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POST-EVENT RESOURCE: We also want to make sure everyone has seen this news from the EEOC, and the online discussion about it

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The agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws has said - twice - that companies can make their employees who are returning to the job get vaccinated against Covid-19.

But so far, few companies have decided to move forward, as many are still engaging in internal debates about how to safely restore their offices to operations that resemble what they were before the pandemic.

Pressed by some of the nation's biggest business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday that companies could mandate vaccines as a requirement for coming into the office. The agency had issued a similar note in December.

Some companies say they are wary of setting mandates until the vaccines have received full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, which so far has granted emergency use authorization. Another reason many companies remain hesitant, according to executives, lawyers and consultants who advise companies, is the long list of legal considerations the E.E.O.C. says they must follow before mandating vaccines.

While Saks and Delta Air Lines have said they will require vaccines for at least some employees, most have arrived at a solution more like that of JPMorgan Chase. The bank, which opened its offices on a voluntary basis on May 17 and will require most workers to return to their desks in rotations starting in July, has said it is strongly encouraging but not yet mandating vaccines.

Jamie Dimon, the bank's chief executive, said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week that he felt it was safe for employees to return to the office.

"No one's being forced to do anything," Mr. Dimon said. "We want everyone to be vaccinated - we're not requiring that."

Vaccine mandates must abide by the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the E.E.O.C. said. That means companies must accommodate employees with health concerns like allergies and keep that information confidential.

"I think that the fact that it takes the E.E.O.C. several pages of notes to talk about all the steps you need to take to reasonably accommodate someone who has a disability or a religious reason why they can't get a vaccine is one of the reasons why employers might still choose not to mandate," said Douglas Brayley, an employment lawyer at Ropes & Gray.

Companies are considering whether to offer incentives for employees to get vaccinated, or to show proof of vaccination, while stopping short of a mandate. But even trying to nudge workers can be legally fraught.

The E.E.O.C. said Friday that employers could offer inducements as long as they were not "coercive," or so strong that they made participation essentially involuntary. The agency did not define what constitutes a coercive incentive.

"They don't want to go out on a limb when there are still cases yet to happen and allegations have to be made," Mr. Brayley said.

The agency also reminded employers to consider that access to the vaccine is not yet equitably distributed. Certain groups of people face greater barriers to vaccination, and the agency said employers should consider that in any back-to-work requirements.

A long list of companies, including the Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants and McDonald's, are offering paid time off for employees to be vaccinated. Amazon is offering frontline workers who get vaccinated a bonus of up to $80. Walmart workers are being offered a $75 bonus, but they must provide proof they have been vaccinated.

Some companies, like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, are allowing employees who have been vaccinated to go without masks while in the office, following guidance that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued last month on masks and social distancing. Walmart will allow vaccinated employees to go mask-free in its stores and offices. None of the companies require employees to provide proof of vaccination to go without masks.

Workplace policies allowing vaccinated workers to go mask-free raise questions about whether companies are prepared to monitor who is wearing masks.

"When you see an employee without a mask, are you going to run back to H.R. and verify that that person really was fully vaccinated?" asked Jessica Kuester, an employment benefits lawyer at the law firm Ogletree Deakins.

Sharon Masling, an employment specialist at the law firm Morgan Lewis, said companies might be more inclined to mandate vaccines as vaccines became more widespread and obtained full F.D.A. approval.

"I can say that we are getting more questions about requiring vaccines for employees than we were even a month ago," Ms. Masling said.

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E.E.O.C. Says Companies Can Mandate Vaccines, but Few Push Ahead

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The agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws has said - twice - that companies can make their employees who are returning to the job get vaccinated against Covid-19. But so far, few companies have decided to move forward, as many are still engaging in internal debates about how to safely restore their offices to operations that resemble what they were before the pandemic.

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POST-EVENT RESOURCE: Dr. Lee provided this article that he authored in Forbes on questions of vaccine longevity

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POST-EVENT RESOURCE: Dr. Lee provided this article that he authored in Forbes on questions of vaccine longevity

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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently said that the data "[supports] the notion that likely there will ... [+]
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

When Nelly Furtado sang All Good Things ( Come to an End) in 2006, she probably wasn't referring to the protection offered by the Covid-19 vaccines. Nevertheless, few believe that the immune response to the Covid-19 vaccines will last forever. Even if you are fully vaccinated now, you will likely have to get another booster shot sometime in the future. The question is when. And the answer is wait for it, wait for it.

Right now the guess is sometime between six months and two years after you were fully vaccinated the first time around. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla did address this question during a recent Axios interview seen here:

As you can see, Bourla said that the data supports "the notion that likely there will be a need for a booster somewhere between 8 and 12 months." So perhaps the Covid-19 vaccine will be a bit like the seasonal flu vaccine, a yearly thing. However, as Carlie Porterfield has reported for Forbes, not everyone agrees yet with this possibility.

There are two reasons why booster shots will probably be needed at some point. First of all, your immune system can be like your significant other when it comes to remembering things like birthdays, anniversaries, doing the dishes, wiping down your One Direction shrine, taking out the trash, and spike proteins. Both can forget things over time. The Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines expose your immune system to the spike proteins that stud the surface of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). When seeing these spike proteins for the first time, your immune system essentially says, "what the bleep are these? They don't belong in your body. Let's respond 'out of spike' by setting up defenses against anything that wears these spike proteins." Once you are fully vaccinated, your immune system is ready, raring to take on anything that has the spike protein.

But this may not be a permanent state of preparedness. It's like when someone first warns you not to wear that velour leopard-print track suit. This "don't wear the leopard track suit, don't wear the leopard track suit" warning may stick in your head for a little while, but eventually the day comes when you start to think, "maybe I am a leopard?" Similarly, your immune response to the Covid-19 vaccines may eventually wane over time. After all, your immune system is busy with so many other things. That's a periodic reminder about the spike protein in the form of a booster shot may be helpful, just like a periodic "what the bleep are you wearing" may keep you from a fashion faux pas or a a fashion four paws.

So far, the Phase 3 clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccines have not shown evidence of waning immunity. But the clinical trials have not gone on long enough yet to say much about what happens past a half year. For example, both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Phase 3 clinical trials began enrolling in late July 2020. So the earliest that any of the trial participants became fully vaccinated was last September. That means unless you have a time machine made from either a hot tub or a DeLorean, the longest follow-up available right now for any of the trial participants is about eight months.

At some point, those already fully vaccinated will need to return to vaccination locations to get ... [+]
AFP via Getty Images

Last month, coincidentally on April Fools Day, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that among their Phase 3 clinical trial participants the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, affectionately known as BNT162b2, was 91.3% effective against Covid-19 and 100% effective against severe Covid-19. Since this announcement covered trial results through March 13, 2021, some of the trial participants had gotten their second dose of the vaccine six months prior. These effectiveness numbers came from the following numbers: 647 cases of Covid-19 among those who had received placebo versus 50 among those who has received the Covid-19 vaccine and 32 cases of severe Covid-19 among the placebo group versus zero in the BNT162b2 vaccinated group.

Now a company announcement is not the same as a scientific study published in a respectable peer-reviewed journal. Comparing the two can be like comparing you signing the song Promiscuous in the shower to your loofah with Furtado singing the song in the studio. So anything in the announcement is about as definitive as a trailer for a movie. Regardless, as of now, it seems like the Covid-19 vaccines should protect you for at least six months.

A second reason why booster shots may be needed is variants. The SARS-CoV2 is somewhat like the television franchise The Real Housewives. New versions keep emerging. It's not clear when The Real Housewives of Slickpoo, Idaho, may appear. Similarly, it's not clear if and when there will be a SARS-CoV2 variant that has a spike protein different enough to merit a new type of booster. The likelihood of this eventually occurring is fairly high since the Covid-19 coronavirus has a high underlying mutation rate. In other words, every time the viruses make copies of themselves, mistakes and thus slightly different genetic codes frequently result. Mutations probably allowed the virus to gain the ability to jump from other animals to humans. They may some day generate a variant that can better avoid the current vaccines' protection.

Of course, the degree and duration of protection offered by the vaccine may vary from person to person. Therefore, don't treat the vaccine like you would a gigantic concrete full body condom. It won't provide perfect protection, and cracks in the protection can form over time. And while cracks may be obvious when wearing low-riding pants, they may not be that obvious with vaccine protection. Trial participants may not realize that their immunity is waning until their measured antibody levels start dropping or more breakthrough infection occur. So until more is known, take additional precautions while the Covid-19 coronavirus is still actively spreading around you. Don't rely solely on the vaccine. Continue to wash your hands, disinfect surfaces, and social distance within reason when you can. This isn't the best time to return to those Twister with strangers games. You don't want to find out that you've lost protection the hard way.

... Read More

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How Long Will Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine Protection Last?

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When Nelly Furtado sang All Good Things ( Come to an End) in 2006, she probably wasn't referring to the protection offered by the Covid-19 vaccines. Nevertheless, few believe that the immune response to the Covid-19 vaccines will last forever. Even if you are fully vaccinated now, you will likely have to get another booster shot sometime in the future.

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1. As AEA theaters have health & safety plans approved for reopening, can we create a shared platform so we can see one another's paths to success through the union?
2. Has AEA signaled that they will be reducing or changing their reopening guidelines as most of us prepare for fall reopenings?

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When we are able to reopen (possibly this fall), what procedures do you suggest for ascertaining vaccine status from audiences (particularly during check-in)? Should people who are unvaccinated be able to attend indoor performances in small venues? Do they need to be seated separately? How do we fairly communicate about that and keep everyone safe?

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transcript

Rural Tennessee's Vaccine Hesitators

Hosted by Astead W. Herndon; produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi and Austin Mitchell; edited by Dave Shaw; and engineered by Chris Wood.

White Republican evangelical Christians remain disproportionately mistrustful about coronavirus inoculations. Here's what that looks like in one community.

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

On Friday, I spoke with my colleague Apoorva Mandavilli about the growing consensus that herd immunity is no longer achievable in the United States. A major reason why is vaccine hesitancy. Today: What that hesitancy looks like inside a single community. Astead Herndon spoke with our colleague Jan Hoffman about her reporting in rural Tennessee.

It's Monday, May 10.

astead herndon

Jan, tell me about your reporting on vaccines over the course of this pandemic.

jan hoffman

I focused mostly on vaccine hesitancy. In the early months of vaccine development and then the eventual rollout, the concern really had to do with people in Black and Latino communities because of their historic maltreatment on the part of medical researchers and, frankly, the healthcare system. But as the months have continued, because of the efforts of leaders in the Black community, the Latino community, among medical professionals in those communities and also religious figures in those communities, hesitation has decreased in those communities, although it's still present. And surveys showed that the hesitation remained firmest in people who describe themselves variously as Republican, white, and/or evangelical Christian, and who tend to live in rural communities.

astead herndon

So in your focus on vaccination efforts across demographic groups, you've zeroed in on these white conservative communities partly because they're the firmest or steadiest holdouts that we've seen so far.

jan hoffman

Absolutely. And I really wanted to understand what was underlying it.

astead herndon

So what did you do?

jan hoffman

I went a few weeks ago to Greenville, Tennessee, a little town of 15,000 in a very rural community in northeastern Tennessee. It had been hit very hard by Covid, particularly this winter. More trucks were opened in the parking lots of the medical center. And they were considering opening a special second Covid unit in that hospital. And today, Greene County, of which Greenville is the county seat, has a vaccine rate of about 31 percent for adults who've gotten at least one shot, compared to the national rate of 56 percent.

astead herndon

Wow.

jan hoffman

So in a community like Greenville, if there isn't sufficient vaccination, Covid will keep coming round and round and round.

astead herndon

What kind of conversations are people in Greenville having about vaccines? What did you find in your reporting?

jan hoffman

You know, I found that a lot of people had gotten tired of talking about it. I met innumerable people who'd had squabbles and fights in their families. A father was not going to get it, a daughter was. I met an older woman whose husband has multiple myeloma, who had to say to her adult children, if you don't get the vaccine, you cannot visit your father, even though he's dying of cancer. And yet, they have refused to get the vaccine.

michael barbaro

Wow.

jan hoffman

So, it's become basically a painful and silent point of contention, because people feel that there is nothing they can do to change each other's minds. And studies show that the most effective way to change someone's mind is by having that person talk with an authority figure whom they know and trust. So what's particularly difficult is the very complicated position of the pastors in the community. They have a broad range of views about the vaccine. But for the most part, they have chosen not to use their pulpits as a place to speak about their positions. Because they feel, for both religious reasons and for reasons that have to do with the ethos of the community - which is very much you get to make your own decision - that they are not going to speak out about this particular issue. This is not where they're going to plant their flag. And yet, they are among the most trusted people in the community.

astead herndon

As you say, the pastor is a trusted figure who could talk and sway maybe hesitant people. Are there other figures who are working to do that in places like Greenville?

jan hoffman

Certainly. The family physician, the primary care provider is the quintessential trusted figure on all things health and medical. And I met a number of physicians who are trying very hard.

jan hoffman

Specifically, Dr. Daniel Lewis, who's a family medicine physician.

jan hoffman

Dr. Lewis is 43 years old, has five kids. He's a devout Baptist.

jan hoffman

He's the sports doctor for Lord knows how many teams at the high school and is very much a figure in the community. But he gained an extraordinary amount of gravitas about a year ago this spring when he himself had his own very serious Covid experience.

[music]

astead herndon

And what was that like?

jan hoffman

He told me that -

jan hoffman

- he had been exposed to the virus by a colleague, who, at the time, did not know that he was positive.

jan hoffman

And while he was at the hospital, it became harder and harder for him to breathe. His oxygen saturation levels dropped. And his condition became truly dire.

jan hoffman

He posted a loving and very painful message to his community on Facebook -

jan hoffman

- hours before the decision was made to put him on a ventilator.

astead herndon

In anticipation of his possible passing?

jan hoffman

Yes.

astead herndon

Wow.

jan hoffman

Yes. When he was sick, as a measure of how much this community loves him, they would drop off meals on his front porch for the family, restaurant gift cards. They mulched his flower beds. They fixed his truck, anything to give back to him.

[music]

jan hoffman

He ended up staying in the hospital for over a month when he finally was released and went home.

jan hoffman

He made an extended video that he posted on Facebook -

jan hoffman

- narrating his experiences.

jan hoffman

He really wanted patients - his own patients and the community at large - to understand what a grueling and terrifying experience it could be for them.

jan hoffman

The video went viral.

jan hoffman

Local news came to his doorstep. National news figures picked up on it.

jan hoffman

The video and his experiences really helped cement his presence in the community as someone who had absolute authority to speak about this experience and why it should be avoided at all costs.

jan hoffman

He and his wife prayed about why God had put him through such an ordeal.

jan hoffman

And he told me that he realized it was truly his mission to advise patients about how to take their own precautions and to counsel them about getting the vaccine.

astead herndon

So here's a doctor, Dr. Lewis, in a unique position in this community. Not only as a trusted physician, but as someone who can speak personally to what it's like to be sick, very sick, from the virus. And he has decided that it is now his mission to use that position to encourage others in this community to take both virus and vaccine seriously.

jan hoffman

Absolutely.

astead herndon

When you talk to Dr. Lewis, what does he say comes up in these conversations he is having with residents of Greenville?

jan hoffman

This, I think, really gets to the heart of the issue. People have many different questions and reasons for not wanting the vaccine.

jan hoffman

The primary concern most people have is they feel it was developed far too quickly. And that makes them uneasy. I mean, the very title Operation Warp Speed reinforces that point of view. They are expressing religious concerns. They have heard that the vaccine was developed from stem cells from aborted fetuses. This is fundamentally not true.

jan hoffman

They have also soaked up a great deal of misinformation from far right sources.

jan hoffman

So that you will hear people ask about the conspiracy theory that Bill Gates has put microchips in the vaccines to track anyone who's gotten them, which is patently false.

jan hoffman

But there are plenty of people who are still concerned about that.

astead herndon

Hm. So that seems like a mountain of concerns for Dr. Lewis to address. How does he do that?

jan hoffman

He talks to them one on one. He has conversations easily three or four times a day every time a patient walks into his office for a consultation. And he opens that door to them and says, what are your thoughts about the vaccine? And Dr. Lewis, as well as the patient and the patient's wife, allowed me to sit in during one such consultation, where the couple really expressed their concerns about the vaccine. And Dr. Lewis attempted to answer them.

[music]

michael barbaro

We'll be right back.

astead herndon

So Jan, you got the opportunity to sit in Dr. Lewis's office while he was talking to people who were not sure whether they wanted to get vaccinated or not. What happened in that room?

jan hoffman

I went to the family medicine clinic on a Tuesday morning.

jan hoffman

And I met Jim and Rita Fletcher.

jan hoffman

OK, and are you here from Greenville?

jim fletcher

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we were born and raised here.

jan hoffman

OK, do you mind telling me how old you are?

jim fletcher

I'll soon be 74.

jan hoffman

You are not.

jim fletcher

Oh, yes.

jan hoffman

Oh, no. And Ms. Rita, how old do you pretend to be?

rita fletcher

I'm 70.

jan hoffman

They are in their early 70s. They're both retired.

jim fletcher

I'm a retired telecommunications engineer.

jan hoffman

Oh, wow. What kind of trouble did you get into?

rita fletcher

I just did accounting work and secretarial work.

jan hoffman

Uh-huh, OK.

jan hoffman

And they've been married for more than 50 years.

jan hoffman

They're both very devout Baptists.

jan hoffman

And they certainly believe Covid is real.

jan hoffman

They know at least 11 people in their circle who have died of Covid.

astead herndon

Wow, 11.

jan hoffman

11.

jan hoffman

Have you ever had any shots?

rita fletcher

We've had all the normal vaccines, you know, of kids and everything.

jan hoffman

That's what I was wondering, yes.

rita fletcher

Yeah, we've had all those. But -

jim fletcher

And our children, we had them vaccinated.

rita fletcher

Always vaccinated, yes.

jan hoffman

They had fully vaccinated their sons with the traditional vaccines. But this is one vaccine they absolutely don't want to get.

jan hoffman

They had so many reasons to be apprehensive.

jan hoffman

They did not trust the speed of development and, frankly, didn't quite understand how a vaccine could have come together so quickly. And they also were very concerned about being microchipped.

astead herndon

Well, considering those concerns, how did their conversation with Dr. Lewis go?

jan hoffman

Dr. Lewis walks into the room.

jan hoffman

He's a shirtsleeve kind of doctor. And he sits down, pulls up his stool and then he begins.

jan hoffman

And the first thing he answers then is their concerns about fetal stem cells.

jan hoffman

Then he says that the vaccine is absolutely not related to those initial stem cell developments.

jan hoffman

And then he explains to them that the model for the vaccine that has been currently developed was really begun to be established 15, 20 years ago, so that even though the vaccine appears to be pulled out of a hat like a rabbit, in fact, it's been cooking for quite some time.

astead herndon

As you were sitting there, what stood out to you about the conversation?

jan hoffman

I was struck by how respectful and caring his tone was.

jan hoffman

He used clear metaphors, straightforward analogies.

jan hoffman

It was really accessible language, so that he was describing fairly complicated scientific concepts, but they were easily understood.

jim fletcher

What about treatment? If you get Covid, we were hearing early on that hydroxycloroquine with zinc and vitamin D and other things would defeat the virus.

dr. daniel lewis

I wish. I tried.

jim fletcher

You tried that?

dr. daniel lewis

I had those. Didn't do anything for me.

jan hoffman

He also spoke from his personal experience as a patient, which is something that he has, of course, this terrible authority that he can hold forth on.

jan hoffman

But I think what was most important is that he met them where they were at, and they didn't feel looked down upon. They felt respected.

jim fletcher

How can we be sure there are no - what's the little devil? The little thing you put in your dog?

dr. daniel lewis

Chips.

jim fletcher

Yeah, how can we be sure there's no chip involved?

dr. daniel lewis

Well, I would say this. When you get the injection, it comes with a needle that's got an opening about that wide. We make microchips all the time. We don't make them that small. You know, it's, I mean - there has to be some degree, I think, just of faith, I guess, in that regard. But there's no way to introduce a chip through a needle at this point. Or else, we'd do it to dogs and everything else. When you have a dog, it gets microchipped, for example. There's a surgery done, right? They don't inject it into a dog.

jim fletcher

Yeah, it's just kind of like a grain of rice.

dr. daniel lewis

Yeah.

jim fletcher

But -

dr. daniel lewis

But I can't inject a grain of rice with a needle.

jim fletcher

Uh, no, no, not unless the needle's big enough.

dr. daniel lewis

Y'all had the shop class. It ain't that big a needle, I promise you.

jim fletcher

But -

dr. daniel lewis

I don't have a needle here big enough and my ability to inject a grain of rice.

jim fletcher

As an engineer, I think of those things.

dr. daniel lewis

I understand. Now listen, and that's part of this conversation. There's multiple things. So what other questions do you have about the vaccine or about Covid in general?

rita fletcher

Will these be a yearly vaccine?

dr. daniel lewis

We don't know that yet either.

jan hoffman

And he answered every question they had and kept asking if they had more questions.

dr. daniel lewis

I just want you to have an informed decision. So I want do the best I can to help you.

jim fletcher

Well, we have some time. There's been a discussion.

dr. daniel lewis

Absolutely. You can ask, please do. And that's why I'm here.

rita fletcher

And we do have an informed decision.

jan hoffman

And they paused and said they had some things to talk about and think about, and they would continue to talk about it between themselves.

astead herndon

After listening to this conversation, you really get a sense of the time and effort that has to be put in to win over skeptical people about the vaccine. Is that the takeaway that you had?

jan hoffman

I had several takeaways. I was struck by how much time he gave them, which was so much longer than what I would consider to be a typical patient visit in a doctor's office. But more importantly, I thought how many conversations is he going to have to persuade them to take the vaccine? Is he getting paid for this, which, of course, he's not? He has to charge for just a regular visit. And then, what's most frustrating of all is that as he's told me, when he is successful with patients and is able to talk them into getting the vaccine, they'll say, OK, are you going to give it to me now? And he'll say, I'm sorry. I can't. I don't have it here.

astead herndon

Wait, really? They don't have it?

jan hoffman

Most physicians at this point still do not have their own supply of vaccines to be distributed to their own patients. And so that means that patients have to go find a location. They have to go to a pharmacy if it's available, a vaccination site. And what the travel can mean is that they will have to take off time from work or secure transportation, all of which are obstacles to many, many people to getting vaccinated. And unfortunately, it also means that the moment of inspiration where they decide they're going to take it can get lost.

astead herndon

So Jim and Rita took time and thought about it more with all that information that Dr. Lewis gave them. Did they end up getting vaccinated?

jan hoffman

I jumped on the phone with them about a week ago. And Jim told me that they had decided at that point not to get the vaccine.

[music]

astead herndon

Jan, after hearing about this long process that Dr. Lewis has gone through, and then to know that some people still choose not to get the vaccine, I think for many people, it's fairly natural to be confused or even angry at that decision, because it has larger public health ramifications. I think there's an instinct to see it as a selfish or potentially harmful choice. What do you think, having spent time with these people, having spent time in that room, should be the takeaway from these decisions?

jan hoffman

Well, I certainly know that anger and dismissiveness do not work. I met a patient in Greenville who was on the fence about getting the vaccine. But she told me that she felt that her doctor patronized her and looked down her nose at the patient for not getting the vaccine. And she felt so insulted that she turned and walked out. So collectively, I don't think that's a good way to treat people who are hesitant about vaccines. In fact, the research shows that people who are hesitant have the opportunity to see people who are getting the vaccine, enjoying their regained life and doing just fine are more inclined to think, well, maybe I can get it. And maybe I'll do fine, too. That's one prompt. And the other, of course, is a trusted source, such as a Dr. Lewis. But that means you'd have to multiply Dr. Lewis endless numbers of times across the United States.

And so, to say that you respectfully disagree, I think, is where you leave it for now and hope for the best.

astead herndon

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

jan hoffman

Thank you, Astead.

michael barbaro

To encourage reluctant Americans to get vaccinated, the Biden administration says it will now shift its focus away from mass vaccination sites toward smaller local vaccination sites, including doctors' offices and pharmacies, and said that it would try to enlist the help of trusted voices in every community, such as family physicians.

We'll be right back.

Here's what else you need to know today. A major cyber attack has resulted in the shutdown of one of the nation's largest pipelines, which carries refined gasoline and jet fuel from Texas to the East Coast. The attack demonstrated once again how vulnerable America's critical energy infrastructure remains to online attacks. The 5,500-mile pipeline carries about half the East Coast fuel supply. But the impact on consumers is expected to be minimal for now because the East Coast has large supplies of fuel in storage. Over the weekend, the owner of the pipeline, Colonial Pipeline, said that its computer system was the subject of a ransomware attack, in which criminal groups hold data hostage until the victim pays a ransom. But the company has yet to say whether it has paid the ransom.

Today's episode was produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi and Austin Mitchell. It was edited by Dave Shaw and engineered by Chris Wood.

[music]

That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

White Republican evangelical Christians remain disproportionately mistrustful about coronavirus inoculations. Here's what that looks like in one community.

Hosted by Astead W. Herndon; produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi and Austin Mitchell; edited by Dave Shaw; and engineered by Chris Wood.

Vaccine hesitancy is a major reason that many experts now fear the United States will struggle to attain herd immunity against the coronavirus.

And while many initially hesitant demographics have become more open to vaccinations, one group is shifting much less: white Republican evangelical Christians, who tend to live in rural communities.

We visited one such community in Greeneville, Tenn.

In Greene County, of which Greeneville is the county seat, around 31 percent of adults are vaccinated, compared with a national rate of 56 percent.

Dr. Daniel Lewis, the community's family doctor, is trying to change that. Often, one appointment at a time.

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Dr. Daniel Lewis of Greenville, Tenn., with Rita and Jim Fletcher, two of his patients who have been deeply hesitant about the coronavirus vaccine.

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Jan Hoffman contributed reporting.

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transcript White Republican evangelical Christians remain disproportionately mistrustful about coronavirus inoculations. Here's what that looks like in one community. michael barbaro From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. [music] On Friday, I spoke with my colleague Apoorva Mandavilli about the growing consensus that herd immunity is no longer achievable in the United States.

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Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the C.D.C. said.

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Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the C.D.C. said.

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Announced earlier today... what kind of impact will this announcement have on the speed of reopening? Procedures for reopening?

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Handing out masks to commuters in Brooklyn last fall. Credit... Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

In a sharp turnabout from previous recommendations, federal health officials on Thursday advised that Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may stop wearing masks or maintaining social distance in most indoor and outdoor settings, regardless of size.

The advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as welcome news to Americans who have tired of restrictions and marks a watershed moment in the pandemic. Masks ignited controversy in communities across the United States, symbolizing a bitter partisan divide over approaches to the pandemic and a badge of political affiliation.

Permission to stop using them now offers an incentive to the many millions who are still holding out on vaccination. As of Wednesday, about 154 million people have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, but only about one-third of the nation, some 117.6 million people, have been fully vaccinated.

But the pace has slowed: Providers are administering about 2.16 million doses per day on average, about a 36 percent decrease from the peak of 3.38 million reported in mid April.

"The science is clear: If you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic," the C.D.C. said in a statement on Thursday.

The new advice comes with caveats. Even vaccinated individuals must cover their faces and physically distance when going to doctors, hospitals or long-term care facilities like nursing homes; when traveling by bus, plane, train or other modes of public transportation, or while in transportation hubs like airports and bus stations; and when in prisons, jails or homeless shelters.

In deference to local authorities, the C.D.C. said vaccinated Americans must continue to abide by existing state, local, or tribal laws and regulations, and follow local rules for businesses and workplaces. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot or the second dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine series.

Still, the changes are likely to galvanize Americans who have become unaccustomed to appearing in public unmasked - or to seeing others do so.

"We've got to liberalize the restrictions so people can feel like they're getting back to some normalcy," Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden administration's senior adviser on the pandemic, said in an interview. "Pulling back restrictions on indoor masks is an important step in the right direction."

"You can't inhibit people from doing the things they want to do, which is one of the reasons they wanted to get vaccinated in the first place, because other people are not getting vaccinated," he added.

The move could backfire among more cautious Americans, who may be more reluctant to engage in public activities. There is no way to know who is vaccinated and who is not, and the majority of the population is not yet fully vaccinated.

In justifying the move, agency officials pointed to several recent studies showing that vaccines are more than 90 percent effective at preventing mild and severe disease, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 in real world settings.

Among them was a study of 6,710 health care workers in Israel, including 5,517 fully vaccinated workers, that found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 97 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections among the fully vaccinated, and 86 percent effective at preventing asymptomatic infections among them. (Vaccination rates in Israel are far higher than in the United States, however.)

The C.D.C also emphasized that vaccines in use have also proven effective against variants of the coronavirus that are circulating in the United States.

The C.D.C. has been under fire recently for moving too gingerly to lift restrictions on public activities for those who are vaccinated. Some critics have said the agency's caution may suggest to Americans that officials lack of confidence in the vaccines.

Lifting restrictions could help restore faith in the agency's recommendations, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization in Saskatchewan, Canada. Removing mask requirements "is another incentive that is extremely low cost and is very much supported by evidence."

Though the C.D.C. historically has been one of the most trusted public health agencies in the world, public confidence in its recommendations lagged during the Trump administration, which sought to muzzle government experts and to alter the agency's advice, and has not fully rebounded.

Only half of Americans said that they had a "great deal" of trust in the C.D.C., according to a new survey conducted in February and March by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the C.D.C. said.

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In a sharp turnabout from previous recommendations, federal health officials on Thursday advised that Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may stop wearing masks or maintaining social distance in most indoor and outdoor settings, regardless of size.

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1) Is theatre jumping the gun in reopening by this summer/fall?
2) How do we handle artists and tech crews who will not get a vaccine due to religious or personal reasons?

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How can non-profit theaters at the intersection of social justice/community resource org better hold audience members who might be tentative about returning to theater mental health wise?  What are some practices and tools we can adopt to starting to have these conversations?

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Is theatre jumping the gun by plans to reopen this summer/fall?

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Is theatre jumping the gun by plans to reopen this summer/fall?

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1) What are the ethics of asking folks to disclose if they've been vaccinated vs an individuals right to know?
2) What do we know about the long term mental health impacts of quarantine?

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Dr. Lee- is it likely that we will go to an annual booster shot like the flu shot?

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Use the arrow in the bottom right to add posts!

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Use the arrow in the bottom right to add posts!

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Ask questions, drop your thoughts, or link the group to some resources that resonate