As it stands today, the number of Americans who don’t want a COVID-19 vaccine is roughly equal to the number of Americans who don’t have a COVID-19 vaccine, and that is troublesome for the Biden administration. The President had publicly set a number of lofty goals as it pertains to the coronavirus vaccine, namely hoping to have around 70% of the population at least partially-vaccinated by July 4th.  As we enter August, that number is much closer to 50%, and this isn’t nearly enough to ensure herd immunity. Now, in an effort to convince more Americans to get on board with the inoculation, the FDA is going to expedite the transition from “emergency use authorization” to “approved” for the vaccines themselves. FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said the agency is working on “identifying additional resources such as personnel and technological resources from across the agency and opportunities to reprioritize other activities, in order to complete our review to help combat this pandemic surge.” The agency has deployed an “all hands on deck” strategy for this endeavor, Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an interview. The Pfizer vaccine has so far been distributed under FDA emergency-use authorization it received in December. The company applied for full approval on May 7. “We recognize that for some, the FDA approval of Covid-19 vaccines may bring additional confidence and encourage them to get vaccinated,” Capobianco said in a statement. “FDA staff will conduct a thorough review process, while balancing the incredible sense of urgency necessary, both of which are needed to ensure that any vaccine that is authorized or approved meets our rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and quality.” Of course, many Americans are already of the impression that the speed at which the vaccines were developed could lend itself…

There has been an incredible amount of pressure being applied to unvaccinated Americans as of late, and it’s coming from all directions.  Media pundits are berating them, local and federal governments are targeting them, and businesses around the country are treating them like second class citizens. Now, to add insult to injury, one of the nation’s most well-known epidemiologists is blaming the unvaccinated for the recent uptick in COVID cases. Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Sunday that Americans who remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus are “propagating” the latest outbreak of cases of the highly contagious Delta variant. “We have 100 million people in this country … who are eligible to be vaccinated, who are not vaccinated,” Fauci said in an interview with “Face the Nation.” “We’ve really got to get those people to change their minds, make it easy for them, convince them, do something to get them to be vaccinated because they are the ones that are propagating this outbreak.” In places such as Florida, where the local government has largely resisted restrictive coronavirus precautions, a new daily-case record was just reached on Saturday, besting the previous number that occurred back in January, before the vaccines were widely available. Of course, Dr. Fauci is not a popular man among conservatives and libertarians, who have largely suggested that the government should simply stay out of the way of We The People as it pertains to keeping ourselves safe.