[Genuine Realist]

Very relevant to this thread is another new thread, "Shouldn't need to be said, but here we are," which started today. The watchdog/safeguard entities we've trusted for generations are tainted. How do we deal with a vaccine when politics have been superimposed on the FDA?

Doesn't matter much which groups are prioritized thanks to POTUS45.  Since POTUS45 has pushed pills and potions like a snake oil salesman this year, the number of people willing to take a vaccine as soon as it is available continues to drop.     The good news is that more of the first doses will be able to the willing in the lower priority groups.

POTUS45's business savvy group identified the business risk and potential supply chain challenges of a vaccine, so they sjould get credit for that tactic.  Though that silver lining in a history summary will be more than offset by the with very dark clouds from the handling of COVID overall (inconsistent messaging, deaths, disabilities, fiscal debt, job losses, business closures, erosion of USA global leadership in science, medicine and tech, etc.)

Please leave off the Trump bashing, not that he doesn't deserve bashing, but in two weeks he's going to be irrelevant.

For several months. I have been reading how ethnic minorities are especially vulnerable - without the slightest explanation of why. I'm not aware of any medical characteristic that would account for that. To the extent that that is because there is disproportionate employment in service industries and others that result in more contact that is not desirable - but maybe necessary - in a pandemic, as note, you compensate by filtering by job category, not race.

Greater numbers of comorbidities? Ok, screen for comorbidities on some agreed upon scale. If you have two individuals in the same category, they rate the same. Disregard race. You do not immunize a young African-American because he is African-American, and ignore an older Asian or Caucasian because of race. That just won't do.

As I mentioned, this is basic Fourteenth Amendment stuff. It is astounding to me Newsom reached the point of a news conference without someone pointing that out. It demonstrates to me how deeply resort to racial classification (and the assumption that all of the inequities of this society are related to race) when the actual template is far more nuanced (and in my opinion, far more related to class than race.)

It's certainly possible to come up with some complex algorithm that factors in individual health profiles, employment, participation in the community, and so on, and rates everyone on a scale. But by the time you've done that, it'll be 2030 and all this behind. Better just to go with birthday lottery after your obvious priorities have been met.

(BTW, there is one other amusing piece of political correctness. That I-A category includes health workers and 'first responders'. In case you have a tin ear, that's code for 'police', the majority of first responders, who certainly should have priority, as the job requires them to meet and interact with all manner of people, willy-nilly. But Newsom could hardly prioritize police by that name in this day and age, so it's 'first responders'. Amusing.)

[Genuine Realist]

Very relevant to this thread is another new thread, "Shouldn't need to be said, but here we are," which started today. The watchdog/safeguard entities we've trusted for generations are tainted. How do we deal with a vaccine when politics have been superimposed on the FDA?

Doesn't matter much which groups are prioritized thanks to POTUS45.  Since POTUS45 has pushed pills and potions like a snake oil salesman this year, the number of people willing to take a vaccine as soon as it is available continues to drop.     The good news is that more of the first doses will be able to the willing in the lower priority groups.

POTUS45's business savvy group identified the business risk and potential supply chain challenges of a vaccine, so they sjould get credit for that tactic.  Though that silver lining in a history summary will be more than offset by the with very dark clouds from the handling of COVID overall (inconsistent messaging, deaths, disabilities, fiscal debt, job losses, business closures, erosion of USA global leadership in science, medicine and tech, etc.)

Please leave off the Trump bashing, not that he doesn't deserve bashing, but in two weeks he's going to be irrelevant.

For several months. I have been reading how ethnic minorities are especially vulnerable - without the slightest explanation of why. I'm not aware of any medical characteristic that would account for that. To the extent that that is because there is disproportionate employment in service industries and others that result in more contact that is not desirable - but maybe necessary - in a pandemic, as note, you compensate by filtering by job category, not race.

Greater numbers of comorbidities? Ok, screen for comorbidities on some agreed upon scale. If you have two individuals in the same category, they rate the same. Disregard race. You do not immunize a young African-American because he is African-American, and ignore an older Asian or Caucasian because of race. That just won't do.

As I mentioned, this is basic Fourteenth Amendment stuff. It is astounding to me Newsom reached the point of a news conference without someone pointing that out. It demonstrates to me how deeply resort to racial classification (and the assumption that all of the inequities of this society are related to race) when the actual template is far more nuanced (and in my opinion, far more related to class than race.)

It's certainly possible to come up with some complex algorithm that factors in individual health profiles, employment, participation in the community, and so on, and rates everyone on a scale. But by the time you've done that, it'll be 2030 and all this behind. Better just to go with birthday lottery after your obvious priorities have been met.

(BTW, there is one other amusing piece of political correctness. That I-A category includes health workers and 'first responders'. In case you have a tin ear, that's code for 'police', the majority of first responders, who certainly should have priority, as the job requires them to meet and interact with all manner of people, willy-nilly. But Newsom could hardly prioritize police by that name in this day and age, so it's 'first responders'. Amusing.)