Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 10-28-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for October 28th, 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>A judge in NY said no, she will not pause a vaccine mandate that starts Friday for city employees. A police union had requested a temporary restraining order. She did however order city officials to appear in court Nov. 12 to defend the vaccine requirement against a union lawsuit. As of Tuesday, 73% of police department personnel had gotten at least one dose, and the fire department’s vaccination rate was 68% as of Wednesday. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Merck said it’s okay with them if other drug makers make its COVID-19 pill. It’s the first pill that’s been shown to treat the condition. The ideas is to help millions of people in poorer countries get access to the drug. And Merck will get no royalties for as long as the World Health Organization says COVID-19 is a global emergency. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The number of new cases there is still pretty bad, but the German parliament isn’t going to extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” status when it expires next month. It will keep certain measures like masking in public places. Leading members said despite the new cases, the situation is different now that about two-thirds of the population has been vaccinated.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>For some it appears there’s just no such thing as too much vaccine. The CDC updated its guidance for numerous immunocompromised people, saying they can get a booster dose at least six months after their primary vaccinations, which for some would be their fourth shot. In August, the CDC recommended the immunocompromised who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine ​​get a third dose, which wasn’t considered a booster. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As Americans argue over the vaccine because they’re so concerned about their health, guess what they’re doing more of. Smoking. For the first time in two decades, cigarette sales went up last year during the pandemic. The timing of the increase suggested cigarettes are among the items people stocked up o