Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 8-10-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for August 10th, 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As anticipated, members of the U.S. military will be required to get the vaccine starting next month. Memos have been distributed to all troops this is necessary to maintain military readiness. The Defense Secretary said that deadline could be accelerated if the vaccine gets final FDA approval or infection rates keep rising.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>A couple of good bits of news for Moderna. Its vaccine has been granted a provisional authorization in Australia to adults who are at least 18 years old. And in Switzerland, Moderna has been approved for 12- to 17-year-olds.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The CDC added seven destinations to their highest risk category for travel, meaning travel to these places should be avoided. Joining the club are Aruba, Eswatini, France, French Polynesia, Iceland, Israel, and Thailand. The CDC continues to recommend against all international travel unless you are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile Canada lifted its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit. The US is however keeping those restrictions in place for Canadians.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Healthcare workers may soon have a big decision to make as nearly 1,500 hospitals, about a fourth of all hospitals in the U.S., require all staffers be vaccinated. More are being added every day. At least seven states have laws against vaccine mandates. Some of those exempt health care facilities, but some prohibit employers, including hospitals, from discrimination based on vaccination status, nor do workers have to tell employers their vaccination status.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>A few judges in Ohio have either ordered defendants to get a vaccine or reduced sentences if the defendant got a vaccine. In the most recent case last week, a judge ordered a 21-year-old who pleaded guilty to possession of a fentanyl-related compound to get a vaccine within two months as one of several conditions to get two years’ probation. The defendant’s a