Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 9-7-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for September 7th, 2021.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Like healthcare workers, they are most at risk. And like many healthcare workers, they are reluctant to get the vaccine. No national statistics show the vaccination rate for America's entire population of first responders, but police and fire departments report figures far below the national rate of adults who have had at least one dose. Increasingly, mandates are putting jobs at risk for refusal to take the shots.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You really have to wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. Now, the CDC says masks are no longer required indoors or outdoors in most settings if you’re fully vaccinated. The news came as a shock after a steady drumbeat of guidance that the fully vaccinated can get Covid, spread Covid, and host new variants of Covid. Regardless, the White House is promoting the new guidance on social media.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There are reports researchers recently discovered antibodies that can neutralize a range of variants and coronaviruses. This could lead to better post-infection treatments if true. They studied survivors, looking for antibodies that may be resistant to losing their effectiveness against variants and new viruses. One antibody showed a high breadth of effectiveness. Another bound well with all respiratory viruses and prevented COVID-19 infections in animal subjects.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>How bad is the nursing shortage? Right now, close to 15,000 RN positions are available in North Carolina alone. And there are 5,500 job openings for nursing assistants and LPNs. There’s also a shortage of school nurses. In fact, that was happening even before the pandemic. The CDC says there should be a nurse for every 750 students, but nearly a fourth of all schools in the US don’t have one at all.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You want to get tough on people who put others at risk of the virus but, do you want to get communist country tough? Vietnam put a 28-year-old man in jail for five year