Two weeks ago I argued for 4 non-coercive anti-Covid policies I thought were under-rated. I haven’t generally been impressed by the institutional response to the pandemic, and so I wasn’t expecting the policies I mentioned to get traction any time soon. But some did!

I argued for:

1. Full vaccine approval
2. Emergency vaccine approval for children
3. Ventilation
4. Outpatient treatments that work

Since then, the big news is that the FDA fully approved the Pfizer vaccine. This seems to have increased the pace of new vaccinations.

I really wasn’t expecting the FDA to move that fast- they have generally learned to be slow because Congress has been much more likely to complain about them approving a bad drug than about them denying or slow-walking a good drug. But Congress itself seems to be changing in response to Covid, with 108 House members pushing the FDA for a timeline on approving vaccines for 5 to 11 year-olds.

I don’t know of a good way to gauge progress on ventilation overall, but I was pleased to see HEPA filters show up in the classrooms at Providence College:

Likewise, I don’t know if Fluvoxamine prescriptions are up in the weeks since a good sized study showed it reduced Covid hospitalizations 31%, but the popular press articles about it keep coming (don’t be deterred by “Vox”, the linked article is by Kelsey Piper and its excellent).

So some institutions seem to be getting smarter, and perhaps coincidentally, we seem to be at the peak of the Delta wave. According to Covidestim.org, Rt is now below 1 in 31 states, and falling in 45 states, including all of the Southern states hit hardest by Delta. Barring a new twist (another worse variant? Winter Delta wave in the North?), things just get better from here.