Fool of a Flu! FDA Rethinks Covid Jabs for Hobbits and Humans Alike!

A Shadow of Doubt Falls Upon the Shire (and the FDA)

Hmph it seems even the most stalwart of institutions like our friends at the Food and Drug Administration are having a bit of a rethink. News reaches me from across the water that they're setting stricter standards for Covid 19 vaccine boosters. No longer shall 'one size fits all' be the motto. It appears even they have realized that not all those who wander are lost and not all those who receive boosters truly need them. This new guidance they say is for the greater good... or at least a 'balance of regulatory flexibility and gold standard science,' as they so eloquently put it.

Not All Who Wander Need a Jab

Indeed the FDA seems to be heeding the wisdom of the ages (or perhaps just the data) recognizing that the hobbits... er citizens most at risk – those with 'certain underlying health conditions,' as they delicately phrase it – shall have easier access to the elven medicine the boosters. But for you hale and hearty folk the ones who could wrestle a warg and win they demand stronger proof. Randomized controlled trials they say! Clinical outcomes! As if convincing you lot wasn't already like herding cats... or perhaps Ents.

The Council of Experts and a Skeptic in the Ranks

Interestingly this shift comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a known vaccine skeptic (one does wonder if he's been reading too many scrolls from the Dark Lord's libraries) shakes things up at the health agencies. Furthermore the FDA themselves have appointed one Vinay Prasad an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry to oversee vaccines. A rather unexpected alliance wouldn't you agree? Perhaps even stranger than seeing a Balrog side with the Ents!

For the Aged and Ailing a Glimmer of Hope

Now let's be clear. For the elder folk (65 and up) and those with underlying conditions the FDA will accept 'immunogenicity data'. A fancy way of saying if the jab makes your immune system sing a merry tune they'll deem it good enough. Apparently they reckon around 100 to 200 million souls are in this category a number that rivals the population of Gondor itself!

A Seventh Dose? What About Second Breakfast?

But for the rest of you the healthy adventurers and breadwinners they want real hard evidence. Fewer infections fewer trips to the healing wards. 'We simply don't know,' they confess 'whether a healthy 52 year old woman... will benefit from the seventh dose.' Seven doses! By the Valar that's more than some hobbits eat in a week! Though I suppose 'What about second breakfast... I mean seventh dose?' is a fair question.

A New Hope or a Fool's Errand?

The FDA argues that this 'one size fits all' approach is outdated and they aren't entirely wrong. Even the most powerful spells must be tailored to the individual after all. However they express concerns that these broad vaccine recommendations have led to a decline in trust even affecting confidence in the MMR vaccine which they still consider 'clearly established as safe and highly effective.' Only time will tell if this new path leads to greater trust or merely muddies the waters further. One thing is certain: this news is likely to stir the pot more vigorously than a boiling cauldron of Oliphaunt stew!