The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week.

+ “I trust my own cells more than I trust pharmaceutical goop; I trust my own mind more than I trust liberal elites.” The Atlantic’s Derek Thomson asked vaccine-rejectors what they’re thinking.

+ Also in The Atlantic: The Liberals Who Can’t Quit Lockdown. (Being overly cautious has its societal costs and should be addressed. But it doesn’t threaten your community members with death.)

+ “At a federal level, every effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy has health care professionals front and center. So if you’ve got a quarter of the nation’s rural hospitals having less than 50% of their staff vaccinated, you have a problem that needs to be fixed now.” Lagging COVID Vaccine Rate At Rural Hospitals.

+ “The emergence of these mind-changers suggests that at least some vaccine-wary Americans are willing to reconsider when their concerns are addressed by those they regard as credible.” Yelling at those giving the vaccine the cold shoulder won’t work. So what will? WaPo: The White House and public health experts study the Americans who went from ‘no’ to ‘yes’ on shots.

+ Get used to this story. Fighting Covid-19 could be a very long term struggle. “The two-dose vaccine has been shown to be about 95% effective against Covid two weeks after the second dose, though researchers who helped develop the shot now say they are beginning to see that strong protection wane over time.” Booster shots, and possible yearly doses, could be required.