September 12, 2021

England scraps its plan for vaccine passports at nightclubs and large events, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying the scheme will not go ahead after heavy criticism. The reversal comes as the United States moves the opposite direction toward broad mandates, a contrast that undercuts the idea that passports were an inevitable public-health necessity.

The Washington Post runs a piece on how “wellness influencers” are fueling the anti-vaccine movement, the latest framing that sorts vaccine doubt into a misinformation problem to be managed. Israel, meanwhile, says it will genetically scan all arrivals for the coronavirus, and a Chinese city halts buses and trains over a fresh outbreak, signs that the most aggressive surveillance and control measures were far from over.

The Boston Globe tells readers hoping for light at the end of the tunnel to brace for more of the same over the next three to six months. NPR publishes a vaccinated health journalist’s account of a breakthrough case that did not feel “mild” at all, a candid note on the limits of the protection being promoted.