Musings From the Vaccine Line at CVS; a Big Kia/Hyundai Recall

Indy Digest: Sept. 28, 2023

A week ago, I used this space to write about the scourge of misinformation. While I mainly talked about the lies that Elon Musk and others spread about how the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on an awful crime, I also mentioned the word “vaccine” in relation to misinformation. While most of the reader response to that Digest was positive, I received one email response that said, and I quote it in its entirety, “BULLSHITTTTT!!!!”

I replied: “Can you be more specific?” Alas, she didn’t answer.

This and varied other things ran through my mind as I waited at the CVS inside the Cathedral City Target last weekend. I was there to get my annual COVID and flu shots, and the pharmacist was running a little behind. I didn’t mind the wait; I was just happy there was enough of a demand to cause a wait.

Make no mistake: COVID is still very much a thing. I know of about a half-dozen friends and colleagues, off the top of my head, who are dealing with the virus right now. The good news is the spike the country has been dealing with for the last six weeks or so seems to be starting to subside. Maybe. Fingers crossed.

The bad news is this damned virus continues to be deadly. According to the CDC COVID data tracker, the virus caused 607 deaths in the week ending Sept. 23. The four weeks before that, the totals were 1,005, 1,132, 1,088 and 997. That’s more than 4,000 deaths in a month.

Wow.

So, yeah, I am very happy I got my shots last Saturday. Have you made an appointment to get yours yet?

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Tangentially related to the intro: Overwhelmed pharmacists threatened to walk out of Kansas City-area CVS stores earlier this week—over a problem that’s affecting pharmacists at drug stores nationwide. The Associated Press reports: “It won’t be easy to resolve the problems that have been growing as pharmacists at CVS and other drug stores in the U.S. took on more duties in recent years and are gearing up to deliver this year’s latest flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Pharmacists in at least a dozen Kansas City-area CVS pharmacies did not show up for work last Thursday and Friday and planned to be out again this Wednesday until the company sent its chief pharmacy officer with promises to fill open positions and increase staffing levels. It was one of the latest examples nationwide of workers fed up enough to take action. But unlike in the ongoing strikes at the automakers or in Hollywood, the pharmacists weren’t demanding raises or more vacation, but more workers to help them.”

• CNN reports that there’s been another ransomware attack—this time on a contractor hired by the Department of Homeland Security: “Senior Department of Homeland Security officials are working to determine if a ransomware attack on government contractor Johnson Controls International has compromised sensitive physical security information such as DHS floor plans, according to internal DHS correspondence reviewed by CNN. Johnson Controls, a major manufacturer of alarm and building automation systems, ‘holds classified/sensitive contracts for DHS that depict the physical security of many DHS facilities,’ according to the internal memo. The looming potential government shutdown—which could start on Sunday morning barring a deal struck in Congress—makes it ‘especially time sensitive’ to determine which DHS offices might be affected by the ransomware attack, the memo said.”

• Speaking of that possible government shutdown: The shutdowns aren’t great for the morale of workers who have to go without paychecks because they’re “non-essential,” a public policy professor writes for The Conversation: “Unless Congress and the White House can agree on a budget or extend funding short term, the federal government will shut down on Oct. 1, 2023. This means that approximately 2.2 million civilian federal employees would be furloughed and face delayed paychecks and lost work hours—in addition to 3.7 million federal contractors who would also be forced to stop working and forgo their pay. … My research shows that a discrepancy in how workers are treated during a shutdown can create workplace conflicts. As a result, employees can wind up feeling low morale, which reduces work productivity. One federal worker I interviewed following a two-week shutdown in 2013 said: ‘Up to September 30th we were working 10-hour days. On October 1st we were nonessential.’”

• If you drive a Hyundai or a Kia, your vehicle may very well be subject to a recall. NPR explains: “Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than 3 million vehicles and advising owners to park them outside due to risk of fire in the engine compartments. The companies are encouraging drivers to park their vehicles away from homes and other structures until they are able to take their vehicles to a dealership for a free repair. ‘Fires can occur whether the vehicle is parked and turned off or while driving,’ the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned in a notice posted on Wednesday. The NHTSA said that the anti-lock brake system in 13 Hyundai models could leak fluid and cause an electrical short that may bring on a fire. For Kia owners, the fire risk is being connected to the hydraulic electronic control unit in 10 separate models.” It appears most of the models being recalled are 2010-2017 models; check the story for details, or go here.

• The Hollywood writers’ strike is over, and the actors’ union is set to resume negotiations with studios on Monday. But that actors’ union may be about to start another strike against … video game companies? Yep! The Los Angeles Times reports: “SAG-AFTRA members voted overwhelmingly in favor of giving their leaders authority to strike against video game companies if they can’t reach a deal over a new contract, the union announced Monday. The authorization, which does not trigger a strike but is intended to give leaders bargaining leverage, brings the union closer to a second potential work stoppage that would further disrupt the entertainment industry. … The union said the strike authorization was approved by 98% of those who voted. The move comes as union leaders and game companies prepare for another round of bargaining over the Interactive Media Agreement set to begin Tuesday.” One of the big concerns? AI, of course.

• And finally … ProPublica, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette exposes yet another deadly case of corporate greed—this one involving Philips Respironics and its breathing machines: “The first complaints landed at the offices of Philips Respironics in 2010, soon after the company made a fateful decision to redesign its bestselling breathing machines used in homes and hospitals around the world. To silence the irritating rattle that kept users awake at night, Philips packed the devices with an industrial foam—the same kind used in sofas and mattresses. It quickly became clear that something had gone terribly wrong. The reports coming into Philips described ‘black particles’ or ‘dirt and dust’ inside machines that pump air to those who struggle to breathe. One noted an ‘oily-like’ substance. Others simply warned of ‘contamination.’ … Yet Philips withheld the vast majority of the warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, even as their numbers grew from dozens to hundreds to thousands and became more alarming each year.”

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