vox--2020-10-27--States need billions to prepare for Covid-19 vaccines. The federal government isn’t helping.

Early results from the two leading US Covid-19 vaccine trials are expected in November , in what will likely be a major milestone in the race to end the pandemic .
The final leg of the race , however , will be actually getting people vaccinated .
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) has offered guidance on jurisdictions ’ plans , and has given them a deadline of November 1 to be ready to roll out a potential vaccine ( a timeline administration officials assert is unrelated to the November 3 election ) .
Will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine by then ?
“ Probably not , if you mean completely ready , ” says William Schaffner , a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center , who also serves as a consultant to the Tennessee Department of Health .
“ Are they working hard ?
Absolutely.
” No matter when it commences , a nationwide vaccine administration effort will require a massive workforce of health professionals ( who are already in short supply and are often already working on other Covid-19 responses ) .
It also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine doses at supercold temperatures — or lots and lots of dry ice .
And it needs a robust new data management system to track who gets which vaccine when and where , particularly if vaccines require multiple doses to be effective , and if there ends up being more than one approved vaccine .
The trouble is , states and local health departments have not received funding from Congress to make any of this happen .
This “ makes it nearly impossible to do what you need to be doing at this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ date is November 1 , ” says Adriane Casalotti , head of government affairs for the National Association of City and County Health Officials ( NACCHO ) .
Like many things in the pandemic , it didn ’ t have to be this way , she says .
“ This is one of the few areas of Covid-19 where we can plan in advance , where we don ’ t have to build the plane while flying it.
” She adds that although their group has been asking the federal government for support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ now it ’ s late.
” To be sure , there will not be enough vaccine to immunize 328 million people right away , which simplifies logistics somewhat .
And many experts are expecting it will be the end of this year or the beginning of 2021 before the first doses are available .
( Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently said there might be enough doses to vaccinate health care workers , first responders , and seniors by the end of January , with some doses arriving sooner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modest beginning ( and we ’ re still talking about tens of millions of people ) , public health workers want to make sure they have plans and systems in place , rather than rushing to meet a deadline , Schaffner points out .
“ The government is antsy about getting things started , but most health departments are saying , ‘ Whether I start vaccination this week or next week doesn ’ t matter so much because this is going to be going on for eight months , ’ ” he says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look at the challenges facing the vaccine rollout and how the government could help things get on track sooner rather than later .
Health experts say they need billions of dollars to be ready ; the federal government hasn ’ t promised any money State health departments were asked in late September to submit their proposed vaccine rollout plans to the CDC by October 16 .
For this task , the federal government distributed $ 200 million , which was split among the states , major metropolitan areas , and US territories .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ funds for each of the 64 jurisdictions ( states , territories , and major cities ) , Casalotti notes , but it also did not guarantee any funding would reach the thousands of smaller local health departments around the country , which is where much of the on-the-ground work of preparing to get people vaccinated will take place .
More importantly , the government has yet to promise any money to support actually building out these plans and helping the health organizations be ready when the vaccines are .
A well-coordinated , well-supported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US population will likely cost at least $ 8.4 billion , according to an October 1 letter NACCHO sent to Congress requesting that much be appropriated for the effort .
And other public health groups , including the Association of State and Territorial Health Offices ( ASTHO ) , agree .
CDC Director Robert Redfield put the number slightly lower , but still in the billions .
In a congressional subcommittee meeting in mid-September , Redfield said the CDC would need $ 6 billion to help states and localities adequately prepare to distribute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government still has not said if it will fund the effort , or how much it will allocate to vaccine distribution and administration .
“ That needs to change soon , or that ’ s going to be a limiting step , ” says Marcus Plescia , chief medical officer for ASTHO .
“ It ’ s great that we have an opportunity to plan for some element of the Covid-19 response , because so far we ’ ve just been reacting.
” Health officials are hoping a new , broad Covid-19 relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include funds earmarked specifically for vaccine distribution readiness .
And soon .
“ That would mean we could finally be really prepared , and we could finally get a step ahead of things , ” Plescia says .
If the federal government doesn ’ t step up , would states and localities be able to ?
Experts we spoke with agree that the funds need to come from the top .
The first reason for this is logistical .
With local and state budgets tapped out from pandemic response and lost revenue — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government remains the only level of government that could bankroll this effort .
The second reason has to do with equity .
“ We ’ ve seen throughout the pandemic response when we ’ re not working as a nation , it ’ s really hard for us to make any ground , ” Casalotti says .
For a vaccine rollout to be most effective , it needs to be supported at a national level , she notes .
“ People travel , and what happens across state borders can directly impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t care about jurisdictional boundaries.
” If states and localities are left to somehow support vaccine deployment , the results are going to be uneven , and likely accentuate disparities the pandemic has already laid bare , she says .
“ It really has to come from federal sources , ” concludes Plescia .
Planning a national vaccine rollout is a sizable ask , but it is also happening in the midst of major continued uncertainties — and not just about funding .
This has left state and local health departments scrambling to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They ’ re not only planning , but they have to plan for several different contingencies , ” Schaffner says .
One big unknown is which vaccine or vaccines will be approved and distributed first .
This matters in part because many have different requirements , such as extreme cold chains .
If health departments need to keep vaccine doses in storage way below zero , as some front-running candidates require , that will necessitate medical-grade freezers .
“ You ’ re not going to find those freezers in pharmacies and doctors ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are they “ something you can just run down to the hardware store and buy , ” Casalotti adds .
So if thousands of vaccine locations around the country are ordering these freezers at the same time — on an expedited timeline — it is possible there could be a shortage .
Or if there is not a shortage , they could follow the path many other pandemic specialty supplies have : With such a sudden increase in demand , there could also be a drastic price increase .
This would throw another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s quite possible , Casalotti says , for example , that health departments could already have established how many freezers they will need , and where they will procure them , but then encounter a new price , many times higher due to the surge in demand .
The federal government has the ability to step in and prevent this sort of price gouging .
Although “ we haven ’ t seen those tools deployed ” in previous instances of this during the pandemic , Casalotti says .
Pfizer ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading the race to approval , requires temperatures of about -94 degrees Fahrenheit ( and even then is only stable there for about 10 days ) .
To address this challenge in distribution , it has devised a freezer alternative , in which the vaccine vials can be stored in specially designed boxes filled with dry ice .
Although these boxes will need to have their dry ice replenished during storage , which means that “ all of our states have been spending a lot of time sorting out their dry ice supplies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workaround might not prove to be a solution for everyone .
Dry ice isn ’ t readily available everywhere , such as in some US territories , notes Plescia .
And a shortage in the carbon dioxide supply has made it hard for some dry ice makers to keep up with demand .
So Plescia hopes that even if a vaccine requiring drastic cold storage is approved first , a less temperamental one will not be far behind .
Another big unknown is precisely who will get the vaccine first and when .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Immunization Practices , which Schaffner also helps advise , is working on finalizing this rubric for who will get the vaccine first .
But they might not be able to complete their work until it ’ s known what vaccine or vaccines will be approved .
Many expect that health care workers and first responders will be first to receive an approved vaccine , which aligns with an assessment put out by the National Academy of Medicine in September and the CDC ’ s interim playbook for states .
( President Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , claimed inaccurately that “ seniors will be the first in line for the vaccine.
” The CDC has listed those 65 and older — along with others at higher risk for severe Covid-19 , and essential workers — in the second half of the first phase for vaccination , although this could change based on the results of the ongoing vaccine trials . )
Vaccinating health workers first would also give those working on vaccine distribution a slightly gentler start .
As Plescia notes , this population would generally be easy to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employers , and tend to be in favor of vaccinations in general .
If this prioritization group does come first , he is optimistic about the possibility of health departments being equipped to provide these early doses when they become available .
“ I think being ready for that is not overly ambitious , and as we roll that out , we start to learn more and gives us a little more time to be ready to do it in community settings — those are the things that are going to require more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more people , ” he says .
What distribution might look like after that is fuzzier , making it hard for health departments to plan logistics , but also communication .
Local health departments are eager for the federal government to take on the job of clear messaging once these priority groups get established .
If local health departments are in charge of telling their communities who gets priority for the vaccine , “ that ’ s just putting local health departments in a really hard position as people are looking at who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and who is at the back of the line , ” Casalotti says .
And animosity toward health departments has already been building , resulting in reluctance to participate in contact tracing efforts and even , in some cases , threats of violence , she notes .
So she asks for “ clear messages from the top that we ’ re all in this together , and not everyone is in prioritization group 1 — and that ’ s okay because we , as a nation , are all going to get through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get staff and systems up and running One clear challenge in being ready to vaccinate millions of people as quickly as possible is having enough well-trained workers to give those shots .
Hiring people to give shots in a public health setting is challenging even in the best of times , Casalotti says .
The pay tends to not be that great and the hours can be hard .
Not only that , but much of this available workforce has already been hired out to other much-needed positions , like those in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also procedural considerations .
“ In most governmental structures , you can ’ t get a million dollars on Monday and hire people on Friday , ” Schaffner says .
“ You have to go through a laborious administrative process to post openings , make sure they are available to everybody , interview applicants — and this all takes time.
” And after they get hired , they still need to be trained before they can get to work .
Public health departments and other locations will also likely need to acquire additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other items that are already in high demand in the midst of the pandemic and flu season .
“ We can be all ready to go and have planned perfectly and have our people in place and our capacity built , and then we run out of PPE , ” Plescia says .
He worries about that , he says , because “ that supply still doesn ’ t seem to be secure.
” And shortages , as we saw earlier in the pandemic , lead to unequal distribution , in which larger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There is also the little-discussed — but critical — issue of data infrastructure .
As a country , we have a patchwork method for tracking vaccinations .
For most adult vaccines , only the patient and office or clinic receive records about a given dose .
( As Schaffner jokes , “ When my father-in-law lived in New Hampshire , and spent time in Tennessee , then spent winters in Florida , I was his vaccine registry , I told his doctors .
It worked fine for my father-in-law , but I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ) Even pediatric vaccinations are usually logged just on a state-level basis .
( And still the CDC encourages parents and caretakers to be in charge of tracking their child ’ s vaccines themselves . )
So the idea of states and localities tying into a robust national vaccine tracking program — and on short order — is daunting , but crucial .
Especially with many leading candidate vaccines requiring multiple doses , and different time spans between doses .
And this information will have to flow easily among vaccine administration sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We have to have a good ability to track people and know who got the initial dose , and we need to be able to do that across state lines , ” Plescia says .
“ If someone got the first dose in Florida and moves to South Carolina , we need to see what they got.
” Even beyond that sort of rapid record look-up , health workers will also need a way to get in touch with people to remind them to get their second dose in the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate vaccine has a 21-day space between doses ; another is 28 days .
“ It would be good to go ahead and have the funding so we can start building those systems , ” Plescia says .
And not only that , Casalotti says , “ we need time to make sure those systems are interoperable , and to train the users in how to employ them .
And , frankly , we don ’ t have the time.
” For many health departments , support from the federal government can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal government for vaccine distribution guidance and funding since this spring , Casalotti says they have still wound up behind the eight-ball .
“ We have ended up in a position where we no longer have the luxury of time .
Now we ’ re behind.
” Additionally , many local health departments still hadn ’ t recovered from the budget cuts of the 2008 recession , and now a number of them have faced further budget reductions and have had to furlough staff .
“ That is certainly not what you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re going to be in the middle of a pandemic , ” she says .
In the meantime , the CDC has been directed to transfer $ 300 million from its budget to the public affairs office at its parent agency , the Department of Health and Human Services , Redfield said in a September 16 Senate subcommittee hearing .
At least $ 250 million of that has been allotted for a massive public relations campaign “ to defeat despair and inspire hope , ” with the bulk of the funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this could be used toward general vaccine safety education and information , but experts are dubious that will be the case .
“ I haven ’ t seen that this program would be addressing this issue , ” Casalotti says .
She asks for support from the federal government in reminding people that even after the first round of vaccine doses is distributed , the pandemic lifestyle will be here to stay for most people for quite a while .
“ The marathon continues , and we ’ re all running it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Other public health experts are also looking to the federal government for a unified message and response .
“ This is a pandemic ; it ’ s a national issue , ” Schaffner says .
“ We have not had a coherent , sustained response to Covid-19 from the beginning .
Every public health person I know of thinks we need it .
This has to be largely directed and funded from a federal level .
This is akin to disaster assistance .
Sure , the locals go to work , but you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a federal level .
This is a hurricane that ’ s hit all 50 states.
” Katherine Harmon Courage is a freelance science journalist and author of Cultured and Octopus !
Find her on Twitter at @ KHCourage .
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Early results from the two leading US Covid-19 vaccine trials are expected in November, in what will likely be a major milestone in the race to end the pandemic.
The final leg of the race, however, will be actually getting people vaccinated.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has offered guidance on jurisdictions’ plans, and has given them a deadline of November 1 to be ready to roll out a potential vaccine (a timeline administration officials assert is unrelated to the November 3 election).
Will health departments be ready to distribute a vaccine by then?
“Probably not, if you mean completely ready,” says William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who also serves as a consultant to the Tennessee Department of Health. “Are they working hard? Absolutely.”
No matter when it commences, a nationwide vaccine administration effort will require a massive workforce of health professionals (who are already in short supply and are often already working on other Covid-19 responses). It also may require costly medical-grade freezers to keep vaccine doses at supercold temperatures — or lots and lots of dry ice. And it needs a robust new data management system to track who gets which vaccine when and where, particularly if vaccines require multiple doses to be effective, and if there ends up being more than one approved vaccine.
The trouble is, states and local health departments have not received funding from Congress to make any of this happen. This “makes it nearly impossible to do what you need to be doing at this stage of the game if your go date is November 1,” says Adriane Casalotti, head of government affairs for the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO).
Like many things in the pandemic, it didn’t have to be this way, she says. “This is one of the few areas of Covid-19 where we can plan in advance, where we don’t have to build the plane while flying it.” She adds that although their group has been asking the federal government for support for distribution since early vaccine research began, “now it’s late.”
if jurisdictions do not have the resources to implement their COVID vaccination plans, there is only so much they can do! @ASTHO https://t.co/PB4YWz8wui — Marcus Plescia (@MarcusPlescia) October 20, 2020
To be sure, there will not be enough vaccine to immunize 328 million people right away, which simplifies logistics somewhat. And many experts are expecting it will be the end of this year or the beginning of 2021 before the first doses are available. (Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently said there might be enough doses to vaccinate health care workers, first responders, and seniors by the end of January, with some doses arriving sooner.)
But even with a relatively modest beginning (and we’re still talking about tens of millions of people), public health workers want to make sure they have plans and systems in place, rather than rushing to meet a deadline, Schaffner points out. “The government is antsy about getting things started, but most health departments are saying, ‘Whether I start vaccination this week or next week doesn’t matter so much because this is going to be going on for eight months,’” he says.
Let’s take a closer look at the challenges facing the vaccine rollout and how the government could help things get on track sooner rather than later.
Health experts say they need billions of dollars to be ready; the federal government hasn’t promised any money
State health departments were asked in late September to submit their proposed vaccine rollout plans to the CDC by October 16. For this task, the federal government distributed $200 million, which was split among the states, major metropolitan areas, and US territories.
Not only did this mean relatively little funds for each of the 64 jurisdictions (states, territories, and major cities), Casalotti notes, but it also did not guarantee any funding would reach the thousands of smaller local health departments around the country, which is where much of the on-the-ground work of preparing to get people vaccinated will take place.
More importantly, the government has yet to promise any money to support actually building out these plans and helping the health organizations be ready when the vaccines are.
Without more federal funding for #COVID19 #vaccines distribution, it's kind of like setting up tent poles without having the tent, @MEPublicHealth @nirav_mainecdc says.#pandemic — Donna Young (@DonnaYoungDC) October 19, 2020
A well-coordinated, well-supported effort by health departments to vaccinate the US population will likely cost at least $8.4 billion, according to an October 1 letter NACCHO sent to Congress requesting that much be appropriated for the effort. And other public health groups, including the Association of State and Territorial Health Offices (ASTHO), agree.
CDC Director Robert Redfield put the number slightly lower, but still in the billions. In a congressional subcommittee meeting in mid-September, Redfield said the CDC would need $6 billion to help states and localities adequately prepare to distribute a potential vaccine.
But the federal government still has not said if it will fund the effort, or how much it will allocate to vaccine distribution and administration.
“That needs to change soon, or that’s going to be a limiting step,” says Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for ASTHO. “It’s great that we have an opportunity to plan for some element of the Covid-19 response, because so far we’ve just been reacting.”
Health officials are hoping a new, broad Covid-19 relief package, approved by Congress, will include funds earmarked specifically for vaccine distribution readiness. And soon. “That would mean we could finally be really prepared, and we could finally get a step ahead of things,” Plescia says.
If the federal government doesn’t step up, would states and localities be able to? Experts we spoke with agree that the funds need to come from the top. The first reason for this is logistical. With local and state budgets tapped out from pandemic response and lost revenue — and unable to run deficits — the federal government remains the only level of government that could bankroll this effort.
The second reason has to do with equity. “We’ve seen throughout the pandemic response when we’re not working as a nation, it’s really hard for us to make any ground,” Casalotti says. For a vaccine rollout to be most effective, it needs to be supported at a national level, she notes. “People travel, and what happens across state borders can directly impact your community. The virus doesn’t care about jurisdictional boundaries.”
If states and localities are left to somehow support vaccine deployment, the results are going to be uneven, and likely accentuate disparities the pandemic has already laid bare, she says.
“It really has to come from federal sources,” concludes Plescia.
Major unknowns remain, making preparations even more difficult
Planning a national vaccine rollout is a sizable ask, but it is also happening in the midst of major continued uncertainties — and not just about funding. This has left state and local health departments scrambling to prepare as best they can. “They’re not only planning, but they have to plan for several different contingencies,” Schaffner says.
One big unknown is which vaccine or vaccines will be approved and distributed first. This matters in part because many have different requirements, such as extreme cold chains. If health departments need to keep vaccine doses in storage way below zero, as some front-running candidates require, that will necessitate medical-grade freezers.
“You’re not going to find those freezers in pharmacies and doctors’ offices,” Schaffner says. Nor are they “something you can just run down to the hardware store and buy,” Casalotti adds.
So if thousands of vaccine locations around the country are ordering these freezers at the same time — on an expedited timeline — it is possible there could be a shortage.
Or if there is not a shortage, they could follow the path many other pandemic specialty supplies have: With such a sudden increase in demand, there could also be a drastic price increase. This would throw another wrench in even the best-laid plans. It’s quite possible, Casalotti says, for example, that health departments could already have established how many freezers they will need, and where they will procure them, but then encounter a new price, many times higher due to the surge in demand.
The federal government has the ability to step in and prevent this sort of price gouging. Although “we haven’t seen those tools deployed” in previous instances of this during the pandemic, Casalotti says.
Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, which is among those leading the race to approval, requires temperatures of about -94 degrees Fahrenheit (and even then is only stable there for about 10 days). To address this challenge in distribution, it has devised a freezer alternative, in which the vaccine vials can be stored in specially designed boxes filled with dry ice. Although these boxes will need to have their dry ice replenished during storage, which means that “all of our states have been spending a lot of time sorting out their dry ice supplies,” Plescia says.
Even this workaround might not prove to be a solution for everyone. Dry ice isn’t readily available everywhere, such as in some US territories, notes Plescia. And a shortage in the carbon dioxide supply has made it hard for some dry ice makers to keep up with demand. So Plescia hopes that even if a vaccine requiring drastic cold storage is approved first, a less temperamental one will not be far behind.
Another big unknown is precisely who will get the vaccine first and when. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which Schaffner also helps advise, is working on finalizing this rubric for who will get the vaccine first. But they might not be able to complete their work until it’s known what vaccine or vaccines will be approved.
Many expect that health care workers and first responders will be first to receive an approved vaccine, which aligns with an assessment put out by the National Academy of Medicine in September and the CDC’s interim playbook for states. (President Trump, at an October 16 stop in Florida, claimed inaccurately that “seniors will be the first in line for the vaccine.” The CDC has listed those 65 and older — along with others at higher risk for severe Covid-19, and essential workers — in the second half of the first phase for vaccination, although this could change based on the results of the ongoing vaccine trials.)
Vaccinating health workers first would also give those working on vaccine distribution a slightly gentler start. As Plescia notes, this population would generally be easy to reach and follow up with through their employers, and tend to be in favor of vaccinations in general.
If this prioritization group does come first, he is optimistic about the possibility of health departments being equipped to provide these early doses when they become available. “I think being ready for that is not overly ambitious, and as we roll that out, we start to learn more and gives us a little more time to be ready to do it in community settings — those are the things that are going to require more capacity and more planning, and just more people,” he says.
What distribution might look like after that is fuzzier, making it hard for health departments to plan logistics, but also communication.
Local health departments are eager for the federal government to take on the job of clear messaging once these priority groups get established.
If local health departments are in charge of telling their communities who gets priority for the vaccine, “that’s just putting local health departments in a really hard position as people are looking at who is at the front of the line and who is at the back of the line,” Casalotti says. And animosity toward health departments has already been building, resulting in reluctance to participate in contact tracing efforts and even, in some cases, threats of violence, she notes.
So she asks for “clear messages from the top that we’re all in this together, and not everyone is in prioritization group 1 — and that’s okay because we, as a nation, are all going to get through this.”
Health departments will need time to get staff and systems up and running
One clear challenge in being ready to vaccinate millions of people as quickly as possible is having enough well-trained workers to give those shots. Hiring people to give shots in a public health setting is challenging even in the best of times, Casalotti says. The pay tends to not be that great and the hours can be hard. Not only that, but much of this available workforce has already been hired out to other much-needed positions, like those in hospitals, she notes.
There are also procedural considerations. “In most governmental structures, you can’t get a million dollars on Monday and hire people on Friday,” Schaffner says. “You have to go through a laborious administrative process to post openings, make sure they are available to everybody, interview applicants — and this all takes time.” And after they get hired, they still need to be trained before they can get to work.
Public health departments and other locations will also likely need to acquire additional ancillary supplies, such as PPE and other items that are already in high demand in the midst of the pandemic and flu season.
“We can be all ready to go and have planned perfectly and have our people in place and our capacity built, and then we run out of PPE,” Plescia says. He worries about that, he says, because “that supply still doesn’t seem to be secure.” And shortages, as we saw earlier in the pandemic, lead to unequal distribution, in which larger and wealthier states can procure more supplies.
There is also the little-discussed — but critical — issue of data infrastructure. As a country, we have a patchwork method for tracking vaccinations. For most adult vaccines, only the patient and office or clinic receive records about a given dose. (As Schaffner jokes, “When my father-in-law lived in New Hampshire, and spent time in Tennessee, then spent winters in Florida, I was his vaccine registry, I told his doctors. It worked fine for my father-in-law, but I can’t do that for everybody.”) Even pediatric vaccinations are usually logged just on a state-level basis. (And still the CDC encourages parents and caretakers to be in charge of tracking their child’s vaccines themselves.)
So the idea of states and localities tying into a robust national vaccine tracking program — and on short order — is daunting, but crucial. Especially with many leading candidate vaccines requiring multiple doses, and different time spans between doses.
And this information will have to flow easily among vaccine administration sites across the country in close to real-time. “We have to have a good ability to track people and know who got the initial dose, and we need to be able to do that across state lines,” Plescia says. “If someone got the first dose in Florida and moves to South Carolina, we need to see what they got.” Even beyond that sort of rapid record look-up, health workers will also need a way to get in touch with people to remind them to get their second dose in the right time frame, he says. One candidate vaccine has a 21-day space between doses; another is 28 days.
“It would be good to go ahead and have the funding so we can start building those systems,” Plescia says.
And not only that, Casalotti says, “we need time to make sure those systems are interoperable, and to train the users in how to employ them. And, frankly, we don’t have the time.”
“The marathon continues”
For many health departments, support from the federal government can’t come soon enough. Despite asking the federal government for vaccine distribution guidance and funding since this spring, Casalotti says they have still wound up behind the eight-ball. “We have ended up in a position where we no longer have the luxury of time. Now we’re behind.”
Additionally, many local health departments still hadn’t recovered from the budget cuts of the 2008 recession, and now a number of them have faced further budget reductions and have had to furlough staff. “That is certainly not what you want to be doing when you know you’re going to be in the middle of a pandemic,” she says.
In the meantime, the CDC has been directed to transfer $300 million from its budget to the public affairs office at its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, Redfield said in a September 16 Senate subcommittee hearing. At least $250 million of that has been allotted for a massive public relations campaign “to defeat despair and inspire hope,” with the bulk of the funds to be used before January.
Some of this could be used toward general vaccine safety education and information, but experts are dubious that will be the case. “I haven’t seen that this program would be addressing this issue,” Casalotti says.
She asks for support from the federal government in reminding people that even after the first round of vaccine doses is distributed, the pandemic lifestyle will be here to stay for most people for quite a while. “The marathon continues, and we’re all running it whether we want to or not.”
Other public health experts are also looking to the federal government for a unified message and response. “This is a pandemic; it’s a national issue,” Schaffner says. “We have not had a coherent, sustained response to Covid-19 from the beginning. Every public health person I know of thinks we need it. This has to be largely directed and funded from a federal level. This is akin to disaster assistance. Sure, the locals go to work, but you really have to deal with this from a federal level. This is a hurricane that’s hit all 50 states.”
Katherine Harmon Courage is a freelance science journalist and author of Cultured and Octopus! Find her on Twitter at @KHCourage.


vox--2020-10-27--The false link between Amy Coney Barrett and The Handmaid’s Tale, explained

On Monday , Amy Coney Barrett , Donald Trump ’ s nominee to take Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s seat on the Supreme Court , was officially confirmed and sworn in .
Barrett ’ s controversial confirmation was the final chapter of the spectacle surrounding her rapid nomination and confirmation , especially so close to a presidential election .
And it only further served to reignite the extremely polarized conversation around Barrett ’ s religion that has been building since 2017 .
Barrett is a devout Catholic .
She has written before about her belief that Catholicism should affect a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussed her views widely when she was nominated to the federal bench in 2017 .
In a moment that has become infamous on the right , Sen. Dianne Feinstein declared that “ the dogma lives loudly within you ” during Barrett ’ s hearing , a phrase some conservatives took to be an attack on Barrett ’ s Catholicism .
Barrett is also part of a small Catholic group known as People of Praise , and that ’ s where her religious affiliations get especially touchy .
Some liberals argue Barrett ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that husbands are the heads of families and have authority over their wives , signals that she will hand down religiously motivated conservative opinions as a Supreme Court justice , particularly when it comes to women ’ s reproductive freedom and the rights of the queer community .
Meanwhile , conservatives reply that Barrett is a high-powered judge who is also married , so she can ’ t be all that oppressed by her husband , and that liberal critiques of the way Barrett ’ s religion affects her judicial obligations are nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One of the weirder ways this debate has played out since Barrett was first discussed as a potential Supreme Court nominee is the fight over whether or not People of Praise , the group she belongs to , is also one of the inspirations for The Handmaid ’ s Tale .
In Margaret Atwood ’ s 1985 dystopian novel ( and its recent TV adaptation ) , fertile women are forced to live as childbearing slaves called handmaids .
The group isn ’ t an established inspiration for the book — but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inaccurate link between the People of Praise and Atwood ’ s story , perpetuated by a series of confusing coincidences and uneven fact-checking , first emerged in a Newsweek article and was later picked up by Reuters .
Both articles have since been corrected , but the right was furious at both .
The Washington Examiner called it a “ smear that just won ’ t die.
” Fox News noted several other outlets have mentioned Barrett and The Handmaid ’ s Tale in the same story .
To be absolutely clear : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for The Handmaid ’ s Tale , and the group does not practice sexual slavery or any of the other dystopian practices Atwood wrote about in her novel .
But the argument over whether or not the two are connected reflects the deeply contentious atmosphere in which Barrett ’ s confirmation to the Supreme Court occurred — and the immense symbolic weight The Handmaid ’ s Tale carries in American popular culture .
The Handmaid ’ s Tale is actually inspired by People of Hope .
They ’ re different from People of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea of a People of Praise–Handmaid ’ s Tale connection .
The first coincidence is that the People of Praise once had a religious rank called “ handmaid.
” As reported by the New York Times in 2017 , People of Praise members are all accountable to a personal adviser .
Those advisers offer guidance on major life decisions , including , per the Times , “ whom to date or marry , where to live , whether to take a job or buy a home , and how to raise children.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ heads ” when they were men and “ handmaids ” when they were women .
They have since been renamed “ leaders.
” The second coincidence is that when Margaret Atwood explained her Handmaid ’ s Tale inspirations to the New York Times in 1987 , she described one of them as “ a Catholic charismatic spinoff sect , which calls the women handmaids.
” Atwood did not at the time name the sect , so when her quote resurfaced in 2020 , it was very easy for some readers to think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Catholic charismatic spinoff sect that calls the women handmaids , so there you go .
Accordingly , on September 21 , Newsweek reported that People of Praise was one of Atwood ’ s inspirations for The Handmaid ’ s Tale .
Asked about her inspiration for The Handmaid ’ s Tale by Politico as the controversy heated up , Atwood said she wasn ’ t sure which group she was talking about in 1987 .
Her archive of work and research is at the University of Toronto , where she can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions .
But she ’ s on the record as going through her Handmaid ’ s Tale archives for journalists plenty of times in the past , and during those interviews , she ’ s always cited People of Hope , a different Catholic charismatic spinoff that calls women handmaids .
Specifically , People of Hope is a fundamentalist group in New Jersey that some former members have said behaves like a cult and which has allegedly arranged marriages between teenagers .
The People of Hope call wives “ handmaids , ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Associated Press clipping about the group , she underlined it in pen .
It ’ s rumored that it ’ s here that she developed the idea of using the name to begin with .
In a weird wrinkle , the timing of the lore here doesn ’ t quite work out .
Reporting for the Star-Ledger in 2017 , Tom Deignan found that the story didn ’ t hit the AP until after The Handmaid ’ s Tale came out in 1985 , meaning that Atwood couldn ’ t have pulled the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news article after all .
But regardless , the AP clipping in Atwood ’ s archives , the one that she always shows reporters , is about People of Hope .
And while it ’ s plenty plausible that Atwood has indulged in a little self-mythologizing about her creative process over the years , it ’ s not really that relevant to any questions about Amy Coney Barrett and her religious leanings today .
The outrage over the controversy speaks to the symbolic weight Handmaid ’ s Tale holds today in American pop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handmaids , People of Hope handmaids , and Margaret Atwood handmaids is where this whole misunderstanding originated .
And it is , in its own way , telling about the world Atwood was writing about in 1984 when she built Gilead , her theocratic dystopia .
Atwood was drawing from the cultural norms of lots of different North American charismatic Christian groups at the time , including harmless ones .
The reason there ’ s so much confusion about exactly where she took the word handmaid from is that handmaid is the kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charismatic Christian groups were into in 1984 : suggestive of purity , duty , and feminine obedience to divine will .
Again , that does not mean these groups were practicing sexual slavery .
It means they were working with a very specific vocabulary , and the way Atwood made her dystopia feel real was by skillfully mimicking them .
But that this slippage occurred in 2020 is also telling about how immensely fearful people are , on both the right and the left , about America ’ s future — and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a symbol of what that future might look like .
People on the left look at Amy Coney Barrett and see someone who has denounced both abortion and marriage equality in explicitly religious terms , someone who they fear will , now that she is seated on the Supreme Court , turn back the clock on both those issues .
They see a symbol of the same fear that drove protesters to don Handmaid robes at the Kavanaugh hearings in 2018 : the fear that women are going to lose control of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day comes , we might just as well be in Gilead .
So they have linked Barrett to The Handmaid ’ s Tale because The Handmaid ’ s Tale is now our culture ’ s most potent symbol for the idea of a world in which women ’ s bodies are not their own .
People on the religious right , meanwhile , see the left ’ s focus on Barrett ’ s Catholicism as confirmation that American Christianity is losing its cultural power , and that they may soon become a persecuted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s People of Praise to The Handmaid ’ s Tale , viewed through this lens , become examples of the left trying to make Barrett ’ s religion a disqualifying mark against her , and by extension to make all Christian faith disqualifying for higher office .
The result is a controversy about two political parties that increasingly see themselves as pushed to the breaking point — and who believe they have no space left to interact with the other side in good faith .
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On Monday, Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s nominee to take Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court, was officially confirmed and sworn in. Barrett’s controversial confirmation was the final chapter of the spectacle surrounding her rapid nomination and confirmation, especially so close to a presidential election. And it only further served to reignite the extremely polarized conversation around Barrett’s religion that has been building since 2017.
Barrett is a devout Catholic. She has written before about her belief that Catholicism should affect a judge’s jurisprudence, and Democrats discussed her views widely when she was nominated to the federal bench in 2017. In a moment that has become infamous on the right, Sen. Dianne Feinstein declared that “the dogma lives loudly within you” during Barrett’s hearing, a phrase some conservatives took to be an attack on Barrett’s Catholicism.
Barrett is also part of a small Catholic group known as People of Praise, and that’s where her religious affiliations get especially touchy. Some liberals argue Barrett’s membership in this group, which teaches that husbands are the heads of families and have authority over their wives, signals that she will hand down religiously motivated conservative opinions as a Supreme Court justice, particularly when it comes to women’s reproductive freedom and the rights of the queer community.
Meanwhile, conservatives reply that Barrett is a high-powered judge who is also married, so she can’t be all that oppressed by her husband, and that liberal critiques of the way Barrett’s religion affects her judicial obligations are nothing more than anti-Catholic prejudice at work.
One of the weirder ways this debate has played out since Barrett was first discussed as a potential Supreme Court nominee is the fight over whether or not People of Praise, the group she belongs to, is also one of the inspirations for The Handmaid’s Tale. In Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel (and its recent TV adaptation), fertile women are forced to live as childbearing slaves called handmaids. The group isn’t an established inspiration for the book — but the story has developed legs anyway.
The inaccurate link between the People of Praise and Atwood’s story, perpetuated by a series of confusing coincidences and uneven fact-checking, first emerged in a Newsweek article and was later picked up by Reuters. Both articles have since been corrected, but the right was furious at both. The Washington Examiner called it a “smear that just won’t die.” Fox News noted several other outlets have mentioned Barrett and The Handmaid’s Tale in the same story.
To be absolutely clear: People of Praise is not an inspiration for The Handmaid’s Tale, and the group does not practice sexual slavery or any of the other dystopian practices Atwood wrote about in her novel. But the argument over whether or not the two are connected reflects the deeply contentious atmosphere in which Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court occurred — and the immense symbolic weight The Handmaid’s Tale carries in American popular culture.
The Handmaid’s Tale is actually inspired by People of Hope. They’re different from People of Praise.
Two coincidences led to the idea of a People of Praise–Handmaid’s Tale connection. The first coincidence is that the People of Praise once had a religious rank called “handmaid.” As reported by the New York Times in 2017, People of Praise members are all accountable to a personal adviser. Those advisers offer guidance on major life decisions, including, per the Times, “whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children.” And these advisers used to be called “heads” when they were men and “handmaids” when they were women. They have since been renamed “leaders.”
The second coincidence is that when Margaret Atwood explained her Handmaid’s Tale inspirations to the New York Times in 1987, she described one of them as “a Catholic charismatic spinoff sect, which calls the women handmaids.” Atwood did not at the time name the sect, so when her quote resurfaced in 2020, it was very easy for some readers to think, Well, People of Praise is a Catholic charismatic spinoff sect that calls the women handmaids, so there you go. Accordingly, on September 21, Newsweek reported that People of Praise was one of Atwood’s inspirations for The Handmaid’s Tale.
Asked about her inspiration for The Handmaid’s Tale by Politico as the controversy heated up, Atwood said she wasn’t sure which group she was talking about in 1987. Her archive of work and research is at the University of Toronto, where she can’t currently access it due to Covid-19 restrictions. But she’s on the record as going through her Handmaid’s Tale archives for journalists plenty of times in the past, and during those interviews, she’s always cited People of Hope, a different Catholic charismatic spinoff that calls women handmaids.
Specifically, People of Hope is a fundamentalist group in New Jersey that some former members have said behaves like a cult and which has allegedly arranged marriages between teenagers. The People of Hope call wives “handmaids,” and when Atwood saw that word in an Associated Press clipping about the group, she underlined it in pen. It’s rumored that it’s here that she developed the idea of using the name to begin with.
In a weird wrinkle, the timing of the lore here doesn’t quite work out. Reporting for the Star-Ledger in 2017, Tom Deignan found that the story didn’t hit the AP until after The Handmaid’s Tale came out in 1985, meaning that Atwood couldn’t have pulled the word “handmaid” from that mythical news article after all. But regardless, the AP clipping in Atwood’s archives, the one that she always shows reporters, is about People of Hope. And while it’s plenty plausible that Atwood has indulged in a little self-mythologizing about her creative process over the years, it’s not really that relevant to any questions about Amy Coney Barrett and her religious leanings today.
The outrage over the controversy speaks to the symbolic weight Handmaid’s Tale holds today in American pop culture
The slippage between People of Praise handmaids, People of Hope handmaids, and Margaret Atwood handmaids is where this whole misunderstanding originated. And it is, in its own way, telling about the world Atwood was writing about in 1984 when she built Gilead, her theocratic dystopia.
Atwood was drawing from the cultural norms of lots of different North American charismatic Christian groups at the time, including harmless ones. The reason there’s so much confusion about exactly where she took the word handmaid from is that handmaid is the kind of word a lot of North American charismatic Christian groups were into in 1984: suggestive of purity, duty, and feminine obedience to divine will.
Again, that does not mean these groups were practicing sexual slavery. It means they were working with a very specific vocabulary, and the way Atwood made her dystopia feel real was by skillfully mimicking them.
But that this slippage occurred in 2020 is also telling about how immensely fearful people are, on both the right and the left, about America’s future — and how powerful The Handmaid’s Tale is as a symbol of what that future might look like.
People on the left look at Amy Coney Barrett and see someone who has denounced both abortion and marriage equality in explicitly religious terms, someone who they fear will, now that she is seated on the Supreme Court, turn back the clock on both those issues. They see a symbol of the same fear that drove protesters to don Handmaid robes at the Kavanaugh hearings in 2018: the fear that women are going to lose control of their bodies, and that when that day comes, we might just as well be in Gilead. So they have linked Barrett to The Handmaid’s Tale because The Handmaid’s Tale is now our culture’s most potent symbol for the idea of a world in which women’s bodies are not their own.
Related What Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court means for abortion rights
People on the religious right, meanwhile, see the left’s focus on Barrett’s Catholicism as confirmation that American Christianity is losing its cultural power, and that they may soon become a persecuted minority. Articles that mistakenly link Barrett’s People of Praise to The Handmaid’s Tale, viewed through this lens, become examples of the left trying to make Barrett’s religion a disqualifying mark against her, and by extension to make all Christian faith disqualifying for higher office.
The result is a controversy about two political parties that increasingly see themselves as pushed to the breaking point — and who believe they have no space left to interact with the other side in good faith.


vox--2020-10-28--Let a harried handywitch steal your heart and teach you practical magic in this charming audio drama

One Good Thing is Vox ’ s recommendations series .
In each edition , we ’ ll tell you about something from the world of culture that we think you should check out .
This week , in honor of Halloween , we ’ re summoning five recommendations involving witches .
If you could turn cottagecore — that cozy , witchy aesthetic built around some unholy combination of queerness , magic , Taylor Swift lyrics , and mid-2010s Tumblr — into a podcast , you ’ d have Kalila Stormfire ’ s Economical Magick Services , an independent , twice-monthly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loved since its inception in 2018 .
Kalila Stormfire is the story of a young witch trying to restart her life after she is ejected from her coven for casting a spell that went terribly wrong .
Complete with her cat , Eldritch , Kalila finds a bunch of new clients from her working-class neighborhood who test her magical skills , entice her on new adventures , and gradually become her new community of friends and misfits .
On the surface , Kalila Stormfire seems tailor-made for anyone who loves an archetypical October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pumpkin spice .
But actually , that “ cottagecore ” label ’ s not quite right for this series .
“ Cottagecore , ” despite sharing a softness and soothing core with Kalila , is inevitably homogeneous .
All those Taylor Swift lyrics , those legions of young white women in cozy cardigans , sitting before soft-filtered altars reading astrology charts — they originated from a whitewashed , suburban view of what “ magic ” is .
Kalila Stomfire ’ s creator , Lisette Alvarez , consciously thinks about # witchyaesthetic in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is more urban fantasy than rustic countryside — it ’ s freer , more layered , and more multicultural than cottagecore tends to be .
Her version is rooted in actual occult practice , because Alvarez is a trained practitioner of esoteric New Age studies including magic .
And it ’ s more overtly queer than most cottagecore fare , despite our best efforts to read lesbian vibes into Folklore .
Perhaps above all , magic in Kalla ’ s world is deep , both practically and thematically .
Not only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it ’ s omnipresent : The magic in the show is also a fundamental part of the characters ’ mundane daily lives .
Each character ’ s experience of magic is also inextricable from the way they experience things like poverty , classism , dysphoria , or grief .
It ’ s magical realism , infused with a close exploration of identity , culture , religion , and the intersection of our personal lives with our spiritual practices — all framed through the tale of a narrator whose own life is full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fiction — but it ’ s also almost a religious ritual .
( With witches . )
Kalila Stormfire takes place in an alternate reality , in the fictional city of Brushland , where magic ( “ magick ” therein ) and spellwork are everyday parts of the culture .
Gods and demons can be summoned without breaking a sweat , and a good witch is the occult equivalent of a good handyman .
Kalila , trying to set up shop as one such magical repair worker , gets a number of unusual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desperate for help from the first local witch they come across .
All the while , someone mysterious , for reasons unknown , has been blacklisting her from gaining potential new clients throughout her community .
As the story evolves , we ’ re introduced to a wonderfully diverse cast of characters and lots of magical theory — so much so that , in any other context , it might feel overwhelming or didactic .
Instead , you get it filtered through the personality of Kalila herself : harried , well-meaning but chaotic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the incident that caused her to have a falling-out with her coven .
As the story unfolds , Kalila tentatively begins the slowest of slow-burn relationships with her mysterious new client Desiree , and she goes on the long journey of figuring out who ’ s trying to ruin her attempt to start her life over — and why .
The show is currently in its third season .
Episodes are short — under half an hour — and the first season is presented to us in narrative form by Kalila herself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progresses and more characters drop into Kalila ’ s life , the cast expands , the sound design becomes a bit more elaborate , and the story grows to encompass encounters with fae folk , brushes with alternate dimensions , and a whole lot of occult exploration .
That part won ’ t be for everyone — but it ’ s not supposed to be .
The show openly embraces the kind of mysticism that doesn ’ t get a lot of attention outside of niche communities of practicing witches and proponents of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theories and practices , the tools of her trade , while she and the other characters frequently work with esoteric themes , like reading auras or spell-casting by speaking intent into the universe .
These are all magic practices that are alive in our own world , but they don ’ t often get taken seriously .
US culture tends to categorize belief systems as Christianity , skepticism , and everything else , so there ’ s a lot of accepted folk wisdom in Kalila that you just have to ... well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the outset : Each episode informs you that it ’ s “ for initiated ears only , ” thus inviting you to engage with its occult practices on its own terms .
Yet Kalia ’ s commitment to its magical world-building never obscures the plot .
And the plot is familiar , up to a point : Kalila is every lost girl who ’ s struggled to grow up and become independent without just running back home to her parents .
She struggles with money , with love , with adulthood .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for herself , however — a ragtag gang of witches , shapeshifters , werewolves , and changelings — the story gets more complicated .
Kalila manifests an alternate personality — the difficult , wilder , more outspoken side of herself , her “ shadow ” self — and has to work to accept and align her divided selves .
The story expands its emphasis on magic as an active spiritual practice .
These are a bunch of witches , after all , and witches are very concerned with analyzing feelings and emotions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s easy to come away from an episode of Kalila feeling like you ’ ve just been through an actual session of spell-casting , or astral projection , or trance inducement .
But Kalila doesn ’ t just fling its spiritual practices in your face .
The series actively encourages you to use them , meditate on them , deploy them to get through your life — your own brushes with loss , anxiety , anger , fear , and loss of control — in whichever ways work for you .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the series roots all its exploration within the values of community , found family , and normal people just doing their best to get through the day and uplift each other .
It ’ s a soothing , tranquil framework , even when its topics get messy and uncomfortable .
As an avowed atheist , I find all of this heartening : I ’ m not going to be harvesting threshold vines any time soon like Kalila , but the podcast allows me , twice a month , to step into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witch , if I wanted .
And that version of me is totally down to follow Kalila into her witchy travels — and possibly get closer , with or without witchcraft , to confronting shadows of my own .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

If you could turn cottagecore — that cozy, witchy aesthetic built around some unholy combination of queerness, magic, Taylor Swift lyrics, and mid-2010s Tumblr — into a podcast, you’d have Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services, an independent, twice-monthly audio drama series that I’ve loved since its inception in 2018.
Kalila Stormfire is the story of a young witch trying to restart her life after she is ejected from her coven for casting a spell that went terribly wrong. Complete with her cat, Eldritch, Kalila finds a bunch of new clients from her working-class neighborhood who test her magical skills, entice her on new adventures, and gradually become her new community of friends and misfits.
On the surface, Kalila Stormfire seems tailor-made for anyone who loves an archetypical October aesthetic — think tarot cards, cardigans, pumpkin spice. But actually, that “cottagecore” label’s not quite right for this series. “Cottagecore,” despite sharing a softness and soothing core with Kalila, is inevitably homogeneous. All those Taylor Swift lyrics, those legions of young white women in cozy cardigans, sitting before soft-filtered altars reading astrology charts — they originated from a whitewashed, suburban view of what “magic” is.
Kalila Stomfire’s creator, Lisette Alvarez, consciously thinks about #witchyaesthetic in building out the show and its world, which is more urban fantasy than rustic countryside — it’s freer, more layered, and more multicultural than cottagecore tends to be. Her version is rooted in actual occult practice, because Alvarez is a trained practitioner of esoteric New Age studies including magic. And it’s more overtly queer than most cottagecore fare, despite our best efforts to read lesbian vibes into Folklore.
Perhaps above all, magic in Kalla’s world is deep, both practically and thematically. Not only is the actual magical theory deep, but it’s omnipresent: The magic in the show is also a fundamental part of the characters’ mundane daily lives. Each character’s experience of magic is also inextricable from the way they experience things like poverty, classism, dysphoria, or grief. It’s magical realism, infused with a close exploration of identity, culture, religion, and the intersection of our personal lives with our spiritual practices — all framed through the tale of a narrator whose own life is full of shadows and self-doubt.
Kalila is fiction — but it’s also almost a religious ritual. (With witches.)
Kalila Stormfire takes place in an alternate reality, in the fictional city of Brushland, where magic (“magick” therein) and spellwork are everyday parts of the culture. Gods and demons can be summoned without breaking a sweat, and a good witch is the occult equivalent of a good handyman. Kalila, trying to set up shop as one such magical repair worker, gets a number of unusual cases, often from people who are desperate for help from the first local witch they come across. All the while, someone mysterious, for reasons unknown, has been blacklisting her from gaining potential new clients throughout her community.
As the story evolves, we’re introduced to a wonderfully diverse cast of characters and lots of magical theory — so much so that, in any other context, it might feel overwhelming or didactic. Instead, you get it filtered through the personality of Kalila herself: harried, well-meaning but chaotic, and still rubbing her wounds from the incident that caused her to have a falling-out with her coven.
As the story unfolds, Kalila tentatively begins the slowest of slow-burn relationships with her mysterious new client Desiree, and she goes on the long journey of figuring out who’s trying to ruin her attempt to start her life over — and why.
The show is currently in its third season. Episodes are short — under half an hour — and the first season is presented to us in narrative form by Kalila herself, voiced by Alvarez. As the story progresses and more characters drop into Kalila’s life, the cast expands, the sound design becomes a bit more elaborate, and the story grows to encompass encounters with fae folk, brushes with alternate dimensions, and a whole lot of occult exploration.
That part won’t be for everyone — but it’s not supposed to be. The show openly embraces the kind of mysticism that doesn’t get a lot of attention outside of niche communities of practicing witches and proponents of occultism. Kalila tosses around actual magical theories and practices, the tools of her trade, while she and the other characters frequently work with esoteric themes, like reading auras or spell-casting by speaking intent into the universe.
These are all magic practices that are alive in our own world, but they don’t often get taken seriously. US culture tends to categorize belief systems as Christianity, skepticism, and everything else, so there’s a lot of accepted folk wisdom in Kalila that you just have to ... well, accept. The podcast says this from the outset: Each episode informs you that it’s “for initiated ears only,” thus inviting you to engage with its occult practices on its own terms.
Yet Kalia’s commitment to its magical world-building never obscures the plot. And the plot is familiar, up to a point: Kalila is every lost girl who’s struggled to grow up and become independent without just running back home to her parents. She struggles with money, with love, with adulthood.
As Kalila grows and finds a new community for herself, however — a ragtag gang of witches, shapeshifters, werewolves, and changelings — the story gets more complicated. Kalila manifests an alternate personality — the difficult, wilder, more outspoken side of herself, her “shadow” self — and has to work to accept and align her divided selves. The story expands its emphasis on magic as an active spiritual practice. These are a bunch of witches, after all, and witches are very concerned with analyzing feelings and emotions, creating harmony, and finding balance. It’s easy to come away from an episode of Kalila feeling like you’ve just been through an actual session of spell-casting, or astral projection, or trance inducement.
But Kalila doesn’t just fling its spiritual practices in your face. The series actively encourages you to use them, meditate on them, deploy them to get through your life — your own brushes with loss, anxiety, anger, fear, and loss of control — in whichever ways work for you. As a dedicated example of hopepunk storytelling, the series roots all its exploration within the values of community, found family, and normal people just doing their best to get through the day and uplift each other. It’s a soothing, tranquil framework, even when its topics get messy and uncomfortable.
As an avowed atheist, I find all of this heartening: I’m not going to be harvesting threshold vines any time soon like Kalila, but the podcast allows me, twice a month, to step into a version of myself that could be a witch, if I wanted. And that version of me is totally down to follow Kalila into her witchy travels — and possibly get closer, with or without witchcraft, to confronting shadows of my own.
For more recommendations from the world of culture, check out the One Good Thing archives.


vox--2020-10-28--Mitch McConnell’s grip on Kentucky, explained

Democrats have been trying to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for years , but they haven ’ t been able to do it .
Among the challenges they face is Kentucky ’ s conservative skew and the solid base of support McConnell has as a result .
By emphasizing the funding he ’ s been able to bring back to Kentucky for projects like a veterans affairs medical center in Louisville and stressing how his prominent position benefits the state , McConnell has also made a case for his reelection that continues to resonate with many voters .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leads Democratic challenger and former fighter pilot Amy McGrath 51 percent to 42 percent — a gap that experts see persisting .
“ I would describe the race as generating a lot of media and public interest , but not actually competitive , ” Anne Cizmar , an Eastern Kentucky University government professor , told Vox .
McGrath is the latest challenger to McConnell , who has been in office for 36 years and become synonymous with the obstruction of Democratic legislation and judicial nominees in his leadership role .
Last year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grim Reaper ” for House Democratic bills .
And in October , he rushed through the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett after refusing to consider Barack Obama ’ s nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 .
As part of her campaign , McGrath has called out McConnell ’ s role in the “ swamp ” and brought in a stunning amount of funding , which has enabled her to advertise widely in the state .
She has also pressed McConnell on why he has held up stimulus for millions of Kentuckians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closures , even as he has prioritized Barrett ’ s nomination .
Despite McGrath ’ s fundraising acumen , however , Kentucky ’ s conservatism makes any challenge to a top Republican leader very difficult .
In 2016 , President Donald Trump won Kentucky by a whopping 30 percentage points , while McConnell won his previous Senate race in 2014 by 16 .
“ I think it ’ s difficult for any Democratic candidate , ” said Cook Political Report ’ s Jessica Taylor .
“ Kentucky remains a conservative state at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beshear pulled off a major win for Democrats by beating incumbent Matt Bevin for the governor ’ s seat .
Beshear ’ s win , however , involved unique circumstances and likely is not a sign of lasting movement toward Democrats in the state , experts caution .
Bevin , for one , was disliked both by Democrats and some Republicans .
A bombastic politician who pushed cuts to teacher ’ s pensions and Medicaid , Bevin took actions that provoked widespread protest , including several teachers strikes .
Beshear , meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a moderate alternative to the incumbent .
He also benefited from strong name recognition in the state since his father had previously served as governor .
“ The election of Beshear was somewhat anomalous because he had a Republican incumbent who had annoyed a lot of people , including Republicans , ” said Murray State University political science professor Jim Clinger .
While McConnell has pretty high disapproval ratings as well , he isn ’ t disliked in quite the same way — particularly by Republicans , a segment of whom McGrath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate seat .
And even Republicans who may not be huge fans of McConnell recognize the importance of holding on to the seat to maintain GOP representation in the Senate , not to mention the benefits McConnell brings to the state ’ s profile .
“ For a state like Kentucky to go from the Senate majority leader to a backbench Democrat , that ’ s leaving hundreds of billions of dollars on the table , ” said Republican strategist Tres Watson .
McConnell has repeatedly pointed to funding secured for Kentucky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate : In December 2019 , he brought back $ 1 billion in federal money for regional projects , including tax breaks for distillers along with funds for military construction efforts .
“ It resonates with Kentuckians that he ’ s in a leadership position , ” said Western Kentucky University political science professor Saundra Ardrey .
McConnell also has a cushion in support that many other Republican senators — particularly those in tight races — do not : how conservative Kentucky has become .
Nationally , a segment of moderate voters has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates who are aligned with him , putting seats in places like Arizona , Iowa , and even South Carolina in contention for Democrats .
In Kentucky , however , the staunch Republican support McConnell is expected to win is still set to surpass potential moderate losses .
“ It ’ s starting from a very Republican place , so even after the shift , it ’ s not going to be as promising for a Democrat here , ” said University of Kentucky political science professor D. Stephen Voss .
That dynamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well : Republican Sen. Rand Paul won his race by 15 points in 2016 , and five of the state ’ s six House districts are currently held by Republicans .
Trump may not win by 30 points again , but he ’ s still expected to maintain a hefty lead in the state .
Many of the voters who support Trump for the presidency are likely to back McConnell as well , though McGrath has tried to target some of them .
McGrath has seen a boost from strong fundraising McGrath has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 88 million as of October , compared to McConnell ’ s $ 55 million , according to the Center for Responsive Politics .
This funding has enabled the campaign to put out expansive advertising , highlighting McGrath ’ s biography as a Marine Corps fighter pilot and her stance as a more centrist Democrat .
As Vox ’ s Ella Nilsen has reported , McGrath established herself as an insurgent candidate in 2018 , when she won a primary for a House seat in the state ’ s Sixth District after launching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades of service in the Marine Corps .
For the 2020 Senate race , Democrats saw McGrath ’ s ideological positioning and record as a veteran as key assets for taking on McConnell .
A close primary challenge from progressive state Rep. Charles Booker suggested that her more moderate approach wasn ’ t resonating with some voters , however .
And in the primary and general elections , McGrath ’ s campaign has been marred by some missteps , including muddled political stances .
In 2019 , she said she would have voted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , then quickly changed her position .
And during the primary with Booker , he criticized her initial response to protests against racism and police brutality .
Booker has since endorsed McGrath for the general election , and she ’ s also released a plan focused on advancing racial justice that includes provisions aimed at closing the wealth gap between Black and white households .
McGrath has also emphasized the need to protect the Affordable Care Act .
And she ’ s homed in on approving more coronavirus stimulus for struggling families and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ central role in slowing down as he ’ s prioritized the confirmation of Barrett to the Supreme Court .
Ryan Aquilina , the executive director of the Ditch Mitch Fund , says his organization hopes McGrath will win an upset by turning out Democratic base voters and flipping moderate Republican voters .
His organization has also been working to cut into McConnell ’ s advantage by reaching out to conservative voters who may not think the Republican senator is conservative enough for them .
( Libertarian Brad Barron is also running in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s campaign has become more targeted , and it has of late been buoyed by a strong debate performance .
Democrats hope to pick up support in the suburbs of major cities including Louisville and Lexington , much like Beshear did in 2019 .
According to McGrath ’ s campaign , she ’ s seen strong support from young voters , Black voters , and women during early voting so far .
The push to flip the seat , though , is still an uphill one .
“ We know we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Aquilina says .
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Democrats have been trying to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for years, but they haven’t been able to do it.
Among the challenges they face is Kentucky’s conservative skew and the solid base of support McConnell has as a result. By emphasizing the funding he’s been able to bring back to Kentucky for projects like a veterans affairs medical center in Louisville and stressing how his prominent position benefits the state, McConnell has also made a case for his reelection that continues to resonate with many voters.
According to a recent Mason-Dixon poll, McConnell leads Democratic challenger and former fighter pilot Amy McGrath 51 percent to 42 percent — a gap that experts see persisting. “I would describe the race as generating a lot of media and public interest, but not actually competitive,” Anne Cizmar, an Eastern Kentucky University government professor, told Vox.
McGrath is the latest challenger to McConnell, who has been in office for 36 years and become synonymous with the obstruction of Democratic legislation and judicial nominees in his leadership role. Last year, he gleefully embraced the title of “Grim Reaper” for House Democratic bills. And in October, he rushed through the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett after refusing to consider Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland in 2016.
As part of her campaign, McGrath has called out McConnell’s role in the “swamp” and brought in a stunning amount of funding, which has enabled her to advertise widely in the state. She has also pressed McConnell on why he has held up stimulus for millions of Kentuckians who are dealing with unemployment and business closures, even as he has prioritized Barrett’s nomination.
Despite McGrath’s fundraising acumen, however, Kentucky’s conservatism makes any challenge to a top Republican leader very difficult. In 2016, President Donald Trump won Kentucky by a whopping 30 percentage points, while McConnell won his previous Senate race in 2014 by 16.
“I think it’s difficult for any Democratic candidate,” said Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor. “Kentucky remains a conservative state at the federal level.”
Kentucky’s partisan lean makes statewide races hard to win for Democrats
In 2019, Andy Beshear pulled off a major win for Democrats by beating incumbent Matt Bevin for the governor’s seat. Beshear’s win, however, involved unique circumstances and likely is not a sign of lasting movement toward Democrats in the state, experts caution.
Bevin, for one, was disliked both by Democrats and some Republicans. A bombastic politician who pushed cuts to teacher’s pensions and Medicaid, Bevin took actions that provoked widespread protest, including several teachers strikes. Beshear, meanwhile, framed himself as an ally to educators and a moderate alternative to the incumbent. He also benefited from strong name recognition in the state since his father had previously served as governor.
“The election of Beshear was somewhat anomalous because he had a Republican incumbent who had annoyed a lot of people, including Republicans,” said Murray State University political science professor Jim Clinger.
While McConnell has pretty high disapproval ratings as well, he isn’t disliked in quite the same way — particularly by Republicans, a segment of whom McGrath would need to win over to flip the Senate seat. And even Republicans who may not be huge fans of McConnell recognize the importance of holding on to the seat to maintain GOP representation in the Senate, not to mention the benefits McConnell brings to the state’s profile.
“For a state like Kentucky to go from the Senate majority leader to a backbench Democrat, that’s leaving hundreds of billions of dollars on the table,” said Republican strategist Tres Watson.
McConnell has repeatedly pointed to funding secured for Kentucky as evidence of his influence in the Senate: In December 2019, he brought back $1 billion in federal money for regional projects, including tax breaks for distillers along with funds for military construction efforts.
“It resonates with Kentuckians that he’s in a leadership position,” said Western Kentucky University political science professor Saundra Ardrey.
McConnell also has a cushion in support that many other Republican senators — particularly those in tight races — do not: how conservative Kentucky has become. Nationally, a segment of moderate voters has turned away from Trump and the Senate candidates who are aligned with him, putting seats in places like Arizona, Iowa, and even South Carolina in contention for Democrats. In Kentucky, however, the staunch Republican support McConnell is expected to win is still set to surpass potential moderate losses.
“It’s starting from a very Republican place, so even after the shift, it’s not going to be as promising for a Democrat here,” said University of Kentucky political science professor D. Stephen Voss.
That dynamic has been evident in other races as well: Republican Sen. Rand Paul won his race by 15 points in 2016, and five of the state’s six House districts are currently held by Republicans. Trump may not win by 30 points again, but he’s still expected to maintain a hefty lead in the state. Many of the voters who support Trump for the presidency are likely to back McConnell as well, though McGrath has tried to target some of them.
McGrath has seen a boost from strong fundraising
McGrath has been a powerhouse fundraiser, bringing in $88 million as of October, compared to McConnell’s $55 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. This funding has enabled the campaign to put out expansive advertising, highlighting McGrath’s biography as a Marine Corps fighter pilot and her stance as a more centrist Democrat.
As Vox’s Ella Nilsen has reported, McGrath established herself as an insurgent candidate in 2018, when she won a primary for a House seat in the state’s Sixth District after launching a viral ad that highlighted her two decades of service in the Marine Corps. For the 2020 Senate race, Democrats saw McGrath’s ideological positioning and record as a veteran as key assets for taking on McConnell.
A close primary challenge from progressive state Rep. Charles Booker suggested that her more moderate approach wasn’t resonating with some voters, however. And in the primary and general elections, McGrath’s campaign has been marred by some missteps, including muddled political stances.
In 2019, she said she would have voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, then quickly changed her position. And during the primary with Booker, he criticized her initial response to protests against racism and police brutality. Booker has since endorsed McGrath for the general election, and she’s also released a plan focused on advancing racial justice that includes provisions aimed at closing the wealth gap between Black and white households.
McGrath has also emphasized the need to protect the Affordable Care Act. And she’s homed in on approving more coronavirus stimulus for struggling families and businesses — something McConnell has played a central role in slowing down as he’s prioritized the confirmation of Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Ryan Aquilina, the executive director of the Ditch Mitch Fund, says his organization hopes McGrath will win an upset by turning out Democratic base voters and flipping moderate Republican voters. His organization has also been working to cut into McConnell’s advantage by reaching out to conservative voters who may not think the Republican senator is conservative enough for them. (Libertarian Brad Barron is also running in the race.)
Experts say McGrath’s campaign has become more targeted, and it has of late been buoyed by a strong debate performance. Democrats hope to pick up support in the suburbs of major cities including Louisville and Lexington, much like Beshear did in 2019. According to McGrath’s campaign, she’s seen strong support from young voters, Black voters, and women during early voting so far.
The push to flip the seat, though, is still an uphill one. “We know we’ve been the underdogs from the start,” Aquilina says.