I watched an interview of Austrians who are not dosed and stuck at home. One of the things it mentioned is that if the government forces you to get an injection, it would be responsible for any bad outcomes as a result. But since they are just putting you on house arrest, it's still the citizen's choice to get vaccinated and therefore the responsibility is shifted to them. If I believed the vaccines were likely to cause substantial harm this would look like a way for the government to mandate dangerous vaccines without actually doing it. So the increased choice is a net negative in that sense. But since I don't believe that, my main concern is that the not-technically-a-mandate-but-pretty-much-a-mandate policy will trade a lot of Austria's public trust and social cohesion for the public health benefit. Knowing nothing about Austria in particular, and since predicting the future is hard, I refrain from passing any judgment on whether or not it will be a good trade. But hopefully the Austrian bureaucracy did its due diligence.
This is delightful. You should absolutely bring this up when she's older.
Clearly the best episode.
Just as a note, I think there is a history of outlandish/trolling advice letters being submitted to Slate, especially about culture war issues. I have no idea if the linked article here is sincere or not though. Something something Poe's law.
A note to anyone looking to lie for a booster shot: I tried to be clever and tell the pharmacist I needed a second Moderna dose (both so i wouldn't be pressed into getting another dose afterward and so I could insist on Moderna). I then had to prove my first dose was also Moderna which i obviously couldn't do, so i was refused a dose (yes, really.) When i asked, the pharmacist confirmed that if I'd asked for a first dose instead i would have gotten it. So don't be clever, just pretend you were hesitant and now you are getting over it.
I consistently had to force down the "wow i want to read that next" response I typically get.
Unfortunately there is also the risk that bystanders decide you have given your kids too much independence and call the police or otherwise harass you. Lenore Skenazy had this happen to her when she allowed her son to take a subway by himself.
It sounds like you are interested in some ideas related to Free Range parenting; Let Grow might also be of interest.
Most plausibly, a mixture of private charity or investment and/or some sort of loan or "donation" by the host country.
I think that is necessarily true, yes. A reasonable thing to do would be to report multiple numbers; "confirmed cases", "suspected cases", "estimated total cases", each with a clear definition.
I estimate a 900% chance that no variant will ever be named 'Xi' as it would link it to a certain head of state.