Last month, Joe Biden told Americans that he wants the vaccinated to receive a booster shot against Covid-19, saying, “It’s simple. Eight months after your second shot, get your booster shot.” Biden even had a roll-out all ready to announce next week.

Well, that was then. Now dueling research may be putting his Big Plan on hiatus.

Poor Joe. He already had to shelve the idea of giving out the Moderna booster at this time, and had to settle only for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. But now dueling agencies with conflicting research may be pushing that back as well.

On Wednesday, the New England Journal of Medicine released research which was music to the administration’s ears. Relying upon studies from Israel, the NEJM reported that those who had received a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine were far less likely to develop Covid.

Naturally, Pfizer was thrilled with the news. Even Moderna celebrated the new research, since they’re hoping for their piece of the pie, too.

Not so fast, said regulators at the Food and Drug Administration. That group also came out with their report on Wednesday, and they are less than enthusiastic. In fact, two of the FDA’s top scientists wrote an article that appeared in The Lancet this week, stating that there was no credible evidence that the original vaccines lose their potency over time.

What’s more, that Israeli study indicated that while a booster would give older adults protection, it would only last a few weeks, and wouldn’t provide long-term protection. To make matters worse for the WH, those two FDA scientists who wrote the Lancet article are leaving the agency. Part of their discontent came from Biden’s push for the booster before adequate research was done.

Oh dear. What’s Joe Biden to do? He was all set to announce his big booster plan, and now this. At this point he doesn’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt.

Giphy.com.

So he sent out Jen Psaki, of course. No worries, she said on Wednesday. The booster plan is still on:

“Nothing has changed as it relates to the eight top doctors who put out that statement, almost a month ago.”

But Joe & Co. are also keeping their fingers and toes crossed for some upcoming meetings. The first will come this Friday, when an FDA committee will meet and vote on Pfizer’s application to administer third shots to people 16 and up. Then a panel of experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet next week.

What typically follows is that the FDA makes recommendations, and the CDC has the final word on vaccination policy. These two agencies don’t have to follow the recommendations of these panels of experts, but that’s usually what happens. According to insiders, the CDC just might decide to authorize the booster shots, but only for those 65 and above, or who are at particular risk.

That might just put the crimp in Biden’s rollout plan, but administration officials are saying it’s no big deal. After all, they insist, older Americans got the vaccines first, so they’ll be hitting Biden’s eight-month window before anyone else. And if the the original announcement has to be scaled back, well, it’s okay as long as some people can get the boosters.

But John P. Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornel Medicine, warned that the public who want the booster might be a wee bit irritated:

“Weeks ago, the administration decided that the public needs cake and deserves cake, and so shall have cake. Now, the public expects cake and would be very annoyed if its cake was taken away at this point.”

Gee, ya think? And it’s not only the booster issue — the entire handling of the pandemic by these administration clowns is a total fustercluck.

Take, for instance, the issue of immigrants, both legal and illegal.

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that immigrants — the legal kind — who are applying for permanent residency are required to get the Covid vaccine. This mandate goes into effect on October 1.

But the people illegally crossing the southern border? Eh, no. The Border Patrol will offer them the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but the shots are voluntary and not mandatory.

So of these thousands of people sheltering under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, you can bet there’s Covid among them. And they don’t have to take the jab, either.

Well, that’s just peachy.

NEW: A source on the ground sent us this video showing thousands of migrants under the international bridge in Del Rio, TX with more showing up constantly. We’re told the situation there is getting worse every day and the numbers are growing by the hour. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/nu32xrsNOK

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 15, 2021

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is also slashing the amount of monoclonal antibody doses going to the states. So who are they targeting? Why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, of course. They want to punish him for not toeing the vaccine mandate line.

NEW: Florida says its bracing for a big reduction in monoclonal antibody doses. Blames the Biden Administration. @GovRonDeSantis' office released these #'s:
– 72,000 doses is average need for hospitals + state clinics
– 30,950 total doses were allocated by feds this week

— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) September 15, 2021

Hold on, I thought that Joe Biden was all about saving lives from Covid. Apparently when it comes to a recalcitrant governor, however, saving lives in his state takes a back seat to pure ugly politics.

The conflict about booster efficacy, the premature drive to roll out the boosters, the uneven application of vaccine requirements, and reducing Covid therapeutics to states — all these are creating confusion, resentment, and outrage among Americans. No wonder so many people no longer trust the government when it comes to handling the pandemic.

Featured image: Anthony Quintano/flickr/cropped/CC BY 2.0.