Yes, this summarizes the latest guidance:

On September 19, 2025, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to change what had been a universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation (except for HHS’ recent change for those under age 18) to “shared clinical decision-making”, including for those 65 and older. For those under 65, ACIP added that the assessment should include “an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.” These recommendations, should they be adopted by the CDC Director, mean that all individuals are recommended to have an individual assessment and interaction with a health care provider to determine whether getting a COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for them. If that determination is made, insurers should cover the vaccine at no-cost, although it is possible that some consumers may face challenges. (source)

So the change is that it’s no longer routinely recommended for everyone, but it’s supported if the patient and healthcare professional agree. Simplicity of access varies and some states have mandated that a pharmacist qualifies to make this decision, while others haven’t, but as long as you don’t have a doctor who is anti-vax, you should be able to get one.

More info from the CDC here about what “shared clinical decision-making” means.

Small note: in the end, access to COVID vaccines has not been limited. There was swirl around this that made it seem like they would be, but then the CDC landed on guidance that basically boils down to, “it’s an individual’s choice with the guidance of their healthcare provider.”

I was livid about the swirl because I am an immunocompromised person while my partner is not, and the initial guidance implied he would not have access to the vaccine, despite living with me.

I want everyone who can get vaccinated to do so, and so it’s important to me to stop the perception that anyone is restricted from accessing it.

This list reminds me of the “reasons my wife cried” list, lol.

But seriously I love this list and think it’s great to find joy in the small things like this. And if you don’t/can’t, it’s ok to seek out help for your mental health.

I’d recommend reading the book Influence by Robert Cialdini. It talks about six mechanisms that are most effective in making people do things, one of which is reciprocity. Getting something from someone makes us significantly more likely to do something for them.

You might believe you’re above these mechanisms of influence, and you may truly be mindful enough to avoid a lot of them, but these things work on our psyche at a deep level and it’s unlikely you’re immune to them.

All of this to say that if you’re ever in a place to accept money or things from people you disagree with or don’t like, think reeeally hard about whether you’d be willing to eventually compromise on your values for that freebie. Because you might eventually find yourself doing that unconsciously.

I was firmly against them but an opportunity showed itself early in my career and figured I could stick it out for 2 years to get a big name on my resume… and somehow it’s been ten years now. But it’s a company with a genuinely good culture and my career has grown constantly over those 10 years, so I’ve been happy. TBF, my employer before this was extremely toxic so in comparison it’s been amazing.

Just curious, do you mean specifically the job as in role, or do you think this about going back to a company as a whole?

I can name easily a dozen, maybe two dozen people at my company I personally know who left then came back, although generally to a different role. And I’ve seen most of them get promoted after coming back, even to high roles like Director or VP. I don’t know if that’s just because of a good company culture or if it’s because it’s a larger business (2-2.5k corporate employees).

That’s how I read it. Sure seems like NYT wouldn’t want to put reporters at risk of criminal charges just for documenting what they see but here we apparently are.

Also hate crime? Against whom, exactly?! Oh right, corporations are people and basically the most protected class (behind, maybe, billionaires).

Right! Thanks for the reminder (even if it’s more pleasant to forget).

The right was pissed at Disney years ago though (I can’t even remember what BS for); they’ve weathered that storm before.

I think everyone here understands that. The person you were responding to used air quotes implying that’s what the right will view it as.

This is the advice I was coming to give, with the addition of a specific possible group.

I know there’s a lot of the anti-religion sentiment on Lemmy (for many good reasons) but one community I’m familiar enough with to suggest are Quakers (AKA Friends). Quakerism is rooted in progressive values and even those who practice have a wide array of religious beliefs, many of whom lean agnostic or even atheist.

It’s one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly groups I’ve ever been a part of, and there is a Friends meeting in Columbus.

I hope OP is able to find a community that supports and loves him for who he is.

Lots of advice here but I haven’t seen anyone mention coding boot camps. There are free ones like FreeCodeCamp or lots of paid options. You can do these to learn or validate what you have been taught.

My company hires associate-level software engineers directly out of college programs and boot camps. They don’t expect people from these to know everything; you may not have ever even used the language that you will be expected to code in! But by completing a program you’re showing you understand the logic of programming and that is applicable knowledge.

Look for entry-level jobs and you’ll be fine. Even better, look for companies that intentionally hire from programs like yours. They’re more likely to have internal programs to help teach new-to-career folks.

It looks to me like he has a lot of blood pooling in his hands here, so it’s possible that in the morning, at rest with his arm on a table this did reasonably match his skin.

I say this as someone with a condition that causes blood to pool in my hands, so I know how extreme the color swings can be!

I see the joke you’re making but also if you genuinely want to understand and possibly gain some empathy for these people, I’d suggest reading The Cult of Trump. It’s from 2019 so it doesn’t include a ton of awful stuff that’s happened since then, but it does a great job of contextualizing how people can fall into these belief patterns.

It was written by a man who fell into a cult in his early 20s, found his way out, and has built his career around helping others out of cults and cult-like mindsets.

Well it’s fine to have compassion… for the right people!

The whole thing is framed to make it out that these people are empathetic and caring, and that trait they have is being abused by the wrong people. Refusing to empathize with those people doesn’t mean they are no longer empathetic!!

(Total BS, obviously. But that’s the loophole that they use to make this argument.)

I recently finished reading The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan. It’s from 2019 and so depressing with how much has happened since then that’s not accounted for, but it was interesting insight into how people like that can accumulate a following. It might help answer your question.

Right?! I thought about mentioning the bright lighting and glass walls that make all the products visible. Or the window clings advertising ear piercings.

Anyway, thanks for validating my thoughts… I was very confused by the person I responded to and thought maybe the gender divide was greater than I thought, lol.

Good for you! When I got a second piercing I knew better and went somewhere they used a hollow needle instead of a gun.

A mall in my state has TWO Claire’s in it. It is one of the most bizarre traits of the mall, second only to the fact that to get to half of the mall you have to walk through a JC Penney.

This is so bizarrely different from my experience. I would bet 90% of women in my generation (millennial) who ever spent time in a mall think of Claire’s as the default place to get your ears pierced. And naturally then, to get new earrings or other jewelry.

As a teen, it was a default stop on the mall circuit every weekend; it’s where my sister and I both got our ears pierced when we turned 13, and where I got jewelry for prom and BFF keychains with friends before going off to college. I was far from popular; I was the nerd who sat at the front of the bus and read a book to avoid my bullies, etc. I only even had friends to go to the mall with as a teen because I went to a college preparatory high school where almost everyone else was a nerd, too. But despite my lowly status on the social totem pole, Claire’s was a staple.