The Atlantic mocked for revising headline asking if it's 'safe' to hang out with the 'unboosted'

Media top headlines December 7

In media news today, CNN and Chris Cuomo issue scathing statements against each other, the former anchor announces he’s leaving his SiriusXM radio show, and a New York Times op-ed gets mocked for fearing free library is contributing to gentrification.

The Atlantic was ribbed after it changed an article originally titled, “Is it Safe to Hang Out with the Unboosted”’ to “How to Socialize Safely in the Booster Era,” in a piece focused on how to deal with Americans who haven’t had their coronavirus booster shots.

Independent Substack journalist and New York Times bestselling author Glenn Greenwald issued his reaction on Twitter, mocking The Atlantic for the headline revision and suggesting how the outlet’s approach would change next year. 

“People who have only received two COVID vaccine shots are gross, and I’m grateful that the Atlantic stepped and bestowed them with a shameful new name, the Unboosted, while suggesting they perhaps must be shunned along with their even more filthy brethren: the Unvaccinated,” Greenwald said.

He continued by predicting the publication would release the following headline in April 2022: “Should the Three-Boosted Still Be Permitted to Work and Leave Their Homes?”

People at the City Hall in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandate in New York City, New York, U.S., October 25, 2021.
(REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

Several other social media users, including former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright, mocked The Atlantic by coining the term, “Pandemic of the Unboosted.”

The article dives into what it means to be fully vaccinated, and how that has and will continue to change based on the CDC’s booster shot recommendations. 

“Now what it means to be vaccinated encompasses much more variety,” the article states. “Some people who have gotten their initial doses haven’t gotten a booster dose, and some people mixed and matched the brands of their first shots and their booster. What’s more, everyone is on their own personal timeline, depending on when they got their shots.”

A woman receives a booster shot of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine from a health care worker at the vaccination reference center at the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI) in Zurich, Switzerland November 17, 2021.
(REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)

This comes weeks after a CDC panel approved vaccine boosters for all adults, ages 18 and over, as fears around the world mount over the omicron variant and how it could impact vaccinations and even vaccination status. 

The article continues, “Eventually, the Omicron variant or waning vaccine effectiveness could make three doses the new standard for full vaccination, according to Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis.”

“This would add another element of complexity: Some ‘fully vaccinated’ people might abruptly revert back to the category of partially vaccinated,” it continued. 

Over 195 million Americans are fully vaccinated, while there are around 60 million people who have not gotten a shot at all, according to the CDC.

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