Axios PM: Big vaccine stick

Plus: OnlyFans U-turn | Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By AT&T   Axios PM By Mike Allen ·Aug 25, 2021 Good afternoon. Today's PM — edited by Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath — is 397 words, a 1½-minute read. ⚡ Bulletin: Secretary of State Tony Blinken says 500–1,500 Americans still want to get out of Afghanistan. 4,500+ have evacuated since Aug. 14, Axios' Dave Lawler reports. Go deeper.     1 big thing: Delta Air Line's vaccine stick Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Amid all the companies offering vaccine carrots to employees, Delta Air Lines today threw out a big stick, Axios' Bob Herman reports. Starting Nov. 1, unvaccinated employees enrolled in Delta's health care plan will be subject to a $200 monthly charge for the "financial risk" created by remaining unvaccinated. Why it matters: Delta's move signals that rewards alone aren't enough. The big picture: The day after the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine, several institutions announced tougher rules, Bloomberg reports. 🏈 In football-crazed Baton Rouge, LSU will demand vaccines or negative COVID tests to see a game at Tiger Stadium, capacity 102,000. Between the lines: It's unclear how much these types of penalties will help. Federal law allows employers to charge higher health insurance premiums to workers based on a health factor only if that factor is within a "wellness program," according to Georgetown University health insurance expert Sabrina Corlette. Tobacco surcharges haven't really worked. Go deeper.     2. OnlyFans U-turn Photo: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images   OnlyFans will continue to allow sexually explicit content on its site after all. The platform said today it'll drop plans to ban the content in October, Axios' Ivana Saric writes. The abrupt U-turn follows an outcry from sex workers who made the platform popular in the first place. There was early speculation that OnlyFans banned porn in order to better attract investors, but this past week makes that prospect even more remote, Axios' Dan Primack reports. Management hurriedly shot its golden goose, sending out media statements before bothering to tell employees or creators. It then completely backtracked, without apology.     A message from AT&T We are connecting communities to their American Dream     We're making a $2 billion, 3-year commitment to help ensure broadband is more accessible and affordable, so low-income families like the ones Kamal works with have the opportunity to succeed. Learn more.     3. Catch up quick New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks after taking her ceremonial oath on Aug. 24 in Albany, New York. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images   Promising to make transparency her hallmark, Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged 12,000 COVID deaths in New York that had not been reported by the Cuomo administration. "There's a lot of things that weren't happening and I'm going to make them happen," Hochul said on "Morning Joe." Go deeper. 🚨 Breaking: President Biden is appointing Liz Allen, a longtime Obama-Biden aide, as assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, Axios' Sarah Mucha reports.     4. Pics du jour: Bad weather brings big waves Photo: Jenny Evans/Getty Images   Surfers braved wild conditions to catch massive waves at Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images Surfers enter the water as huge waves break inside Botany Bay.     A message from AT&T We are connecting communities to their American Dream     We're making a $2 billion, 3-year commitment to help ensure broadband is more accessible and affordable, so low-income families like the ones Kamal works with have the opportunity to succeed. Learn more.   Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: