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The Year in Review Printable PDF
What Our Investigative Team Learned Covering Covid for 300 Days
This is an archive of the January 2021 entries for the Covid19 news feed. You may return to the current page here.
The Daily Beast: White House Asks CDC to Study How Many Have Died After COVID Vaccine Shots | Added January 30
The White House COVID-19 task force has asked the Centers for Disease Control to conduct a comprehensive study on how many Americans have died since receiving the vaccine and the circumstances that led to their death, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
Officials aren’t concerned that the vaccine is having adverse effects on a large number of recipients. Instead, they are pushing for the study in order to ensure the federal government has a more complete picture of mortality in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to gather more data about the vaccine, its efficacy, and what happened to the recipients after they got the jab.
It’s an especially pressing issue, given the vulnerable and aging populations receiving the vaccine. According to the CDC, about 3 percent of 75-year-olds die within their next year of life. With millions of people receiving the vaccine, odds are some will die within a matter of weeks or months, for reasons that may or may not have anything to do with COVID-19. It’s also expected that some individuals who receive it will die in between the first and the second dose or after the regiment is completed, officials said, especially if they have a pre-existing illness that is advanced.
The White House coronavirus task force wants to know whether individuals who have received the shot died as the result of an adverse event linked to the vaccination, such as anaphylaxis, from a coronavirus-related illness such as pneumonia, or from something else entirely.
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CHD: 329 Deaths + 9,516 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show | Added January 30
From Children’s Health Defense:
As of Jan. 22, 329 deaths — a subset of 9,845 total adverse events — had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following COVID-19 vaccinations. VAERS is the primary mechanism for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before confirmation can be made that an adverse event was linked to a vaccine.
The reports, filed on the VAERS website between Dec. 14, 2020 and Jan. 22, describe outcomes ranging from “foaming at the mouth” to “massive heart attacks” to “did not recover.”
AND
According to the VAERS data, of the 329 reported deaths, 285 were from the U.S., and 44 were from other countries. The average age of those who died was 76.5.
States reporting the most deaths were: California (22), Florida (16), Ohio (18), New York (15) and KY (13). Most of the reports were from, or filed on behalf of people who had received only the first dose. About half of the people reporting had the Pfizer vaccine, the other half Moderna.
The Moderna vaccine lot numbers associated with the highest number of deaths were: 025L20A (13 deaths), 037K20A (11 deaths) and 011J2A (10 deaths). For Pfizer, the lot numbers were: EK5730 (10 deaths), EJ1685 (11 deaths), EL0140 (15 deaths), EK 9231 (12 deaths) and EL1284 (11 deaths).
Several deaths and multiple severe allergic reactions are under investigation in the U.S. and Europe.
Last week, California health officials temporarily paused a large batch of Moderna vaccines due to a high number of allergic reactions, but reversed that decision a few days later.
Anyone suffering from a serious injury will have little legal recourse because they will be directed to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program which has rejected 90% of vaccine-injury claims over the past decade.
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Authorities in Gibraltar post press release following deaths after Covid-19 vaccinations: ‘No deaths arising from vaccinations in Gibraltar’ | Added January 30
Commentary from Eric:
I’ve seen this claim before. How do they know they were “infected with covid19” before vaccination? Especially since they tested negative? They cannot.
Are they testing people before vaccinating them? I’m seeing blame placed on “having covid19 while vaccinated” as a cause of death in the press, but no effort to test people before vaccinating.
This kind of nonsensical circular reasoning (impossible to disprove) has been used before.
January 27, 2021
Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar can confirm that, as at close of business on 26th January 2021, 11,073 persons had received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Gibraltar.
The Gibraltar Health Authority can confirm that there is no evidence that any of those 11,073 who have been vaccinated in Gibraltar have died as a result of any reaction to the vaccine. Statements to the contrary on social media are entirely untrue. Such statements originate from discredited individuals and organisations.
Of the over 11,000 who have been vaccinated, 6 persons have since died for reasons unrelated to the vaccination and there is no evidence to link these to the vaccination in any way.
These 6 persons appear to have contracted COVID-19 before they were vaccinated but, despite testing for COVID-19 before vaccination, the infection had not been detected in them at the time they were vaccinated, but in the days immediately after.
All of these persons were in the age range 70 to 100. All but one was a resident of the Government of Gibraltar Elderly Residential Services facilities.
The Gibraltar Health Authority can confirm that there is no evidence at all of any causal link between these six deaths and the inoculation with the Pfizer vaccine.
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Nearly two dozen nursing home residents in Norway die within days of getting COVID vaccine| Added January 30
Nearly two dozen nursing home residents in Norway died within days of receiving their first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine, triggering a warning from health officials for sick patients over the age of 80 years old.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency in a press release on Friday revealed 23 patients died shortly after being stuck with the Pfizer/BioNTech shot for coronavirus. Of those deaths, 13 have been autopsied, with results suggesting that common side effects from the vaccine likely caused the high death toll.
Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, said that typical reactions to the vaccine — like fever and nausea — “may have contributed to the fatal outcome in some frail patients.”
Pfizer and BioNTech are working with the Norwegian regulator to probe the deaths, which remain under investigation.
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Hanson Robotics, designers of Sophia, see a pandemic as an opportunity to market humanoid models | Added January 29
Perhaps 2021 will be the year that nurses, flight attendants, and local police, as well as your friends and family, are replaced by robots. What could go wrong?
“Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly,” Sophia says as she conducts a tour of her lab in Hong Kong. “I can help communicate, give therapy and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations.”
Since being unveiled in 2016, Sophia – a humanoid robot – has gone viral. Now the company behind her has a new vision: to mass-produce robots by the end of the year.
Hanson Robotics, based in Hong Kong, said four models, including Sophia, would start rolling out of factories in the first half of 2021, just as researchers predict the pandemic will open new opportunities for the robotics industry.
“The world of COVID-19 is going to need more and more automation to keep people safe,” founder and chief executive David Hanson said, standing surrounded by robot heads in his lab.
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“I can infer the pandemic will actually help us get robots earlier in the market because people start to realise that there is no other way,” said Hoorn, of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Hanson Robotics is launching a robot this year called Grace, developed for the healthcare sector.
Products from other big players in the industry are helping fight the pandemic as well. SoftBank Robotics’ Pepper robot was deployed to detect people who weren’t wearing masks. In China, robotics company CloudMinds helped set up a robot-run field hospital during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
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Tom Cowan and Andy Kaufman respond to Judy Mikovits regarding virus isolation | Added January 29
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According to the journal Science, cancer treatment known as Aplidin, derived from sea squirts, may be effective treatement for Covid-19 | Added January 29
An unexpected COVID-19 drug derived from a rare sea animal and historically used to treat cancer is found to be 27.5 times more effective than the Gilead Sciences’ popular coronavirus drug remdesivir, a study published in the journal Science on Monday revealed.
The treatment, known as Aplidin or Plitidepsin, is developed by the Spanish drug company PharmaMar. It has clinical approval in some countries, such as Australia, for treating multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer. The drug was identified as a potential COVID-19 treatment in March 2020 by a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. Since then, it has completed phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials and is expected to enter a phase 3 trial before seeking regulatory approval.
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COVID: If they haven’t isolated the virus, how can they make a vaccine? | Added January 29
Answer: They can’t.
“But…but, you see, we take a piece of RNA, and we inject it into the person, and the RNA forces the cells to manufacture a protein that’s very similar to a protein in SARS-CoV-2…and then the immune system swings into gear and produces antibodies to THAT protein, and THEN the person has achieved immunity from the virus…”
Sorry, no dice.
As I’ve been demonstrating for months now, there is no proof that SARS-CoV-2 exists [1] [2]. Therefore, “the piece of RNA” that’s injected can’t be assumed to be related to “the virus.”
Therefore, the protein which the cells produce in the body is merely CLAIMED to be similar to a protein in the unproven “SARS-CoV-2.”
There is no KNOWLEDGE here.
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Investigations underway after X-ray technologist in Santa Ana dies after second Covid-19 shot | Added January 28
Tim Zook’s last post on Facebook brimmed with optimism. “Never been so excited to get a shot before,” he wrote on Jan. 5, above a photo of the Band-Aid on his arm and his COVID-19 vaccination card. “I am now fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd Pfizer dose.”
Zook, 60, was an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana. A couple of hours later, he had an upset stomach and trouble breathing. By 3:30 p.m. it was so bad his colleagues at work walked him to the emergency room. “Should I be worried?” his wife, Rochelle, texted when she got the news. “No, absolutely not,” he texted back. “Do you think this is a direct result of the vaccine?” she typed. “No, no,” he said. “I’m not sure what. But don’t worry.”
There were suspicions of COVID and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Zook was put on oxygen, then — just four hours later — a BiPAP machine to help push air into the lungs. Multiple tests came back negative for COVID.
Shortly after midnight on Jan. 7, the hospital called. Zook was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator to help him breathe. But his blood pressure soon dropped and he was transferred to UC Irvine Medical Center. “On Friday I get a call, ‘His kidneys are failing. He needs to be on dialysis. If not, he could die — but there’s also a chance he might have a heart attack or stroke on dialysis because his blood pressure is so low,’ ” Rochelle Zook said.
By 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, Zook had gone “code blue” twice and was snatched back from the brink of death. There was a third code blue in the afternoon. “They said if he went code blue a fourth time, he’d have brain damage and be a vegetable if he survives,” Rochelle Zook said.
Later that day, Tim Zook died.
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Guardian: China starts using anal swabs to test ‘high-risk’ people for Covid | Added January 28
China has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers to be at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV has reported.
Officials took anal swabs from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing last week, according to the state broadcaster CCTV, while those in designated quarantine facilities have also had the tests.
Small, localised outbreaks in recent weeks have resulted in multiple cities in northern China being sealed off from the rest of the country and prompted mass testing campaigns, which had mostly been conducted using throat and nose swabs.
The anal swabs method “can increase the detection rate of infected people” as traces of the virus linger longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing’s Youan hospital, told CCTV.
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Philadelphia city health officials under scrutiny after coronavirus testing startup led by college students, Philly Fighting COVID, cited for several questionable practices after administering shots to 6,756 people | Added January 28
Philadelphia is home to some of the most venerated medical institutions in the country. Yet when it came time to set up the city’s first and largest coronavirus mass vaccination site, officials turned to the start-up Philly Fighting COVID, a self-described “group of college kids” with minimal health-care experience.
Chaos ensued.
Seniors were left in tears after finding that appointments they’d made through a bungled sign-up form wouldn’t be honored. The group switched to a for-profit model without publicizing the change and added a privacy policy that would allow it to sell users’ personal data. One volunteer alleged that the 22-year-old CEO had pocketed vaccine doses. Another described a “free-for-all” where unsupervised 18- and 19-year-olds vaccinated one another and posed for photos.
Now, the city has cut ties with Philly Fighting COVID, and prosecutors are looking into the “concerning” allegations.
A city spokesman said Wednesday evening that the Philly Fighting COVID organization actually signed a contract with the Centers for Disease Control, and that the city only “assists the CDC in ensuring the organization meets CDC criteria, for example, has a licensed medical director and has the ability to store the vaccines appropriately.”
When asked for more details on the vetting process that city health officials conduct to ensure CDC requirements of organizations like Philly Fighting COVID, Public Health Department spokesman James Garrow said that information was unavailable.
The city gave the company 7,260 doses, of which 750 were returned unused, the Public Health Department told NBC10.
A total of 6,756 doses were administered to patients.
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Alongside climate crisis executive order, Biden signs order to reestablish council of advisors and writes memorandum regarding scientific integrity | Added January 28
‘Executive Order on Establishing President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.’ This order reestablishes the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Moving forward, the council will advise Biden on policy that affects science, technology, and innovation.
Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity. This memorandum charges the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy with the responsibility of ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies.
Agencies that oversee, direct or fund research are tasked with designating a senior agency employee as chief science officer to ensure agency research programs are scientifically and technologically well founded.
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Dr. Cowan puts shark nets around his home after hearing about novel strains of the novel coronavirus | Added January 28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvkfO48Kk3g
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In revisions to the “infectious disease prevention law,” Japanese government proposes imprisoning and fining those who refuse hospitalization for Covid-19 | Added January 27
The government is considering making any refusal by COVID-19 patients to be hospitalized punishable with imprisonment or a fine.
As part of revisions to the infectious disease prevention law, a prison term of up to one year or a fine of up to ¥1 million is being considered for refusal of hospitalization by infected people, a government official said.
The official made the remark at a meeting of the government and the ruling and opposition camps Wednesday.
The government also told the meeting that it was considering a prison term of up to six months or a fine of up to ¥500,000 as punishment for refusing to cooperate with active epidemiological investigations by local public health offices to identify COVID-19 transmission routes.
Separately, the government is also considering introducing fines of up to ¥500,000 on businesses who do not comply with requests for their hours to be shortened, a ruling party official said.
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OffGuardian: That’s All Folks! | Added January 27
This, basically, is what we’ve just experienced. The global capitalist ruling classes have just reminded us who is really in charge, who the US military answers to, and how quickly they can strip away the facade of democracy and the rule of law. They have reminded us of this for the last ten months, by putting us under house arrest, beating and arresting us for not following orders, for not wearing masks, for taking walks without permission, for having the audacity to protest their decrees, for challenging their official propaganda, about the virus, the election results, etc.
They are reminding us currently by censoring dissent, and deplatforming anyone they deem a threat to their official narratives and ideology.
In other words, GloboCap is teaching us a lesson. I don’t know how much clearer they could make it.
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Biden administration seeks to buy 200 million more vaccine doses, to be delivered through the summer — read more at The Washington Post | Added January 27
Pfizer stands to make $19.50 per dose for 120 million doses, Moderna $15 per dose for 100 million doses.
The federal government has also already paid $1 billion to Johnson & Johnson for a vaccine whose clinical trial results have not been made public.
The Biden administration said Tuesday it was on the cusp of securing an additional 200 million doses of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States.
The purchases would increase available supply by 50 percent, bringing the total to 600 million doses by this summer.
Because both products — one developed by Pfizer and German company BioNTech, and the other by Moderna — are two-dose regimens, that would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million people. An estimated 260 million people in the United States are currently considered eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine, although Pfizer and Moderna have initiated trials for children as young as 12, the results of which could expand the pool.
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“This is an aggregate plan that doesn’t leave anything on the table or anything to chance, as we’ve seen happen in the past year,” the president said.
He added, in a further effort to distinguish his approach from that of his predecessor, “This is a wartime effort.”
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Jon Rappoport: SARS-CoV-2 has not been proven to exist: the shocking research of Christine Massey | Added January 26
You can view the work of Christine Massey at her site, fluoridefreepeel.ca (also, twitter: [1]). She deserves the thanks of every thinking person.
Quoting Massey [2]: “I (CM), along with some anonymous helpers, have submitted Freedom of Information requests to various Canadian institutions seeking records that describe the isolation of ‘SARS-COV-2’ (the alleged ‘COVID-19 virus’) from an unadulterated sample taken from a diseased patient.
“My requests were intentionally worded to weed out the fraudulent, illogical and unscientific claims of having ‘isolated SARS-COV-2’, of which there are many…”
“My requests were not limited to records of isolation performed by the respective institution, and not limited to records authored by the respective institution, rather they were open to records of isolation performed by anyone, anywhere on the planet.”
“Colleagues in numerous other countries have obtained responses to the same and similar information requests from dozens of additional institutions.”
“As of January 22, 2021 46 institutions and offices have responded to said requests. Every institution has failed to provide, or cite, even 1 record describing the actual isolation of any ‘SARS-COV-2’ from a patient sample by anyone, anywhere on the planet, ever.”
Here is a typical response to a Massey request, from the Ontario Ministry of Health. The response arrived after four months: “This is to inform you that no responsive records were located. A reasonable search of the ministry was conducted, and no responsive records were found. Dr. David C. Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, is responsible for this decision.”
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Jon Rappoport: New strain of the coronavirus, or a giant con? How deep do the lies go? | Added January 26
David Rasnick [1], PhD chemist, with a long history working in the pharmaceutical industry (Abbott, Prototek, Arris), broke away from official science and served as the president of Rethinking AIDS: the group for the scientific reappraisal of the HIV hypothesis. He was a member of the Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel of South Africa.
Here is a recent explosive statement Rasnick made [2] about SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. Digesting it brings about a breakthrough revelation:
“Viruses are unstable, RNA [e.g, SARS-Cov-2] viruses especially. They are so unstable, there is no such thing as an un-mutated RNA virus. They are like snow flakes, no two are identical.”
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“It just makes common sense” (meaning we have no data): Fauci reveals state of science in 2021 when his untested hypothesis on wearing two masks is largely accepted as true | Added January 26
Could wearing two face masks at once during the pandemic provide more protection than just wearing one? According to White House advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, “it likely does,” he told NBC News’ TODAY on Monday.
As Fauci explained, masks are physical coverings that prevent respiratory droplets from spreading to other people and provide a degree of protection to the wearer.
“So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci told TODAY. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”
Although the Centers for Disease Control has not recommended double masking yet, the practice generated buzz when people were seen wearing two masks at president Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. Viewers noted that poet Amanda Gorman and Pete Buttigieg, who is Biden’s nominee to run the Transportation Department, wore surgical masks underneath cloth masks.
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AstraZeneca rejects German report of only 8% efficacy for over-65’s | Added January 26
AstraZeneca has been forced to defend the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine after German media reports said officials had doubts it could safely protect people over the age of 65.
German newspapers Handelsblatt and Bild said on Monday that the government estimated the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s at just eight per cent, compared to a 70 per cent rate for younger groups.
The vaccine, which has been rolled out in multiple countries including the UK, Brazil, Mexico and India, is expected to be approved by the European regulator on Friday.
The British company said in a statement that “reports that the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine efficacy is as low as 8% in adults over 65 are completely incorrect.”
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Apparently now they’re saying your cat or dog may have to get the covid vaccine too | Added January 26
Cats and dogs may eventually need their own COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the coronavirus from evolving further and “spilling” back to humans, according to one group of researchers.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is known to infect a number of animals besides humans, including cats, dogs, minks, tigers and gorillas. However, at this time, scientists don’t think animals play a significant role in spreading the virus to people, and reports of COVID-19 in pets are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Still, the authors of a new editorial, published Jan. 25 in the journal Virulence, say that these animal “reservoirs” may pose a risk to humans down the road, because there is the potential for the virus to evolve in those species and spread back to people.
“The risk is that, as long as there are these reservoirs, that it starts to pass … from animal to animal, and then starts to evolve animal-specific strains,” Kevin Tyler, editor-in-chief of Virulence and co-author of the editorial, told the wire service PA Media. Then, the strains could “spill back into the human population and you end up essentially with a new virus which is related, which causes the whole thing all over again.”
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Prioritize a good night’s sleep before receiving Covid-19 vaccination, says WebMD | Added January 26
Get your beauty rest to avoid death by vaccine.
Want to get the most out of your COVID-19 vaccine? Make sure you get some good rest before you get your shot, sleep experts say.
That’s because adequate sleep is an important factor in a strong immune system.
“As COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed, it is of utmost importance that patients continue to prioritize their sleep to maintain optimal health,” American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) president Dr. Kannan Ramar said in an academy news release. “Getting sufficient, high-quality sleep on a regular basis strengthens your body’s immune system and optimizes your response to a vaccine.”
Several studies have found an association between sleep and vaccination response. For example, a 2020 study in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that flu vaccines appear to be more effective in people who get a sufficient amount of sleep during the two nights prior to receiving the shot. Other studies have reported similar findings about patients’ response to vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
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Columbia and Pfizer share more pandemic modeling — double speak and “definitions drift” on vaccine efficacy and other measures continue | Added January 25
Read the article from the New York Times referenced in this commentary.
Thank you to Loreen Costa.
Public health policy releases and the discussion of math modeling in the media continue to suggest — without scientific evidence — that a virus can be contained by lockdowns, and immunity and disruption of transmission can be achieved with the aggressive rollout of experimental mRNA products.
All this is suggested as true, even though organized, reproducible research has yet to be done to prove the efficacy of masking and lockdowns, and to answer the question of whether the experimental mRNA biologics can actually succeed in anything other than the previously observed “reduction of symptoms” in those affected by the disease process named covid-19.
It should not come as a surprise that Pfizer, one of the manufacturers of the experimental mRNA technology, has funded part of the effort to communicate this fuzzy science.
What should be quite shocking, however, is just how unrestrained is the spread of this particular non-fact of vaccine-conferred immunity.
It is never stated overtly, but it is regularly implied in missives from wide-ranging sources such as Rite Aid emails, NYS PSAs and in articles from the NYT. That these suggestions of any benefit beyond the reduction of symptoms are based on old data, gathered from the widespread use of fundamentally different biologic agents, against different pathogens — and all under the shadow of continued debate regarding the foundational assumptions of germ theory and virology as a whole — is not stated, either.
Rather, we see a suddenly sloppy application of old assumptions creeping in and being applied to the unobserved, and only mathematically described, novel virus.
Even with the debatable assumption that the genomic sequencing data on the pathogen is in any way an accurate place to start, there is no rational scientific reason to have it both ways: first, that novel viruses need new public policy and new tech to combat them; and also that old virology and related vaccine results apply by inference.
It is also interesting to note how often, and where, science professionals are acceptably quoted as using phrases like “gut check” and “intuitive sense” when being asked about the truth of such novel math modeling — which is predicting the future while depending only on debatable data from the past.
Current pressures inviting centralized “fact-checking” and censorship of “false information” which “goes against science” would seem to require statements be made from, and be based on, some foundation other than a “gut” sense.
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Regional stay at home order lifted in California | Added January 25
California on Monday lifted its regional coronavirus stay-at-home order because of slightly improving ICU conditions, health officials announced.
As a result, the state will return to the county-based restrictions established last summer. Most counties will be returning to the strictest tier.
The change will allow non-retail services and businesses, such as outdoor dining and hair salons, to resume immediately, subject to any additional restrictions required by local jurisdictions.
The state is also lifting a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
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CNBC: Moderna says it’s working on Covid booster shot for variant in South Africa, says current vaccine provides some protection | Added January 25
Moderna said Monday it’s accelerating work on a Covid-19 booster shot to guard against the recently discovered variant in South Africa.
The company’s researchers said its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the U.K. and South Africa, although it looks like it may be less effective against the latter.
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Merck to stop development on its two Covid-19 vaccines | Added January 25
Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots.
Work will continue on at least one of the vaccines, which is being developed in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), to see if using a different route of administration would improve how effective it is.
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OffGuardian: Covid Odyssey | Added January 25
And so, to sea.
I propose a new Odyssey. In the spirit of Tennyson’s ‘To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’, it shall be a voyage to discover the origins of Covid. In time, the story may evolve to become an epic to rival Homer’s. For now, we will have to be content with a synopsis.
The initial motive for the first Odyssey was the whisking away to Troy of that exemplar of beauty, Helen. This inducement is going to be harder to conjure today. Leonora in my local farmácia has seductive eyes. But the rest of her is obscured by a black mask. If her ancient namesake were similarly attired, I fear the Greek fleet would still be sitting on the sands.
We must picture a fresh scenario. A mysterious visitor to Ithaca’s port brings news of a deadly foe. The people gather round, imagining the imminent invasion of the cyclopes, or gorgons, or a chimera. They are informed that a nasty cold, of the sort that carries off some of the elderly and sick each year, is on its way and everyone should take cover.
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Al Jazeera: Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown rioters in two cities | Added January 25
Demonstrations against a new curfew to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands have turned into riots and clashes with police in some places, according to authorities and reports.
Authorities on Sunday used water cannon and dogs in a square in central Amsterdam, where hundreds of people gathered during the curfew that began on Saturday, public television NOS reported. Videos showed police spraying people grouped against a wall of the Van Gogh Museum.
Protesters, organised in part by restaurant owners fed up with the country’s long-lasting lockdown measures, carried a banner saying “Stop The Lockdown.” The crowd of hundreds was also believed to include supporters of the anti-immigrant group PEGIDA.
Police said they detained more than 100 people for throwing stones and fireworks.
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Biden imposing South Africa travel ban | Added January 25
President Joe Biden will impose a ban on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa starting Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of COVID-19, a senior U.S. public health official told Reuters.
Biden on Monday is also reimposing an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders.
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Jon Rappoport: Lockdown extremism: an obsession for the insane and the fascists | Added January 25
As my readers know, I’ve spent the last year refuting every so-called COVID fact promoted by public health officials—including the false notion that SARS-CoV-2 has been proven to exist.
In this article, I’m simply showing that devotees of the Cult of COVID are contradicting their own assumptions. For purposes of argument only, we’ll assume the virus exists, spreads rapidly, and causes illness.
If so, lockdowns don’t work.
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CHD: Home Run King Hank Aaron Dies of ‘Undisclosed Cause’ 18 Days After Receiving Moderna Vaccine | Added January 23
From Children’s Health Defense:
Baseball legend Hank Aaron, who received the Moderna COVID vaccine on Jan. 5, has died. According to the New York Times, the Atlanta Braves confirmed the 86-year-old Hall of Famer’s death today, but did not provide further details.
CNN reported that Aaron died “peacefully in his sleep,” and that no cause of death was disclosed.
Aaron made headlines earlier this month when he was photographed getting the Moderna vaccine. He told the Associated Press at the time that getting vaccinated “makes me feel wonderful.” He added:
“I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. … It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.”
Aaron was vaccinated at the Morehouse School of Medicine health clinic in Atlanta, in what news reports said was an attempt to inspire other Black Americans to step up to the plate and get the vaccine. The AP reported at the time:
“Rolling up their sleeves to take the first of two doses, these octogenarians, their spouses and several other civil rights leaders who received the shots in a brand-new health clinic at the Morehouse School of Medicine acknowledged the legacy of mistrust that many African Americans have toward medical research, stemming from the infamous Tuskegee experiment in which U.S. health workers left syphilis untreated in Black men without their consent, making them suffer needlessly.”
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Studies show it is harder for those with lower income to comply with public health measures, reports JHU, suggesting this “could have prolonged the pandemic” | Added January 23
From the Hub at Johns Hopkins University:
“The whole messaging of this pandemic is you’re stuck at home teleworking, that must be really tough so here are some recipes for sourdough starter, and here’s what you should catch up on on Netflix,” Papageorge said. “But what about the people who aren’t teleworking? What are they going to do?”
The team found lower-income respondents faced increased chances of job and income losses due to the pandemic and limited access to remote work. They were also more likely to live in homes with no access to the outdoors—and access to outdoor space was a very strong predictor of social distancing, the researchers found. People with access to open air at home were 20% more likely to social distance.
All of these burdens ensured those earning the least would have a harder time adopting social distancing behaviors, which could have prolonged the pandemic, the team found. Social distancing was simply more practical, comfortable, and feasible for people with more income.
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Health Impact News: CDC Stops Reporting on Experimental COVID mRNA Injection Side Effects | Added January 23
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just released its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and for the second week in a row, there is no new data on adverse reactions to the two FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) COVID mRNA injections.
The last report on the experimental injections and the adverse side effects was from January 6, 2021, and only covered the first week of injections with the experimental Pfizer COVID mRNA shots, with an emphasis on allergic reactions and anaphylaxis shock.
The report on January 6th did not cover the Moderna injections which have also received emergency use authorization by the FDA.
Injuries and deaths due to the experimental COVID injections are being reported in the U.S. and around the world, so why is the CDC not examining these adverse side effects and reporting on them?
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Conversations with Dr. Tom Cowan & Friends: The Foundations and Flaws of Viral Theory | Added January 23
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CNBC: Boris Johnson says some evidence new Covid variant in the UK may be more deadly | Added January 22
There is “some evidence” a new Covid variant first identified in the U.K. could be more deadly than the original strain, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday.
“We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant — the variant that was first discovered in London and the southeast (of England) — may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” Johnson told a news conference.
He added that all the evidence suggests the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford University, the two currently being used in the U.K., remain effective against both the old and new variants of the virus.
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WHO issues new IFU (instructions for use) for polymerase chain reaction | Added January 22
The new instructions require a second test if the results from the patient’s first test fail to correspond with their clinical symptoms. A report of the cycle threshold value is now also required.
From World Health Organization:
Product type: Nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies that use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of SARS-CoV-2
Date: 13 January 2021
WHO-identifier: 2020/5, version 2
Target audience: laboratory professionals and users of IVDs.
Purpose of this notice: clarify information previously provided by WHO. This notice supersedes WHO Information Notice for In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device (IVD) Users 2020/05 version 1, issued 14 December 2020.
Description of the problem: WHO requests users to follow the instructions for use (IFU) when interpreting results for specimens tested using PCR methodology.
Users of IVDs must read and follow the IFU carefully to determine if manual adjustment of the PCR positivity threshold is recommended by the manufacturer.
WHO guidance Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 states that careful interpretation of weak positive results is needed (1). The cycle threshold (Ct) needed to detect virus is inversely proportional to the patient’s viral load. Where test results do not correspond with the clinical presentation, a new specimen should be taken and retested using the same or different NAT technology.
WHO reminds IVD users that disease prevalence alters the predictive value of test results; as disease prevalence decreases, the risk of false positive increases (2). This means that the probability that a person who has a positive result (SARS-CoV-2 detected) is truly infected with SARS-CoV-2 decreases as prevalence decreases, irrespective of the claimed specificity.
Most PCR assays are indicated as an aid for diagnosis, therefore, health care providers must consider any result in combination with timing of sampling, specimen type, assay specifics, clinical observations, patient history, confirmed status of any contacts, and epidemiological information.
Actions to be taken by IVD users:
- Please read carefully the IFU in its entirety.
- Contact your local representative if there is any aspect of the IFU that is unclear to you.
- Check the IFU for each incoming consignment to detect any changes to the IFU.
- Provide the Ct value in the report to the requesting health care provider.
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As Biden takes office, Amazon offers to help vaccinate 100 million Americans | Added January 22
Amazon is offering its help to President Joe Biden with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, while seeking to get its employees inoculated “at the earliest appropriate time.”
In a letter written to Biden and dated Wednesday, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark said the e-commerce giant is prepared to leverage its operations to help vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of the president’s administration.
“Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort,” wrote Clark.
AND
The online retail giant has served as a lifeline for many Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people spent time quarantined and increasingly relied on home delivery.
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Business Insider: Trump officials in the Pentagon reportedly blocked Biden’s transition team from accessing information on military operations, including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines | Added January 22
The Pentagon transition was uglier than previously known, Politico reported Wednesday, revealing that the political appointees at the Department of Defense muzzled generals and kept critical information from the incoming administration’s transition team.
Meetings on issues ranging from military operations in conflict zones to vaccines were canceled, delayed, or controlled in ways that made it difficult for the Biden transition team to get the information they needed, Politico reported, citing a number of Pentagon and transition officials. After his election loss, President Donald Trump fired his defense secretary and installed loyalists in top posts, an unprecedented move in an administration’s final weeks.
Led by these newly installed officials, the Pentagon reportedly limited transition team visibility on activities in parts of the Middle East and Africa, special operations missions, and Operation Warp Speed, among other areas. Officials said that obstruction to the provision of vaccine information could hinder distribution operations, and at a time the virus is raging across America.
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CDC removes claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ from official website | Added January 21
After years of denying that vaccines cause or contribute to autism, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has removed the claim from its website.
The worldwide push for a vaccine for “Covid” has focused considerable energy on the vaccine issue and has activated an informed consent, medical freedom movement throughout many countries. Vaccine safety activists placed a Freedom of Information request to the federal government, demanding the justification for the claim that vaccines do not cause autism. The claim was then removed from CDC’s website.
From Informed Consent Action Network:
ICAN, through its attorneys led by Aaron Siri, has been relentless in its legal demands and actions to compel the CDC to remove its blanket claim that “Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism” from its website. We are excited to report that the CDC has finally capitulated to those demands! It has removed this claim from its website!
The more than three-year journey for how ICAN, and its legal team, achieved this result is a story of determined persistence. Here are the highlights.
ICAN’s Opening Salvo (Oct. 12, 2017 – Dec. 31, 2018)
The journey began with a letter sent to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) on October 12, 2017. That letter explained why the CDC cannot scientifically claim that “Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism” on its website. ICAN then ended with the following demand:
“Please confirm that HHS shall forthwith remove the claim that ‘Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism’ from the CDC website, or alternatively, please identify the specific studies on which HHS bases its blanket claim that no vaccines cause autism?”
To put HHS and the CDC (an agency within HHS) on their heels, mere days after sending this letter, ICAN also sent a FOIA request on November 1, 2017, demanding:
All reports, scientific studies, and any other documents the CDC relied upon to support the assertion “Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism” located on its website at http://www.cdc.gov/
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Biden introduces executive orders — 100 days of masks to begin | Added January 21
President Biden signed a raft of measures late Wednesday to dismantle some of the Trump administration’s most contentious policies, moving hours after taking office to sweep aside his predecessor’s pandemic response and reverse his environmental policies and anti-immigration orders.
Here are some of the most notable issues President Biden addressed with the 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations:
The Pandemic
Mr. Biden signed an executive order appointing Jeffrey D. Zients as the Covid-19 response coordinator, an effort to “aggressively” gear up the nation’s response to the pandemic. Mr. Biden is requiring social distancing and the wearing of masks on all federal property and by all federal employees, and starting a “100 days masking challenge” urging all Americans to wear masks.
Mr. Biden is also reinstating ties with the World Health Organization after the Trump administration chose to withdraw the nation’s membership and funding last year.
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Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola: Fauci Now Says COVID-19 Vaccine May Become Mandatory | Added January 21
Will the COVID-19 vaccine become mandatory? That’s a question many are asking these days and, by the looks of it, the answer may well be yes — although as I’ll explain later, I suspect the harms of the vaccine will become so apparent that it’ll kill such efforts before they become widespread.
In a January 1, 2021, Newsweek interview,1 Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was “sure” some institutions and businesses will require employees to be vaccinated, and that it’s “quite possible” the vaccine will be required for overseas travel.
When asked about the possibility of mandating the vaccine on a local level, such as for children attending school, he stated that “Everything will be on the table for discussion.” That said, he pointed out that since “we almost never mandate things federally” — with regard to health — he doesn’t believe a national vaccine mandate will be enacted.
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Healthcare professionals call for protection from prosecution over Covid-19 treatments resulting in death | Added January 21
If doctors and nurses are following their Hippocratic Oath, why would they need protection?
Doctors and nurses need protection from prosecution over Covid-19 treatment decisions made under the pressures of the pandemic, medical bodies have said.
Groups including the British Medical Association have written to ministers saying medical workers fear they could be at risk of unlawful killing charges.
It comes as the UK’s chief medical officers said the NHS could be overwhelmed in weeks.
The government said staff should not have to fear legal action.
The letter from the health organisations points out that the prime minister warned in November that the NHS being overwhelmed would be a “medical and moral disaster”, where “doctors and nurses could be forced to choose which patients to treat, who would live and who would die”.
It said: “With the chief medical officers now determining that there is a material risk of the NHS being overwhelmed within weeks, our members are worried that not only do they face being put in this position but also that they could subsequently be vulnerable to a criminal investigation by the police.”
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New CDC policy requiring travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before flights to US also recommends quarantining after arrival | Added January 21
Where is the scientific evidence that quarantining would be necessary after testing negative?
Anyone flying to the United States must test negative for the coronavirus before boarding their flight under a policy announced Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: With cases surging in the U.S., and new, more contagious variants emerging in other countries, the CDC says pre-flight testing will help slow the spread of the virus until the American public is fully vaccinated.
- The new policy, which takes effect Jan. 26, expands an order implemented last month to require negative tests from travelers from the U.K.
How it works: Before departure to the U.S., air passengers are required to obtain a viral test (to test for current infection) within three days of departure.
- They must provide paper or electronic documentation of their lab result.
- The CDC also recommends getting tested again 3-5 days after arrival, and isolate for 7 days post-travel.
- As an alternative, individuals may provide documentation that they’ve recovered from COVID-19.
Go deeper: Even with vaccine, COVID tests will be the passport to travel in 2021
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Information on the Freedom Airway and Freedom Travel Alliance | Added January 21
Professor Dolores Cahill joins the deprogram today to discuss a solution for freedom-respecting travel in the age of COVID. The Freedom Airway & Freedom Travel Alliance is seeking to create travel options that don’t require travelers to submit to vaccination, face masks or quarantines. Find out more in this week’s edition of #SolutionsWatch.
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Lockdown update from Valencia, Spain | Added January 20
Thank you to Max Holm.
3/4 of the businesses on my street, one of the most popular in terms of restaurants/bars/cafes, are closed. The ones that survived the 88 day confinement, recently had to close at 5 pm. Now they all must stay closed until Jan 31. I don’t think many will survive this latest.
Live music doesn’t exist anymore, of course.
Only take-away is allowed, but most restaurants/bars/cafes aren’t set up for that. Since all must close by 6 pm, realize that the Spaniards who are lucky to still have jobs work until 8 pm. Most have lost full-time hours, so eating out or take-away is a luxury.
Pharmacies and supermarkets can remain open, as usual. People complain that food is more and more expensive. So, far they’re not prohibiting us from shopping in pairs or with family.
Only 6 people at a time can gather indoors in homes or outside at a park or anywhere on the street, but these 6 must be close friends or family members only.
All sports facilities are closed. 99% of these are outdoors.
Curfew is 10 pm.
There are more homeless on the streets and in the parks. Most are Romani (Gypsies? Here it’s not a derogatory term – Gitanos). They sit on sidewalks using cute dogs to beg for coins. I often see them switch shifts with another, while the dog stays behind.
There are many people from Africa selling the same beaded bracelets all over the city. They’re getting more aggressive as their situations become more desperate. There’s no safety net for them.
Home invasions are becoming more common in exclusive neighborhoods with luxury condos. They use large hammers to break down thick wooden doors, run in, and quickly steal whatever small valuables they can. Recently a gang of three young women were arrested for this.
Addendum:
The lockdown starts tomorrow. A few adjustments were made.
Sports facilities, including gyms, are all closed. Non-essential businesses must close by 4 pm. Most are closing entirely. Otherwise they’ll lose more money.
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Guardian: Van Morrison to start legal action over Northern Ireland Covid ban on live music | Added January 20
Van Morrison will challenge the Northern Irish government in court over its “blanket ban” on live music in licensed venues arising from coronavirus restrictions, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Solicitor Joe Rice said the Northern Irish singer-songwriter, who has released several protest songs against Covid-19 rules in recent months, will ask the high court in Belfast to review the policy.
“We will be seeking leave for judicial review to challenge the blanket ban on live music in licensed premises in Northern Ireland,” Rice said. “We’re not aware of any credible scientific or medical evidence to justify this particular blanket ban … and we’re going to challenge this in the high court.”
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Naturopath Pam Popper shares report on Covid-19 and academic performance | Added January 20
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China building Covid-19 quarantine camp to house more than 4,000 people | Added January 20
China is rushing to build a massive quarantine camp that can house more than 4,000 people, after an outbreak of Covid-19 this month that has left tens of millions of people under strict lockdown.
The quarantine camp is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province, which surrounds the country’s capital, Beijing.
China has largely contained the spread of the virus, with much of the country returning to normal. However, a sudden rise in cases has alarmed officials and raised concerns ahead of the Lunar New Year, the county’s most important annual festival, during which hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to visit family members.
Officials in Shijiazhuang, where the outbreak is centered, have initiated mass testing and strict lockdowns, moving entire villages into centralized quarantine facilities in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
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Simone Gold, critic of Covid-19 vaccines, arrested after confirming to Washington Post that she took part in “incredibly peaceful” segment of Capitol protest | Added January 20
Gold garnered national attention in July when she organized a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court to condemn pandemic lockdowns and rave about how “hydroxychloroquine works” as a treatment for COVID-19.
The doctor made a similar speech during the Jan. 6 insurrection, confirming to The Washington Post she was photographed holding a megaphone on the Rotunda floor. (In June, the FDA revoked its emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine, stating the drug could actually do more harm than good because of its “ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other potentially serious side effects.”)
According to a criminal complaint filed against Gold and Strand, federal authorities were tipped off to the pair’s attendance by The Washington Post article.
In a 30-second video, Gold can be seen speaking in the Rotunda while two police officers stand behind her, gesturing at her and others to leave. While most of her speech is inaudible in the video, Gold can be heard saying “I’m a mom” and “massive medical establishment.
Gold confirmed to The Washington Post that she is the person pictured carrying a bullhorn on the Capitol grounds Wednesday in FBI and D.C. police bulletins seeking more information about individuals who were present.
Although dozens of Capitol Police officers were injured when they were overrun by pro-Trump protesters and one later died as a result, Gold said she did not witness any violence.
“I can certainly speak to the place that I was, and it most emphatically was not a riot,” the California resident said in a phone interview Monday. “Where I was, was incredibly peaceful.”
Gold confirmed that she went inside the Capitol, saying she followed a crowd and assumed that it was legal to do so. She said she had not been contacted by anyone in law enforcement.
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BREAKING: Gov. Cuomo orders restrictions on bowel movements | Added January 18
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American Airlines becomes first US carrier to use digital health passport | Added January 18
American Airlines announced this week that it is introducing a health passport for inbound travel to the United States from all international destinations. Passengers flying to the US can use the VeriFLY app to confirm testing and other travel requirements from January 23rd.
The Dallas/Fort Worth-based carrier previously launched VeriFLY to streamline the check-in and document verification process at the airport before departure. The system has also been providing travelers with critical reminders in regards to travel windows and credentials.
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NBC: CDC Says Severe Allergic Reactions to the Covid Vaccine Run 10 Times Reactions to the Flu Shot But They’re Still Rare | Added January 18
- A new CDC study published Wednesday found that people receiving Covid-19 vaccines experience anaphylaxis at a rate 10 times higher compared with the flu vaccine.
- Anaphylaxis is a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur after vaccination, though the condition is rare, the CDC said.
- The severe allergic reactions among Covid vaccine recipients are still thought to be rare and the drugs are safe for people to use, a top CDC official told reporters before the study was published.
The Covid-19 vaccine appears to cause severe allergic reactions at a significantly higher rate than other vaccines among the first wave of Americans to receive the life-saving immunizations, though the reactions are still rare, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
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Are You Ready for Total (Ideological) War? — read more at Off-Guardian | Added January 16
So, welcome to 2021! If last week was any indication, it is going to be quite an exciting year. It is going to be the year in which GloboCap reminds everyone who is actually in charge and restores “normality” throughout the world.
…or at least attempts to restore “normality,” or the “New Normality,” or the “Great Normal Reset,” or “The New Normal War on Domestic Terror” … or whatever they eventually decide to call it.
In any event, whatever they call it, GloboCap is done playing grab-ass. They have had it with all this “populism” malarkey that has been going on for the last four years.
Yes, that’s right, the party is over, you Russian-backed white supremacist terrorists! You Trump-loving, anti-mask grandmother killers! You anti-vax, election-fraud-conspiracy theorists! You deviants who refuse to follow orders, wear your damn masks, vote for who they tell you, and believe whatever completely nonsensical official propaganda they pour into your heads!
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Conversations with Dr. Cowan and Friends: The science of mRNA vaccines | Added January 16
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Early participants from Moderna’s clinical trial being offered booster shots | Added January 16
People who received two shots of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in its earliest, Phase 1 clinical trial are being offered a third shot, a so-called booster, as part of a continuing study to determine whether repeated vaccinations are needed and whether they are safe and effective, the company said on Thursday.
The vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer, both using genetic material called mRNA, were shown in clinical trials to be about 95 percent effective at preventing symptomatic cases of Covid-19 when administered as a two-shot regimen. But they have not been in use long enough to tell how long the immunity lasts or whether additional booster shots will be needed.
“We anticipate that an additional dose could further boost the levels of neutralizing antibodies, should such a boost be required, and that this is expected to be an advantage of mRNA vaccines,” Colleen Hussey, a Moderna spokeswoman, said in a statement.
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Guardian: Unilever workers will never return to desks full-time, says boss | Added January 16
Thank you, Loreen Costa.
We know from reading the details on the Pfizer and Moderna trials protocols that the shot doesn’t keep you from getting sick from the virus. And we know it doesn’t stop you from spreading the virus. So what’s it good for? Well, now! We’re glad to tell you. What it does, is, well…
It gets you out of mandatory Covid-19 (SARS-COV-2) testing! At least at the world renown Unilever in the UK.
The boss of Unilever, one of the UK’s biggest companies, has said his office workers will never return to their desks five days a week, in the latest indication that coronavirus will transform modern working life.
Alan Jope, the chief executive of the consumer goods group, said the company would also encourage all of its employees to receive vaccinations against Covid-19, but would stop short of making jabs mandatory. Employees who opt not to be vaccinated, however, will face mandatory testing.
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Further details on Biden’s vaccination plan for America | Added January 16
Under Biden’s plan, federal disaster-relief workers would set up thousands of vaccination centers, where retired doctors would administer shots to teachers, grocery store workers, people over 65 years old and other groups who do not currently qualify.
The Democrat would invoke the Defense Production Act to increase production of equipment needed to distribute the vaccines, such as glass vials, needles and syringes, according to a document released by his transition team. He would also use the law to support vaccine refrigeration and storage.
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WSJ: Florida’s Covid-19 Vaccines Draw Foreigners, Snowbirds | Added January 16
Visitors from Toronto to New York to Buenos Aires have long flocked to Florida for sun, surf and shopping. Now they are coming for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Some of the arrivals are Americans or foreigners who own second homes in the state and reside here part-time. Others are making short-term visits, seizing the opportunity provided by Florida’s decision to make the vaccine available to people age 65 and older, including nonresidents. The practice, which some are calling vaccine tourism, has drawn fire from some officials and residents.
Interest is up sharply from Canadians who are looking to travel to the U.S. for vaccinations, according to Momentum Jets, a private jet service provider in Toronto.
“We’re getting requests now from clients that are willing to fly into Florida, if they have an appointment, and then fly home again on the same day,” said Janelle Brind, a company vice president. Costs for a charter flight range from $25,000 to $80,000 for a same-day round trip, she said.
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Effort to recall California Gov. Newsom is referred to as ‘coup’ by party leaders — Los Angeles Times criticizes rhetoric as ‘inflammatory and irresponsible’ | Added January 15
Can someone please get a copy of a dictionary — any dictionary — delivered to the California Democratic Party headquarters? Or at least email over a link to an online version?
We fear that party leaders might not have access to one, based on their imprudent decision to dub a recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom the “California coup,” thus likening a perfectly democratic process enshrined in the state’s Constitution to the act of forcefully or even violently seizing government power.
On Tuesday, the state’s Democratic Party establishment offered its first official response to the gubernatorial recall effort and it was … disappointing. This was an opportunity to offer a strong defense for a governor leading an enormously complex state through a very difficult time, with political unrest exacerbating an unprecedented health catastrophe, and to appeal to Californians to stop Newsom’s opponents from getting the 1.5 million signatures they need to trigger a special recall election later this year.
Instead they chose to kick off their counter-campaign with a ridiculous branding strategy that undermined the state’s legitimate direct democracy system, while engaging in the same type of inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric that we’ve seen all too often from President Trump and his allies. Shame.
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Biden’s $1.9 trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’ reiterates deal for $2,000 stimulus checks while proposing national vaccine program | Added January 15
President-elect Joe Biden outlined his plans for economic relief from the coronavirus crisis on Thursday, citing the need for a more robust vaccination plan as well as for additional direct payments to American families to help recover the U.S. economy. His plan, called the American Rescue Plan, is expected to cost $1.9 trillion.
The package includes $1,400 direct stimulus checks, which would supplement the $600 checks Congress passed late last year. Biden also proposes an additional $160 billion for a national vaccine program, including $20 billion for distribution, and an additional $50 billion for expanded testing.
“It’s not hard to see that we are in the middle of a once-in-several generations economic crisis, with a once-in-several generations public health crisis. A crisis of deep human suffering is in plain sight,” Biden said.
“We have to act, and we have to act now,” Biden said. “We cannot afford inaction.”
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Rite Aid falsely advertises that Covid-19 vaccines provide immunity and are “FDA-approved,” in direct contradiction to FDA’s official statement | Added January 15
The FDA’s determination regarding Pfizer’s and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines is “not an FDA approval,” as can be seen below in the FDA’s press announcement from December 18th regarding Moderna’s vaccine:
“Guided by science and data, the agency’s career staff determined that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits clearly outweigh its known and potential risks, and although not an FDA approval, the FDA’s expectations described in our June and October guidance documents have been met,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
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Restaurant owners sue New York State and win, allowing them to reopen | Added January 14
New York State Supreme Court Justice Henry Nowak has ruled in favor of the restaurants involved in the lawsuit against the state, allowing them to reopen under New York State yellow zone restrictions.
Those tavern and restaurant owners challenged Governor Cuomo, the State Liquor Authority and the County Health Department to come up with the science and data to justify the restrictions the governor initiated.
Attorneys for the tavern owners and the state made their case to Justice Nowak, last Friday, who has ruled the 91 tavern and restaurant owners named in the lawsuit can operate under the yellow zone regulations.
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Toronto Sun: Canadian expert’s research finds lockdown harms are 10 times greater than benefits | Added January 14
From Toronto Sun:
Dr. Ari Joffe is a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Alberta. He has written a paper titled COVID-19: Rethinking the Lockdown Groupthink that finds the harms of lockdowns are 10 times greater than their benefits.
The below Q&A is an exchange between Joffe and Anthony Furey.
You were a strong proponent of lockdowns initially but have since changed your mind. Why is that?
There are a few reasons why I supported lockdowns at first.
First, initial data falsely suggested that the infection fatality rate was up to 2-3%, that over 80% of the population would be infected, and modelling suggested repeated lockdowns would be necessary. But emerging data showed that the median infection fatality rate is 0.23%, that the median infection fatality rate in people under 70 years old is 0.05%, and that the high-risk group is older people especially those with severe co-morbidities. In addition, it is likely that in most situations only 20-40% of the population would be infected before ongoing transmission is limited (i.e., herd-immunity).
READ MORE HERE
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The Critic Magazine: How Covid paved the Road to Serfdom | Added January 14
Hayek suggested a society which sacrificed liberty for security would gradually submit itself to authoritarian control
Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom maintains a near unrivalled influence on the political imagination of conservative and classical liberal thinkers. Published in 1943, at the height of the Keynesian consensus, it elaborated a worldview considered intolerable within academic economics.
The central thesis of The Road to Serfdom is that descent into tyranny is the ultimate and inevitable trajectory of a society in which the sovereignty of the individual is subverted in the accumulation of economic power by the state. Central planning leads invariably to authoritarianism. Hayek is not timid in making these claims.
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David Martin explains how Pfizer and Moderna’s ‘gene therapy technology’ for Covid-19 does not meet the CDC’s legal standard for a ‘vaccination’ | Added January 14
In addition, he argues that Pfizer and Moderna have violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by making a claim that is unsupported by data when telling people their product offers a protection against a disease.
According to Martin, there is no waiver of liability for deceptive practices even in a state of emergency.
He poses the question: If the product is an experimental gene technology, and not a vaccine, why are Pfizer and Moderna calling it a vaccine?
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Superintendent of LA school district declares students must get Covid-19 vaccine when available, despite experts’ concern for lack of data on teens and kids | Added January 14
A COVID-19 vaccine requirement would be “no different than students who are vaccinated for measles or mumps,” Beutner said in a pre-recorded briefing. He also compared students, staff and others getting a COVID-19 vaccine to those who “are tested for tuberculosis before they come on campus. That’s the best way we know to keep all on a campus safe.”
But a vaccine will not be in the arms of students for some time. The two vaccines that have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration so far were tested almost exclusively in adults. The clinical trial of the shot made by Pfizer and BioNTech included 153 16- and 17-year-olds, and some of the experts who reviewed the data for the FDA said there weren’t enough teens to determine whether the vaccine is safe for that age group, let alone for younger children.
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UK eugenics movement linked to development of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine | Added January 14
Arguably most troubling of all is the direct link of the vaccine’s lead developers to the Wellcome Trust and, in the case of Adrian Hill, the Galton Institute, two groups with longstanding ties to the UK eugenics movement. The latter organization, named for the “father of eugenics” Francis Galton, is the renamed UK Eugenics Society, a group notorious for over a century for its promotion of racist pseudoscience and efforts to “improve racial stock” by reducing the population of those deemed inferior.
The ties of Adrian Hill to the Galton Institute should raise obvious concerns given the push to make the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine he developed with Gilbert the vaccine of choice for the developing world, particularly countries in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, the very areas where the Galton Institute’s past members have called for reducing population growth.
In the final installment of this series on Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s vaccination effort and race, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine’s ties to eugenics-linked institutions, the secretive role of Vaccitech, and the myth of the vaccine’s sale being “nonprofit” and altruistically motivated are explored in detail.
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Guardian: The toxic chemicals in our homes could increase Covid-19 threat | Added January 14
Originally published April 29, 2020, this article, and the topic of how toxic chemicals harm our immune system, is worth a review.
Everyday hormone-disrupting chemicals could affect our immune system’s defenses against infections.
During the rare moments you’ve ventured outside these days, you’ve probably noticed clearer skies and the benefits of reductions in air pollution.
Long-term exposure to air pollution increases the danger associated with four of the biggest Covid-19 mortality risks: diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and asthma. It also can make the immune system overreact, exaggerating the inflammatory response to common pathogens.
But there are other common contaminants in our homes that are also likely to be hacking our immune systems, which have had less attention.
You’ve probably heard about synthetic chemicals in non-stick pans, cosmetics and aluminum cans disrupting our hormones. The notion of endocrine-disrupting chemicals was only widely accepted about a decade ago, when scientific societies raised the alarm. The science of immune disruption is even newer, with a large review in a major scientific journal just out last year.
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UK vaccine rollout sees problems: long lines for senior citizens, doses thrown away after expiring | Added January 13
Pensioners arriving to be vaccinated at London’s ExCel Centre today complained they had been left ‘breathless’ by tackling ‘gruelling’ ramps and queuing for 20 minutes in bitterly cold temperatures.
Patients were forced to climb banks of stairs or negotiate their way up steep ramps to reach the entrance of the vaccination centre. One man had to call for a wheelchair having negotiated the first of the two ramps.
NHS sources said 400 senior citizens and key workers were vaccinated against Covid-19 at the ExCel Centre today, on its first day of operation.
They advised that numbers were likely to increase massively over the next few days. Numbers were kept to a manageable figure today, to test how the centre will run over the coming weeks.
AND
Seven major vaccine centres opened today in the hope of inoculating the 13million most vulnerable residents by mid-February and easing the endless cycle of restrictions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to hit 200,000 jabs per day by Friday.
But the sluggish scheme has been hit by hiccups since it began last month. And it was revealed today that one hospital in London has had to bin doses of vaccines because people aren’t turning up for their appointments, with staff reportedly phoning friends and family to rush in and use up leftover supplies, which only last for hours out of the freezer.
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Jon Rappoport: Lockdown civilization: phase one and phase two | Added January 13
The China lockdown of 50 million citizens overnight was a key element in the long-standing plan to foist a fake pandemic on humanity.
That lockdown provided the model for the rest of the world.
We are now in phase one of Lockdown Civilization.
The “scientific” rationale? THE VIRUS. The virus that isn’t there. The virus whose existence is unproven.
But the story line works: “We have to follow the China model because the pandemic is sweeping across the globe…”
Close on the heels of this con job, we have the intro to phase two: “In order to deal with future pandemics, we must install a new planetary system of command and control; human behavior must be modified.”
Translation: wall to wall surveillance at a level never achieved before; universal guaranteed income for every human, tied to obedience to all state directives; violate those directives and income is reduced or canceled; the planting of nano devices inside the body which will broadcast physiological changes to central command, and which will receive instructions that modify mood and reaction…
Phase one lockdowns prepare the citizenry to accept phase two.
In other words, phase one had nothing to do with a virus. It was part of the technocratic revolution.
I call your attention to a stunning article in The Atlantic. “The Panopticon Is Already Here” (9/20), by Ross Andersen.
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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: The SPARS Pandemic 2025-2028: A Futuristic Scenario to Facilitate Medical Countermeasure Communication | Added January 13
From Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research 2020:
Published March 5, 2020
Introduction:
Effective communication about medical countermeasures—including drugs, devices and biologics—is often critical in emergency situations. Such communication, however, does not just happen. It must be planned and prepared for. One mechanism to develop communication strategies is through the use of prospective scenarios, which allow readers the opportunity to rehearse responses while also weighing the implications of their actions. This article describes the development of such a scenario: The SPARS Pandemic 2025-2028. Steps in this process included deciding on a timeframe, identifying likely critical uncertainties, and then using this framework to construct a storyline covering both the response and recovery phases of a fictional emergency event. Lessons learned from the scenario development and how the scenario can be used to improve communication are also discussed.
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Golden Oldie from Lockdown 1.0 Days | Added January 12
So when you see what masks cannot do, all you’re left with is a disease vector (germ trap), if you believe in germs.
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Up to 80% of healthcare workers are declining Covid-19 vaccine, including POC professionals | Added January 12
The desperately awaited vaccination drive against the coronavirus in the U.S. is running into resistance from an unlikely quarter: Surprising numbers of health care workers who have seen firsthand the death and misery inflicted by COVID-19 are refusing shots.
It is happening in nursing homes and, to a lesser degree, in hospitals, with employees expressing what experts say are unfounded fears of side effects from vaccines that were developed at record speed. More than three weeks into the campaign, some places are seeing as much as 80% of the staff holding back.
“I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig,” said Dr. Stephen Noble, a 42-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon in Portland, Oregon, who is postponing getting vaccinated. “At the end of the day, as a man of science, I just want to see what the data show. And give me the full data.”
AND
Oregon doctor Noble said he will wait until April or May to get the shots. He said it is vital for public health authorities not to overstate what they know about the vaccines. That is particularly important, he said, for Black people like him who are distrustful of government medical guidance because of past failures and abuses, such as the infamous Tuskegee experiment.
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Bloomberg: Thailand Clears Use of Herbal Medicine for Covid-19 Treatment | Added January 12
Thailand’s health ministry approved the use of a herbal plant extract to treat early stages of Covid-19 as a pilot program amid a flareup in the coronavirus outbreak in the Southeast Asian nation.
Andrographis Paniculata, commonly known as green chiretta, will serve as an alternative treatment to reduce the severity of the outbreak and cut treatment costs, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The treatment will be available in five state-owned hospital initially, it said.
AND
- The herbal treatment will be on a voluntary basis for those in the 18-60 age group with minor symptoms and should be within 72 hours of confirming infections
- The extract from the plant, known as Fah Talai Jone in Thai, can curb virus and reduce severity of inflammation, ministry says citing studies
- Human trials showed patient conditions improved within three days of the treatment without side effects if the medicine is administered within 72 hours of testing positive
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‘Hugging a friend’ makes top three in list of most dangerous activities | Added January 12
From Eat This, Not That! Health:
3. Hugging a Friend
Hugging a friend hello or goodbye may have been commonplace but in a pandemic, this simple gesture becomes dangerous for spreading the virus. If you’re dying for a hug from a friend or family member, Dr. Todd Ellerin, MD from South Shore Hospital recommends you first consider the person involved, the place you’re planning to hug, and the space you’ll have. Only hug a person you know isn’t sick or wasn’t exposed to the virus and try to initiate the contact while outside and not around other people.
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Bloomberg: Tech Under Pressure After Parler Goes Dark, Twitter Drops | Added January 12
Technology companies tried to contain a mounting backlash against their social media sites, with shares of Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. falling in early trading and rival platform Parler forced offline by Amazon.com Inc.
Many conservatives said the moves to expunge President Donald Trump from the social networks and take down an app popular with his supporters went too far. Twitter was down about 5% Monday morning, reflecting shareholder uncertainty about the permanent removal of one of the site’s biggest accounts and the legislative consequence that could follow. Facebook’s share were down 3%.
Parler, whose chief executive officer, John Matze, pitches the network as a safe place for free speech, went down early on Monday after Amazon Web Services shut off access to its servers, leaving it without a home. Both Google and Apple Inc. kicked Parler from their stores, making it almost impossible to download the app.
The bans were strongly criticized by senior lawmakers in Germany and France. Chancellor Angela Merkel argued lawmakers should set the rules governing free speech, not technology companies, while French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the state should be responsible for regulations, rather than “the digital oligarchy,” and called big tech “one of the threats” to democracy.
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Some humor from Magdalena Stampfer: ‘Unbelievable! How vaccine sceptics burden the health system’ | Added January 11
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PBS: Anti-abortion faith leaders support use of COVID-19 vaccines | Added January 11
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which says fighting abortion is its “preeminent” priority, said last month that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus “ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community,” according to a statement by the chairmen of its Committee on Doctrine and Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
The bishops said it is morally acceptable for Catholics to use either of the two vaccines approved for use in the U.S. — made by Pfizer and Moderna — despite a “remote connection to morally compromised cell lines.” This entailed the use of fetal cell lines for lab tests seeking to confirm the vaccines’ effectiveness.
Another leading vaccine, made by AstraZeneca and approved for use in Britain and some other countries, is “more morally compromised,” and should be avoided if there are alternatives available, the bishops said.
Coinciding with the USCCB, four bishops in Colorado issued their own statement taking a somewhat more negative stance on AstraZeneca, describing it as “not a morally valid option.”
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BBC: Sex and Covid: What are the rules in lockdown? | Added January 11
Since when did anybody agree that governments could make rules about citizens’ sexual activity?
New lockdowns in the four nations of the UK mean new guidance on having sex.
The rules say you must not meet socially indoors with anyone unless you live with them, or if they’re part of your support bubble.
A support bubble is when a single-adult household joins another household – they can still visit each other and stay overnight.
So unless you live with your partner or they’re in your chosen bubble, meeting up for sex is off the cards.
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Amid vaccinations, officials claim deaths at Syracuse nursing home are due to “Covid-19 outbreak” | Added January 11
Thank you, Planet Waves researcher Max Holm:
They call it a post-Thanksgiving breakout, but leave the most important info to the end. Vaccinations started Dec 22. 80% of residents have been vaccinated and about half the staff. There’s no data or info to how many outside visitors came to visit for Thanksgiving. Maybe it was zero.
They say infections started Dec 21, vaccinations on Dec 22. Staff are checked weekly.
24 residents died since “Wednesday” which was Jan 6. Vaccinations started 2 weeks before on Dec 22. That’s 12% of the 193 elderly that were vaccinated.
A Covid-19 outbreak at a Cayuga County nursing home that began two weeks ago has infected 137 residents, 24 of whom have died.
The outbreak at The Commons on St. Anthony in Auburn started Dec. 21 as a wave of post-Thanksgiving Covid-19 cases began hitting the county, said Julie Sheedy, an official of Loretto which operates the 300-bed nursing home.
Forty-seven employees have tested positive.
Since the outbreak began, 21 residents have died at The Commons and three in the hospital, Sheedy said. Eleven residents have died since Wednesday, she said.
There had been no nursing home Covid-19 deaths in Cayuga County until the first three deaths at the Commons were reported Dec. 29. The three other nursing homes in Cayuga have not reported any Covid-19 deaths.
AND
The nursing home began vaccinating residents Dec. 22. So far 193 residents, or 80%, and 113 employees, or less than half the staff, have been vaccinated. The nursing home plans to do more vaccinations Jan. 12.
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Bill proposed in December by South Carolina lawmakers would ban mandatory vaccinations | Added January 11
Starting next week, South Carolina lawmakers may begin to consider a bill first filed in December that would allow individuals to opt-out of vaccinations and be protected from discrimination if they choose to exercise that right.
As part of the bill, a person would not face “adverse employment action” like firing or a demotion for refusing to take a vaccination. It would also prevent restricting access to shopping and other activities based on vaccination status.
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RFK Jr discusses viruses, health, and funding by Bill Gates with Zach Bush, MD | Added January 11
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NYT: False Reports of a New ‘U.S. Variant’ Came from White House Task Force | Added January 9
The erroneous report originated at a recent meeting where Dr. Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, presented graphs of the escalating cases in the country. She suggested to other members of the task force that a new, more transmissible variant originating in the U.S. might explain the surge, as another variant did in Britain.
Her hypothesis made it into a weekly report sent to state governors. “This fall/winter surge has been at nearly twice the rate of rise of cases as the spring and summer surges. This acceleration suggests there may be a USA variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transmissible,” the report read. “Aggressive mitigation must be used to match a more aggressive virus.”
Dismayed, officials at the C.D.C. tried to have the speculative statements removed, but were unsuccessful, according to three people familiar with the events.
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Board in Stamford, VT votes to end Covid19 restrictions imposed by state | Added January 9
The Select Board on Tuesday doubled down on its recent defiance of Gov. Phil Scott’s health emergency orders, voting to “terminate” the governor’s restrictions relating to COVID-19 and impose local regulations.
Three of the five board members supported the motion, saying they would likely follow most of Scott’s emergency orders but not any they believe trample on rights guaranteed in the U.S. and Vermont constitutions.
AND
Title 20, Section 13 states in paragraph 3 that the governor, “Upon receiving notice that a majority of the legislative body of a municipality affected by a natural disaster no longer desires that the state of emergency continue within its municipality, shall declare the state of emergency terminated within that particular municipality. Upon the termination of the state of emergency, the functions as set forth in section 9 of this title shall cease, and the local authorities shall resume control.”
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Glenn Greenwald: the harms from authoritarian “solutions” are often greater than the threats they are ostensibly designed to combat | Added January 9
In the days and weeks after the 9/11 attack, Americans were largely united in emotional horror at what had been done to their country as well as in their willingness to endorse repression and violence in response. As a result, there was little room to raise concerns about the possible excesses or dangers of the American reaction, let alone to dissent from what political leaders were proposing in the name of vengeance and security. The psychological trauma from the carnage and the wreckage at the country’s most cherished symbols swamped rational faculties and thus rendered futile any attempts to urge restraint or caution.
Nonetheless, a few tried. Scorn and sometimes worse were universally heaped upon them.
On September 14 — while bodies were still buried under burning rubble in downtown Manhattan — Congresswoman Barbara Lee cast a lone vote against the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF). “Some of us must urge the use of restraint,” she said seventy-two hours after the attack, adding: “our country is in a state of mourning” and thus “some of us must say: let’s step back for a moment, let’s pause just for a minute, and think through the implications of our actions today so that this does not spiral out of control.”
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CBS: Australia locks down city of 2 million over a single case of new COVID variant | Added January 8
Australia’s third-largest city headed into lockdown and borders were set to tighten nationwide Friday, after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel contracted the U.K. coronavirus strain that officials say is more infectious. More than two million residents in the Greater Brisbane area will have to stay at home for at least three days from Friday evening, authorities said.
“If we are going to stop the spread of this infectious strain, this U.K. strain, we must act immediately,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told media.
Large lines formed at shops around the city, prompting officials to urge people to stop panic-buying. The incoming restrictions will still allow residents to leave home to buy essentials.
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China places 11 million people in the city of Shijiazhuang on lockdown | Added January 8
More than 11 million people in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang have been placed into a stringent lockdown after an outbreak of Covid-19.
Residents of the area are not allowed to leave the city, schools have been suspended, gatherings banned, and residential communities and villages closed off.
The stringent measures have been put in place after 117 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Shijiazhuang, including 67 people who are asymptomatic.
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COVID-19 and Surveillance Tech: Year in Review 2020 — from digital rights advocate EFF | Added January 8
From Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Location tracking apps. Spyware to enforce quarantine. Immunity passports. Throughout 2020, governments around the world deployed invasive surveillance technologies to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
But heavy-handed tactics like these undercut public trust in government, precisely when trust is needed most. They also invade our privacy and chill our free speech. And all too often, surveillance technologies disparately burden people of color.
In the United States, EFF and other digital rights advocates turned back some of the worst proposals. But they’ll be back in 2021. Until the pandemic ends, we must hold the line against ill-considered surveillance technologies.
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Austrian court deems virus mask mandates as illegal in December | Added January 8
Published December 23.
Austria’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that two government measures to fight the spread of coronavirus in schools, compulsory mask-wearing and splitting classes into two halves to be taught in alternate shifts, were illegal.
The split classes system meant that some pupils had lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays and others on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
At all other times they were to stay at home.
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Investigation into death of Florida doctor following Covid vaccine | Added January 7
A Florida doctor has died several weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, although it’s not yet clear whether his death Monday was related to the shot he received on Dec. 18.
Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, an OB-GYN at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, died after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke apparently resulting from a lack of platelets.
Miami medical examiners are investigating his death,the Florida Department of Health said in a statement.
“The CDC and FDA are responsible for reviewing COVID-19 vaccine safety data and presenting that information for federal recommendations on vaccine administration,” communications director Jason Mahon said in an email. “The state will continue to provide all available information to the CDC as they lead this investigation.”
In a Facebook post, Michael’s wife, Heidi Neckelmann, said he sought emergency care three days after the shot because he had dots on his skin that indicated internal bleeding.
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CNBC has a list of what people might be restricted from doing if they refuse the vaccine | Added January 7
A perfect storm is brewing as Covid-19 vaccines start to roll out more widely in countries around the world.
While many people can’t wait to protect themselves from the virus, some are adamant that they won’t get the jab, leaving populations divided into those that have been vaccinated and those that haven’t.
Covid19 News is published by a small nonprofit called Chiron Return. We are sustained exclusively by our readers. Please do what you can to support our efforts and make a donation today.
CDC reports more severe allergic reactions to vaccine; rate of reactions is 8x higher than flu vaccines | Added January 7
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it is carefully monitoring allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc and urged individuals who had a serious reaction not to get the second dose.
In a conference call with reporters, the U.S. public health agency said allergic reactions are occurring at a rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccinations. That compared with flu vaccines, in which such reactions occur at a rate of 1.3 per 1 million shots.
The severe reactions are still “exceedingly rare,” they said, stressing the need for people to get vaccinated when the shots become available to them, given the threat of death and serious disease from the coronavirus that has already claimed more than 357,000 lives in the United States alone.
Covid19 News is published by a small nonprofit called Chiron Return. We are sustained exclusively by our readers. Please do what you can to support our efforts and make a donation today.
Focus on Fauci | Added January 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZdMFSFfqeQ&feature=youtu.be
From Dr. David Martin at 1:42:35:
“Let’s make sure we are clear… This is not a vaccine. They are using the term ‘vaccine’ to sneak this thing under public health exemptions. This is not a vaccine.
This is mRNA packaged in a fat envelope that is delivered to a cell. It is a medical device designed to stimulate the human cell into becoming a pathogen creator. It is not a vaccine. Vaccines actually are a legally defined term under public health law; they are a legally defined term under CDC and FDA standards.[1] And the vaccine specifically has to stimulate both the immunity within the person receiving it and it also has to disrupt transmission.
And that is not what this is. They (Moderna and Pfizer) have been abundantly clear in saying that the mRNA strand that is going into the cell is not to stop the transmission, it is a treatment. But if it was discussed as a treatment, it would not get the sympathetic ear of public health authorities because then people would say, ‘What other treatments are there?'”
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New York Magazine investigates ‘The Lab-Leak Hypothesis’ and history of gain-of-function research | Added January 6
There is no direct evidence for these zoonotic possibilities, just as there is no direct evidence for an experimental mishap — no written confession, no incriminating notebook, no official accident report. Certainty craves detail, and detail requires an investigation. It has been a full year, 80 million people have been infected, and, surprisingly, no public investigation has taken place. We still know very little about the origins of this disease.
Nevertheless, I think it’s worth offering some historical context for our yearlong medical nightmare. We need to hear from the people who for years have contended that certain types of virus experimentation might lead to a disastrous pandemic like this one. And we need to stop hunting for new exotic diseases in the wild, shipping them back to laboratories, and hot-wiring their genomes to prove how dangerous to human life they might become.
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‘A look at apps that predict the chance of infection and illness depending on what you’re doing and where you are’ — read more in Nature | Added January 6
Thank you, Loreen Costa.
Maybe all these confused medical professionals need an app to tell them what to think. It shouldn’t matter that the base assumptions in the app are dubious — they’re already trained to accept this.
MyCOVIDRisk takes a more situational approach, estimating the risks associated with specific errands or recreational activities. The estimate is based on the location and duration of a gathering, and the number of masked or unmasked people attending. This can help users to avoid activities that are likely to be high risk in a pandemic hotspot, such as spending an hour in an indoor gym, in favour of safer alternatives — a masked meet-up in the park, for instance.
To make predictions, these tools require the latest data and models that accurately capture the current levels of infection and the likelihood of transmission in various scenarios. The New York Times runs a coronavirus database that has become a popular resource, and both MyCOVIDRisk and the Georgia Tech tool use it to assess local disease activity. These calculators are currently focused on the United States, although the Georgia Tech team has extended its tool to cover ten European countries.
Covid19 News is published by a small nonprofit called Chiron Return. We are sustained exclusively by our readers. Please do what you can to support our efforts and make a donation today.
Some history and context for ‘long dormant’ New York State Assembly Bill A-416 | Added January 6
The bill in question was first introduced in 2015, in response to an incident in which a nurse infected with Ebola refused to quarantine. That prompted Perry to propose a new law on quarantining during a pandemic, which he says is aimed to mirror what has long been on the books for mental health patients. During a pandemic, the executive branch would have the authority to detain infected individuals and their contacts “in a medical facility or other appropriate facility.” If the detention lasts longer than three days, the state would need a court order.
“In every civil society … there has to be some manner of insuring that one wild person with concern for the interest of others should be able to cause injury with no consequence at all,” Perry said. “We provide a hearing to a person who may be facing some action and provide time to be heard by a judge.”
Few of Perry’s colleagues thought this was the best approach to addressing problems like the Ebola incident. Not a single one of the 212 other members of the state Legislature ever joined on a cosponsor. Six years later, there’s not even a companion bill in the Senate that would give it the slightest chance of becoming law.
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Covid-19 vaccine debate between Robert Kennedy Jr. and Alan Dershowitz moderated by Patrick Bet-David | Added January 6
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North Carolina’s National Guard to be mobilized by Gov. Roy Cooper to assist with Covid-19 vaccinations | Added January 6
ABC11’s Michael Lozano spoke to Rep. Billy Richardson, a Democrat in District 44, wrote a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly on Sunday, urging them to reconvene the General Assembly and deploy the N.C. National Guard.
The congressman was compelled to write the 600-word letter after a close friend of his, in Fayetteville, passed away due to COVID-19.
“It touched me so much, because his brother was a dear friend and, um, I said, ‘Enough. We’ve got to, you know, I examined my own conscious and said I’m not doing enough as a representative,'” Richardson said.
A part of the letter says the rising COVID-19 metrics, along with the low vaccination rate, was “disturbing.” Richardson told ABC11 the deployment and incorporation of the N.C. National Guard and Emergency Management will make a big impact on state efforts.
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RFK Jr: New York Times Declines My Rebuttal to Defamatory Op-Ed on COVID Vaccines | Added January 6
From Children’s Health Defense:
On Dec. 30, 2020, the New York Times published an opinion piece by my niece, Dr. Kerry Meltzer. Although the piece contained factual errors and defamatory accusations, the Times declined to publish my letter to the editor correcting those false claims.
The “right of reply” — the opportunity to defend oneself against public criticism in the same venue where that criticism was published — is a constitutional right in some European countries and in Brazil. The BBC’s editorial guidelines state:
“When our output makes allegations of wrongdoing, iniquity or incompetence or lays out a strong and damaging critique of an individual or institution the presumption is that those criticized should be given a “right of reply,” that is, given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations.”
Even where there is no legal right, respectable journalistic outlets, including the New York Times, have traditionally regarded it as their moral, ethical and professional obligation to publish the replies by people who have been criticized in their pages.
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A-416 in New York is not moving, according to Assemblyman Kevin Cahill’s office | Added January 5
From Eric: Today I spoke with Assemblyman Kevin Cahill’s spokesperson who said that A-416, the medical internment camp bill (formerly A-99), is NOT scheduled for a vote this week. It has not gone to committee yet; therefore it cannot come out of committee to go to the floor. He said the bill had not moved in five years and was unlikely to do so, therefore Cahill had not given comment. You may hear the conversation here if you like, with a little extra about SUNY student governance.
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Flu numbers down an unprecedented 98%; no one thinks to question Covid testing | Added January 5
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Hospitals in New York, Florida threatened to be penalized if vaccines distributed too slowly | Added January 5
More than two-thirds of the 15 million coronavirus vaccines shipped within the United States have gone unused, U.S. health officials said on Monday, as the governors of New York and Florida vowed to penalize hospitals that fail to dispense shots quickly.
In New York, hospitals must administer vaccines within a week of receiving them or face a fine and a reduction in future supplies, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, hours before announcing the state’s first known case of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant originally detected in Britain.
“I don’t want the vaccine in a fridge or a freezer, I want it in somebody’s arm,” the governor said. “If you’re not performing this function, it does raise questions about the operating efficiency of the hospital.”
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Double Feature: Jon Rappoport on ‘medical weapons of mass destruction’ | Added January 5
After a hundred years of intense propaganda promoting the idea that diseases are everywhere, and each disease is caused by a single germ, which must be killed by a medical drug…
The fallout has been extreme, to say the least.
Let’s start here:
When will hysterical defenders of “science” face up to the destruction the US medical system is causing?
Millions of masked people, who border on hysteria, believe they know COVID science.
On closer examination, these people believe what their television sets tell them. They believe Fauci because he’s on television, and he’s talking from the White House, and he disagrees with Trump.
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Double Feature: Jon Rappoport on IG Farben and ‘the roots of the COVID plan’ | Added January 5
In 1933, the largest cartel in the world, IG Farben, enabled Hitler’s rise to power. Farben: pharmaceuticals, dyes, chemicals, synthetics.
During WW2, Farben had prisoners shipped from Auschwitz to its nearby facility, where horrendous medical/pharmaceutical experiments were carried out on them.
For accounts, read The Devil’s Chemists, by Josiah DuBois, and The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben, by Joseph Borkin.
At the end of the War, Farben executives were put on trial and, despite the efforts of Telford Taylor, the chief US prosecutor, and assistant prosecutor, Josiah DuBois, the sentences handed out were light.
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The Tyranny of Dogma by Dr. David Rasnick | Added January 4
Science used to be one of the most democratic of human activities. Good science was found in every region of the world, irrespective of political, religious, or ideological beliefs. Creative scientists tend to work best alone. Consequently, creative, democratic science is the activity of independent individuals and small groups of collaborators. Regrettably, institutional science has replaced the individual search for enlightenment and understanding—the true domain of science—with the limited, special goals and interests of government and industry. The deluge of trillions of dollars of funding since 1990 has decimated democratic science in the United States. But there is a deeper problem. The very legitimacy of government is threatened by the dysfunctional, malignant bureaucracies created by those trillions of dollars.
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Some public officials to delay getting vaccine | Added January 4
For weeks, images of lawmakers from both parties getting their Covid-19 vaccinations have appeared on TV and across social media, in an effort to boost public confidence in the shots.
But there are now a few high-profile leaders who have chosen to forgo the early vaccines.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York shared his stance on when he would get the vaccine sharply this week: “I’m not going to take the vaccine until the same people are eligible and it is available in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities in this state.”
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Euronews: Turkish scientists say they’ve developed a 10-second COVID-19 test that is 99% accurate | Added January 4
Scientists at a university research centre in Turkey claim they have developed an ultra-rapid coronavirus test with 99% accuracy that can return results within 10 seconds – all without needing to take a nasal swab.
The Diagnovir, developed by researchers at Bilkent University, is a diagnostic kit said to use nanotechnology to detect COVID-19 in a patient.
First, a swab is taken from the patient’s mouth before being mixed with a solution and added to a pathogen detection chip.
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Wisconsin pharmacist intentionally destroyed more than 500 vaccine doses | Added January 1
A pharmacist at a Wisconsin hospital has been arrested and accused of intentionally removing more than 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine from refrigeration last week, knowing that the vaccines would be rendered useless and that the people receiving them would think they were protected against the virus when they were not, the police department in Grafton, Wisconsin, said Thursday.
The hospital administered some of the doses before realizing that they had been spoiled, the hospital system said.