Tag: coronavirus

IDF Intelligence warns of vaccine-resistant Israeli coronavirus mutation

The IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate on Saturday evening published a warning that combining mass vaccination with a spike in infections could lead to a strain of COVID-19 that will resist the vaccines currently in use.

The report recommends requiring anyone landing in Israel to quarantine, even if they have recovered from coronavirus or received the vaccine.

“The mass vaccination program, which is happening at the same time as an active outbreak in Israel, may lead to evolutionary stress on the virus,” the report said, noting that “this situation may cause that mutations offering the virus a certain protection against immunity (whether from the vaccine or disease) will spread significantly among the population, if they appear.”

Keep reading

COVID Authoritarianism Has Changed Our Polity

We are not the same country that we were just a few years ago.  However unfortunate it may be to realize it, COVID has changed the political identity of America.  To put it bluntly, it has become normal to expect that the government can close your business, robbing you of your livelihood and your family of the fruits of your labor, in order to protect hospital infrastructure and personnel.  

Last March, that was the argument that propelled America into lockdown.  Just “fifteen days to flatten the curve,” we were told.  The prospect of some hospitals, in a very specific few locations, becoming overwhelmed by COVID patients caused the bulk of the economy to shut down and civil liberties to be suspended.

Fifteen days of lockdown and social distancing and school closures, if you remember, became “until Easter,” which became “until the spread slows,” which became “until the number of new cases fall,” which became “if everyone just wore masks, we could get back to normal,” which became “we can’t open until we get a vaccine,” which became “even vaccinated people should mask up and socially distance,” which became “oops, obviously the vaccine is super safe for anyone who’s taken it, so if you’ve taken it, you don’t have to distance or wear masks.”

It’s hard to miss the trajectory of our free-fall down the fabled “slippery slope” toward ideological authoritarianism, but in case we had any doubt, the federal government has just signified that it will be sending agents, door-to-door, to homes of the unvaccinated (the identities of whom are ostensibly protected by a federal “right” to health privacy), and that the federal government is working hand-in-hand with social media companies to ensure that only government-approved health propaganda can be distributed in the most prominent e-town squares.

Keep reading

The Incoherence of the White House’s COVID Messaging Reaches Code Red Levels

To begin, we’ve known since at least last fall (because of real-world data gathered from schools being open largely across the South) that heavy mitigation in schools is pointless. Children are not serious vectors for spread and virtually all teachers have been vaccinated at this point. It is child abuse to still be demanding an eight-year-old wear a mask all day in a classroom while they have a vaccinated teacher. There is no science behind doing that, both because of the lack of spread from children and the fact that masks do not work to stop the spread of COVID.

Regardless, I really want to zero in on the last point Murthy makes because it’s a pathetic attempt by Biden and his administration to have their cake and eat it too.

If they put in place a mask mandate for those who are vaccinated, the White House is absolutely signaling that the vaccines aren’t effective. Now, we know that’s not true because the Delta variant is far less deadly in individuals with immunity, either via vaccination or by prior infection. Clearly, the vaccines and natural immunity are doing their job. Given that the vaccines work, masks are not necessary. It’s that simple, but by suggesting a mask mandate is needed again for those with immunity, the White House is inadvertently promoting the idea that the vaccines aren’t effective.

In short, while Joe Biden runs around trying to blame Facebook and Republicans for so-called “vaccine hesitancy,” his own administration is pushing a narrative that encourages people to not bother getting vaccinated. The White House can not have it both ways. Either the vaccine works (it does) or masks are necessary (they aren’t). Asserting that a mask mandate doesn’t undercut the messaging on the vaccine is nonsensical.

This is what you get when the country is being run by an incompetent old man who is surrounded by left-wing ideologues. Everything is political. That includes Biden’s inability to simply stand up and lead, accepting the risks that come with that. Instead, we are getting a cowardly, overly risk-averse approach that is only making matters worse.

Keep reading

Bill Gates- and George Soros-Backed Organization Buys Out COVID-19 Testing Company

A consortium backed by George Soros and Bill Gates has joined a buyout of Mologic, a COVID-19 testing company.

The Soros Economic Development Fund, an arm of Soros’ Open Society Foundations, confirmed in a July 19 statement that it has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Soros–Gates collaboration is part of the Global Access Health initiative, which will invest “at least” $41.1 million in the project, according to the statement.

“The group has financed the acquisition of Mologic Ltd, a world-leading innovator in the development of lateral flow and rapid diagnostic technologies including tests that can help combat tropical diseases such as dengue, bilharzia, and river blindness, as well as for COVID-19,” the statement reads, noting that the purchase is an attempt to “expand access to affordable state-of-the-art medical technology through decentralized research, development, and manufacturing” in developing countries.

Founded about two decades ago by the father-and-son team of Mark and Paul Davis, Mologic previously worked with Gates’s foundation, establishing the Advanced Rapid Diagnostics in 2016. Paul Davis is also known for creating the Clearblue pregnancy test in 1988, which, according to the company, is the first application of lateral flow technology.

Keep reading

Foo Fighters ‘Vaccinated Only’ Concert Canceled After Band Member Gets COVID as Breakthrough Cases on the Rise

Reports of COVID breakthrough cases continue to rise — as of July 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 5,492 breakthrough cases resulting in death and hospitalization.

A breakthrough case refers to anyone who is diagnosed with COVID after being fully vaccinated. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine or two weeks after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.

In May, the CDC revised its system for reporting breakthrough cases, stating it would count only those cases that result in hospitalization or death. Previously, the agency had included in its breakthrough count anyone who tested positive for COVID.

Some states follow the new CDC guidance for counting breakthrough cases. Other states continue to report, at the state level, all cases where an individual test positive, but may choose to report only hospitalizations and deaths to the CDC.

Illinois, Massachusetts update breakthrough case numbers

According to data updated July 14 by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), 151 people in Illinois have died from COVID or COVID-related complications after being fully vaccinated. At least 563 fully vaccinated people were hospitalized, IDPH said.

Illinois follows CDC guidance, reporting only on breakthrough infections among those who have been hospitalized or died. The state does not publicize the number of residents who tested positive after being fully vaccinated but did not die or require hospitalization in order to “help maximize the quality of the data collected on cases of greatest clinical and public health importance,” IDPH’s website states.

In Massachusetts, public health officials have tracked 4,450 breakthrough cases, WBUR reported. About 92% of those cases did not result in hospitalization, while 303 people, or 6.8%, were hospitalized, according to Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) data through July 10.

Seventy-nine vaccinated residents in Massachusetts died from COVID, either without being hospitalized or following a hospital stay, DPH said.

Keep reading

Top Health Officer Orders Australians: ‘Don’t Have a Conversation’ With Each Other

The chief health officer of New South Wales gave a press conference telling Australians that they shouldn’t “engage in conversation with each other,” even if they’re wearing masks, in order to reduce the transmission of COVID.

Yes, really.

Dr. Kerry Chant made the remarks in response to people in NSW being ordered to comply with yet another lockdown triggered by just a handful of new cases, which included a man in Cootamundra who visited a Woolworths supermarket, Pizza Hut restaurant, petrol station and Officeworks store.

“Whilst it’s human nature to engage in conversation with others, to be friendly, unfortunately this is not the time to do that,” said Chant.

“So even if you run into your next door neighbor in the shopping center…don’t start up a conversation, now is the time for minimizing your interactions with others, even if you’ve got a mask, do not think that affords total protection, we wanna be absolutely sure that as we go about our daily lives we do not come into contact with anyone else that would pose a risk,” she added.

Keep reading

Vice President’s Team Caught Spreading Misinformation Surrounding Kamala Harris Coronavirus Test

White House spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, Symone Sanders, was caught spreading misinformation on Monday regarding the vice president’s coronavirus test.

During the White House press briefing on Monday afternoon, press secretary Jen Psaki said that Harris had been tested for the coronavirus and that there was no detection of the coronavirus, attributing the information to the vice president’s office.

“I think the Vice President’s Office put out that she was tested, and that she did — there was no detection of COVID-19,” she said.

But that was not what the vice president’s office had said in a statement Sanders released on Saturday night.

In that statement, Sanders wrote that Harris and her staff “do not need to be tested” after meeting with Texas state lawmakers on Tuesday — even though some of them tested positive for the virus.

Sanders’ full statement read:

On Tuesday, July 13th, Vice President Harris met with members of the Texas state legislature who are temporarily in Washington, D.C. Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that two of the members at that meeting tested positive for COVID-19. Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined. The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated.

When Politico’s West Wing Playbook questioned the vice president’s office about the potential conflict, Sanders responded that both of the statements were true.

Keep reading

China Says It Won’t Mandate COVID Vaccinations — But US Will Mandate Vaccines for Military and Force Pre-Schoolers to Wear Masks

The American Academy of Pediatrics, an American child abuse agency, called for 3-year-olds to mask up at schools this year.

But Communist China announced it will not force citizens to be vaccinated for the Wuhan Virus.

What’s wrong with these people?

The Global Times reported:

China’s top health commission said they have noticed the local regulations issued by some cities that ban residents who haven’t received COVID-19 vaccine shots from entering some key public venues, stressing that the commission has stepped in and made further guidance.

“Informed, consented and voluntary” are the basic principles for the inoculation program of COVID-19 vaccines, the center for disease control and prevention under the National Health Commission said.

Keep reading

Who Are the COVID-19 Misinformation ‘Dirty Dozen’ WH Wants to Silence?

On July 15, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki disclosed the fact that the White House was flagging COVID-19 misinformation posts for Facebook. She continued to dig herself into a hole on Friday, discussing how the administration is in contact with the social media companies and arguing that they needed to work across platforms to ensure the companies coordinated to ban users. She claimed that 12 individuals were responsible for 65% of the vaccine misinformation on Facebook.

At some point on Friday, Twitter locked the account of journalist Alex Berenson, the author of the series Unreported Truths About COVID-19 and Lockdowns. When Psaki referred to the dozen users, it seemed logical to think that Berenson and others who have objected to the preferred narrative, like evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein, would be on the list. Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham have also given a platform to dissenting doctors. After following COVID-19 news very carefully for the last 18 months, I can say that all of these seem like logical targets for the administration.

As it turns out, none of them are on the list. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) produced a report called “The Disinformation Dozen,” based on its analysis of anti-vaccine Facebook posts. The CCDH is the same group that pushed for Google to demonetize The Federalist and ZeroHedge and for Twitter to ban British firebrand Katie Hopkins. According to Influence Watch, it is a UK-based NGO made up of people tied to the Labour Party. From the CCDH report’s executive summary:

Analysis of a sample of anti-vaccine content that was shared or posted on Facebook and Twitter a total of 812,000 times between 1 February and 16 March 2021 shows that 65 percent of anti-vaccine content is attributable to the Disinformation Dozen.

Of the names on the list, one is easily recognizable, only because he is notoriously anti-vaccine and the son of a political dynasty:

  1. Joseph Mercola
  2. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
  3. Ty and Charlene Bollinger
  4. Sherri Tenpenny
  5. Rizza Islam
  6. Rashid Buttar
  7. Erin Elizabeth
  8. Sayer Ji
  9. Kelly Brogan
  10. Christiane Northrup
  11. Ben Tapper
  12. Kevin Jenkins

According to the report, social media users shared many of the posts and articles written by these 12 individuals in anti-vaccine groups that existed before COVID-19. The CCDH called for the social media companies to work together to deplatform all 12 of these individuals and organizations that oppose vaccines:

  • Children’s Health Defense (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)
  • Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) (Del Bigtree)
  • National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) (Barbara Loe Fisher, Joseph Mercola)
  • Organic Consumers Association (OCA) (Joseph Mercola)
  • Millions Against Medical Mandates

Once you know the source of the users flagged by the White House, it blows up their message that this is a political issue driven by conservatives or confined to red states. The identified individuals are from all kinds of backgrounds. Some have been producing alternative health content and products for years. Almost all were opposed to vaccines before COVID-19, and some of them were so bold as to object to face masks. At least three base their opinion on past sins of the government in medical experimentation and speak specifically to those fears in the black community.

Keep reading