Tag: coronavirus

DOD Awards $104 Million for Procurement of Syringes in Support of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

On August 4, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF), in support of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), awarded $104 million in contracts to procure syringes and safety needles, enabling the nationwide administration of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved COVID-19 vaccine, once one is available. The syringes and safety needles are critical to the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy, providing a total of 500 million safety syringes over a 12-month period, with more than 134 million of the total number delivered by the end of 2020.

The syringes and safety needles will be placed into the SNS so they will be readily available to quickly and efficiently vaccinate the U.S. population once a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine is developed. This procurement is the latest in a series of recent contracts highlighting a collaborative “whole-of-government” approach in response to the COVID-19 threat.

The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) partnered with HHS and the Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), to select and award contracts to six companies: Duopross Meditech Corporation ($48 million), Cardinal Health Inc. ($15 million), Gold Coast Medical Supply, LP ($14 million), HTL STREFA Inc. ($12 million), Quality Impact, Inc. ($9 million), and Medline Industries, Inc. ($6 million). The companies represent a mix of large and small medical product manufacturers and distributors.

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New COVID-19 restrictions will be needed for anti-vaxxers

To anti-vaxxers, I have one message: our tolerance for your wilful ignorance is over. We cannot afford, morally or economically, to give any ground to those who choose not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Let me be clear. I’m not advocating that we vaccinate people against their will. That would be wrong. We must ensure that the safety of our community is the number one priority. That means that participation in everyday life cannot put others at risk. If you do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19, you ought to bear the consequences of that decision.

As a community, we should consider to what extent we allow organisations to prevent those who object to being vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter their premises, participate in their activities and, in some circumstances, seek their employment.

Governments have gone some way to doing this by implementing policies such as withholding family tax benefits and preventing children from being accepted into childcare unless vaccinations are proven. Further restrictions would be a natural extension of these policies.

Restaurants could be allowed the right to refuse entry to those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Businesses, especially those involved in the care or service of vulnerable communities, might be allowed the right to refuse employment to those without a COVID-19 vaccination. Organisers of mass gatherings could deny the sale of tickets on this basis.

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5 Ways “The New Normal” is Getting Worse and Worse

From mandatory masks to mandatory tests to mandatory track-and-trace, the roll-out is on. It’s been a big few days for the New Normal narrative and, through the deliberately cultivated haze of confusion, it’s not hard to see the world they want to build is taking shape.

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New York City to install checkpoints to enforce quarantine for travelers

In addition to the state’s growing travel advisory listing states that are experiencing a seven-day infection rate of over 10 cases per 100,000 people, New York City will impose checkpoints at populous entry points to the city to ensure travelers into the city will comply with the state’s 14-day quarantine mandate. 

Reuters reports that city Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D) made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that visitors from the 35 states on New York’s travel advisory must follow quarantine orders to contain the spread of the virus.

“Travelers coming in from those states will be given information about the quarantine and will be reminded that it is required, not optional,” de Blasio told a news briefing. He noted that given specific circumstances, not following the quarantine order could result in a $10,000 fine.

These checkpoint locations will be installed at high-volume bridge and tunnels leading into New York City, beginning Wednesday.

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Global elites hint that corona restrictions will continue forever

When announcing the promising release of impending vaccines, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the media on Monday there is “no silver bullet at the moment — and there might never be.” One would expect his next sentence to say, “and therefore these measures really don’t work and are unsustainable so we need to go on with our lives and achieve herd immunity through healthier people.” Then he added the following: “The message to people and governments is clear: Do it all. And when it’s under control, keep going.”

In other words, control forever. This was never about waiting until a vaccine, which in itself was an unprecedent illogical strategy. The lockdowns and mask mandates are not viewed even as a means to an end or a necessary evil, but the end itself.

When announcing the immoral, illogical, and dangerous policy of mandating mask wearing on all school children in Ohio on Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine said, “That is what the norm should be.”

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Covid’s nasty – there’s more to life than imprisoning ourselves

It is not an accident that the US constitution gives equal weight to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as the guiding principles for government.

A concern for life and health must always be balanced with a concern to protect spaces for us to do our own thing and to define wellbeing in our own way.

A pandemic may be a chance for some medical leaders to impose their ideas of how people should live – but it does not mean they should be allowed to do so.

It is time to stop “following the science” and to recognise we are making choices about the sort of society we want to live in.

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