Big Brother News Watch
Many Employers, Including Pfizer and J&J, Mandate Vaccines — Why Doesn’t Moderna? + More
Companies Are Adopting COVID Vaccine Mandates for Employees. So Why Aren’t All Vaccine Makers?
USA TODAY via Yahoo!News reported:
Only two of the three makers of COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. require their own employees to get the shot or be tested weekly.
Moderna is the outlier. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company, which supplies 41% of the nation’s vaccine, has no vaccination mandate.
“We have safety and testing protocols in place, but no such requirement at this time,” Moderna spokesperson Ray Jordan said in an email.
Fifth Consecutive Weekend of Protests in France Over COVID Pass
Protesters took to the streets of France for the fifth consecutive Saturday to oppose the country’s pass sanitaire — health pass — now required for everyday activities.
More than 250,000 people were expected at about 200 demonstrations, an increase in the number that officials said had turned out last week. Protesters have accused the government of underestimating the numbers and playing down support.
The protesters are opposed to the government’s decision to make the pass sanitaire obligatory for restaurants, bars, cinemas, theatres and most public buildings apart from shops. They accuse the government of infringing their civil and personal liberties. A number are also opposed to the vaccination of children; France has been vaccinating the 12-17 age group since May.
New Zealand to Go Into National Lockdown Over One COVID Case
New Zealand will go into a national lockdown on Tuesday night, after detecting one case of COVID-19.
The entire country will be at alert level 4 – the highest level of lockdown – for at least three days from midnight, and the regions of Auckland and Coromandel for four to seven days.
New Zealand has not had a level 4 lockdown in more than a year, and the case is believed to be the first Delta in-community transmission.
The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said: “Delta has been called a game changer, and it is. It means we need to again go hard and early to stop the spread. We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.”
NASA Requiring Workers to Get Vaccinated or Submit to COVID-19 Testing Protocols
NASA is requiring workers to provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 vaccine or submit to the space agency’s testing policy.
NASA has distributed a certification of vaccination to its workers and contractors asking for a worker’s vaccination status.
“The purpose of this form is to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19, to protect the health and safety of all federal employees, onsite contractors, visitors to federal buildings or federally controlled indoor workspaces, and other individuals interacting with the Federal workforce,” the form reads.
Workers Should Say No To at-Home Big Tech Surveillance
More and more voices are decrying the increasing influence of tech companies in political discourse. Many on the left and the right have called for antitrust legislation to curtail the influence of these large conglomerates. However, the increase in teleworking may open up a new and even more dangerous avenue for Big Tech to exert influence, not over politics but over everyday life itself.
A recent report from NBC News found that Big Tech companies have installed cameras inside worker’s bedrooms to make sure they are working hard enough. The report specifically examines the practices of a Columbia-based call center that services companies such as Apple, Amazon, and Uber. The details of the arrangement are truly terrifying:
The contract allows monitoring by AI-powered cameras in workers’ homes, voice analytics and storage of data collected from the worker’s family members, including minors. … “The contract allows constant monitoring of what we are doing, but also our family,” said a Bogota-based worker on the Apple account who was not authorized to speak to the news media. “I think it’s really bad. We don’t work in an office. I work in my bedroom. I don’t want to have a camera in my bedroom.”
Raiders to Require Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination at 2021 Home Games
The Raiders announced Monday they will require all spectators to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for home games at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The new policy will begin during Las Vegas’s first home game against the Ravens on Sept. 13. Raiders fans will not be required to wear a mask, creating the NFL’s first “vaccine/no mask policy” for home spectators, per the team.
“Health and safety has always been our number one priority,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “After consultation with Gov. Sisolak and other community leaders, this policy ensures that we will be able to operate at full capacity without masks for fully vaccinated fans.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas Refuses to Take Vaccine Unless It Becomes Mandatory on Tour
World No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas said he would only get the COVID-19 vaccine if it became mandatory to compete in tennis.
While the men’s ATP Tour has publicly encouraged players to get vaccinated, the 23-year-old Greek is among those who still have reservations.
“No one has told me anything. No one has made it a mandatory thing to be vaccinated,” he told reporters, when asked if he would seek a vaccine while competing in the U.S.
“At some point I will have to, I’m pretty sure about it, but so far it hasn’t been mandatory to compete, so I haven’t done it, no,” added Tsitsipas, who received a first-round bye in the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
Warning to Doctors: Spreading COVID Misinformation Could Cost Them Their Licenses + More
Column: A Warning to Doctors: Spreading COVID Misinformation Could Cost Them Their Licenses
The Los Angeles Times via MSN reported:
“Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.”
“It’s one thing when a celebrity or an elected public official says something, but when a licensed physician says it, that amplifies the message and gives it some credibility,” said Humayun J. Chaudhry, Federation of State Medical Boards.
Museums, Cultural Institutions Added to NYC Vaccine Mandate
New York City will require visitors to museums and cultural institutions to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to new details of the city’s sweeping vaccine mandate announced on Monday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order requiring vaccination for indoor dining, gyms and entertainment venues, which will take effect Tuesday for both customers and staff. The city for the first time released a full list of locations covered by the mandate, which will now include museums, aquariums and indoor areas at zoos.
The city will launch a $10 million ad campaign to promote the requirement and send out 570 canvassers to visit businesses and notify them. Inspections and fines for violations are set to begin on Sept. 13.
Conspiracy Theories Aside, There Is Something Fishy About the Great Reset
The set of conspiracy theories around the Great Reset are nebulous and hard to pin down, but piecing them together gives us something like this: the Great Reset is the global elite’s plan to instate a communist world order by abolishing private property while using COVID-19 to solve overpopulation and enslaving what remains of humanity with vaccines.
Intrigued by the palaver around last year’s summit, I decided to find out what the WEF’s Great Reset plan was really about. At the heart of conspiracy theories are supposed secret agendas and malicious intent. While these may be absent from the WEF’s Great Reset initiative, what I found was something almost as sinister hiding in plain sight. In fact, more sinister because it’s real and it’s happening now. And it involves things as fundamental as our food, our data and our vaccines.
Tiktok Is the New Facebook – And It Is Shaping the Future of Tech in Its Image
But the biggest tell that TikTok is the new Facebook? A little-noticed policy shift in May: the release of the TikTok login kit. The tool set permits third-party app developers to allow users to log in to their apps using their TikTok account.
In other words, TikTok is set to become a portal to the rest of the internet. Where we can now log in to Tinder, Spotify and hundreds of other apps and websites using our Facebook account, soon we could do the same with TikTok.
Texas Supreme Court Blocks Lower-Court Rulings That Allowed Mask Mandates
Austin-American Statesman reported:
The Texas Supreme Court stepped in Sunday evening to block lower-court orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The action voided temporary restraining orders, issued by separate District Court judges and upheld Friday by two intermediate appellate courts, that halted enforcement of Abbott’s July 29 edict that prohibited local officials from requiring face masks to be worn indoors.
However, a growing number of local jurisdictions — including Austin, Travis County and numerous area school districts — have implemented mask mandates despite Abbott’s order as the highly contagious delta variant has produced a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections, overrunning intensive care units in adult and children’s hospitals across Texas.
Job Seekers May Need to Show Proof of Vaccination to Apply for Positions + More
Job Seekers May Need to Show Proof of Vaccination to Apply for Positions
New York City called for a “Key to NYC Pass,” which is like the COVID-19 passport talked about a few months ago. It’s a carrot-and-stick approach, as people will be required to show that they are vaccinated. If not, they would be denied entrance to an array of establishments. This week, San Francisco required both customers and employees to show proof of full vaccination to enter bars, gyms, restaurants, sporting events and concerts. Now, it looks like companies are requiring job seekers to show proof of vaccination when applying for a new position.
Appeals Court Upholds Indiana University’s Vaccine Mandate
The Associated Press reported:
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Indiana University can proceed with its plan to require students and employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19, in what is the highest court decision regarding college immunization mandates.
The Chicago-based appeals court upheld an Indiana district court judge’s ruling that found that the university was acting reasonably “in pursuing public health and safety for its campus communities.”
Both courts rejected a request by eight IU students who sought to block the requirement while they challenge its legality, claiming that it would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to receive unwanted medical treatment.
Lawsuit Involving 1,200 First Responders Targets State’s Vaccination Policy for Government Workers
On behalf of 1,200 first responders statewide, a group of attorneys announced Thursday it is filing a lawsuit against the state over its vaccination policy for government workers.
The group argued the mandate violates workers’ constitutional rights and employers should not be able to decide how to grant exemptions for religion because it is a personal belief.
The lawyers also criticized Gov. David Ige and all four county mayors for not creating a uniform statewide plan — and claimed the governor did not give unions the opportunity to negotiate before the policy was announced.
“The knee-jerk reaction of our governor and our mayors has caused incredible concern with our unions,” attorney Michael Green said.
Cardona Calls for Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines for Educators
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday said he supports mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for teachers and other school staff, as districts across the country prepare to begin another school year shaped by the pandemic.
“I would favor the vaccine being required,” Cardona said during a virtual National Press Foundation event, adding that he believes some reluctant adults will change their minds once the FDA fully approves the shots.
Cardona stressed that he believes the COVID-19 vaccine is safe.
Childhood Cancer Patients Receive 10 iPads with EMF Protection from DefenderShield and Apple-A-Day Foundation
The Apple-A-Day childhood cancer patient charity is a local, Tampa-based not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to bring joy into the lives of pediatric cancer patients by gifting them brand new iPads and smartphones. They rely on donations from people in the Tampa community, which have slowed significantly during the COVID pandemic.
When DefenderShield — a local digital wellness company — heard of the need for donations, they realized they could donate not just iPads, but iPad cases with DefenderShield’s own Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) radiation shielding.
Does Mask Wearing Harm Your Child’s Development? Experts Weigh In
For young children, the pandemic comes at a crucial time for developing skills important for empathy, safety and more — a phase that some parents worry will be impaired by mask-wearing.
“There are sensitive periods in early childhood development in which language development and emotional development are really rapidly developing for the first few years of life,” said Ashley Ruba, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Child Emotion Lab.
Being able to use others’ verbal or facial cues to figure out how someone is feeling or pick up on safe or dangerous aspects of environments and people is a critical task for young kids, Ruba added.
Concerns that wearing masks might interfere with these natural learning experiences and communication skills have been studied before the pandemic.
My University Ignores COVID Natural Immunity and Wants To Blame People Like Me for Outbreaks
My school, the University of Florida, keeps pushing students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated and has even shamed people who may choose not to get vaccinated.
But it continues to ignore the natural immunity that people like me almost definitely have after recovering from coronavirus.
According to the university, unvaccinated students who contract coronavirus or are even exposed to someone with COVID will not be cleared to return to campus and they will not be excused from their absences. “Such students may have to leave campus, return home, and make up class work,” the university said.
Facebook Bans Ad Agency Behind Outlandish Campaign Deriding Pfizer, AstraZeneca Vaccines
Pfizer and AstraZeneca notched a vaccine disinformation win against a “crude and spammy” social media smear campaign originating from Russia this week.
Facebook removed hundreds of accounts and banned a “disinformation laundromat” — its words for a UK marketing agency linked to bizarre claims on Facebook and Instagram. The two-pronged smear campaign, outlined in a detailed Facebook report, first waged war on AstraZeneca’s vaccine in late 2020 then launched a second attack on Pfizer’s vaccine in May.
San Francisco to Require Vaccine Proof at Indoor Venues
Worried that the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus could derail San Francisco’s economic rebound, Mayor London Breed announced Thursday that the city will require proof of full vaccination at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues to help keep businesses open.
“This is to protect kids, is to protect those who can’t get vaccinated, is to make sure that we don’t go backwards, is to make sure that I never have to get up in front of you and say, ‘I’m sorry, I know we just reopened and now the city is closed again because we are seeing too many people die,’ ” Breed said.
LA School District Abandons Mandatory Vaccination Due to Lawsuit + More
Los Angeles Unified School District Abandons Mandatory Vaccination Due to Lawsuit
Health Freedom Defense reported:
We are pleased to report that through our efforts, vaccination with the experimental COVID-19 shots, issued under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), is no longer mandatory at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). On July 27, 2021, the case against LAUSD was dismissed without prejudice, as the judge concluded the district had indeed abandoned the mandatory C-19 vaccination policy, communicated through various channels to the public, teachers, and staff before the lawsuit was filed.
This is a BIG win — because of the lawsuit, LAUSD represented to the court on the record that it does not have a policy requiring vaccination with EUA products. Since the court has now confirmed the absence of any policy requiring vaccination at LAUSD, all teachers and staff are safe to return to work without vaccination or furnishing proof of vaccination in the fall.
Biden Says He Doesn’t Think He Can Overrule Governors on Masks
President Joe Biden said he doesn’t think he has the power to overrule governors who nullify requirements imposed by school systems calling on kids and staff to wear masks to protect against COVID-19.
“I don’t believe that I do thus far. We’re checking that,” Biden told reporters Tuesday in response to a question at the White House. “On federal workforce, I can.”
Biden’s comments came as school leaders across the country face a dilemma as millions of students prepare to return in person to classes as the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads rapidly.
A group of parents in Florida have gone to court to block an executive order by Governor Ron DeSantis that bans school districts from imposing mask requirements when classes resume this fall. At least six other states, including Arizona, Texas and Arkansas, have banned local school districts from requiring students to wear masks.
L.A. City Council Unanimously Passes Vaccine Requirement for Shops, Restaurants
The Los Angeles City Council has voted unanimously in favor of requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter most of the city’s indoor spaces.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer will be drafting an ordinance mandating that residents and visitors have received at least one dose of vaccine before entering restaurants, bars, retail outlets, gyms and entertainment venues after the council voted 13-0 to approve the plan on Wednesday.
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who proposed the ordinance last week alongside Council President Nury Martinez, insisted that the new requirements were necessary to protect the health of the public as cases surge. But, it would not be a “vaccine mandate.”
As Tech Giants Double Down on Sleep Tracking, Providers Want More Proof It’s Useful
Wearable sleep tracking has been an alluring target for tech giants for nearly a decade. But this year, Amazon and Google have poured money into another kind of technology: passive sleep monitors that keep tabs on rest from the bedside.
Last month, Amazon received federal clearance to use radar for sleep monitoring, following on the heels of rival Google, which in March debuted sleep sensing in the latest iteration of its Nest device. The companies’ renewed interest in sleep tracking — and corresponding investment in less invasive forms of tracking — suggests a widening strategy aimed at making the devices more clinically and practically useful.
YouTube Suspends Rand Paul’s Account For COVID-19 Mask Misinformation
YouTube has suspended Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky from uploading content for one week after he posted a video claiming most masks are ineffective in combating COVID-19, making him the second GOP lawmaker this week to be disciplined by a social media platform for misinformation.
Public health experts have said masks, even cloth masks, which Paul took particular issue with, offer protection against COVID-19 transmission, which in turn prevents infection. But Paul claimed in the video, “cloth masks don’t work,” and that most over-the-counter masks “don’t prevent infection,” according to YouTube, which it said violated its policies against spreading COVID-19 medical misinformation.
HHS Mandates COVID-19 Vaccinations for Healthcare Workforce
The Department of Health and Human Services is requiring all of its front-facing healthcare employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, making it the second federal department to mandate vaccinations for a portion of its workforce.
The policy announced Thursday will apply to more than 25,000 officials under HHS’ sprawling umbrella, including staff at the Indian Health Services and National Institutes of Health who operate health and clinical research facilities or could come into contact with patients.
As Vaccine Mandates Spread, Protests Follow — Some Spurred by Nurses
A few hundred protesters lined the sidewalk Monday outside Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego to rally against California’s impending vaccination mandates for health care workers. And to the disappointment of many medical professionals, some of the protesters were nurses wearing hospital scrubs.
It was the kind of protest that was common earlier in the pandemic but lost steam this year as restrictions eased. But a resurgent coronavirus and sluggish vaccine uptake have led to a push for vaccination mandates and masking rules — and renewed protests.
Apple Aims to Push More Patient Data to Doctors. But Who Can Gauge Its Impact on Health?
Soon, Apple announced recently, it will enable doctors to monitor health data from their patients’ phones and watches between visits, part of the push into health care that Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has declared will constitute the company’s greatest contribution to mankind.
Since 2014, health systems around the country have partnered with Apple to tap into the mountains of data the company’s devices generate from patients. But most are still experimenting with these tools. While some doctors appreciate seeing records of home-monitored blood pressure, exercise and the like between visits, for others the data is more of a burden than an asset.
Big Pharma’s Worst Nightmare: Global Rebellion Against Vaccine Mandates Explodes
Since coronavirus pandemic lockdowns were implemented by many governments in 2020, people around the world have held largely peaceful protests against unprecedented social distancing restrictions that are devastating global economies and ruining people’s lives.1 2 3 4
Now, faced with being ordered to obey new laws that require them to be injected with COVID-19 vaccines in order to enter public spaces or hold a job, on July 24, 2021—World Freedom Day—hundreds of thousands of people of all ages took to the streets in Australia, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece and Germany to publicly challenge oppressive public health laws.5 6
