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New York City to Mandate Vaccines for Indoor Restaurants, Gyms, Performances

Politico reported:

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy Tuesday that requires people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to dine inside restaurants, work out at a gym, attend a play or go out dancing.

The new program to “unlock New York City” will begin this month, with enforcement set to start in mid-September, according to City Hall.

“When someone is vaccinated, they can do all the amazing things in New York City,” de Blasio said Tuesday. “If you’re unvaccinated, unfortunately you will not be able to participate in many things. … This is crucial, because we know this will encourage a lot more vaccination.”

Action Alert: Tell Your Elected Officials No Mandates

The Defender reported:

In the midst of increasing propaganda designed to instill fear and panic while falsely elevating the safety profiles of COVID vaccines, the push for vaccine mandates is at an all-time high. In response, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is launching a letter-writing campaign directed to elected officials at local, state, and federal levels spelling out why mandates are wrong for people and wrong for America. This CHD advocacy portal makes it easy for citizens across the nation to contact elected officials at every level of government. Send the letter below to all of your elected officials with just one click.

Russell Brand: UK Journalists Allege COVID News Censored to Create ‘One Official Narrative’

The Defender reported:

Do you think you’ve been told the whole truth about the pandemic? Do you think healthy debate and conversation are being encouraged — or stifled?

Russell Brand asks those questions and more in a new video blasting the mainstream media for censoring information on COVID.

Brand points to a group of 26 UK journalists who joined forces to protest the “censorship” and “fear-mongering” they say mainstream media and Big Tech have been peddling since the start of the pandemic.

Twitter Partners With AP, Reuters to Fight Misinformation

The Hill reported:

Twitter is partnering with The Associated Press and Reuters as part of an initiative to help combat misinformation on the platform. Through the program, Twitter’s curation team will work with the outlets to provide more context on emerging news stories, according to the Monday announcement.

For example, users on Twitter can expect to see more “Trends” on the platform that include “contextual description and links to reporting from trusted sources more frequently.”

Through the program, Twitter also aims to “proactively” provide context on topics that are garnering widespread interest. “Rather than waiting until something goes viral, Twitter will contextualize developing discourse at pace with or in anticipation of the public conversation,” it said in the blog post.

Over 600 U.S. Universities Imposing Some Type of COVID Vaccine Mandate

Newsweek reported:

More than 600 of the approximately 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities have imposed some type of COVID-19 vaccine mandate with the fall semester coming up, the Associated Press reported.

California State University, the country’s largest four-year public university system, is requiring students and staff to get vaccinated. Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said the rising infections from the Delta variant are an “alarming new factor that we must consider as we look to maintain the health and well-being of students, employees and visitors.”

COVID Restrictions and Screens Linked to Myopia in Children, Study Shows

The Guardian reported:

Spending more time indoors and on screens because of COVID restrictions may be linked to an increased rate of short-sightedness in children, researchers say.

The study, which looked at two groups of children aged six to eight in Hong Kong, is the latest to suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions may have taken a toll on eyesight: data from more than 120,000 children of a similar age in China, published earlier this year, suggested a threefold increase in the prevalence of shortsightedness, or myopia, in 2020.

New York Teachers Union Opposed to Cuomo Suggestion of COVID Vaccine Mandates

Fox News reported:

The teachers union that represents more than 60,000 current and retired educators across New York reiterated its opposition Monday to COVID-19 vaccine mandates after Gov. Andrew Cuomo encouraged school districts to require the doses.

The New York State United Teachers released a statement following Cuomo’s COVID-19 briefing in which he said teachers in the state should be required to get the vaccine or submit to weekly testing if they are in an area defined as high-risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Elon Musk’s Old Pals Invest in Neuralink to Fund Testing Brain Chips in Humans

The Observer reported: 

Elon Musk has rounded up his old friends from PayPal and Open AI days to fund his brain-computer interface startup Neuralink’s next phase of experiments to test implantable brain chips in humans and take the company’s first product to market.

Neuralink announced on Thursday that it has raised $205 million in a series C round from investors including PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel‘s Founders Fund, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google Ventures and Dubai-based Vy Capital. …

Neuralink makes a quarter-sized wireless chip that can be implanted into the brain by drilling a small hole in the skull and inserting thin “threads” of electrodes through brain tissue.

McDonald’s Requires Masks Again for Customers and Employees in Areas With High COVID Transmission

USA Today reported:

McDonald’s is requiring customers and employees to wear masks again at U.S. restaurants located in areas with high or substantial transmission of the coronavirus.

The fast-food giant is the largest national chain to add the requirement back for both employees and customers following updated masking guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most businesses including Walmart, Target, Lowe’s and Kohl’s are only requiring employees wear masks and strongly encouraging or recommending customers wear them.

COVID: Kaiser Permanente Makes Vaccination Mandatory for All Employees

CBS San Francisco reported:

Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest nonprofit healthcare organization, announced Monday that it will make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all its employees, including physicians.

A press release issued by the organization on Monday said that the mandate marked another step in the “ongoing effort to protect the health and safety of its workforce and the patients they care for.”

COVID Vaccine Status Proof Will Not Be Required for Students in England

The Guardian reported:

There are no plans to bring in vaccine passports for university students in England, the Department for Education has said, as a row continues over their use.

In interviews this week ministers – including the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab – had not ruled out using them, with students set to return to campuses in September.Raab had said students would get “advance warning” if they were to be required, but the Department for Education (DfE) said on Saturday it was not planning for proof of vaccine status to be required to attend lectures or stay in halls of residence.