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Unvaccinated Yankees and Mets Can’t Play at Home Under Current NYC Rules
Unvaccinated players on the Yankees and Mets are covered by the same private-sector employer mandate that is keeping Kyrie Irving off the court in Brooklyn, a City Hall spokesperson told the Daily News.
It’s unclear exactly which players on the New York baseball teams are unvaccinated, but Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is widely believed to have not received the shot. When news came out that unvaccinated players could not play road games in Toronto, it was reported that the Yankees “would miss a chunk of the middle of their order,” implying star hitters other than Judge were unvaccinated.
Several prominent Mets, like Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Max Scherzer, took the vaccine in 2021. But the Mets were also one of the least-vaccinated teams in baseball last year, never hitting the 85% threshold to loosen COVID protocols. Multiple Mets leaned on “personal choice” rhetoric when asked directly about the vaccine last year, including JD Davis, James McCann and now-free agent Michael Conforto.
Meet the Primary Care Doc Who Wants the World to Go Back to Normal — Lucy McBride, MD, Has Become a Loud, Controversial Voice in the Debate on COVID Precautions
Washington, DC-based internist Lucy McBride, MD, has become a controversial figure in the conversation around COVID-19 precautions, primarily due to her outspoken opposition to in-school mask mandates and school closures. She is a founding member of a group of doctors and scientists known as “Urgency of Normal,” which recommends that schools remain open and in-person regardless of COVID case counts and vaccination rates.
She was recently invited to testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, articulating how social isolation, the fear of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and the overall confusion around how best to move through the pandemic has had serious health effects on a number of her patients.
In her written testimony, McBride noted that school closures and mask mandates have disproportionately hindered children with learning disabilities and autism, as well as English language learners, in addition to preventing kids from being able to “appropriately connect with peers, teachers, coaches and mentors.”
SEALs Who Say Navy Punished Them for Refusing COVID Shot Ask Supreme Court to Uphold Injunction
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported:
More than two dozen Navy SEALs and other service members, who said the Department of Defense has punished them for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination due to religious reasons, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a preliminary injunction issued in January that sided with the military members.
“The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect,” wrote U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, of Fort Worth, who issued the injunction, which has been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Thirty-five military members, including SEALs and other special forces members represented by First Liberty Institute in Plano and Hacker Stephens LLP, are asking the Supreme Court to reject an emergency motion from the Biden administration that’s seeking to stop the injunction.
MLB Drops Regular COVID Tests, Can Move Games for Health
Major League Baseball is dropping regular COVID-19 testing for all but symptomatic individuals while maintaining an ability to move games if the public health situation in an area deteriorates.
MLB and the players’ association finalized their 2022 COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, easing pandemic restrictions five days after reaching a collective bargaining agreement. Some on-field issues have not yet been addressed, such as whether to continue the pandemic rule calling for “ghost runners” at second base in extra innings.
Restrictions, such as wearing facemasks in dugouts, were eased during the 2021 season when a team reached 85% vaccination among players, coaches and other staff with field and clubhouse access. Six of the 30 teams did not reach 85% last year: Arizona, Boston, the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City, the New York Mets and Seattle.
Uniformed personnel “are not required to wear face coverings while on the field or in the dugouts and bullpens,” the protocols state. The same applies to “team charters, trains, buses, etc.”
Senate Passes Resolution That Would Undo Extension of Transit Mask Rule
The Senate passed a resolution Tuesday that would undo the extended federal regulation requiring masks on planes, trains, subways and other modes of public transportation.
The Senate approved the measure in a 57-40 vote, with eight Democrats joining Republicans to pass the resolution. Mitt Romney of Utah was the only GOP senator to oppose the measure.
It now heads to the House, where it’s unclear whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will allow a vote.
TSA Has Investigated 3,800 Mask-Related Incidents, Issued $644,000 in Fines
The Transportation Security Administration has investigated more than 3,800 incidents of potential violations involving the federal mask mandate, assessing more than $644,000 in civil penalties, according to a report this week by the Government Accountability Office.
The TSA, charged with enforcing the mandate in airports and other public transportation settings, has issued more than 2,700 warning notices, the report said. It issued civil penalties in about 900 instances, roughly 24% of cases that occurred between Feb. 2, 2021, and March 7, 2022.
The average civil fine for violators was $699, the report said.
Unvaccinated Americans Can Now Travel to France Without Seeking Special Permission
France has moved the United States to a lower-risk category in its international travel restrictions, making entry significantly easier for Americans who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The change outlines testing requirements for travelers who do not have a complete series of coronavirus shots. Previously, when the United States was at an “orange level,” visitors in that category had to obtain approval after submitting “a compelling reason justifying the need for them to come to mainland France.” They were also subject to random testing on arrival.
Unvaccinated travelers will need to show a negative result from a PCR or antigen test taken before departure, or a past positive test as documentation of recovery from the coronavirus. Children under 12 are exempt from those rules.
Djokovic, Russian Players Expected to Compete at French Open
Novak Djokovic will be allowed to play at the French Open even if he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 as long as the coronavirus situation in France remains stable, organizers said Wednesday.
Russian tennis players, including top-ranked Daniil Medvedev, will also be admitted to play in the tournament but as neutral athletes because of the war started by their country in neighboring Ukraine.
Organizers said there is nothing at the moment preventing Djokovic from defending his title at the clay-court Grand Slam. France this week lifted measures requiring the need to wear face masks in most settings and allowing people who aren’t vaccinated back into restaurants, sports arenas and other venues.
Anti-COVID Vaccine Mandate Bishop in Puerto Rico Relieved of Leadership by Vatican
Puerto Rican Catholic Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres was relieved of authority in his dioceses Wednesday, reportedly due to his pastoral opposition to COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
Torres, bishop of the Diocese of Arecibo, was officially relieved of his duties in an early Wednesday statement from the Vatican. The removal of a bishop against his will is an exceptionally rare scenario.
Many have pointed to the bishop’s vocal opposition to vaccine mandates as a possible motive, though the issue remains murky behind the characteristic veil of Catholic politics.
Torres notably declined last year to sign onto a decree issued by the other Puerto Rican bishops advocating for the separation of vaccinated and unvaccinated parishioners during service.
COVID: Hong Kong Gov’t Introduces Bill to Allow Employers to Sack Staff Who Refuse to Get Vaccinated
Hong Kong Free Press reported:
Employers may be allowed to fire workers who refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccination without reasonable excuses, as the government tabled amendments to the employment bill to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Wednesday.
If passed, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2022 will also ban employers from firing or changing employment terms for employees unable to attend work while under quarantine or lockdown.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said in an online LegCo meeting that the amendments were not “requiring or encouraging” bosses to fire workers who could not meet vaccination requirements.
The proposed bill also made exemptions on the vaccination requirement for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and for people who received valid medical exemption proof.
Instagram Releases Tools for Parents to Track Teens’ Activity
Instagram on Wednesday morning launched a “Family Center” with supervisory tools for parents to track their children’s time and activity on the platform. In the new Family Center, parents will be able to view how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits.
They will also be able to monitor their teen’s use on the platform, including being able to view and receive updates on what accounts their teens follow and the accounts that follow their teens. Instagram will also let parents set notifications for when their teens share they’ve reported someone.
The rollout of the Instagram Family Center follows months of increased scrutiny over the impact of the platform on kids’ safety and mental health, sparked by the release of internal research by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
Meta also announced parental supervision tools for its virtual reality (VR) services on Quest which will be introduced in the next couple of months. Meta will allow parents to prevent teens from accessing features they feel aren’t age-appropriate by using an “Unlock Pattern” on the Quest headset to automatically lock access to those apps.
‘They Cannot Be Trusted’: Lawmakers Slam Facebook Over Sale of Deadly Children’s Products
Despite repeated warnings that Facebook Marketplace allows the sale of recalled products that have killed children, the platform’s parent company, Meta, has still failed to prevent such items from being available on its site. Now, members of Congress are demanding the company do more, writing to Meta last week that its “continued failure” to block the sale of recalled items is a “remarkable dereliction of duty by your company on behalf of your users.”
Similar letters members of Congress sent in 2019 and 2020 failed to spark significant action by the social media giant. In addition, pressure from safety advocates, grieving families, federal regulators and a USA TODAY investigation have not led to meaningful changes to how Facebook addresses the danger.
A USA TODAY investigation last year found deadly recalled children’s products regularly change hands through Facebook Marketplace despite available remedies such as photo or text recognition technology.
