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Vaccine Mandates More Likely Once FDA Grants Full Approvals, Health Experts Say
The United States could see a wave of COVID-19 vaccine mandates as soon as the Food and Drug Administration grants full approval to one or more of the shots, public health experts predicted.
The three vaccines authorized by the FDA for emergency use against the coronavirus have proven safe and effective under that expedited review process and in the real world, and doctors and the nation’s top public health officials have said there’s no need for anyone to wait to get inoculated.
American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Masks in Schools for Everyone Over 2, Regardless of Vaccinations
The American Academy of Pediatrics released new COVID-19 guidance for schools on Monday that supports in-person learning and recommends universal masking in school of everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status — a stricter position than that taken this month by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The AAP believes that, at this point in the pandemic, given what we know about low rates of in-school transmission when proper prevention measures are used, together with the availability of effective vaccines for those age 12 years and up, that the benefits of in-person school outweigh the risks in all circumstances,” the guidance says.
The 4 Retail Stores You Probably Shop at That Use Facial-Recognition Technology
Retail stores across the country are using facial recognition systems in their stores, leading to pushback by groups who say the technology is an invasion of privacy, Axios reported on Monday.
Last week, Fight for the Future launched an advocacy campaign against companies using facial recognition, which is often used for security purposes. The software can scan and store the faces of employees and customers — usually with the goal of preventing shoplifting and fraud.
“Your face should not be scanned, stored, or sold just because you walk into or work at a store,” Fight for the Future wrote. “Retailers across the country that are exploring this invasive technology should know that prioritizing profit over privacy is wrong.”
Anthony Fauci Tells Anti-Vaxxers to Sit Down and STFU as COVID Cases Surge
One of the most frustrating aspects of many conservatives’ refusal to follow the advice of health experts when it comes to COVID-19 is that they don’t want to wear masks or social distance, they’re demanding that life go back to normal, and yet they won’t do the most important thing when it comes to putting the pandemic behind us, i.e. get the damn vaccine.
So, you’ll have to excuse Anthony Fauci (and the rest of the Joe Biden administration) if they’re at-the-end-their-ropes piqued with what we would never dare call, but someone slightly less decorous might, these selfish mother-f–king idiots.
DeWine Signs Bill Temporarily Banning School COVID Vaccine Mandates
Columbus Underground reported:
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Wednesday that could block schools from mandating vaccination against COVID-19 for the fall.
In the dying moments of the final legislative session before a summer recess, lawmakers tacked the vaccine provision as an amendment onto an unrelated bill regarding educational opportunities for military children. The amendment:
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- Forbids public K-12 schools and colleges from requiring any vaccine that has not yet received “full approval” from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Forbids the schools from “discriminating” against anyone who has not been vaccinated, which includes infection control provisions like masks and social distancing.
- Does not apply to hospitals or health care facilities operated by or affiliated with universities.
De Blasio Rejects Calls for Reinstating NYC Indoor Mask Mandate Despite COVID Infection Rate Ticking up
Mayor de Blasio balked at the idea of reinstating an indoor face mask mandate in the city on Monday even though COVID-19 infections are ticking back up. Instead, he called for more vaccination efforts throughout the five boroughs.
“Masks have value, unquestionably, but masks are not going at the root of the problem. Vaccination is,” the mayor said during a live-streamed press briefing. “So we do not intend a mask mandate. We do intend to double down on vaccination.”
College Student Denied Admission to Dream School Despite Vaccine Exemption for Medical History
Incoming college freshman Olivia Sandor was denied admission into her dream institution, BYU Hawaii, after requesting to be exempt from taking the COVID-19 vaccine due to her high-risk medical history.
Sandor shared her story on “Hannity” Monday and explained how, after being given a vaccine back in 2019, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome – which left her paralyzed from the waist down for more than a month.
After receiving word that BYU would be requiring all students to be vaccinated, Sandor’s team of medical providers advised her against being injected with the non-FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine and wrote her a letter of exemption. “I do not want to relapse and have another episode of Guillain-Barre,” she said. “It’s really, truly not worth it to me.”
Illinois College Boards Suggest Schools Require Vaccination
Two state agencies that oversee higher education in Illinois on Monday encouraged colleges and universities to require COVID-19 vaccinations of students heading to campuses this fall.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board made the recommendation, which they say follows recently released guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. The state agencies contend the guidance will help facilitate the safe transition back to campus, as more students return to in-person learning.
DeSantis Vows to Take Cruise Ship Battle With CDC to Supreme Court
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vowed Monday to appeal a court ruling in favor of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restrictions on cruise ships.
Why it matters: The cruise industry is worth billions of dollars for Florida’s economy and DeSantis filed a lawsuit against the CDC last April in an effort to see normal operations resume.
Of note: DeSantis succeeded in winning an injunction, but a federal appeals court ruled Saturday that the CDC regulations should remain in place.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb Urges Social Media Platforms to Curb COVID Vaccine Misinformation
Social media companies are falling short of their responsibility to regulate the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on their platforms, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday on CNBC.
Networking giants like Facebook and Twitter allow accounts to amass large followings and to be verified, handing those users a franchise, he said in an appearance on “Squawk Box.”
“If they’re giving someone a very big platform to distribute information, they have an obligation to look at the information that’s being distributed,” said Gottlieb, a former chief of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under former President Donald Trump. “I do think that they have an affirmative responsibility here, and in some cases they’re not doing it.”
Facebook Will Let Users Become ‘Experts’ to Cut Down on Misinformation. It’s Another Attempt to Avoid Responsibility for Harmful Content.
Facebook is once again enlisting someone else to do its work for it.
The company said this week that it would let the administrators in its groups appoint users as “experts.”
That means the people who run the online communities — which are comprised of everything from housing opportunities to dogs to extremists — will choose people within those groups to become an authoritative voice that others can rely on, an initiative partly designed to stamp out misinformation.
How to Check if the Pegasus Spyware Is Installed on Your iPhone
If you’re concerned about recent reports of the Pegasus spyware reportedly installed by the Israeli NSO Group to hack journalists and world leaders, there’s a tool to check if it’s hidden on your iPhone. But you probably have nothing to worry about.
According to a report in the Washington Post in conjunction with nonprofit groups Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and several others, military-grade spyware developed by an Israeli firm was used to hack some 40 smartphones “belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
Half of Australia Back in Lockdown as Delta Tests COVID-Zero
Half of Australia’s population is back in lockdown after South Australia state joined Victoria and New South Wales in ordering residents to stay at home as the Delta variant leaks across the country.
South Australia later Tuesday will impose Australia’s strictest lockdown since the start of the pandemic after recording two new cases in the community. Residents must stay within 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) of their homes and comply with a 6p.m. curfew as part of the draconian measures introduced to halt an outbreak seeded from a returned traveler.
