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This week, Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) president, and Polly Tommey, co-producer of “Vaxxed,” cover the latest COVID headlines, including the latest Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data on injuries — now more than 1 million — reported after COVID vaccines. This includes a 7-year-old girl from Minnesota who died 11 days after her first Pfizer dose.
Polly and Mary also discussed news that a registered nurse who testified at a hearing of the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee said her hospital is seeing “terrifying” reactions to COVID vaccines, but hospital officials are failing to report them.
Plus, as cases of post-COVID vaccine myocarditis explode, especially among teen boys, doctors say public health officials’ claims the heart problem is “mild” is a “frightening lie.”
Also on tap this week: Pfizer said its experiments for a third vaccine on children 6 months and older were unsuccessful in 2- to 5-year-olds as they didn’t produce an immune response. Plus, a New York school teacher with no formal medical qualification was arrested for allegedly giving a COVID vaccine to a student, say officials.
Here are more of this week’s highlights:
- There is no evidence so far vaccines are reducing infections from the fast-spreading Omicron variant. “There is now zero rationale for these mandates,” said Mary.
- COVID-19 shots are not vaccines. “A really interesting piece,” said Polly.
- Insurers in Indiana and India report similar rates of non-COVID-related premature deaths. “I’m sure I’m one of many who wonder what kind of diamond mine of data the insurance companies are sitting on,” said educator and statistician Mathew Crawford. “This is a bombshell,” said Mary. “These are staggering numbers.”
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have eight months — not the 75 years it requested — to release all documents related to the licensing of Pfizer’s Comirnaty COVID vaccine, a federal judge ruled. “It’s outstanding that we don’t have that already,” said Polly.
- Massachusetts joined a list of a dozen other U.S. states introducing digital COVID vaccine cards to make it easier for residents to carry their proof of vaccination on them wherever they go. “It’s very dangerous,” said Mary. “It is very threatening.”
- New COVID variants are likely to keep emerging until the globe has been vaccinated against the virus, experts warn, saying the sharing of vaccines is not just an altruistic act but a pragmatic one.
- A new strain of COVID appears to be a genetic fusion of currently known Omicron and Delta variants, a researcher claims. “People are fed up with this,” said Polly.
- Allowing some health professionals who tested positive for COVID to continue working could put patients in “grave danger,” a leading nurse warned after new California guidance said health workers may return to work if they don’t have symptoms. “This just exposes extraordinary hypocrisy,” said Mary.
- Pope Francis suggested getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives.
- Federal agencies are preparing to take increasingly harsh steps against unvaccinated employees in order to implement President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate for federal workers. “Continue to stand firm,” said Polly.
- For military troops, out of 21,342 requests received, zero exemptions have been granted, and many have been denied at the final appeal stage. “Clearly it’s a sham,” said Mary. “It’s just unacceptable.”
- Polly and Mary discussed a tweet from Dr. Tom Frieden saying “COVID is adapting to us, we need to adapt to COVID.” “This is extraordinary,” said Mary. “An extraordinary turnaround from where we were a year ago.”
- Cornell students, parents, and faculty fight back against the university’s booster mandate. “A really good letter,” said Polly. “One everyone should read.”
- Pfizer and BioNTech are teaming up to develop an mRNA vaccine for shingles, the companies announced, building off the successes of their joint COVID shot, as vaccine makers rush to invest in the newly proven mRNA technology. “It’s basically a chickenpox vaccine for adults,” said Mary.
- High-level international banking officials and organizations gathered last month for a global “war game” exercise simulating the collapse of the global financial system. The tabletop exercise was reminiscent of “Event 201,” the pandemic simulation exercise that took place just before COVID entered the global scene. “This is really significant,” said Mary. “This is a very important article.”
- In legal documents, Facebook said it cannot be sued for defamation because its “fact checks” are statements of opinion rather than factual assertions, and as such, protected under the First Amendment. “This was the news of the week for me,” said Polly.
- The developer of an implanted microchip linked to a COVID vaccine passport said the mass chipping of humans as a means of verifying compliance is happening “whether we like it or not.” “This is big news,” said Polly.
- French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to “piss off” the unvaccinated by introducing fresh legislation to ban them from public venues.
- Protesters rallied in cities across France, denouncing President Emmanuel Macron’s intent to “piss off” people refusing COVID shots by tightening curbs on their civil liberties. “Be careful how you speak to your people,” said Polly. “Don’t mess with the people.”
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the U.S. “This is really going to impact people,” said Mary.
- A judge ruled tennis player Novak Djokovic can remain in Australia to play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated.
- More than 4,000 people participated in a peaceful demonstration against vaccine mandates at the capitol building in Albany, New York. “It was very peaceful, a wonderful experience,” said Mary.
- In his book, “Underestimated: An Autism Miracle,” and on his blog, JB Handley tells the miraculous story of his son’s ability to communicate. “It is a fantastic book,” said Mary. “It’s incredibly beautiful.”
Watch “This Week” with Mary + Polly:
