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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 news that The White House said unvaccinated Americans would experience a winter of “severe illness and death” due to the Omicron variant.
Leaders in the U.S. and UK are stressing the damage to society and health systems of those who have so far failed to take up the offer of vaccinations.
Polly and Mary also discussed Toby Roger’s article, “The Wheels Are Coming Off the Bus,” about how decisions by leadership are leading to a political backlash the likes of which we have never seen before in this country. Plus, governments around the world have encouraged and enforced a new form of segregation based on vaccine status.
Also on tap this week: UK’s Channel 4 Dispatches released “Vaccine Wars: Truth About Pfizer.” Pfizer’s contract with the British government is a carefully guarded secret, but what is known is that the company is charging Brits more than anyone else on the planet for each vaccine.
Here are more of this week’s highlights:
- Documents reviewed by Reuters reveal tens of millions of migrants may be denied COVID vaccines from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance because some major manufacturers are worried about legal risks from harmful side effects. “It’s fascinating,” said Mary.
- Whiplash on U.S. vaccine mandates is leaving companies confused. What does fully vaccinated really mean? “Confused as everyone is,” said Mary.
- CHD is calling on scientists, citizens and medical experts to help stop President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandates for employees, federal contractors and healthcare workers by posting comments on three federal rulemaking websites.
- COVID vaccines are “irreversible and potentially permanently damaging,” said Dr. Robert Malone, who explained why 16,000 physicians and medical scientists around the world signed a declaration publicly declaring healthy children should not be vaccinated for COVID-19. “A really good article to share,” said Polly.
- Experts say babies and toddlers could be eligible for COVID vaccines by early 2022. “That’s ridiculous,” said Polly.
- On the same day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was aware of eight cases of heart inflammation in 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated with Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they would seek full approval for their Comirnaty COVID vaccine for children 12 through 15.
- Get your shot for Santa and receive a $100 gift card! “Absolutely unethical,” said Mary.
- In New Orleans, starting Jan. 3, 2022, proof of vaccination or a negative test will be required for everyone ages 5 and up at restaurants and public places.
- Brazil’s health regulator approved the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, joining a growing list of countries green-lighting vaccination for kids. However, Brazil’s president wants to publish the names of the officials behind the decision.
- Kenyan authorities should amend measures requiring everyone seeking government services to be fully vaccinated to avoid undermining basic rights, Human Rights Watch said. “This was interesting to me,” said Mary.
- Spanish health authorities are stepping up efforts to give out COVID vaccines to children before Christmas and end-of-year gatherings that usually bring large groups together.
- No more international travel for 12- to 15-year-olds without a “COVID Pass,” UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this week.
- Pfizer and BioNTech are testing a third dose of their COVID vaccine in an ongoing trial of children ages 6 months to under 5 years after the companies found the two-dose regimen didn’t generate a strong enough immune response in some children. “We live in a world of propaganda and censorship,” said Mary. “We have to try and teach people the truth.”
- Several republicans, led by California Rep. Darrell Issa, told President Biden on Tuesday he was committing a “grave mistake” in enforcing a vaccine mandate on all U.S. military personnel.
- The U.S. Air Force said 27 service members had been discharged for refusing to receive a COVID vaccine, the first active-duty troops believed to have been removed for defying the mandate.
- The U.S. Navy began kicking out sailors who refuse to get the COVID vaccine, but it won’t slap dishonorable discharges on anyone for their decision to ignore a direct order.
- Ingo Rademacher, an actor on “General Hospital” for almost 25 years, sued ABC for terminating his contract without explanation after he asked for a religious exemption to the company’s COVID vaccine mandate. “A very important case,” said Mary.
- In a bid to push more of its workers to get vaccinated against COVID, Kroger will eliminate paid pandemic-related leave and charge $50 per month to employees that haven’t gotten shots. “The whole thing doesn’t make sense,” said Mary.
- A trial has begun of a new needle-free COVID vaccine to protect against future variants of the virus. “Please don’t sign up for this,” said Polly.
- The SARS Co-V-2 virus most likely originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to a new book on the subject. “Another really interesting article,” said Mary.
- A microchip technology introduced in recent years by the Stockholm-based startup Epicenter is being presented as a means to store one’s COVID vaccine passport under the skin.
- A shortage of vaccinated nannies, babysitters and daycare workers is making the seemingly impossible quest to find childcare even harder.
- U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said it will temporarily suspend a vaccine mandate for employees and now no longer expects to be forced to cut some service in January. “It’s crumbling,” said Polly.
- Boeing suspended its COVID vaccination requirement for U.S.-based employees, capping weeks of uncertainty as thousands of workers sought exemptions, and challenges to a federal mandate played out in court.
- The CEO of Southwest Airlines claimed in a Senate hearing that wearing masks to stop the spread of COVIDon f lights is excessive. He argued high-end air filtration systems make planes the safest indoor space to be in. “They don’t want masks on their planes,” said Polly.
- Los Angeles delayed enforcing its student vaccination mandate.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s book — “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health” — released Nov. 16, is #1 on Amazon. Order your book today.
Watch “This Week” with Mary + Polly:
