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Indians Players ‘Free To Make Their Own Choices and Decisions’ After Pitcher’s Anti-Vaccine Post, GM Says

Fox News reported:

Cleveland Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said Monday he spoke with pitcher James Karinchak about his anti-coronavirus vaccine stance, and while he defended the player’s right to speak out he said he told him the organization did not agree.

Antonetti addressed Karinchak’s social media post from early April.

“The vast majority of our players and staff opted for the vaccine and continue to follow the protocols around mask wearing, and that’s something we’ll continue to encourage and support. But in the end, people are free to make their own choices and decisions,” Antonetti said.

U.S. Army Used Virtual Town Hall to Convert — and Coerce — Vaccine Skeptics

The Defender reported:

The U.S. Army leadership is persuading soldiers to put blind faith in an EUA drug using miraculous claims even the manufacturers do not make about their products.

The six-person town hall panel consisted of Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Michael Grinston; Dr. Steven Cersovsky, science advisor to the U.S. Army Medical Command; three U.S. Army service members; and a moderator.

The one-hour session addressed three main concerns about the COVID vaccine among military members: infertility, variants of the virus and the speed with which the vaccines were developed.

Trust, Johnson & Johnson Shot Key to Vaccinating Homeless People

U.S. News and World Report reported:

This Friday, Fajama’s buddies were getting their second doses of the Moderna vaccine, provided at a site that was also open to walk-ups who were experiencing homelessness and not currently in a shelter program. Similar efforts have been ongoing elsewhere in the U.S. as well, as health officials and providers are trying to vaccinate their unhoused populations, whose members are often transient and hard to reach. They also may be at greater risk of contracting COVID-19

“They have limited opportunities to practice social distancing, to wash their hands, even to wear masks,” says Bobby Watts, chief executive officer of the Tennessee-based National Health Care for the Homeless Council. “If you’re living out on the streets, it’s hard to keep a mask.”

Legislature Passes Measure Restricting Vaccine Requirements

The Independent Record reported:

Despite Montana’s health care industry warning that masks and visitation restrictions at medical facilities could become permanent, House Republicans passed a bill Monday that would prevent hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities from requiring any type of immunizations for staff, visitors or patients.

While indicating they had read House Bill 702 as doing just that, two influential GOP lawmakers in the House stood up to speak in favor of the bill, saying they had gotten assurances from the office of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte that the concerns brought by medical providers were overblown.

Beijing’s ‘Big Tech’ Crackdown Continues With Anti-Trust Probe Into Food-Delivery Giant

ZeroHedge reported:

Two weeks after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation — Beijing’s paramount anti-trust regulator — fined Alibaba a record $2.8 billion for abusing its market dominance, capping off the country’s first major anti-trust action to rein in one of the tech giants dominating the Chinese domestic economy, the CCP has just launched its next major anti-trust investigation.

The SCMP reported that China’s antitrust regulator on Monday officially launched a probe into food-delivery service provider Meituan, citing alleged monopolistic business practices like forcing merchants to “pick one from two” – that is, forcing merchants to either pick its platform as its exclusive distribution channel, or find themselves banned.

State Lawmakers Opposed to COVID Vaccine Mandates Have Filed a Flurry of Bills This Session. Some Worry About the Message They Send.

USA TODAY reported:

Sponsors of such measures say it’s a question of freedom of choice. They object to any requirement a person be vaccinated in order to work or enter venues like sports arenas or music events, arguing to do so would be government overreach.

“It goes back to personal liberties,” said Indiana state Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn. He and others argue businesses or the government shouldn’t be telling people what to put in their bodies.