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This week, Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense president, and Polly Tommey, co-producer of “Vaxxed,” covered the latest headlines on COVID-19, Big Pharma and other issues, including news that a 17-year-old boy died “suddenly in his sleep” six months after his second COVID vaccination.

Plus, a new peer-reviewed study shows more than two-thirds of adolescents with COVID-vaccine-related myopericarditis had persistent heart abnormalities months after their initial diagnosis.

Polly and Mary also discussed a CNN report that found in about half of U.S. counties, less than 10% of children 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated against COVID.

Also on tap this week: Children’s Health Defense and thousands of concerned parents filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit seeking to stop the Louisana Department of Health from adding COVID vaccines to the state’s school immunization schedule.

More of this week’s highlights:

  • The University of Minnesota received two National Institutes of Health grants, totaling more than $6.5 million, to research cardiovascular health among children.
  • High-quality epidemiological data tell the truth — COVID vaccines aren’t preventing COVID or its transmission, and they aren’t preventing severe illness or death.
  • 40% of those who died from COVID had diabetes, according to The New York Times. “This is fascinating,” said Mary.
  • Pfizer’s COVID vaccines showed “reduced effectiveness” against the Omicron variant among children 12 and older, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
  • Senate negotiators announced a deal on a smaller COVID spending proposal without global vaccine funding.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sets the criteria vaccine makers are supposed to meet. So why didn’t Pfizer and Moderna have to meet all of those criteria? Author Dr. Meryl Nass “really breaks it down for us,” said Polly.
  • The CDC announced that the new mutant BA.2 Omicron variant has become dominant among new cases sequenced in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, health officials identified the XE variant. “They are preparing us for new variants,” said Mary.
  • Due to a lack of funds, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will no longer adjudicate claims submitted for vaccine administration. “This is really interesting,” said Polly.
  • California bill AB1993, which would require all businesses in that state to mandate the COVID vaccine for their employees and independent contractors, has been put on hold. “This would have a huge impact,” said Mary.
  • As Shangai, China struggles to contain a coronavirus outbreak, outrage erupted online after images circulated of small children isolated from their parents. “This should disturb everybody,” said Polly.
  • In Australia, children ages “zero to four” will be added to the vaccine injury claims scheme as authorities prepare to roll out COVID vaccines to babies and toddlers. “This is another trick,” said Mary. “These are frauds and they will not help you if you are injured.”
  • A federal judge in Texas is temporarily barring the Navy from taking action against sailors who objected to being vaccinated against COVID on religious grounds.
  • A federal judge blocked the military from disciplining a dozen U.S. Air Force officers who are asking for religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID vaccine. “This is really good news,” said Polly.
  • In a move Mary called “egregious,” Stanford University is requiring international students to get COVID boosters or face deportation.
  • The Wall Street Journal published an article on an unpublished study concluding ivermectin didn’t reduce COVID hospitalizations. Meanwhile, the paper ignored, as The Defender pointed out, news earlier this month that a documentary producer discovered the individual likely responsible for tanking a key, systematic review showing how ivermectin could have saved millions of lives. Mary called The Defender piece “a fantastic article.”
  • CHD and attorney Robert Meltzer are suing Boston University on behalf of a student who was suspended for failing to comply with the school’s COVID testing protocol.  “It is going to be very interesting to see how this evolves,” said Mary. The lawsuit alleges the university’s testing regimen failed to accommodate the student’s disability.
  • Officials in France and the Netherlands arrested and detained two prominent activists involved in initiatives opposing COVID-related restrictions and mandatory vaccination policies. “We believe this is going to backfire,” said Mary.
  • Some U.S. schools are using smart cameras to catch maskless children. “It is deeply troubling,” said Mary.
  • The New York Times editorial board recently opined that Americans are losing “the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions,” yet this same newspaper refused to review — or even publish an advertisement for — “The Real Anthony Fauci,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s runaway bestseller.
  • DuckDuckGo, a search engine that formerly ensured users their privacy and produced relatively unbiased search results, announced it was changing its policies to clamp down on “disinformation” campaigns. “Clearly there is an agenda here,” said Mary.
  • A new study shows a link between artificial sweeteners and cancer, even after controlling for factors known to contribute to cancer, including age, weight gain, physical activity and family history of cancer.
  • On Sunday, April 10, in the heart of Los Angeles at Grand Park, Defeat the Mandates is holding a day-long rally and celebration to end the mandate system permanently. Join us!
  • Donate to support CHD’s efforts here.

Watch “This Week” with Mary + Polly: