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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 how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  scaled back the hunt for breakthrough cases just as the Delta variant grew, why it’s “mathematically impossible” for vaccines to eliminate COVID and Biden’s decision to require all federal employees to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on most travel.

Also on tap this week is a report by WPVI-TV Philadelphia that cites a warning from Dr. Paul Offit that America could “again see more than 1,000 deaths a day” from the Delta variant.

Mary and Polly also cover news that the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs will mandate COVID vaccines, and a U.S. Department of Justice memo that says Section 564 of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act does not prohibit public or private entities from imposing vaccination requirements, even when the only vaccines available are those authorized under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

Here are more of this week’s highlights:

  • CNN’s Don Lemon called for “rules” to be put in place that would force people to get the COVID vaccine. Lemon said people who are unvaccinated shouldn’t be able to fly, go to work or enter businesses, including gyms. “They act as if these vaccines are a sugar pill,” said Mary. “They are potentially lethal injections.”
  • Billionaire Ken Langone said all of his businesses will mandate employees be vaccinated against COVID — or get fired — once the shots receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  • A report in The Atlantic, by Colin Dickey — whom Mary calls a “vaccine injury denalist” — gives advice on how to “reach vaccine conspiracists.” Dickey calls for “consequences” for the unvaccinated, and dismisses data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System that shows thousands have died after getting the COVID vaccine.
  • An opinion piece by Ezra Kelin of The New York Times says that if policymakers want to change the minds of the unvaccinated, they must raise the costs of being unvaccinated. Mary said, “He’s advocating for vaccine mandates and vaccine passports and that the issue not be partisan.”
  • NYC will become the first U.S. city to require people to show proof of COVID vaccination in order to participate in a variety of activities including going to the gym, dining indoors or attending performances. “Let’s see them make it work,” said Mary.
  • Apple on Saturday removed a dating app for unvaccinated people. Allegedly, the app, considered the “Tinder for anti-vaxxers,” violated Apple’s policies for COVID content.
  • Biden called on schools to host COVID vaccination clinics for kids 12 and up. “There is no science that suggests the benefits [of the vaccine] outweigh the risks for children,” said Mary. “Children are at the lowest possible risk of COVID infection or severe hospitalization, complications or death.”
  • A report by WWL-TV said COVID is infecting babies, children and teens in the New Orleans area. “Pfizer submitted an application to have its EUA approved for 5 to 11-year-olds in September,” said Mary. “This is making the ground more fertile for new authorization for younger children and trying to sell this through fear.”
  • Moderna and Pfizer are set to expand COVID vaccine studies for children under 12 years old. Children as young as 5 years old could receive the shot later this year.
  • STAT News reported that a “double vaccine crisis” is endangering millions of children. STAT said 23 million children last year missed out on basic vaccines. “This is a natural experiment. We’re interested in tracking this data,” said Mary. “We already published the fact that there were fewer Sudden Infant Death Syndrome babies during 2020, the pandemic year.”
  • The Federation of State Medical Boards said in a July 29 announcement  physicians who spread COVID vaccine misinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license. “This is how they are disciplining doctors,” said Mary.
  • A Russian Times article by Robert Bridge said policymakers should engage with COVID “dissidents” in public and put the “conspiracy theories” to bed.
  • England’s chief midwife, Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, said all healthcare workers have a responsibility to encourage pregnant women to get the COVID vaccine. “Fetuses are the most susceptible, most vulnerable of anyone,” said Mary. “The notion that it’s just fine to give it to a pregnant woman and it won’t have an ill effect is not supported by the data. There are a lot of cases of miscarriage that have already been reported to VAERS.”
  • The Daily Mail reports that tens of millions of Britons will be offered a Pfizer booster jab this autumn, as the vaccine has proved to be the most effective against the Delta variant. The shot will be for those over 50, the clinically vulnerable and healthcare workers.
  • The Israeli president kicked off a COVID vaccine booster campaign. The country will begin offering a third jab to those over 60.
  • The FDA extended the expiration date on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine to six months, giving healthcare workers six more weeks to use millions of doses of the shot. “Obviously, they haven’t been able to use them all up,” said Mary. “This allows for potential greater revenue generation. That’s an extra six weeks to generate revenue from these vaccines.”
  • A report by Children’s Health Defense revealed how the CDC and National Institutes of Health pull in millions from licensing deals, including COVID-related technologies.
  • A report by the London Evening Standard said vegans could be exempt from COVID vaccine mandates in the workplace, and employers may risk legal action if they insist workers are double-jabbed. “In the UK, being an ethical vegan has become a protected class,” said Mary. “If those people are fired because they don’t take a COVID jab, that can be considered ‘destructive dismissal’ and they could get unemployment benefits.”
  • A Russian Times report showed mayhem on the streets of Berlin, as anti-lockdown protests turned into violent scuffles with German police.
  • A federal investigation into a COVID outbreak earlier this month in a Massachusetts county found that 74% of infections were among the vaccinated.”Vaccinated people are at a higher risk or at least at the same risk as unvaccinated people,” said Mary. “That’s suggesting the vaccines are not only ineffective, but they actually may be backfiring.”
  • Dr. Robert Malone, inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, told Steve Bannon on the “War Room: Pandemic” podcast there have been calls for the COVID vaccine program to stop because it’s putting more people at risk.
  • Health Jobs UK is advertising job listings for “school immunization” healthcare workers for all England public schools. “Something’s coming,” said Polly, “for them to be suddenly advertising for a school immunisation health professional. We’ve never had that.”
  • The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said mask-less Michael Andrew did not violate COVID protocols when he walked through the mix zone without a mask. “For me, it’s pretty hard to breathe in after kind of sacrificing my body in the water,” said Andrew. “So I feel like my health is a little more tied to being able to breathe than protecting what’s coming out of my mouth.”
  • British employers were warned that forcing staff to have the COVID shot could amount to a criminal offense. “The good news,” said Mary, “is that they’re explaining to people that forcing the jab is criminal.”
  • America’s Frontline Doctors filed a lawsuit alleging that University of California’s vaccine mandate violates students’ civil rights. “Kudos to America’s Frontline Doctors for bringing lots of important lawsuits,” said Mary.
  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened fines against local officials and businesses that enforce mask mandates and vaccine requirements.
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘s “anti-vaxx website” is shared more on Twitter than the websites of the CDC and the World Health Organisation combined, according to data from Indiana University’s Observatory on Social Media. The data shows childrenshealthdefense.org has consistently ranked among the most-shared websites. Polly said, “This is what happens when people join together and share the truth!”
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