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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 the latest data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, reports more than 1.3 million adverse events following COVID-19 vaccines.

Polly and Mary also discussed the news of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine for ages 12 to 15 years, even though the Comirnaty-labeled vaccine is not available in the U.S. for any age group.

Plus, in Mary’s “favorite story of the week”: A judge in Uruguay suspended COVID-19 vaccines for children under 13 and demanded the government turn over its contracts with Pfizer.

Also on tap this week: Allysia Finley, a member of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, wrote an opinion piece, “Why the rush for COVID vaccines for toddlers?” She called into question the motives behind the FDA’s decision to extend emergency use of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines to infants and toddlers.

More of this week’s highlights:

  • Hundreds of children ages 6 months to 5 years old have received a COVID-19 vaccine in Philadelphia, but the health agency said that number should be in the thousands. “People are using their brains and know their kids aren’t guinea pigs,” said Mary.
  • In a letter to the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and other U.K. government officials, 76 doctors explain why the FDA decision authorizing COVID-19 vaccinations in infants and young children must not happen in the U.K.
  • Israel recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old and is pushing to reinstate the indoor mask mandate. “Are they mad?” said Polly.
  • Canadians are required to get COVID-19 booster vaccines every nine months for the foreseeable future.
  • The FDA said COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers will need to update fall boosters to target BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants — a day after the White House announced a $3.2 billion vaccine deal with Pfizer to include new boosters for subvariants. “Start to expect some serious advertising and fearmongering,” said Polly.
  • The EU backed a second COVID-19 booster for those over 60 and “medically vulnerable” people.
  • Shanghai identified a new COVID-19 variant.
  • The number of Americans 16 and older with a disability remained stable from 2016 to 2020, but jumped sharply in early 2021, coinciding with the rollout of COVID-19 injections. “How people can close their eyes to this is shocking,” said Mary. “These shots are incredibly dangerous.”
  • The parents of a West Virginia boy who received an improper dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a local Kroger are suing Kroger. “This boy is lucky to be alive,” said Mary.
  • Novak Djokovic reaffirmed his COVID-19 vaccine stance after winning Wimbledon. “He is a shining example of what we should all be doing,” said Polly.
  • 1 in every 30 children now has autism. “This is a catastrophe,” said Mary.
  • Ghana reports first-ever suspected Marburg virus case.
  • U.K. dairy farmers warned of price increases and chronic staff shortages. “This really is a massive problem,” said Polly.
  • Cattle producers are struggling with the high cost of feed.
  • Three pharmaceutical companies distributed 81 million opioid painkillers in a West Virginia county over an eight-year period, but the federal judge ruled they were not liable for the damage done by the opioid epidemic.
  • There may be no safe level of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which interfere with development, reproduction, neurological functioning, metabolism, satiety, immune system function — and much more.
  • Donate to support CHD’s efforts here.

“This Week” with Mary + Polly is now on Spotify. Listen here.

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