Coronavirus

DeSantis COVID “Expert” Wants Firing Squad For Fauci

Media Matters reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been featuring anti-vaxxer Dr. Jon Ward at COVID-19 events as he positions himself for a 2024 presidential run. Ward said in a podcast appearance last year that Dr. Anthony “Fauci should face a firing squad” because of his work. Ward is a Florida dermatologist who, as Politico recently reported, has become “a …

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Biden To End COVID Emergency Program In May

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal …

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WHO: Pandemic Near Key Immunity “Inflection Point”

The Associated Press reports: The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an “inflexion point” where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths. Speaking at the opening of WHO’s annual executive board meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “there is no …

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Hannity Condemns Plan For Annual COVID Vaccine

“You can be fully vaccinated, fully boosted, have all the booster — booster 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. You can have natural immunity but you can still catch COVID. You can still get it and get sick. You can still transmit the virus to others. That’s what the science tells us. “Look at the recent findings that show that …

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FDA Expected To Propose Annual COVID Vaccinations

NPR reports: The Food and Drug Administration is considering a major shift in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy. The goal is to simplify vaccination against COVID and perhaps adopt an approach similar to what is used for the flu vaccine, with annual updates to match whatever strain of the virus is circulating. Currently, people who want to be fully vaccinated …

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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Resigns Unexpectedly

The Guardian reports: New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October. At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added. “I’m leaving, because …

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Feds: Doctor Sold 2000 Vax Cards, Dumped Vaccines

ABC News reports: A Utah plastic surgeon issued COVID-19 vaccination cards to large numbers of patients who never received their shots, dumping the vaccines down the drain while telling the CDC the recipients had been properly inoculated, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday. Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, who operates the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, is charged along …

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SCOTUS: Missouri Can’t Use COVID Aid To Cut Taxes

Bloomberg News reports: The US Supreme Court turned away a Missouri appeal that sought to ensure states can cut taxes even as they receive $195 billion in federal pandemic-relief money. The justices without comment left in place a federal appeals court decision that said Missouri lacked legal standing to press a lawsuit over the requirements imposed under the American Rescue …

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Trump Shrugs Off QAnon Claims About COVID Vaccines

Newsweek reports: Former President Donald Trump has dismissed claims that COVID-19 vaccines are broadly unsafe while asserting that his own role in the development of the vaccines may have saved 100 million lives. Trump touted the effectiveness of Operation Warp Speed, his administration’s program to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, during a Monday interview on the conservative …

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China Reports 60,000 COVID Deaths Since Last Month

The Associated Press reports: China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data, and said the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed. The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with …

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Leading Cause Of Death For Cops For 3rd Year: COVID

ABC News reports: COVID-19 remained the leading cause of law enforcement deaths in 2022 despite the number attributed to the virus dramatically declining. A new report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund looked at preliminary data and found that 226 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers died last year while in the line of duty. Of …

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Pence: Reinstate And Give Back Pay To Anti-Vax Troops

The Hill reports: Former Vice President Pence in an exclusive interview called on the Biden administration to reinstate and repay members of the military who were discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine now that the mandate for the shot has been lifted. “I think it was unconscionable that the Biden administration mandated the vaccine on members of the …

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Tory MP Suspended For Comparing Vax To Holocaust

The BBC reports: Andrew Bridgen has been suspended as a Conservative MP for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccination. It comes after the North West Leicestershire MP posted a tweet that compared vaccines to the Holocaust. Tory chief whip Simon Hart said the comments had “crossed a line” and caused great offence. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also condemned the remarks, calling …

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Pentagon Formally Drops COVID Vaccine Mandate

Politico reports: The Pentagon formally dropped its Covid-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated. Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. …

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WHO Calls For Face Masks On Long-Haul Flights

Reuters reports: Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights, given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant was detected in small but growing numbers, WHO and Europe officials said at a press briefing. Passengers should be …

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House GOP Commissions Probe Into Origin Of COVID

The Washington Post reports: House Republicans on Monday commissioned a special investigative panel focused on the coronavirus pandemic, hoping to leverage their new, powerful majority to press scientists and federal officials about the origin of the public health crisis and the government’s response to it. Republicans have long derided Democrats, public health experts and others who advocated for an aggressive …

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Joe Rogan Sorry After Doctor Harassed For Fake Tweet

Vice News reports: Joe Rogan has belatedly apologized after doing an entire segment about a clearly fake and intentionally absurd tweet about vaccines which was attributed to a doctor. Rogan ultimately pulled the segment from the episode where it appeared, but Dr. Natalia Solenkova, an intensive care doctor based in Florida, is still facing a deluge of harassment over the …

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Beijing Hospitals Overflow Amid Latest COVID Surge

The Associated Press reports: Patients, mostly older people, laid on stretchers in hallways or took oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as a COVID-19 outbreak stretched public health facilities’ resources in China’s capital Beijing, even after its reported peak. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city’s east was packed Thursday with newly arrived patients. Beds ran out by midmorning, even as ambulances …

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House Gallery To Reopen For First Time Post-COVID

Roll Call reports: After nearly three years of pandemic- and insurrection-related security restrictions, tourists next week will be allowed into the House gallery, and unescorted visitors on official business will be able to enter House office buildings. The changes will take place as Republicans, some of whom have vocally fought against COVID-19 restrictions, are sworn into a majority of House …

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CDC: New Omicron Variant Is Spreading Quickly In US

NBC News reports: A new version of omicron has taken hold in the U.S., according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariant of omicron, named XBB.1.5, has raised concerns about another potential wave of Covid cases following the busy holiday travel season. The CDC projected Friday that about 40% of confirmed U.S. …

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