Coronavirus

Blog Toronto reports: Self-described Jesus lover, police wife and former Lingerie Football League player Krista Ford Haynes apparently refuses to give up her anti-vax/anti-mask stance or, more importantly, to stop preaching about it on social media despite her father’s position and sentiments on the highly politicized issue. The 30-year-old has many times now posted anti-vax rhetoric to her private Instagram, …

ProPublica reports: After Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina dumped more than $1.6 million in stocks in February 2020 a week before the coronavirus market crash, he called his brother-in-law, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing. They talked for 50 seconds. Burr, according to the SEC, had material nonpublic information regarding the incoming economic impact of coronavirus. …

The Daily Beast reports: The 15th annual exorcism conference, held in Rome this week after a one-year hiatus due to COVID, has turned up all sorts of new pandemic problems facing the world’s exorcists. Those in attendance at the five-day conference, hosted in a Vatican-owned pontifical university, shared stories about the increase in calls they’d received over the last year. …

NPR reports: U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. said it will license drugmakers worldwide to produce its potentially lifesaving antiviral pill for treatment of COVID-19 in adults. The drug, known as molnupiravir, has shown promise in treating the disease, and the agreement to license its production could help millions of people in the developing world gain access to it. Merck …

Reuters reports: The Russian capital brought in its strictest COVID-19 related lockdown measures in more than a year on Thursday as nationwide one-day pandemic deaths and infections hit new highs amid slow vaccination take-up across the world’s biggest country. Moscow’s partial lockdown, in which only essential shops like pharmacies and supermarkets are allowed to remain open and schools and state …

The Hill reports: The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan on Tuesday that calls for deducting the cost of COVID-19 tests from the paychecks of police officers, firefighters and other city workers who remain unvaccinated. The plan, which passed the council by a 13-0 vote, according to the Los Angeles Times, requires that all unvaccinated employees reimburse the city …

The New York Daily News reports: A Staten Island judge denied a request Wednesday from the city’s largest police union to block Mayor de Blasio’s COVID vaccine mandate from going into effect. The Police Benevolent Association had argued that the NYPD’s “vax or test” program, which requires unvaccinated officers to get tested weekly, was sufficient to protect against the spread …

“I believe Apophis is the asteroid that is talked about in the book of Revelation, chapter eight. It is what is called ‘Wormwood’ in the bible. I believe that Apophis is carrying an alien microorganism on it in which a virus is being sustained. “I believe it’s going to make coronavirus look like a walk in the park. On impact …

The Daily Beast reports: A U.K.-based New Age spiritualist who refers to coronavirus vaccines as poisoned “apple pie” and “apple juice” has been hospitalized with COVID-19. Magenta Pixie, who claims she is the host to a divine intelligence known as The White Winged Collective Consciousness of Nine, has 137,000 YouTube followers and 22,000 subscribers on Telegram. Pixie had been vocal …

The Associated Press reports: The daily number of COVID-19 deaths in Russia hit another high Tuesday amid a surge in infections that has forced the Kremlin to order most Russians to stay off work starting this week. Sluggish vaccination rates have allowed the virus to spread quickly across Eastern Europe. Ukraine and Bulgaria also reported record daily death tolls on …

Portland, Oregon’s CBS News affiliate reports: Protesters against student vaccine mandates, along with anti-maskers, forced a Portland Public School Board meeting to take place virtually, as the board was set to discuss a possible COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students 12-and-older. The meeting drew a crowd of at least 100 parents and students when the Board Chair decided to move it …

Reuters reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro found himself in social media time-out Monday after his video warning of a supposed link between Covid-19 vaccines and AIDS triggered action by Facebook and YouTube. Facebook removed the offending video, while YouTube went further, suspending the far-right leader for one week in addition to blocking the clip. He claimed the reports “suggest that …

CNBC reports: A federal judge in Texas denied Southwest Airlines pilots union’s request to temporarily block a vaccine mandate for employees, which is a requirement under new government rules. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines must require staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by Dec. 8 unless they receive a religious or medical exemption, according to rules for federal contractors that the …

USA Today reports: Own an iPhone? You can now keep a digital version of your COVID-19 vaccine card right in your phone’s Apple Wallet. On Monday, Apple released iOS 15.1, an update to its operating system for iPhones which will introduce features including SharePlay to share experiences like watching movies directly in FaceTime. The update also includes the option for …

Axios reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated guidelines Tuesday that some immuno compromised people who have received either Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines will be able to get a fourth shot. People over 18 who are “moderately to severely immuno compromised” and have received three doses of an mRNA vaccine may get a fourth shot …

The New York Times reports: A key advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted overwhelmingly to recommend the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine in 5- to 11-year-olds, bringing the vaccine a big step closer to about 28 million children. Shots could be offered as early as next week. The panel endorsed giving the age group one-third of the …

The Washington Post reports: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) ordered state agencies to resist the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandates on Monday, pledging to fight the White House in court. In her executive order, she says state officials should not penalize any business or individual for ignoring federal vaccine mandates. It also says that even when compelled to enforce federal …

The New York Daily News reports: The NYPD’s largest union sued the city Monday, asking a judge to block Mayor de Blasio’s COVID vaccine mandate from taking effect this week.The lawsuit, filed in Staten Island Supreme Court by the Police Benevolent Association, argued that the NYPD’s “vax or test” program, which requires unvaccinated officers to get tested weekly, was enough …

Canada’s Global News reports: Former Saskatoon PPC candidate and well-known critic of COVID-19 restrictions Mark Friesen is in a Toronto hospital with COVID-19, one of his supporters said in a video. The video is titled “How Long Will Canada Remain Docile?” and was posted on Rumble. “Many of you are following what is happening with Mark Friesen. I love this …

The Associated Press reports: Children under 18 and people from dozens of countries with a shortage of vaccines will be exempt from new rules that will require most travelers to the United States be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Biden administration announced Monday. The government will require airlines to collect contact information on passengers regardless of whether they have been vaccinated …