Covidiots

ABC News reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday responded to Republican vows to investigate him after he steps down from his government roles in December, saying he would consider testifying but not submit to “character assassination.” Top Republicans in Congress pounced on the news of his planned departure, saying if they retake the majority in the upcoming midterm election, they …

The New York Times reports: Facebook and Instagram on Thursday removed the accounts of Children’s Health Defense, an organization led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that is one of the largest U.S. anti-vaccine groups, for spreading medical misinformation. In an emailed newsletter, Children’s Health Defense said Facebook and Instagram had taken down its accounts after a 30-day ban by the …

Mediaite reports: Steve Kirsch appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Aug. 10 with guest host Brian Kilmeade, who introduced his guest as a disaffected former Democratic donor. “What I found was hundreds of thousands of Americans have been killed by this vaccine and millions have been injured,” Kirsch claimed. Media Matters published a partial transcript of Kirsch’s remarks, along with …

The New York Post reports: The DOE suspended the 82 teachers without pay on April 25 after their names popped up as customers of a Long Island pediatric center accused of selling bogus vaccine cards. The nurse practitioner-owner and two staffers at Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare were charged with racking up $1.5 million in sales, charging adults $220 for each …

Media Matters has the transcript: STEVE KIRSCH (GUEST): They told — the agencies, the FDA, the CDC, the NIH said that these vaccines were safe and effective. And when I started seeing my friends die and be injured and I started looking at the data, there was no question that this vaccine is the most dangerous vaccine ever created by …

ESPN reports: Whit Merrifield said last month that he might be willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if it meant playing for a team in contention, even though he had refused to get the shot while playing for the last-place Kansas City Royals. He’ll have to make that decision now. In a unique and potentially unprecedented situation, the Royals traded …

The Hill reports: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, asked the board tasked with overseeing policy debates on the platform to weigh in on whether it should ease its COVID misinformation policy. The company asked the Oversight Board, a task force funded by Meta that operates independently, if the company’s policy, including to remove posts with false claims, is still …

STAT News reports: A horse dewormer and treatment for some human parasites, ivermectin was initially promoted, despite the lack of research, as a way to treat or prevent Covid infections. Now it is increasingly being marketed for long Covid, pushed by physicians with ties to political groups spreading anti-vaccine and anti-science messaging. There’s no credible evidence that supports ivermectin’s use …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: A Miami woman was arrested after authorities said she was selling phony COVID-19 test results to people who needed to test negative to travel. Melissa Stephanie Barbery, 33, was arrested Tuesday on a felony count of fraudulent use of personal identification information, an arrest report said. The results were to be presented by people traveling abroad …

“This is all allowed because of the defense authorization passed last November with broad bipartisan support. You cannot make this up. This cannot be allowed to stand and this show is going to start targeting any Republican who joins onto this year’s defense authorization without this vaccine requirement stricken from the bill. It’s high time this is done.” – Laura …

“It’s an extremely unfortunate situation. Obviously my teammates know how I feel about them and how bad I want to be out there with them. But it’s just an unfortunate that I’m not able to make the trip. “I’m a healthy 31-year-old professional athlete that I just didn’t feel the need to get it. I’ve had COVID a couple times …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Three Walt Disney World workers who refused to wear masks or get vaccinated against COVID have sued the company, saying they were fired for opposing the rules because of their religious beliefs. The ex-employees, Barbara Andreas, Stephen Cribb and Adam Pajer, say they worked with Disney between seven and 20 years. They claimed Christian scripture instructed …

The Hill reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) is pressing the Department of Defense to approve requests for exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate made by his state’s National Guard. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin obtained by The Hill, Lee says his state’s Guard has recommended approval for Guard members and are awaiting final decisions from Army …

The New York Post reports: The Department of Education has filed suit to keep at least 82 New York City teachers suspended without pay for allegedly submitting fake proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The staffers were notified on April 19 that they would be placed on unpaid leave April 25 “based on information that the DOE had received from an independent …

Florida Politico reports: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is pushing out a pediatrician from a board in charge of running the state’s Healthy Kids program because of her viewpoints on vaccines for children under five. Patronis’ office notified Dr. Lisa Gwynn [photo], who is also serving as the president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, …

“Well, you’re right, as of today I’m not allowed to enter the States under these circumstances. Yes, of course, I’m aware of that. That is an extra motivation to do well here [at Wimbledon]. “Hopefully I can have a good tournament, as I have done in the last three editions. Then I’ll just have to wait and see. “I would …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Since COVID-19 vaccines first became available, Publix has played a major role in tackling the public health emergency in Florida by offering vaccines to adults and, later, children as young as 5. But the Lakeland grocery company says it will not offer the vaccine approved for children ages 4 and under “at this time.” Spokesperson …

Politico reports: Florida is the only state in the nation that has not placed an order with the federal government for doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for young children, saying the distribution process is “convoluted.” The Florida Department of Health, through a statement, said Wednesday that it did not place an order with the federal government for vaccine doses for …

The New York Post reports: New York gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Giuliani plans to debate his GOP primary opponents “whether or not” CBS New York allows him into the room, he said Sunday. Giuliani, 36, revealed that the network planned to bar him from in-person participation in Monday night’s debate because he’s refused to provide proof he’s vaccinated against COVID-19. Speaking …

“Absolutely not. Not even at gunpoint. I believe in hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, vitamin D, vitamin C, intravenous therapy, ozone therapy and not being fat. “Nancy Pelosi, triple vaccinated, got COVID; Barack Obama, the same. The most vaxxed countries in the world, Israel and Gibraltar, have the highest COVID rates of any country in the world. “India, a third-world country and wide …