Covidiots

Axios reports: Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday that his department would not enforce an L.A. County mask order, saying it is “not backed by science.” Villanueva’s statement comes one day after L.A. county officials announced a new mask mandate for residents in indoor public locations regardless of vaccine status, effective Saturday at 11:59 p.m. “Forcing the vaccinated …

Media Matters has the transcript: ALEX BERENSON (GUEST): What I’ve grown to conclude over the last 12 months is that masks are very simply symbolic. All they are is a sign you are in a dangerous time and you need to listen to us. You know, if I don’t see people wearing masks, I forget to be scared and that’s …

From the Washington Post fact-checker: Johnson repeated two unscientific claims in this Fox News interview, but his phrasing went further than before when he said coronavirus vaccines come with the risk of “some pretty serious side effects, including death.” He keeps disregarding scientists’ published findings about vaccine immunity and the clear guidance from federal health agencies and doctors. He failed …

Mediaite reports: “You don’t have a right to be in this building asking people,” said the woman, as the vaccine messengers are standing outside. “It’s a violation of people’s HIPAA rights,” she falsely claimed to them with complete and utter confidence. “You get out of this building now,” she continued, hectoring the women trying to help people receive a potentially …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A Utah pharmacist has admitted he gave COVID-19 vaccination cards to half a dozen people without giving them a shot of the vaccine. According to a stipulation order, the pharmacist surrendered his license and agreed to pay a $2,000 fine. He admitted that on or about June 30, he saw a “reluctant patient” whose employer …

Little Rock’s CBS News affiliate reports: Angela Morris’ daughter, Caia Morris Cooper, is fighting for her life at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She said the hardest part about watching her child suffer is that the entire thing was preventable. “It’s very hard to see her in this situation. It’s very hard not knowing if she’s really going to come home anymore …

The Deseret News reports: Family nurse practitioner Aaron Hartle wasn’t in any hurry to get vaccinated against COVID-19, even though he treated patients in his Springville clinic who were hospitalized by the deadly virus. It even killed one of his patients. But too much was still unknown about the vaccines, he believed, and besides, he was too healthy to have …

The Hill reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday introduced legislation to repeal the federal mask mandate for public transportation. The Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2021 would prohibit the federal government from imposing a mask mandate when utilizing any “conveyance” or “transportation hub.” Paul said in a statement that he is introducing the mask mandate to “put a …

On Monday, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt declared that vaccines are “kind of against nature” because “something’s supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that’s just kind of the way evolution goes.” Last night Newsmax issued a cleanup statement: Newsmax as a network strongly supports President Biden’s efforts to widely distribute the COVID vaccine. It is important for …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Almost everywhere in Florida, there is a clear pattern: A community’s support for former President Donald Trump’s election in 2020 is a stunningly accurate predictor of the likelihood residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus halfway through 2021. Higher support for Trump translates, with few exceptions, into lower COVID-19 vaccination rates. And in counties where …

The New York Daily News reports: Heineken has found itself on the “mighty real” receiving end of anti-vaxxer vitriol. The Dutch beer maker is facing threats of a boycott after posting a pro-vaccination advertisement on Twitter, which upset people who refuse to be inoculated against the COVID-19 virus. The minute-long ad shows a group of elderly individuals dancing in a …

Little Rock’s NBC News affiliate reports: As concerns mount over the growing impact of the delta variant of COVID-19, figures released Friday show coronavirus cases again surging in Arkansas, topping levels seen in a year before. The Arkansas Department of Health reported 1,155 new cases of COVID-19 Friday afternoon, bringing the total number of cases in Arkansas to 355,460. Active …

The Daily Beast reports: Talk about a sick deal. The Small Business Administration has given anti-vaccine conspiracists a million-dollar-plus shot in the arm by forgiving massive loans to top opponents of inoculations, a review by The Daily Beast revealed. Ironically, this infusion has come via the Paycheck Protection Program, intended to relieve the economic strain brought on by the pandemic—the …

Charlotte’s ABC News affiliate reports: Passengers on American Airlines Flight 893 to Nassau, Bahamas were in a position to depart Monday when a group of high school students decided to stage a mask rebellion that lasted for hours. “Some people’s vacations are ruined. They were only going for a couple of nights. Now, they have to get rebooked,” passenger Stephanie …

USA Today reports: COVID-19 cases were up in nearly half of U.S. states, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Alaska and Arkansas more than doubled cases in just the last week. South Carolina and Kansas are up more than 50%. In Missouri, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients jumped by nearly 30% over the Fourth …

The Associated Press reports: America’s top infectious disease expert said about 99.2% of recent COVID-19 deaths in the United States involved unvaccinated people. “It’s really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable and preventable,” he added. He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” it’s frustrating “where you have a formidable enemy” in the coronavirus and “yet we do …

“The red states probably have a lot of people that, you know, are very, very conservative in their thinking and they think, ‘Well, I don’t have to do that.’ “But they’re not thinking right. When it really boils right down to it, they’re in a lottery to themselves. You know, we have a lottery that basically says, if you’re vaccinated, …

The New York Post reports: A Washington state lawmaker apologized Thursday after he wore a yellow Star of David at an event to make a statement against COVID restrictions. “This gesture went too far,” state Rep. Jim Walsh, a Republican, said during a radio interview with host Jason Rantz. “It was inappropriate and offensive and I’m terribly sorry that it …

St. Louis’s CBS News affiliate reports: You should wear a mask even if you’re vaccinated. This is the message from local health departments. Three major municipalities have issued a public health advisory in response to the emergence of the Delta variant in the St. Louis region. St. Louis City and St. Louis and Jefferson counties issued the advisory, citing a …

The Springfield News-Leader reports: If you live in southwest Missouri, hospital executives say acquiring a severe case of COVID-19 could now mean a stay in St. Louis or Kansas City, as the global pandemic that has killed 3.9 million people continues to stretch Missouri hospital staffing. A handful of Springfield-area patients are already being treated hundreds of miles away in …