Covidiots

NBC News reports: A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the Wisconsin pharmacist who destroyed 500 Covid-19 vaccine doses to three years in prison, according to NBC affiliate WTMJ of Milwaukee. Back in January, Steven Brandenburg agreed to plead guilty to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard. Brandenburg intentionally removed doses of the Moderna vaccine …

“The world needs manly preachers. There’s enough fag, queer, skinny-jeaned, homo-effeminate, sissy preachers out there with makeup and mascara on their eyes for the camera. “Isn’t about time you get some sweat on your forehead? Isn’t about time you get some dirt under your nails and get some grease on your hands? Isn’t about time you get some blood on …

The Flashpoint reports: Three groups opposed to Covid restrictions, masks, and vaccines are hosting conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf for a fundraiser entitled “Liberate Our Five Freedoms.” The event is going to be held on Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the end of chattel slavery in the US. Event organizer Kathryn Levin told me that in her view, it’s appropriate. “The 19th …

The New York Times reports: Dozens of staff members at a Houston-area hospital protested on Monday night against a policy that requires employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The hospital, Houston Methodist, had told employees that they had to be vaccinated by Monday. Last month, 117 employees filed a lawsuit against the hospital over the vaccine policy. Houston Methodist employees …

The BBC reports: American author Naomi Wolf has been suspended from Twitter after spreading vaccine misinformation. Dr Wolf, well known for her acclaimed third-wave feminist book The Beauty Myth, posted a wide-range of unfounded theories about vaccines. One tweet claimed that vaccines were a “software platform that can receive uploads.” She also compared Dr Anthony Fauci, the top Covid adviser …

Gallup reports: As of the May 18-23 survey, 60% of U.S. adults report they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 4% have been partially vaccinated, 12% plan to be vaccinated and 24% do not plan to be vaccinated. Among those not planning to be vaccinated, 78% say they are unlikely to reconsider their plans, including 51% who say they are …

Australia’s ABC News reports: A South Australian woman who was arrested for allegedly failing to stop at a COVID-19 border crossing, after posting an anti-mask video live on social media, has been refused bail. Celeste Lockwood, 37, from Renmark, appeared at the Berri Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with aggravated driving dangerously to escape a police pursuit, driving disqualified and …

Spectrum News reports: Forging a vaccination card or providing fraudulent proof of immunity could soon be a felony in New York based on a measure approved Thursday by the Democratic-led Assembly. The measure, yet to pass in the state Senate, would tighten forgery laws and penalties in New York. The bill would lead to felony charges for forging immunization records …

CNBC reports: American Airlines said it won’t sell alcoholic beverages in the main cabin through Sept. 13, when the federal mask mandate is set to expire. It will still offer alcohol beverages in first and business class but only in flight. “Over the past week we’ve seen some of these stressors create deeply disturbing situations on board aircraft,” Brady Byrnes, …

Newsweek reports: Conservative pastor Rick Wiles has apparently fallen ill with COVID-19 after condemning the vaccines that fight the disease, baselessly claiming they’re being used to carry out a “global genocide.” Wiles—the founder of the conspiracy-promoting TruNews website and the senior pastor of Flowing Streams Church in Florida—asserted on this show in late April that he would not get vaccinated …

The Oklahoman reports: Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order Friday banning state agencies from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of entry to public buildings. The order also said any building that is owned or leased by the state and is open to the public must rescind any existing mask mandates by Tuesday. It doesn’t prevent anyone from wearing …

USA Today reports: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday urged travelers to respect flight attendants and other crew members who enforce federal mask mandates on planes, pledging strict federal enforcement against such abuse at a time of increasingly unruly behavior by passengers. “The flight crews and other workers you encounter, they’re doing their job,” he said. “They’re following regulations and …

The Washington Post reports: A group of 117 unvaccinated staffers from Houston Methodist Hospital filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to avoid the hospital’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, saying it’s unlawful for bosses to require the shots. The lawsuit against Houston Methodist was filed by Jared Woodfill [photo], a Houston-area attorney and conservative activist. It appears to mirror a legal strategy used …

The New York Times reports: Protesters gathered on Saturday outside a hat store in Nashville that sold “not vaccinated” Star of David patches and compared vaccine passports to the Nazi practice of requesting “your papers.” The store, Hatwrks, said on Instagram in a post that was later deleted that it was selling the patches for $5. Amid an outbreak of …

NBC News reports: Diners are mostly free to speak their mind at a Northern California cafe, but doing so through the protective confines of a mask will cost a cover charge of $5. Fiddlehead’s Cafe in Mendocino on Sunday put up a sign announcing the fee for customers who wear masks while ordering. In March, the cafe announced an ongoing …

The Carson Now reports: During the Carson City School Board meeting on Tuesday evening, a number of citizens took over the public comment period to voice their opposition to students wearing face masks for the remainder of the school year. Many public commenters discussed popular pieces of misinformation, such as the disproven idea that the COVID-19 vaccine alters DNA, or …

Newsweek reports: A sheriff’s deputy in Denver, Colorado, who shared anti-vaccine content on Facebook has died of COVID. Daniel “Duke” Trujillo, 33, died on Wednesday evening from COVID complications, the Denver Sheriff Department said on Thursday. Trujillo was a former Marine who served as a deputy sheriff for 7 years and had recently been appointed vice-president of the Denver Sheriff …

Mediaite reports: Looking for love but avoiding the vaccine (and everyone who got the shot)? There’s an app for that. The company, created by two mothers in Hawaii, claims to “believe in true science” and “the scientific method,” yet also states that the app allows unvaccinated people to avoid exposure to those who have been vaccinated. “Covid19 vaccines are shedding …

Nashville’s NBC News affiliate reports: A woman who went to a COVID-19 vaccination site to protest the vaccine was arrested after she drove her car through the vaccination site at a high rate of speed, according to court documents. Deputies arrested Virginia C. Brown, 36, of Greenback, TN, on Monday morning after she drove through a vaccination center set up …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. government officials monitoring the airways say they won’t tolerate passengers who refuse to don masks as airline travel surges ahead of the summer season. A recent spike in unruly passenger reports, many of them involving people refusing to cover their faces, prompted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to issue a stern warning to travelers. …