Weekly Round Up - Stories you might have missed!
Whatever happened to Pfizer's covid vaccine trial in pregnant women?, Birth Rates Plunge in Heavily Vaccinated Countries, Columbia To End Vaccine Mandate In May, and more!
NEWS
EXCLUSIVE: Whatever happened to Pfizer's covid vaccine trial in pregnant women?
When covid-19 vaccines were granted emergency authorization in Dec 2020, there was consternation over whether pregnant women should be vaccinated.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women were excluded from the original Pfizer and Moderna phase III clinical trials, so any recommendation to vaccinate them was a gamble.
The world was dealing with a novel vaccine technology, tested under ‘warp speed’ conditions, and no long-term safety data to speak of.
For this reason, the WHO did not widely recommend the covid-19 vaccine during pregnancy because of insufficient safety data. But not everyone agreed.
In January 2021, soon after the vaccine roll-out commenced, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its website saying that the mRNA vaccines were “unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant.”
NEWS
Hard Evidence in New Study: Brain, Heart Damage Caused by mRNA Vaccine
Scientists in Germany have found that mRNA vaccination, not COVID-19 infection itself, caused brain and heart damage in an older adult with underlying conditions.
This study was published in October 2022 in the journal Vaccines: “A Case Report: Multifocal Necrotizing Encephalitis and Myocarditis after BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination against COVID-19.” It examined the situation of a 76-year-old German man with Parkinson’s disease.
The patient died three weeks after receiving his third COVID-19 injection.
The first vaccine he received in May of 2021 was the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. That was followed by two more injections in July and then December of the same year. His two subsequent vaccines were both made by Pfizer.
NEWS
Elon Musk Appears to Suggest He Has Information Proving the Entire COVID Pandemic Response Was a Scam
On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk appeared to suggest that he had information that would prove the entire COVID pandemic response was a scam.
Over the past several months, Musk has released the ‘Twitter Files,’ showing widespread government collusion with the tech giant. He has also teased upcoming Fauci Files which have been delayed due to a ‘key researcher.’
While responding to a tweet, Musk appeared to suggest that he had bombshell information.
“When will everybody admit the whole Covid-19 ‘pandemic’ response was a scam?” popular influencer Zuby asked on Twitter.
“It’s coming,” Musk replied.
NEWS
COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in US Cities Did Not Reduce Viral Spread, Deaths: Study
COVID-19 vaccine mandates implemented by city administrations across the United States did little to restrict the spread of infection and ended up negatively affecting unvaccinated individuals and businesses, according to latest research by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
The study, “Indoor Vaccine Mandates in US Cities, Vaccination Behavior, and COVID-19 Outcomes,” questioned the efficacy of vaccine mandates imposed in the nine cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and the District of Columbia.
Mandates imposed by the cities were “arguably among the most restrictive and polarizing regulations ever enacted in the United States,” according to the study report.
HEALTH VIEWPOINTS
Birth Rates Plunge in Heavily Vaccinated Countries
In many countries, births dropped sharply nine months after peak COVID vaccine uptake. Let’s look at how this happens. And will these populations recover?
Vital Statistics–Hidden Data
Since the beginning of COVID, vital statistics as reported by governments around the world, are hard to come by. Spotty availability hinders analysis and understanding.
For example, even today in the United States, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, and Washington are four of the states that, as of this writing, have not updated births data since 2019 [1] and 2020. [2] [3] [4]
NEWS
Columbia To End Vaccine Mandate In May
In an email sent out Thursday morning, Columbia notified the community of a future shift in University COVID-19 policy which will end the vaccine mandate and no longer require affiliates to report positive test results to the University.
Columbia has announced a substantial change in its COVID-19 policy to go into effect as of May 11, according to an email sent by Provost Mary Boyce this morning. The full text of the email can be found below.
Among the most significant of the changes is the decision to end the vaccine mandate for students and staff. Starting May 11, University affiliates will no longer be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or to submit proof of vaccination if they are already vaccinated. The University will no longer use the ReOpen CU app to allow CUID access to University buildings on the basis of vaccination status.
NEWS
Google Expands Campaign to ‘Inoculate’ People Against ‘Misinformation,’ But Critics Say It’s All About Money
Google said last week it plans to expand its campaign to “inoculate” people against misinformation, but critics called out the tech giant for promoting government and corporate interests.
Google said last week it plans to expand into Germany its campaign to “inoculate” people against misinformation — as if it were a virus — after seeing “promising results” in Eastern Europe.
The campaign is based on an approach called “prebunking” designed to teach people how to spot false claims before encountering them, thereby “inoculating” them against the “disease” of misinformation “like a vaccine does” against a physical disease, Euronews reported.
The tech giant will release a series of short videos that highlight techniques — such as fear-mongering, scapegoating, false comparisons, exaggeration and missing context — that are commonly used to promote misleading claims.
NEWS
Why America needs a COVID truth commission
When America faced the national tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding in 1986, Congress created a commission with independent outside experts, including the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. His iconic demonstration of a faulty O-ring made brittle in the cold as the cause of the Challenger disaster led to fundamental reforms at NASA.
The American people deserve a similar bipartisan, scientifically minded COVID-19 commission so the public-health disaster of the past three years is not repeated.
NEWS
Congress Prepares to Investigate COVID-19 Vaccines
Members of Congress are preparing to probe COVID-19 vaccine development and other issues related to the shots.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is planning to investigate how possible side effects are being studied, the regulatory process of authorizing and approving the vaccines, and why the vaccines were mandated, members told The Epoch Times.
One goal of the committee is making sure the United States is prepared for future pandemics, “and that includes perfecting our vaccine development,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) told The Epoch Times via email. “In order to do so, we must have complete transparency in vaccine research, clinical trials and adverse reactions, and manufacturing.”
NEWS
Idaho Lawmakers Seek to Criminalize Giving mRNA Vaccines
Republican lawmakers from Idaho have proposed a measure that would make it a misdemeanor in the state to administer mRNA vaccines.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person may not provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state,” according to House Bill 154 (pdf), which was introduced by state Sen. Tammy Nichols and Rep. Judy Boyle on Feb. 15. “A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
In Idaho, conviction on a misdemeanor offense is punishable by jail time or a fine.
While promoting the bill before the state House’s Health and Welfare Committee committee, Nichols pointed out that there have been “more and more concerns rising” about mRNA vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines.
