COVID-19 Vaccine | The Georgia Star News

Operation Warp Speed Official Questions COVID Vaccine Purity, Worries ‘They May Ingrate’ into DNA

November 22, 2024 Just the News

COVID-19 vaccine supporters are fond of sneering at public figures who have called for the Food and Drug Administration to pull or at least re-evaluate the safety of the increasingly unpopular therapeutics, such as Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cardiologist Peter McCullough and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.

They might have a harder time caricaturing a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director who ran the agency when COVID vaccines were being developed, promoted vaccination and repeat boosting as recently as 2022 and promoted cloth face masks as “one of the most powerful weapons we have” against COVID, before vaccines were available.

Commentary: A Soldier’s Battle with COVID Vaccine Injury

October 14, 2024 Admin

Shannon Safford wanted to serve her country as a member of the United States Army, but in order to do so, she was required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine that would ultimately end her active service.

She received the shot on deployment to Kuwait and began developing strange symptoms: She had menstrual issues, digestive problems, an odd zapping sensation like a shock, numbness, muscles twitches, and extreme fatigue. All this was the more strange because prior to receiving the shot, Shannon had been in the best shape of her life, playing volleyball and doing CrossFit.

Another Complaint Adds to Mounting Evidence of FBI’s Political Bias and Whistleblower Retaliation

July 4, 2024July 3, 2024 Just the News

Evidence is mounting that the FBI—the country’s premier law enforcement agency—has resorted to basing decisions to suspend or revoke security clearances on FBI employees’ political views.

The evidence, which suggests political motivations in how the bureau has treated several of its own workers, has surfaced through whistleblower complaints recently filed internally and with the Justice Department’s watchdog.

Feds Try to Delay Release of Non-Public COVID Vaccine Safety Data Until at Least 2026

June 21, 2024 Just the News

The Biden administration is seeking to delay until at least 2026 the release of COVID-19 vaccine safety data that has been kept outside the government’s normal adverse events reporting system.

The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton this week to issue an 18-month stay that keeps them from having to release the Food and Drug Administration’s data to Just the News under the Freedom of Information Act.

AstraZeneca Admits in Court Documents That COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cause Serious Rare Side Effect

May 5, 2024 Just the News

British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca admitted in court documents for the first time that its COVID-19 vaccine could cause a rare blood-clotting side effect.

The company is facing accusations that its vaccine contributed to the deaths or impairments of more than 50 people in the United Kingdom whose family are suing the pharmaceutical company. One claimant named Jamie Scott alleged the vaccine caused a permanent brain injury after a blood clot traveled to his brain. Scott claims he can no longer work because of the injury.

FDA Threatens Endangered Species with Shoddy Abortion-Drug Reviews: Lance Armstrong Investigator

March 3, 2024 Just the News

Federal public health officials created strange bedfellows among animal-welfare advocates, scientists and vaccine skeptics for allegedly cutting corners in viral and COVID-19 vaccine research and oversight, possibly engineering a pathogen, then a cure that’s worse for some.

The Food and Drug Administration may be creating another odd couple in a case at the Supreme Court: environmental and pro-life activists.

Just the News Sues Biden Administration to Force Disclosure of COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Data

March 1, 2024 Just the News

Just the News on Thursday sued the Biden administration in federal court seeking to force the disclosure of COVID-19 safety data that is being kept outside the government’s normal adverse events reporting system

In the lawsuit filed in partnership with the America First Legal public interest law firm, Just the News asked the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to order the Department of Health and Human Services to comply with two Freedom of Information Act requests to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seeking COVID-19 reactions data kept in a back-end, nonpublic system to the nation’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Pfizer for Misrepresenting Efficacy of the COVID-19 Jabs and Conspiring to Censor Public Discourse

December 2, 2023December 1, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that he is suing Pfizer for “unlawfully misrepresenting” Covid-19 vaccine efficacy and conspiring to censor public discourse.

“Pfizer engaged in false, deceptive, and misleading acts and practices by making unsupported claims regarding the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act,” Paxton said in a press release.

Air Force Begs Troops Booted over COVID-19 Vax to Come Back

November 25, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

The U.S. Air Force sent out a letter telling an airman booted from the service over the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate of an opportunity to rejoin the service, mirroring similar letters sent to former Army service members, according to a copy of one Air Force letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A former Air Force service member who was separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine received the letter Sunday addressed with the recipient’s name, according to a source familiar with the matter. The letter tells former airmen they can request to have their service records amended to show that they received honorable discharges and seek reentry into the service amidst the service’s failure to meet recruiting goals.

DOD ‘Bait and Switch’ with Emergency and Licensed COVID Vaccines Killed Student, Lawsuit Alleges

June 6, 2023 Just the News

The Pentagon conducted “human experimentation without consent” by falsely advertising a COVID-19 vaccine under emergency use authorization as fully licensed, a “bait and switch” that killed a college student, according to a new lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin by the student’s estate.

George Watts was waiting for FDA approval of Pfizer’s Comirnaty to fulfill the COVID vaccine mandate at New York’s Corning Community College, which provided a 35-day grace period for compliance following Comirnaty’s Aug. 23, 2021, approval, the filing states.

Commentary: An OB/GYN’s Perspective on the COVID-19 Vaccine

June 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

Dr. Kimberly Biss is an exception to the rule of self-interested medical professionals’ ignoring COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions. The Florida-based OB/GYN is one of very few doctors of her type across the nation who are speaking out against the COVID-19 vaccines. And in her professional experience, she’s seen how harmful these vaccines can be, especially on fertility rates.

Since the rollout of the vaccine, Dr. Biss has seen a dramatic increase in miscarriages in the pregnant women she interacts with in her practice.

Moderna Under Fire as CEO Earned Nearly $400 Million in Stock Options and a 50 Percent Raise Last Year

May 1, 2023 Just the News

Moderna is under fire after financial records showed the biotech company’s CEO Stephane Bancel earned around $393 million in 2022 from stock options he exercised as he received a 50% raise.

Bancel, whose firm is known for producing the COVID-19 vaccine, received $1.5 million in 2022, an increase of 50% from 2021, and Moderna increased his target cash bonus, a March securities and exchange commission filing shows.

ABC News Cuts RFK Jr’s COVID-19 Vaccine Remarks from Interview

April 30, 2023 Just the News

ABC News removed large sections of its interview with Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during which he made critical comments about COVID-19 vaccines.

Kennedy spoke with the outlet’s Linsey Davis in an interview published this week. The release of that interview did not include his remarks on vaccines.

Pfizer, Fauci Staffers Sign Off on Research Finding mRNA COVID Vaccines Produce Worse Antibodies

January 19, 2023January 18, 2023 Just the News

Less than a month after the CDC marked the two-year anniversary of the first administered COVID-19 vaccine by telling Americans to get a bivalent booster, two peer-reviewed German studies have found that mRNA vaccines — the vast majority of the U.S. market — induce worse antibodies compared to traditional adenovirus vaccines. The first paper, published in Science Immunology Dec. 22, focused on mRNA boosters, while the second, published in Frontiers in Immunology Jan. 12, found the same association with the two-dose primary series.

‘The Real Anthony Fauci’ Documentary Set to Debut October 18

October 15, 2022October 14, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

A documentary about Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s COVID-19 lockdowns, mandates, and restrictions, is set to debut in only a few days.

“The Real Anthony Fauci, the latest film from documentary filmmaker Jeff Hays exposes the motivations behind “America’s Doctor” to issue unquestioned edicts that upended everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to a press release. “Fauci has drawn criticism from a number of fronts. The film is based on the runaway bestselling book The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.”

Military Whistleblower Report Alleges COVID-19 Vaccine Illegally Administered

August 28, 2022August 27, 2022 The Center Square

A new whistleblower report signed by nine officers across five branches of the military claims the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unlawful.

The report was sent to Congress urging an investigation into what it called illegal and fraudulent activity by the DOD. The memorandum was published by Liberty Council, a nonprofit legal group that in January maintained there was no legal COVID-19 vaccine available despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration saying there was.

Gov. Lee Orders COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Tennessee State Guard Despite Force’s Non-Federal Funding and Role

June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, investigated how the Tennessee State Guard, a state-funded and state-directed all-volunteer force without a federal role or federal funding is handling the Army’s June 30, 2022, deadline for 100 percent COVID-19 vaccine mandate compliance.

Publix Announces It Will Not Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine to Children

June 27, 2022June 26, 2022 Admin

The grocery store chain Publix has announced that it will not be distributing COVID-19 vaccines to children under the age of five at any of its pharmacies, despite the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) demanding that children get the vaccine.

The Daily Caller reports that the chain, which is based in Florida, declined to explain the reasoning behind its decision for the time being. Publix is one of the largest grocery store chains in the United States, and its decision against distributing the vaccine stands in contrast to its competitors such as Walmart, who have already bent to the will of the CDC on vaccine distribution.

CDC: U.S. Has Thrown Away 82 Million COVID-19 Vaccines

June 12, 2022June 11, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

Over 82 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been wasted since the start of the pandemic, including roughly 11% distributed by the federal government, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Delta Responds to Pilots Who Protested Long Work Hours, Fatigue

March 12, 2022March 11, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Georgia-based Delta responded Friday after a Thursday protest by 200 of its pilots who say they are working too many hours and suffering from fatigue.

“This informational exercise Thursday by some of our off-duty pilots did not disrupt our operation for our customers. All of our pilot schedules meet or exceed safety requirements set by FAA as well as those outlined in our pilot contract,” Delta spokesperson Morgan Durant told The Georgia Star News by email.

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Converts to DNA Inside Human Liver Cells, New Study

March 5, 2022March 4, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

The messenger RNA from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine reportedly can enter human liver cells and be converted into DNA, contrary to what the CDC has said.

CDC Admits Natural Immunity Better Than Vaccines, While Hyping Perils for Unvaxed Kids

February 7, 2022February 6, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

Natural immunity from COVID-19 is broad and durable. The lowest risk group for COVID complications should get vaccines — and boosters, for those authorized — regardless of their health.

These statements came out of the CDC two days apart, illustrating the agency’s mixed messaging as ongoing research fails to show a meaningful effect on viral transmission from COVID interventions, especially in children.

U.S. Army to Begin Discharging Unvaccinated Servicemembers

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

On Wednesday, the United States Army announced that it will begin the process of discharging any soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine effective immediately.

As reported by ABC News, the Army is the last branch of the United States military to fully discharge those who do not comply with the strict vaccine mandates; the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have already discharged all personnel who refuse the vaccines, from active-duty members to entry-level members at boot camps.

California Law Would Let Kids 12 and Older Be Vaccinated Without Parental Consent

January 24, 2022January 23, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

California state senators have introduced a bill to allow children 12 and older to receive vaccinations against diseases like COVID-19 without parental consent.

State Sens. Scott Wiener and Richard Pan on Thursday introduced SB 866, which clarifies eligible vaccines as those that are “approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration” and meet “the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Bill Gates Disappointed with Efficacy of COVID Vaccine He Funded, Predicts ‘Yearly Shots’

January 15, 2022January 14, 2022 Georgia Star News Staff

COVID-19 vaccines allow breakthrough infections. Their duration “appears to be limited.”

On top of that, wealthy countries caused harm by bidding up vaccine prices to hoard the “limited supply” available last year.

CDC: About 75 Percent of Omicron Cases Are Fully Vaccinated People

December 11, 2021December 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The Omicron variant has been detected in at least 19 states in the U.S., and is striking mainly fully vaccinated people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Forty-three people in 19 states have tested positive for omicron, according to remarks made to the Associated Press by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75 percent of those cases are in people who are fully vaccinated, and one person has been hospitalized. One-third of those individuals had traveled internationally; one-third had received a booster. The cases so far have been “mild,” she said.”

Commentary: Global Access to Effective Coronavirus Treatments Is Important as the Vaccine

December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 Admin

While the science community researches the newly discovered Omicron variant of Covid-19, treatments will become even more necessary where breakthrough cases are detected and those who choose to be unvaccinated are infected. What we already know from the Covid-19 variants is that they are not going away leading to the reality that we will be living with this virus for a long, long time. A vaccine focused approach misses the fact that treatments are going to be needed as a backstop.

The facts surrounding the Omicron variant are emerging day-by-day. CNN reported on November 30, 2021, “there is still a lot we don’t know about the Omicron variant, but scientists are racing to determine its severity, transmissibility and whether it evades current vaccines.” The report indicates that 70 countries have imposed travel restrictions from hot zones in Africa and a growing number of countries outside of Africa are reporting cases. Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, worries that the new variant may have an impact on vaccine efficacy while Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, said that the company is working on an updated vaccine if one is needed. The bottom line is that vaccines have proven to be helpful, yet the Covid-19 pandemic must be fought with vaccines and therapeutics.

Georgia Healthcare Workers Shortage Reaches ‘Crisis’ Levels After Vaccine Mandate

December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Georgia’s nursing and healthcare staffer shortages have reached “crisis” levels after hospital networks in the state mandated that employees take the COVID-19 vaccine during the summer.

Many news outlets and healthcare executives are blaming stress and long hours for the shortages, claiming that healthcare staffers are leaving their jobs because they are overworked.

CDC Says Five-Year-Olds Will Still Need to Wear Masks After Vaccine Is Approved for Kids

October 22, 2021October 21, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Blonde child wearing hair up, holding journal and wearing a mask

Students as young as five years old may still need to wear masks in school after the COVID-19 vaccine is approved for children ages 5-11, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said in a White House briefing Wednesday. Walensky did not discuss if or when children would not be required to wear masks in school.

“After we have authorization from (the Food and Drug Administration) and recommendations from the CDC, we will be working to scale up pediatric vaccination. That said, it will take some time … as we head into these winter months, we know we cannot be complacent,” Walensky stated.

Biden Announces COVID Vaccine Rollout for Children as Young as Five

October 17, 2021October 16, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Joe Biden delivered a short speech from the administration’s fake White House set, Thursday, urging all Americans, including children as young as five, to get vaccinated. Biden claimed that the administration’s draconian vaccine mandates are working, and boasted that the seasonal decline in COVID cases is due to his policies.

Biden stressed that there is still more work to do to get the remaining 66 million American holdouts injected with the experimental jabs.

Commentary: Stanford Epidemiologist Says COVID Vaccination Is Primarily a Matter of Personal Health, Not Public Health

October 14, 2021October 13, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

As one-size-fits-all COVID vaccine mandates sweep government, academia, and corporate America, new data are emerging that undermine the public health justifications for these policies. Studies from multiple countries now indicate that vaccination alone is less effective than the acquired immunity many already possess and unable to prevent transmission in the medium-to-long term.

Since the pandemic began, more than 100 million Americans have recovered from the virus. Many are workers deemed “essential” just last year. While the government paid others to sit at home, essential workers were required to continue working, exposing themselves to the coronavirus in a pre-vaccine world.

REPORT: Training Urged New Jersey Teachers to Track Conversations with Parents, Students Regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine

October 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Group of adults sitting at a conference room table

New Jersey teachers said they were instructed during a teachers union training to log conversations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine with parents and students, Fox News reported.

The training provided by Made to Save, a vaccine “equity” nonprofit, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) directed instructors to “follow up and track” conversations with parents and teachers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, Fox News reported. They were told to log their conversations into the Democrat campaign app, “Reach,” and were incentivized with gift cards to be active users.

Campaign operative Jake DeGroot devised Reach, which New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez utilized in her 2018 campaign, Fox News reported.

CDC Says It Is ‘Urgent’ for ‘Pregnant People’ to Get Vaccinated

October 1, 2021September 30, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that they strongly recommend pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended “urgent action” Wednesday for “people who are pregnant, recently pregnant … who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future” as 125,000 COVID-19 cases reported among pregnant women have resulted in 22,000 hospitalizations and 161 deaths.

Poll: Majority of Americans Believe Those Refusing Vaccine Should Not Lose Job

October 1, 2021September 30, 2021 The Center Square

New polling on President Joe Biden’s federal vaccine mandate shows the majority of Americans do not think unvaccinated workers should lose their jobs.

Convention of States Action released the poll Wednesday, which reports that 65% of surveyed voters “do not believe Americans should lose their jobs if they object to taking the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Orlando Magic Player Rips Mainstream Press After Being Dubbed ‘Anti-Vax’

September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac this week responded to criticism he received in Rolling Stone for his personal decision not to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The article, called “The NBA’s Anti-Vaxxers Are Trying to Push Around the League — And It’s Working,” chastised the 23-year-old basketball pro, who has had COVID-19, and recovered from the virus.

Amazon Is Awarding Cars and Cash Prizes to Warehouse, Retail Workers Who Get Vaccinated

September 23, 2021September 23, 2021 Admin

Amazon is handing out cash prizes and vehicles to its workers that receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of a push to vaccinate more of its frontline employees.

The company announced on one of its Instagram pages Monday that five employees were awarded cars worth up to $40,000 dollars as winners of a vaccine sweepstakes.

Georgia Doctor Recommends COVID Vaccine, But Not Boosters

September 18, 2021September 17, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

One Georgia doctor is taking a common sense approach to COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, which could be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a matter of days.

Dr. Cecil Bennett of Newnan Family Medicine in Newnan, Georgia, says he recommends that all of his patients take the COVID-19 vaccine. He will not, however, recommend booster shots for patients who have taken the vaccine and still have immunity from the virus, unless they are immunocompromised.

Nicki Minaj and Juanita Broaddrick Suspended from Twitter for Voicing Concerns About COVID Vaccines

September 18, 2021September 17, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Two famous individuals from opposite sides of the political divide— Nicki Minaj and Juanita Broaddrick—were suspended from Twitter in the past 24 hours for voicing their concerns about the experimental COVID vaccines, or as Twitter put it, spreading “vaccine disinformation.”

Minaj addressed her 157,000,000 followers on Instagram Live on Wednesday, warning in a powerful speech that the COVID Cancel Culture is turning America into a country like China.

Los Angeles Becomes First Major School District to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines for Children

September 11, 2021September 10, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The Los Angeles public schools opened last month with some of the strictest coronavirus control measures in the country. Students and staff are required to wear masks inside and outside, participate in weekly virus testing, and obey social distancing protocols. District staff are also required to get the COVID-19 shot, and now all Los Angeles public school students ages 12 and over are forced to get the vaccine.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles school board voted to pass the student vaccine mandate, with one board member stating: “So I do not see this as your choice or my choice or about my great nieces and nephews and grandchildren or your children. I see this as a community necessity to protect the children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated.”

Los Angeles public school students have until the end of the calendar year to get fully vaccinated, unless they participate in extracurricular activities which requires full vaccination by October 31st. If they don’t comply, students will be pushed into a district-run online learning program. In 2015, California eliminated its religious vaccine exemption and now only recognizes medical exemptions for schoolchildren.

President Biden Announces New COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements

September 10, 2021September 9, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

President Joe Biden announced in an address to the nation on Thursday that his administration will implement stricter COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

The new mandate will use the Department of Labor to require all employers with over 100 workers to have them vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19, which affects about 80 million Americans, Biden said. Those employers will also be required to provide paid time off to get vaccinated.

Arizona Attorney General Says Tucson Vaccine Mandate Violates State Law

September 9, 2021September 8, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

A law mandating the COVID-19 vaccine among Tucson city employees is illegal, according to Arizona’s Attorney General.

“Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that his office (AGO) determined the City of Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees does violate state law for purposes of S.B. 1487, and also is in direct conflict with the Governor’s Executive Order 2021-18,” a press release from Brnovich’s office said.

Report: Top Health Officials Tell White House to Pause Vaccine Booster Plan

September 6, 2021September 5, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Top U.S. health officials told the White House pandemic coordinator on Thursday to scale back the Biden administration’s plan to administer the coronavirus booster shots to individuals in September, The New York Times reported.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey D. Zients that they need more time to collect and analyze the necessary data relating to the booster shots, The New York Times reported.

The doctors told Zients that their agencies might be able to determine whether to recommend boosters for recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the coming weeks, according to the Times.

The two doctors presented their argument to Zients at a meeting on Thursday. It is unclear how Zients responded to the news.

University of North Georgia Professors Resign in Protest Instead of Teaching in Person

August 25, 2021August 24, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Despite the fact that the school has encouraged all students to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and decided to follow the Georgia University System’s guidance on mask recommendations in indoor spaces, two professors at the University of North Georgia have resigned in protest.

They say the school is not doing enough to protect their health during the recent uptick of cases of the virus.

Fully Vaccinated Jesse Jackson Hospitalized with COVID-19

August 23, 2021August 22, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon who was an of early recipient and champion of all the coronavirus vaccine, was hospitalized Saturday with COVID-19, his organization announced.

Jackson, 79, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and his wife Jacqueline, 77, were being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said.

Biden Endorses Vaccine Requirement for Armed Services

August 11, 2021August 10, 2021 The Center Square

A new requirement from the U.S. armed forces has sparked controversy and furthered the debate over mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote a memo to Department of Defense employees Monday announcing that the COVID-19 vaccine will be added to the list of required vaccines for all service members.

Georgia Universities Drop Mask Mandates for Vaccinated Students

May 18, 2021May 17, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

The University System of Georgia announced that it plans to drop mask mandates for fully vaccinated students and employees in the Fall 2021 semester, marking a return to relative normalcy.

“Fully vaccinated individuals can resume campus classes and other activities without wearing a mask. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to continue wearing a face covering while inside campus facilities,” a press release said.

More Americans Are Living Their Lives, Leaving Masks at Home, Survey Shows

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Group of people sitting at public restaurant, eating.

A majority of Americans said for the first time in over a year that returning to their “normal” pre-pandemic lives did not pose a moderate or large health risk, an Axios/Ipsos survey shows.

The survey, released Tuesday, showed just 43% of Americans saying that returning to “normal” posed either a large or moderate risk to their health. It also shows that majorities of Americans have begun to enjoy several aspects of pre-pandemic life: 54% of Americans have eaten at a restaurant, 59% have visited family or friends and 31% have made summer plans – all in the past week alone.

The return to normalcy and the mental health benefits associated with it directly corresponds with the amount of Americans who say they have been vaccinated. Almost two-thirds of respondents say that they have received at least one shot, and 18% say that their emotional well-being has improved in the past week, which the survey notes is an all-time high during the pandemic.

Wyoming Becomes Latest State to Ban Vaccine Passports

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 The Center Square

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday issued a directive blocking state agencies from using vaccine passports.

The directive requires state agencies, boards and commissions to “provide full access to state spaces and state services, regardless of a constituent’s COVID-19 vaccination status.”

The directive also urges local governments and private businesses to align their policies and practices with the state.

“Vaccine passport programs have the potential to politicize a decision that should not be politicized,” Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement. “They would divide our citizens at a time when unity in fighting the virus is essential, and harm those who are medically unable to receive the vaccine. While I strongly encourage Wyomingites over the age of 16 to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it is a personal choice based upon personal circumstances.”

Vaccines Protect Against Multiple Variants, Additional Studies Suggest

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Doctor with mask on holding COVID-19 Vaccine

The Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are highly effective against and prevent illness from common variants of the virus, according to recently released studies.

The vaccine made by Pfizer is effective against the coronavirus variants that originated from the U.K. and South Africa, according to multiple studies released Wednesday that examined real-world vaccinations, The New York Times reported. Moderna reported that an early-stage trial suggested its vaccine is effective against the South African variant and a third variant originating from Brazil when given as a single-dose booster shot.

“At this point in time, we can confidently say that we can use this vaccine, even in the presence of circulating variants of concern,” London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine infectious disease researcher Annelies Wilder-Smith told the NYT.

Factory Mixup Ruins 15 Million Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccines

April 2, 2021April 1, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Workers at a Baltimore plant responsible for producing two separate coronavirus vaccines mistakenly mixed up their respective ingredients, ruining approximately 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and pausing all production at the plant, the company confirmed Wednesday.

The facility, run by Emergent BioSolutions, had partnered with both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca to produce vaccines. Federal officials said that the mistake was a result of human error, according to The New York Times, which first reported the mix up that reportedly occurred several weeks ago.

A quality control review “identified one batch of drug substance that did not meet quality standards at Emergent BioSolutions, a site not yet authorized to manufacture drug substance for our COVID-19 vaccine,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement. “This batch was never advanced to the filling and finishing stages of our manufacturing process.”