New York State Supreme Court Issues Final Blow to Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers
The pandemic is over. The Biden administration was forced to end the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration in May. Most people threw out their masks, embraced large indoor gatherings once again, and stores finally ditched those obnoxious and ineffective Plexiglass dividers. But even in this post-pandemic era, there are still legal battles playing out across the country over vaccine mandates.
In January, New York's Supreme Court struck down the state's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers but, of course, the Empire State didn't want to let go without a fight.
Last week, however, the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Department, dismissed the state's appeal.
"The mandate is over and declared unconstitutional," Sujata Gibson, attorney for the plaintiffs, said on X.
"This was an important victory. While it does not make healthcare workers whole, it does protect us from future overreach by the executive branch," she noted, according to Children's Health Defense.
The state Supreme Court on Jan. 13 declared New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers “null, void, and of no effect,” and ruled that the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) lacked the authority to impose the mandate.
The ruling pertained to a lawsuit filed on Oct. 20, 2022, against the NYSDOH, Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul and health commissioner Mary T. Bassett, by Medical Professionals for Informed Consent — a group of medical practitioners impacted by the mandate — and additional plaintiffs, including two doctors, a nurse, a radiologic technologist and a medical laboratory specialist. Children’s Health Defense (CHD) funded the lawsuit.
On Jan. 24, the state appealed the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned the mandate. However, before the appeals court ruled, Jonathan Hitsous, attorney for the New York State Attorney General’s office, announced unexpectedly during a May hearing that the state planned to rescind the mandate.
Hitsous argued that the repeal would render the original lawsuit “moot” — meaning the rights and interests of the parties involved would no longer be at stake — and he requested that the lower court’s Jan. 13 decision striking down the mandate be vacated.
CHD and Gibson opposed the move in a joint statement, arguing that vacating the lower court’s decision would “leave open the very real possibility that this constitutional violation could happen again and ruin many more lives.”
“The law does not allow an agency to voluntarily stop an illegal activity and then claim they shouldn’t be held legally accountable,” Gibson told CHD.TV at the time.
Since then, New York formally repealed the mandate through the administrative process. In its ruling issued last week, the court held that the repeal “moots” the state’s appeal, but it declined to vacate the lower court’s decision or to take any position on it.
The vaccine mandate for healthcare workers went into effect in September 2021, which led to about 34,000 medical professionals to quit or be terminated.
Margaret Florini, a spokesperson for Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, told The Defender, "This is just the beginning."
"I think we will see many new lawsuits come about because of this historic win," Florini said. "There is still plenty of work to be done. We lost so much, not just money but relationships, marriages, friends, and homes. We cannot forget what was done to us and we must continue to shed light on it and make impactful changes that will truly prevent this from happening again."
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Beware the COVID Cranks
Dr. Anthony Fauci is back in the news as the media hype a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Asked earlier last month by CNN’s Michael Smerconish if people should begin wearing masks again, he said, "I hope they would abide by the recommendation and take into account the risks to themselves and to their families. We are not talking about forcing anybody to do anything." Fauci, of course, backed a national mask mandate in 2020.
But that’s the least of the COVID contradictions from Fauci and others. Put aside the obfuscations of the origin of the virus (smearing proponents of the Wuhan “lab-leak” as conspiracy theorists.) Our public health bureaucracy has made so many misleading and confusing pronouncements, and FGI has uncovered such inconvenient facts through FOIA requests, that the public should take any new dictates with a truckload of salt.
Prior to COVID, the only randomized control trial (RCT) of cloth mask efficacy was performed in the context of SARS virus. Considered to be the “gold standard” for drawing scientific conclusions, the RCT study found that cloth mask “filtration was extremely poor (almost 0%).” So, when COVID hit, the information with the highest integrity indicated cloth masks were virtually useless as a filter for airborne SARS virus. Perhaps Fauci was thinking of this study when he initially said there was no need for masks.
By October 2020, Fauci was a mask-believer, and working on a paper for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that praised mask efficacy when The Federalist published an article that cited the findings of a CDC study completed the month before. Masks and face coverings, the CDC concluded, were ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The records obtained by FGI showed that Fauci was aware of both the article and the CDC study while working on his JAMA paper, as a co-author sent them to him the day the article was published. Fauci’s response: “Not good for our paper.”
In another email she stated, “I would not tell people that the cloth masks we are all wearing provide PERSONAL PROTECTION against acquisition of the virus-they may to some degree, but I have never seen convincing data on this.”
Shortly thereafter, Fauci’s JAMA paper was published without reference to the inconvenient studies, instead relying on an already discredited mask study. When another scientist pointed out the blunder, Fauci told his assistant to make a note of it but not to take any action to correct it.
It wasn’t just Fauci. Early in the pandemic, the CDC and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) created the COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network website purporting to share “accurate, timely information about COVID-19.” In November 2021, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, penned an official letter with several colleagues to the medical editor of the website, pointing out that both the site and the CDC’s guidance on masks currently contained incorrect, harmful advice for the American public.
Osterholm warned that the flawed information would “not only damage the credibility of science and endanger public trust by misrepresenting the evidence, but also provide false expectations in terms of respiratory protection to the public.” Officials should “reconsider [their] statements about the efficacy of masks and face coverings for preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2.” Osterholm identified a pattern of cherry-picking studies based on their alignment with the administration’s policy agenda, saying, “Studies that do not support its perspective are similarly downplayed.”
Osterholm was ignored and CDC doubled down on claims that “any mask is better than no mask.”
Unfortunately, the dysfunction doesn’t end with masks. In November 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted, “One shot, once a year—that’s all most people will need to stay protected from COVID year-long.” The next day, HHS Secretary Becerra tweeted, “An updated COVID vaccine can help protect you from the worst outcomes of COVID. If it’s been over 2 months since your last dose, make a plan to get one now.” Becerra repeated his two-month recommendation the following day in another tweet.
Upon seeing the tweets, FGI made a FOIA request for documentation of the scientific reasoning supporting Becerra’s prescription for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots every two months. By law, the government is given 20 business days to respond to a FOIA, yet it took eight months and a lawsuit for the HHS to confirm that there was no medical evidence for six shots per year nor were there any documents or communications explaining the origin of the Secretary’s public health pronouncement.
We can hope COVID-19 as a public health issue and the government dysfunction that came with it will continue to fade into memory. Our public health bureaucracy didn’t exactly cover itself in glory while it was trying to cover our faces – and its posterior.
https://townhall.com/columnists/petemcginnis/2023/10/10/beware-the-covid-cranks-n2629584
*******************************************************Italian Study Claims Neanderthal Genes Are Linked to Long Covid
The cause of Long Covid has been the source of ongoing speculation. Studies have pointed to a dysfunction in the immune system and another points Covid-19 latching onto the ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) receptor, which acts as the doorway through which the virus infects cells. The depletion of ACE2 is central to the neuromuscular complications experienced by a significant percentage of Covid-19 patients. There may be at least 6 million people worldwide suffering from Long Covid and the prolonged disease also has advocacy groups. Now, a recent study out of Italy indicates the reason some people are infected with Long Covid is because of ancient genes.
Neanderthal Genes
A recent study from Milan, Italy and carried out in the Northern Italian city of Bergamo, suggests genes inherited from Neanderthals, extinct cousins of modern humans, could help explain why some people developed life-threatening forms of Long Covid while others didn’t. The Northern Italian city was hit very hard by the Covid pandemic, and Bergarmo suffered one of the highest death rates of the pandemic. The high number of infections provided scientists with data for the study, though the research doesn’t address why so many people died there compared with other parts of Italy or Europe.
The researchers were led by Giuseppe Remuzi. They found genes passed down from Neanderthals may confer higher risk from Covid-19. Remuzi is with the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. This research was done on behalf of WHO’s ORIGIN study group.
The study was a genome wide associate study (GWAS). The researchers studied a sample of nearly 10,000 people in the Bergamo area, identified several genes associated with the development of severe respiratory illness. Three of those genes belonged to a group of variations in DNA, or haplotype, inherited from Neanderthals. The study found that people who carry the Neanderthal haplotype were twice as likely to develop severe pneumonia from a Covid infection than those who didn’t, and three times as likely to be hospitalized in intensive care units and put on ventilators.
What is not known is whether the haplotype is more common in the Bergamo region than in other Italian or European regions. Epidemiologists still don’t know why parts of northern Italy suffered such high death tolls, especially early in the pandemic. Scientists have suggested factors could have included age, air pollution and that the virus hit the region early in the pandemic and spread undetected.
Study Shows Risk for Some
“This study shows there is a particular section of the human genome that is significantly associated with the risk of getting Covid-19 and of developing a severe form of it,” says Remuzzi. “That section is more important than any others to explain why some fall seriously ill.” Remuzzi added in Bergamo 33% of those who developed life-threatening forms of Covid had the Neanderthal haplotype.
About 2% of the genomes of people of European or Asian ancestry is inherited from Neanderthals, and they have been linked to modern humans’ susceptibility to a variety of diseases. The study adds to a growing body of research which indicates that a cluster of Neanderthal genes increases the likelihood of developing severe forms of Covid-19. Bergamo was an early epicenter of the pandemic. As pointed out, a notable feature of Bergamo is that its population is relatively homogeneous. Perhaps this study provides the answer as to why Covid was so prevalent in the Northern Italian city.
13 October, 2023
CDC Data Reveals Status of COVID-19 Hospitalizations Across US
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted updated data showing that COVID-19 hospital admissions are continuing to decline across the United States after it showed an uptick in cases over the summer.
As of the week ending Sept. 30, hospitalizations are down by 6 percent, emergency department visits are down by 14.5 percent, and cases are down by 1.2 percent, according to the CDC. Deaths are up by 3.8 percent, but health officials have long said that deaths usually lag behind hospitalizations and case numbers.
For several weeks now, hospital admissions have been declining on a weekly basis. In July, COVID-19 hospitalizations, however, had been on the rise—although CDC historical data suggest that they were relatively low compared with previous years.
The EG.5 variant, which has been dubbed Eris, has accounted for about 24.5 percent of all COVID-19 cases, according to the federal health agency's variant tracker. FL.1.5.1, known as Fornax, is estimated to be responsible for about 13.7 percent of infections, the CDC figures show.
During the late summer and during a rise in hospitalizations, some health officials suggested that it doesn’t appear to be as bad as previous increases of the virus.
“Looking at that graph [of] hospitalizations, even though it’s on an upward trend, that’s still lower than it was last year at this time,” Dr. John Segreti, an epidemiologist and the medical director of infection control and prevention at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, told ABC News at the time. “The fact that the numbers are going up fairly slowly, I think is a good sign.”
Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, said that the recent “upswing is not a surge; it’s not even a wave.” The doctor added: “What we’re seeing is a very gradual and small upward trajectory of cases and hospitalizations, without deaths really going along, which is great news."
'Public Health Threat'
Despite the drop in hospitalizations over multiple consecutive weeks, the CDC issued a report on Oct. 6 saying that COVID-19 remains a "public health threat" for older Americans and called on people again to get the updated COVID-19 booster vaccine. Older adults, it said, make up the majority of hospitalizations across the United States in recent days, although that has been consistent with historical trends.
In mid-July, around seven out of every 100,000 people aged 65 and older were hospitalized with COVID-19, said the CDC. But by mid-August, according to the agency, 16.4 per 100,000 adults aged 65 and older were hospitalized with the viral infection.
Overall, from January to August 2023, adults aged 65 years and older "accounted for 62.9 percent of all COVID-19–associated hospitalizations," it said before suggesting that older people get the "recommended COVID-19 bivalent vaccine."
Other than getting the vaccine, they should also adopt "measures to reduce risk for contracting COVID-19" and receive "prompt outpatient antiviral treatment after a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result," it added.
The second highest hospitalization rate was among individuals aged 50 to 64 at around one out of 100,000, it said.
Since the original COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out several years ago, uptake of the booster shots has consistently dropped. After the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed off on the latest vaccines, data from the Department of Health and Human Services show that just 1 percent of all Americans opted to get the shot in September.
However, six medical journals rejected a key paper on COVID-19 vaccines and heart inflammation, a condition the vaccines cause, according to documents reviewed by The Epoch Times. The CDC's journal, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, was among those that rejected the paper, which estimated that COVID-19 hospitalizations would be prevented than cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, caused.
Another report from The Epoch Times, published Wednesday, revealed the FDA received results from two studies of subclinical heart inflammation following Moderna COVID-19 vaccination, but won't release them to the public—for now.
Some hospitals since August have started implementing mask mandates—at least for staff—claiming a rise in COVID-19 and other respiratory infections like RSV or influenza.
Notably, several Northern California counties issued a rule mandating masks be worn by all health care staff starting Nov. 1 and lasting until April 30, 2024. Contra Costa, Sonoma, Alameda, and San Mateo counties in September mandated masking regardless of vaccination status for hospitals and other care facilities, starting Nov. 1 and ending April 30, 2024.
California's San Luis Obispo County issued a similar mandate several days ago, requiring staffers to either wear a mask or get the vaccine.
Several hospitals in upstate New York, Massachusetts, and California also implemented a mandate in recent weeks, while at least one school in Maryland made masks mandatory for one kindergarten class. As for vaccine mandates, several dozen U.S. universities and colleges still have them intact, according to a recent report.
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The VA Is Rejecting Disability Claims for COVID Vaccine Injuries and Senators Want to Know Why
After forcing U.S. service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or be released from the military, the Biden administration is refusing to provide disability status for soldiers injured by the jab. A number of Republican Senators are demanding to know why.
"We write for clarification on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy for veterans who have injuries resulting from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine while in service. As you are aware, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) required all service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Many service members, despite hesitations against receiving the vaccine, chose to be vaccinated to continue their service to our country," Senators Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, Tom Cotton, Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, and Steve Daines wrote in a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough.
"Thousands of service members were discharged from service as a result of refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Yet, some U.S. service members received the vaccine to maintain their service and have since experienced lasting health impacts as a result," they continued. "If our government is asking service members to receive a vaccine, we must be cognizant that there will be unintended side effects that may cause lifelong impacts on their health. We must keep our promise to support our service members, including ensuring those who come to the VA for help with COVID-19 vaccine injuries are justly compensated and receive the care that they deserve."
The Senators also pointed out that the department has provided disability for injuries from vaccines for years but isn't doing so for the COVID-19 shot.
"For years, the VA has evaluated the health effects of certain vaccinations that veterans received during their service, and have expressed concern with certain health impacts arising from these vaccinations," they wrote. "The agency has also provided several resources to veterans seeking the COVID-19 vaccination, but no clear information about how to support members who are injured as a result of the vaccine. Given the high rate of service members who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 under DoD’s mandate, we request information as to how the VA is considering vaccine-related injuries in determining VA benefits and disability claims."
The Senators are seeking information from McDonough about how the department is handling claims.
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http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
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