Chris Christy Mocks Trump: ‘He Lost to Joe Biden’ (Video)
Chris Christie takes a swing at Donald Trump’s 2020 apparent loss to Joe Biden, in an interview with “Axios on HBO.”
Federal judge temporarily blocks new Tennessee law banning mask mandates in schools
Ruling came after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight Tennessee students with disabilities claiming their rights were violated under the ADA.
A federal judge in Tennessee ruled Sunday that school districts can continue with mask mandates despite a new law banning them.
The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of eight Tennessee students with disabilities immediately after Gov. Bill Lee signed a sweeping COVID-19 bill into law.
The plaintiffs claimed their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act would be violated if school mask mandates were prevented.
The legislation Lee signed was passed during Tennessee’s recent special session on COVID-19-related issues.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville wrote Sunday that “given the alleged conflict and the possible confusion this creates for schools in Tennessee, pending an expedited hearing, the parties shall maintain the STATUS QUO as it pertains to students with disabilities and their federally guaranteed rights as of Thursday, November 11, 2021.”
A status conference has been set for 1 p.m Monday on the matter. Lee and Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn were named in the lawsuit.
Lee had issued an executive order allowing parents to opt out of school mask mandates, but that order has been blocked by judges in Shelby, Williamson and Knox counties.
The bill prevents government entities from requiring masks. Schools would need to go through an intricate process to require masks and only on a school-by-school basis, not district-wide.
A principal would need to request the action, and the state would need to have a health emergency declared along with a rolling 14-day average of 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents. In that case, a school could institute a 14-day mask mandate and would be required to provide children age 12 or older with an N95 mask, along with “age-appropriate” masks for children younger than 12.
Under the new law, a student with a disability would have to file a request with a school principal for an accommodation related to the disability.
“If the principal or president approves the request, then the school shall place the person in an in-person educational setting in which other persons who may place or otherwise locate themselves within six feet (6′) of the person receiving the reasonable accommodation for longer than fifteen (15) minutes are wearing a face covering provided by the school,” the law says.
One of the plaintiffs in the new case also was one of the original two plaintiffs in a Williamson County case where Crenshaw blocked Lee’s executive order.
21 Studies Showing Vaccine Mandates ‘Aren’t Based on Science’
“[D]ouble vaccinated persons are showing greater infection…than the unvaccinated.”
QUICK FACTS:
- Dr. Paul Alexander holds degrees in epidemiology and evidence-based medicine from the University of Toronto and Oxford, and has advised in many government programs, including for the U.S. government under the Trump administration. His peer-reviewed medical research appears in the National Library of Medicine.
- Dr. Alexander compiled a list of studies demonstrating how the experimental Covid-19 vaccine mandates “provide no overall health benefit to the community and can even be harmful,” in one of his recent publications.
- “The following research papers and studies raise doubts that COVID vaccine mandates are backed by science and good public-health practice,” he writes, adding, “Anyone seeking to challenge these mandates should carefully consult these studies, which demonstrate how the mandates provide no overall health benefit to the community and can even be harmful.”
- Dr. Alexander recommends that individuals should decide for themselves whether or not to get the vaccine, but only after conducting “their own assessment of risks in consultation with informed medical professionals.”
- And he goes on to argue against vaccine mandates, warning they will “result in the forced separation and segregation of society” and “create hazards for people in their professional lives.”
- Below is the list of professional publications showing, according to Dr. Alexander, that vaccine mandates “aren’t based on science.”
- The name of the study is provided in the left column along with a link to the original study publication source, and the relevant findings are provided in the right column.
DR. ALEXANDER’S LIST:
| 1) No Significant Difference in Viral Load Between Vaccinated and Unvaccinated, Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Groups When Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant, Acharya, 2021 | “Found no significant difference in cycle threshold values between vaccinated and unvaccinated, asymptomatic and symptomatic groups infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta.” |
| 2) Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals have similar viral loads in communities with a high prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant, Riemersma, 2021 Shedding of Infectious SARS-CoV-2 Despite Vaccination when the Delta Variant is Prevalent – Wisconsin, July 2021 | “No difference in viral loads when comparing unvaccinated individuals to those who have vaccine “breakthrough” infections. “Furthermore, individuals with vaccine breakthrough infections frequently test positive with viral loads consistent with the ability to shed infectious viruses … “if vaccinated individuals become infected with the delta variant, they may be sources of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to others … “data substantiate the idea that vaccinated individuals who become infected with the Delta variant may have the potential to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others.” |
| 3) Comparing SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity to vaccine-induced immunity: reinfections versus breakthrough infections, Gazit, 2021 | “Natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalization caused by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity … “SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccines had a 13.06-fold (95% CI, 8.08 to 21.11) increased risk for breakthrough infection with the Delta variant compared to those previously infected. ” …para 27 fold increased risk of symptomatic COVID and 8 fold increased risk of hospitalization (vaccinated over unvaccinated). |
| 4) Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccination Against Risk of Symptomatic Infection, Hospitalization, and Death Up to 9 Months: A Swedish Total-Population Cohort Study, Nordström, 2021 | Report on their study which shows that (cohort comprised 842,974 pairs (N=1,684,958), including individuals vaccinated with 2 doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, mRNA-1273, or BNT162b2, and matched unvaccinated individuals) “vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 against infection waned progressively from 92% (95% CI, 92-93, P<0·001) at day 15-30 to 47% (95% CI, 39-55, P<0·001) at day 121-180, and from day 211 and onwards no effectiveness could be detected (23%; 95% CI, -2-41, P=0·07) ”…while the vaccine provides temporary protection against infection, the efficacy declines below zero and then to negative efficacy territory at approximately 7 months, underscoring that the vaccinated are highly susceptible to infection and eventually become highly infected (more so than the unvaccinated). |
| 5) Waning of BNT162b2 vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar, Chemaitelly, 2021 | Qatar study which showed that the vaccine efficacy (Pfizer) declined to near zero by 5 to 6-months and even immediate protection after one to two months were largely exaggerated … “BNT162b2-induced protection against infection appears to wane rapidly after its peak right after the second dose.” |
| 6) Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Among Vaccinated Healthcare Workers, Vietnam, Chao, 2021 | Looks at transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant among vaccinated healthcare workers in Vietnam. 69 healthcare workers were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 62 participated in the clinical study. Researchers reported “23 complete-genome sequences were obtained. They all belonged to the Delta variant, and were phylogenetically distinct from the contemporary Delta variant sequences obtained from community transmission cases, suggestive of ongoing transmission between the workers. “Viral loads of breakthrough Delta variant infection cases were 251 times higher than those of cases infected with old strains detected between March-April 2020.” |
| 7) Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings – Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021, Brown, 2021 | Barnstable, Massachusetts, July 2021 CDC MMWR study found that in 469 cases of COVID-19, there were 74% that occurred in fully vaccinated persons. “The vaccinated had on average more virus in their nose than the unvaccinated who were infected.” |
| 8) An outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) in a secondary care hospital in Finland, May 2021, Hetemäki, 2021 | “In conclusion, this outbreak demonstrated that, despite full vaccination and universal masking of HCW, breakthrough infections by the Delta variant via symptomatic and asymptomatic HCW occurred, causing nosocomial infections … “secondary transmission occurred from those with symptomatic infections despite use of personal protective equipment (PPE).” |
| 9) Nosocomial outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in a highly vaccinated population, Israel, July 2021, Shitrit, 2021 | “The PPE and masks were essentially ineffective in the healthcare setting. “The index cases were usually fully vaccinated and most (if not all transmission) tended to occur between patients and staff who were masked and fully vaccinated, underscoring the high transmission of the Delta variant among vaccinated and masked persons … “this nosocomial outbreak exemplifies the high transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant among twice vaccinated and masked individuals.” |
| 10) COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report Week 42, PHE, 2021Report # 44: PHE | Information on page 23 raises serious concerns when it reported that “waning of the N antibody response over time and (iii) recent observations from UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) surveillance data that N antibody levels appear to be lower in individuals who acquire infection following 2 doses of vaccination. ”Also shows a pronounced and very troubling trend, which is that the “double vaccinated persons are showing greater infection (per 100,000) than the unvaccinated, and especially in the older age groups e.g. 30 years and above.” |
| 11) Waning Immune Humoral Response to BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine over 6 Months, Levin, 2021 | “Six months after receipt of the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, humoral response was substantially decreased, especially among men, among persons 65 years of age or older, and among persons with immunosuppression.” |
| 12) Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States, Subramanian, 2021 | “Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States.” |
| 13) Durability of immune responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, Suthar, 2021 | “Examined the durability of immune responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. “They ‘analyzed antibody responses to the homologous Wu strain as well as several variants of concern, including the emerging Mu (B.1.621) variant, and T cell responses in a subset of these volunteers at six months (day 210 post-primary vaccination) after the second dose …’ data demonstrate a substantial waning of antibody responses and T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, at 6 months following the second immunization with the BNT162b2 vaccine.” |
| 14) Infection-enhancing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies recognize both the original Wuhan/D614G strain and Delta variants. A potential risk for mass vaccination?,Yahi, 2021 | Reported that “in the case of the Delta variant, neutralizing antibodies have a decreased affinity for the spike protein, whereas facilitating antibodies display a strikingly increased affinity. “Thus, ADE may be a concern for people receiving vaccines based on the original Wuhan strain spike sequence (either mRNA or viral vectors).” |
| 15) Hospitalisation among vaccine breakthrough COVID-19 infections, Juthani, 2021 | Identified 969 patients who were admitted to a Yale New Haven Health System hospital with a confirmed positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 … “Observed a higher number of patients with severe or critical illness in those who received the BNT162b2 vaccine than in those who received mRNA-1273 or Ad.26.COV2.S.” |
| 16) The impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission, Eyre, 2021 | “Examined the impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission. They reported that “while vaccination still lowers the risk of infection, similar viral loads in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with Delta question how much vaccination prevents onward transmission… “transmission reductions declined over time since second vaccination, for Delta reaching similar levels to unvaccinated individuals by 12 weeks for ChAdOx1 and attenuating substantially for BNT162b2. “Protection from vaccination in contacts also declined in the 3 months after second vaccination … vaccination reduces transmission of Delta, but by less than the Alpha variant.” |
| 17) SARS-CoV-2 Infection after Vaccination in Health Care Workers in California, Keehner, 2021 | “Reported on the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a highly vaccinated health system workforce. “Vaccination with mRNA vaccines began in mid-December 2020; by March, 76% of the workforce had been fully vaccinated, and by July, the percentage had risen to 87%. Infections had decreased dramatically by early February 2021… “coincident with the end of California’s mask mandate on June 15 and the rapid dominance of the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant that first emerged in mid-April and accounted for over 95% of UCSDH isolates by the end of July, infections increased rapidly, including cases among fully vaccinated persons… “researchers reported that the “dramatic change in vaccine effectiveness from June to July is likely to be due to both the emergence of the delta variant and waning immunity over time.” |
| 18) Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study, Singanayagam, 2021 | “Examined the transmission and viral load kinetics in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with mild delta variant infection in the community. “They found that (in 602 community contacts (identified via the UK contract-tracing system) of 471 UK COVID-19 index cases were recruited to the Assessment of Transmission and Contagiousness of COVID-19 in Contacts cohort study and contributed 8145 upper respiratory tract samples from daily sampling for up to 20 days) “‘vaccination reduces the risk of delta variant infection and accelerates viral clearance. Nonetheless, fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings, including to fully vaccinated contacts.’” |
| 19) Waning Immunity after the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Israel, Goldberg, 2021 | “Immunity against the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 waned in all age groups a few months after receipt of the second dose of vaccine.” |
| 20) Viral loads of Delta-variant SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections after vaccination and booster with BNT162b2, Levine-Tiefenbrun, 2021 | The viral load reduction effectiveness declines with time after vaccination, “significantly decreasing at 3 months after vaccination and effectively vanishing after about 6 months.” |
| 21) Comparison of two highly-effective mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 during periods of Alpha and Delta variant prevalence, Puranik, 2021 | “In July, vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization has remained high (mRNA-1273: 81%, 95% CI: 33–96.3%; BNT162b2: 75%, 95% CI: 24–93.9%), but effectiveness against infection was lower for both vaccines (mRNA-1273: 76%, 95% CI: 58–87%; BNT162b2: 42%, 95% CI: 13–62%), with a more pronounced reduction for BNT162b2.” |
Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith and author of “An American Revival: Why American Christianity Is Failing & How to Fix It.“
These Countries Are Not Vaxing Children: Wall Street Journal
Many governments are not giving children experimental Covid-19 vaccines.
QUICK FACTS:
- In Mexico, the president says he won’t be held hostage by vaccine makers and that there are no plans to inoculate under-18s except those at risk, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused pharmaceutical companies of wanting to scare countries into buying more vaccines. “We’re not going to be hostage to that,” he said.
- Rollouts in any parts of Africa are “going so slowly that vaccinating children is a distant ambition,” WSJ reports, most countries in sub-Saharan Africa having “little choice about whether to vaccinate children because their rollouts are going so slowly.”
- Australia and New Zealand have also withheld approval of the experimental drug for younger children.
- Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, recently explained that Australia would wait to see what happens in the U.S. before committing to vaccinating younger children, notes WSJ.
- Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said vaccination of children 5 to 11 would begin only after regulators review Pfizer’s application for that age group.
- Israel has waited until the U.S. approved inoculating children under 12 before starting discussions on the matter.
- Russia has also not yet authorized use of the vaccine for individuals under 18.
COUNTRIES NOT VAXXING YOUNG CHILDREN—WSJ:
- Mexico
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Israel
- Russia
- African Countries
Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith and author of “An American Revival: Why American Christianity Is Failing & How to Fix It.“
Tennessee Gov. Lee Signs Sweeping COVID Law Barring Vax Mandates, Passports
The omnibus bill ensures government entities cannot force private businesses to initiate Covid-19 mandates.
QUICK FACTS:
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the state’s Covid-19 omnibus bill on Friday, Just the News reports.
- The bill ensures government entities cannot force private businesses to institute coronavirus-related mandates.
- It also makes it so that private businesses cannot take action against unvaccinated employees.
- Businesses also cannot compel an employee or visitor to show proof of vaccination.
- The bill prevents government entities from requiring masks.
- The 21-page bill also provides an opt-out for music venues to allow for proof of vaccination instead of a negative Covid-19 test for admission.
INSIDE THE BILL:
The Tennessean compiled the following list of provisions found in the bill:
- Ban government entities and public schools from requiring masks, unless severe conditions arise
- Ban government entities, public schools and many private businesses from vaccine requirements, but with exceptions
- Require schools to provide N-95 masks or similar masks to those in demand
- Allows for 14-day mask mandates for governments and public schools, subject for renewal, during severe conditions — at least 1,000 cases for every 100,000 residents in the past 14 days — which no county currently reaches
- Requires licensing boards to develop a set of rules, subject to state Government Operations Committee’s approval, if they wish to discipline medical professionals for COVID-19 treatments
- Allows those who quit their job because of COVID-19 vaccine requirements to collect unemployment benefits
- Allow health care professionals to use independent judgement to prescribe monoclonal antibody treatments
- Allow the health commissioner exclusive power to design quarantine guidelines
- Ban use of public funds for COVID-19 mandates
- Requires hospitals to allow visitation by at least one family member of a COVID-19 patient as long as the family member tests negative for the disease and remains asymptomatic
- Allow those at risk of losing federal funds to issue mask and vaccine mandates, and use public funds for mandates, if they receive approval from the comptroller’s office
- Allow the governor to suspend the entire bill if he desires
JUST THE NEWS REPORTS:
The bill also allows those who leave a job because of a COVID-19 vaccination mandate to be eligible for unemployment benefits.
“The greatest concern we have, and the reason this came about, is the federal mandate for requiring businesses to vaccinate their employees,” Lee said Wednesday. “That created the General Assembly’s response.”
Lee said he objected to one portion of the omnibus bill on hospitals and visitations, saying the language needed to be adjusted during regular legislative session in January. House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally acknowledged discussions on that portion of the bill and said action would be possible during regular session if it is deemed necessary.
Along with the omnibus bill, Lee also signed Senate Bill 9007, which pays for any bills signed into law out of the Legislature’s COVID-19-related special session.
Lee also signed Senate Bill 9008, which allows the attorney general to petition for a district attorney replacement in cases where a local district attorney refuses to prosecute all instances of any offense. During discussion of the bill, Metro Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk was mentioned after he made public comments stating he would not prosecute charges of simple possession of marijuana.
Lee did not sign House Bill 9076, which would have allowed the governor to issue orders and directives regarding county health departments during a pandemic. It also allows county mayors the authority to issue health and safety orders for county residents related to public health.
Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith and author of “An American Revival: Why American Christianity Is Failing & How to Fix It.“
U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Hold on Biden COVID VAX Mandate
A U.S. appeals court upheld its decision to put on hold Joe Biden’S order for companies with 100 workers or more to require Covid-19 vaccines.
QUICK FACTS:
- A three-member panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed its ruling, rejecting a challenge by the Biden administration, Reuters reports.
- “The mandate is staggeringly overbroad,” the opinion said.
- “The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers),” Circuit Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote for the panel.
- “The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions—even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials,” Engelhardt went on to say.
BACKGROUND:
- The initial mandate was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which orders that businesses with at least 100 employees require staff to get vaccinated or face weekly tests and face mask requirements.
- The move to affirm the hold comes after the court last week concluded, “Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court.”
Florida School District Ends Mask Mandate After 8-Year-Old Girl Told Them They Should Be In Prison
“A face covering opt-out will be reinstated”
Palm Beach County school district has ended a mask mandate just days after a second grade girl told school board officials they should all rot in jail for forcing children to wear face coverings against their will.
As we reported last week, eight-year-old Fiona Lashells of Tampa Bay was suspended almost 40 times for refusing to comply with the mandate, which the school kept in place despite the state ending mask mandates in July.
In a viral video, Fiona told the board that “your rules suck,” adding “I hope you all go to jail for doing this to me.”
“Just because I get suspended for not wearing a mask isn’t going to change my mind. You can keep suspending me, I still have the right not to wear a mask,” the girl urged.
After embarking “on a mission to take back, not only her rights but every American child’s constitutional rights from the tyrant school board,” according to her mother, Fiona has scored a victory as the district told parents that “a face covering opt-out will be reinstated effective Monday.”
“Based on a new development at the State level, the School District will be moving to an opt-out status for facial coverings for students in all grade levels,” the district announced.
In comments to the Palm Beach Post, Fiona said she is glad to be back at school, where according to the district 10% of its students have already opted out of wearing masks.
“She’s been just so adamant that she wants to make sure everyone can go back to school and have a choice,” her mother told the Post.
And now they do.