Weekly Round Up - Stories you might have missed!
WHO declares end to Covid global health emergency, Rochelle Walensky Stepping Down as CDC Director, and more!
NEWS
How the ‘Unvaccinated’ Got It Right
Scott Adams is the creator of the famous cartoon strip, Dilbert. It is a strip whose brilliance derives from close observation and understanding of human behavior. Some time ago, Scott turned those skills to commenting insightfully and with notable intellectual humility on the politics and culture of our country.
Like many other commentators, and based on his own analysis of evidence available to him, he opted to take the COVID “vaccine.”
Recently, however, he posted a video on the topic that has been circulating on social media. It was a mea culpa in which he declared, “The unvaccinated were the winners,” and, to his great credit, “I want to find out how so many of [my viewers] got the right answer about the ‘vaccine’ and I didn’t.”
NEWS
Middle school student allegedly sent home for refusing to change shirt that said 'There are only two genders'
Morrison added that he was told his shirt was "targeting a protected class" and was a "disruption to learning." "Who is this protected class? Are their feelings more important than my rights?" he asked. "I don't complain when I see Pride flags and diversity posters hung throughout the school. Do you know why? Because others have a right to their beliefs, just as I do," he said.
"I was told that the shirt was a disruption to learning. No one got up and stormed out of class. No one burst into tears. I'm sure I would have noticed if they had. I experience disruptions to my learning every day. Kids acting out in class are a disruption, yet nothing is done. Why do the rules apply to one yet not another?"
NEWS
CDC investigating COVID outbreak after its own annual conference
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed it is conducting an investigation into several dozen COVID-19 cases linked to the agency’s annual conference that occurred in Georgia last week.
The CDC’s three-day 2023 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) conference began April 24 in Atlanta, where the agency is headquartered. The purpose of the meeting is for EIS members to share their work in improving public health.
NEWS
Texas AG launches investigation into Austin hospital over gender transition procedures on young children
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching an investigation into the Dell Children’s Medical Center over "gender transitioning" procedures on children.
"It is deeply disturbing, and there is no place for it in Texas. Along these lines, there have been a number of recent reports about potentially illegal activity at Dell Children’s Medical Center, and this investigation aims to uncover the truth," Attorney General Ken Paxton said.
The lawsuit is the latest push by Republicans to investigative hospitals providing sex change treatments, sometimes called "gender affirming" care, to minors. Roughly 100 bills have been introduced, and 16 states have passed laws restricting transition-related medical procedures for minors.
NEWS
WHO declares end to Covid global health emergency
The World Health Organization ended the Covid-19 global health emergency on Friday, saying it was time for countries to transition from treating Covid as an emergency to dealing with it as a disease that is here to stay.
The decision was made on the advice of a panel of independent experts, the so-called Covid-19 emergency committee, which met Thursday. Though a couple of members of the committee were reportedly hesitant about the move, the majority agreed Covid no longer meets the criteria of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
NEWS
Switzerland Wants Children to Eat Less Chocolate, More Insects
On a recent morning, students at a middle school outside Zurich gathered around a table laden with snacks made of insects. They quickly scooped up spiced mealworms, crickets dusted with paprika, and crackers made with flour from ground-up crickets.
“It doesn’t taste like a bug,” said Ana Munoz, 13, as she nibbled on a cricket. “It just tastes like what it’s seasoned with.” Then she ate chile-pepper mealworms and made a face: “blech.”
Switzerland in 2017 became the first country in Europe to allow insects to be sold as food for humans after a lobbying campaign by edible-insect startups. That was the easy part. Now the companies must overcome what entomologists call the “yuck factor,” the gut feeling among many Western diners that insects are signs of rot and pestilence that shouldn’t be placed in one’s mouth.
NEWS
Biden Administration Announces End to Federal COVID Vaccine Mandates
The Biden administration is going to end a slew of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including its requirement that foreign travelers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, officials said on May 1.
The mandate for noncitizen nonimmigrants arriving by air will end on May 12, as will mandates for federal workers and federal contractors, the White House stated.
The proof of vaccination required at U.S. land borders will also end on May 12, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
NEWS
The Shocking Truth About mRNA Vaccines in Our Food (Part 1)
Unbeknownst to most people, there’s a push to scale up the use of both mRNA technology and gene therapy on the livestock that winds up on our supermarket store shelves. Meaning, that whether it’s beef, pork, lamb, chicken, or turkey — the meat that you’re purchasing from the store could very soon contain the remnants of mRNA based vaccines that the animals were treated with. And right now, only 5 states are pushing transparency bills.
NEWS
ANALYSIS: Top Officials Who Pushed Aggressive COVID-19 Policies Now Try to Reframe Their Positions
Some of the people most strongly associated with promoting lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have recently sought to recast their positions. Examples include Anthony Fauci, former leader of the federal COVID-19 response, teachers’ union head Randi Weingarten, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Fauci seemed eager to shirk responsibility for the lockdowns when talking to The New York Times last week.
“Show me a school that I shut down and show me a factory that I shut down. Never. I never did,” he said.
It was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that produced the lockdown recommendations, he emphasized.
NEWS
Statement on the fifteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the Committee regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He determines that COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
NEWS
Rochelle Walensky Stepping Down as CDC Director
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is resigning.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky is stepping down at the end of June, the director told President Joe Biden in a letter, the CDC said on May 5.
Walensky, 54, did not cite a specific reason and the CDC did not return requests for comment.
Walensky said she believes the CDC is in a better position now than when she assumed the post on Jan. 20, 2021, the same day Biden was inaugurated.