Tag: COVID-19 vaccines

Man Films Himself Stealing Vial of COVID Vaccine to ‘Test,’ Says it’s ‘Poisoning People’

A Minnesota man posted a video of himself that appeared to show him stealing a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in order to “test it at a lab.”

The man, who has been identified by his social media accounts as Thomas Humphrey, filmed himself at what appeared to be the beginning of a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at a CVS pharmacy on Thursday.

He can be heard saying, “I just want to read it. I just—you know, I’m taking the vaccine, I just want to read it,” he then reached across a counter and grabbed a white box.” Continue reading.

Biden sets goal of at least one shot to 70 percent of adults by July 4

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President Biden announced Tuesday a goal to administer at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine to 70 percent of U.S. adults by July 4, as the country moves to vaccinate harder-to-reach Americans.

Biden, in a speech Tuesday afternoon at the White House, also set a goal to have 160 million U.S. adults fully vaccinated by Independence Day.

Together, those goals will mean about 100 million more shots, both first and second doses, across the next 60 days, a senior administration official said. Continue reading.

White House will make unordered vaccine supply available to other states

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Beginning this week, unordered doses will go into a federal bank available to states where demand continues to outstrip supply.

The White House on Tuesday told states that coronavirus vaccine doses they choose not to order will become available to other states — the most significant shift in domestic vaccine distribution since President Biden took office, and part of an effort to account for flagging demand in parts of the country.

The changes were unveiled to governors as Biden set a goal of providing at least one shot to 70 percent of adults by July 4, an increase that would account for about 40 million more people in the next two months. That level of coverage could drive down cases sharply, as it did in Britain and Israel. But achieving it, experts said, depends on efficiently delivering shots to places where people are still rolling up their sleeves — or can be persuaded to do so.

“The sooner we get the most people vaccinated not only in our local regions, but around the country, the sooner we will have fewer variants developing and less spread in general,” said David Kimberlin, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Now that there are places saying, ‘Our freezers are full, so please don’t send any more,’ there needs to be an ability to reallocate.” Continue reading.

GOP Governor Candidate Scott Jensen to Speak at Anti-Vax Convention

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Jensen to share the stage and legitimize views of America’s leading anti-vaxxer, the doctor behind the ‘Plandemic’ documentary, a QAnon enthusiast, and more

Saint Paul, MINNESOTA — This weekend, Scott Jensen will share the virtual stage with a group of notorious anti-vaxxers at the conspiracy-drenched Truth Over Fear Summit, a three-day online gathering aiming to “share invaluable and eye-opening insights into the truth behind the headlines, Covid-19, the rushed vaccine, and the Great Reset.” 

The Anti-Vaccine Conference

Also speaking at the event is a rogues gallery of conspiracy theorists who, like Jensen himself, have done tremendous harm throughout this pandemic by peddling junk science to the American people, including:

Continue reading “GOP Governor Candidate Scott Jensen to Speak at Anti-Vax Convention”

U.S. to share up to 60 million vaccine doses amid pressure to aid desperate countries

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The United States will share up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine with other countries, the White House said Monday, as the Biden administration faces growing pressure to help vaccinate the global population and cases spike around the world.

The move comes as India in particular faces an increasingly dire situation, with its health system showing signs of collapse — adding to the sense of urgent global need. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, will be shipped out once it clears federal safety reviews, officials said.

The White House took pains to stress that the move will not affect the United States’ internal vaccination drive. “We do not need to use AstraZeneca in our fight against covid,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, noting that the domestic U.S. push relies on vaccines made by other companies. Continue reading.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Criticizes ‘Big Push’ To Get Everyone Vaccinated

KEY FACTS

  • In an interview with conservative Wisconsin radio host Vicki McKenna, herself a vocal coronavirus vaccine skeptic, Johnson launched into a condemnation of “vaccine passports,” a credential that would allow businesses to verify vaccination status.
  • But Johnson also went a step further, declaring that he sees “no reason to be pushing vaccines on people,” arguing that their distribution should be “limited” to those most vulnerable to coronavirus, and asking, “If you have a vaccine, quite honestly, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?”
  • Johnson said he is “getting highly suspicious” of the “big push to make sure everybody gets the vaccine,” not only stating it’s “not a fully approved vaccine” but also arguing that the fact it is 95% effective means only a limited number of people need to be vaccinated. Continue reading.

Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 23, 2021


This week, the entire world watched as Minnesota awaited the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, while mourning the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of law enforcement.

While the trial of Derek Chauvin ended in justice for George Floyd in the courtroom, we know that full justice won’t be achieved until all Minnesotans feel safe and the relationship between law enforcement and our communities heals.

The Governor will continue to work to pass police reform legislation in our state.

Continue reading “Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: April 23, 2021”

There are plenty of moral reasons to be vaccinated – but that doesn’t mean it’s your ethical duty

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With the news that all U.S. adults are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the holy grail of infectious disease mitigation – herd immunity – feels tantalizingly close. If enough people take the vaccine, likely at least 70% of the population, disease prevalence will slowly decline and most of us will safely get back to normal. But if not enough people get vaccinated, COVID-19 could stick around indefinitely.

The urgency of reaching that milestone has led some to claim that individuals have a civic duty or moral obligation to get vaccinated.

As a moral philosopher who has written on the nature of obligation in other contexts, I want to explore how the seemingly straightforward ethics of vaccine choice is in fact rather complex. Continue reading.

CDC finds less than 1 percent of fully vaccinated people got COVID-19

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency has documented about 5,800 “breakthrough” COVID-19 cases among the millions of Americans who are fully vaccinated, totaling far less than 1 percent of fully vaccinated people.

“Vaccine breakthrough infections make up a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated,” the CDC told The Hill in a statement. “CDC recommends that all eligible people get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to them.”

The CDC told The Hill on Thursday that about 7 percent of the recorded breakthrough cases resulted in hospitalization and about 1 percent of the people who contracted breakthrough infections died.  Continue reading.

Vaccines could prevent asymptomatic infection. Here’s why that’s key to ending the pandemic.

If vaccines can halt asymptomatic spread, then “you could potentially vaccinate your way out of the epidemic,” one expert said.

Vaccine distribution is ramping up in many countries, but with Covid-19 cases also climbing once again and the prospect of another surge of infections on the horizon, the world is in a race against time.

Key to winning the race, experts say, is not only whether the vaccines will play a significant role in preventing serious illness from Covid-19, but also whether they can block people from spreading the virus.

“The ideal vaccine would have two performance features: One prevents you from going to the hospital, going to the ICU and losing your life,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “But if the vaccine also halts asymptomatic spread, then you could potentially vaccinate your way out of the epidemic.” Continue reading.