SCOTUS sides with BIDEN in censorship case to prevent ‘grave harm’



The Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden administration may coordinate with social media companies to censor viewpoints it deems dangerous.

“We all know the Biden regime is not going to censor leftists,” Sara Gonzales says, frustrated by the ruling.

This decision from Murthy v. Missouri saw state attorneys general who accused government officials of working with social media companies under the guise of combating misinformation and disinformation. The AGs argued that officials suppressed discussions on Hunter Biden’s laptop, COVID-19 origins, and vaccine efficacy.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with the plaintiffs on the grounds of the First Amendment.

The Justice Department then argued that the temporary ban of this “public private partnership” would cause irreparable harm because it may prevent the federal government from working with social media companies to prevent “grave harm” to the American people and the democratic process.

SCOTUS indirectly agreed with the Justice Department by reversing the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision. Only Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch dissented.

They claimed that a “review of extensive government social media communications is outside of the Court’s scope,” that “allegations of past censorship are not enough to prove future censorship,” and that “injuries claimed by plaintiffs are indirect and anticipatory.”

The timing couldn’t be worse for conservatives.

“This is not really the decision that you want, walking into an election as a conservative, where like all but one of the social media platforms very much want to censor your opinion,” Gonzales says.

“The reasons that they argue that these plaintiffs lack standing just seem to be the most convoluted bogus reasons in my opinion. How can you say that past actions are not proof of future actions? Like the Biden regime has a very clear record of pressuring social media companies, Big Tech platforms to censor conservatives,” she adds.


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Pfizer vaccine's protection against Omicron drops as soon as three weeks after third dose: Study



The effectiveness of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine wanes rapidly against the Omicron variant, beginning to fade away as soon as three weeks after the second or third dose, a new study finds.

Researchers said that the antibody responses induced by a second and third dose of the vaccine were "transient" and that "additional booster doses may be necessary," although the vaccine still provides enough immunity to ward off hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

The Danish study, which was published in JAMA Network Open on Friday, examined 128 people who had received two or three doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's mRNA vaccine.

Scientists observed that the number of "neutralizing" antibodies induced by the vaccine that target the Omicron variant declined rapidly within weeks of taking the second and third shots. Antibodies attack the virus and stop it from replicating, which protects the body against infection and disease.

The study examined the antibody response in vaccinated patients to different strains of the coronavirus, including the original and Delta variant strains. Within four weeks of the second Pfizer/BioNTech dose, the concentration of Omicron-specific antibodies found in patients' blood was 14-fold lower than antibodies against the original virus strain.

Compared to the original and Delta variants, the proportion of Omicron-specific neutralizing antibodies fell "rapidly" from 76.2% four weeks after the second shot to 53.3% at weeks eight to 10, and then 19% at weeks 12 to 14, the researchers said.

After a third dose, Omicron-specific antibodies increased nearly 21-fold at week three and nearly 8-fold at week four, compared to antibody levels observed four weeks after the second dose.

However, antibody levels dropped between the third week and the eighth week after the third dose, with a 4.9-fold drop for the original strain, 5.6-fold for Delta, and 5.4 fold for Omicron observed.

This means that the number of antibodies the vaccine teaches the body to make to fight COVID-19 drops off as soon as four weeks after the second shot and three weeks after the third. Lower antibody levels offer less protection against the virus, which explains why people who have been fully vaccinated with two shots or have only had one booster may still get breakthrough Omicron infections.

The researchers say that additional booster shots may be needed to keep Omicron-specific antibody levels high and protect against disease, especially in older people.

Previous studies have shown that protection against infection offered by COVID-19 vaccines begins to wane after about six months. Older Americans, who are more vulnerable to severe disease, have been encouraged by public health officials to take vaccine booster shots to strengthen their antibody response to the virus.

According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, about 69% of U.S. adults over age 65 have received a booster dose, while nearly 91% have completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination schedule.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March authorized a second booster shot for Americans over the age of 50, citing evidence that suggested vaccine protection wanes over time and that older and immunocompromised people need additional protection offered by a fourth dose.

New CDC study finds prior COVID infection offered stronger immunity than vaccines during Delta surge



A new study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that prior infection with COVID-19 offered stronger protection than vaccination against reinfection and hospitalization during the Delta variant surge last summer and fall.

What are the details?

The study, which analyzed data from May through November of 2021 in California and New York, was published Wednesday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

It found that in California, only 0.5% of unvaccinated individuals with prior infection were diagnosed with a new infection, and only 0.003% (or 378 people out of 1,370,782) were admitted to the hospital.

The figures were lower than those of vaccinated individuals without prior infection, of whom 1.5% were diagnosed with an infection and 0.007% (or 10,737 people out of 15,484,235) were hospitalized.

Similar data was produced in New York during the same time period, although New York did not produce hospitalization data.

The study also showed that a third group of individuals who were both vaccinated against the virus and had a prior infection — sometimes called "hybrid immunity" — fared the best during the Delta surge. And lastly, a fourth group consisting of unvaccinated individuals without prior infection accounted for by far the most infections and hospitalizations.

In short, the data demonstrated that both vaccination and prior infection produced immune protection against the Delta variant.

What else?

Researchers were keen to note that vaccination remains the safest way to protect oneself against health complications resulting from the virus, since infection-derived immunity carries with it some obvious risks.

“A COVID vaccination helps protect by creating an antibody response without the person having to experience severe illness and death,” Benjamin Silk, one of the study's authors and an epidemiologist at the CDC, said during a call with reporters Wednesday, according to Politico. “Vaccination provides safer protection.”

"Vaccines continue to reduce a person's risk of contracting the virus that causes COVID-19 and are highly effective at preventing severe illness," he added.

Researchers also noted that some of the data was collected at a time when vaccine immunity was fading and before booster shots became widely available.

"Importantly, infection-derived protection was greater after the highly transmissible Delta variant became predominant, coinciding with early declining of vaccine-induced immunity in many persons," the study's authors said, noting that further research was needed to determine the efficacy of vaccine boosters.

Anything else?

Still, for the many who have voiced support for naturally derived immunity and argued that individuals with prior infection should not be subject to vaccine mandates, the new research likely serves as vindication.

Some scientists, such as Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Southern California, believe the study's findings should impact public health policies moving forward.

"No one who cares about public health is ever going to say that it's better to get infected than get vaccinated when we have a safe vaccine," Klausner told NBC News. "But in terms of policy, this supports all the clinical research and other data that suggest that immunity after infection is real, is durable."

Because of that, he said, "policy in the United States should be updated, like in many European countries, to allow for people to go to work, to go to school, if they have evidence of recovery of infection without requiring vaccination."

Pfizer CEO declares that people who spread 'misinformation' about vaccines are 'criminals'



Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla does not appreciate people spreading what he calls "misinformation" about his company's COVID vaccine. He's so adamant about it that he has declared that people who share lies about vaccines are actually criminals in his mind.

According to Bourla, these miscreants are responsible for the deaths of millions of people.

What's that now?

Bourla, whose company has received billions of dollars from the U.S. government alone for its vaccine, made his comments Tuesday while speaking with the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, CNBC reported.

During his conversation with Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe, Bourla ripped into a "very small" number of people who share misinformation about the vaccines on purpose and intentionally mislead the vaccine-hesitant population.

The deaths of millions of people are their heads, according to the drug company chief.

"There are two groups of people," he said. "There are the people that are vaccinated; there are people that are skeptical about the vaccination. Both of them are afraid. Those that are getting the vaccine, they are afraid of the disease, and they believe, because people are not getting vaccinated, they are increasing their risk to them, they are increasing their exposure. They are mad [at] them that they don't get the vaccine."

"Those that don't get the vaccine, they're afraid of the vaccine," Bourla continued. "And they are mad [at] the people that are pressing them to get it."

"Those I understand," he said. "They are very good people. They are decent people, but they have a fear — and I understand it. And they don't want to take chances."

"But there is a very small part of professionals [who] circulate, on purpose, misinformation, so that they will mislead those that have concerns," Bourla added. "Those people are criminals."

"They're criminals because they are literally costing millions of lives," he added.

Kempe agreed, saying they "should be treated as criminals as well."

The Pfizer top dog also lectured Tuesday that people's lives can get "back to normal" once many of the millions of vaccine-hesitant Americans move from unvaccinated to vaccinated.

"The only thing that stands between the new way of life and the current way of life is, frankly, hesitancy to vaccinations," Bourla told the Atlantic Council, CNBC reported.

.@pfizer CEO Albert Bourla: People who share "misinformation" on vaccines' efficacy are "criminals."\n\n"They're not bad people. They're criminals because they have literally cost millions of lives."pic.twitter.com/VjIXs5rQCg

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) 1636483687

According to the New York Times' latest data compilation on vaccinations in the U.S., nearly 80% of people 12 years old and older have receive at least one dose of a COVID vax. About two-thirds of all Americans have received at least one jab, which includes children not yet eligible for the shots, the Times said.

The most vaccinated states are Massachusetts and Vermont, where 81% of residents have received at least one shot. Close behind are Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii at 80%.

The least vaccinated state is West Virginia. Less than half (49%) of Mountain Staters have received at least one dose.

COVID-19 vaccine efficacy plummets after 6 months: Study



The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines dropped dramatically after six months, according to a large study. The new study of U.S. military veterans found that vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 infection plummeted as much as 73% in six months.

The study – published in the journal Science – found that protection from COVID-19 infection provided by the three vaccines approved in the U.S. fell from 87.9% in February to 48.1% in October.

The study examined data from the Veterans Health Administration of 498,148 fully vaccinated veterans. Moderna's two-dose COVID-19 vaccine went from being 89% effective in March to 58% effective in September. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had an 87% efficacy against coronavirus in March and dropped to only 45% in September. In the same six-month period, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine plummeted from 86% effectiveness to a mere 13%.

The study also examined data from nearly 300,000 unvaccinated veterans to determine the efficacy of the vaccine against death. The study found that those aged 65 and older who got the Moderna vaccine were 76% less likely to die of COVID-19, 70.1% risk of death for those inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine, and 52.2% chance of death with those who took the one-dose J&J shot.

The authors of the study said, "Benefits of vaccination in reducing risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death are clearly supported by this study of more than 780,225 U.S. Veterans. Those fully vaccinated had a much lower risk of death after infection."

The Los Angeles Times noted, "Because these were veterans, the study population comprised six times as many men as women. And they skewed older: about 48% were 65 or older, 29% were between 50 and 64, and 24% were younger than 50."

The study said that vaccines are effective in preventing infection and death, but should be coupled with wearing face masks and social distancing.

"Our findings support the conclusion that COVID-19 vaccines remain the most important tool to prevent infection and death," the study said. "Vaccines should be accompanied by additional measures for both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, including masking, hand washing, and physical distancing."

Because of the declining vaccine efficacy over time, the study's authors also called for public health interventions, including "strategic testing for control of outbreaks, vaccine passports, employment-based vaccine mandates, vaccination campaigns for eligible children as well as adults, and consistent messaging from public health leadership in the face of increased risk of infection due to the Delta and other emerging variants."

Dr. Barbara Cohn – the lead author of the study – stated, "Our study gives researchers, policymakers and others a strong basis for comparing the long-term effectiveness of COVID vaccines, and a lens for making informed decisions around primary vaccination, booster shots, and other multiple layers of protection, including masking mandates, social distancing, testing and other public health interventions to reduce chance of spread."

Cohn added, "Breakthrough infections are not benign, but also by the strong evidence that vaccination still protects against death even for persons with breakthrough infections, compared to persons who become infected and are not vaccinated."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends those who received the Moderna or Pfizer shot and are eligible for a booster wait until at least six months after the second dose to get a booster shot. The CDC advises those who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to get a booster shot two months after the original vaccination.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Public Health Institute in California, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, and the University of Texas Health Science Center.