The U.S. Is One Of A Handful Of Countries Still Making Legal Visitors Get A Covid Shot

The United States is the only Western nation still mandating international visitors be vaccinated against Covid-19.

'Yellowstone' actor Forrie J. Smith says he 'will not get vaccinated ... I don't believe in that stuff' — and won't attend SAG Awards due to vaccine rules



"Yellowstone" actor Forrie J. Smith has taken a stand and won't be attending the Screen Actors Guild Awards due to its vaccine requirements.

What are the details?

“I want to apologize to y’all for not being at the Screen Actors Guild Awards,” Smith noted in a video that Deadline said was posted to his Instagram account, but now appears to have been taken down. “I mean no offense to anyone. I’m not vaccinated, and it’s a requirement to be vaccinated" to be at the ceremony.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

He added, "You have to be vaccinated with a booster shot and a negative COVID test within 48 hours, gotta wear a K-95624350 whatever kinda mask, and I'm not vaccinated. I will not get vaccinated. I haven’t been vaccinated since I was a little kid. I don’t vaccinate my dogs, I don’t vaccinate my horses. I’ve never had a flu shot. I never will. I believe they compromise your immunities ... Man, I'm sorry. I was sure lookin' forward to walkin' down the red carpet with my big, black American hat and Justin Boots and representin' my culture and heritage, but I'm not gonna be able to do that. … But it's no offense to anybody, anything. It’s just my beliefs. ... I just don’t believe in that stuff ... Whatever.”

Smith concluded, “Thank you all, y'all, enjoy watching the show anyway, and maybe next year and [I'll] get down on that red carpet ... God bless."

You can watch the video below:

Yellowstone Star Forrie Smith Speaks Out Against Mandatesyoutu.be

Anything else?

Deadline said Smith is nominated for a SAG award as part of the "Yellowstone" ensemble cast, which includes Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Will Patton, Piper Perabo, Wes Bentley, and Luke Grimes.

Smith plays senior ranch hand Lloyd Pierce, the outlet said, adding that he was promoted to a series regular in Season 3.

According to Wide Open Country, Smith is one of the "real cowboys" that "Yellowstone" hired. After Smith fell off a horse as youngster, the outlet said he told his parents he wanted to become a stunt man — and that growing up in Helena, Montana, afforded him the chance to learn rodeo starting at age 8 and how to ride horses. Smith eventually became a stunt man for the screen and moved on to acting.

Here's a look at his "Yellowstone" character. (Content warning: Language):

Life According to Lloyd | Yellowstone | Paramount Networkyoutu.be

Boston imposes proof of vaccination requirement for indoor activities



Boston on Monday became the latest Democrat-run city in the United States to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination to participate in city life.

Mayor Michelle Wu (D) announced that the city will require proof of vaccination for indoor recreational activities including restaurants, gyms, theaters, sports venues, and many other businesses.

The requirements will take effect on Jan. 15. According to Boston's public health commission, there are 464,610 fully vaccinated city residents, about 68% of the population. Nearly one-third of all Bostonians will be unable to participate in public indoor activities after the requirements go into effect.

Additionally, city employees will be required to get vaccinated, she said at a press conference where protesters blew whistles, shouted "Shame on Wu," and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," WHDH-TV reported.

“There is nothing more American than coming together to ensure that we’re taking care of each other,” Wu said to the protesters.

Under the previous vaccine mandate, city workers had the option of submitting to regular virus testing if they did not want to receive one of the vaccines. But now there will be no testing option. City employees may apply for a medical or religious exemption from the mandate.

Wu said that about 90% of the city's roughly 18,000 workers are already vaccinated.

“The vast majority of COVID-related hospitalizations are of unvaccinated individuals, which is impacting our entire health care system and compromising the health of our communities,” she said. “Today’s steps to protect community members in certain indoor establishments and throughout our city workforce will help ensure that everyone in Boston will be safe.”

The additional coronavirus restrictions come amid fears that the Omicron variant will make the winter surge of COVID-19 in several northeastern states worse.

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, warned that new positive cases had increased nearly 90% compared to two weeks ago and said the city is now averaging 369 new cases per day. Hospitalizations have increased 60% in the last two weeks.

Though some private businesses have imposed their own mask and vaccine requirements, and there were small business owners appearing at the press conference in support of the mayor's announcement, the Massachusetts chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses called the new mandate an additional burden on struggling businesses.

“It is unfortunate that, once again, private businesses are being placed in the unenviable position of having to enforce another government health directive,” Christopher Carlozzi, the organization's director, said in a statement.

Comedian Patton Oswalt cancels Florida, Salt Lake City shows because venues won't require vaccination



Stand-up comedian and actor Patton Oswalt has canceled several upcoming shows in Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah, because the venues would not comply with his demands requiring attendees to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

Oswalt told his followers on Instagram that he made the demands for his "Patton Oswalt Live: Who's Ready To Laugh?" tour to protect his fans from the virus.

"The good news is we're keeping everyone who comes to these shows safe and healthy because the numbers are going up," he said in a video last Wednesday. "Now the bad news, of course, is there are five venues on the tour that are not complying with this."

The comedian expressed regret that the shows were canceled, saying he was looking forward to performing at Kingsbury Hall in Utah, as well as four venues in Florida.

"This difficult decision was made due to the rising numbers of COVID cases and also because I have an ego, but my ego is not big enough to think that people should die to hear my stupid comedy," Oswalt said in the video. "So hopefully, hopefully, in the future we can rebook those when sanity holds sway again. But this sucks, I was really looking forward to Florida, to Salt Lake City."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in May prohibited businesses and government entities in the state from requiring vaccine passports. At the time, the governor said that "your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision."

In Utah, state law prohibits government entities from implementing vaccine passports, but not private entities. Kingsbury Hall, the venue where Oswalt canceled his show, is part of the University of Utah. Brooke Horejsi, the executive director of Kingsbury Hall's concert series UtahPresents, explained to Deseret News that under the law the university cannot require patrons to comply with vaccine requirements.

"The university has a vaccination requirement for students and health care university employees, but cannot extend that to patrons at campus venues for experiences presented by the University of Utah," Horejsi said.

"However, outside rentals (like Live Nation) may make their own safety protocols. Unfortunately, Oswalt's team had already made the decision to cancel the January show prior to this clarification, but we're looking forward to rescheduling with him in the future."