Millions of People Are Skipping Out on the Second Dose of Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that at least 8 million Americans who received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine have failed to return for the second dose. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses about a month apart for the full immunological effects to take hold.

About 8 percent of people are not taking their second dose, double what the rate was in February. Then, the cause was a limited supply that created bottlenecks in some regions of the country. But public health authorities are concerned because while one dose of vaccine offers some protection, two doses are needed to create a robust immune response to protect the body from one of several variants of COVID-19 that have been discovered in other countries.

New York Times:

Mounting evidence collected in trials and from real-world immunization campaigns points to the peril of people skipping their second doses. Compared with the two-dose regimen, a single shot triggers a weaker immune response and may leave recipients more susceptible to dangerous virus variants. And even though a single dose provides partial protection against Covid, it’s not clear how long that protection will last.

“I’m very worried, because you need that second dose,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel.

One part of the solution is to give people a vaccine that only requires one dose.

The stakes are high because there is only one vaccine authorized in the United States that is given as a single shot. The use of that vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, was paused this month after it was linked to a very rare but serious side effect involving blood clotting. Federal health officials on Friday recommended restarting use of the vaccine, but the combination of the safety scare and ongoing production problems is likely to make that vaccine a viable option for fewer people.

Another part of the solution is to develop more vaccines. The J&J vaccines only need standard medical refrigeration units to store them while both the Moderna and Pfizer jabs need specialized, super-cold refrigeration.

Keep in mind that we may need a “booster” shot later this year or, perhaps we may be required to get inoculated every year. We won’t know until the continuing human trials are mixed with the real-world results to give us a clearer picture of how long the body sustains an effective immune response.

Some pharmacies are reporting “dose matching” problems where customers received the first shot — Moderna or Pfizer — but were sent to a pharmacy that only had one or the other vaccine.

In the Chicago area, for example, pharmacists at two Walgreens locations said the problem was causing headaches. They said that Walgreens’ appointment system was sending each pharmacy anywhere from 10 to 20 customers a week who need a second Pfizer shot, even though both pharmacies stock only the Moderna vaccine.

It is not clear how widespread the Walgreens dose-matching problem has been or how many people have missed their second doses because of it.

The impact of the snafus and lack of two doses on the trajectory of the pandemic is minimal. Authorities are being far too cautious in their assessments — something we’ve known for months. The pandemic is all but beaten and it only requires a lawsuit or two for the politicians and public health officials to confirm it.

That’s the only way we’re going to get the authorities to admit what the American people have known for months: the emergency is over. It’s time to get back to work and play.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/04/25/millions-of-people-are-skipping-out-on-the-second-dose-of-vaccine-n1442632

Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Rejects Call for Probe of Maricopa County 2020 Election Audit — Another Attempted Delay by Democrats

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich rejected calls by Democrats for an investigation into possible irregularities in the newly begun Senate audit of the 2020 Maricopa County ballots.

Soros-funded Secretary of State Katie Hobbs cited media reports to push for an investigation into security lapses. This was just the latest attempt by panicked Democrats to delay the forensic audit of the Maricopa County ballots. Democrats have fought this process every step of the way. What could they possibly be afraid of?

FOX10 Phoenix reported:

Arizona’s attorney general has brushed away the state’s top election official’s call for an investigation into possible irregularities in a legislative chamber’s newly begun audit of 2020 election results from the state’s most populous county.

Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on April 23 cited media reports of security lapses at the audit site and the auditors’ plans to question Maricopa County voters at their homes. But Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich later Friday said Hobbs provided “no facts” to warrant an investigation.

Valid complaints will be investigated, Brnovich wrote Hobbs in a letter. “Any such complaints, however, must be based on credible facts and not conjecture of politics,” he said.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/arizona-attorney-general-brnovich-rejects-call-probe-maricopa-county-2020-election-audit-another-attempted-delay-democrats/

A 1989 AP Report: Nations “Wiped Off Face of the Earth” by 2000

While stories like the one below should not dismiss an intelligent discussion about the environmental challenges we face today, this 1989 report does raise legitimate questions about the apocalyptic and absolute predictions promoted by many who support a similar narrative in 2019.

From a June 29, 1989, Associated Press dispatch:

UNITED NATIONS (AP)—A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.

Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of “eco-refugees,” threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.

He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control.

As the warming melts polar icecaps, ocean levels will rise by up to three feet, enough to cover the Maldives and other flat island nations, Brown told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday.

Coastal regions will be inundated; one-sixth of Bangladesh could be flooded, displacing a fourth of its 90 million people. A fifth of Egypt’s arable land in the Nile Delta would be flooded, cutting off its food supply, according to a joint UNEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study. . . .

Shifting climate patterns would bring back 1930s Dust Bowl conditions to Canadian and U.S. wheatlands, while the Soviet Union could reap bumper crops if it adapts its agriculture in time, according to a study by UNEP and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

https://tallahasseereports.com/2019/03/09/a-1989-ap-report-nations-wiped-off-face-of-the-earth-by-2000/

https://apnews.com/article/bd45c372caf118ec99964ea547880cd0

Interview with Maria Zhakarova

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro says military would 'follow his orders' and take to streets raising fears over his politicisation of country's armed forces

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that if he were to order the military to take the streets and restore order, 'the order will be followed,' raising fresh questions about his politicisation of the armed forces.

Speaking during a TV interview, Bolsonaro declined to 'go into details into what he is preparing.'

But he then said: 'If we were to have problems, we have a plan of how to enter the field. Our armed forces could one day go into the streets.'

The comments by Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who has long praised Brazil's two-decade military dictatorship, will do little to assuage critics who fret about his politicisation of the military.

Others worry about his commitment to a peaceful handover of power in the event of a tight result in next year's presidential election.

Pressure has grown on the president while Brazil's coronavirus pandemic has spiraled out of control.

He has faced widespread criticism for his handling of the outbreak in Brazil, which has the world's second highest coronavirus death toll after the United States.

Brazil's public healthcare system has shown growing signs of buckling under the caseload, and a survey by the National Association of Private Hospitals (ANAHP) this week suggests even the richest hospitals are running short on critical medicine.

Three out of four private hospitals said they have a week or less of supplies for treating Covid-19, including oxygen, anesthesia and essential drugs for intubation, according to the ANAHP survey of 88 member hospitals across the country.

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2021/04/brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro-says.html

Federal government will no longer fine illegal aliens for failure to leave the U.S.

"There is no indication that these penalties promoted compliance with noncitizens' departure obligations," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

The federal government will no longer fine illegal aliens who fail to depart from the U.S. and it plans to pursue the cancellation of any currently outstanding debts for people who previously incurred such financial penalties.

"There is no indication that these penalties promoted compliance with noncitizens' departure obligations," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. "We can enforce our immigration laws without resorting to ineffective and unnecessary punitive measures."

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had already stopped issuing such fines as of Jan. 20, 2021 — the day that President Biden was sworn into office — two delegation orders pertaining to the collection of the fines were rescinded on Friday, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release.

"Although ICE has had the authority to assess financial penalties to individuals for failing to depart for more than 20 years, the agency did not initiate enforcement of these penalties until 2018. As of January 20, 2021, ICE ceased issuing these fines. This formalizes the Biden Administration's change in direction," the press release noted.

"After reviewing detailed data regarding the issuance of such fines since 2018, it was clear to Secretary Mayorkas and Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson that the fines were not effective and had not meaningfully advanced the interests of the agency. ICE intends to work with the Department of Treasury to cancel the existing debts of those who had been fined," the press release also said.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-government-wont-fine-illegal-aliens-failure-leave-us