Unvaccinated COVID Patients Could Be Forced To Pay Average Of $24K In Medical Bills Under Proposed Illinois Democrat Bill

An Illinois Democratic state representative introduced a new bill on Monday that would force unvaccinated patients to pay their own medical expenses if they receive hospital treatment for COVID-19.

State Democratic Rep. Jonathan Carroll sponsored the new legislation, HB 4259, that seeks to encourage Illinois residents to receive a vaccination.

The bill proposes “a person who is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and chooses not to be vaccinated shall pay for health care expenses out-of-pocket if the person becomes hospitalized because of COVID-19 symptoms.”

Carroll argued that more people should be vaccinated.

“The vaccine is proven to be the one thing that is stopping the severity of COVID-19, and we are seeing more variants popping up,” Carroll told WCIA-TV on Monday.

“The experts are telling us, ‘This is now becoming a disease of the unvaccinated.’ The people that are choosing to get vaccinated are not the ones that are clogging up the healthcare system, it’s the ones that aren’t,” he added.

In an interview with The Chicago-Sun Times, Carroll added, “I think it’s time that we say ‘You choose not to get vaccinated, then you’re also going to assume the risk that if you do catch COVID, and you get sick, the responsibility is on you.’”

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) found the average COVID-19 hospitalization costs $24,033. Nationwide, Medicare has already paid $16.6 billion for COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The proposed bill is one of many controversies in Illinois regarding vaccines.

Last week Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot claimed that she dropped a lawsuit against the city’s Police Union because more officers had complied with her mandate, saying, “The past few weeks have shown what I have said from the beginning to be true: that our brave police officers are smarter than their FOP leadership, and care more about their city, their fellow Chicagoans, and upholding their sworn oath to protect and serve, than they do Catanzara’s frivolous demands to stop working.”

She also warned she would go back to court if the union or its president “take any further action toward encouraging an illegal work stoppage or strike.”

“So far this year, the city has seen 739 murders, a 3 percent increase from last year’s already elevated figure and a 60 percent jump from 2019. Shootings are up 9 percent and 66 percent from 2020 and 2019 respectively,” The Daily Mail pointed out.

The state has also come under criticism for its vaccine mandate and testing requirements for teachers. In September, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order requiring Illinois teachers, staff, and school contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing to be inside schools.

In August, Pritzker also signed an executive order requiring all university students and personnel to be fully vaccinated or tested at least once per week.

“The quick spread of this disease in Illinois and across the country is holding us all back from the post-pandemic life we so desperately want to embrace, and it’s harming the most vulnerable among us,” Pritzker said in a statement.

“We are running out of time as our hospitals run out of beds. Vaccination remains our strongest tool to protect ourselves and our loved ones, to restore post-pandemic life to our communities, and most crucially, to maintain our healthcare system’s ability to care for anyone who walks through their doors in need of help – and Illinois is taking action to keep our communities safe,” he added.

https://www.cracknewz.com/2021/12/unvaccinated-covid-patients-could-be.html

Mark Meadows Bails On 1/6 Committee, Distances Himself From Epstein-Tied Humpty Dumpty Institute Amid China Revelations

Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows will no longer be voluntarily appearing for a deposition before the January 6 Committee, with his lawyer citing the commission’s lack of respect for Executive Privilege as the reason. This comes after he distanced himself from the mysterious CCP-linked Humpty Dumpty Institute.

Mark Meadows, former Chief of Staff to 45th President Donald Trump, has reversed his course and is no longer going to voluntarily subject himself to deposition by the partisan January 6 Committee, according to his lawyer George J. Terwilliger II.

“We agreed to provide thousands of pages of responsive documents and Mr. Meadows was willing to appear voluntarily, not under compulsion of the Select Committee’s subpoena to him, for a deposition to answer questions about non-privileged matters. Now actions by the Select Committee have made such an appearance untenable,” Meadows’ lawyer wrote in a letter to the commission.

“In short, we now have every indication from the information supplied to us last Friday – upon which Mr. Meadows could expect to be questioned – that the Select Committee has no intention of respecting boundaries concerning Executive Privilege,” Terwilliger added.

“As a result of careful and deliberate consideration of these factors, we now must decline the opportunity to appear voluntarily for a deposition.”

National File previously reported that Meadows had initially agreed to “cooperate” with the January 6 Committee, in contrast to the hard approach by Steve Bannon, who had recently been charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, despite citing executive privilege, for refusing to testify and turn over documents to the likes of Reps. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Bennie Thompson, and Adam Schiff.

Meadows’ initial cooperation came on the heels of public speculation over his role in advising a mysterious nonprofit organization known as the Humpty Dumpty Institute, a Democrat and Chinese military-linked think tank once headed by Mark Epstein.

However, Meadows has since denied any further involvement with the organization following his freshman term in Congress, and explained that he was unaware of any organizational activity pertaining to Communist China during his time as a HDI Congressional Advisory Board member.

In fact, the current Chairman of the January 6 Committee, Rep. Thompson, has been deeply involved with the HDI going as far back as 2013, and remains listed as a member of their Congressional Advisory Board to this day. Rep. Thompson is frequently photographed with HDI leadership and has even attended dinners with former HDI Director and financier Mark Epstein at his residence.

https://nationalfile.com/mark-meadows-bails-1-6-committee-distances-epstein-tied-humpty-dumpty-institute-amid-china-revelations/

https://nationalfile.com/mark-meadows-bails-1-6-committee-distances-epstein-tied-humpty-dumpty-institute-amid-china-revelations/

PB notable

15155362 FAKE NEWS New 'Omicron-like' version of Omicron variant detected in Queensland

Anyway earlier today

Pfizer CEO Worried Omicron Might Open Door For More Mutant Strains

We have previously suggested that omicron might be bullish for the economy and stocks due to signs that infections caused by the variant are less severe, which could help with the transition toward treating COVID more like the flu.

While he didn't exactly go all-in on FUD like his rival, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during an interview at the WSJ's CEO Council that omicron might lead to still more threatening variants if it isn't dealt with appropriately.

The prospect of another mutation emerging is something that keeps the CEO of the US's best selling COVID jab up at night (although his company would stand to reap billions in profit should another generation of vaccines be warranted).

"I don’t think it’s good news to have something that spreads fast," Bourla told his interlocutors at the summit.

"Spreads fast means it will be in billions of people and another mutation may come. You don’t want that."

So far, data on the ground in South Africa has shown few if any serious cases caused by omicron. The South African Medical Research Council released a report on Saturday claiming that most patients admitted to a hospital in Pretoria who had COVID don't need supplemental oxygen. The report also noted that many patients were admitted for other medical reasons and were then found to have COVID Still, South Africa has seen case numbers jump over the last week.

However, Bourla cautioned that drawing definitive conclusions from the wave of infection in South Africa would be "difficult". Just 5% of South Africans are over the age of 60, and younger people normally have milder cases of COVID. However, many people in South Africa are also HIV positive, which means they're at risk of more severe infections.

So far, most of the virus's mutations have occurred on the spike protein, which is deeply involved in the mechanism it uses to attach to human cells, Bourla said. Vaccines and antibody treatments that target the spike protein may need updates when mutations occur on that part of the virus, he said.

Looking ahead, Bourla said he expects the number of confirmed omicron cases to surge from dozens to millions over the next few weeks.According to Pfizer it will only be a matter of weeks before they determine exactly how long it will take to eradicate this latest mutation. And pretty soon, Pfizer won't only have its COVID vaccine, it'll also be selling its new drug, Paxlovid, a COVID therapautic similar to Merck's miracle drug.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/pfizer-ceo-worried-omicron-might-open-door-more-mutant-strains

DEVELOPING: House Democrats + RINO Kinzinger Pass Bill That Would Allow Debt Ceiling Hike with Simple Majority in the Senate

House Democrats on Tuesday evening passed a bill that would set up a process for a debt ceiling hike with a simple majority vote in the Senate.

This fast-track procedure that includes Medicare legislation will expire by January 16 and can only be used one time.

The bill passed the House 222-212 – with RINO Kinzinger being the only Republican to join with the Democrats.

There is a provision in the package that waives PAYGO provisions.

“Democrats are sidestepping mandatory spending cuts under sequestration and eliminating those cuts.” Fox News Congress reporter Chad Pergram said.

The bill still needs 60 votes in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles – at least 10 Republicans would have to join Democrats in voting for cloture.

This is where Mitch McConnell stepped in and helped the Democrats.

Recall, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked out a private deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to waive the filibuster to raise the debt ceiling.

After a cloture vote with help from Republicans, Senate Democrats will be able to vote on the debt ceiling hike without GOP support (51 votes).

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/developing-house-democrats-rino-kinzinger-pass-bill-allow-debt-ceiling-hike-simple-majority-senate/

NSW workers lose appeal against mandatory COVID-19 vaccines

A group of NSW workers have had their appeal against mandatory COVID-19 vaccines thrown out with more than 40,000 people watching the judgement online.

Key points:

In October a court ruling upheld public health orders made by Health Minister Brad Hazzard

Police and health and aged care workers are among those who have to be vaccinated

The plaintiffs have been ordered to pay court costs

The workers appealed against an October court ruling that upheld public health orders made by the Health Minister Brad Hazzard, mandating vaccines for police, health and aged care workers, public school and preschool staff and construction workers.

The plaintiffs, from a range of industries, included construction worker Al-Munir Kassam and aged care worker Natasha Henry.

They sought to have the orders declared invalid, arguing they infringed on freedom, privacy, and the bodily integrity of people who did not want to be vaccinated.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-08/nsw-mandatory-covid-19-vaccines-appeal-dismissed/100683028

Appeals court upholds former Malaysian PM Najib’s 1MDB conviction

Najib Razak had appealed sentence claiming he did not know origin of money that ended up in his personal bank accounts.

A Malaysian appeals court on Wednesday upheld former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conviction for corruption in the first case related to the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB.

Najib, whose term as prime minister ended with defeat at the 2018 elections, was found guilty of diverting an estimated 42 million ringgit ($9.88m) from SRC International, a division of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts in July last year, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“We dismiss the motion and affirm the conviction on all sentences,” Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said, announcing the unanimous decision of the three appeals court judges sitting in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

The 68-year-old had been allowed bail pending appeal, and the court agreed he should remain free while he appeals to the Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest court.

The seven charges in the case involve allegations of abuse of power, several counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Both Najib, his lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and the other members of the defence team appeared via video call from their homes because of the coronavirus. Dressed in a dark suit, the former prime minister showed little emotion as Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil read out the panel’s findings.

“This is not something that can be said to have been done in (the) national interest, instead national embarrassment,” Judge Abdul Karim told the court.

The court decision comes as Najib attempts a comeback in a country that has been through three prime ministers since the 1MDB scandal brought down his government. He remains popular within the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is now back in power after their defeat in 2018.

In recent days, Najib and his legal team have sought to introduce new evidence, and on Tuesday asked for a postponement because one member on the team had tested positive for COVID-19. The judge denied the request, and dismissed the application to accept new evidence at an online hearing.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/8/malaysia-court-to-rule-on-najib-appeal-in-1mdb-linked-conviction

AWS and Pfizer team up to develop cloud solutions to speed up medical development

Pfizer is developing prototype solutions that incorporate a slew of AWS capabilities including machine learning, analytics, data warehousing, storage, and security.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Pfizer have joined forces to create cloud-based solutions to speed up how new medicines are developed, manufactured, and distributed for testing in clinical trials.

The pair will explore how AWS capabilities in analytics, machine learning, compute, storage, security, and cloud data warehousing can be applied to Pfizer's laboratory, clinical manufacturing, and clinical supply chain efforts.

"AWS's breadth and depth of cloud capabilities help support Pfizer's teams through secure, novel research methods as they work to optimize drug development and clinical manufacturing processes," AWS business development and industries vice president Kathrin Renz said.

"The past two years have reinforced for the world just how much speed and agility matter at every step of the research, development, and clinical manufacturing cycle when lives are on the line. We're proud to work with Pfizer and lend our deep domain expertise to assist in developing solutions that could significantly improve the lives of patients globally."

Some specific projects that AWS and Pfizer are working on include looking at how incorporating predictive capabilities with AWS machine learning solutions can enhance Pfizer's clinical manufacturing process.

They have also developed a prototype solution using AWS machine learning technologies to detect abnormal data points in Pfizer's clinical manufacturing platform for solid, oral-dose medicines. According to AWS, the machine learning-based prototype provided early warnings for alarms with minimal false positives and directed users to the relevant signals.

A separate prototype is also being developed to automatically extract, ingest, and process data from legacy documents to assist in the design of lab experiments. The documents include data related to synthetic chemistry routes, recipes, analytical tests, method development, formulation composition, clinical manufacturing campaigns, batch records, technology transfer, and more.

"Pfizer's goal with AWS is to expedite the processes for drug discovery and development in ways that can ultimately enhance patient experiences and deliver new therapies to market," said Andrew McKillop, vice president of Pfizer pharmaceutical sciences, worldwide research, development, and medical.

Elsewhere, AWS boasted it has helped Target keep up with the growth of the customer demand online by revamping the Australian retailer's ecommerce platform, which resulted in a reduction of infrastructure costs by 90%.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/aws-and-pfizer-team-up-to-develop-cloud-solutions-to-speed-up-medical-development/

Instagram is telling users to take a break from its app

The social media platform says it wants to take a 'stricter approach' to what teens can see and for how long.

Instagram has announced it will be launching a new feature designed to nudge people who have been scrolling on its platform for a certain amount of time to take a break as part of what the company is calling its "ongoing youth safety work".

The Take A Break feature, which has been in testing since November, will be initially available in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with plans to roll it out globally in the coming months.

Users will be able to turn on the feature and select to be alerted to take a break after using the platform for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 30 minutes, before being provided tips on how to reset.

According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the Take a Break reminders have been built using the platform's existing time management tools, like Daily Limit, which lets people know when they've reached the total amount of time they want to spend on Instagram each day, and offers the ability to mute Instagram notifications after reaching the set threshold.

He explained that the tool is part of a broader effort by its parent company, Meta, to protect teens.

"Every day I see the positive impact that Instagram has for young people everywhere. I'm proud that our platform is a place where teens can spend time with the people they care about, explore their interests, and explore who they are," Mosseri wrote in a blog post.

"I want to make sure that it stays that way, which means above all keeping them safe on Instagram. We'll continue doing research, consulting with experts, and testing new concepts to better serve teens."

Additionally, Instagram said it will be introducing tools in March that allow parents and guardians to view how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set limits, as well as give teens the options to notify their parents if they report someone. An educational hub for parents and guardians that will include product tutorials and tips to help them discuss social media use with their teens will also be introduced.

Other features in the pipeline, according to the company, include taking a "stricter approach" to what it recommends to teens by actively nudging them towards different topics if they've been dwelling on one topic for a while and stopping people from tagging or mentioning teens who do not follow them.

The move by the Meta-owned company comes as governments worldwide crack down on social media platforms and the potentially harmful content that is being shared via these platforms, as well as the impact these materials have on the mental health and wellbeing of users, particularly young people.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/instagram-is-telling-users-to-take-a-break-from-its-app/