FDA mulls yearly Covid jabs

Some US health officials have voiced skepticism in a new vaccine strategy calling for annual shots tailored to particular viral variants

The US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to recommend annual Covid-19 vaccinations tailored to specific strains, proposing updated shots every year to keep up with newly emerging variants.

In a briefing document published on Monday, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee outlined a new strategy for Covid immunizations, stressing the need to streamline its existing recommendations.

Set to discuss the plan during an agency meeting later this week, the FDA committee said it would consider “simplifying the composition and immunization schedules” for coronavirus vaccines, as well as updating all shots to target the same variants. It compared the plan to the strategy long used to combat the flu.

“Similar to the approach with influenza, the global nature of SARS-CoV-2 strain evolution warrants a global response when evaluating and recommending vaccine strain composition changes,” the committee said, adding that an assessment of Covid-19 variants should be performed ahead of the fall season each year.

Transitioning to annual shots with uniform composition could help to boost vaccine coverage and compliance, as well as facilitate “clearer communication” with the public and reduce “vaccine administration errors,” the documents continued. The advisors noted that higher-risk individuals, such as the elderly or those with compromised immune systems, may require two doses annually, but said “most individuals” will need only one.

However, some FDA advisors remain unconvinced about the agency’s plans and say they are backed by “little research,” with officials voicing doubts in comments to the New York Times.

“I’d like to see some data on the effect of dosing interval, at least observational data. And going forward, I’d like to see data collected to try to tell if we’re doing the right thing,” said Dr. Eric Rubin, an FDA advisor and the editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Another advisor – Dr. Paul Offit, who heads up the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – questioned whether annual vaccinations are necessary in the first place, arguing that the decision should be driven by a variety of different factors.

“How old are they? What are their comorbidities? When was the last dose of vaccine they got? Did they take antiviral medicines?” Offit asked. He said the current national vaccination strategy appears to be “dose everybody all the time,” but argued “that’s just not a good reason.”

“I’m choosing to believe that they are open to advice, and that they haven’t already made up their minds as to exactly what they’re going to do,” he said of the FDA proposal.

https://www.rt.com/news/570383-fda-annual-covid-vaccination/

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UK Rated Only ‘Partially Open’ in Free Speech Index amid Government’s Online Censorship Plans

A new index rating free speech across the globe has described the UK as only being “partially open” amid the government’s online censorship plans.

The ‘Index Index’, a new global ranking scheme for freedom of speech and expression by the Index on Censorship, has ranked the UK as being only a “partially open” country, with the nation falling behind many European neighbours.

Those behind the new system cite the government’s plans to censor the internet via the country’s Online Safety Bill, which was described by one individual linked to the index as Britain taking “backwards steps” on free expression.

In a press release published on Wednesday, researchers linked to the Index Index system described the UK as having fallen behind the likes of Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland in its protection of free speech within academic, media and digital spheres.

According to the researchers, the new Index Index project uses “innovative machine learning techniques to map the free expression landscape across the globe”, a method which allows the organisation to allegedly give “a country-by-country view of the state of free expression across academic, digital and media/press freedom”.

“The United Kingdom ranking may well raise some eyebrows, though is not entirely unexpected,” Ruth Anderson, the CEO of the Index on Censorship, which is behind the new Index Index project, reportedly said.

“Index on Censorship’s recent work on issues as diverse as Chinese Communist Party influence in the art world through to the chilling effect of the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill all point to backward steps for a country that has long viewed itself as a bastion of freedom of expression,” she went on to explain.

Although Anderson went on to explain that the UK remains well ahead of the likes of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, the Index on Censorship CEO appeared clear in her warning that Britain’s delve into online speech controls has hindered freedom of expression.

Even before the government’s contentious Online Safety Bill, the UK has had an extremely poor track record for free expression online, with cases of netizens being visited by police over online posts criticising transgenderism or some other aspect of progressive life becoming relatively routine in the country.

The last number of weeks have also seen a number of people arrested and even criminally charged for silently praying near an abortion centre, something the country made illegal in September of 2022.

One army veteran was even reportedly fined by the country’s authorities for praying for his own deceased son near one of the centres.

“I would never have imagined being in a position to risk a criminal record for praying silently,” he reportedly said after being fined for the criminal offence. “In the past, I assisted with abortions in hospital as part of my army medical training, but now I pray for those who perform abortions because I realise how harmful abortion is to women and families, and that every single human life is valuable – no matter how small.”

Things could soon get even worse in the UK, with the country’s Online Safety Bill set to force social media giants to censor even more content that is now currently available online.

While the exact future of the bill is up in the air, politicians have repeatedly pushed for so-called “legal but harmful” content that could be deemed inappropriate for children also to be proactively censored by social media giants, with those at the helm of such platforms facing criminal sanction should they fail to see such content removed.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/01/25/uk-rated-only-partially-open-in-free-speech-index-amid-governments-online-censorship-plans/

The AP Interview: Pope Francis: Homosexuality not a crime

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.

Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin.” But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people.

In the U.S., more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional. Gay rights advocates say the antiquated laws are used to harass homosexuals, and point to new legislation, such as the “Don’t say gay” law in Florida, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality outright, saying they violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a breach of countries’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. “It must do this. It must do this,” he said.

Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.

“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.

Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered,” while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.

In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies.”

In the end, the pope did not meet with the groups, which instead met with the Vatican No. 2, who reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence.”

On Tuesday, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.

“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-gay-rights-ap-interview-1359756ae22f27f87c1d4d6b9c8ce212

The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis lamented that the use of guns by civilians to defend themselves is becoming a “habit.”

In an exclusive interview on Tuesday with The Associated Press, the pontiff, who has frequently criticized the arms industry, was asked about the large number of guns in civilian hands and frequent massacres in the United States. Francis expressed concern about how recourse to guns has become “habit.”

“I say when you have to defend yourself, all that’s left is to have the elements to defend yourself. Another thing is how that need to defend oneself lengthens, lengthens, and becomes a habit,” Francis said. “Instead of making the effort to help us live, we make the effort to help us kill.”

Francis has denounced the arms industry as trafficking in death. Francis said he wants to draw attention to the problem by saying: “Please, let’s say something that will stop this.”

The AP asked the question about the proliferation of guns among civilians after recent days saw several shootings, including in California.

Here are some other key takeaways from the interview.

ON ‘PATIENCE’ WITH CHINA

Saying “we must walk patiently in China,” Pope Francis views continued dialogue with Beijing as the guiding principle in his efforts to safeguard his flock, who are a small minority in the Asian nation.

The AP asked what comes next in the diplomatic overtures between the countries.

“We are taking steps,” Francis replied. “Each case (of a bishop’s nomination) is looked at with a magnifying lens.” The pontiff added that “that’s the main thing, the dialogue doesn’t break.”

As for Chinese authorities, “sometimes they are a little closed, sometimes not,” Francis said.

The pope sidestepped a question about how the Vatican’s relationship with Taiwan affects the dialogue. The Holy See is one of the few states to maintain formal ties with Taiwan instead of with China.

Francis has been criticized by more conservative factions of the Catholic Church for a 2018 agreement with Beijing over the appointment of bishops in China, given how that country’s Communist authorities have at times imprisoned priests. Among his harshest critics is Cardinal Joseph Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong.

In the interview, Francis called Zen, who is 91, a “charming old man,” and a “tender soul.” He recounted how, when the cardinal came to Rome this month for the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI, the pontiff invited him to the Vatican hotel where Francis lives. In front of the pope’s private study is a statue depicting Our Lady of Sheshan. Francis said when the cardinal saw it, ”he began to cry, like a child.”

Zen was arrested last year after he fell afoul of Hong Kong authorities over his participation in a now-silenced democracy movement.

https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-ap-interview-highlights-8b9ec42afec4e0c0691a54f756b257bc?utm_source=apnews&utm_medium=relatedcontentmodule

Whoa! Pfizer’s Latest Ad with Martha Stewart Claims the COVID Booster Shot will Take Out the COVID Virus – A COMPLETE LIE

There is power in suggestion and when done effectively, the result is persuasion. Public relations firms and marketing companies know this very well.

So is it a stretch to posit that what is being suggested in Pfizer’s new Covid-19 booster jab ad featuring Martha Stewart shows the Pfizer COVID booster shot can take out COVID variants?

In a Pfizer ad released last Wednesday to promote its updated bivalent COVID-19 booster, Stewart stands in the middle of a grand kitchen sharpening a sword while speaking to the audience.

“You know that unwelcome guest that everyone wishes would just leave already?” she asks. “That’s COVID-19.”

To prevent infection from the various Omicron subvariants of the virus, Stewart notes that she got the updated bivalent booster shot.

Then, in a dramatic twist, Stewart slices the top off of a pineapple on the counter before revealing a Band-Aid over her jab site on her arm.

After delivering menacing glares while sharpening her sword and effortlessly beheading a pineapple, Stewart stares into the viewers eyes while pointing her blade at them and says “Got it?”

Does this mean the Pfizer shot will protect you from contracting COVID? There is NO EVIDENCE that is true. The COVID shot will NOT protect you from getting COVID. The Pfizer COVID shot will not protect you from spreading COVID. This ad is a complete lie.

Or are they suggesting non-compliance with the directives of our Pfizer/Government overlords, will get you sliced?

Despite massive government and corporate campaigns to comply with vaccine dictates, the public has only grown more skeptical. The CDC reports only 15.3% of Americans are “up to date” on their booster jab.”

Perhaps this is why they feel compelled to produce a more forceful and suggestively threatening campaign.

“This is an age of mass production. In the mass production of materials a broad technique has been developed and applied to their distribution. In this age, too, there must be a technique for the mass distribution of ideas.”

-Edward Bernays, Pioneer in the field of Propaganda

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/whoa-get-boosted-get-beheaded-martha-stewart-new-pfizer-government-covid-19-booster-ad/