Quarter Of Americans Have No Interest In Taking COVID Vaccine — New Survey

President Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed,” a public-private partnership to develop a vaccine and ready it for mass production by early 2021, has generated anti-vaccine concerns among some Americans, a new survey finds.

The survey, published via Reuters/Ipsos on Thursday, found 25% of Americans have no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine.

About 36% of respondents said they would be less willing to take a vaccine if President Trump said it was safe. Only 14% said they would be interested.

Reuters/Ipsos surveyed 4,428 Americans between May 13-19 said they would need to review additional research on the vaccine to determine if it was safe.

A little less than 66% were “very” or “somewhat” interested in a vaccine if made readily available.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told Reuters, considering there are 92,000 virus-related deaths, he thought there would be a much higher amount of people that would want the vaccine.

“It’s a little lower than I thought it would be with all the attention to COVID-19,” said Schaffner. “I would have expected somewhere around 75 percent.”

The survey found 14% were not interested at all, 10% were not very interested, and 11% were unsure about subjecting themselves to a vaccine.

Health experts tell Reuters that, “at least 70% of Americans would need to be immune through a vaccine or prior infection to achieve what is known as “herd immunity,” when enough people are resistant to an infectious disease to prevent its spread.”

President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed program aims to produce 300 million doses of a vaccine by January, a goal that we’ve said is widely unrealistic.

The president’s constant hype of vaccines has led some people to believe many of the drugs in development are being rushed and could have dangerous side effects. Ron Paul recently warned “rushed-into-production” vaccines for other viruses have had disastrous health consequences for some people.

Nearly 84% of respondents said vaccines for measles are safe, suggesting that people are doubtful about a rushed vaccine for COVID-19. Of the folks who were “not very” interested in taking the vaccine, 29% of them said they would reassess their thoughts once the FDA approved it.

Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where his staff is currently developing a vaccine, said:

It’s not surprising a significant percentage of Americans are not going to take the vaccine because of the terrible messaging we’ve had, the absence of a communication plan around the vaccine and this very aggressive anti-vaccine movement.

The poll underlines how political divides among Democrats and Republicans predate the pandemic, but lockdowns have since catalyzed new divides and exacerbating old ones. That being, nearly 20% of Republicans said they had no interest in a vaccine, which was more than double the proportion of Democrats who said the same.

With creepy billionaire Bill Gates and big government rushing vaccines into development and for possible mass production next year — the anti-vaccine movement in America continues to grow.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2020/05/quarter-of-americans-have-no-interest-in-taking-covid-vaccine.html

The 5 tribes of coronavirus: Society has divided up in surprising, and not so surprising ways

Times of crisis bring people together under a common cause – says the propaganda of the blind optimist. What we’ve actually seen during the coronavirus pandemic is society divide into different tribes; here are five of them.

The Remain-at-Homers

This group will not leave their homes no matter what, as a matter of principle. By pure coincidence they also tend to have the biggest houses and largest gardens, and jobs they can do comfortably from their well-equipped studies. It’s not self-discipline getting them through lockdown, but pure smugness – which you can see on their face when they gleefully tell you, via Zoom, how long it’s been since they left the house in much the same manner a veteran might describe landing on Omaha Beach or defending Stalingrad.

The Anti-Lockdowners

This lot can be heard saying things like, “it’s just a nasty cold,” or “grandad was going to die anyway.” However they justify it, they’re just not interested in being forced to stay at home. You’ll see them angrily protesting for their right to get a beer and a haircut… or perhaps you’ll see them in the hospital on a ventilator recovering from a nasty cold.

The Hypocrites

The Hypocrites are a strange mix of Remain-at-Homer and Anti-Lockdowner. These virtue signallers will keep up the smug facade of those who are following all the rules by staying at home to watch Netflix. However, don’t be fooled because they’re also going shopping for essential supplies three times a day and exercising twice a day, despite the fact that they hadn’t even run for a bus in two decades before all this started. Yep, they spend more time outside than they used to!

The Snitches

And then there are the Snitches. These are your neighbours who spend the whole day longingly staring out the window dreaming of freedom, but as soon as they see you walk out the front door to buy bread and booze, they call the police to get you properly locked down. Solidarity has its limits.

The Conspiracists

These are the people who think Covid-19 is a Bill Gates plan to force you to buy Windows 27. Or that the government is just trying to wipe out pensioners. Or that 5G is downloading the virus straight into your brain in an impressive two seconds as long as your cell plan is up to date. Whatever the theory, as long as there is no proof, they’ll tell you all about it. Via Zoom.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/489356-coronavirus-divided-society-surprising-ways/

Private property: US Senators unveil law to ‘protect’ Covid-19 vaccine from Beijing’s ‘theft & sabotage’

A group of Senate Republicans has introduced the “Covid-19 Vaccine Protection Act,” arguing that any future inoculation must be kept safe from Chinese “sabotage” and theft, placing blame for the pandemic squarely on Beijing.

The seven GOP lawmakers, led by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, announced the bill on Thursday, which they said is needed to prevent China “from stealing or sabotaging American Covid-19 vaccine research.”

“Communist China is responsible for the Coronavirus pandemic, and their lies and misinformation cost American lives,” Scott said in a statement. “We cannot let Communist China off the hook for this, and we absolutely cannot allow Communist China to steal or sabotage any American research efforts related to the Coronavirus vaccine.”

The act would require a “thorough national security evaluation” and clearance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FBI and State Department, the senators said, ultimately hoping to investigate “all Chinese student visa holders” currently working on vaccine research in the US.

Mincing no words, Senator Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee) said “We will not stand idly by and watch them steal American vaccine research through spies posing as students,” insisting Beijing must not be allowed to “harm US efforts to create a vaccine.”

It’s unclear why the Chinese government would seek to “sabotage” work on an immunization, given that the country experienced its own severe coronavirus outbreak and, like the rest of the world, still lacks a vaccine. Beyond casting blame for the pandemic and fielding accusations about past intellectual property theft, the senators offered little evidence that Beijing has obstructed any research.

https://www.rt.com/usa/489407-gop-senators-china-vaccine/

Germany: Migrants attack reception center employees and police

Six employees at a migrant reception facility in Baden-Württemberg were injured after being attacked by migrants over the weekend.

At least thirty police officers were called to the migrant reception center in Ellwagen on Sunday evening after security guards were assaulted by violent migrants staying at the facility. Police are now investigating the attackers for committing dangerous bodily harm, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports.

According to police, the incident began when a 13-year-old Afghan and a 43-year-old Gambian got into a quarrel over a water bottle in the canteen. What started out as a verbal dispute quickly became physical when the African struck the Afghan across the face.

When security personnel attempted to intervene and calm the situation, the migrants quickly redirected their anger and hostility toward the center’s staff members. Next, the 43-year-old and several other migrants began attacking employees. When the migrants were forced out of the canteen, about 15 of them armed themselves with chairs and shards of broken glass and pushed their way back into the building. Other migrants are said to have cheered the attackers on before eventually joining them in the canteen.

It was at this point that police were called in to quell the revolt.

In a separate incident which took place at an asylum center in Geldersheim, Lower Franconia, a mob of 100 migrants gathered, at first to protest lockdown measures, but later attacked employees and police officers, German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reports.

Two police helicopters, the Schweinfurt police, Supplementary Operative Services Schweinfurt and Würzburg, and forces from the Würzburg riot police had to be called to the location to maintain order.

The violent demonstrations left one police officer with injuries, while 16 asylum seekers were arrested for dangerous bodily harm and coercion.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/germany-migrants-attack-reception-center-employees-and-police/

Greece: Turkish armed forces seize pocket of Greek territory

The Hellenic Armed Forces are reporting that Turkish soldiers and police have permanently occupied a pocket of Greek territory along their shared border in a blatant disregard for the sovereignty of both Greece and the European Union.

The pocket lies on the Evros River, which runs along the border, in the Feres region. It is undeniably part of Greece — even Google Maps clearly marks the area where the Turks have established themselves as Greek territory.

The occupation comes as Greek border forces, assisted by police officers and soldiers from many European Union countries, have been battling a new wave of illegal migrants as they nightly try to storm the border — often with the aid of Turkish personnel — since Turkey’s President, Recep Erdoğan, announced in February that his country would no longer stop migrants who try to enter Greece from his country’s territory.

The latest Turkish incursion began when approximately ten Turkish soldiers and security personnel set up a tent near the disputed area on their own territory. Gradually, more and more troops gathered, eventually comprising a force of more than 35 men. They then crossed into Greek territory and set up a camp there, and proceeded to deforest the area, as reported by Army Voice, the news portal of the Hellenic Armed Forces.

Since the border is demarcated by the Evros River, its natural course sometimes changes as a result of the natural force of erosion, creating alluviums on either side of it. This causes some Greek territory to move to the eastern side of the river, although the Turks refuse to acknowledge this and claim all such areas as their own.

The disputed region has a troubled history in relations between the two nations. Two Turkish soldiers were arrested there in 2018, and a Greek soldier, Zisis Karagogou, was killed by Turkish forces there in 1986.

The Greek military had recently sent geographers to the region to determine how the Evros dam could be expanded as a security measure. Such expansion would act as a barrier, making it more difficult for migrants to cross the river. The alterations require some activity on the eastern side of the river, however, and the Greek military has requested Turkey’s assistance in providing information about those alluviums. Turkey, however, has consistently refused to cooperate and refuses to acknowledge such alluviums as Greek territory.

This latest move appears to be part of a concerted campaign by the Turkish military to increase pressure on its European neighbor. In recent weeks Turkish fighter aircraft and military vessels have repeatedly violated Greek territory, and Turkish soldiers have even fired weapons across the border into Greece, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/greece-turkish-armed-forces-seize-pocket-of-greek-territory/

Italy: NGO Sea-Eye starts petition to get their migrant transports back

The German pro-migrant Non-Governmental Organisation Sea-Eye has started a petition to get their migrant transport, the Alan Kurdi, back from the Italian authorities after it was seized earlier this month. They are also demanding the release of the Aita Mari, another migrant transport.

The Alan Kurdi delivered approximately 150 illegal migrants to the port at Palermo, Sicily on April 6, as previously reported by Voice of Europe. They did this despite being asked to cease operations by the German Ministry of Foreigners due to the risk of spreading the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). The crew did not respond and proceeded with their activities in the Mediterranean.

The crew and its passengers were placed under quarantine upon arrival. Shortly after it docked, Italy closed its ports to migrants due to the danger of spreading the infection. Then, on May 5, the Italian Coast Guard impounded the vessel, claiming that it has irregularities that need to be repaired or else it would put the boat and its passengers in danger.

As the ship sails under a German flag, however, it is the German authorities who must determine if it complies with safety regulations or not, and the Germans claim that there are no violations. Thus, pro-migrant groups have been complaining that the Italians fabricated the accusation as a pretext to seize the vessel.

The same week, the Italian authorities also impounded the Aita Mari, another migrant transport operated by a Spanish NGO that had delivered migrants to Palermo.

The Alan Kurdi has been in the news frequently in recent years as it has been responsible for transporting many of the illegal migrants who cross the Mediterranean from Libya to European ports. Sea-Eye claims that the vessel has transported 688 migrants to date.

Many have questioned the Alan Kurdi’s activities, claiming that the line between carrying out supposed “rescue missions” and aiding human traffickers is unclear. They have been accused of picking up migrants in the Mediterranean who were brought there by smugglers and carrying them the rest of the way, thus aiding the criminal gangs.

Sea-Eye is now circulating a petition at Change.org to compel the Italian authorities to return the boat, as well as the Aita Mari, another ship operated by a pro-migrant NGO that is currently being held by them. They claim that their next mission, which is scheduled for June, is of vital importance as there are currently no “rescue ships” operating in the central Mediterranean.

The petition additionally demands that Italy and Malta reopen their ports to migrants in spite of the ongoing lockdown due to the pandemic, and says that all European Union member states must take in migrants, not only those on the Mediterranean coast.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/italy-ngo-sea-eye-starts-petition-to-get-their-migrant-transports-back/

https://sea-eye.org/en/inform/#about

McConnell on Senate ‘Obamagate’ Inquiry: After Impeachment, Pelosi Is Not in a Position to Lecture Us on ‘Appropriate Use of Time’

Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded to criticism from his House of Representatives counterpart Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the House Homeland Security Committee’s use of subpoena power in the lead-up to the 2017 investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

McConnell dismissed Pelosi’s comments given the length of time the House spent on impeachment under her leadership.

“I’d say to the speaker, after the impeachment, you — you’re not in a position to be lecturing us about what the appropriate use of Senate time is,” he said. “The House of Representatives is arguing before the Supreme Court that they’re still looking at yet another impeachment. They’re arguing that before the Supreme Court this week. Look, this is the legitimate oversight responsibility of the Senate.”

“There was a lot of apparent misbehavior going on in the opening of those investigations into General Flynn and others,” McConnell continued. “And so Ron Johnson, the head of Homeland Security, has got subpoenas out for Hunter Biden. Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has laid out a series of hearings and people that he wants to call to come testify. If the House can spend time on a baseless impeachment effort, then we should at least have oversight over what happened to initiate this whole process a couple of years ago.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/05/21/mcconnell-on-senate-obamagate-inquiry-after-impeachment-pelosi-is-not-in-a-position-to-lecture-us-on-appropriate-use-of-time/

Donald Trump Will Order Flags at Half Staff in Memory of Americans Lost to Coronavirus

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he would order flags to fly at half-staff to memorialize Americans lost to the coronavirus.

“I will be lowering the flags on all Federal Buildings and National Monuments to half-staff over the next three days in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president announced his decision after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asked Trump to mark the day when America reached the milestone of 100,000 deaths from the virus.

Pelosi and Schumer wrote in a letter to President Trump:

We will always carry their memory in our hearts. As we pay our respects to them, sadly, our country mourns the deaths of nearly 100,000 Americans from COVID-19. Our hearts are broken over this great loss and our prayers are with their families.

Currently the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States stands at 94,591 according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

The president said that the flags would fly at half-staff on Memorial Day to honor Americans who died serving in the U.S. military.

“On Monday, the flags will be at half-staff in honor of the men and women in our Military who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Nation,” he wrote.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/21/donald-trump-will-order-flags-at-half-staff-in-memory-of-americans-lost-to-coronavirus/

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Kenneth Braithwaite Confirmed as Next Navy Secretary

WASHINGTON – Kenneth Braithwaite was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote Thursday afternoon to be the 77th Navy Secretary.

Braithwaite is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Navy and then Navy Reserve for 27 years. While serving as the U.S. ambassador to Norway, President Donald Trump nominated him March 2 to be the next Navy secretary.

In his opening statement to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his nomination hearing May 7, Braithwaite said the Navy is in "troubled waters" and listed some of the recent failings that he believes have caused a breakdown in trust in Navy leadership. His list included the Fat Leonard scandal, the 2017 collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, as well as "judicial missteps" and the coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Braithwaite said if confirmed his top priority would be to "restore the appropriate culture" in the service. Culture is what gives an organization a sense of belonging and good order and discipline, he said.

"[Navy] culture exists. I won't say it's broken. I think it's been tarnished," Braithwaite said. "I think the events over the last several years have helped see that occur."

The Navy's recent secretaries have been embroiled in controversies in the last several months.

Richard Spencer, the last Navy secretary, was fired Nov. 24 by Defense Secretary Mark Esper for his handling of the personnel decision of Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder in 2019 but found guilty of posing in a photo with the dead body of an Islamic State fighter. Spencer had gone around Esper to propose a different strategy to the White House on handling Gallagher and the Navy's review of whether Gallagher would be able to retire with his SEAL trident pin.

Former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned April 7 after disparaging comments he made to the crew of the Roosevelt about the aircraft carrier's former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, were leaked online. The Navy announced Wednesday that the ship had left Guam nearly two months after coming into port due to a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 1,000 sailors aboard the ship.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/21/kenneth-braithwaite-confirmed-next-navy-secretary.html