The government will issue guidance stating that people will still be "expected to wear masks in indoor, enclosed places" after the final step of releasing lockdown restrictions, Nadhim Zahawi has said.
The vaccines minister told Sky News he is "confident" that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to announce on Monday that COVID restrictions will be lifted on 19 July as planned despite the surge in cases.
But he revealed the PM will inform the public that they should continue to wear face coverings in crowded places, despite the legal requirement to do so ending from step four of the government's roadmap out of lockdown.
Earlier this week, when setting out the details of his planned unlocking for the fourth and final step of his roadmap on 19 July, the PM said from this point there will be no more legal requirement on wearing face masks in shops or on public transport.
However, Mr Zahawi's comments on Sunday suggested more caution over lifting the policy of wearing face masks altogether.
And on Wednesday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs he is "very relaxed" about airlines, train firms and bus operators imposing their own COVID-related rules, including on wearing face masks, beyond 19 July.
Shadow education secretary Kate Green told Sky News the changing positions from government ministers is a "recipe for confusion" and said it could lead to "more confrontations".
She added that Labour believes "mandatory mask-wearing should continue in public places" and called for face coverings to be compulsory on trams in Manchester and the tube network in London.
A final decision on England's path out of restrictions is expected to be taken on Monday and the PM is suffering a backlash over his plans to ditch rules on wearing face masks.
Doctors, regional mayors, trade unions and health charities are among those who have expressed fears over the relaxed measures.
And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also warned that lifting all restrictions in one go would be "reckless".
Wales has already deviated from the UK Government's position on mask wearing, announcing that face masks will remain mandatory there in some public places until COVID-19 is no longer a public health threat.
Masks must still be worn in taxis, on trains and buses, as well as health and social care settings when coronavirus restrictions are eased, the Welsh government said.
Meanwhile, on vaccines, Mr Zahawi dismissed a story in The Sunday Times which suggested the gap between receiving the two doses of the COVID jab could be cut to four weeks.
Mr Zahawi said the eight-week interval between vaccine doses provides "much better" protection from coronavirus as he dismissed reports that the gap is due to be reduced from eight weeks to four.
"I think it is important that we remain cautious and careful and the guidelines that we will set out tomorrow will demonstrate that - including guidelines that people are expected to wear masks in indoor, enclosed spaces," Mr Zahawi said.
"The real-world data, the clinical data suggests that actually the eight-week interval offers that additional fortification in terms of protection with the two doses, at much better than having the interval shortened any further," he told Sky News.
Labour's Ms Green said her party would support reducing the time interval between two jabs if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended it.
"The priority, of course now, is also to make sure that people who have not been vaccinated at all get the vaccine, and it is concerning that the rate of vaccinations is slowing and that some groups are still not being able to come forward and be vaccinated," she told Sky News.
All over 18s are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in England.
Earlier this week, the government announced that from 16 August, double jabbed individuals and all children will no longer need to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
And Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also confirmed that fully vaccinated adults and all children will no longer have to quarantine on their return from amber list countries from 19 July.
File Photo: Healthcare professionals are holding a vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site operated by SOMOS Community Care during an epidemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manhattan, NY, USA. January 29, 2021. REUTERS / Mike Segar
July 10, 2021
Hanoi (Reuters) -Vietnam received the first shipment of the Modena corona virus vaccine donated by the US government as Southeast Asian countries fight the worst outbreak, the US Embassy in Hanoi said on Saturday.
The embassy said in an e-mail statement that the cargo, delivered via a COVAX shared facility, will be the 80 million shipments that President Joe Biden has committed to support global needs from the US vaccine supply. He said it was part of the vaccination.
After successfully containing the coronavirus in most of the pandemics, Vietnam has faced a more stubborn outbreak since late April and is calling on the government to accelerate vaccination.
The Ministry of Health reported 1,625 new infections on Friday. This is the fifth consecutive day of over 1,000 cases. Vietnam has recorded 26,600 infections and 110 deaths overall, which is still relatively low compared to European countries, India and the United States.
Most of Vietnams new incidents have occurred in the epicenter of Ho Chi Minh City, and on Friday, along with several other cities, a 15-day widespread travel restriction began.
State media reports that half of Modernas dose will be poured into 9 million people in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday.
Vietnam has been vaccinated about 8 million times so far, most of which are under international COVAX sharing facilities. Although more than 4 million doses have been given, only about 258,000 are fully vaccinated out of a total population of 98 million.
(Report by James Pearson; Edited by Tom Hogue)
Vietnam is vaccinated with 2 million coronavirus vaccines to combat the worst outbreaks
Source link Vietnam is vaccinated with 2 million coronavirus vaccines to combat the worst outbreaks
Nadhim Zahawi says people will be expected to wear masks in indoors enclosed spaces
Boris Johnson will share the governments latest coronavirus data with the nation tomorrow, and is expected to confirm the next phase of easing restrictions on 19 July, according to vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.
Appearing on Sky News Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Zahawi revealed guidance will include being expected to wear masks in indoor enclosed places even though the legal requirement to do so would be dropped.
Meanwhile, the governments Test and Trace service is panicking as it rushes to fill thousands of vacant contact tracing positions just months after making thousands of clinical staff redundant amid fears a summer wave of coronavirus will see a 100,000 infections a day.
Under the plans, the new recruits will have no clinical training and be paid at substantially cheaper rates compared to the nurses and other clinical staff who were made redundant en masse in May, as test and trace bosses said demand on the service had reduced.
A further 26 deaths and 31,772 daily cases were reported on Sunday, according to official data.
Supporters gathered in central London see Englands performance as welcome good news after 18 months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Simon Brown, 36, told Press Association: I think after coronavirus everyone just wants a reason to be happy and we all got behind it. Even if we dont get through - weve done well to get to the finals. Ill drink to that.
I think England will win. Youve got to get behind the team - youve got to. Weve got the home advantage and the crowd will be behind them. Its now or never.
Mr Brown will be watching the match at a bar in Chiswick. He added: It would be a shame if they lose because the atmosphere is so good and everyones so happy and that would definitely dent it. But well see.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 18:21
Anti-lockdown protests forced a vaccination centre in Brighton and Hove to postpone jabs this weekend.
NHS Brighton and Hove CCG announced that vaccinations on Hove Lawns were being postponed due to the team facing disruption during the anti-lockdown measures protest in the city.
Social media footage shows protesters, including anti-vaccination campaigner Piers Corbyn, surrounding a health service bus on Saturday.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 17:59
London could be hit hardest once all Covid restrictions are lifted on 19 July due to the high number of over-50s in the capital who have not had a Covid vaccination, writes science correspondent Samuel Lovett in this Independent Premium piece.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 17:41
Police have again urged fans not to travel to Wembley after large crowds gathered in the area more than four hours before kick-off.
London mayor Sadiq Khan also made the same appeal, adding: Wherever youre watching the match, please do so safely.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 17:01
South Tyneside has the highest rate of new Covid cases in the UK, at 1,203 per 100,000 population for the week ending 6 July (the latest available accurate figures).
It means the North East region is currently the hot spot for coronavirus in England.
Of the four nations, Scotland has the highest rate at 400.7, with the average for the UK as a whole being 298.1.
Here are the top ten regions, according to the governments Covid dashboard.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 16:42
More than 300,000 people received a Covid jab yesterday, including 93,763 first doses and 211,446 second doses.
Around 87.1 per cent of the UK adult population (45.9 million) have received a first dose and around 66 per cent (34.8 million) have received a second dose.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 16:15
A further 26 deaths and 31,772 cases have been reported today, according to the latest official daily update.
It brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test to 128,425.
There have been a total of 152,725 deaths with Covid mentioned on the death certificate.
Peter Stubley11 July 2021 16:11
A further 529 cases of Covid were recorded in Senegal on Sunday a record in new daily cases there since the start of the pandemic, and a sign that a third wave of infections was gaining speed.
The growing infection rate has alarmed authorities, but they have stopped short of imposing stringent measures to curb the spread after previous restrictions led to economic hardship that helped to fuel violent protests in March.
Senegal has reported 46,179 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and 1,194 deaths.
So far it has vaccinated close to 600,000 from a total population of around 16 million.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 16:05
Airline bosses and Scottish airports have written to Nicola Sturgeon asking her to bring in the same rules as England for quarantine-free travel from amber-list countries.
From 19 July, travellers from amber-list areas who have had both coronavirus vaccine doses will not have to self-isolate if they return to England.
CEOs from AGS Airports - which owns the terminals in Aberdeen and Glasgow - as well as easyJet, Loganair, Jet2 and Tui want to see the same exemption applied in Scotland, saying the UK governments announcement was a positive move towards the genuine reopening the sector has been looking for.
Connectivity is vital for Scotland, with current restrictions causing further ongoing damage to Scottish aviation and Scottish businesses, jeopardising tens of thousands of jobs up and down the country that depend on Scotlands air links, they write in the letter.
We urge you to support travellers and Scotlands aviation sector by bringing a quarantine exemption into effect for fully vaccinated UK residents from 19 July.
A Scottish government spokeswoman said ahead of Ms Sturgeons next lockdown easing announcement: We are considering relaxing restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from amber-list countries, but it needs to be fair and deliverable.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 15:32
Vaccinations at a site in Brighton have been postponed following anti-lockdown demonstrations in the city, after protestors surrounded a vaccination bus on the seafront on Saturday.
NHS Brighton and Hove CCG announced that vaccinations on Hove Lawns were postponed on Sunday to ensure that everyone is able to receive their vaccine safely and without any pressure put upon them.
The healthcare provider said its staff experienced disruption during the anti-lockdown measures protest in the city. Vaccinations are still available elsewhere in the city.
Brighton and Hove has experienced a sharp rise in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, with the area recording 423.5 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to 5 July, according to data analysis by the PA news agency.
One of the protestors, who described the demonstration as decent, posted the below footage to Twitter.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 15:21
SELECT LA COUNTY COVID-19 TESTING SITES TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO COLD WEATHER
Due to safety concerns from theextreme cold weatherin impactedregions across LA County, the following LA CountyCOVID-19testing sites will temporarily close today,Wednesday,Jan.27, and will remain closed until conditions improve:
Click here to learn more.
Free COVID-19 Testing
The City of Los Angeles, in partnership with Curative Inc. and CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), is providing free COVID-19 testing to ALL Los Angeles County residents, whether or not you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
The test is free, whether or not you have insurance. If you have insurance, the provider may bill your insurance carrier for the cost of the test. By law, the insurance company may not charge you any co-pay, deductible, or any out-of-pocket expense for the test. You can visit any City of L.A.site without an appointment.
Visit one of the City of L.A. testing site locations or find a location near you using the interactive map below.
The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR) reports as of July 9, 2021, there have been 3,039,147 totalconfirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 164,465 totalcases and 2,908 deaths.
DHHR hasconfirmed the deaths of a 57-year old male from MonroeCounty, an 83-year old female from Kanawha County, a 74-year old male fromRaleigh County, and an 82-year old female from Berkeley County.
As we send our condolences to these grievingfamilies, we remind West Virginians that a COVID-19 vaccine is the bestprotection from getting very sick with COVID, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHRCabinet Secretary. "I urge all state residentswho have not yet received their vaccine to schedule an appointment.
CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,516), Berkeley(12,883), Boone (2,179), Braxton (1,022), Brooke (2,249), Cabell (8,901),Calhoun (397), Clay (543), Doddridge (647), Fayette (3,561), Gilmer (888),Grant (1,316), Greenbrier (2,906), Hampshire (1,929), Hancock (2,846), Hardy(1,587), Harrison (6,217), Jackson (2,268), Jefferson (4,808), Kanawha(15,516), Lewis (1,304), Lincoln (1,606), Logan (3,305), Marion (4,665),Marshall (3,541), Mason (2,067), McDowell (1,619), Mercer (5,205), Mineral(2,991), Mingo (2,773), Monongalia (9,399), Monroe (1,227), Morgan (1,237),Nicholas (1,909), Ohio (4,316), Pendleton (726), Pleasants (961), Pocahontas(683), Preston (2,964), Putnam (5,346), Raleigh (7,104), Randolph (2,863),Ritchie (762), Roane (667), Summers (865), Taylor (1,287), Tucker (548), Tyler(751), Upshur (1,980), Wayne (3,184), Webster (554), Wetzel (1,396), Wirt(458), Wood (7,957), Wyoming (2,066).
Delays maybe experienced with the reporting of information from the local healthdepartment to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local healthdepartment level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may notbe a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in questionmay have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Lincoln, Mingo,Monongalia, and Ohio counties in this report. Please visit www.coronavirus.wv.govfor more detailed information.
West Virginians 12years and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.Tolearn more about the vaccine, or to find a vaccine site near you, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965. WestVirginians ages 12 and older who have had at least one dose of the COVID-19vaccine can register for the Do it for Babydog: Save a life, Change your lifevaccine sweepstakes by visitingdoitforbabydog.wv.gov.
Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley,Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, and Wayne counties.
Barbour County
9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Barbour County Health Department, 109 Wabash Avenue,Philippi, WV
Berkeley County10:00 AM 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place,Martinsburg, WVGrant County
11:00 AM 3:00 PM, Viking Memorial Field Parking Lot, 157-109 Rig Street, Petersburg, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Jefferson County
12:00 PM 5:00 PM, Shepherd University Wellness Center Parking Lot, 164University Drive, Shepherdstown, WV
Lincoln County
9:00 AM 3:00 PM, Lincoln County HealthDepartment, 8008 Court Avenue, Hamlin, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Logan County
12:00 PM 5:00 PM, Old 84 Lumber Building,100 Recovery Road, Peach Creek, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Marshall County
11:00 AM 5:00 PM, Cameron City Building, 44 Main Street, Cameron, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Mineral County
10:00 AM 4:00 PM, Mineral County HealthDepartment, 541 Harley O. Staggers Drive, Keyser, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Monongalia County
9:00 AM 12:00 PM, WVU Recreation Center, Lower Level, 2001 Rec CenterDrive, Morgantown, WV
Wayne County
10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Wayne Community Center,11580 Rt. 152, Wayne, WV
For additional free COVID-19 testingopportunities across the state, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
People walk past restaurants and bars as the Netherlands battles to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amsterdam, Netherlands October 14 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
AMSTERDAM, July 9 (Reuters) - The Netherlands on Friday re-imposed restrictions on nightclubs, restaurants and music festivals just weeks after they were lifted, in an effort to halt a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections, mostly among young adults.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the measures would take effect from Saturday morning and remain in place until Aug. 14.
Reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Stephanie van den BergEditing by Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
A small but worrisome coronavirus cluster has been linked to the Southern Baptist Conventions annual meeting in Nashville, the first large-scale conference held in the city after it lifted restrictions on gatherings, according to the Metro Public Health Department.
About eight to 10 infections have been detected among attendees since the event in mid-June, which is enough to be classified as an COVID-19 cluster, said Metro Health epidemiologist Leslie Waller.
The cluster is almost certainly larger but difficult to measure because most attendees live outside of Tennessee, Waller said. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have issued an alert asking health officials in other states to contact Metro Health if they discover more infections that trace back to the Baptist event.
We have eight to 10 cases confirmed, Waller said. Do we assume there are more? Yes. Can we give you any idea as to how many more? No, we cant.
The Southern Baptist Conventions annual meeting, a two-day event at which Baptist churchgoers elected leaders and debated controversial topics, drew more than 15,000 attendees to Music City Center starting on June 15. Tensions ran high as attendeestackled critical race theory, sexual abusein the church, and staved off an effort to push the conservative denomination even further to the right.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC in TENNESSEE: Tennessees COVID-19 deaths now almost all among the unvaccinated
VACCINE EVENTS FOR TEENS HALTED: Health officials halt vaccine events for teens amid conservative pressure
Waller said the cluster is large enough to justify notifying the thousands of people who attended the event. Jonathan Howe, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said the organization hadn'talerted attendees and was working with city and state health officials to identify its next steps.
It is not yet known if any of the cluster involves the delta variant, a more transmissible version of the coronavirus, Waller said. Variant strains can only be identified if virus samples are subjected to a secondary level of testing known as genomic sequencing, which is performed only sparingly.
The Baptist event was a long-awaited revival of Nashvilles lucrative convention industry, which normally brings a steady stream of tourists to the city for work and play. Before the pandemic, conferences like this accounted for 40% of Nashvilles tourism businesses, said Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., while speaking in May in anticipation of the gathering.
But the event also poised a clear infection risk amid a smoldering pandemic, particularly because Nashville lifted its mask mandate and gathering restrictions one month prior.Few attendees wore masks at the event and social distancing was all but non-existent inside Music City Center.
The gathering is also likely to have attracted a less-vaccinated crowd. The Southern Baptist Convention is a network of conservative evangelical churches, and public polling has found the highest levels of vaccine hesitancy among evangelical conservatives, particularlyin Southern states.
INVESTIGATION: Where Trump got more votes, fewer get COVID-19 vaccines
Howe said the event followed virus protocols put forth by health departments and provided special seating for attendees who preferred to wear masks and remain distanced.
The Nashville meeting was the largest gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention since 1995, drawing more than 15,700 voting attendees, plus guests, from all 50 states, according to The Baptist Press, a publication run by the convention. The pandemic forced the convention to cancel its meeting in 2020, so the Nashville event was the first such gathering since a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama in 2019.
Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A vial of saline and the Pfizer COVID19 vaccine at the Woods Cross High School pop-up clinic by Nomi Health, April 27, 2021. County and regional health districts are setting up vaccination clinics in high schools, to get the COVID-19 vaccine to 16- and 17-year-olds.
| July 9, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Editors note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
For the third day in a row, the number of new cases of the coronavirus in Utah easily exceeded 600. There were 655 reported on Friday, 695 on Thursday and 673 on Wednesday.
A total of 1,996 have tested positive for the virus in the last three days. The last time the count was above 600 three days in a row was Feb. 24-26, about four-and-half months ago.
UDOH reported five more deaths due to coronavirus, and, after further review by the medical examiner, removed one reported on May 21.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered 6,320 / 2,902,020.
Utahns fully vaccinated 1,426,782.
Cases reported in past day 655.
Deaths reported in past day Five a woman in Carbon County over the age of 85; a woman 65-84 in Tooele County; two men in Utah County, one 25-44 and one 45-64; and a woman 65-84 in Tooele County..
Tests reported in past day 4,426 people were tested for the first time. A total of 7,624 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day 237. Thats seven more than on Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 100 are in intensive care, eight more than on Thursday.
Percentage of positive tests Under the states original method, the rate is 14.8%. Thats higher than the seven-day average of 11.6%.
The states new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Fridays rate was 8.6%, higher than the seven-day average of 7.8%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Heres what that means.]
Totals to date 418,976 cases; 2,393 deaths; 17,757 hospitalizations; 2,825,596 people tested.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Photo: Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Waterkeeper Alliance (Getty Images)
For decades, the Kennedy family was one of the most powerful political dynasties in the country, the most famous of which need no introduction: President John F. Kennedy, his brothers Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy, and his son, JFK Jr.
Then theres Robert Kennedy Jr., JFKs nephew, who has spent his career both as an environmental activist and as one of the nations most prominent anti-vax conspiracy theorists via his role as the chair of Childrens Health Defense. For years, that group has launched scientifically baseless accusations that vaccines, fluoridated drinking water, acetaminophen, aluminum, wireless technology, and other chemicals and technologies are responsible for autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, cancer, allergies, autoimmune conditions, and basically any other condition that pops up in children. Other members of the Kennedy clan famously wrote a letter in 2019 saying that while RFK Jr. was one of the great champions of the environment, he has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines.
The coronavirus pandemic presented a golden opportunity for RFK Jr. to continue promoting anti-vax causes, which he did with relish. In May 2021, a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Anti-Vax Watch named Kennedy as one of the 12 individuals with massive online followings who were disproportionately responsible for the spread of anti-vax conspiracy theories on Facebook and Twitter. According to Vanity Fair, groups like Anti-Vax Watch say that Kennedy is particularly dangerous among the Disinformation Dozen because he is the only one with widespread name recognition outside of preexisting anti-vax circles.
As Vanity Fair noted, RFK Jr. is, surprisingly, spectacularly educated, with an undergrad degree from Harvard, London School of Economics classes, a University of Virginia law degree, and a masters in environmental law from Pace University. Yet he has no scientific background whatsoever.
Via The Defender, Childrens Health Defenses blog, RFK Jr. has misinterpreted Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics to insist that coronavirus vaccines have resulted in mass injury and death, rattled off debunked claims that the CDC wildly inflated coronavirus death counts, and speculated that baseball legend Hank Aarons death was caused by the Moderna MRNA vaccine. (RFK Jr. claims that his remarks on Aaron were misinterpreted as asserting a conclusive link and that he merely meant to suggest that his death was part of a wave of suspicious deaths among elderly closely following administration of COVID vaccines.) His group also released a documentary in March 2021 called Medical Racism: The New Apartheid, which splices the sordid history of racist medical atrocities like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment with interviews of Black Americans about coronavirus vaccines.
NPR reported that the film is laden with misinformation, expounding on the non-existent link between vaccines and autism, misinterpreting scientific studies (at least one of which was retracted) to claim Black individuals are particularly at risk for vaccine injury, and asserting that covid-19 pandemic is propaganda. Two credible experts, Yale medical historian Naomi Rogers and past National Medical Association president Dr. Oliver Brooks, told NPR they regretted appearing in the film. (CHD denies the film contains misinformation, telling NPR it contains peer reviewed sources and historical data.)
Rogers told the news agency she felt misled and used, had enormous problems with the films narrative, and that it had taken many of the ideas she feels for passionately, like health disparities, fighting racism in health, working against discrimination, and its been twisted for the purposes of this anti-vax movement. The overall intent of the film, according to the McGill Office for Science and Society, is to convince Black people they are being used as guinea pigs for coronavirus vaccines, despite the fact they have experienced disproportionately low access to vaccines for much of the pandemic.
According to Vanity Fair, RFK Jr. has held lavish fundraisers for anti-vax causes, such as a $150-a-head event at Californias Malibu Fig Ranch in September 2020, and later this year he is scheduled to release a book titled The Real Anthony Fauci: Big Pharmas Global War on Democracy, Humanity, and Public Health. Seemingly the only real pushback hes received from social media firms was his February 2021 ban on Instagram. RFK Jr. still has nearly 235,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 270,000 on Twitter. Childrens Health Defense has nearly 149,000 followers on Facebook, nearly 70,000 on Twitter, and over 45,000 on YouTube, with over 2.7 million video views.
