Chinese coronavirus

Exclusive– J.D. Vance: Biden Vaccine Mandate Difference Between 'Free Country and Medical Tyranny'

September 20, 2021 by Katherine Hamilton Leave a Comment

A government advisory panel dealt a blow to the Biden administration on Friday by voting against a plan to recommend Pfizer coronavirus booster shots to everyone across the board — a move Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance said could bring about political fire from the White House and the public health bureaucracy.

“We’ve seen time and time again that the scientists have changed their mind under political pressure. I hope they don’t this time,” Vance told Breitbart News Saturday.

Nearly a month ago, the White House announced a plan to endorse booster shots for all Americans as the delta variant began to surge across the country. The government advisory panel last week instead only approved the idea of giving an extra vaccine dose to those who are 65 and older or who run a high risk of severe disease.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about combatting the coronavirus pandemic in the State Dining Room of the White House on September 9, 2021, in Washington, DC. As the Delta variant continues to spread around the United States, Biden outlined his administration’s six-point plan, including a requirement that all federal workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Biden is also instructing the Department of Labor to draft a rule mandating that all businesses with 100 or more employees require their workers to get vaccinated or face weekly testing. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Many scientists, including departing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) senior regulators, have criticized the administration’s push for booster shots and have said they are unnecessary for the general population.

“If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that public health in this country is unfortunately not so much about science as it is about power,” Vance noted. “And we’ve got to give these people much, much less power than they have right now.”

Vance also condemned President Joe Biden’s push for a federal vaccine mandate. In early September, Biden announced that the Department of Labor will require all employers with 100 or more workers to mandate their employees get vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus or else undergo coronavirus tests at least once a week. The official order and the timeline have not been publicly established, however.

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“I think that the vaccine mandate is a real red line. It’s the difference fundamentally between living in a free country and medical tyranny,” he said. “This is a real all hands on deck moment for the ‘America First’ movement because if we allow this to happen, we allow people like Fauci to effectively control our lives.”

Vance noted that he is not against vaccines — just government overreach. He encouraged business owners to reject Biden’s mandate if and when it is ever enforced.

“If you’re a business owner, don’t comply. Force them to come after you. There are ways to fight the rule once it’s actually issued,” he said.

Vance ultimately called attention to Biden’s broken promise to “vanquish COVID,” which he said “was always ridiculous.”

TOPSHOT - Protestors opposed to Covid-19 vaccine mandates and vaccine passports by the government rally at City Hall in New York City on August 25, 2021. (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters opposed to Covid-19 vaccine mandates and vaccine passports by the government rally at City Hall in New York City on August 25, 2021. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

“The idea that you are going to vanquish a respiratory virus — like he’s not God. It’s ridiculous that he would pretend he could do something like that,” he said. “And now we’re seeing obviously the failure of his policies on multiple fronts.”

As for the future of booster shots, the FDA will most likely consider the panel’s advice within the next week and make an official decision. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also expected to weigh in.

Lowest Approval of Presidency for Joe Biden: Reuters Poll

September 17, 2021 by Jacob Bliss Leave a Comment

President Joe Biden’s approval continued to slide Friday as he received the lowest numbers from a Reuters/Ipsos poll amid growing criticism focused on his Chinese coronavirus pandemic response and botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

The poll, which was conducted nationally this week and collected responses from more Democrats than Republicans, revealed just 44 percent of adults in the United States approve of Biden’s performance in office.

The poll noted the president’s popularity has slowly been declining since mid-August when he botched the withdrawal from Afghanistan, resulting in the death of 13 U.S. servicemembers and the Afghan government collapsing.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a conference call on climate change with the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on September 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Biden’s response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic also dropped below 50 percent for the first time in his presidency. Only about 48 percent approved Biden’s Chinese coronavirus-related policies, compared to the 46 percent who disapproved of the policies.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online between September 15 and 16 through the United States.

There were 1,005 adults respondents who were weighted more towards the Democrat’s side, with 442 Democrats and 360 Republicans. The poll’s margin of error was four percentage points.

Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.

Florida Landlord to Evict People Who Refuse Coronavirus Jab

September 17, 2021 by Katherine Hamilton Leave a Comment

A Florida landlord who owns eight apartment complexes totaling 1,200 units has given his tenants an ultimatum: get the Chinese coronavirus vaccine or get out.

Santiago A. Alvarez, 80, who mostly owns properties in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, told his employees and new tenants they must be able to show proof of vaccination by August 15. Those who already live in the building must get vaccinated if they wish to renew their leases.

“We have to be concerned about our tenants and our employees. All of these are private properties. We’re just trying to keep people safe and healthy. It’s going to cost us money, but we’re very firm on that,” Alvarez told Florida’s Sun-Sentinel after 15 of his tenants died in the pandemic.

Whether the move is legal is another matter entirely. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill this year that bans businesses, educational institutions, and government entities from requiring vaccine passports. The rule went into effect on Thursday and will be enforced by the Florida Department of Health.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of a monoclonal antibody site Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, in Pembroke Pines, FL. The site at C. B. Smith Park will offer monoclonal antibody treatment sold by Regeneron to people who have tested positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

“Florida law is clear. A business owner cannot require vaccine passports as a condition of entry. Each violation of the law will result in a $5000 fine,” Gov. DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw told Breitbart News on Thursday when asked if Alvarez is in violation of the vaccine passport ban.

Pushaw further said people’s jobs and housing should not be jeopardized over a “personal medical decision.”

“As Governor DeSantis said, nobody should lose their job over these unscientific and overreaching vaccine mandates. The same goes for housing; nobody should be denied a roof over their head because of a personal medical decision,” Pushaw said.

“As a side note, it is ironic how the Left is all for the CDC’s unconstitutional eviction moratorium, but they apparently have no problem with a landlord threatening to evict lawful paying tenants over vaccination status,” she continued.

Francesca Anacleto, 12, receives her first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot from nurse Jorge Tase, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Miami Beach, FL. On Tuesday, the CDC added more than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases in the state over the previous three days, pushing the seven-day average to one the highest counts since the pandemic began, an eightfold increase since July 4. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

However, Alvarez’s attorney, Juan C. Zorrilla, said he believes his client is not violating the vaccine passport ban because tenants are not “customers or patrons,” the Washington Post reported. He further said Alvarez is not providing a service to them and is willing to make exceptions for religious and medical exemptions.

Alvarez’s order has already cost one tenant a place to live. Jasmine Irby’s lease was up on August 31, but she had no plans of getting the vaccine, according to the Post. Instead, she left at the end of the month and moved in with family.

“No one wants to live anywhere where they are not wanted … If that’s the case, then I might as well get out,” Irby said. “It was just best that I walked away.”

Colorado Teachers Could Face Arrest for Not Enforcing Mask Mandate, Parents to Sue Health Department

September 16, 2021 by Katherine Hamilton Leave a Comment

A group of at least ten Colorado parents is planning to sue the Tri-County Health Department over its mask mandate, which threatens teachers and administrators with arrest and fines if they do not enforce or follow the rule, CBS Denver reported on Tuesday.

Last week, the superintendent of Littleton Public Schools “told the school board they could be held criminally liable for not enforcing the mask mandate,” according to the report. The health department reportedly said educators will be guilty of committing a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine if they do not enforce the mandate.

“I’m not an anti-masker. I support anything that we can do. What I am against is abusing the power of teachers against their will, against the will of the children and against the will of people,” said Tara Kohl, who is among the parents filing the lawsuit. Her son is in third grade at Pine Grove Elementary School in Parker.

Kohl told the station a teacher at her son’s school would not let him inside unless he put on a face mask.

A masked student waits before the bell at Enrique S. Camarena Elementary School, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, in Chula Vista, Calif. The school is among the first in the state to start the 2021-22 school year with full-day, in-person learning. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

“There was about 30 kids lined up behind him. His friends, our neighbors, people he cares about. He was humiliated in front all of them. My son was cowering in the corner in tears, covering his face,” she said.

According to the report, Kohl said the local health department is to blame “for a culture of fear and intimidation,” and has “turned teachers into law enforcers.”

“I do not expect teachers and principals to put their jobs on the line for something like this. It’s totally inappropriate,” she said.

Attorney George Brauchler, who is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the parents, contended that the mandate is illegal.

“The idea that we’re going to convert parents and teachers into enforcers of this order at the risk of their own liberty, that’s not American. We are now threatening people with the strongest powers government has, to lock you up and take away your liberty, to get them to comply,” Brauchler said.

A students adjusts her facemask at St. Joseph Catholic School in La Puente, California on November 16, 2020, where pre-kindergarten to Second Grade students in need of special services returned to the classroom today for in-person instruction. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Kohl said while her son does not have a medical exemption, which the health department’s mandate allows withe a doctor’s note, she believes teachers should not be “forcing him” and even “shaming him” to wear a mask.

“I think we need to stand up now when it’s about masks and when all agree teachers shouldn’t be the ones in the line of fire in this scenario,” she said.

Tri-County Health Department released a statement to CBS Denver following the initial report:

Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) works with the school districts to get voluntary compliance rather than reaching out to individual teachers or classrooms. TCHD provides education and support in an effort to obtain voluntary compliance. We appreciate all that teachers do and are doing to help preserve in-person learning for students. While the law does set penalties for public health order violations, schools have been successfully implementing the mask order with the shared goal of keeping children safe and in school.