Tag: CDC

Commentary: You Don’t Need a Permission Slip to Go Back to Normal

Admin
Group of people together socializing at dinner table

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control did an about-face, announcing that the fully vaccinated among us may resume normal activities. The news came more than a year after California initiated the first lockdown on March 19, 2020.

The CDC’s new posture comes with some narrow exceptions. If you’re traveling on a plane or find yourself in a homeless shelter or in a medical or correctional facility, you still need to wear a mask; and the CDC made sure to clarify, apparently out of great deference for federalism and Hayekian spontaneous order, that its guidance does not predominate over the requirements of federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.

Before the CDC updated its pandemic guidance, this was exactly the position espoused by libertarian law professor Ilya Somin of George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law. Writing from his regular perch at the legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy, Somin’s argument is summarized nicely in the subheading of his piece, “Free the Vaccinated from COVID Restrictions”: “Doing so will protect constitutional rights, reduce vaccine hesitancy, and increase liberty—all at once.”

Read the full story

Florida’s Tourism Industry Crippled During Pandemic, Shows Improvement

Casey Owens
People on the beach during daytime

The state of Florida’s tourism industry took a huge hit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that limited travel and encouraged people around the world to stay at home.

Before 2020 was struck by the pandemic, Florida had increased its number of visitors every year since 2010 with 2019 recording the most at 131.4 million. According to Visit Florida, 2020 saw a 39.3% decrease from 2019 totaling only 79.75 million visitors.

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Public Schools Will Continue Requiring Masks, After Nashville Officials Ended the Mask Mandate Last Week

Corinne Murdock

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced last week that they will continue enforcing their mask mandate indefinitely. The announcement came out Friday – the same day that Metro Nashville health officials ended the mask mandate.

The Tennessee Star reported on a recent court ruling that schools lacked the legal authority to impose a mask mandate contrary to state and their local government policy decisions. The Star inquired with MNPS about the relationship between this ruling and their decision to continue the mask mandate. MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted told The Star that the case referenced doesn’t prevent a school district from enacting or enforcing mask requirements. The Star asked if this ruling would jeopardize MNPS’s qualified immunity if parents challenged the mask mandate in court. Braisted responded that MNPS wouldn’t comment on hypothetical legal challenges.

Read the full story

Virginia GOP Senators Urge Northam to Lift Remaining COVID Restrictions

Cooper Moran
Gov. Ralph Northam

The Virginia State Republican Senate delegation released a statement on Monday telling Governor Ralph Northam to lift the remaining COVID-19 regulations throughout the state. 

The statement from the Virginia Republicans follow their calls issued on Friday for Northam to remove the state-wide mask mandate. Northam lifted the mask mandate shortly after the statement on Friday to fall in accordance with new CDC guidelines. 

Read the full story

Georgia Universities Drop Mask Mandates for Vaccinated Students

Peter D'Abrosca
Woman sitting alone with a mask on.

The University System of Georgia announced that it plans to drop mask mandates for fully vaccinated students and employees in the Fall 2021 semester, marking a return to relative normalcy. 

“Fully vaccinated individuals can resume campus classes and other activities without wearing a mask. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to continue wearing a face covering while inside campus facilities,” a press release said. 

Read the full story

Senate DFL Members Throw Masks in the Air Just Two Days After Criticizing No-Mask Rule

Admin
Minnesota Democratic senators throw masks in air

DFL senators claimed on Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka’s decision to end all coronavirus restrictions on the Senate floor was “unnecessary, premature, and unwise.”

Just two days later, several Senate DFL members threw their masks in the air in what they called “Mary Tyler Moore style” after hearing about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new mask guidance.

A photo from Senate Media Services shows eight maskless Democratic senators tossing their masks in the air.

Read the full story

Controversy Surrounds Whitmer’s Secret Florida Flight

The Center Square
Gov. Whitmer

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is once again under fire for a Florida trip she took months ago.

The trip was partially paid for by a 501(c)4 group, which critics say presents legal questions.

Whitmer used funds from an inauguration-related nonprofit to pay for a $27,521 trip to Florida to visit her ailing father in March, MIRS News reported. “She continued to carry out her duties as governor while she assisted her father [in Florida] with household duties like cooking and cleaning,” JoAnne Huls, the governor’s chief of staff, wrote in a memo. “The governor’s flight was not a gift, not paid for at taxpayer expense, and was done in compliance with the law.”

Read the full story

Dozens of House GOP Reps Urge Pelosi to Drop Masking Rules Following Revised CDC Guidance

Admin

Nearly three dozen House GOP representatives this week urged Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to formally drop the House’s strict mask mandate, citing recently updated masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the Friday letter, issued from the office of Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, 34 Republicans “urge[d] [Pelosi] to immediately return to normal voting procedures and end mandatory mask requirements in the House of Representatives.”

“CDC guidance states fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting except where required by governmental or workplace mandate,” the letter declares. “It is time to update our own workplace regulations. Every member of Congress has had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and you have indicated about 75 percent have taken advantage of this opportunity.”

Read the full story

‘Too Risky’: Progressives Are Upset CDC Lifted Mask Mandate

Admin
mask in persons hand

Progressives voiced their dismay following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors or outdoors.

Progressives and medical experts immediately criticized the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask guidelines, arguing that the alteration was extreme and would be harmful to certain parts of the population. Others said the new guidance is confusing and disincentivizes people to get vaccinated.

“The CDC has done an about-face that’s shockingly abrupt: it’s confusing & could actually disincentivize vaccines,” Dr. Leana Wen, a George Washington University public health professor, tweeted after the announcement Thursday.

“Yes, vaccinated people are well-protected and not a threat to others,” she said in a later tweet. “But do we trust that the honor system—won’t unvaccinated people pretend to be vaccinated & stop wearing masks?”

Read the full story

Whitmer Ends Statewide Mask Mandate for Fully Vaccinated Starting Saturday

The Center Square
group of people wearing masks

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday announced the state health department will align its policy with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest guidance on face coverings starting Saturday at 9 a.m.

“For more than a year, we’ve been following the best data and science to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The vast majority of us have trusted the scientists and experts to keep us safe during the pandemic, and it has worked. With millions of Michiganders fully vaccinated, we can now safely and confidently take the next step to get back to normal. The message is clear: vaccines work to protect you and your loved ones. If you have not yet received your vaccine, now is the time to sign up. This pandemic has been one of the toughest challenges of our lifetimes, but we came together as a state to persevere. We have all been working incredibly hard toward getting back to some sense of normalcy, and today’s news makes all of that work worthwhile.”

On Thursday, the CDC released updated guidance recommending “fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

Read the full story

Walz Drops Mask Mandate Following CDC Guidance

Admin
Gov. Tim Walz

Minnesota’s mask mandate will come to an end Friday, a maskless Gov. Tim Walz announced at a Thursday night press conference.

The polarizing mandate has been in place since July 25. Walz said last week that he would lift the mandate on July 1 or when 70% of the eligible population received a vaccine — whichever came first.

But a new guidance released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that “fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Health Officials Silent on Reason for Sudden Reversal of Decision to Continue Mask Mandate, Just Hours After Pledging to Uphold It

Corinne Murdock

According to the Metro Public Health Department (MPHD), Nashville’s mask mandate was supposed to continue despite the latest CDC recommendation. However, health officials quickly reversed their decision within hours, and without offering a detailed explanation. As The Tennessee Star reported Friday, the mask mandate ended on Friday morning at 5 a.m. CST. The Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) shared that the decision was made by certain Metro health officials, who convened after Thursday’s board of health meeting.

MPHD said in a press release that certain Metro health officials met after the Metro Board of Health meeting Thursday to further review the CDC recommendations. It is unclear what further information caused them to change their minds. In response to inquiries from The Star, the MPHD spokesperson shared the same MPHD press release. He said that there weren’t any other reasons for the reversal beyond what’s been shared publicly.

Read the full story

Cooper Finally Lifts Nashville Mask Mandate

Peter D'Abrosca

Nashville Mayor John Cooper (D) announced Friday that the city will no longer require residents or visitors to wear masks, and announced an end to capacity restrictions on businesses.  

“As of this morning, Nashville has lifted the mask mandate and all capacity restrictions. 301,700 Nashvillians have received a vaccine, which is life-saving and economy-saving. Together we weathered the storm of the last 14 months, and Nashville is ready for the rebound,” he said on Twitter, attaching a public service video announcement. 

Read the full story

Rep. Burchett Sends Letter to Pelosi to End House COVID Restrictions

Cooper Moran

Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) sent a letter on Thursday to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to end the current COVID-19 regulations that are in place for the House of Representatives. 

The letter from Burchett comes in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcing that vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear a mask indoors. As cases continue to decline, COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted in each state across the country.

Read the full story

Florida Takes Feds to Court Over Cruise Ship Restrictions

Peter D'Abrosca
Cruise ship next to dock

The state of Florida will argue before a federal judge Wednesday that the federal government should not be allowed to interfere with the cruise ship industry, which seeks to get back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns. 

“Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, filed the lawsuit last month challenging restrictions imposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and pointing to the economic impact on the state,” according to a CBS Miami report. “Moody’s office is seeking a preliminary injunction based, in part, on arguments that the CDC overstepped its legal authority in imposing the restrictions.”

Read the full story

Teachers Union Gave Nearly $20 Million to Dems Before Influencing CDC School Reopening Guidance

The Center Square
American Federation of Teachers

The teachers union in the middle of a scandal for influencing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official school reopening guidance gave nearly $20 million to Democrats in the 2020 election cycle, filings show.

Federal election filings reveal that the American Federation of Teachers and its local affiliates spent $19,903,532 on political donations during the 2020 cycle, with nearly all of the funds going to Democrats and liberal groups.

Last year’s AFT donations include $5,251,400 for the Democrats Senate Majority PAC and $4,600,000 for the Democratic House Majority PAC, according to data compiled by The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets database.

Read the full story

U.S. Fertility Rate Declines for Sixth Straight Year

Admin
Infant feet

During 2020 the US birth rate fell 4% lower than the year before – the largest drop in nearly 50 years, according to government data released Wednesday.

The report showed the number of births fell across all ethnicities and origins.

“This is the sixth consecutive year that the number of births has declined after an increase in 2014, down an average of 2% per year, and the lowest number of births since 1979,” the National Center for Health Statistics said.

Read the full story

Judge Determines That CDC Does Not Have the Authority to Uphold Federal Eviction Moratorium

Admin

A federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled on Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not legally have the authority to uphold a federal freeze on evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to ABC News.

The ruling was made by Judge Dabney Friedrich of the D.C. Circuit Court, who subsequently ordered that the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) vacate the policy. The eviction moratorium, which had been in place since it was first implemented last year under the Trump Administration, was meant to assist those who have been unable to pay rent due to the shutdown of small businesses, forbidding landlords from evicting such tenants until said tenants can return to work and start paying their rent again.

Read the full story

Minnesota Set for ‘Very Normal’ Summer, Governor Says

Peter D'Abrosca

According to Minnesota’s governor, who held a Tuesday press conference announcing that he has a plan to reopen the state which will be announced Thursday, the state should prepare for a “very normal” summer. 

“We are going to, potentially by June, have 70 percent of our people, 12 or 16 and above – whichever is authorized by CDC – vaccinated, and that changes the entire calculus,” Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) said Tuesday. “At that point in time, as I’ve said, I think Minnesotans should start assuming that they’re going to have a very normal looking summer.” 

Read the full story

Florida Surgeon General: Fully Vaccinated Should Go Maskless

Grant Holcomb

Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said fully vaccinated Floridians should go maskless despite the CDC’s recommendations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rivkees rescinded previous public health advisories on Thursday through a three-page advisory saying state offices should return to in-person working environments and long-term mask-wearing can cause unintended consequences.

Read the full story

Fauci Admits Biden Administration is Flouting CDC Guidance in Border Facilities

Admin

White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Thursday conceded in a tense exchange with Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise that the Biden administration is violating major Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus guidelines by packing countless illegal immigrants into relatively small facilities without enforcing social distancing or masking measures. 

The CDC has aggressively pushed those guidelines over the past year, directing that Americans should work to remain six feet apart from each other in public spaces and wear face coverings when away from the home. 

Images from U.S. border facilities over the past several weeks, however, have shown little enforcement of those guidelines among illegal immigrants detained amid the current surge of unlawful migration at the southern border.

Read the full story

Border Agents Report Being Overworked, Understaffed and Exposed to COVID-19 During Migrant Surge

Admin
Rep. Dr. Greg Murphy

Border officials in south Texas consistently face exposure to COVID-19, don’t have the resources to do their job and are regularly called in for overtime shifts, two active agents told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Many Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field agents work 50-hour weeks and now are required to report for 10-hour long overtime shifts even after they are exposed to migrants who test positive for COVID-19, an active CBP agent told the DCNF. The agents spoke on the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak with members of the media.

“CBP gives us a job, but they seem more concerned with getting the job done than with the actual agents,” an active agent told the DCNF. “They want the mission to succeed. We don’t have the resources we need to do our jobs but we make do with what we have. We don’t have enough agents, transport, technology, or aircraft to help us out.”

Read the full story

Small Number of Vaccinated Adults Later Tested Positive for Coronavirus, CDC Says

Admin

About 5,800 individuals tested positive for coronavirus after receiving a complete dosage of the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The number of people who have reportedly contracted coronavirus after vaccination represent a tiny sliver of the nearly 77 million fully-vaccinated Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The CDC said that 396 people have required hospitalization and 74 people have died from the virus after they received a full coronavirus vaccine dosage, according to CNN.

Read the full story

CDC Recommends Halt in J&J Vaccinations After Six Young Women Develop Dangerous Blood Clots

Admin

The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that they are recommending that the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine be halted after six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot were reported in the United States.

The dangerous clots developed about two weeks after the vaccine was administered in these patients—all of them women between the ages of 18 and 48, according to ABC News.

Read the full story

Illegal Immigrants Repeatedly Denied COVID-19 Vaccine in Florida: Report

Admin
COVID Vaccine

Undocumented immigrants in Florida have been routinely denied access to the COVID-19 vaccine, the Miami Herald reported Thursday.

A valid Florida driver’s license or government-issued I.D., utility bill or rental agreement is required to receive the vaccine, the Herald reported. Other undocumented immigrants who worked as essential workers across the U.S. haven’t been able to receive the vaccine, though some local governments are advocating for other proofs of residency so they will have access.

“What we feel is that they don’t want immigrants vaccinated,” Doris Mejia, an undocumented immigrant living in Florida told the Herald. “They see us as less, yet we work the most.”

Read the full story

CDC Director Wants Stricter COVID-19 Measures in Michigan as Cases Surge

Peter D'Abrosca

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested that the Michigan should implement stricter COVID-19 measures as hospitalizations from the deadly virus surge in the state.

“I would advocate for sort of stronger mitigation strategies, as you know, to sort of decrease the community activity, ensure mask-wearing, and we’re working closely with the state to try and work towards that,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky reportedly said regarding Michigan in a Wednesday briefing. 

Read the full story

Landlords Struggle Under Extended CDC Eviction Ban, Class-Action Lawsuit Argues

The Center Square
John Vecchione

Landlords are struggling after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended a national ban on certain evictions apparently to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC extended the moratorium, first enacted in Sept. 2020, through June 30.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on behalf of Asa Mossman of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and other housing providers. 

Read the full story

Ex-CDC Director Says He Believes Coronavirus Escaped from a Chinese Lab

Admin

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cast doubt on the prevalent theory about the origins of the coronavirus, saying in an interview released Friday that he believes the virus escaped from a science lab in China.

“I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a human,” Redfield told CNN’s Sanjay Gupta for a special on the virus that airs Sunday.

Read the full story

Social Media Doesn’t Allow Posts That Break COVID-19 Narratives, Even Though Health Organizations Keep Backtracking Previous Findings

Admin

Social media companies have policed coronavirus-related content based on information from top health organizations, even as those organizations have contradicted themselves.

Facebook and Google instituted policies early in the pandemic restricting user content shared on their platforms to information that doesn’t contradict World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) findings. However, the organizations have contradicted, backtracked or retracted their own findings throughout the pandemic.

Facebook’s policy states that the site “will debunk common myths that have been identified by the World Health Organization.” Shortly after coronavirus was declared a pandemic, Facebook announced its “Coronavirus Information Center,” which curates updates from “organizations such as the World Health Organization.”

Read the full story

CDC Updates School Classroom Social-Distance Guidelines – from Six Feet to Three Feet

Admin

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that it is updating its physical distancing guidelines for children in schools by reducing the space between them from 6 feet to 3 feet.

The agency said the update was made in response to new data and recommended 3 feet with some qualification – including that each student is wearing a mask, according to CNN.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Coming Parent Revolt over School Reopening

Admin

The public health community has long since concluded that the perils of prolonged school closures are far greater than the risks posed by COVID-19 to students and teachers. This fact has not been lost on parents, who are growing increasingly impatient with teachers who won’t return to the classroom. This frustration will increase exponentially now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidance on how schools can and should safely reopen: “It is critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible, and remain open, to achieve the benefits of in-person learning and key support services.”

Read the full story

Huge Rise in Failing Grades in Lynchburg Blamed on Remote Learning

Peter D'Abrosca

An investigative report shows a massive uptick in failing grades in Lynchburg high schools, which parents are blaming on remote and hybrid learning during the COVID-19 school shutdowns. 

ABC13 asked Lynchburg City Schools for grade reports from the first quarter of the 2019-2020 school year, and grade reports for the same time period during the 2020-2021 school year.

Read the full story

Tractor Supply Headquarters: Will Pay Workers to Get COVID-19 Vaccine, Provide Time Off

Corinne Murdock

Tractor Supply is incentivizing its workers with $50 additional pay and any necessary time off to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The company, headquartered in Brentwood, clarified that they wouldn’t be mandating the vaccine. Instead, Tractor Supply stated that the decision to be vaccinated should remain between the employee and their primary care physician. This arrangement would also extend to its workers in Petsense, another retailer owned and operated by the company. 

Additionally, Tractor Supply announced that it had partnered with an undisclosed third-party provider to host vaccination clinics at their eight distribution centers and their store support center.

Read the full story

National Mental Health Crisis Emerges Among Youth During Pandemic Lockdowns: Reports

The Center Square

Children and young adults are experiencing increased mental health issues, and suicide also is on the rise within the age group at least in part because of ongoing state shutdowns, according to several reports.

Within months of governors and local authorities shuttering schools, children were increasingly brought to emergency room doctors and specialists, according to a by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Read the full story

White House Waffles on CDC Guidance for School Reopenings

Admin

The White House walked back comments from CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suggesting that schools might be able to reopen before all teachers have received a vaccine to prevent Covid-19.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday claimed that Walensky was speaking in her “personal capacity.” Psaki explained, “obviously she’s the head of the CDC, but we’re going to wait for final guidance to come out.”

Read the full story

Commentary: How ‘Flatten the Curve’ Became Flatten America

Admin

Joe Biden’s prediction of a dark winter is upon us as many Americans struggle under oppressive Covid lockdowns with no end in sight. How did we go from a common-sense plan to “flatten the curve” to the White House calling for continued restrictions even after Americans are vaccinated? In a word: politics. From the moment the virus arrived on our shores, Democrats used it to their political advantage. They have shown by word and deed that they care less about public safety, and more about control.

Read the full story

Virginia House Republicans Blast Slow COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Eric Burk

House of Delegate Republicans have repeatedly begun the regular sessions this week by blasting Virginia’s government for the slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

On Monday, GOP Caucus Chairman Delegate Kathy Byron (R-Bedford) said, “Madam Speaker, as we meet today, Virginia’s government is struggling in a critical life-saving mission. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Virginia has received over 850,000 doses of the COVID vaccine, but we have administered fewer than 250,000 doses. That performance ranks us among the lowest of the fifty states.”

Read the full story

Tennessee Reports 90 Percent Decrease in Flu Cases Between Last Weeks of 2019 and 2020; Yet COVID Cases Increased

Corinne Murdock

Despite COVID-19 cases spiking around the same time, Tennessee experienced a marked decrease in flu cases last month. Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) data sets from the last week of 2019 and 2020 revealed a 90 percent decrease in overall flu cases. The end of December registered a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, near the all-time high in the state’s positivity rates.

TDH recorded over 6,700 flu cases in the final week of 2019, as compared to just over 600 during the last week of 2020. Last month, the percentage of individuals with flu-like illnesses visiting the reporting healthcare sites was exactly 2 percent; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) baseline for Tennessee sits at around 3 percent. According to the CDC, two or more consecutive weeks that fall under 2 percent reporting constitutes a “non-influenza week.”

Read the full story

Tennessee Nurse Who Fainted After Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine Says It Was Due to Underlying Condition

Corinne Murdock

The nurse who appeared to faint after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in a viral video has recovered, according to a statement issued by her employer. Tiffany Dover, a nurse at CHI Memorial Hospital, reportedly came close to passing out due to a medical condition unrelated to the vaccination.

The hospital also cited information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website, which stated that fainting sometimes occurs after all types of vaccinations.

Read the full story

Commentary: Medical Ethicists Legitimize ‘Woke’ Science, Death Panels

Admin

Since March, the Left has proclaimed itself the guardian of science in dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic. Its champions are the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Fauci. All in the past have rendered valuable service to the public, and often life-saving aid.

Yet the mixture of COVID-19, the first national quarantine, and Trump Derangement Syndrome have combined to give us reason to question their judgment. These authorities variously have issued conflicting recommendations to wear, then not to wear, and finally to wear masks. Or they have both criticized and then advised travel bans.

Read the full story

One-on-One with Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro

Jack Windsor

Last week The Ohio Star reported on the Ohio Education Association (OEA) Position Statement, which called for schools to suspend in-person learning immediately until January 11. The document outlined four steps the union urges government leaders and schools to follow – reset, restart, reprioritize and resource.
OEA President Scott DiMauro accepted the invitation to talk with The Star in a one-on-one interview.
The Star asked questions submitted from Ohioans around the Buckeye State.

Read the full story

Ohio’s Biggest Teachers Union Calls for Immediate Closure with Four-Phase Position Statement

Jack Windsor

On December 3 the Board of Directors of the Ohio Education Association (OEA), Ohio’s largest labor union for educators, voted unanimously to adopt the position to immediately suspend all in-person learning in the state until January 11.

The OEA released the statement on December 7.

The position statement calls for state leaders and educational institutions to “reset”, “restart”, “re-prioritize” and “resource” in order to “ensure that the needs of Ohio’s students, educators and communities are met,” according to the union’s statement.

Read the full story