Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Conspiracies Show No Sign Of Slowing; Film Claims Covid Is Venom, Not Virus
PolitiFact: Fact Check: COVID-19 Is Snake Venom, Claims Anti-Vax Documentary
A new anti-vaccine documentary ridiculously claims that the coronavirus is not a virus, but a synthetic version of snake venom that evil forces are spreading through remdesivir, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and drinking water to "make you a hybrid of Satan." The 48-minute film, released April 11, is the latest in an expanding genre of mega-viral, conspiracy-laden videos made in the mold of the "Plandemic" video from May 2020. Its title, "Watch the Water," is a nod to a favorite refrain of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which is centered around the belief that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is running a global sex-trafficking ring. (McCarthy, 4/22)
NPR: How COVID's Deadly Conspiracy Theories Cost One Woman Her Life
One thing everyone agrees on is that Stephanie didn't have to die. Even months after it happened, her family is struggling to figure out why. "There is no perfect puzzle piece," says Stephanie's daughter Laurie. "I literally go through this all the time." Stephanie was 75 when she succumbed to COVID-19 this past December. But Laurie says it wasn't just COVID that killed her mother. In the years leading up to her death, Stephanie had become embroiled in conspiracy theories. Her belief in those far-out ideas caused her to avoid vaccination and led her to delay and even refuse some of the most effective treatments after she got sick. "I don't believe she was supposed to die," Laurie says. "I blame the misinformation." (Brumfiel, 4/24)
In news about vaccine mandates —
AP: New Mississippi Law Bans COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Mississippi is enacting a new law that says state and local government agencies cannot withhold services or refuse jobs to people who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ban applies to state agencies, city and county governments and schools, community colleges and universities. COVID-19 vaccination mandates have not been widespread in Mississippi, but some lawmakers said they were acting against the possibility of government overreach. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday that he had signed House Bill 1509, and it became law immediately. (Pettus, 4/23)
Cincinnati Enquirer: COVID-19: Here's How UC Students, Staff Avoided Vaccine Mandate
On Nov. 1, two months after the University of Cincinnati announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all students, staff and faculty, a student wrote to the school quoting 1 Corinthians 6:19 from the Bible. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. That God is in you. That he is our healer.” The student, whose name was redacted from one of 72 exemption request forms obtained by The Enquirer through Ohio's Public Records Act, wrote they have “sincere and genuine beliefs” that “forbid” them from getting vaccinated against COVID-19. “I have decided to place my trust in God,” the student wrote. (Mitchell, 4/25)
Bloomberg: NYC Suspends School Staff For Allegedly Using Fake Vaccine IDs
The New York City Department of Education suspended about 70 employees for allegedly using fake vaccination cards, the teachers’ union said. The department placed the employees on unpaid leave with benefits, effective April 25, and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District and law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident. (Querolo, 4/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: Truck Convoy Protests Outside The Home Of East Bay Legislator Proposing Vaccine Mandate, Abortion Bills
A group of people who oppose vaccine mandates drove their trucks and vans in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood and protested outside the home of an East Bay state legislator while she was reportedly inside. The protest, captured in online videos, involved a convoy of about 20 vehicles, according to the California Highway Patrol. Protesters gathered, apparently, in opposition to a pair of bills written by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, that would, separately, require California businesses to mandate COVID vaccinations among their employees and end a state requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths. Wicks already announced in late March that the vaccination bill was being put on hold. (Cano, 4/23)
Los Angeles Times: How Many California Lives Were Saved By COVID-19 Vaccines?
The arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 marked the start of a new, safer phase of the pandemic. For all that we know of life in the vaccine era — the inequities, the breakthrough infections, the partisan battles over mandates — it’s been hard to know what life would have been like without the shots. A new project from researchers at UC San Francisco in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health draws the clearest picture to date on what the state might have looked like had the vaccines never materialized. (Purtill, 4/22)
On mask mandates —
San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland To Consider Mask Mandate For Indoor Events Of 1,000 People
An Oakland City Council member will introduce an ordinance next month that requires people to wear masks at large indoor gatherings of 1,000 people or more. The ordinance will drop the city’s current requirement that people must show proof of vaccine to enter into bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses. People will still have to show proof of vaccine when entering into senior centers and assisted care facilities. (Ravani, 4/22)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fulton County Parents Drop Mask Lawsuit Against School District
Parents who sued the Fulton County school board over the district’s former mask mandate recently dropped their case after a new state law made the legal battle moot. Atlanta attorney Ray S. Smith III, who represents the 11 families who sued the district, filed a motion last week in the Georgia Court of Appeals to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit. He cited legislation signed by Gov. Brian Kemp last month that gives parents the ability to opt their children out of school mask mandates for the next five years. (McCray, 4/25)
