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University Vaccine Mandates Violate Medical Ethics

The Wall Street Journal reported:

Some 450 U.S. colleges and universities — including our institutions — have announced policies mandating that all students be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the fall semester, with some requiring vaccination now for the summer term. Schools have for decades required vaccination against infectious diseases, but these mandates are unprecedented—and unethical. Never before have colleges insisted that students or employees receive an experimental vaccine as a condition of attendance or employment.

Even soldiers, whose rights are constrained when they join the service, aren’t being compelled to take a Covid vaccine. In a case involving a vaccine against anthrax, a federal district judge held in 2004 that “the United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs” absent informed consent or a presidential waiver of service members’ legal protections. The following year the judge held that an emergency-use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration was insufficient to meet the legal test.

U.S. College COVID Vaccine Mandates Don’t Consider Immunity or Pregnancy, and May Run Foul of the Law

The Defender reported:

For Joshua Hauser, a junior at the University of California Berkeley, the requirement to get a COVID-19 vaccine before fall semester is like getting a plum campus housing assignment. “People are really excited about getting the vaccine on campus,” he says. “It will help us feel safe at school.” And he’s hopeful it will mean a return to normal. “On Zoom, that’s all we talk about — we just wish we were together in person.”

Beginning in late March, some U.S. colleges and universities began issuing requirements for students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to return to campus this autumn. Some policies include faculty and staff. What began as a handful of colleges soon turned into dozens by mid April, and to date, some 350 institutions have issued such policies — even though all three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. remain under emergency use authorization (EUA) status, and not approved.

IKEA Fined €1.1M by French Court for Spying on Staff

The Guardian reported:

The home furnishings group Ikea has been ordered to pay €1.1m (£861,000) in fines and damages by a French court after being found guilty of spying on staff.

Two former Ikea France executives were also convicted and fined over an elaborate scheme to gather information on hundreds of employees, job applicants and even customers over several years, using private detectives and police sources.

The group’s former chief Jean-Louis Baillot was handed a suspended two-year prison term and ordered to pay €50,000.

Foo Fighters to Allow Vaccinated Fans Only at Madison Square Garden Concert

The Gateway Pundit reported:

The Foo Fighters will be performing at Madison Square Garden on June 20, but the concert will be for vaccinated fans only.

The event is the first concert at the venue in over 15 months, due to“The Garden is ready to rock,” James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of MSG Entertainment, said in a statement. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for 15 months and are excited to finally welcome a packed house of roaring, fully-vaccinated Foo Fighters fans to Madison Square Garden.”

Tickets for the vaccinated-only event will be $50 to $119.

YouTube Censors Teachers For Choice Protest

New York Teachers for Choice reported:

YouTube has struck down the full video of the TEACHERS FOR CHOICE (TfC) protest on June 12, 2021 in front of United Federation of Teachers (UFT) headquarters. It got pulled down in less than 48 hours!

The protest featured 11-year-old Jenna Miller who was kicked out of school on June 8th for refusing to wear a mask in school as well as many New York Teachers speaking out against forced COVID vaccination, forced in-school COVID testing, vaccine passports and the masking of 4-year-old children.

Tech Giants Have to Hand Over Your Data When Federal Investigators Ask. Here’s Why.

The Washington Post reported:

When the Trump administration’s Justice Department sought to ferret out leakers, it turned to the tech giants where so much of our digital life is stashed.

Apple and Microsoft disclosed last week that the agency secretly subpoenaed account data from members of Congress and aides to crackdown on leaks during the Trump administration. That followed recent disclosures to media organizations including The Washington Post and the New York Times that the Trump Justice Department had secretly sought reporters’ phone and email records in an effort to identify the sources of leaks.

That information — which email addresses and phone numbers we use and when we use them — can be crucial to piecing together a leak in a probe.

COVID Vaccine ‘Passports’ in the U.S.: Here’s What We’re Getting and Why

Los Angeles Times via Yahoo!News reported:

The European Union is about to launch a digital pass system that will let residents prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, recovered from the disease or recently tested negative for the virus, allowing them to travel freely among all 27 member nations.

For months, Israelis used a similar digital pass system, showing their vaccination status to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues. Australia has rolled out a digital proof of vaccination certificate, and Japan plans to issue one as soon as this summer.

But don’t expect the United States to go that way.

What Are the Roadblocks to a ‘Vaccine Passport’?

The New York Times reported:

With all American adults now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and businesses and international borders reopening, a fierce debate has kicked off across the United States over whether a digital health certificate (often and somewhat misleadingly called a “vaccine passport”) should be required to prove immunization status.

Currently, Americans are issued a white paper card as evidence of their COVID-19 shots, but these can easily be forged, and online scammers are already selling false and stolen vaccine cards.

While the federal government has said it will not introduce digital vaccine passports by federal mandate, a growing number of businesses — from cruise lines to sports venues — say they will require proof of vaccinations for entry or services. Hundreds of digital health pass initiatives are scrambling to launch apps that provide a verified electronic record of immunizations and negative coronavirus test results to streamline the process.