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This week, Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) president, and Polly Tommey, co-producer of “Vaxxed,” cover the latest COVID headlines, including news that experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disagree with Pfizer on COVID booster shots, how fear of the Delta variant is driving some folks to mix and match COVID vaccines.

Also on tap this week was news that the Army may require COVID vaccines pending full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — a move that could prompt some military members to quit.

Mary and Polly also discuss how America’s largest teacher’s union is set to vote on mandatory COVID vaccines, masks and testing for students returning to class in the fall. And they discuss the story of a teacher who was secretly recorded pressuring middle schoolers to get the COVID vaccine.

Here are more of this week’s highlights:

  • A 45-year-old John Hopkins hospital employee died six days after receiving the first dose of a COVID shot. Robin Spring Saunders was reluctant to get the vaccine, but was forced to get it  in order to pursue her career working with autistic children at the hospital.
  • The latest data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System show a total of 441,931 reports of adverse events from all age groups following COVID vaccines, including 6,985 deaths and 34,065 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020 and June 25, 2021. “There’s 12,674 adverse events for 12- to 17-year-olds,” said Polly. “These are our babies of the future. Why is that not enough to shut this whole thing down?”
  • A prominent vaccine injury law firm says it can’t help people injured by COVID vaccines because COVID vaccines are not covered under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, forcing many to raise funds for their injuries online. “There are people who have paid millions of dollars because their injuries are so severe,” said Mary. “There’s no government compensation for that. It’s cruel.”
  • An Ohio judge is making COVID vaccines a requirement of being on probation. The judge gave one defendant the option of five years in prison, or one year of probation if they take the shot. “This is taking the coercion to a new level,” said Mary. “This is the first time I’ve seen it being used in the criminal justice system.”
  • British kids could get the COVID vaccine without their parent’s consent. “This is lawlessness,” said Mary. “Around the world, children under 18 have to have parental consent. But this is being pushed aside through executive orders and city ordinances.”
  • All kids should be vaccinated before Britain ends its lockdowns, some say. To say kids must be vaccinated in order to return to normal is a myth, said Mary.
  • Global health officials warn “unusual”  mutation in the “Lambda” variant could make the virus resistant to vaccines. “I just go back to what Dr. Mike Yeadon (who studied this and worked at Pfizer for 17 years) says, which is these variants are under 1% different,” said Mary. “Any vaccine that’s worth its salt would protect against it. If you have natural immunity it’s going to protect you.”
  • France may enforce COVID vaccines for all adults and children as young as 12. About 20% of French adults say they’re refusing the shot. “France tends to be more vaccine-hesitant than other countries,” said Mary. “The notion that they would try to impose a universal mandate, that would be the beginning of real discontent.”
  • Germany recommends all people who get a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine switch to a different type of vaccine for their second shot. “This is an experiment on an experiment,” said Mary. “There’s no scientific basis for that. It’s frightening. We have no idea what that’s going to do to people long term.”
  • Ireland is restricting indoor drinking and eating in bars and restaurants to the fully vaccinated, or those who have already had the virus. “Forty-one percent of Irish adults are vaccinated,” said Mary. “After 16 months of coercion, under half of people have consented.”
  • An Australian daughter was forced to say “goodbye” to her dad on Facetime despite being fully vaccinated and testing negative for COVID twice. Gillian Hannah flew from Winsonsin to Sydney after her father’s health declined, but her application for a compassionate exemption to travel to Melbourne to see her dad in the hospital was denied. “It’s inhumane. She did what she was told. But she still wasn’t able to go,” said Mary. “This is not about infectious disease control.”
  • Malta says children aged 12-16 must be fully vaccinated in order to holiday on the island. “This is demolishing the economy of Malta,” said Mary.
  • Slovakia will launch a lottery with weekly prizes of up to 2 million euros for vaccinated people and offer bonuses to those who convince others to get COVID shots.
  • The Russian Orthodox Church says refusing COVID vaccines is a “sin” and anti-vaxxers must spend their life repenting. “This is the same policy as the Vatican,” said Mary. “The Vatican is telling people it’s a sin if you don’t get vaccinated.”
  • Women in Bihar, India are hesitant to get the vaccine. In some Indian villages, there’s widespread belief the vaccine is more dangerous than the virus itself. Just 5% of people in India are vaccinated. “Good for the women in India who are standing up and saying ‘no’ to the vaccine,” said Polly.
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  • Click here for testimonies from people around the world as they share their experiences following vaccines, emergency use COVID injections, mask mandates and more with Polly Tommey.

Watch “This Week” with Mary + Polly: