Tag: COVID-19
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Who Is the “Irrational Majority” Here?
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has declined to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for school employees and students on the grounds that it lacked the “clear statutory authority” to do so, reports The Virginia Mercury. Federal agencies have yet to add the vaccine to its childhood immunization schedule. “While recommended, it’s not…
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Brace Yourself for Omicron… and Omicron Hysteria
by James A. Bacon The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has set foot (perhaps I should say set its little viral spikes) in California, and it is only a matter of days (perhaps hours) before it arrives in Virginia. How worried should we be? Some will dismiss the virus as nothing special, nothing to…
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Omicron: It’s Here!
by Kerry Dougherty He could barely contain his glee. He was positively giddy. I’m talking about White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci who held a press conference yesterday to declare that the long-awaited moment had arrived: We had our first confirmed case of the Covid omicron variant. Hallelujah! Now the government has an excuse —…
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New COVID Data Displays
The Virginia Department of Health is now publishing a graph that compares the COVID-19 infection rate by vaccination status. The graph above, based on 2021 data, shows that unvaccinated people have confirmed COVID-19 infections at a rate 4.6 times that of fully vaccinated people and 2.2 times that of partially vaccinated people.
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Omigod, Omicron Is Coming!
by Kerry Dougherty I’ve seen this movie before. And I’m not buying a ticket this time. I’m talking about the latest remake in the theater of the absurd: “A New COVID Variant Is Coming! We’re All Going To Die!” Fear hustlers managed to spook the stock markets on Friday with panic porn about a variant…
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When Schools Get Long-Haul COVID
by James A. Bacon “Long haul” COVID is the term used to describe COVID symptoms that persist far beyond the normal four weeks of infection. It seems that Virginia schools are experiencing long-haul COVID, too: maladies that have arisen long after the impact of the original illness — the shutdown of in-person learning — has…
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More Proof: Virginia Schools’ COVID Policies Were a Disaster
by James A. Bacon Here is more proof, as if it were needed, that Virginia’s public school system suffered one of the greatest COVID-induced collapses in standardized test scores of the 50 states. A paper by Clare Halloran, a Brown University professor, and three colleagues recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research drew…
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Hallelujah! Greenbrier Christian Academy Defies Virginia’s Mask Mandate
by Kerry Dougherty In a bold move, Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake announced this week that when students return from Thanksgiving break they can be mask-free. Unless their parents want them in masks, in which case the school will make sure parental wishes are carried out. In a video sent to Greenbrier parents, Superintendent Ron…
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Update on the Richmond School Enrollment Meltdown
by James A. Bacon Yesterday I presented Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) statistics indicating that student enrollment in the City of Richmond public school system dropped 25% this year. The drop was especially pronounced among Asian and White students — more than 60% for both categories — suggesting a massive flight from Richmond city schools.…
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The End of One-Man-Rule in Richmond
by Kerry Dougherty I can’t believe this needs to be said, but Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, in announcing that he will abolish state-wide mask and vaccine mandates but allow private schools and school boards to decide if they want to continue with masking, is KEEPING promises. Not breaking them. Let me remind the sore-loser Democrats and…
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Show Us Your Papers
by Kerry Dougherty Well, what do you know. In their eagerness to flex their authoritarian muscles, Virginia Beach Public School officials made fools of themselves this week. On Tuesday evening, Human Resources fired off a stern email to all workers informing them that December 6th would be Show-Us-Your-Papers Day. By that date every school employee…
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How Team Northam Botched the Unemployment Insurance Crisis
by James A. Bacon By way of preface, let us acknowledge that managerial problems at the Virginia Employment Commission preceded the Northam administration. And let us acknowledge that the magnitude of the challenge in responding to the unemployment spike during the COVID-19 epidemic was unprecedented. It would not be fair to blame the entirety of…
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Was UVa’s Vax Mandate Justified? We’ll Never Know.
by James A. Bacon This academic year the University of Virginia mandated that all students get vaccinated. With few exceptions, all have done so, as have most of the university’s 30,000 faculty, staff and employees. According to the Daily Progress, only 173 are estimated to be out of compliance. They have until January 4 to…
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Marik Sues Sentara Over COVID-19 Treatment Ban
by James A. Bacon Paul Marik, director of Sentara Norfolk General’s ICU, has sued the hospital to reverse a ban on a treatment protocol he uses to treat critically ill patients. That protocol includes the administration of ivermectin and fluvoxamine. In the lawsuit Marik claimed that the Sentara restrictions may have contributed to the deaths…
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Vaccine Decisions Belong to Parents. Period.
I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy. Ms. @EricaRHill even said I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea! — Big Bird (@BigBird) November 6, 2021 Pfizer tells…