The Catacombs - COVID Passports

‘Really chilling’: Five countries to test European vaccination card

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:18:01 +0000

‘Really chilling’: Five countries to test European vaccination card
Belgium, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Portugal will test the new vaccination card in a variety of formats, including printed cards, mailed copies and digital versions for smartphones. Critics called it a 'direct threat to freedom.'

Children's Health Defense

Michael Nevradakis Ph. D., The Defender
Jul 31, 2024
This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website.

(Children’s Health Defense [adapted - not all hyperlinks included]) — Five European Union (EU) countries in September will pilot the newly developed European Vaccination Card (EVC), which “aims to empower individuals by consolidating all their vaccination data in one easily accessible location.

The pilot program marks a step toward the continent-wide rollout of the card, according to Vaccines Today.

Belgium, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Portugal will test the new card in a variety of formats, including printed cards, mailed copies and digital versions for smartphones.

The program aims to “pave the way for other countries by harmonising vaccine terminology, developing a common syntax, ensuring adaptability across different healthcare settings, and refining EVC implementation plans,” Vaccines Today reported.

The plans will be made public in 2026, “extending the EVC system beyond the pilot phases and enabling broad adoption across all EU Member States.”

According to Vaccines Today, the EVC program seeks to leverage “the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic” and foster “innovation in vaccination management,” with the goal of “taking crucial steps toward a more resilient and health-secure future.”

The EVC is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN). The EU and WHO co-launched the GDHCN in June 2023 to promote a global interoperable digital vaccine passport, based on the EU’s digital health certificate launched during the pandemic.

Vaccines Today described the GDHCN as a “citizen-centered method of storing and sharing data,” rather than a system that relies “solely on public health systems.”

Greece was the first European country to propose the implementation of a vaccination passport, which was eventually adopted as the EU’s “Green Pass.” Greece later became the first EU member state to adopt a digital “Covid passport.”

Greece’s University of Crete is coordinating the EVC project alongside 14 partners from nine countries — and with 6.75 million euros ($7.3 million) in funding from the European Commission’s (EC) EU4Health program. The EC is the EU’s executive branch.

‘Direct threat to our freedom’

Experts who spoke with The Defender said that plans for the EVC pose a direct threat to personal and health freedom and national sovereignty.

Dr. David Bell, a public health physician, biotech consultant and former director of Global Health Technologies at Intellectual Ventures Global Good Fund, said:

Quote:The proposed vaccination card reflects an increasing effort to utilize public health tools as a means to concentrate wealth and provide a means to control populations. It is very reminiscent of approaches in parts of Europe pre-World War II, and essentially serves a similar purpose: to exclude individuals who do not follow government instructions from society.

The trial in Europe is an obvious next step after the recent widening of surveillance under the IHR [International Health Regulation] amendments, which greatly increase the likelihood of recurrent lockdowns to enable mandated vaccination as a way to force mass use, and profit-making, from vaccines.

Dutch attorney Meike Terhorst also criticized the pilot program, calling a digital vaccination passport a “direct threat to our freedom and also the sovereignty of any state.”

“All our powers are handed over to the globalists, the group of bankers and investors,” Terhorst said.

Catherine Austin Fitts, founder and publisher of the Solari Report and former U.S. assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said plans for the EVC represent “another step toward asserting control of labor and travel, with a goal to controlling resources and assets.”

Fitts said:

Quote:The goal is financial control. There is no legitimate public health purpose. The central bankers are hiding behind a health narrative — policies like lockdown are a way to manage inflation and resource demand when monetary policy is highly inflationary.

Experts also tied the rollout of the EVC to warnings from government and health officials about the “next pandemic,” potentially caused by the bird flu or a still-unknown “Disease X.”

According to Fitts:

Quote:Many steps are underway to prepare for a bird flu pandemic. Chicken is the most significant source of meat protein.

So far in response to the current bird flu claims, I am told by experts who follow bird flu claims that 99 million birds have been killed in the U.S. and 500 million worldwide. Bird flu vaccines have been shipped to Europe. A vaccine card can be used to try to pressure or force people to take another unnecessary injection.

French science journalist and author Xavier Bazin told The Defender, “For the time being, a vaccination card in Europe is meant to ensure that most children get their vaccination.” However, he said he believes the next step is to try to mandate the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine across Europe.

“Even if they do not succeed with MMR, this kind of card will be perfect when the next ‘pandemic’ hits and they want to mandate an emergency vaccine, like they did with COVID,” Bazin said.

Similarly, Bell said:

Quote:WHO and other agencies are clear in their intent to link compliance with centralized health dictates with the ability of people to go about their daily life.

Whilst directly against post-WWII conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the spirit of the Nuremberg Declaration, they have the backing of major international agencies and the corporate interests that have become enmeshed with them over the past two decades.

Experts also pointed out that plans for the EVC have been in the works even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The digital vaccination passport is a technical means to override personal freedoms, such as the right to say no to a vaccination,” Terhorst said. “It is a means to turn free human beings into ‘slaves.’ This digital vaccination passport has been planned many years in advance by the globalists.”

Plans for EU vaccination card began in 2018

Development of the EVC began in 2018, according to official EU documents.

That year, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), that it would become the first international nonprofit to partner with the WEF’s Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“In my opinion, [the EVC] is linked to Gavi’s project of mixing digital ID and vaccination proof,” Bazin said.

In 2019, the ID2020 Alliance, along with Gavi and the Government of Bangladesh, announced a new digital ID program, for which it was later announced that it aimed “to provide biometric-linked digital IDs to infants when they receive routine immunisations.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a partner of Gavi, which, in turn, closely collaborates with the ID2020 Alliance, which has promoted the development of digital ID.

According to Vaccines Today, the EVC is necessary because zoonotic diseases — those transmitted from animals to humans — “continue to pose a significant threat to global health.”

“As Europe transitions from emergency measures to long-term COVID-19 management, there is a critical opportunity to strengthen resilience and increase preparedness for future health threats,” Vaccines Today reported, citing the EVC as one such project.

Other EU-level projects in the works, according to Vaccines Today, include “a clinical decision system that provides vaccination recommendations, a screening tool to identify and invite vulnerable populations, an electronic Product Information Leaflet (e-PIL) to enable the transfer of vaccines across countries without having to repackage them, and a modeling and forecasting tool to assess the impact of public health interventions.”

But for Bazin, such efforts have little to do with protecting public health.

“For those who think vaccination is a medical procedure that should always remain a free choice, the European Vaccination Card is really chilling and should be opposed,” he said.

This article was originally published by The Defender – Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

Biden admin dropping COVID jab mandate for foreign travelers, federal employees next week

Tue, 02 May 2023 17:31:06 +0000

Biden admin dropping COVID jab mandate for foreign travelers, federal employees next week

Mon May 1, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews - adapted) — The Biden administration will finally scrap its COVID-19 jab mandate for foreigners traveling to the United States on May 11, the day that the federal government is allowing its federal COVID-19 public health emergency to expire. The rollback comes more than three years after the start of the COVID-19 epidemic and follows a February effort by Republican lawmakers to end the rule.

The Biden White House announced the imminent end of the mandate in a May 1 statement, citing declining COVID-related death rates and the “whole-of-government” effort to achieve wide levels of vaccine uptake as reasons for dropping the mandates.

“Today, we are announcing that the Administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for Federal employees, Federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the COVID-19 public health emergency ends,” the White House statement read.

Federal employees and contractors will also no longer be required to get the experimental shot.

The statement also referred to announcements by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicating those agencies will also “start the process to end their vaccination requirements for Head Start educators, CMS-certified healthcare facilities, and certain noncitizens at the land border.”

The announcement came days after The Daily Mail reported Thursday that, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was revising the jab rule for international travelers, it was stopping short of actually doing away with the mandate.

The mandate for foreign travelers to the U.S., which has persisted far longer than many other such mandates, drew increased attention when Serbian Christian tennis pro Novak Djokovic was barred from competing in the U.S. Open because he has steadfastly refused to get the shot.

Monday’s announcement, however, means Djokovic will once again be allowed to compete in U.S. tournaments after being forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last month due to the jab rule. Prior to being barred from entering the U.S. over his vaccination status, the tennis star was previously  detained in Australia when he traveled to the country amid ongoing COVID mandates to play in the Australian Open, LifeSiteNews reported.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is anticipated to launch a bid for the presidency this month, previously argued that Djokovic should have been allowed to compete in the U.S., slamming the federal jab rule as “unscientific.”

“The only thing keeping Novak Djokovic from participating in the Miami Open tennis tournament is President Biden’s misguided and unscientific COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreigner [sic] travelers,” the governor said in a March 7 letter to President Biden.

“In sum, the current ‘travel ban’ as applied to Mr. Djokovic – and presumably millions of other potential unvaccinated foreign visitors – seems completely ungrounded in logic, common sense, or any genuine concern for the health and welfare of the American people,” DeSantis said.

The end of the COVID injection mandates comes as ongoing research indicates that COVID-related mask and jab mandates were ineffective. In addition, the value of the experimental COVID shots has been called into serious question amid the shots’ sliding efficacy, failure to stop transmission, and reports of serious adverse events. Across the country, intrusive public health measures like mask mandates and vaccine requirements have caused lasting societal harm, drawn serious public backlash, and created division among Americans.

Germany announces color-coded vaccine passport system similar to Communist China’s

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 11:25:32 +0000

Germany announces color-coded vaccine passport system similar to Communist China’s

Those who aren't 'freshly vaccinated' will be subject to restrictions.

Vaccination passport

Aug 15, 2022
(Reclaim the Net) – German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has announced that the nation’s digital contact tracing and vaccine passport app, Corona-Warn-App (CWA), will start assigning different colors to citizens based on whether they received a COVID-19 vaccine within the last three months.

The CWA will assign one color to citizens who add proof that they received a vaccine within the last three months and a different color to citizens who add proof of vaccination that’s more than three months old. Only those with the color showing that they’re “freshly vaccinated” (have received a vaccine within the last three months) will be exempt from Germany’s mask requirement in public indoor spaces.

Other citizens, including those who received multiple vaccines but had their last vaccine more than three months ago, will have to show proof of recent recovery from COVID or a current negative test to get an exemption from this mask requirement.

Germany’s Berliner Zeitung noted that the color codes in the vaccine passport app would “give different rights in the future” and said the system would put citizens who are already quadruple vaccinated on the same legal footing as those who are unvaccinated.

Berliner Zeitung also reported that this new German vaccine passport system would be similar to Communist China’s color code vaccine passport system. China’s system assigns a green, yellow, or red code to citizens. Those with a green code are allowed to move freely, those with a yellow code may be asked to stay home for seven days, and those with a red code have to quarantine for two weeks.

Despite moving to this color code vaccine passport system, Lauterbach has admitted that the goalposts could shift at any time and that if too many freshly vaccinated people make use of the mask exception, Germany will change the rules and close the exception.

Lauterbach, who is quadruple vaccinated, announced this new color code vaccine passport system four days after he contracted COVID. The new system is being introduced as part of Germany’s “Infection Protection Act.”

Health agencies defended the rollout of vaccine passports and other COVID surveillance measures by claiming that they would prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, in recent weeks, government health experts have admitted that COVID vaccines don’t prevent infection.

Despite this admission, Germany and other nations are continuing to push far-reaching, restrictive vaccine passport systems. Some countries are also combining vaccine passports with digital ID or rolling out more invasive COVID surveillance devices such as wristbands and ankle bracelets.

National SMART Vaccine Passport Quietly Rolls Out in US

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 22:49:27 +0000

EU wants to extend Covid passports until June 30th

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 19:38:58 +0000

Quebec Scraps Planned Tax On Unvaccinated Residents Amid Growing Backlash

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 14:41:52 +0000

Quebec Scraps Planned Tax On Unvaccinated Residents Amid Growing Backlash

ZH | FEB 01, 2022

Perhaps seeing the massive response to the Canadian truckers' "Freedom Convoy" this weekend - and, more importantly, their prime ministers' cowering response before he conveniently tested positive for COVID himself just weeks after receiving his booster - was enough to make the provincial government in Quebec rethink its plans to tax any adult who refuses the vaccine.

Plans for the "health tax" have reportedly been scrapped, according to Francois Legault, the premier of the French-speaking province, who made the announcement during a news conference earlier on Tuesday. Even Legault acknowledged that the planned tax had "deeply divided Quebecers."

Quote:"Right now we have to build bridges," he added. "To move Quebec forward in a calm social climate, I am announcing that the government will not introduce this bill on the health contribution."

In early January, Legault had announced plans to tax residents who had not yet taken the COVID vaccine, citing a "burden" they were placing on the province’s health-care networks.

Quote:"Those who refuse to receive their first dose in the coming weeks will have to pay a new health contribution," Legault said at the time. "I know the situation is tough, but we can get through this together. We need to focus our efforts on two things: Getting the first, second, and third doses of vaccine and reducing our contacts, especially with older people."

As a reminder, Quebec has faced levels of oppression and encroachment on personal liberty that are unmatched anywhere outside of China. /p>

Last week, Quebec’s Health Ministry required "anyone without a vaccination passport must be accompanied at all times by a store employee and cannot purchase products other than those related to the pharmaceutical service they are receiving."

While MSM reports didn't mention them until lower in the story, it's clear the reaction to the Canadian truckers, who held a "Freedom rally" in Ottawa over the weekend, likely contributed to the governor's decision.

Of course, public opinion polling has shown that a majority of Canadians want all COVID restrictions removed, as the Epoch Times has reported.

Meanwhile, RCMP units have reportedly been called in to arrest truckers blocking the border between the US and Canada in Alberta, according to the CBC. Police are reportedly moving in ready to make arrests and seize equipment.

Update (1600ET): The RCMP has reportedly started with "enforcement actions

Although some local towing companies have reportedly refused service.

Monday's announcement marked the second time the Quebec government has walked back public health measures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. It also nixed compulsory inoculations for all health care workers last year fearing it would lead to thousands of nurses quitting their jobs, worsening an already severe worker shortage in the sector.

Unvaccinated to be Accompanied by Staff to Make Sure They Don’t Buy Anything Other Than Esssentials

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 11:39:34 +0000

Unvaccinated to be Accompanied by Staff in Walmart to Make Sure They Don’t Buy Anything Other Than Food & Pharma
Details of Quebec’s draconian new vaccine passport scheme revealed.

Summit News | 25 January, 2022

Under Quebec’s draconian new vaccine passport scheme, unvaccinated people who visit large stores like Walmart and Costco will have to be accompanied by employees to make sure they don’t buy anything other than food or pharmaceutical products.

Yes, really.

The rule is set to apply in big box stores so as “to make sure they (the unvaxxed) do not go and buy other products or other items that might be in the store,” according to a CBC newsreader.

In other words, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, disgusting unvaccinated extremists must be prevented from purchasing things like disposable barbeques and electronic goods.

“For pharmacies located in big-box stores, such as Walmart or Costco, an unvaccinated person must be “accompanied at all times during his or her travels by an employee of the business, the pharmacy or any other person mandated by them for this purpose,” reports CBC, citing the decree. “This person may not purchase products other than those related to the pharmaceutical service they are receiving.”

“The leftists running Walmart, who endorsed the Black Lives Matter movement during the Floyd riots of 2020 and championed their stance against “discrimination,” are happily going along with the government’s plan to discriminate against the unvaxxed to “ensure a safe and efficient customer experience,” writes Chris Menahan.

This is yet another indication of how vaccine passport schemes are purely a means of punishing the unvaccinated for disobeying the regime.

Authorities in Quebec seem to be particularly keen on this, given that earlier this month, they announced a ban on the unvaccinated being able to purchase marijuana or hard liquor.

As we previously reported, back in September 2020, authorities in Quebec City announced they would isolate “uncooperative” citizens in a coronavirus facility, the location of which remained a secret.

All of these measures are being implemented despite there being absolutely no real world evidence that vaccine passports stop the spread of the virus.

As we highlighted earlier, businesses in Wales are demanding exemptions after the government failed to provide any evidence that COVID passports work in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The UK government’s own report into vaccine passports also found that the scheme not only failed to prevent the spread of the virus, it could actually worsen the situation.

Such schemes in countries across Europe, such as France, are now being made even stricter by eliminating the option of providing a negative test result.

Meaning only the vaccinated, who can still spread the virus, can freely go about their business, while those who can literally prove on the spot they don’t have the virus are subject to medical apartheid.

Makes perfect sense!

Quietly and over some objections, a national digital vaccine card has emerged

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 13:00:33 +0000

Quietly and over some objections, a national digital vaccine card has emerged
The SMART Health Card is voluntary and minimal by design to protect personal information. About 80 percent of vaccinated people in the U.S. most likely have access to it.

University of Southern California students, faculty and visitors use their phones to display their "Trojan Check" QR code

to enter the campus in Los Angeles on Aug. 23.Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

NBC | Jan. 13, 2022

Whether they realize it or not, about 200 million people in the United States now likely have access to a Covid-19 digital vaccine card.

The digital pass known as the SMART Health Card is voluntary and minimal by design to protect personal information. It has a person’s name, date of birth and the dates and brands of vaccination doses, all contained within a type of scannable bar code known as a QR code.

And after a relatively quiet start, it has built momentum in recent months as more states and companies have signed on, making it something of a de facto national digital vaccine card.

“The beautiful thing about this is that this multistate coalition is a coalition of the willing,” said Dr. Brian Anderson, chief digital health physician at MITRE, a research nonprofit, and an architect of the health cards.

Video: June 2021: Should people have to prove they got their shots with vaccine passports?

Any such card seemed like a remote possibility a year ago, when people first began receiving paper cards as proof of their Covid vaccinations. The Biden administration said in March that it would not take the lead on any national health pass and instead defer to the private sector, and the idea of a vaccine “passport” has faced opposition and even bans, especially in Republican-led states such as Alabama and Texas.

Rather than a single app, the SMART Health Card is open-source computer code that anyone can use to ping a verified source of health data and produce the unique QR code. The digital cards are now widely available from more than 400 sources including states, pharmacies and health care organizations.

The fact that the system exists in any form is a triumph for a loose coalition of technologists, nonprofit groups and mostly Democratic states that championed the development of a digital vaccine card even before the first coronavirus shots were administered.

“This is a de facto standard,” said Rick Klau, California’s chief technology innovation officer. “This is essentially the one common way for residents to secure that digital copy and then use it.”

The digital card offers a few benefits beyond a paper card. QR codes can't be forged in the way a paper card could be, because a restaurant or a music venue can use a scanner app to verify that it's legitimate. People can also download the QR code again if they lose it, adding a convenience factor.

People can get the QR code from their state health authority if they've been vaccinated in one of the 13 states now participating, but they may also be able to get them from a hospital or from a national pharmacy chain, such as Albertsons, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens or stores like Walmart if they've been vaccinated at any of their locations.

Vaccine QR codes are also spreading internationally. Japan launched a similar system last month, and Ontario, Canada, is requiring people to have scannable proof of vaccination to eat inside restaurants or go inside certain other businesses. QR codes are increasingly required as part of international airline travel.

Within the U.S., the QR codes are still voluntary. California and Louisiana became the first states to roll out the SMART Health Card last June, and the number of issuers grew slowly at first before picking up pace over time.

Colorado signed on in November, followed by Connecticut and Illinois in December. On Monday, Massachusetts became the 13th state to voluntarily embrace the system, and another 10 or so states are privately exploring the possibility, Anderson said.

Washington has issued about 840,000 QR codes, according to the state’s health department. That’s equivalent to about 11 percent of the state’s population. The numbers in Colorado and New Jersey are similar.

The QR codes work on paper, too, if people would rather print them out than keep them on a phone.

Klau, a former manager at Google, has advised other states as they put the system in place. In California alone, 7 million individuals have downloaded their QR code, and he estimated that about 80 percent of the vaccinated U.S. population of 247 million people have access to a SMART Health Card if they want one through either their state health authority or the site where they were vaccinated, such as a pharmacy or a hospital.

“It’s inspiring to see what has largely been a grassroots effort not only take hold, but develop so completely,” he said. “It has certainly not been mandated.”

A critical feature is that the QR codes are standardized and interoperable, so they work across state lines. A resident of New Jersey visiting San Francisco can use the same system to prove vaccination as a Californian.

And they can work internationally. Countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore have said they’ll recognize the QR codes if Americans present them abroad, Klau said.

It’s not clear if the Biden administration will ever endorse the project. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not respond to requests for comment.

“It has forced many states to take leadership roles in implementing and coordinating around multistate coalitions,” said Anderson, who is also co-lead of the Vaccine Credential Initiative, or VCI.

Anderson said other countries haven’t always known whom to speak with in the U.S. to plan cross-border systems. “They’re turning to the states, they’re turning to VCI, and it’s a challenge for a state to conduct foreign diplomacy,” he said.

One barrier to creating a truly national digital vaccine card is that there’s no federal database of vaccination records. Each state maintains its own registry of vaccination records, so either the states or the health care providers need to be the ones to issue verified copies or credentials.

Some of the most thorny political questions remain up in the air nationally, including: Should a business have the right to turn away someone without a vaccine QR code? Or in a pandemic, should a city or state even require businesses to turn people away, as in Canada? What about people who, for health reasons, can't get a vaccine?

“We won’t be safe until venues are able to *require* SMART Health QR codes and stop accepting paper cards, or photos of cards. And that won’t happen until state or local governments mandate that,” said Jamie Zawinski, a software developer who also owns a night club, DNA Lounge, in San Francisco. He requires customers to have the QR code or, for now, their paper CDC card.

DNA Lounge not only requires people to display the QR code, but it also scans the code using a smartphone app to verify that the codes are authentic — making the club one of the few businesses anywhere in the U.S. to take that extra step.

The primary scanning app available, the SMART Health Card Verifier App, has been used about 750,000 times this month, and the trend line indicates usage is doubling month over month, Anderson said. He said he doesn’t know where the scanning is happening, because by design neither the health card’s creators nor the states have the ability to collect that data.

Only a few places in the U.S. require proof of vaccination to enter indoor businesses, and that list is growing slowly. A mandate in Boston is scheduled to take effect Saturday, even as Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, has pushed to keep the state system voluntary.

“The Administration is not requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to enter any venue, but this tool will help residents who would like to access and produce a digital copy of their record,” his office said in a statement.

The idea that airlines or even local businesses could attempt to collect data from digital health cards remains a chief concern for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group in San Francisco that advocates for privacy online and that criticized the health cards last June soon after California adopted them.

“The scanning of your health information at the door of any business still worries me because generally we do not have a federal data privacy law,” said Alexis Hancock, EFF’s director of engineering. She pointed to software, unrelated to vaccines, that venues can use to scan driver’s licenses.

That danger could be lessened, she said, if Congress or state legislators pass new consumer protections. A bill pending in the New York state Legislature would create new safeguards for medical immunity information.

But Hancock also said the SMART Health Cards have alleviated at least some of EFF's concerns about digital vaccine records by making the computer code behind the cards open-source, which allows others to inspect it, and nonproprietary.

"Obviously, a lot has happened since last year," she said.

European "vaccination certificates" lacking the "booster" injection invalid after 9 months

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 12:24:22 +0000

Judge Blocks Biden's Nationwide Vax Mandate For Federal Contractors

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 19:50:43 +0000

Judge Blocks Biden's Nationwide Vax Mandate For Federal Contractors

ZH | DEC 07, 2021
The Biden administration suffered yet another blow on Tuesday after a federal judge in Georgia blocked a nationwide vaccine mandate requiring employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated.

The mandate, set to take effect Jan. 4, would apply to approximately 25% of the US workforce and would affect companies that do business with the federal government - including Google, General Motors, Microsoft and several airlines.

Tuesday's preliminary injunction follows a Kentucky federal judge's preliminary injunction granted last week in a lawsuit involving Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to Bloomberg Law.

Quote:The mandate for businesses providing services for the federal government is part of a suite of Biden administration actions designed to increase vaccination rates. That includes an emergency regulation from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration that covers private-sector companies with 100 employees or more, a shot requirement for health-care companies paid by Medicare and Medicare, and one for federal workers.

Numerous challenges to those mandates are pending in appellate courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has temporarily halted enforcement of the OSHA regulation. The Sixth Circuit is poised to consider the consolidated challenges to the OSHA rule.

Preliminary injunctions have also been issued against the Biden administration’s health care worker vaccine mandate and a similar mandate for private businesses.

NYC to Require Full Vaccination to Access Restaurants, Gyms, Etc.; 5-Year-Olds Need Min. One Shot

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 23:07:52 +0000

New York Will Require Full Vaccination To Access Restaurants, Gyms And Entertainment; 5-Year-Olds Need At Least One Shot

ZH | DEC 06, 2021

Hardly coming as a surprise in a world where the unvaccinated are now treated as subhuman scum, moments ago New York City announced it will require residents to be fully vaccinated to access indoor dining, entertainment and fitness - a stricter rule than the current requirement for people to have received at least one dose. And yes, the new rule also means that kids age 5-11 will also be required to have at least one shot to enter restaurants, de Blasio said.

Source: The City

The new rule goes into effect on Dec. 27.

“Vaccine mandates are the one thing that really breaks through,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC Monday. “Let’s lean into it even more.”

The mayor also called the mandates a "preemptive strike", once again urging all New Yorkers to get the jab, which is particularly unpopular among minority populations like black New Yorkers.

"We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike, to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers it’s causing to all of us," de Blasio said. "So as of today, we’re going to announce a first-in-the-nation measure. Our health commissioner will announce a vaccine mandate for private sector employers across the board."

But before making this declarations, de Blasio should probably check out Belgium, which is over a month into its new mask mandate and with 87.4% of adults fully vaccinated, its cases just hit an all time high.

Naturally, New York has seen a post-Thanksgiving rise in Covid-19 infections in addition to its first few cases of the omicron variant. The cases so far appear to be unrelated, according to governor Kathy Hochul, but officials have warned people to assume there is already community spread.

“We have to assume community spread at this point,” de Blasio said. “Omicron is here.”

Although if this were true, the city would probably have confirmed more than a small handful of omicron cases.

The city last week strengthened its recommendation for residents to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status and announced additional vaccine mandates on childcare workers and private school employees.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the NYT sounded the alarm that hospitals in upstate New York are getting "crushed" thanks to a recent surge in COVID cases. However, hospitals in other parts of the northeast have seen a much more modest uptick in patients. But upstate, hospital capacity has decreased by 10%. It's one reason Gov. Kathy Hochul has temporarily suspended "elective" surgeries.

Spanish Investigation Finds Vaccine Passports Have No Impact On Infection Rates

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 14:53:15 +0000

Spanish Investigation Finds Vaccine Passports Have No Impact On Infection Rates

ZH | DEC 04, 2021
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

An investigation by experts in Spain has concluded that vaccine passports have no significant impact on reducing COVID-19 infection rates.

Details of the study, carried out by Spain’s inter-regional Covid committee, were obtained by El Pais and reported on by the Telegraph.

Looking at how the scheme has been implemented in other European countries, the experts found that mandating people show proof of vaccination to enter venues like bars, restaurants and cinemas “is not reducing levels of transmission.”

“In European countries where [the system] is being used, cases are rising significantly, although it is true that their level of vaccination is much lower than in Spain,” the report states.

Although Spain doesn’t have vaccine passports at the national level, eight out of 17 regions are using a similar system.

The researchers also concluded that vaccine passport schemes “contribute to a false impression that vaccinated people do not get infected,” when in fact “around 40 per cent of those vaccinated are susceptible to infection and transmitting the infection,” the report states.

The only positives of such a scheme are that it “warns people that there is still danger from the pandemic and encourages vaccination uptake among the reticent.”

In other words, although vaccine passports have no discernible impact on their stated goal – reducing the spread of COVID-19 – they do succeed in keeping people fearful and compliant.

And perhaps that’s the primary goal.

“The findings are similar to evidence found by the UK government – that vaccine passports could increase Covid rates in the country,” writes Ken Macon.

“The government in Wales, UK, also found that, despite introducing vaccine passports, they could not find any evidence that they were working.”

Numerous European countries have imposed vaccine passport schemes that segregate the jabbed from the unjabbed.

In some cases, the option to provide a negative test result has been removed, meaning only those who are fully vaccinated (and yet can still spread the virus) are given permission to enter venues.

62% Of Swiss Citizens Vote To Keep Covid Vaccine Passports

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 10:17:09 +0000

62% Of Swiss Citizens Vote To Keep Covid Vaccine Passports

ZH | NOV 29, 2021

In a world where millions protest daily against the creeping tyranny of a big government which is abusing the neverending covid tragicomedy to get so much bigger it would make even George Orwell cringe, one country actually had a opportunity to put an end to "vaccine passports" and totally blew it: despite months of protests, Swiss citizens overwhelmingly voted to keep the country’s system of Covid vaccination certificates in place (not surprisingly, the deal was sweetened by the promise of financial assistance for voters).

According to RT, Sunday just over some 62% of voters chose to maintain the country’s coronavirus measures which include a controversial system of Covid vaccination certificates, required since September to enter bars, restaurants, theaters and other public spaces. Majorities in 24 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons backed the law, with only the tiny cantons of Schwyz and Appenzell Innerrhoden rejecting the measures.

And since covid has emerged as every politician's best friend, all Swiss political parties with the exception of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party supported the law, which was brought to a vote after anti-lockdown groups gathered nearly 200,000 signatures to challenge it earlier this year. Under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, any initiative can be brought to a vote with 100,000 signatures.

Curiously, while voters in June backed the introduction of the measures by 60%, recent months have seen protests break out in Swiss cities over the introduction of vaccine certificates. Police in October used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds of people who broke through barriers outside the parliament building in Bern. And yet, almost six months later, the support for the controversial measures appears to be even higher than when they were first introduced - one almost wonder if the entire referendum was by mail...

Alas, we will never know the answer.

“The democratic process has been respected but the law is still unconstitutional,” Michelle Cailler of the ‘Friends of the Constitution’ group said after the vote on Sunday. Cailler’s group was one of several who campaigned against the law.

Céline Amaudruz of the Swiss People’s Party, which is currently topping opinion polls in Switzerland, called on the government to take “coherent and measured” action, rather than treating the result as a “blank cheque” to impose whatever coronavirus-related policies it wishes.

The law voted on provides for more than just vaccine passports. It also expands financial support for citizens and businesses affected by the pandemic, a provision that may have won over some reluctant voters.

Austria launches vaccine passports

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 18:08:57 +0000

Austria launches vaccine passports

Starting this week.

ReclaimtheNet | November 7, 2021

Austrians who can’t produce a vaccine passport will soon not be able to enter bars and multiple other public places. The vaccine mandate has been imposed because of the rising number of cases, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said while announcing the new restrictions.

The vaccine passport mandate will take effect starting Monday. Those who have not been vaccinated will not be able to enter most public and entertainment venues and events with more than 25 people. The move is expected to have a huge impact, considering 36% of the country’s population has not been vaccinated.

“The evolution is exceptional and the occupancies of intensive-care beds are increasing significantly faster than we had expected,” Schallenberg said.

Though new restrictions take effect on Monday, the government will allow a four-week transition period. During the transition period, those who have received only one dose of the vaccine and those with a recent negative PCR test will be exempted from the restrictions. However, after the four weeks, only those who have been fully vaccinated will be exempted from the restrictions.

Unlike most countries and jurisdictions, Austria will recognize a recent recovery from COVID as an equivalent of being fully vaccinated.

The vaccine mandates will not apply to employees, only customers.

The chancellor argued that: “One is a leisure activity undertaken voluntarily – no one forces me to go to the cinema or the restaurant – the other is my place of work.”

The conservative government also announced stricter measures on the unvaccinated if 600 COVID patients are admitted to intensive care units.

The move adds Austria to the growing number of European countries implementing vaccine passport mandates.

German Companies Creating Segregated Canteens For Vaccinated And Unvaccinated

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 10:21:42 +0000

German Companies Creating Segregated Canteens For Vaccinated And Unvaccinated

ZH | NOV 03, 2021
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

Major companies in Germany are segregating their employees by creating canteens for vaccinated people and separate areas for the unvaccinated, who will be forced to continue to follow social distancing and mask mandates.

Pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, energy company Eon, and travel company Alltours are all set to impose the new rules, which will see the unvaccinated treated like second class citizens.

“In the ‘2G’ areas for vaccinated and recovered people, employees would be allowed to eat together under completely normal conditions, while those who are not vaccinated or do not provide information about their vaccination status would have to continue to live with rules on social distancing, mask wearing and partitions during meals,” reports the Local.

Bayer also announced that its employees have also started forming work groups that “exclude unvaccinated staff.”

People visiting Christmas markets in Berlin who haven’t been vaccinated will also be denied entry.

As we previously highlighted, despite facing brazen discrimination, 90 per cent of Germans who haven’t had the vaccine say they have no plans to get it in the near future.

As we highlighted back in January, German authorities announced that COVID lockdown rulebreakers would be arrested and detained in refugee camps located across the country.

Earlier this summer it was also confirmed that the unvaccinated would be deprived of basic lifestyle activities like visiting cinemas and restaurants.

The editor-in-chief of Germany’s top newspaper Bild shocked some people by apologizing for the news outlet’s fear-driven coverage of COVID, specifically to children who were told “that they were going to murder their grandma.”

During a meeting with other world leaders in Rome, Angela Merkel engaged in COVID security theater by briefly wearing a mask when she exited her vehicle, only to remove it as soon as she entered the building.