COVID-19 vaccine has been included in the Vaccines for Children Program
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) announced on Friday that they are “aware of yesterday’s vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that the COVID-19 vaccine be part of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.” The ACIP panel unanimously has advised that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) make COVID-19 among the routine vaccinations for both adults and for children as young as six months. ADPH emphasized in their statement that the ACIP’s vote to include COVID-19 in VFC is not a mandate for children to take the vaccine. The vote to include the COVID-19 vaccine in the VFC program is the mechanism to ensure that, when the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer provided free by the federal government, uninsured and underinsured children can have access to the vaccine without charge. The VFC is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated due to their inability to pay. The CDC buys vaccines at a discounted rate for distribution to registered VFC providers. Many physicians in Alabama are VFC providers so that their patients can receive recommended vaccines. Children who are eligible for VFC vaccines are entitled to receive the same ACIP-recommended vaccines as any other child. To attend a public school in Alabama, a child should have a Certificate of Immunization. The vaccines that are required for K-12 in Alabama are diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox). Children attending preschool are also required to have Haemophilis influenza type B (Hib) and pneumococcal vaccines. ADPH allows medical exemptions and religious exemptions in accordance with the Rules below. ADPH does not have vaccine requirements for college-age or other groups. Not everyone agrees with the inclusion of the vaccine in the VFC. Dr. David Calderwood M.D. with Concerned Doctors of Alabama expressed his opposition to the mass vaccinations of America’s children for the COVID-19 vaccine in a statement. “It is well established that the COVID vaccines do not prevent the infection or the spread of the infection,” Dr. Calderwood said. “They only decrease the death rate from the infection for a period of months then this benefit disappears. Since the vaccine’s only benefit is a temporary reduction in mortality and a healthy child has essentially a 0 chance of dying from COVID, the vaccines cannot benefit them. We do know on the other hand that the vaccines can cause harm.” Messenger RNA–or mRNA–exists in all the cells in the human body. It is an essential component of all living organisms and has been in cells for billions of years. Messenger RNA directs the body to make proteins. To protect the mRNA and help deliver it into cells, the mRNA is wrapped by medical researchers with lipids, or fats. mRNA vaccines are given as an injection. Once the vaccine is delivered, the body takes over and makes the protein according to the mRNA’s instructions. Moderna claims that the mRNA doesn’t stay in the body very long once its job is done. And it does not cause permanent changes or alter DNA. Moderna claims that the COVID-19 vaccine is just the beginning and mRNA technology could “revolutionize medicine.” Dr. Calderwood remains skeptical. “We know that the mRNA vaccines can cause damage to the lining of blood vessels, markedly increase blood clots, increase cardiac risk score, suppresses the innate immune system, and can cause small fiber neuropathy, myocarditis, autoimmune hepatitis, and thrombotic thrombocytopenia among other things,” Calderwood said. “The nanoparticles in these vaccines are deposited in high concentrations in the testis and ovaries with unknown effects on the reproductive potential of children. In addition, more than 30,000 deaths and almost 60,000 permanent disabilities have occurred after the COVID vaccines. This represents more deaths or permanent disabilities after these vaccines than all the other vaccines combined over the last 30 years. If parents truly understood all the data that we now know about these vaccines they would never allow their children to be vaccinated with COVID vaccines.” The Concerned Doctors believe that the long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccine is being ignored and that more research is needed before making this recommended. “The decision by the FDA to place the COVID vaccine on the children’s vaccination schedule is irrefutable evidence that the FDA is a captured agency doing the bidding of the pharmaceutical industry,” Calderwood said. “There is no scientific evidence that this vaccine would benefit children. To the contrary, the Covid vaccine can only harm children. The recent statement from ADPH in support of these vaccines represents a complete lack of review of the huge body of science which now includes over 1000 articles and studies in peer review journals that delineate the harms of this vaccine. The ADPH is willing to follow the captured federal agencies without questioning or doing their own research.” Public schools presently do not require that children receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “If these vaccines are made a requirement for public schools we are putting our children’s health in jeopardy for no benefit to them or society,” Calderwood said. “Every parent should vehemently oppose these COVID vaccines for children.” To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
University of Alabama receives $7.8 million grant to electrify buses
On Thursday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell visited the University of Alabama, where she was joined by University President Stuart Bell, to announce that the federal government has awarded the University a $7.8 award to convert the University’s bus fleet from diesel-powered buses to battery-powered electric buses. “I just stopped by the University of Alabama to deliver a check for $7.8 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade the University’s Crimson Ride bus fleet with new, clean energy electric buses,” Sewell wrote on Facebook. “That means new vehicles and a cleaner, healthier campus community! ” Rep. Sewell was the only member of the Alabama Congressional delegation to vote in favor of President Joe Biden’s controversial infrastructure bill, which included $billions to fight climate change. “Once again, we’re seeing much-needed funding coming to Alabama to improve our infrastructure, connect our communities, and clean up our environment,” Sewell continued. “This law is a true testament to what we can achieve when we put people over politics, and I was proud to support it!” Earlier in the day, Rep. Sewell hosted a town hall at the McDonald Hughes Center in Tuscaloosa to speak with constituents. “Climate change is real,” Sewell said at the press conference. “We have experienced tornados and really bad storms here. The reality is that we need to leave this planet better than we found it, and that is going to take an investment in our infrastructure.” Sewell said that the federal government should invest in infrastructure like charging stations, “To make sure that we are not contributing to the release of greenhouse gases.” Electric battery-powered buses have 70 percent lower global warming emissions than diesel or natural gas buses, according to a recent analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Biden administration and some environmentalists claim that reducing emissions will have an overall benefit in reducing global warming moving forward. Sewell is in her sixth term representing Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. She faces her most difficult re-election effort to date due to population migration out of the district and 2021 redistricting by the Alabama Legislature that made the district much more Republican than it was in the 2020 election. Sewell is the only Democrat in Alabama’s congressional delegation. She is the only Black woman to represent Alabama in Congress in the history of the State of Alabama. Sewell is a native of Selma and lives in the Hoover area. “It is important that you vote for the people who have your back whether it is the people’s house, the governor’s house, or the state house,” Sewell said. “It is the honor of a lifetime to represent you in Washington, and I can only do that through town halls like this across the district.” Sewell faces Republican Beatrice Nichols and Libertarian Gavin Goodman in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Webinar to be held on filing a medical marijuana application
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) is now accepting applications from individuals and companies looking for a license to be a cannabis grower, processor, transporter, dispensary operator, or integrated facility. 607 prospective applicants recently downloaded applications from the AMCC website. The Alabama Cannabis Industry Association (ACIA) is hosting a webinar on filling out applications. “With the State of Alabama soon to release cannabis business applications, the time to prepare is now,” the group explained. Ashley Picillo of Point7 and Eric Schlissel of Cure8 will join the Alabama Cannabis Industry Association (ACIA) for the webinar on Wednesday. The webinar will begin at 1:00 pm central time. The discussion will be oriented around application best practices and the application’s format, including application requirements, scoring criteria, critical components such as business and financial plans, formulating a security plan, and developing an operating plan. Persons interested can submit their questions in advance to questions@cure8.tech. The AMCC rules are 171 pages long and must be adhered to in any application submitted to the AMCC. The University of South Alabama has been tasked with sorting and reviewing the applications for the Commission. Chey Garrigan is the founder and President of the ACIA. “We look forward to speaking with prospective applicants on Wednesday,” said Garrigan. “This is an entirely new experience for everyone in Alabama, and there is a lot to learn in a very short period of time for everyone in the industry. The Alabama Cannabis Industry Association worked to pass medical cannabis legislation, and we have been working with the Commission since it’s inception.” The completed applications are due in late December. The number of licenses issued is strictly limited by the original medical cannabis legislation that was passed during the 2021 Alabama Regular Legislative session. That legislation, Senate Bill 46, was sponsored by State Sen. Tim Melson and State Rep. Mike Ball. SB46 passed both Houses of the Alabama Legislature in May of 2021 despite heavy opposition from social conservatives. SB46 was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. The legislation created the AMCC and tasked the Commission with writing the rules, awarding the licenses, and regulating the medical cannabis industry in Alabama. Dr. Steven Stokes chairs the Commission. The AMCC has appointed former Alabama Agriculture and Industries Commissioner John McMillan as its executive director. The licenses to grow, process, transport, or dispense medical cannabis will be issued on July 10, 2023, at noon unless there is an appeal that is ongoing and if the Commission is able to maintain the proposed timeline. Alabama will have the most restrictive medical cannabis law in the country. Alabamians who have a documented medical need will not be able to get a recommendation for cannabis from their doctor and purchase Alabama medical cannabis until late 2023 at the earliest. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
St. Clair County honors Paul Manning on his retirement from county commission
On Thursday, over three hundred attended a retirement party at the St. Clair Arena in Odenville for long-time St. Clair County Commission Chairman Paul Manning. Manning lost re-election to long-time rival Stan Bateman in the May Republican primary. Manning was first elected to the county commission in 1978 and has served on the commission in 36 of the last 44 years. Manning, who has a disability, also ran two businesses: a barbecue restaurant and a gas station while he served on the commission. Prominent Real estate broker Lyman Lovejoy said, “He has been an asset, he and Marie, for so many years. They have been a force.” Sonny Brasfield is the executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA). “It is great to be with you in support of the career of Paul Manning,” Brasfield said. “A measure of whether you have touched people’s lives is how many people are willing to sit out in the cold in honor of you. In all my thirty years with the Association, I have never seen anything like this before. It is a measure of what this man and this family have done for this country.” Brasfield said that the ACCA honored Manning at their summer convention. “It is one thing to come when people want something from you, but the real friends are here where you are leaving office and can’t do anything for them anymore,” Brasfield said. “The Association of County Commissions of Alabama represents the county employees and commissioners of the state. It has been my pleasure to be working with the Association and these commissioners for the last 34 years. The Association of County Commissions of Alabama was created in 1929.” Wayne Johnson with the St. Clair County Veterans Association presented Manning with a framed U.S. flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol at the request of Congressman Mike Rogers. Former St. Clair County Circuit Clerk Annette Manning presented Paul Manning with a letter from U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville honoring Manning on his retirement. “I would like to extend my congratulations to you on your time as St. Clair County Commissioner,” Tuberville wrote. “St. Clair County has experienced great economic growth during these years. This economic expansion was in no small part due to you and your abilities. You have served your state and county well.” “Thank you for letting me stay around for 36 years,” said Paul Manning. “I see Mayors here, I see Councilmembers here, but I also see the other people. I was always honored to represent the people that did not think that they had representation otherwise.” State Rep. Jim Hill presented Manning with a letter of commendation from Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth and a framed state of Alabama flag that has flown over the state capital.” “I am a retiree from Alabama Power, so I have been on the other side of things where I had to get along with politicians, and some were easier to get along with than others,” said St. Clair County Commissioner Tommy Bowers. “I love Paul and the family to death.” Bowers also reminisced about former County Commissioner Jimmy Roberts, who died after 28 years of service on the commission. Bowers announced that the commissioners had named both chambers where the commission meets after Paul Manning and presented the plaque and Manning portrait that will hang in both chambers. Due to the mountain ridge that divides St. Clair County and the difficulty of driving a wagon over that ridge, St. Clair County is the only county in the state to have two county seats: Ashville and Pell City. Prominent Pell City attorney Billy Church said, “Paul, most people have to die to get all these accolades; but all you had to do was to lose an election.” St. Clair County Commissioner Bob Mise presented Manning with a framed St. Clair County flag that has flown over both of the St. Clair County courthouses. Logan Glass is the Vice Chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Party and the Chairman and founder of the St. Clair County Young Republicans. “He was the first to recognize that we were a force in St. Clair County and the first to put his money behind us,” Glass said of Manning. “Paul is a true statement; we don’t have enough of them today. It is no secret that I want to run for office someday, and if I am, I can only hope that I will be as much of a statesman as Paul Manning.” “I appreciate every year that I served, and I appreciate all the people that I have worked with,” Manning said. Manning was also honored by his wife, children, and grandchildren. Manning is married to Marie Manning. Marie Manning is a career educator who has served St. Clair County as a teacher, principal, as well as the elected St. Clair County school superintendent. She is presently ending her tenure on the St. Clair County Board of Education. Marie Manning is the Republican nominee for State school board district 6. She is running unopposed in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Barry Moore endorses Beatrice Nichols for Congress
On Wednesday, the Beatrice Nichols campaign announced that Nichols has received the endorsement of Republican Congressman Barry Moore. Nichols is challenging incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Terri Sewell in Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. Republicans are hopeful that they can win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in this year’s midterms, and Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District is the only district in Alabama represented by a Democrat. “The November 8th election is quite possibly the most important one of my lifetime,” Moore said. “It’s this simple, our country is at a tipping point. We have an opportunity to take back the House and Senate to stop the insanity in Washington DC and start to take our country back. We need every Republican we can get. Alabama is a conservative state. We believe in the value of hard work, the value of life, and the vital importance of freedom from government overreach. We believe our rights are given by God and not government. Because Bea Nichols believes this, too, it is my honor to endorse her for Congress. She will fight for the unborn and for our 2nd Amendment rights. She will fight for Alabama values in Washington. I ask the people of district 7 to please send Bea Nichols to DC to help me and other Republicans fight the progressive agenda. Together we can save our nation.” Nichols is married and a mother of three. She graduated from Hale County High School. She attended community college, where she received a nursing license. After graduating, she worked in Tuscaloosa for a local doctor. She went back to school and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in elementary and special education. They then taught second grade at a local private school for six years. While teaching and raising children, Nichols earned a master’s degree in special education. After graduation and having a third child, she went to work at a local public school as a self-contained special education teacher. Currently, she is enrolled at the University of Alabama pursuing a doctorate in special education. The Seventh Congressional District is the poorest in Alabama. “Our district is plagued with poverty, unemployment, and crime, especially in places like Perry, Greene, Lowndes, Wilcox, and Dallas counties,” Nichols said on her website. “In some of these counties, children do not have clean drinking water. The schools are closing because people are leaving in search of jobs and good schooling for their children. Throughout the district, our small towns are crumbling before our eyes. There are no opportunities for our young adults, and they are having a very hard time finding work in the area they live. Our current representative for the 7th district comes and speaks at the entrance of a historic bridge about all the good things that are happening in our district – using the Edmond Pettis bridge as a backdrop for publicity when not more than 50 yards away there is unimaginable poverty where living conditions are paralleled to some third world countries.” Nichols also recently received the endorsement of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. “Americans for Legal Immigration PAC is endorsing and asking voters to support, volunteer for, and donate to the campaigns of J.R. Majewski (R-OH-9) and Beatrice Nichols (R-AL-7) for US Congress because both candidates have completed ALIPAC’s 2022 federal candidate survey indicating they oppose licenses, in-state tuition, and DACA Amnesty for illegals while supporting the full enforcement of America’s existing immigration laws,” the group wrote on their website. ALIPAC has also endorsed incumbent Republican Congressman Barry Moore in Alabama’s Second Congressional District and incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in Alabama’s Third Congressional District. Sewell is the only Democrat in the Alabama congressional delegation. Her district is majority-minority, but after 2021’s redistricting and reapportionment by the Alabama Legislature, the Seventh District has become considerably more White and Republican than it was during the 2020 election. Some Republicans are hopeful that a large turnout of Republican voters on November 8 could flip the district to GOP control. Sewell was hosted on Wednesday by former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones for a fundraiser in Huntsville. Nichols, Sewell, and Libertarian nominee Gavin Goodman are all on the November 8 general election ballot for Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Judge rules for California baker over same-sex wedding cake
A California judge has ruled in favor of a bakery owner who refused to make wedding cakes for a same-sex couple because it violated her Christian beliefs. The state Department of Fair Housing and Employment had sued Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, arguing owner Cathy Miller intentionally discriminated against the couple in violation of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Miller’s attorneys argued her right to free speech and free expression of religion trumped the argument that she violated the anti-discrimination law. Kern County Superior Court Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled Friday that Miller acted lawfully while upholding her beliefs about what the Bible teaches regarding marriage. The decision was welcomed as a First Amendment victory by Miller and her pro-bono attorneys with the conservative Thomas More Society. “I’m hoping that in our community, we can grow together,” Miller told the Bakersfield Californian after the ruling. “And we should understand that we shouldn’t push any agenda against anyone else.” A spokesperson said the fair housing department was aware of the ruling but had not determined what to do next. The couple, Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio, said they expect an appeal. “Of course, we’re disappointed, but not surprised,” Eileen told the newspaper. “We anticipate that our appeal will have a different result.” An earlier decision in Kern County Superior Court also went Miller’s way, but it was later vacated by the 5th District Court of Appeal, which sent the lawsuit back to the county. The decision comes as a Colorado baker is challenging a ruling he violated that state’s anti-discrimination law by refusing to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. That baker, Jack Phillips, separately won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing on religious grounds to make a gay couple’s wedding cake a decade ago. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Court pauses Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan
Americans hoping for thousands of dollars in student loans to be lopped off their ledgers will have to wait a bit longer to see if it will happen. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loans, an election-year plan the administration said would start as soon as next week. The hold freezes the administration from “discharging any student loan debt under the Cancellation program” until the court decides on the challenge brought by a coalition of Republican attorneys general. A lower court dismissed the coalition’s case Thursday, saying the suit failed to prove someone was harmed by the debt forgiveness plan. “The court is not to consider the weight or significance of the alleged injury, only whether it exists,” U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autry said in his ruling. The plaintiffs contend that Biden doesn’t have the authority to erase the student loans. If allowed to move forward, Biden’s plan forgives $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 annually. Federal Pell Grant recipients would be forgiven $20,000. As previously reported, a coalition of GOP governors wrote Biden that his student loan forgiveness plan would be costly for American taxpayers. The group cited an estimate of up to $600 billion, or $2,000 per American taxpayer. The administration has until 5 p.m. on Monday, October 24, to respond to the injunction and until the same time next Tuesday for the group of states to respond to Biden’s office. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
State attorneys general led by Louisiana’s Jeff Landry urge CDC to reverse COVID vaccine school guidance
Attorneys general in a dozen states are urging the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to reverse course on recommendations to include the COVID-19 vaccine on federal child immunization lists. “This action could deny many parents the freedom to determine whether to subject their kids to an experimental vaccine,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said. The attorneys general penned a letter to the CDC’s ACIP committee Thursday in regards to two votes taken during meetings this week, which occurred before the close of the public comment period on including the COVID-19 vaccine on child immunization lists. The advisory committee voted 15-0 on Thursday to add COVID-19 vaccines to the 2023 schedule of childhood and adult immunizations, and the CDC is expected to accept the recommendation. The committee voted unanimously the day prior to add the vaccine to the Vaccines for Children Program, which was created by Congress to ensure low-income children have access to free vaccines. “States have traditionally relied heavily on these lists to inform their vaccination policies,” the letter reads. “As a result, in many states, your decision is unnecessary and subjects children to retaliation for their parent or guardian’s decisions to decline this vaccination.” The letter argues vaccines currently included on the childhood immunization lists protect against viruses that “have killed millions of children over the years,” unlike COVID-19, which “does not pose the same danger to kids as polio or measles, nor does the vaccine provide the same protection.” “While most vaccines prevent the vaccinated individual from getting the disease in the first place and stop the spread of the disease, the COVID-19 vaccine does neither,” the attorneys general wrote. Including the COVID-19 vaccine could do more harm than good by undermining the public’s faith in the CDC, they wrote, citing ongoing research into both the virus and vaccines, as well as “widespread disagreement on whether kids need to be vaccinated” as important reasons to wait. “It’s far too early in the process to potentially require otherwise healthy kids to get a vaccine that will not prevent them or others from getting sick. In fact, the vaccine could do the opposite and create complications for kids who are forced to get the vaccine to attend school or play sports,” the letter reads. “Given the lack of need for kids to obtain the vaccines and their lack of effectiveness, adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of childhood immunizations amounts to little more than a payout to big pharmaceutical companies at the expense of kids and parents.” The attorneys general pointed to the continued “fallout of school closures and the forced masking of kids” that resulted from the “failures of misguided politicians, government bureaucrats, and their select experts, “and urged the committee to “reject considerations of adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of childhood immunities and the VFC.” “A modicum of humility is in order from the elites who demanded Americans’ trust then betrayed it with failed policies, and simultaneously ensured that those with the audacity to question the individuals wielding such power over individual lives and livelihoods would be targeted for censorship and blame,” the letter reads. “Our Nation’s children are not the federal government’s guinea pigs,” the attorneys general wrote. “As a country that failed so many children over the last couple of years, we owe it to them and their parents to take a responsible path forward.” The letter was signed by attorneys general from Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Montana, Arizona, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Indiana, and Texas. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
