Robert Califf Heads FDA Again Despite Financial Ties to Pharma
Robert M. Califf, MD was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a vote of 50-46 on Feb. 15, 2022. Dr. Califf’s financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry was cited by some Senators as a reason they could not support his appointment. Similar concerns were expressed […]
Public Trust in the CDC Waning
Since the start of the pandemic, the public’s trust in U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has waned. It is now widely accepted that the agency has lost a significant amount of credibility.1 An NBC News poll conducted in January 2022 showed that only 44 percent of Americans trust the CDC while 43 […]
Moderna CEO Was Paid $18.2 Million in 2021
As COVID-19 vaccine sales continue to soar, Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel’s total personal financial compensation increased by 41 percent in 2021, reaching $18.2 million. The company’s total revenue rose 2,200 percent in 2021, jumping from $803 million to $18.5 billion.1 2 Moderna partnered with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), headed […]
COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers Reinstated by Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
On Apr. 7, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana ruled that the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all Federal workers must be reinstated. The 2-1 ruling reversed a lower court order blocking the vaccine mandate for federal workers. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Carl Stewart ordered the lower […]
Cleveland Clinic Denies Boy Kidney Transplant Because He Didn’t Get COVID Shot
As of October 2021, the Cleveland Clinic will not permit patients who have not gotten COVID-19 vaccine to undergo lifesaving organ transplants, either as a recipient or a living donor. The clinic’s reasoning is that the recipient, who receives immunosuppressant drugs post-transplant, could be at high risk of contracting SARS-Cov-2. The unvaccinated will not be […]
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Case on Religious Vaccine Exemptions for Deployment of Navy Seals
On Mar. 25, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration allowing the U.S. Navy to consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of military personnel when making deployment decisions. The 6-3 decision overrides a lower U.S. district court decision that had temporarily prevented the Navy from treating deployment of Navy Seals with religious vaccine […]