The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> played a direct role in moderating and censoring speech on Facebook surrounding the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> pandemic, emails obtained in a lawsuit against the Biden administration suggest.
Facebook’s cozy relationship with the CDC was revealed after the state of Missouri sued the federal government for alleged censorship of citizens in violation of the First Amendment. Reason Editor Robby Soave outlined the nature of the communication in a series of tweets reminiscent of the Twitter files, with screenshots of the relevant emails between the CDC and Meta employees.
“The CDC had significant input on pandemic-era policies at Meta,&#8221; Soave wrote. &#8220;The CDC was consulted frequently, at times daily, receiving constant updates about which topics were trending, and giving recommendations on what content to flag as false or misleading.”
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2. The CDC had significant input on pandemic-era policies at Meta. The CDC was consulted frequently, at times daily, receiving constant updates about which topics were trending, and giving recommendations on what content to flag as false or misleading. <a href="https://t.co/rEXxY1VDk3">https://t.co/rEXxY1VDk3</a>
&mdash; Robby Soave (@robbysoave) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbysoave/status/1616072448436314115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The revelations mirror disclosures about Twitter’s close cooperation with government officials in suppressing claims that went against the official line were made voluntarily after Elon Musk bought that platform.
By May of 2021, the CDC was monitoring statements by Facebook users about the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, and highlighting certain ideas it wanted banned and suppressed. Facebook was eager to acquiesce — one moderator went so far as to thank the CDC for “help in debunking” these claims.
Notably, one widely circulated claim that drew the attention of the CDC was the “lab leak” theory — the notion that COVID was biologically engineered — an idea the CDC dismissed as technically possible, but highly improbable. Facebook would crack down on users and accounts promoting the lab leak theory shortly after this exchange.
By July of 2021, the CDC was flagging posts for concerns beyond factual accuracy — claims that “may cause harm” or induce “vaccine refusal” were also flagged for censorship.
“Meta gave the CDC de facto power to police COVID misinfo on the platforms; the CDC took the position that essentially any erroneous claim could contribute to vaccine hesitancy and cause social harm. This was a recipe for vast silencing, at the feds’ implicit behest.” After the FDA granted emergency authorization for the use of COVID vaccines in children, Facebook agreed to censor all posts suggesting that the vaccine was not safe for kids.
The CDC also kept a watchful eye on criticism and mockery of former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci.
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11. Meta also kept the CDC apprised of criticism of Anthony Fauci. One email warned the CDC that Facebook users were mocking Fauci for changing his mind about masking and double-masking. The CDC replied that this information was &quot;very helpful.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/CUM5wwORtM">pic.twitter.com/CUM5wwORtM</a>
&mdash; Robby Soave (@robbysoave) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbysoave/status/1616074074094211073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Personal details from the email exchanges reveal a cordial relationship between Meta and the CDC, with Meta employees referring to their counterparts at the CDC as “colleagues” and working to provide them many channels to flag and report content. However, co-operation may not have been totally voluntary — members of the White House staff routinely and publicly berated Facebook and other social media platforms for not taking down offending posts fast enough, and as recently as July of 2021, President Biden himself <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/16/white-house-says-facebook-needs-to-do-more-to-fight-vaccine-misinformation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Facebook was “killing people.”
&#8220;Facebook is a private entity, and thus is within its rights to moderate content in any fashion it sees fit,” Soave concluded. “But the federal government&#8217;s efforts to pressure social media companies cannot be waved away. Such an arrangement—whereby private entities, at the behest of the government, become ideological enforcers—is unacceptable. And it may be illegal.&#8221;

Facebook

The Facebook Files: How The CDC Colluded With Meta To Suppress ‘Misinformation’

The Facebook Files: How The CDC Colluded With Meta To Suppress 'Misinformation'

Business

COVID

Pfizer COVID Booster

Pfizer’s Updated COVID Booster Linked To Potential Stroke Risk, CDC Launches ‘Additional Investigation’

Pfizer's Updated COVID Booster Linked To Potential Stroke Risk, CDC Launches 'Additional Investigation'

COVID-19 Vaccine

Moderna, which developed a COVID vaccine after getting a $10 billion handout from U.S. taxpayers, sold $18 billion worth of vaccines in 2021.
Last March, Pfizer said it expects to haul in $32 billion in COVID vaccine sales for 2022, while Moderna forecasted at least $19 billion in sales.
But as always, nothing is ever enough. So Moderna wants to increase its price up to 400%, from an updated booster shot price of about $26 per dose to between $110 and $130 per dose, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/moderna-considers-price-of-110-130-for-covid-19-vaccine-11673289609" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel defended the sky-high hike, saying, &#8220;I would think this type of pricing is consistent with the value.”
After U.S. taxpayers subsidized the creation of the mRNA-based COVID vaccine, Moderna provided them to the government at $15-$16 per dose in 2021. That rose to $26 per dose in 2022. And now they want — $130?!
Moderna says it&#8217;s just setting a fair market price, noting that Pfizer is also looking to get upwards of $130 per vaccine dose.
When Pfizer announced its new price late last year, U.S. lawmakers ripped the move. In a letter sent last month to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and then-Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) called the hike &#8220;pure and deadly greed&#8221; and accused the company of &#8220;unseemly profiteering.&#8221;
&#8220;We urge you to back off from your proposed price increases and ensure COVID-19 vaccines are reasonably priced and accessible to people across the United States,&#8221; the lawmakers wrote.
&#8220;Thanks to billions of federal dollars used to support production and delivery of Pfizer’s vaccine product, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently free for patients in the United States,&#8221; the lawmakers said in their letter.
More than 400 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and boosters have been administered in the U.S., <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal government continues to urge Americans to get booster after booster.
But now it turns out that the new boosters might not do much of anything.
Some vaccine advisers to the federal government on Wednesday said they are &#8220;disappointed” and “angry” that government scientists and the pharmaceutical company Moderna failed to provide certain infection data on the effectiveness of its latest COVID booster during meetings last year.
Even without the data, the advisers approved the new booster. But now, the data shows the updated booster might not be any more effective than the original shots, which targeted a completely different strain of the virus.
&#8220;I was angry to find out that there was data that was relevant to our decision that we didn’t get to see,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a group of external advisers that helps the FDA make vaccine decisions, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/health/moderna-bivalent-transparency/index.html">according</a> to CNN.
“Decisions that are made for the public have to be made based on all available information – not just some information, but all information,&#8221; he said.
Earlier this month, India reported the first incidence of the Omicron subtype XBB-1.5. That has now moved around the world.
The CDC <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> that XBB.1.5 infections have more than doubled each week for the last four, rising from about 4% to 41% of new infections over the month of December. In the Northeast, the CDC estimates that the new strain was responsible for 75% of new cases.
And earlier this month, the CDC announced America had become the first country to officially reach the milestone of 100 million COVID cases.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

The EU Looks Forward To Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout

GOUGE: Moderna, Pfizer Want To Cash In Even More On COVID Vaccine

COVID-19

Moderna

Pfizer

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> government, whose draconian “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-protesters-in-china-are-cleverly-defying-their-communist-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zero COVID</a>” policy forced people to stay in their homes for as long as 100 days at a time, lashed out at countries around the world that will require <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> testing for travelers from the People&#8217;s Republic of China (PRC).
As a <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/12/15/1143002538/china-appears-to-be-facing-what-could-be-the-world-s-largest-coronavirus-outbrea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surge</a> of COVID infects the Chinese people, the communist government has refused to share information about its outbreak with the rest of the world and was offended by the &#8220;unacceptable&#8221; travel restrictions imposed on travelers from China. Beijing harshly criticized the safety measures taken by Japan, India, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France, and several other European countries, and threatened to respond with “countermeasures.”
“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/beijing-threatens-response-to-unacceptable-covid-19-measures-for-chinese-travelers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Associated Press.
“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” Mao added.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said all travelers entering the country from China would have to undergo COVID testing as the communist nation faces a wave of infections after it began to roll back its “zero COVID” policies last month. The U.S. travel requirements <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-covid-19-pandemic-ab51ca49e69633ae7028db36d06c54f3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">begin</a> Thursday and affect every traveler regardless of age or nationality coming to the U.S. from China.
The CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p1228-COVID-china.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> a “lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC” as a main factor in its decision to implement the travel requirement.
“Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world. However, reduced testing and case reporting in the PRC and minimal sharing of viral genomic sequence data could delay the identification of new variants of concern if they arise,” the CDC said.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said her country is implementing the COVID testing measures to protect the French people. For the U.K., Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the COVID test requirement is for “collecting information” since China has not shared enough data with the world on its COVID infections, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, Sweden, which currently controls the EU presidency, “is preparing to be able to introduce travel restrictions. At the same time, we are conducting a dialogue with our European colleagues to get the same rules as possible in the EU,” according to Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer.
China’s threat to react to the COVID measures taken by the rest of the world on its travelers comes days after former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinas-xi-is-doing-it-again-pompeo-suggests-cutting-off-china-travel-as-covid-surges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advised</a> countries to completely shut off travel to the communist nation.
“There is no reason we should allow the Chinese to do this again, to send Chinese-infected persons around the world knowingly infecting people all across the globe. [Chinese President Xi Jinping] got away with this once. I regret that he wasn’t held accountable, he hasn’t been held accountable,” Pompeo told New York radio show host John Catsimatidis on Sunday. “But he’s doing it again, so, John, just as in the spring of 2020 when he sent people around the world he knew were infected, he’s doing the same darn thing again. He’s going to infect millions more. We shouldn’t let that happen.”

China COVID Test

Beijing Threatens ‘Countermeasures’ Against Countries Requiring COVID Test For Travelers From China

China

Travel Restrictions

<div>
A key federal agency worked with gun control advocates to bury a study that showed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/guns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law-abiding firearms owners</a> use them to protect themselves millions of times per year, according to a report.
</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) deleted a reference to the study, which it had commissioned, after gun-control advocates said it made passing new gun laws more difficult. The pro-Second Amendment site <a href="https://thereload.com/emails-cdc-removed-defensive-gun-use-stats-after-gun-control-advocates-pressured-officials-in-private-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Reload reported</a> that the White House and powerful Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin helped arrange a series of meetings at which the gun control advocates convinced the agency to hide the study.
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<div>
“[T]hat 2.5 Million number needs to be killed, buried, dug up, killed again and buried again,” Mark Bryant, head of the <a href="https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gun Violence Archive</a>, <a href="https://thereload.com/app/uploads/2022/12/CDC-DGU-Mark-Bryant-on-killing-Kleck-estimate.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to CDC officials after a meeting. “It is highly misleading, is used out of context and I honestly believe it has zero value – even as an outlier point in honest DGU discussions.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Update: The CDC never actually sent <a href="https://twitter.com/teamtrace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@teamtrace</a> the statement it drafted in response to the publication&#39;s initial inquiry about the agency&#39;s decision to change the language on its website about defensive gun use and the lobbying campaign behind it. <a href="https://t.co/24igo5iePL">https://t.co/24igo5iePL</a>
&mdash; The Reload (@TheReloadSite) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheReloadSite/status/1608472152033955840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<div>
Bryant’s email was one of a handful obtained by The Reload which illustrate how gun control lobbyists were triggered by the study by Florida State University Criminology Professor Gary Kleck. That study was one of several the CDC reviewed on defensive gun uses. Kleck’s findings represented the upper end of estimates for how many times lawful gun owners defended themselves.
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<div>
Bryant complained that Kleck’s estimate was “misinformation” and should be eliminated from the CDC’s website because gun-rights advocates were using it as ammunition for their Second Amendment arguments.
</div>
<div>
The CDC initially stood by the study and listed it in the “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/fastfact.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fast Facts: Firearm Violence Prevention</a>” portion of its website. But after a September 15, 2021, virtual meeting with gun control advocates, the agency assured them it would revise the section in 2022, according to a December 10, 2021, email obtained by The Reload.
</div>
<div>
“We are planning to update the fact sheet in early 2022 after the release of some new data,” Beth Reimels, associate director for policy, partnerships, and strategic communication at the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, wrote in <a href="https://thereload.com/app/uploads/2022/12/CDC-DGU-Beth-Reimels-thanks-gun-control-advocates.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the email</a>. “We will also make some edits to the content we discussed that I think will address the concerns you and other partners have raised.”
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<div>
In 2022, references to studies involving defensive gun use were scrubbed from the site.
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<div>
“Estimates of defensive gun use vary depending on the questions asked, populations studied, timeframe, and other factors related to study design,” the site now states. “Given the wide variability in estimates, additional research is necessary to understand defensive gun use prevalence, frequency, circumstances, and outcomes.”
</div>
<div>
The CDC did not respond to The Reload’s request for comment on the decision. Durbin spokeswoman Emily Hampsten told the site her boss’s only involvement was “simply connecting” “stakeholder organizations” with a federal agency.
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<div>
Kleck called the decision “blatant censorship” meant to skew the debate over gun rights.
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<div>
“You can’t understand any significant aspects of the gun-control debate once you eliminate defensive gun use,” said Kleck, <a href="https://criminology.fsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/gary-kleck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">professor emeritus at Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice</a>. “It becomes inexplicable why so many Americans oppose otherwise perfectly reasonable gun-control measurements. It’s because they think it’s going to lead to prohibition, and they won’t have a gun for self-defense.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
“It’s not complicated,” added Kleck, who said it was the latest example of how the CDC has become politicized.
</div>
<div>
The CDC’s decision to remove all estimates on defensive gun uses was <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/2022/06/defensive-gun-use-data-good-guys-with-guns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first reported by The Trace</a>, a pro-gun control site that disputed Kleck’s scholarship. The emails cited by The Reload were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed on behalf of the California Rifle &amp; Pistol Association.
</div>
<div>
Bryant’s group is one of several gun control advocacy organizations that have used a broad definition of “mass shootings” to portray them as extremely common in the U.S. Under their terms, a mass shooting occurs any time four or more people are at least injured in an incident involving firearms. By that count, mass shootings happen 10 times as often as the more standard definition requiring four or more fatalities.
</div>
<div>
But when it comes to defining defensive gun use incidents, Gun Violence Archive uses decidedly conservative criteria, counting only those incidents that appear in media or police reports. By their yardstick, Gun Violence Archive estimates there are less than 2,000 cases of defensive gun use per year.
</div>
<div>
The CDC sought to explain its decision to remove defensive gun use statistics from its fact sheet in a response to a query from the Trace that it ultimately never sent. In it, the CDC said the fact that the range of estimates was so vast that including them might “raise more questions than it answered.”
</div>

Guns

Gun Control Groups Got CDC To Scrub ‘Good Guys With Guns’ Study, Emails Show

Gun Control Groups Got CDC To Scrub 'Good Guys With Guns' Study, Emails Show

Second Amendment

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC) this week promoted a tool meant to encourage <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schools</a> across the U.S. to embrace gender ideology to increase “inclusivity.” 
On Tuesday, the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health <a href="https://twitter.com/CDC_DASH/status/1607723745979817985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put out</a> a link to a resource aimed at helping school administrators “quickly gauge inclusivity” at their schools. 
The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/mai/pdf/LGBTQ_Inclusivity-508.pdf?s_cid=tw-zaza-1364" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resource</a>, a self-assessment tool, covers things at schools from bathroom policies to sports teams and pronoun usage. The tool was developed using a host of materials from non-government organizations like the National LGBT Health Education Center and the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health. 
“Schools play a critical role in supporting the health and academic development of all youth, including the success of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Creating and sustaining inclusive school environments, policies, programs, and practices that include LGBTQ youth is one strategy for improving the health and academic success of all youths,” the resource reads. 
The resource was primarily developed by the CDC and the NORC research group at the University of Chicago. The resource is not “required” and is described as “a collection of curated resources and tools to help schools enhance LGBTQ inclusive policies, programs, and practices.” 
The “inclusivity” assessments are broken down into sections for administrators, educators, all users, and school health staff. There are three levels of inclusivity ranging from “Commit to Change” to “Awesome Ally.”
One section of the tool asks whether users recognize that gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation can be “experienced on a continuum” while another asks whether the user “assumes” gender identity. 
The resource also asks if school employees use gender-neutral language like “partner” instead of “boyfriend” and “girlfriend,” in addition to using students’ preferred pronouns. 
Administrators receive a higher “inclusivity” grade if they have policies in place that allow students to use the bathroom/locker room of their chosen gender identity. Administrators are also asked if the technological policies “allow student access to age-appropriate LGBTQ content and information.” 
Recommended resources for administrators include information from the Human Rights Watch and Gender Spectrum, a group that promotes resources for “gender diverse” youth. 
In the educators’ section, the tool asks if there are “visual labels” like rainbow flags that demonstrate the classroom is “a safe space for LGBTQ students.” Educators are also asked if during sex ed they teach “information on all types of sex, not centering on penis/vagina penetrative sex.” The guide recommends the use of phrases like “a body with a penis” or “a body with a vagina.”
The resource comes after schools across the country have come under fire from parents and lawmakers for encouraging young students to embrace gender ideology.

Center For Disease Control Director Tom Frieden Addresses The Media On Ebola Case In U.S.

CDC Promotes New Tool To Increase Schools’ Acceptance Of Gender Ideology

CDC Promotes New Tool To Increase Schools' Acceptance Of Gender Ideology

Education

LGBTQ

Drug overdose deaths soared above 106,000 in 2021, topping the spike that occurred during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db457.htm#Key_finding">released</a> its final report revealing the dismal numbers on Friday, just before Christmas.
The U.S. saw a total of 106,699 drug overdose deaths in 2021, and the age-adjusted rate of deaths increased 14% from 2020 to 2021, the CDC said.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times stronger than heroin, drove the spike. The rate of overdose deaths that involved synthetic opioids increased 22% in 2021, while the rate of fatal heroin overdoses dropped 32%.
About 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl were seized this year by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the agency announced earlier this week. Much of the fentanyl flows over the U.S.-Mexico border, although some fentanyl as well as the materials to make fentanyl <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf">come</a> into the U.S. from China.
Despite fentanyl being the main driver of overdoses, cocaine and other psychostimulants also saw a rise in overdose deaths in 2021.
Overdose deaths of males have risen sharply since about 2013 at a much higher rate than overdose deaths of females, the CDC data shows. During both 2020 and 2021, overdose death rates were highest for those age 35 to 44 and lowest for seniors, those over 65. However, seniors saw the highest increase in the rate of overdose deaths of any age group in 2021 — 28%.
Native Americans had the highest overdose death rate out of all racial groups in both 2020 and 2021, while Asian Americans had the lowest. Black Americans had a higher overdose death rate than white Americans both years.
“These data are very tragic but not surprising,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/health/life-expectancy-2021-final-data/index.html">said</a> Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “The pandemic had a magnifying effect on an already-devastating overdose crisis, and exacerbated many of the stressors in society that make people more vulnerable to taking drugs.”
Spiking drug overdoses also helped drag life expectancy in 2o21 down to 76.4 years, the lowest since 1996, the CDC said. COVID deaths were another major cause of decreased life expectancy, which is now more than two years shorter than it was at the beginning of the pandemic.
“What we’re seeing in terms of the patterns of mortality, it’s being driven, I think, largely by the pandemic,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/health/life-expectancy-2021-final-data/index.html">said</a> Robert Anderson, mortality statistics chief at the National Center for Health Statistics.
Some states have been hit particularly hard by the drug overdose crisis, in particular the seemingly uncontrollable amounts of fentanyl flooding across state lines.
In Montana, law enforcement <a href="https://dojmt.gov/ag-knudsen-new-data-show-fentanyl-is-top-public-safety-threat-in-montana/">seized</a> 58 times more fentanyl in the first six months of this year than they seized in all of 2019, at least 112,000 fentanyl doses.
In drug addiction hotspots like San Francisco, crime and homelessness have followed close behind the city&#8217;s drug problem for years.
One bright spot is that as addiction rates rise, more doctors have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/overdoses-soar-rural-america-clinicians-are-prescribing-addiction-medi-rcna59225">started taking</a> addiction patients and prescribing both traditional and new addiction medications to combat the crisis.
Meanwhile, more than half of state governors have taken the drug crisis into their own hands since the Biden administration has failed to significantly stanch the flow of drugs across the border. In April, 26 governors <a href="https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2022/04/governor-ducey-25-governors-commit-coordinated-effort-secure-united-states">formed</a> the American Governors’ Border Strike Force, which works to secure the border and combat drug trafficking in the absence of more federal action.

US-HEROIN-CRISIS-OPIOID-CRIME

Drug Overdose Deaths Soared Above 106,000 In 2021, CDC Report Says

Big Pharma

Crime

Drug Cartels

Drugs

Homeless

Homelessness

Prescription Drugs

At least 2,900 Americans have died from influenza since October, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
&#8220;Seasonal influenza activity is elevated across the country,&#8221; an <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">update</a> from the week ending November 19 that was released on Monday said.
The CDC estimates &#8220;at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations, and 2,900 deaths from flu.&#8221; The statistics include 12 children who have died this flu season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CDC’s latest preliminary, in-season flu burden estimates suggest flu has caused at least 6.2 million illnesses, 3 million medical visits, 53,000 hospitalizations, and 2,900 deaths so far this season. There’s still time to get a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fluvax?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fluvax</a>. Full report here: <a href="https://t.co/bR1HB5pgLZ">https://t.co/bR1HB5pgLZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/N7fDX9tQvz">pic.twitter.com/N7fDX9tQvz</a>
&mdash; CDC Flu (@CDCFlu) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCFlu/status/1597386631908151296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee are the states reporting the highest number of cases, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/3000-people-died-flu-this-season-cdc">according</a> to data from the CDC. A total of 35 states are considered high or very high risk for influenza-like illness in the CDC&#8217;s latest update.
Just four states, Alaska, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Vermont, fall within minimal activity levels.
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Influenza-like illness, defined medical visits for fever and cough or sore throat, is high or very high in 35 states, according to CDC’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FluView?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FluView</a> report. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flu</a> is a significant contributor to respiratory illness, but other viruses are spreading too. More: <a href="https://t.co/d7ZpbN4Iaw">https://t.co/d7ZpbN4Iaw</a> <a href="https://t.co/09f7LCVrIA">pic.twitter.com/09f7LCVrIA</a>
&mdash; CDC Flu (@CDCFlu) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCFlu/status/1597306147857367040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The flu season runs from October until May, with its peak in January or February. However, the respiratory illness began spreading earlier this year than usual, resulting in increased hospitalizations about <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3709873-flu-season-hits-early-with-record-high-hospitalizations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six weeks</a> ahead of the traditional flu period.
The agency recommends an annual flu vaccine. People six months and older are eligible.
Those who catch the virus are encouraged to take prescription flu antiviral drugs. The flu is considered more dangerous for individuals 65 years old or older, pregnant women, or those with other health risks.
The start of the holiday season could lead to influenza numbers increasing even more as Americans travel and join family gatherings.
The high level of influenza spread is a substantial increase following two years of a pandemic that has seen the CDC focus its efforts on COVID. The data revealed in the latest update shows concerns regarding COVID, influenza, and pneumonia.
A related global influenza update from the World Health Organization (WHO) was released on November 14 based on data through October 30.
&#8220;In Europe, overall influenza activity followed an increasing trend but remained relatively low. Influenza A viruses predominated among the reported detections in general with A(H3N2) viruses accounting for the majority of subtyped influenza A viruses,&#8221; the WHO <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/influenza-update-n-432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;In the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere, overall influenza activity appeared to decrease this reporting period, except in temperate South America where activity increased in several countries,&#8221; it added.

flu shots

Almost 3,000 Americans Have Died From Flu Since October, CDC Says

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<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/after-cdcs-rochelle-walensky-admits-covid-19-pcr-tests-has-a-major-flaw-conservatives-demand-answers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Rochelle Walensky</a>, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/dr-birx-on-cdc-reform-the-way-you-rebuild-public-trust-is-to-be-transparent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a>), took some heat Tuesday on Twitter after announcing a plan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Tuskegee syphilis study.
The <a href="https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/centers-of-excellence/bioethics-center/about-the-usphs-syphilis-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, which began in 1932, enlisted more than 600 black men to record the natural progression of syphilis. Throughout the study, however, a number of ethical protocols — namely &#8220;informed consent&#8221; — were ignored, and when penicillin emerged as a treatment for the disease in 1947, it was intentionally withheld from the study participants. The study ended in 1972 after The Associated Press&#8217; Jean Heller exposed the experiment and a review board determined that the entire study had been &#8220;ethically unjustified.&#8221;
&#8220;This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Tuskegee syphilis study. Tomorrow, I will be joined by colleagues &amp; #PublicHealth leaders as we honor the 623 African American men, their suffering &amp; sacrifice, and our commitment to ethical research and practice,&#8221; <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/baier-to-walensky-has-the-public-lost-trust-in-cdc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walensky</a> tweeted on Tuesday.
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Tuskegee syphilis study. Tomorrow, I will be joined by colleagues &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PublicHealth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PublicHealth</a> leaders as we honor the 623 African American men, their suffering &amp; sacrifice, and our commitment to ethical research and practice. <a href="https://t.co/cbR8Shy0Db">https://t.co/cbR8Shy0Db</a>
&mdash; Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCDirector/status/1597700811102224385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Critics quickly responded, most taking issue with the word &#8220;sacrifice&#8221; as if the participants in the study had been given any real information about the potential impact that withholding treatment could have on them and their families.
&#8220;This is just a remarkably awful tweet about a horribly unethical thing done to innocent human beings who deserved much better,&#8221; Kimberly Ross <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthernKeeks/status/1598020204143206400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.
&#8220;Whitewashing one of the most horrific incidences of governmental racism conducted against African Americans in the modern era,&#8221; Dario Morrow added. &#8220;The Tuskegee experiment didn’t end until 1972. Many black people don’t trust the medical profession to this day because of this. She’s shameful.&#8221;
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Whitewashing one of the most horrific incidences of governmental racism conducted against African Americans in the modern era. The Tuskegee experiment didn’t end until 1972. Many black people don’t trust the medical profession to this day because of this. She’s shameful <a href="https://t.co/UONAV53ful">https://t.co/UONAV53ful</a>
&mdash; Darvio Morrow (@DTheKingpin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DTheKingpin/status/1598013308283813888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;&#8216;Suffering and Sacrifice&#8217;?? The Government murdered people and when there was a cure they weren’t offered one. I’m amazed this tweet was sent,&#8221; Chef Andrew Gruel <a href="https://twitter.com/ChefGruel/status/1597987573359468544" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a>.
&#8220;She needs to resign and live the rest of her days in shame for allowing this statement to be put out on her name!&#8221; Lavern Spicer <a href="https://twitter.com/lavern_spicer/status/1597977043362545669" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a>.
&#8220;Can&#8217;t tell if this is a brilliant jab at the CDC or if they&#8217;re serious,&#8221; Ed Latimore tweeted before realizing who Walensky was — at which point he added, &#8220;(EDIT: I didn&#8217;t realize this was the Director of the CDC. Holy s***, these people are monsters). Either way, this is about to get a massive ratio lol.&#8221;
&#8220;I think it’s actually pretty important to distinguish between making a sacrifice and being sacrificed,&#8221; Jerry Dunleavy observed.
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I think it’s actually pretty important to distinguish between making a sacrifice and being sacrificed. <a href="https://t.co/TApgSqVW02">https://t.co/TApgSqVW02</a>
&mdash; Jerry Christmas 🎅🏼🎄 (@JerryDunleavy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1597953411143475201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In 1973, one year after the Tuskegee study officially ended, attorney Fred Gray filed a class action suit on behalf of the families. The resulting settlement gave over $9 million to the study participants.

Leading Health Officials Testify On Federal Government’s Response To Monkeypox Outbreak

CDC Chief Dragged For Tweet Commemorating Horrific Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments

Rochelle Walensky Dragged For Tweet Commemorating Horrific Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments

Dr. Rochelle Walensky

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While many pregnant women generally know of the risks involving drinking alcohol while pregnant, a new study is shedding light on the effect that even a small amount of the substance can have on a developing baby’s brain.
A recent MRI <a href="https://neurosciencenews.com/pregnancy-alcohol-brain-development-21920/">study</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221122111554.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> that even minor to moderate amounts of drinking alcohol during pregnancy can alter a baby’s brain structure and postpone brain development. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can open up the growing fetus to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).
If a baby is exposed to alcohol in utero, he or she can go on to have a scope of these FASD symptoms, such as learning disabilities, language and speech delays, problems seeing or hearing, heart, bone, and kidney issues, as well as physical limitations, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/facts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC).
&#8220;It might be a very small risk associated with every glass you might drink during pregnancy, but you never know if that may be the one that pushes you over the edge,&#8221; co-author Dr. Marlene Stuempflen <a href="https://www.insider.com/brain-imaging-study-1-drink-week-pregnant-change-fetal-brain-2022-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Insider.
In the study, scientists looked at fetal MRI scans of 24 unborn babies who had been exposed to alcohol while in utero. When the MRIs were conducted, the babies’ gestational ages were 22 to 36 weeks. Mothers submitted anonymous answers to questions about alcohol in order to reveal the babies’ exposure to alcohol. 
&#8220;Seventeen of 24 mothers drank alcohol relatively infrequently, with average alcohol consumption of less than one alcoholic drink per week,&#8221; lead author Patric Kienast <a href="https://press.rsna.org/timssnet/media/pressreleases/14_pr_target.cfm?id=2384" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;Nevertheless, we were able to detect significant changes in these fetuses based on prenatal MRI.”
Three of the mothers <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/drinking-during-pregnancy-may-change-babys-brain-structure#Details-on-the-study-on-alcohol-and-babies-brains" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they had one to three drinks each week, two said they consumed four to six drinks each week, and one said she drink an average of at least 14 drinks each week. Six of them also said they engaged in binge drinking alcohol at least once while they were pregnant, which is defined in a press release as more than four drinks in one instance.
“We found the greatest changes in the temporal brain region and STS,&#8221; the study’s senior author Gregor Kasprian, said. &#8220;We know that this region, and specifically the formation of the STS, has a great influence on language development during childhood.&#8221;
In the fetuses who had been exposed to alcohol, their “fetal total maturation score (fTMS) was significantly lower than in the age-matched controls, and the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) was shallower,” the press release noted. “The STS is involved in social cognition, audiovisual integration and language perception.”
While it’s not clear how the babies will be impacted once they are born, Kienast said &#8220;we can strongly assume that the changes we discovered contribute to the cognitive and behavioral difficulties that may occur during childhood.&#8221;
&#8220;Pregnant women should strictly avoid alcohol consumption,&#8221; Kienast added. &#8220;As we show in our study, even low levels of alcohol consumption can lead to structural changes in brain development and delayed brain maturation.&#8221;
The CDC <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8735564/">noted</a> that there was no <a href="https://utswmed.org/medblog/alcohol-during-pregnancy/#:~:text=Pregnancy,%20drinking,%20and%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic&amp;text=In%20both%20years,%20approximately%2014,women%20consuming%20alcohol%20in%20pregnancy." target="_blank" rel="noopener">difference</a> in how many pregnant women said they drank alcohol in 2019 and 2020, but in both years, around 14% to 15% of pregnant women said they drank alcohol and around 6% said they had engaged in binge drinking.
&#8220;Unfortunately, many pregnant women are unaware of the influence of alcohol on the fetus during pregnancy,&#8221; Kienast noted. &#8220;Therefore, it is our responsibility not only to do the research but also to actively educate the public about the effects of alcohol on the fetus.”
The study’s findings will be presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting next week and have not been published yet.

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Study Shows Even Light Drinking In Pregnancy Can Affect Baby’s Brain

MRI RSNA Study Shows Even Light Drinking In Pregnancy Can Affect Baby's Brain

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Pregnancy

Science

A new study showed that taking certain anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis might not help and could make the disease&#8217;s effects worse. 
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, occurs when the cartilage inside a joint starts to deteriorate and the bone beneath it begins to change, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/osteoarthritis.htm#:~:text=Osteoarthritis%20(OA)%20is%20the%20most,underlying%20bone%20begins%20to%20change." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. 
Those suffering from osteoarthritis are often prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by their physicians to help with the inflammation and discomfort that can occur from the disease. NSAIDs typically used include naproxen, otherwise known as Aleve, as well as Ibuprofen, known as Motrin or Advil. 
A group from the University of California enlisted 277 people to participate in the <a href="https://studyfinds.org/painkillers-arthritis-worse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>. The parties suffered from moderate to severe osteoarthritis in the knee, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11452817/Pain-neck-Advil-Aleve-make-arthritis-WORSE-time-study-suggests.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail.</a> The participants had also been using NSAIDs for at least one year. In addition, information was examined from 793 people who also had the disease but didn’t take the drugs. 
At the beginning of the study, the group conducted MRI scans of the participants’ knees and followed up with more scans after four years had passed. They looked for evidence of inflammation and found that there were not any long-term positive effects of taking the anti-inflammatory drugs. 
In addition, the inflammation of joints, as well as the quality of cartilage, was &#8220;worse at baseline in the participants taking NSAIDs, compared to the control group, and worsened at four-year follow-up,&#8221; according to a press release.
Johanna Luitjens, the study&#8217;s lead author, is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California San Francisco.
Luitjens pointed out a few potential reasons for the findings, noting that “the anti-inflammatory effect that normally comes from NSAIDs may not effectively prevent synovitis, with progressive degenerative change resulting in worsening of synovitis over time.” <a href="https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_synovitis.asp#:~:text=Synovitis%20treatments-,What%20is%20synovitis?,inside%20of%20the%20joint%20capsule." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Synovitis</a> occurs when tissue around a joint becomes inflamed. 
She also pointed out that those who take the drugs might have an increased level of physical activity because their pain subsides, “which could potentially lead to worsening of synovitis, although we adjusted for physical activity in our model.”
“In this large group of participants, we were able to show that there were no protective mechanisms from NSAIDs in reducing inflammation or slowing down progression of osteoarthritis of the knee joint,” Luitjens <a href="https://press.rsna.org/timssnet/media/pressreleases/14_pr_target.cfm?id=2379" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “The use of NSAIDs for their anti-inflammatory function has been frequently propagated in patients with osteoarthritis in recent years and should be revisited, since a positive impact on joint inflammation could not be demonstrated.”
The study will be exhibited at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual <a href="https://scitechdaily.com/nsaid-pain-relievers-like-ibuprofen-and-naproxen-may-worsen-arthritis-inflammation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> next week.
“To date, no curative therapy has been approved to cure or reduce the progression of knee osteoarthritis,” Luitjens said. 
“NSAIDs are frequently used to treat pain, but it is still an open discussion of how NSAID use influences outcomes for osteoarthritis patients. In particular, the impact of NSAIDs on synovitis, or the inflammation of the membrane lining the joint, has never been analyzed using MRI-based structural biomarkers,” she added. 
She also said that more research should be done to discover the anti-inflammatory effect of NSAIDs.

20F446CF-06EB-468F-A18E-48231ADFA14A_1_105_c

Study Shows Drugs Like Aleve, Ibuprofen Might Be Making Arthritis Inflammation Worse

Study Shows Anti-Inflammatory Drugs NAISDs Might Be Making Arthritis Inflammation Worse

Medical Research

The Biden administration’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has extended the deadline for requiring non-citizens entering the United States to provide proof of COVID vaccination.
The United States is the only country in the West to still require proof of COVID vaccination for entry, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11390871/Covid-vaccination-proof-required-enter-America-2023.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Daily Mail. Countries still requiring proof of vaccination to enter requiring COVID vaccination to enter include Angola, Azerbaijan, China, Ghana, Cameroon, Indonesia, Liberia, Libya, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.
“On October 25, 2021, the President issued a Proclamation, Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic, to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic1 and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination as an added tool to the current multi-layered strategy to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States,” TSA <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/sd-1544-21-03a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a>.
The directive says that the move is intended to protect American citizens.
“Together with the Presidential Proclamation and the CDC Order, these policies are intended to limit the risk that COVID-19, including variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, is introduced, transmitted, and spread into and throughout the United States, potentially overwhelming United States healthcare and public health resources, endangering the health and safety of the American people, and threatening the security of our civil aviation system,” TSA continues.
All aircraft operators are required to make people present “paper or digital documentation of Proof of Being Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19” or  present documentation proving they merit an exemption.
As far back as August 2021, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/21/fact-check-vaccines-limit-serious-illness-and-death-covid-19/9185671002/">admitted</a>, “Our vaccines are working exceptionally well. They continue to work well for delta, with regard to severe illness and death – they prevent it. But what they can&#8217;t do anymore is prevent transmission.”
In mid-October, Janine Small, Pfizer’s president of international developed markets told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-union-covid-19-cases-skyrocket-europe-now-leads-world-in-active-infections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European lawmakers</a> that the Pfizer giant never tested its COVID vaccine to determine if it stopped transmission.
European Union Member of Parliament Rob Roos asked Small if the company tested its mRNA vaccine on stopping transmission before it offered the jab to consumers, asserting, “If not, please say it clearly. If yes, are you willing to share the data with this committee? And I really want a straight answer, yes or no, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Regarding the question around, uh, did we know about stopping the immunization [sic] before it entered the market?” Small answered, adding, “No.”
Related: <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/scandalous-pfizer-exec-tells-eu-lawmaker-covid-jab-was-never-tested-to-show-it-blocked-transmission/">&#8216;Scandalous&#8217;: Pfizer Exec Tells EU Lawmaker COVID Jab Was Never Tested To Show It Blocked Transmission</a>

Travelers walk into US customs at Hartsfield-Jackson

TSA Extends Deadline Requiring COVID Vaccine Proof For Entry To U.S.

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