The federal government spent nearly two billion dollars of taxpayer money on promoting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID vaccination</a> around the world, according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development. 
According to a <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/USAID_COVID_GVAX_Capstone_Executive_Summary_082423_FINAL_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released on Thursday by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/usaid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USAID</a>, the U.S. government spent $1.8 billion on promoting global COVID vaccination, and partnered with 120 different countries to donate 688 million COVID vaccination doses after launching “Global Vax” in December 2021.
“Global VAX demonstrated that a concerted push of technical support, diplomatic engagement, and funding can support countries to rapidly increase access to and confidence in vaccines in the midst of an evolving health emergency,” an executive summary of the report said. 
The effort encompassed USAID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department. 
The report added that government agencies were going to maintain international partnerships
“As the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, U.S. government agencies sustain partnerships around the world to save lives, strengthen health security and pandemic preparedness, promote social and economic progress, and support countries to achieve their goals for health and development,” the report said. 
Prior to launching the Global Vax program in December 2021, the U.S. had already sent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-ship-4-mln-covid-19-vaccine-doses-nigeria-566-mln-south-africa-2021-07-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of doses</a> of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines to South Africa and Niger. 
The release of the report followed comments by USAID Administrator Sammantha Power on Wednesday suggesting that countries use religious leaders to push people into getting the COVID vaccine. 
“If you are trying to get people to take a COVID vaccine, you may not, in that particular community, have resources to fund a pop-up clinic, but you can engage a faith leader for free,” Power said. 
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Power’s comments echoed the government&#8217;s domestic strategy where then National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-federal-government-used-evangelical-leaders-to-spread-covid-propaganda-to-churches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed for evangelical ministers</a> to use their “credibility” to promote the COVID vaccine. 
The vaccine, which was initially marketed as highly effective, faced backlash after the Biden administration attempted to implement an aggressive mandate and some medical experts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-vaccine-brings-higher-heart-risk-little-benefit-to-young-men-medical-expert-warns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> the efficacy of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. 
High-profile figures like X owner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-claims-he-had-major-side-effects-from-second-covid-booster-shot-felt-like-he-was-dying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> and radio host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-says-she-regrets-getting-covid-vax-opens-up-about-autoimmune-issue-after-booster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> have said that they regret taking the vaccine and had medical complications after taking the shot.

Chicago’s Roseland Community Hospital Administers Covid Vaccinations To Hospital Staff

New Report Shows How Much Money U.S. Government Spent On Promoting COVID Vaccine Abroad

COVID

Covid vaccine

Foreign Policy

Moderna

Pfizer

USAID

Vaccines

World

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp took aim at former President Donald Trump over the weekend for recent remarks that he made about &#8220;COVID tyrant[s],&#8221; noting that the former president opposed him back in April 2020 for reopening his state early.
&#8220;The left-wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back COVID lockdowns and mandates with all of their sudden fearmongering about the new variants that are coming,&#8221; Trump said in a video statement, adding, &#8220;Gee whiz. You know what else is coming? An election.&#8221;
&#8220;These are bad people, these are sick people we’re dealing with,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But to every COVID tyrant who wants to take away our freedom — Hear these words: we will not comply. So, don&#8217;t even think about it.&#8221;
Kemp responded to the video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, pointing out that Trump publicly opposed him in reopening his state.
&#8220;The fact is former president Trump led the opposition to my decision to reopen Georgia — the first state in the country to do so,&#8221; Kemp said. &#8220;While he listened to Fauci &amp; parroted media talking points, I listened to hardworking Georgians. He may not remember, but I sure as hell do.&#8221;
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The fact is former president Trump led the opposition to my decision to reopen Georgia &#8211; the first state in the country to do so. 
While he listened to Fauci &amp; parroted media talking points, I listened to hardworking Georgians. 
He may not remember, but I sure as hell do. <a href="https://t.co/8eWPidlnfP">https://t.co/8eWPidlnfP</a>
&mdash; Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianKempGA/status/1700571052256948380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The presidential campaign manager for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to Kemp&#8217;s tweet, writing: &#8220;@BrianKempGA and @RonDeSantis were right and Donald Trump was wrong.&#8221;
Kemp led the nation in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/kemp-slams-trump-opposition-ending-covid-lockdowns-april-2020">reopening</a> his state from lockdown measures that were put in place following guidance from public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who played a key role in the Trump and Biden administration&#8217;s responses to the pandemic.
&#8220;I disagree with him on what he is doing,” Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/too-soon-trump-told-georgia-governor-he-strongly-disagrees-about-reopening">said</a> at a White House briefing on April 22, 2020, in response to Kemp reopening his state. “I think it’s too soon.”
Trump later <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/coronavirus-kemp-trump-georgia.html">added</a>, &#8220;I was not happy with Brian Kemp. I will tell you that.&#8221;
Kemp has grown bolder in his pushback against statements from the former president, including his claim that the 2020 presidential election in Georgia was &#8220;stolen.&#8221;
Kemp posted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/governor-brian-kemp-responds-to-trumps-claim-the-election-was-stolen-in-georgia">screenshot</a> of Trump’s statement last month on X and wrote: “The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen.”
“For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law,” Kemp said. “Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor. The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus.”

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Kemp Holds Primary Night Election Event

Brian Kemp, DeSantis Campaign Hit Trump Over His COVID ‘Tyrant’ Remarks

Brian Kemp

Donald Trump

Politics

Ron DeSantis

It may be 2023, more than three years after the pandemic began, but COVID restrictions remain a mandatory part of life for many.
Some schools, employers, and government entities are forcing students, workers, and the public to comply with COVID measures in a familiar echo of last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.
The city of San Francisco is still <a href="https://sf.gov/information/know-when-masks-are-needed#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20longer%20masking,or%20people%20living%20in%20jails." target="_blank" rel="noopener">requiring</a> people who work in health care or at jails to wear a face mask.
Even in deep-red Alabama, three court buildings in Dallas County have <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mask-mandate-update-alabama-dallas-county-restrictions-1825563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resurrected</a> their mask mandate for the public after several cases of the virus cropped up in the buildings.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-vaccines-ladapo-florida-d40276077f5fb6de98c2087172b423dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the idea of going back to COVID restrictions and promised Florida will not do so.
Vermont is pushing back as well. The state will no longer allow school nurses to test students for COVID, according to the Vermont Department of Health, <a href="https://vtdigger.org/2023/09/06/absent-in-vermont-schools-this-fall-student-covid-19-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signaling</a> that they are viewing the virus as more like a seasonal flu.
The return of COVID restrictions comes amid an uptick of virus cases and hospitalizations as we head into the colder months, but the outbreaks appear to be concentrated in hotspots and are well below the peaks we saw at the height of the pandemic.
With the school year kicking off and students returning to classrooms and campuses, several schools are giving students deja vu with their own mandatory — and strict — pandemic rules.
This week, a Maryland elementary school reinstated its face mask mandate after several students tested positive for COVID.
Rosemary Hills Elementary School just north of Washington, D.C., is <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/616010/2/mask-mandate-returns-for-one-class-in-montgomery-county-elementary-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requiring</a> the third-grade class and school staff to wear masks for 10 days after “three or more” third graders tested positive for the virus.
The young students must wear masks “except when eating or drinking,” and the school is providing KN95 masks to students and staff in the “identified classes or activities.” Parents will also be sent at-home rapid COVID tests, and Rosemary Hills is <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asking</a> them to report any positive test results to the school attendance office.
In Alabama, Kinterbish Junior High <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mask-mandate-update-full-list-schools-restrictions-1825285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an indefinite mask mandate last month, and students appeared to still be wearing masks last week based on Facebook photos.
In Georgia, Morris Brown College, a private, historically black liberal arts school in Atlanta <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maryland-elementary-school-forces-kids-to-mask-up-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a two-week mask mandate last month.
There were no active COVID cases on campus, but several students at the other three colleges in the Atlanta University Center system had tested positive after students returned to campus.
Morris Brown students were required to practice social distancing and were prohibited from having parties or large gatherings. They were also required to get their temperature checked when they arrived on campus, comply with contact tracing efforts, and isolate for at least five days if they tested positive.
Dillard University, another private, historically black university in New Orleans announced a two-week mask mandate last month, citing a jump in virus cases.
Meanwhile, two California high schools canceled their upcoming football games over COVID cases among students.
Esparto High School west of Sacramento canceled its game after six players contracted the virus and seven more players were out due to injuries. Likewise, Santa Paula High School north of Los Angeles canceled its football game due to 20 positive COVID cases within the football and cheerleading teams.
Some parents were frustrated that their kids will miss out after months of lockdowns.
“She couldn’t go to the movies. Couldn’t do nothing; locked down with a Chromebook,” a Santa Paula parent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-cancellations-return-two-california-high-schools-cancel-football-games" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a local outlet. “It was horrible. Totally affected her life.”
A major Hollywood movie studio brought back its mask mandate last month as well. Lionsgate, reinstated its mask mandate for most of its Santa Monica office employees after several employees tested positive for COVID. Lionsgate said it would also do contact tracing and give out free COVID test kits, and the studio also asked employees to self-screen for COVID before coming to work.
Late last month, though, Lionsgate <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/lionsgate-mask-mandate-lifted-covid-outbreak-1235528599/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would lift its mask mandate again.
Hospitals are bringing back their mask mandates as well. In California, Kaiser Permanente <a href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/kaiser-permanente-reinstates-covid-19-mask-mandate-amid-spike-in-cases-but/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> a mask mandate at its hospitals and medical offices in Santa Rosa for not only doctors and patients but also visitors.
In New York, a group of hospitals have brought back mask mandates as well, <a class="color-link" title="https://www.fox4news.com/news/citing-rising-covid-cases-these-us-hospital-systems-have-now-reinstated-mask-mandates" href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/citing-rising-covid-cases-these-us-hospital-systems-have-now-reinstated-mask-mandates" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.fox4news.com/news/citing-rising-covid-cases-these-us-hospital-systems-have-now-reinstated-mask-mandates" aria-label="including">including</a> United Health Services, Auburn Community Hospital, and University Hospital in Syracuse.
Most of the new mask mandates do not specify whether certain kinds of face masks are unacceptable. As long ago as 2021, CNN’s medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cloth-masks-useless-omicron-expert-b1980394.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> cloth face masks were &#8220;little more than facial decorations,&#8221; and urged people to wear &#8220;at least a three-ply surgical mask.&#8221;
The current COVID variant, which is descended from Omicron, has been spreading for months, and experts have said it is not any more dangerous than previous variants.
Even so, the White House is putting out warnings about COVID as fall approaches.
Biden has not tried to get Americans to return to face mask mandates broadly, but his administration is still strongly pushing the COVID vaccine.
The Biden administration recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">recommended</a> that many people get not only a COVID booster shot, but also a flu shot and a shot for RSV, a respiratory virus that can be dangerous for infants and elderly adults.
One doctor who is an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">compared</a> an annual COVID booster to “a seatbelt in a car,” saying it is good to keep using it.
Former president Donald Trump slammed the return of COVID restrictions late last month.
The 2024 Republican frontrunner <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-blasts-mask-mandates-covid-1823697" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promised</a> that if re-elected, he would &#8220;use every available authority to cut federal funding to any school, college, airline or public transportation system that imposes a mask mandate or a vaccine mandate.&#8221;
Even during the height of the pandemic, policies like mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine mandates faced spirited opposition.
Now that the pandemic is three years old, it&#8217;s doubtful Americans have any appetite left for more restrictions.
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US-HEALTH-VIRUS

It’s 2023, But COVID Restrictions Are Not A Thing Of The Past

It's 2023, But COVID Restrictions Are Not A Thing Of The Past

COVID-19 Vaccine

Mask Mandate

Pandemic

Readers Pass

Vaccine Mandate

Tennis great <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-stays-with-you-novak-djokovic-back-in-australia-after-dramatic-detention-deportation-over-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Novak Djokovic</a> made history on Sunday when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in three sets to win the U.S. Open, scoring him his 24th major championship, tying the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles.
Djokovic, who has refused to take the COVID vaccine, was notably banned from entering the U.S. last year due to a Biden administration vaccine rule, keeping the athlete from competing in the U.S. Open last year.
&#8220;To make history [in] this sport is just something truly remarkable and special, obviously, in every possible way, in every possible meaning of the word,&#8221; Djokovic said after winning the Open, <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/38373910/novak-djokovic-beats-daniil-medvedev-win-2023-us-open-24th-major-title" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to ESPN. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to describe the words.&#8221;
&#8220;I never imagined that I would be here standing with you talking about 24 Slams,&#8221; the 36-year-old continued. &#8220;I never thought that would be the reality. But the last couple of years, I felt I have a chance, I have a shot for history, and why not grab it if it&#8217;s presented?&#8221;
Djokovic, who said he had already contracted and recovered from the virus, has chosen not to get <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccinated</a> against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a>. This led to the dramatic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/novak-djokovic-loses-visa-appeal-deported-from-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detainment and deportation</a> of the tennis star from Australia, rendering him unable to defend his Australian Open title in 2021. Later, he was banned from New York for the 2022 U.S. Open, similarly over his vaccination status.
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“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for [the] US Open,” he said at the time on social media. “Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”
Djokovic spoke about what happened to him about a year after the Australia incident. “Obviously what happened 12 months ago was not easy for me, for my family, team, anybody who is close to me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s obviously disappointing to leave the country like that.”
“You can’t forget those events,” Djokovic continued. “It’s one of these things that stays with you for I guess the rest of your life. It’s something that I’ve never experienced before and hopefully never again. But it is a valuable life experience for me and something that as I said will stay there, but I have to move on.”
The athlete has been open about what he&#8217;s willing to give up for his personal medical choices, specifically tennis championships.
“That is the price that I’m willing to pay,” Djokovic <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60354068" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the BBC. “Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.”
“I was never against vaccination,” he added, “but I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-stays-with-you-novak-djokovic-back-in-australia-after-dramatic-detention-deportation-over-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It ‘Stays With You’: Novak Djokovic Back In Australia After Dramatic Detention, Deportation Over Vaccine</a>

2023 US Open Championships Day 14

Novak Djokovic Comes Back To Win U.S. Open After Biden Vax Policy Ban Last Year 

Novak Djokovic

Tennis

U.S. Open

US Open

People are being misled about studies examining the effectiveness of face masks against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">COVID,</a> according to Dr. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/anthony-fauci">Anthony Fauci</a>.
Jonathan Karl, a co-anchor of ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeYq5aF3SVk">pressed Fauci</a> on the efficacy of masking near the end of an interview on Sunday. &#8220;There’s a new study out that suggests that masks were actually not effective, at least in a global sense, in containing the pandemic,&#8221; Karl said. &#8220;What is your sense, looking back at all this? Did masks prove to be less effective than you anticipated?&#8221;
Fauci responded by insisting that &#8220;some of the studies are confusing&#8221; and then singled out an <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full">analysis</a> released in January by The Cochrane Institute, which raised the prospect that masks hardly made a difference in stopping the spread of respiratory viruses such as COVID.
The study prompted headlines saying that <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11702865/Masks-make-little-no-difference-Covid-infections-massive-cross-country-meta-analysis-finds.html">face masks made</a> <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/14/face-masks-made-little-to-no-difference-in-preventing-covid-study/">&#8220;little to no difference&#8221;</a> in preventing the spread of COVID after a wave of mask guidelines and mandates during the pandemic, but Karla Soares-Weiser, editor-in-chief of the Cochrane Library, <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review">responded with a statement</a> in March saying it was an &#8220;inaccurate and misleading interpretation&#8221; to claim that the study found that &#8220;masks don&#8217;t work.&#8221;
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Fauci JUST NOW: “There are a number of studies that show that masks actually do work.” <a href="https://t.co/hJeT6EZXyw">pic.twitter.com/hJeT6EZXyw</a>
&mdash; DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1700890098898792928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The study that recently has been now quoted a lot and causing a lot of confusion is this Cochrane study, which even the people who run the Cochrane study say that that study can be misleading because people have commented on that study saying, &#8216;Absolutely masks don’t work,&#8217; which is absolutely not the case because there are a number of studies that show that masks actually do work,&#8221; Fauci said.
&#8220;And there’s a lot of confusion where you take a broad series of studies, and you look at them in a meta-analysis,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Only a couple of those studies were specifically looking at COVID. So, I think we’d better be careful that that study that people keep talking about can be very, very misleading. There’s a lot of good data that masks work.&#8221;
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Fauci, now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-joins-georgetown-as-distinguished-university-professor">part of the faculty</a> at Georgetown University, was a longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. Toward the end of his tenure in government, Fauci faced blowback for how he jumped from advising people not to wear face masks early in the COVID pandemic to advocating for masking against the virus, a change he attributed <a href="https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_e58c20c6-8735-4022-a1f5-1580bc732c45">to the emergence of new data</a>.
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Fauci admits that masks don’t work for the public at large but still absurdly claims masks work on an individual basis.  More subterfuge. <a href="https://t.co/UcjOa8flkr">pic.twitter.com/UcjOa8flkr</a>
&mdash; Rand Paul (@RandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1698372490639327556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In an interview that aired on CNN last week, Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-confronted-with-study-that-raised-doubts-about-masks">insisted</a> that &#8220;many studies&#8221; show masking protects people on an &#8220;individual basis&#8221; rather than on a &#8220;broad population&#8221; level.
One of Fauci&#8217;s most vocal critics, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), shot back in a post to X. &#8220;Fauci admits that masks don’t work for the public at large, but still absurdly claims masks work on an individual basis. More subterfuge,&#8221; Paul said.

Anthony Fauci

Fauci Warns Of ‘Confusing’ Studies On Masking

Fauci Warns Of 'Confusing' Studies On Masking

COVID-19

Face Masks

Fauci

Health

Masking

masks

Rand Paul

Two California high schools have canceled their upcoming football games over COVID cases among students in the latest instance of new COVID measures cropping up as the school year starts.
Esparto High School, which is located west of Sacramento, canceled its football game, which was scheduled for Friday, after six players contracted COVID and seven more players were out due to injuries.
“Ensuring the well-being of students is not only a moral obligation but also a legal and ethical responsibility,” the district&#8217;s superintendent, Christina Goennier, <a href="https://fox40.com/news/local-news/yolo-county/covid-19-cases-injuries-causes-esparto-high-to-cancel-football-game/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> FOX40.
The local county health officer, Dr. Aimee Sisson, expressed support for the school&#8217;s&#8217; decision to cancel the game.
“Our role in the health department is to support our schools in being able to stay open for that in-person instruction,” Sisson said. “We provide support certain tips on what to do when there are cases provide testing resources. But really our goal for this school year is to keep kids in school in person, but also to do so safely.&#8221;
It is not yet clear whether teams will make up the game, so a makeup date has not been scheduled.
Likewise, Santa Paula High School, north of Los Angeles, also canceled its Friday football game against La Cañada High School due to 20 positive COVID cases within the football and cheerleading teams.
&#8220;Canceled because of COVID, it&#8217;s going around the team,&#8221; one student <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/santa-paula-high-school-cancels-football-game-due-to-covid-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS Los Angeles. &#8220;Stopping things before it gets worse.&#8221;
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Some parents are frustrated that their kids are missing out after months of lockdowns.
&#8220;She couldn&#8217;t go to the movies. Couldn&#8217;t do nothing; locked down with a Chromebook,&#8221; one parent told the outlet. &#8220;It was horrible. Totally affected her life.&#8221;
The school&#8217;s football team, the Santa Paula Cardinals, are currently <a href="https://scorebooklive.com/california/football/teams/235505-santa-paula-cardinals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked</a> 3-0 in the Citrus Coast high school football standings, but the cancelation could potentially break their momentum.
A third high school also canceled its football game earlier in the season, according to Ventura County Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve had two high schools that have had to cancel football games,&#8221; Levin said.
Nordoff High School in Ojai, which is up the road from Santa Paula, canceled a football game due to COVID cases.
COVID cases have ticked up in several areas of the country, including Los Angeles, where cases have jumped from 4% to 16% in one week recently.
Several other schools across the country and at least one California employer have implemented new COVID restrictions recently.
This week, a Maryland elementary school reinstated its face mask mandate after several students tested positive for COVID. Rosemary Hills Elementary School just north of Washington, D.C., is <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/616010/2/mask-mandate-returns-for-one-class-in-montgomery-county-elementary-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requiring</a> the third grade class and school staff to wear masks for 10 days after “three or more” third graders tested positive for COVID.
Morris Brown College, a private, historically black liberal arts school in Atlanta, announced a two-week mask mandate last month despite no active COVID cases on campus. Students were required to practice social distancing and were prohibited from having parties or large gatherings. They were also required to get their temperature checked when they arrived on campus and comply with contact tracing efforts.
A major Hollywood movie studio brought back its mask mandate last month as well. Lionsgate reinstated its mask mandate for most of its Santa Monica office employees after several employees tested positive for COVID. The studio said it would have contact tracing efforts. Late last month, though, Lionsgate <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/lionsgate-mask-mandate-lifted-covid-outbreak-1235528599/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would lift its mask mandate again.

Government Health Officials Testify On Coronavirus Vaccine Development

COVID Cancellations Return: Two California High Schools Cancel Football Games

California

U.S.

A Maryland elementary school has reinstated its face mask mandate after several students tested positive for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a>.
Rosemary Hills Elementary School just north of Washington, D.C., is <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/616010/2/mask-mandate-returns-for-one-class-in-montgomery-county-elementary-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requiring</a> the third grade class and school staff to wear masks for 10 days after &#8220;three or more&#8221; third graders tested positive for COVID.
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A DC area elementary school — Montgomery County, Maryland — is reinstating a mask mandate — N95’s — for third graders over a few kids testing positive for covid. Here’s the letter. They’re coming with masks for your kids again. Get ready. Read this insanity. <a href="https://t.co/LZs4N19XLL">pic.twitter.com/LZs4N19XLL</a>
&mdash; Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1699121666981298286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Masks will become optional again following the 10-day period,&#8221; Principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/montgomery-county-elementary-school-mask-up-multiple-students-test-positive-covid-19/65-e219307b-ca3a-490f-b1ee-b8d7d4b752b9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a Tuesday letter to parents.
The ten-day period ends on September 11, <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a school district spokesperson.
The school is located in Silver Spring and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools district.
Students at Rosemary Hills Elementary must wear masks “except when eating or drinking,” Kennedy said.
The school is providing KN95 masks to students and staff in the “identified classes or activities.”
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Parents will also be sent at-home rapid COVID tests, and the school is <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asking</a> them to report any positive test results to the school attendance office.
&#8220;Thank you for supporting us in taking these steps to ensure staff and students remain healthy for in-person learning,&#8221; Kennedy wrote.
In a back to school message to families, the Montgomery County school district <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> “masks are optional with some exceptions” and are “still required per CDC recommendations for individuals recovering from a COVID-19 infection returning after day 5, and may be recommended or required in outbreak situations.”
The school district also said that COVID vaccination is “strongly recommended” and that “staff and students will be notified about exposures to multiple cases in a possible outbreak situation.”
Rosemary Hills is not the only entity resurrecting mask mandates this fall.
Morris Brown College, a private, historically black liberal arts school in Atlanta, announced a two-week mask mandate last month. 
There were no active COVID cases on campus, but several students at the other three colleges in the Atlanta University Center system had tested positive after students returned to campus for the fall semester.
Morris Brown students were required to practice social distancing and were prohibited from having parties or large gatherings. They were also required to get their temperature checked when they arrived on campus, comply with contact tracing efforts, and isolate for at least five days if they tested positive.
A major Hollywood movie studio brought back its mask mandate last month as well. 
The movie studio, Lionsgate, reinstated its mask mandate for most of its Santa Monica office employees after several employees tested positive for COVID. The studio said it would have contact tracing efforts and give out free COVID test kits. Lionsgate also asked employees to self-screen for COVID before coming to work.
Late last month, though, Lionsgate <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/lionsgate-mask-mandate-lifted-covid-outbreak-1235528599/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would lift its mask mandate again.
The White House has not recommended returning to mask mandates broadly, but the Biden administration has put out warnings about COVID as the colder months approach.
The administration recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">recommended</a> that many people get not only a COVID booster shot, but also a flu shot and a shot for RSV, a respiratory virus that can be dangerous for infants and elderly adults.
One doctor who is an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">compared</a> an annual COVID booster to “a seatbelt in a car,” saying it is good to keep using it.

Schools Continue To Reopen As Lockdown Measures Ease

Maryland Elementary School Forces Kids To Mask Up Again

Maryland

Public Schools

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> cracked a joke on Wednesday about ignoring his own administration&#8217;s health guidance after his wife Jill <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jill-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-again">tested positive for COVID</a>.
Upon walking up to a podium in the State Dining Room of the White House to deliver remarks about the supply chain, Biden greeted people in attendance and quipped about not wearing a face mask.
&#8220;Let me explain to the press, I&#8217;ve been tested again today — I&#8217;m clear across the board,&#8221; Biden said.
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BIDEN: &quot;They keep telling me&#8230;I gotta keep wearing [a mask], but don&#39;t tell them I didn&#39;t have it on when I walked in&quot; <a href="https://t.co/MQt9H80OLT">pic.twitter.com/MQt9H80OLT</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1699489137710227930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“They keep telling me because it has to be 10 days or something, I gotta keep wearing it,&#8221; Biden added as he held up a mask. &#8220;But don’t tell them I didn’t have it on when I walked in.&#8221;
Less than two hours earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden would continue to comply with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">COVID</a> recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including for masking.
&#8220;The president is doing all that he can,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1699474884655558703">she said</a>.
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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: &quot;CDC guidelines recommend&#8230;a combination of masking, testing, and monitoring for symptoms. The president is doing all that he can.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GgNdXWffGY">pic.twitter.com/GgNdXWffGY</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1699474884655558703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Jill Biden, 72, and President Biden, 80, both of whom received COVID <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2022/08/24/jill-biden-has--rebound--covid-19-case--president-negative">vaccines and booster shots</a>, had been doing some traveling together in recent days before the White House announced on Monday that the first lady had again tested positive and was experiencing mild symptoms.
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They both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-has-covid-white-house-announces">tested</a> positive for COVID last year and each underwent &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-again-will-return-to-isolation">rebound</a>&#8221; cases <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/politics/jill-biden-rebound-covid-19/index.html">in the weeks</a> that followed.
Jean-Pierre <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/09/05/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-6/">told reporters on Tuesday</a> that President Biden would be masking indoors and around people, but would remove his mask when &#8220;sufficiently distanced&#8221; from others inside and outside. On Wednesday, she insisted that Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-left-as-planned-press-sec-waves-off-bidens-abrupt-exit-from-medal-of-honor-ceremony">quickly departed a Medal of Honor ceremony</a> the day prior to minimize any possible exposure to people in attendance.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden abruptly walks out of the Medal of Honor ceremony, even before the closing benediction <a href="https://t.co/Ck0i8EIf8Q">pic.twitter.com/Ck0i8EIf8Q</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1699148808666366154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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COVID cases in the United States are <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/us-sees-covid-19-cases-rise-ahead-labor-day-weekend/">reportedly</a> on the rise again as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-variant.html">new variants</a> have started to establish themselves, leading some health experts to again push people to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/23/health/masks-covid-surge-wellness/index.html">break out their masks</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/msnbc-doctor-says-everyone-older-than-6-months-needs-covid-booster">get vaccinated</a>.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden&#8217;s former chief medical adviser, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-confronted-with-study-that-raised-doubts-about-masks">raised concerns</a> about people ignoring health guidelines during a CNN interview that aired over the weekend.
“I would hope that if in fact we get to the point that the volume of cases is such and organizations like the CDC &#8230; recommends that people wear masks, I would hope that they abide by the recommendation and take into account the risks to themselves and to their families.”

Joe Biden

Biden Jokes About Ignoring Masking Guidance

White House

Public <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health</a> commentator Vin Gupta recommended on Tuesday that everyone over six months of age get boosted against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a>.
During an appearance on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/msnbc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSNBC</a>, where he is a medical contributor, Dr. Gupta alluded to the emergence of new variants amid a <a href="https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/covid-summer-surge-2023-rcna100602" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported uptick in cases</a> across the country when asked who needs to get a booster and when.
“All of us need boosters &#8230; at six months of age and up,&#8221; Gupta said. &#8220;We’re gonna have boosters by the end of this month, hopefully, and those will protect — we believe very strongly — against these new versions of the virus.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ANA CABRERA: &quot;Who needs to get a booster and when?&quot;
DR. GUPTA: &quot;All of us need boosters. At six months of age and up &#8211; we&#39;re gonna have boosters by the end of this month, hopefully.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/i0eXvo2Ef7">pic.twitter.com/i0eXvo2Ef7</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1699090477381804452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Gupta added that the virus &#8220;will continue to change&#8221; before moving on to talk about vaccine recommendations for people older than 60 or people who are medically at higher risk.
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Recommendations from todays segment with <a href="https://twitter.com/yasminv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@yasminv</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MSNBC</a> : <a href="https://t.co/gz0MDODPWh">pic.twitter.com/gz0MDODPWh</a>
&mdash; Dr. Vin Gupta (@VinGuptaMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinGuptaMD/status/1698752531441287278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/interim-considerations-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">does recommend</a> that everyone in the United States six months and older get vaccinated against COVID and that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/interim-considerations-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people stay up to date</a>.
Vaccine manufacturers Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax are <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-booster-xbb-variants-september-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to roll out new versions of the jab later this month after advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended revised shots that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/16/health/covid-fall-booster-xbb-recommendation/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">target Omicron spinoff XBB.1.5</a> for the fall.
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Still, Gupta faced a wave of backlash on social media as conservative media accounts shared a clip on X, with several commenters saying they had no intention of following his advice.
&#8220;Not getting a booster! It does not work! Left wing lies!&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLeoTerrell/status/1699128415016870120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Fox News contributor Leo Terrell. &#8220;We won’t give up our freedoms again. No more tyrannical vaccine or mask mandates,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1699096036025806899" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
Some high-profile figures made headlines this week for catching COVID, including &#8220;The View&#8217;s&#8221; <a href="https://people.com/whoopi-goldberg-misses-view-season-27-premiere-covid-7965451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Whoopi Goldberg</a>. First lady Jill Biden also tested positive for COVID and is experiencing mild symptoms, her office <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jill-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Monday.
The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-biden-will-mask-up-again-and-socially-distance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> President Joe Biden has so far tested negative for COVID this week, but Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the commander-in-chief will be masking indoors and socially distancing from people.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is President Biden&#8217;s former chief medical adviser, appeared in a CNN interview over the weekend in which he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-confronted-with-study-that-raised-doubts-about-masks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confronted</a> over a study that raised doubts about face masks being able to curb the spread of COVID. The longtime health official pushed back, claiming other studies emphasize the importance of individual responsibility, and raised concerns about people not adhering to health recommendations.

COVID shot

MSNBC Doctor Says Everyone Older Than 6 Months Needs COVID Booster

MSNBC

Now that school lockdowns are over, schools are wondering — where are the students?
School absences have spiked since the pandemic. Now, over three years after lockdowns began, many students are simply not showing up for class.
Nearly 10% of K-12 students were missing from school on an average day during the 2022-2023 school year, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/briefing/covid-school-absence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to preliminary state data reported by The New York Times.
About a quarter of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 10% or more of school days — about three and a half weeks. Before COVID, only <a href="https://www.lex18.com/news/millions-of-kids-are-missing-weeks-of-school-as-attendance-tanks-across-the-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 15%</a> of students were chronically absent. About 6.5 million more students became chronically absent across 40 states and Washington, D.C., according to <a href="https://osf.io/bfg3p/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absenteeism data</a> from Thomas Dee, a Stanford economist.
Black, Latino, and low-income students were more likely to be absent. Notably in some cases, absenteeism has spiked more in some blue areas where schools were on lockdown for longer during the pandemic, according to Dee&#8217;s data as well as remote schooling enrollment <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/briefing/covid-school-absence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist.
In New Mexico, Alaska, and Arizona, where school lockdowns were longer, absenteeism rates rose by more than 20 percentage points between 2019 and 2022. California and Oregon, both of which had prolonged school lockdowns, both saw their absenteeism rates rise more than 15 percentage points between those years. Washington, D.C, which also had prolonged lockdowns, had elevated levels of absenteeism as well.
Meanwhile, states like Arkansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, which went back to in-person learning more quickly, all saw absenteeism rise by below 10 percentage points.
Some analysts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/briefing/covid-school-absence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> one factor could be that thanks to school lockdowns, attendance now feels more optional.
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“For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day,” <a href="https://www.lex18.com/news/millions-of-kids-are-missing-weeks-of-school-as-attendance-tanks-across-the-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Elmer Roldan, who runs a school dropout prevention group in Los Angeles.
“Families got used to that,” he said.
Another issue is parents keeping their anxious children home from school, a decision psychologists say is understandably tempting for parents but can cause more anxiety down the road.
&#8220;The most fundamental thing for adults to understand is that avoidance feeds anxiety,&#8221; Lisa Damour, a psychologist and the author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/briefing/covid-school-absence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The New York Times.
“When any of us are fearful, our instinct is to avoid. But the problem with giving in to that anxiety is that avoidance is highly reinforcing,” she said.
Meanwhile, students are still battling significant learning loss caused by months of remote schooling. The average math and reading test scores for 13-year-olds <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-reading-and-math-scores-for-13-year-olds-declined-to-lowest-level-in-decades-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummeted</a> to the lowest levels in decades, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) officials <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in June.
In some cases, students may actually be doing worse than before COVID.
Last month, a study <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kids-progressing-even-slower-in-reading-math-now-than-before-pandemic-new-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> that fourth through eighth-grade students made even slower progress in reading and math last year than before the pandemic, dashing hopes that kids would learn faster to make up for learning loss during COVID. At the same time, college students who were in high school during remote learning are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/many-college-students-stuck-at-9th-grade-math-level-professors-blame-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arriving</a> on campus unprepared. Many are struggling with basic math and have had to go back and learn the basics.
Some families also opted to pull their children out of public school for good, opting instead for charter, private, and parish schools or homeschooling. Public school enrollment numbers dropped precipitously after the pandemic began. Public schools lost 1.4 million students between fall 2019 and fall 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cga/public-school-enrollment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Meanwhile, homeschooling rose by 30% between the school year that began in 2019 and the one that began in 2021, a study from the Urban Institute <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/homeschool-enrollment-rose-30-in-2021-2022-study.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a>.

Hollywood High School Students And Teachers Prepare For Coming School Year

Schools See Spike In Student Absences Even Though Lockdowns Are Over

Schools See Spike In Student Absences, Even Though Lockdowns Are Over

Children

Education

Lockdowns

School Lockdowns

First Lady <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jill-biden">Jill Biden</a> has again been diagnosed with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19">COVID</a>, her office announced on Monday.
&#8220;This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms,&#8221; said her communications director Elizabeth Alexander.
In a separate statement, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house">White House</a> said President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> tested negative for COVID after his wife&#8217;s positive test.
The first lady will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to her representative.
Jill Biden, 72, and President Biden, 80, both of whom received COVID <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2022/08/24/jill-biden-has--rebound--covid-19-case--president-negative">vaccines and booster shots</a>, have been doing some traveling together in recent days.
They both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-has-covid-white-house-announces">tested</a> positive for COVID last year and each underwent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-again-will-return-to-isolation">&#8220;rebound&#8221; cases</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/politics/jill-biden-rebound-covid-19/index.html">in the weeks</a> that followed.
COVID cases in the United States are <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/us-sees-covid-19-cases-rise-ahead-labor-day-weekend/">reportedly</a> on the rise again as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-variant.html">new variants</a> have started to establish themselves.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“I have no home to go to. Secret Service has torn my house up, in a good way, to make it secure. I have no place to go when I go to Delaware except here right now. I&#39;m only here for one day. No I am not homeless, I just have 1 home I have a beautiful home&quot; &#8211; Biden Rehoboth Sunday <a href="https://t.co/xlUl3NnNwZ">pic.twitter.com/xlUl3NnNwZ</a>
&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1698678301894509005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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President Biden claimed to reporters on Sunday that he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-insists-delaware-beach-house-trip-is-not-a-vacation-says-he-has-no-home-to-go-to">not on &#8220;vacation&#8221;</a> despite visiting his beach house in Rehoboth over the weekend.
He departed Delaware on Monday morning and <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/live/joe-biden-philadelphia-labor-day-parade-time-road-closures-20230904.html">travelled to Philadelphia</a> to celebrate Labor Day. The president later traveled back to Delaware before returning to the White House later in the day.

Jill Biden with President Joe Biden

Jill Biden Tests Positive For COVID Again

Jill Biden

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers attended the US Open on Sunday night and appeared to praise tennis star Novak Djokovic’s refusal to get the COVID vaccine. 
Rodgers, who has received criticism in the past for his own actions regarding the COVID jab, was in attendance watching Djokovic in Queens, New York. Djokovic is competing in his first US Open in two years because he refused to get the shot. 
In an Instagram story Sunday night, Rodgers <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/09/04/aaron-rodgers-praises-novak-djokovics-anti-vaxx-stance-in-post-from-us-open/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> a photo of Djokovic preparing to serve the ball with the caption, “Bucket list … being able to witness the greatness of [Djokovic] in person at [Arthur Ashe Stadium]. He also included a hashtag that said “#novaxdjokovic” and had placed a red line through the Moderna logo – a biotech company that produces COVID vaccines – in an advertisement that can be seen behind the tennis star. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Aaron Rodgers went to watch Novak Djokovic play at the US Open and dropped a banger IG story <a href="https://t.co/EpVgtw6yHS">pic.twitter.com/EpVgtw6yHS</a>
&mdash; OutKick (@Outkick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1698736833734050237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Djokovic, who is from Serbia, is considered one of the <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best</a> tennis players of all time but was denied entry into the United States in 2022 for the US Open. At the time, international air travelers were required to show <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-no-1-djokovic-finally-can-play-in-u-s-again-after-biden-ends-vaccine-requirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proof</a> of vaccination against COVID before being allowed to enter the country. 
Earlier this year, just weeks before the COVID rule was rescinded, Djokovic was <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/35795350/novak-djokovic-pulls-indian-wells-eve-draw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced to withdraw</a> from the Indian Wells tournament in California because the Department of Homeland Security denied his COVID vaccine waiver request, ESPN reported. 
“The reason why I was not here for two years, I have zero regret on that. I’m just glad to be back,” Djokovic <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/15/sport/novak-djokovic-cincinnati-open-tennis-spt-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN</a> last month upon arriving for the US Open. “I’ve had plenty of success on American soil with Indian Wells, Miami, obviously Canada and here, [I’ve] won many times at these Masters 1,000 events, all of them. Of course, the U.S. Open as well being the pinnacle of the hard-court season. I’m just excited.”
For his part, Rodgers has also made headlines for his refusal of the COVID vaccine. In 2021, Rodgers was asked whether he was vaccinated against COVID, to which he replied that he was “immunized.” The former Green Bay Packer said he is allergic to one of the ingredients in the Pfizer and Moderna shots. 
&#8220;They were doing this, I called it a witch hunt, where they were asking every single player ‘are you vaccinated?’” Rodgers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-blasts-medias-vaccine-witch-hunt-in-chat-with-joe-rogan-reveals-immunized-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> podcast host Joe Rogan last year. “I had come to the conclusion that I was going to say, ‘I’ve been immunized,’ and if there was a follow-up, then talk about my process,” he said. “But I thought there was a possibility that, I say I’m immunized, maybe they understand what that means, maybe they don’t, maybe they follow up. They didn’t follow up.”
Instead of getting injected with a vaccine, Rodgers said he &#8220;looked into other options which included an immunization process through holistic doctor. I researched and talked to probably a dozen different MDs. I found a protocol that I felt like was the best available.”
Research on the relatively new COVID vaccines is still being conducted. According to one leading medical expert, young men <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-colleges-are-still-enforcing-vaccine-mandates-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face an elevated risk</a> of heart inflammation after vaccination, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-colleges-are-still-enforcing-vaccine-mandates-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
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Dr. Marty Makary, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an oncology surgeon at the school’s affiliated hospital, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-vaccine-brings-higher-heart-risk-little-benefit-to-young-men-medical-expert-warns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> a study from Cedars Sinai that found a 30% increase in heart attack deaths among adults between the ages of 25 and 44 during the first two years of the COVID pandemic. While the uptick could result from the virus itself, Makary, speaking to The Daily Wire&#8217;s “Morning Wire” podcast in February, said there’s evidence that the vaccine could be to blame.
“We did not see the uptake before the vaccine was rolled out, but young people were primarily affected around that same time, as well,” Makary told “Morning Wire.&#8221; &#8220;The state of Florida did their own study, looking at heart attacks after the vaccine in particular, and found that there was an 81% increase in sudden death from heart attacks in the months following the vaccine compared to baseline rates. So many people do believe that the vaccine is one of the causes of heart problems in young people.”
Amanda Prestigiacomo contributed to this report.

Aaron Rodgers US Open

Aaron Rodgers Appears To Show Support For ‘Novax’ Djokovic’s COVID Vaccine Stance At US Open

Aaron Rodgers

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