Virus fears continue as cases go up despite vaccinations. At the Tokyo Olympics, even before the Games started, over 70 virus cases were linked to officials and athletes at the Games. A small but growing number of athletes are testing positive even inside the Olympic Village. Some countries are upping restrictions, and protests are breaking out. In France, restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, shopping centers, and more may have to start checking for vaccine passports by next month. If the business owners and managers don’t comply, they could get fined up to $53,000 and sentenced to up to one year in prison. As for customers who don’t have a vaccine passport, they can be fined over $12,000 and face up to half a year in prison
President Joe Biden caused some heated debate when he claimed at a town hall that vaccinated people cannot get the virus. This comes as CDC data shows over 5,000 fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized due to the virus. The data also notes over 1,000 fully vaccinated people have contracted the virus and died from it. That’s nearly 20 percent among those hospitalized. The nonprofit America’s Frontline Doctors filed a motion on July 19 seeking immediate injunctive relief to stop the emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for three groups of Americans: anyone under the age of 18, anyone who has recovered from COVID-19, and those who haven’t given informed consent as defined by federal law.
House Democrats voted down a bill that would require the U.S. director of national intelligence to declassify information and data related to the origins of the pandemic. The House vote came in at 216 against and 207 in favor. In May, the COVID-19 Origin Act was passed unanimously in the Senate. According to the text of the bill, identifying the origins of the virus is crucial in preventing a similar pandemic in the future from occurring.
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