Bronny James Cardiac Arrest Sparks COVID Vaccine Theory + More
The Defender’s COVID NewsWatch provides a roundup of the latest headlines related to the SARS CoV-2 virus, including its origins and COVID vaccines. The views expressed in the excerpts from other news sources do not necessarily reflect the views of The Defender.
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Bronny James Cardiac Arrest Sparks COVID Vaccine Theory
LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday while practicing at the University of Southern California (USC) sparking some on social media to speculate that it was caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Tuesday morning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Bronny James “collapsed on the court Monday and had a cardiac arrest.”
Charania also shared a statement from a spokesperson for the James family which said:
“Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
The report on Tuesday sparked a wave of social media users to speculate that the COVID-19 vaccine was the cause of the cardiac arrest. Shortly after the COVID-19 vaccine was first rolled out in the U.S. some cases of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, were reported among certain recipients.
“Cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have occurred most frequently in adolescent and young adult males within 7 days after receiving the second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; however, cases have also been observed after dose 1 and booster doses,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dick ‘Fully Vaccinated’ Durbin Gets COVID Third Time in One Calendar Year
It would appear Sen. Dick “Fully Vaccinated” Durbin (D-IL) is suffering from his third bout of COVID-19 in one calendar year.
Before reading this story, please remember that if you claim that the COVID jabs don’t quite work as advertised, then you will be considered a promoter of misinformation and a threat to democracy by your own government.
On Monday, Durbin tweeted, “Unfortunately, I tested positive for COVID-19 today. I’m disappointed to have to miss critical work on the Senate’s NDAA this week in Washington. Consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, I’ll quarantine at home and follow the advice of my doctor while I work remotely.”
He also got the virus in March 2023. At that time, he said, “Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and boosted and only experiencing minor symptoms. I will quarantine consistent with CDC guidelines and follow advice from my doctor while I continue to work remotely.”
Readers will note that back then, he was still saying he was “thankful to be fully vaccinated.” His tweet was nearly identical to the statement he issued when he had COVID-19 in July 2022.
“This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19,” he tweeted back then. “Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and double boosted and only experiencing minor symptoms. Consistent with CDC guidelines, I will quarantine and follow advice from my doctor while I continue to work remotely.”
So, perhaps his appreciation for the vaccine has run out on account of getting COVID-19 again and again.
He’d have good reason to be a little miffed at his peers who encouraged him to get it. Folks like President Joe Biden told Durbin that if he received the vaccine, then he wouldn’t get COVID-19.
Watch: Rand Paul Slams Virologists Who Warned Of ‘Shit Show’ if COVID Lab-Leak Theory Wasn’t Shut Down
In an interview Monday, Sen. Rand Paul took aim at several virologists who apparently agreed that pursuing evidence concerning a Coronavirus lab leak in Wuhan would cause a “shit show” of problems with China, and that it was better to dismiss the notion out of hand.
“This was never about science. This was about the business of science. It was about the money,” Paul urged.
The Senator added, “Follow the money trail, and you see millions of dollars exchanging hands in the first few months of 2020 to the people who came out and said ‘nothing to see here couldn’t have happened in the lab.’”
Last week during a House Oversight Committee hearing, a report was shared containing messages from 2020 between British virologist Dr. Andrew Rambaut and Drs. Kristian Andersen, Edward Holmes and Robert Garry.
Rambaut wrote, “Given the shit show that would happen if anyone serious accused the Chinese of even accidental release, my feeling is we should say that given there is no evidence of a specifically engineered virus, we cannot possibly distinguish between natural evolution and escape so we are content with ascribing it to natural process.”
Referring to Dr. Andersen, Paul noted, “The one lead virologist who’s saying it’s all kooky and conspiracy theory to say it came to the lab — He’s saying in private, this is no conspiracy theory. This is not a fringe theory. In all likelihood, it could have come from the lab — But they’re in public, they print an article that Anthony Fauci commissions.”
Indeed, as we have highlighted, Andersen did a compete 180 after Fauci contacted him.
The Ongoing Mystery of Covid’s Origin
Where did it come from? More than three years into the pandemic and untold millions of people dead, that question about the COVID-19 coronavirus remains controversial and fraught, with facts sparkling amid a tangle of analyses and hypotheticals like Christmas lights strung on a dark, thorny tree.
One school of thought holds that the virus, known to science as SARS-CoV-2, spilled into humans from a nonhuman animal, probably in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a messy emporium in Wuhan, China, brimming with fish, meats and wildlife on sale as food. Another school argues that the virus was laboratory-engineered to infect humans and cause them harm — a bioweapon — and was possibly devised in a “shadow project” sponsored by the People’s Liberation Army of China.
A third school, more moderate than the second but also implicating laboratory work, suggests that the virus got into its first human victim by way of an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research complex on the eastern side of the city, maybe after well-meaning but reckless genetic manipulation that made it more dangerous to people.
Most COVID Deaths in Florida Happened After Vaccines Were Readily Available: NYT
Gov. Ron DeSantis is building his fledgling 2024 presidential campaign on the supposed merits of his COVID-19 response in Florida, often touting the state’s prioritization of protecting personal freedoms over mask mandates and vaccine requirements.
But a New York Times report published Saturday suggests the Florida governor’s shifting public attitude toward vaccines throughout the pandemic may correlate with an unnecessary spike in deaths throughout the state during the brutal Delta wave in the summer of 2021.
The Times found that the majority of Florida’s COVID-19 deaths took place after vaccines were readily available to all adults — not before, as was the case in many Democratic-led states, as well as nationwide.
A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
In-Depth: True Impact of Pandemic Policies Masked by Families Caring for Loved Ones
The number of families taking care of disabled and elderly relatives surged by millions following the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially masking the impact of lockdowns and vaccination policies on caregiving responsibilities.
Decades of underfunding and lack of investment in residential and nursing care, combined with the post-pandemic staffing and a vaccine mandate have led to a chronic lack of capacity within the sector.
Around 9.1 million people provided care support to family and friends in 2019, but this figure grew by an estimated 4.5 million during COVID-19.
According to the charity Carers U.K., an estimated 13.6 million people could be propping up the health and social care system, saving the taxpayer over £162 billion a year, according to 2021 estimates. This is just short of the entire annual 2021 NHS budget of £164 billion.
Though the number of families providing “unpaid care” could be bigger, there isn’t a register that collates all the numbers.
The government defines “unpaid care” as “a private arrangement whereby someone cares for a family member, friend, or neighbor because of long-term physical or mental ill health or disability, or care needs relating to old age.”
“Four point five million joined many, many of those are still caring for loved ones, the reasons being there isn’t enough capacity due to staffing shortages in both care homes and in domiciliary care,” Chair of the Social Care Working Group at the Together Declaration Amanda Hunter told The Epoch Times.
She said that there was “no doubt the imposition of draconian visiting restrictions during the pandemic also led many to give up work to avoid placing loved ones in residential care.”
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