Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
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- News
As Vaccine Mandates Increase, Religious Exemptions Come Under Fire
Columbia University’s Robert Klitzman shared a tragic story with CNN Saturday of a woman riddled with cancer who reportedly refused to undergo medical procedures, relied on the power of prayer, and ultimately died. “Her religious belief contributed to her death, unfortunately,” he said. Klitzman, who directs Columbia’s bioethics master's program, stressed that employees should not be able…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
The Democrats’ War on Blacks Keeps Growing in Pandemic
One of the key reasons I left the Democratic Party years ago was the atrocious way it treated black people. I’m not just talking about Jim Crow or former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s well-known patriarchal and racist use of the N-word to celebrate blacks voting Democratic forever in gratitude for his ultimately useless early virtue…Roger Simon -
- Opinion
We Hear You: Vaccine Mandates and Power Grabs
Editor's note: President Biden's mandate that larger employers force employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 hit a nerve, judging from the mailbag at [email protected]. Here's a sampling.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Fred Lucas' reporting on President Biden's vaccine mandates, whether you are pro-vax or anti-vax, people should be allowed to choose whether they want…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
COVID-19 and the Death of Science
The scientific method used to govern much of popular American thinking. In empirical fashion, scientists advised us to examine evidence and data, and then by induction come to rational hypotheses. The enemies of “science” were politics, superstition, bias, and deduction. Yet, we are now returning to our version of medieval alchemy and astrology in rejecting…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
Biden’s Reckless Vaccine Mandate Risks Severe Economic Dislocation, Higher Prices
President Joe Biden’s recent vaccine mandate risks handicapping supply chains, shuttering hospitals, driving inflation higher, and leading to yet more empty grocery shelves. Biden on Sept. 9 announced new mandates to force Americans wary of the COVID-19 vaccine to get their jab, threatening that his “patience is wearing thin”—thin enough that he’s willing to threaten…Peter St. Onge -
- Opinion
Is Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Legal? Constitutional Expert Explains
After President Joe Biden finished his speech last Thursday evening announcing new COVID-19 vaccine mandates, a reporter called out, “Is this constitutional?” Biden, leaving the room, did not stop to answer. The president’s new vaccine mandate directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Labor Department, to require all organizations with 100 employees…Virginia Allen -
- News
CDC Says Unvaccinated Americans 11 Times More Likely to Die From COVID-19
Unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. The study, which examined 600,000 COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in 13 states from April 4 to June 19 and from June 20 to July 17, “found further evidence…Harry Wilmerding -
- Opinion
Biden’s Divisive COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Favors Coercion Over Persuasion
“Look, we’re the United States of America,” President Joe Biden said, concluding his speech announcing his latest COVID-19 vaccination plan. “There’s nothing—not a single thing—we’re unable to do if we do it together. So, let’s stay together.” Those comments came at the end of a 26-minute speech Thursday in which Biden demonized nearly 80 million unvaccinated…Doug Badger -
- News
4 Things to Know as Employers, States Ponder Legal Challenges to Biden’s Vaccine Mandates
President Joe Biden’s mandate for employers with more than 99 employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations likely will face legal challenges from employers and perhaps from states, knowledgeable observers say. In remarks at the White House, Biden said Thursday evening that he had directed the Labor Department to develop an emergency regulation giving the Occupational Safety…Fred Lucas -
- News
Wealthy School District Diverts $79M in COVID-19 Relief to ‘Equity’ Programs
One of the wealthiest school systems in America has unveiled plans to reallocate COVID-19 relief money to promote “equity” programs and a “welcoming” and “culturally responsive” student learning environment, according to the school district’s website. Virginia's Fairfax County School Board voted to approve the plan Aug. 26, saying it would use $78.8 million, originally allocated for COVID-19…Kendall Tietz -
- News
Jen Psaki Blocks Question on Fauci and US Funding of Deadly Coronavirus Research in China
White House press secretary Jen Psaki denied during a briefing Thursday that White House COVID-19 czar Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress about funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China. “[The National Institutes of Health] has refuted that reporting,” Psaki said in response to a question from Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy. “NIH has never approved any research…Sebastian Hughes -
- News
Biden: Vaccine Mandates ‘Not About Freedom or Personal Choice’
President Joe Biden announced a string of mandates requiring federal employees and a sizable number of private sector workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “This is not about freedom or personal choice,” Biden said in formal remarks Thursday evening. “It’s about protecting yourself and those around you, the people you work with, the people you…Fred Lucas -
- News
Teachers Union Bullied White House, CDC Into Changing Guidelines for Masks at Schools
The nation's largest teachers union threatened to publicly criticize President Joe Biden’s administration if it didn't implement stricter mask guidance for schools, according to internal emails obtained by watchdog group Americans for Public Trust and provided to Fox News. Following a statement published by the National Education Association, new guidance from the Centers for Disease…Kendall Tietz -
- News
CDC Explores Study of How Women Affected by COVID-19 Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doing “exploratory work” to decide whether to study if COVID-19 vaccines cause “menstrual irregularities,” the CDC told The Daily Caller News Foundation. In late July, CDC spokeswoman Martha Sharan had said several studies on the vaccines’ effects on fertility were “in the works,” but hedged that “some are still…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Mexico’s High Court Decriminalizes Abortion
Mexico’s Supreme Court has unanimously voted to decriminalize abortion. During arguments beginning Monday, eight out of 11 of Mexico’s Supreme Court judges spoke out in defense of decriminalizing abortion. The move makes Mexico the most populated Latin American country to allow abortion, The New York Times reported, and comes shortly after Texas’ Heartbeat Act went…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Documents Indicate Fauci ‘Untruthful’ About Coronavirus Research in China, Disease Expert Says
A trove of newly released documents detailing U.S.-funded coronavirus research in China prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shows that Dr. Anthony Fauci was “untruthful” when he claimed that his agency did not finance gain-of-function research in Wuhan, an infectious disease expert says. Documents published by The Intercept on Sunday show that Fauci’s agency, the National Institute of…Andrew Kerr -
- News
Seattle Could Lose Over 200 Cops Because of COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
Seattle may lose more than 200 police officers over the city’s COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to a local talk radio host. Over 200 officers, who represent roughly 20% of the police department, said they haven’t been vaccinated or refused to hand over their private health records, according to "The Jason Rantz Show" on the Seattle radio…Harry Wilmerding -
- Opinion
Why Isn’t Biden to Blame for COVID-19 Deaths?
One of the most morally revolting talking points taken up by Democrats in their effort to deflect attention from President Joe Biden’s deadly incompetence in Afghanistan is to minimize the deaths of 13 troops in Kabul, Afghanistan, by pointing out that more people are dying from COVID-19 every day. First of all, if we use…David Harsanyi -
- News
Psaki Dismisses Male Reporter’s Abortion Question: ‘You’ve Never Faced Those Choices’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed a male reporter’s question on President Joe Biden’s Catholicism and abortion by telling the reporter, “I know you’ve never had to face these choices.” EWTN’s Owen Jensen asked the White House press secretary why Biden supports abortion when “his own Catholic faith” teaches that the procedure is morally…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
CDC Should Revise Its Guidance Mandating Masks at School
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “universal indoor masking of all students age 2 and older.” There’s just one problem: The leading study on which the CDC bases this recommendation found that the COVID-19 infection rate in schools requiring students to wear masks “was not statistically significant compared with schools where mask use…Doug Badger