Vaccine & COVID News
The Daily Signal provides explore reporting and analysis on vaccines, from COVID mandates to public health controversies, with a focus on personal liberty and informed choice.
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Coronavirus Update: 6 US Deaths, Over 3,000 Deaths Worldwide
The coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 3,000 persons worldwide, including two Americans, as of Monday morning. [Washington state officials announced four more deaths there later in the day.] Despite government-issued travel warnings and restrictions, the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world. Two people in Washington died from the virus, according to the Washington State Department…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Fact Check: Did Trump Call Coronavirus a ‘Hoax’?
Politico published an article reporting that President Donald Trump called the novel coronavirus a “hoax” in a speech Friday in South Carolina. “Trump rallies his base to treat coronavirus as a ‘hoax,'” reads the headline. Verdict: False Trump referred to “politicizing” of the coronavirus by Democrats as “their new hoax.” He did not refer to…Brad Sylvester -
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Fighting Coronavirus Means ‘Keeping Sick People Out,’ Homeland Security Chief Says
The Trump administration is facing the coronavirus by preparing for the worst and aggressively pushing forward to tackle the disease, including “keeping sick people out of this country,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Saturday. “At the Department of Homeland Security, our main mission when we talk about the coronavirus is to make sure…Fred Lucas -
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Border Security Key to Curbing Coronavirus, Cuccinelli Says
Defending the southern border is a key part of protecting the United States from the coronavirus, a top U.S. immigration official said Friday. A border crisis could exacerbate a pandemic, said Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of homeland security and a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force. But the disease doesn’t currently pose…Fred Lucas -
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Socialism, Not Coronavirus, Seen as Real Threat to Economy
The stock market has taken a hit amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, but the disease doesn’t pose a real danger to the economy, chief White House economist Larry Kudlow said Friday in an appearance before an annual gathering of conservative activists. “A virus is not going to sink the economy,” Kudlow,…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Coronavirus Spreads to Europe and Middle East. What That Means for This Global Health Crisis.
Now that the coronavirus has broken out of China and established a foothold in Europe and the Middle East, many are on edge. This week, the stock market, for one, jumped off a cliff—something it is wont to do when faced with global uncertainty. While nothing about this global health emergency is certain, we can predict with a high…James Carafano -
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North Korea’s Coronavirus Problem
In nighttime photos from space, North Korea looks like a black hole compared to the well-lit South. It’s an apt metaphor for what we know about what’s going inside the DPRK now: Nada. That absence of information poses a real problem when a global health threat is on the loose. And the coronavirus is most…James Carafano -
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China’s Coronavirus Response Shows the Weakness of Authoritarianism
Despite China’s incredible economic success as of late, it’s important to remember that it is still fundamentally a communist country. Recent events have been a stern reminder. Freedom can be messy, but it’s nothing like the mess an authoritarian regime creates when it fears losing power. The disturbing outbreak of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China…Jarrett Stepman -
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Trump Administration Deserves Praise for Strong Coronavirus Response
A 35-year-old Washington, D.C., man visited an urgent care clinic on Jan. 19, a few days after returning from Wuhan, China. After undergoing testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that he had contracted the 2019-nCoV coronavirus—the first such case in the United States. Since surfacing in Wuhan in December, the 2019-nCoV coronavirus…Brayden Helwig -
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Coronavirus and China: Beijing’s Behavior Confirms How Bad the Brand Truly Is
Long before the coronavirus made international headlines, China’s Communist Party, which rules the country with unchallenged authority, had an image problem. Image has always been a key element of Beijing’s plan to rise to global greatness. It has worked assiduously to carve a reputation as an unstoppable power wading well into the midst of world affairs. Today, however, that carefully…James Carafano -
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From the Chinese Coronavirus Crisis, 3 Early Lessons
The United Nations’ World Health Organization on Jan. 9 announced an outbreak of a new—or novel—coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, China. In the three weeks since the announcement, the virus has intensified in China, infecting thousands there and is now spreading across the globe, far beyond its origin in Hubei province. Indeed, this new coronavirus has…Peter Brookes -
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Sex Trafficking Is a Pandemic in the US, and It’s Time to End Demand
This past October, a Dallas-area man was sentenced to life in federal prison for trafficking children for sex. The case offered a rare glimpse into a dark underworld most Americans don’t realize exists, right in their own backyards. Because of the hidden nature of this crime, many Americans don’t realize that sex trafficking is not just an…Kevin Malone -
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Eradicating Ebola With New Vaccine
A new vaccine has been found to be highly effective against the Ebola virus in the West African nation of Guinea. According to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization: “This is an extremely promising development. The credit goes to the Guinean Government, the people living in the communities and our partners in…Jocelyn Lamb -
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What You Didn’t Know About a Doctor’s Stance on the HPV Vaccine
It appears to be a neutral source in a prestigious medical journal: An article defending the controversial human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical cancer vaccine. It criticizes the Japanese government’s decision to stop promoting the vaccine amid concerns about injuries. And it implies patients are incorrectly blaming the HPV vaccine for unrelated ills. Critics say it’s an…Sharyl Attkisson -
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No, Being a Climate Change Skeptic Isn’t Like Fearing Vaccines
National Geographic’s latest cover story generated lots of attention for comparing climate change skeptics to those who fear vaccinations, disbelieve NASA’s moon landing, and oppose water fluoridation. The author bemoans the fact that only 40 percent of Americans (according to Pew Research Center) “accept that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming,” asking how so…Stephen Moore -
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Cartoon: The Vaccine We Need
From Heritage Foundation's Romina Boccia and Michael Sargent: For the first time in his two terms in office, President Obama released his annual budget on time. This is a welcome step towards normalcy in the budget process, though one wonders why it took six years for the administration to decide it should adhere to the…Glenn Foden -
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Outbreak of Pro-Vaccine Sentiment From Rivals Afflicts Two White House Hopefuls
Potential candidates for president today rushed to endorse government-mandated vaccination shots for children after a media dustup over comments in support of parental choice from two other hopefuls. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, both considered players in the Republican field for 2016, made their remarks amid public concern over a measles outbreak…Ken McIntyre -
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Those Ebola Vaccines in Testing Now? You Can Thank Dick Cheney for That
Democrats looking to blame Republicans for the lack of an Ebola vaccine may owe Dick Cheney an apology. It turns out that as vice president, Cheney was the driving force behind more funding for the National Institutes of Health that helped lead to the development of Ebola vaccines being tested today. From the time scientists first discovered…Melissa Quinn -
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Why Didn’t the Government Prioritize an Ebola Vaccine? Lack of Money Wasn’t the Issue
Francis Collins, chief of the National Institute of Health, recently blamed the lack of any cure for, or vaccine against, Ebola on budget cuts, stating, “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials…Paul J. Larkin -
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Here’s Why Budget Cuts Have Nothing to Do With Developing an Ebola Vaccine
Some government health officials have joined Democrats in blaming the lack of an Ebola vaccine on budget cuts orchestrated by Republicans. However, more federal funding likely would not have led to creation of a vaccine to combat the deadly disease, since pharmaceutical companies had little incentive to do so. In addition, a review of federal budget figures…Melissa Quinn