News Round-Up

• “How China tried to suppress the lab leak investigation” – “What is becoming increasingly clear is that the dismissal of the lab leak theory back in March 2020 was a huge mistake,” writes James Forsyth in the Spectator.
• “Science journals have been corrupted by China” – “Nine months ago, the scientific establishment’s determined efforts to stifle debate on the origins of the pandemic began to crumble,” writes Ian Birrell in UnHerd.
• “Why vaccine passports are pointless” – “If both classes of citizen still get and spread the virus, vaccination is not an act of noble altruism but a pursuit of individual self-interest,” writes Lionel Shriver in the Spectator.
• “Hunt for the ‘smoking bat’ and how Wuhan lab leak theory shifted from conspiracy to credible” – Efforts are intensifying to identify the origins of the pandemic and a shift in discussions has occurred, reports the Telegraph.
• “Freedom Day? No, we risk surrendering our liberty ” – For a nation that reveres liberty, we have been remarkably relaxed at surrendering it. And even gone beyond what’s demanded of us, writes John Humphrys in the Mail.
• “China can’t intimidate the world into silence over Covid for much longer” – Scientists and the media are only now demanding answers from Beijing about the virus’s origin, writes Charles Moore in the Telegraph.
• “Delta Troubles? Retrospective Study Led by nference and Mayo Clinic Reveals Pfizer Covid Shot Only 42% Effective During July” – A brand-new study indicates some possibly troubling news concerning Covid, reports TrialSite.
• “‘Because of Covid’ has become an excuse for shoddy customer service” – “The virus has been used as a convenient way to implement cost-cutting measures,” writes Adam Williams in the Telegraph.
• “The dishonesty of the political class” – “Right now in Australia much of the press and nearly all of the politicians are in the business of scaring people senseless, with claims that cannot be cashed out,” writes James Allan in the Spectator Australia.
• “What else might our governments lock us down for?” – According to our politicians and poohbahs of public health, Australians will all be subject to some form of house arrest until 80% of us are vaccinated. But what if this is all for nothing, asks Stephen Spartacus in the Spectator Australia.
• “Widower calls for easier access to vaccine damages payment” – A man whose wife died after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has said a vaccine damages scheme needs to be made easier for families to access, reports BBC News.
• “Vaccination certificates: an idea whose time must never come” – We should embrace personal choice and individual responsibility as the core elements of Covid risk management as we all learn to live with it as individuals and a nation, writes Ramesh Thakur in the Spectator Australia.
• “#23 Cock-up, Conspiracy or Murmuration?” – “We all know that we should not idly nod along with the groupthink but being human, and lazy, we may forget,” writes Dr Hugh Willbourn.
• “CDC Panel Recommends Third Covid Vaccine Dose for Immunocompromised” – A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Friday voted 11–0 for additional Covid vaccine doses for those who are immunocompromised, reports the Epoch Times.
• “Broadway Superstar Reportedly Fired from Show After Refusing Vaccine” – Despite her distinguished Broadway career, actress Laura Osnes has reportedly been fired from her Hamptons show after refusing the vaccine, reports Breitbart.
• “The Promise, Hope & Disappointment of the PRINCIPLE Trial as Design Concerns Throw Latest Study In Serious Doubt” – Dozens of researchers, physicians, and scientists have picked up on some concerning, perhaps even problematic, insight into this particular program associated with the PRINCIPLE trial, reports TrialSite.
• “C-19 Pandemia: Quo vadis, homo SAPIENS?” – “Mass vaccination in the middle of a pandemic is prone to promoting selection and adaptation of immune escape variants,” writes GeertVandenBossche in TrialSite.
• “Oxfam’s wealth grab madness underlines the Left’s shocking economic illiteracy” – A pandemic tax on the super-rich might grab attention but it would be regressive, unworkable and ineffective, writes Ben Marlow in the Telegraph.
• “TPA Talks Episode 12 by TPA Talks – The TaxPayers’ Alliance Podcast” – Toby talks about the rise of disinformation, the role of social media, cancel culture on campuses, ‘woke’ Whitehall, and more in this episode of TPA Talks.
• “Authors must stand up to the language police” – The cancelling of writers who use phrases like “chocolate-coloured skin” will only spiral if we appease the purity zealots, writes Lionel Shriver in the Times.
• “Mark Dolan has his say after a troubling Guardian story unearthed an ‘explosion’ of child abuse and neglect during lockdown” – “If you were a cheerleader for these unproven, experimental measures, this is your legacy,” says Mark Dolan on GB News.