News Round-Up

• “Events promoters ‘ready to go elsewhere’ over jab passports” – Concert promoters are considering cancelling live events in Scotland or moving them to other parts of the U.K. amid concerns over the impact of vaccine passports, reports the Times.
• “NHS staffing crisis fears as Sajid Javid pushes ahead with compulsory Covid vaccines” – All NHS staff could be required to have a jab, despite a major staff shortage prompted by a similar requirement for care workers, according to the Telegraph.
• “Care workers in England leaving for Amazon and other better-paid jobs” – The retailer is luring staff with 30% higher wages, while some workers object to the sector’s ‘No Jab, No Job’ policy, says the Guardian.
• “Don’t jab children just to keep schools open, Tory MPs urge Whitty” – Children aged 12 to 15 should only be vaccinated if it is in the interests of their health, rather than a tactical move to keep schools open, according to a letter signed by MPs Sir Graham Brady, Sir Desmond Swayne and Esther McVey and organised by UsforThem, the Times reports.
• “Professor slams U.K. for spending more on test and trace than primary care” – Oxford’s Professor Carl Heneghan has hit out at the amount being spent on mass testing, which he believes should be invested into primary care instead, reports the Express.
• “We’re all likely to catch Covid – and that makes continuing restrictions obsolete” – Why, when the worst of the pandemic is over, is the Government seeking to renew its emergency powers for a further six months, asks Dan Hannan in the Telegraph.
• “Bangladesh mask study: do not believe the hype” – “This is one of the worst studies I’ve ever seen in any field,” says El Gato Malo on Substack. “It proves nothing apart from the credulity of many mask advocates.”
• “Denmark overtakes Sweden as the restriction-free Nordic nation” – Denmark, a country whose approach earlier in the Covid pandemic was thought of as the opposite of Sweden, with early border restrictions and school closures, has now overtaken its neighbour as the most restriction-free country in Scandinavia, writes Freddie Sayers in UnHerd
• “Who we are, and where we’re going: Some observations and suggestions to those opposed to lockdown ideology.” – A sceptical position statement from Resist New Normal.
• “Governments Must Pay $800,000 in Legal Fees to Church for COVID-19 Overreach” – California officials have agreed to pay $800,000 in prevailing-party attorneys’ fees to a popular Christian megachurch in Los Angeles after state and federal courts in California issued permanent injunctions barring government officials there from ever again imposing discriminatory restrictions on houses of worship, the Epoch Times reports.
• “Florida to Start Fining Businesses $5,000 for Violations of Vaccine Passport Ban” – The Florida Department of Health has issued a notice indicating it will start issuing $5,000 fines to businesses, schools, and Government agencies that require Floridians to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, according to the Epoch Times.
• “Biden voter-rejecting Florida diner forced to close due to popularity” – A diner in Florida which said it would no longer serve anyone who supported Biden has had to close temporarily after it ran out of food, reports the New York Post.
• “U.S. ‘funded Wuhan virus lab’s research to make diseases more deadly’” – The Wuhan Institute of Virology was creating a database of potentially lethal viruses with the help of Shi Zhengli – aka ‘batwoman’, who collected thousands of coronavirus samples, a new book claims, according to the Mail.
• “The Masked Ball of Cowardice” – How fear of admitting error in trusting China’s coronavirus propaganda is driving Western societies into a doom spiral, writes Michael P. Senger in the Tablet.
• “WATCH: Thousands flood Paris streets protesting against COVID-19 health passes across France” – In Paris alone thousands of people joined protests against vaccine passports, RT reports.
• “The Covidian Cult (Part III)” – C.J. Hopkins in OffGuardian continues his series on the ‘New Normal’ as a global totalitarian ideological movement.
• “Covid antibodies ‘tumbling’ among elderly, experts warn” – Antibodies are declining in those aged 70 and over, says new ONS data, the Independent reports.
• “A COVID-19 Vaccination Quandary: Israel’s Infection Rates Continue to Shoot Up Despite Mass Inoculation” – COVID-19 data in Israel continues to confound the logic of one of the most heavily vaccinated countries, as it has one of the world’s highest infection, reports TrialSite News.
• “India’s DNA COVID vaccine is a world first – more are coming” – The ZyCoV-D vaccine heralds a wave of DNA vaccines for various diseases that are undergoing clinical trials around the world, reports Nature.
• “Doctors advise against intensive sport after Covid vaccination” – Doctors advise against intensive sport soon after receiving a coronavirus vaccination after three young cyclists suffered cardiac complications, reports the Brussels Times.
• “Boris has totally lost touch with conservatism” – The plan to increase taxes is the latest Labour-lite lunacy of a Government that only cares about polls, writes Camilla Tominey in the Telegraph.
• “The threat from the illiberal left” – Don’t underestimate the danger of left-leaning identity politics, says the Economist.
• “Watch out for the Gimp!” – Let’s have a look at cancel culture, the bastard offspring of our rather older friend, political correctness, writes Tom Forrester-Paton.
• “The transgender delusion” – Shon Faye’s book confirms that transgenderism is about control, not autonomy, writes Brendan O’Neill in spiked.
• “We must stop pandering to the workshy woke generation” – Between the siestas and wellness weeks, it is hard to figure out how anything will ever get done, says Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “Let Roy Chubby Brown perform” – Simon Evans comes to the defence of the overweight stand-up in Spiked.
• “Wokeness is bad for your health” – Katie Herzog is the guest on the Brendan O’Neill Show.
• “JCVI member says there’s little benefit to be had from immunising children” – Professor Adam Finn, a member of the JCVI, tells Sky News 12-15 year-olds aren’t at serious risk from Covid so there’s little benefit in vaccinating them.