(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 9 things you need to know this Thursday – February 3, 2022

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Stanford medical professor argues masking and social distancing doing long-term damage to our immune systems – Dr. Eran Bendavid, associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, is making the case that continued masking and social distancing as measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic are actually doing long-term damage to our immune systems.

In a Tuesday op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Bendavid argued that the policies put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus needed to be re-evaluated because they were reducing people’s exposure to microbes, therefore preventing the immune system from training well against other diseases. – READ MORE

Masks to be Mandatory on Commercial Flights for Years to Come – Experts suggest face coverings are expected to remain mandatory on domestic and international flights for years to come.

Travellers will most likely be required to wear masks during plane journeys for the foreseeable future, despite nations around the World beginning to tone down restrictions as a result of the less deadly – compared to previous coronavirus strains – omicron variant. – READ MORE

Quebec Abandons Policy of Taxation on the Unvaccinated – The Quebec government has abandoned its proposed plan to implement a ‘Health Contribution’ tax on unvaccinated residents as the government looks to relax Wuhan coronavirus restrictions this month.

The government of the French-speaking Canadian province led by Premier François Legault of the conservative Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) has dropped the proposal to tax residents not vaccinated against the coronavirus after the measure was proposed last month. – READ MORE

COVID Cock Up: Austria Delays Mandatory Vax for All Adults Order Over Admin Botch – Austria’s mandatory vax regime, which would have been the first of its kind in Europe has been delayed due to administrative issues.

Having been due to come into force on February 1, Austria’s regime of forced vaccination — which would have been the first of its kind in Europe — has since been delayed due to a number of administrative issues. – READ MORE

CNN medical expert calls for COVID restrictions to be lifted, but only for the vaccinated – In a recent editorial published in the Washington Post, Dr. Leana Wen — CNN’s medical expert — called for lifting COVID-19 restrictions across the country as the Omicron variant’s presence begins to wane.

Dr. Wen acknowledged that many Americans are likely feeling fatigued with safety precautions that have faded in relevance, such as masking, social distancing, and self-isolating. Omicron was one of several variants that sent society into a tizzy, Wen acknowledges, and it likely won’t be the last now that COVID-19 is endemic. – READ MORE

COVID Testing Company Faked Results, Lied To Patients And Improperly Stored Samples: Lawsuit – An Illinois-based Covid-19 testing company which operates at least 13 sites in Washington state has been accused of faking, delaying, or failing to provide test results, lying to patients, and improperly storing test samples, according to a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Seattle Times reports.

The defendant is the Center for COVID control, which has expanded to roughly 300 locations across the Untied States – taking advantage of residents when frequent Covid-19 testing was in high demand as a “critical tool in the fight against COVID-19,” the filing reads. – READ MORE

NIH spent $2.3M injecting dogs with cocaine in experiment related to overdose research: report –  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent about $2.3 million between 2020 and 2021 on an experiment that involved injecting beagle dogs with cocaine, according to a new report.

The White Coat Waste Project (WCWP), a watchdog group aiming to stop certain taxpayer-funded experiments on animals, on Monday published documents they obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request showing the research agency disbursed $2.3 million to the project. – READ MORE

U.S. Lost 301,000 Jobs in January vs. Predicted 200,000 Gained – Payroll firm ADP says the US lost more than 300,000 jobs in January, and omicron is taking the blame.

December’s impressive jobs gains were also revised downwards. – READ MORE

Washington public defenders push for ending jail bookings for sex offenders, burglars, citing omicron risks – Public defenders in King County, Washington, are pushing the prosecutor’s office to reduce jail bookings for suspects accused of non-violent crimes, arguing that they face a heightened risk of catching the coronavirus amid the spread of the omicron variant.

The matter was discussed during a Tuesday morning virtual hearing held by the Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee. According to its website, the committee considers and makes recommendations on policies relating to law, safety, and criminal justice.  – READ MORE

Ahead of Biden visit, NYC crime up 38% in most recent 28 days, with upticks in shootings, subway crimes – Major crime in New York City rose nearly 39% in the most recent 28-day period, with shootings, hate crimes and subway crimes among the highest areas that saw upticks, according to the latest police statistics.

Total crime throughout the Big Apple rose 38.48% in the 28-day period that ended on Jan. 30, New York Police Department (NYPD) data released Tuesday show. That number reflects the 2,417 more crimes reported in this period, with 8,699, compared to last year’s 6,282, according to police figures. – READ MORE