“Many states with Republican governors have already ended the mask mandates and now some states with Democrat governors are following suit. There is evidence supporting claims that masks are not effective for young children and therefore there is no need for them. Additionally, there is evidence that shows that masks have harmed children in both educational and social development. Due to this impact, states are having to reevaluate the cost of wearing masks and if the benefits of masks outweigh the educational and social development of children.”
Read More“While athletes seek to bring home a medal, China seeks to prevent COVID-19. The country reported the first local case of the highly contagious Omicron variant three weeks before the opening ceremony of the global sporting event. Most athletes and foreign nationals currently stay in a closed bubble. Nevertheless, officials are wary about Omicron, which has led to record-breaking caseloads and hospital overcrowding in North America and Europe.”
Read More“Two weeks ago, Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina’s more than 80,000 state employees will have the opportunity to use paid leave to staff public schools in the state. What is the problem in NC schools?”
Read More“As is not uncommon in highly developed countries, Canada, which prides itself on being a highly-tolerant, liberal democracy, has had trouble living up to that image due to Quebec’s reluctance to admit new immigrants in an effort to preserve its French culture and heritage.”
Read More“As the wealthy in the West see a decline in COVID cases, those in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas see a continuous rise. While wealthy nations begin to move towards a future of a more manageable existence with COVID, suffering in the Global South persists. Anger from leaders and citizens in the Global South towards inequality are beginning to rise with the numbers of deaths and cases.”
Read More“The Biden Administration announced last week that travel restrictions will be lifted in November for travelers fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This new policy will allow thousands of foreigners into the United States, which will ease American tensions with Europe.”
Read More“The monthly debates, although contentious, allow each side to ensure that their voices are heard on this highly controversial issue. It also allows the current policy to be continually tested to show its strengths and weaknesses, allowing the board members and parents to weigh each side.”
Read More“This pandemic has already altered our way of life on a day to day basis and will more than likely have long-term consequences in the political sphere, as well as interactions between the government and its constituents. Nineteen months in, and misinformation still persists, emphasizing the ignorance, privilege, and entitlement that exists in the United States.”
Read More“Many that have come out against the vaccine mandate have cited privacy concerns, believing that the Constitution does not allow the government to force people to get a vaccine. In reality, constitutional precedence does not look favorably upon this argument.”
Read More“Such outspoken criticism of the government is dangerous in Communist Cuba – a national security state – where individuals who protest the government are accused of treason, and large-scale activism is brutally repressed.”
Read More“The fractious national debate about COVID-19 has perhaps been most divisive on issues related to schools and education. In North Carolina, however, this debate was surprisingly tame.”
Read More“There is only one public high school mandating a vaccine for students — and only for its athletes — but many are requiring their employees to do so. As students begin to return to campus and classrooms, will vaccines prove to be the only true safeguard against a deadly virus? Are schoolwide vaccinations inevitable?”
Read More“While all of these threats are not to be taken lightly, the grandest threat must be climate change and environmental degradation, for without an environment none of the other potential threats are meaningful.”
Read More“Last Tuesday, Johnson and Johnson vaccine injections were halted across the country after six recipients reported blood-clotting. Health officials nationwide have exaggerated the very low risk for those who already received the vaccine, emphasizing that the vaccine was taken down out of an “abundance of caution” for the safety of Americans, as stated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
Read More“While the CDC is working to find a balance between promoting messages of caution concerning new strains of COVID-19 and pitching the vaccine as a means to return to “normalcy,” American’s have resumed old practices. The CDC has produced comprehensive plans to distribute the vaccine on a widespread level, but skepticism from vaccine-eligible individuals could be a detriment to these plans.”
Read More“One thing is for certain in light of the pandemic-plagued days in which we live: there is no shortage of political and morally divisive policies on the horizon. On March 30th, over 25 heads of state called for an international pandemic treaty to greater combat and alleviate the risk of future life-altering pandemics from arising. The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that “the world cannot afford to wait until the pandemic is over to start planning for the next one,” and during a news conference he campaigned on its urgency due to the WHO’s lack of ability for surveillance and oversight within member nations. Origins of the treaty stem from member nations, such as China over the past year, being able to deny WHO access to novel epidemic data or disease materials that could prove crucial in combating a novel pathogen.”
Read More“As vaccines become more widely available in the US and a return to normalcy hopefully draws near, private companies have started to work with the Biden administration to create standardized vaccine credentials. Already, industries ranging from entertainment to cruise lines have said they will require proof of vaccination from travelers, sports fans and others in order to provide customers with confidence and to provide some assurance that disruptions will not continue to plague their businesses.”
Read More“Even before Biden took office, he had praised President Trump's administration for their work in rolling out the vaccine in Operation Warp Speed, "I think that the administration deserves some credit, getting this off the ground, Operation Warp Speed,” Biden said after he received Pfizer’s vaccine. “... I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about.” Things have changed since December, when Biden praised Trump, however, and the former President doesn’t want to be left behind.”
Read More“It is easy for those of us who live in wealthy nations with high vaccination rates to think of those in poorer or war-torn countries as pitiable but distant. Something to be concerned about, though lacking any real impact on the success of our own COVID eradication efforts. This, however, is a grave misjudgment. Not only is vaccine nationalism and the zero-sum prioritization of one’s own population a moral failing, it is scientifically counterproductive.”
Read More“Beginning on March 14th, 2021, North Carolinians seeking unemployment benefits will have to provide proof that they are actively pursuing employment opportunities to qualify. Governor Roy Cooper laid down an executive order detailing the changes which negate a previously issued executive order from March of 2020. Typically, in a non-COVID time, the requirements for unemployment stipulate that one must be actively searching for a job before receiving any state issued benefits. However, Governor Cooper struck down the requirement due to the increased unemployment during the pandemic. Now, that period is closing, and within the new executive order, Governor Cooper promotes the usage of NCworks.gov to promote job opportunities and employment training.”
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