Feminist Weekly November 04
News clippings and #FeministWins curated by Contributing News Editor Annie Wu Henry, The Recount, and Good Good Good Co. From feel good news to headliners keeping you on the pulse. Here is the round up for the week!
ICYMI
COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow. In the run up to COP26 the UK worked with every nation to reach agreement on how to tackle climate change. Criticized for having a lack of representation for women, important voices from the global south, and indigenous communities. World leaders arrived in Scotland, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and climate activists for twelve days of talks. Not only is it a huge task but it is also not just yet another international summit. Most experts believe COP26 has a unique urgency. At the previous summit, COP25, the Paris Agreement was signed in which countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions – known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time. Youth climate activists are leading demonstrations and reporting across their social media channels with live updates. We encourage following @fridaysforfuture and our Contributing Climate Justice Editor @DomiPalmer for more. (Via UKCOP26)
Film professionals held a vigil for Halyna Hutchins.
Film industry professionals and Hollywood actors gathered for a vigil in Albuquerque honoring Halyna Hutchins. Hutchins was a cinematographer that was killed when actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that had been mistakenly loaded with live ammunition. The accident occurred during the filming of a scene for the Western movie Rust near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The director, Joel Souza, was injured in the shoulder and treated in a nearby hospital. After his release, Souza said he was "gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague, Halyna." Baldwin was seen consoling Hutchins' husband, Matthew, and 9-year-old son, Andros, outside a hotel in New Mexico. Hutchins' father and sister said they blamed the prop crew, not Baldwin, for the tragedy. (Via Business Insider)
Letitia James announced she will run for NY governor. — New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she will be running for governor. This will make for a competitive and historic Democratic primary as she will face Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who replaced Cuomo and was the state's first female chief executive. James oversaw the sexual-harassment investigation against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The investigation resulted in evidence of harrassment and led to his resignation. If elected, Letitia James would be New York's first Black female governor. James said she has "the experience, vision, and courage to take on the powerful on behalf of all New Yorkers." She said she was running "for good-paying jobs, a health care system that puts people ahead of profits, to protect the environment, make housing more affordable and lift up our schools in every neighborhood." (Via NY Times)
U.S. Democrats are expected to cut paid family leave from the Build Back Better bill. — U.S. Democrats are likely to drop paid family and medical leave from the extensive Build Back Better buill. The party needs every member of its 50 person caucus to pass the bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) objected to guaranteed paid leave which aligns with his pattern to be one of the most conservative democrats. Many other Democratic lawmakers considered this a top priority, such as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) who said she would continue to push for paid leave in the Build Back Better plan "until the bill is printed." President Biden initially proposed the bill include 12 weeks of paid leave. This was cut down to four weeks amid early negotiations, but now might not be included at all. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said "from the beginning, we have said the president was open to compromise." (Via Washington Post)
The DOJ settled the lawsuit by the families of Charleston church shooting victims. — The Justice Department agreed to a settlement in lawsuits filed by survivors and relatives of the nine family and community members killed in the 2015 massacre at a historic Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, by white supremacist D***n Roof. The killer later confessed, saying he hoped to ignite a race war. The families of the people killed during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church sued after the FBI disclosed that its background-check system failed to prevent Roof from buying the gun he used in the slayings. His criminal record showed a felony conviction that should have blocked the sale, but the sheriff's office that recorded the arrest didn't show up in the FBI's database. The settlement calls for the families of the people killed to receive $63 million, and for the survivors of the senseless shooting spree to get $25 million. (Via NBC News)
Facebook announced it will rebrand under the name Meta. — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be changing its corporate name to Meta. The rebranding comes as Facebook contends with a backlash over its handling of misinformation and harmful posts, following whistleblower allegations that the company put profits above user safety. Under the new branding, Facebook and its other apps, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, will keep their names, but all under the Meta umbrella. "It is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do," Zuckerberg said. Skeptics said the name change makes it look like Facebook has something to hide. "Zuckerberg and his lieutenants can't shed the Facebook albatross with a clever brand adjustment," said Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. (Via NY Times)
SCOTUS heard oral arguements to challenge the harmful Texas abortion ban.
For nearly three hours, the Supreme Court grappled with if they should hear aguments from abortion providers to challenge the 6-week Texas abortion ban. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch was the strongest defender of Texas' argument, while Kagan expressed the most criticism saying, "we would be inviting states -- all 50 of them -- with respect to their unpreferred constitutional rights, to try to nullify the law" when it comes to issues like "guns, same-sex marriage, religious rights." She said there would be "nothing the Supreme Court could do about it." Although conservatice justices Barrett and Kavanaugh seemed receptive to the argument put forward by the providers, both have previously voted to allow the controversial law to remain in effect. While the conservative leaning court likely has a long road ahead with challenges for this harmful law, it is important to note that abortion is still legal in Texas and the fight is far from over. (Via CNN)
Valerie's Law receives the necessary signatures for UK Parliament to consider for a debate
Valerie's law will make specialist training mandatory to all UK law enforcement to better understand the needs of Black women affected by domestic violence. “Valerie Forde and her 23-month-old daughter were brutally murdered by Valerie’s ex-partner Roland McKoy in 2014. Six weeks prior to their murder, Valerie reported McKoy’s threats to police but this was carelessly recorded as a threat to property rather than a threat to life. Valerie had given her ex-partner until the 31st of March to leave their home for a fresh start for the family in April.”
“As seen in Valerie’s case and with many other domestic violence victims, police officers and relevant agencies have a severe knowledge gap when it comes to the Black community and it’s domestic violence victims. As with every culture, the black community has a plethora of colloquialisms, languages and customs within itself that must be acknowledged and understood in mainstream institutions to better protect black women fleeing violence. Government agencies that serve diverse communities have a responsibility to educate their service providers about the people they are designated to protect and not rely on standard White-British customs as the norm.”
“Valerie’s Law advocates for mandatory Cultural Competency training that accounts for the cultural nuances and barriers, colloquialisms, languages and customs that make up the diverse black community. Valerie’s Law will enable police officers, relevant government agencies and domestic violence safehouse staff to acknowledge and protect black women in abusive situations through an understanding.” (Via Sistah Space)
The G-20 summit closed with a weak climate statement. — World leaders agreed at the Group of 20 summit in Italy that all nations should take meaningful action to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. But critics noted that the two-day gathering of the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies included few concrete commitments to help reach the target, which was recommended in the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord. Greenpeace said G-20 leaders "failed to meet the moment" ahead of this week's COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. The final G-20 communique did not include a promise to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, as climate activists had hoped. Instead, G-20 leaders stressed the importance of reaching that goal around the middle of the century, wording preferred by oil-rich Saudi Arabia and China, the world's biggest polluter. (Via The Guardian, LA Times)
A second Facebook whistleblower said the company put profit before safety. — The Washington Post reported that another Facebook whistleblower submitted an affidavit to the Securities and Exchange Commission with more allegations that the social media giant prioritized growth and profits over fighting hate speech and misinformation. The anonymous new whistleblower once worked on Facebook's Integrity team and said Facebook communications official Tucker Bounds at one point shrugged off the controversy over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. According to the whistleblower, Bounds said lawmakers would "get pissy" about misinformation spread on Facebook, then "move onto something else. Meanwhile we are printing money in the basement." Bounds said it was hard to respond to an "empty accusation" from a "faceless person." (Via Washington Post)
Senators questioned YouTube, Snap, TikTok leaders about damaging content. — Lawmakers grilled YouTube, Snap, and TikTok on data privacy, damaging posts, and other issues after weeks of criticism of Facebook for allegedly putting profits above user safety. A bipartisan group of senators told executives of the companies they feared the firms' software was driving young users to inappropriate posts, and companies were not doing enough to remove dangerous content. "Everything that you do is to add users, especially kids, and keep them on your apps for longer," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The companies said they were working hard to protect child users. Several lawmakers said their staff had accessed harmful content with ease, sometimes logged in as a teenager, echoing concerns about Facebook that were raised by whistleblower Frances Haugen. (Via NY Times)
#FeministWins
The UN declared access to a clean, healthy environment is a fundamental human right.
The U.N. Human Rights Council declared that access to a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental human right. While the resolution is not legally binding, supporters and climate activists are hopeful it will help set global standards, and climate lawyers say it could help them build arguments in cases that involve the environment and human rights. The resolution was first proposed by Costa Rica, the Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland in the 1990s — and passed with overwhelming support, with 43 votes in favor, and 4 opposed (Russia, India, China and Japan). The U.S. is not currently in the 47-member Council, and therefore did not vote. "This has life-changing potential in a world where the global environmental crisis causes more than nine million premature deaths every year," said David Boyd, U.N. advisor on human rights and the environment, who called the decision a "historic breakthrough." Costa Rica's ambassador, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, said the decision will "send a powerful message to communities around the world struggling with climate hardship that they are not alone."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
Sierra Leone became the latest country to abolish the death penalty.
Sierra Leone just became the 110th country in the world — and 23rd country in Africa — to abolish the death penalty. President Julius Maada Bio signed a new law banning the death penalty, and said, “We should not, we shall not and we will never again execute any persons in this sovereign republic. He denounced capital punishment as “inhumane” and declared that the country had “exorcised horrors of a cruel past.” According to Amnesty International, at least 94 people were under a sentence of death in Sierra Leone at the end of 2020. The Death Penalty Information Center reported that the new law will be retroactively applied to them. We're celebrating with all of Sierra Leone, Africa, and the world for having now-110 countries where the death penalty is a horrifying thing of the past — and we look forward to seeing more countries follow their lead. (Via Good Good Good)
Norway is on track to reach 100% of new car sales being electric vehicles by April 2022.
According to a new analysis released by the Norwegian Automobile Federation, Norway is on track to reach 100% of all new car sales being sales of electric vehicles (EVs) by April 2022 — three years ahead of schedule. Monthly new car sales data from Norway’s Road Traffic Information Council has the last new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle set to leave the dealership that month. The Norwegian government’s original target date to reach that milestone was 2025. Some of the EVs sold are hybrids, so the country's use of fossil fuels won't be completely gone, and there will still be existing ICEs on the road and able to be re-sold. Still, this is incredibly good news — an electrified transportation system is becoming a reality, not just a far-off dream! (Via Good Good Good)
A new label system in the UK has led to a significant consumer shift toward more eco-friendly foods.
Every aspect of a food product’s packaging is designed to trigger specific emotions, sending persuasive information — whether true or not — to the brain. “But almost never does that information tell you the environmental impact of that product,” said Dr. Brian Cook, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford. Cook, who leads Oxford’s Health Behaviors team at the Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) project, believes that a tried-and-tested system has the potential to transform the way that we eat: labeling. Just as labels showing a food’s dietary content or place of origin have helped improve our understanding of nutrition and ethical sourcing, Cook says a similar system could be used to combine a range of ecological indicators — from greenhouse gas emissions to water use — to show a product’s environmental impact. And early research shows a “statistically significant” shift towards ecologically greener foods, including around a 10% reduction in meat consumption. (Via Good Good Good)
The U.S. issued its first passport with an "X" gender marker on it.
The U.S. just issued its first passport with an "X" gender marker on it, an option the State Department says it expects to make more widely available next year. Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Fort Collins, Colorado, told The Associated Press that they received that historic passport. Zzyym had previously served in the Navy and has been in a legal battle since 2015 with the State Department to get a passport that did not require Zzyym to lie about their gender by picking either male or female. “Intersex, nonbinary, and transgender people need identity documents that accurately reflect who we are, and having mismatched documents can create problems with safety and visibility,” said Mary Emily O’Hara of @glaad. You may never have had to consider whether or not your legal or travel documents accurately reflect who you are or how you identify — but so many people in the U.S. have (and continue to). We celebrated the news that this third, gender-neutral, non-binary gender option would soon be added to U.S. passports — and are celebrating this historic milestone, too! (Via Good Good Good)
Dr. Rachel Levine was named the 1st transgender 4-star officer.
Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary of health for the Biden Administration, made history by being promoted to become the first openly transgender four-star officer in any of the eight uniformed services in the United States. Levine, already the nation's most senior transgender official, said she was "honored to take this role for the impact I can make and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes," adding, "I stand on the shoulders of those LGBTQ+ individuals who came before me, both those known and unknown. May this appointment today be the first of many more to come, as we create a diverse and more inclusive future." Levine, a pediatrician, previously served as Pennsylvania's health secretary, and has addressed such issues as the opioid epidemic, maternal mortality, and childhood immunization. (Via NBC News)
Google banned all ads that spread climate misinformation.
Across its platforms — including YouTube — Google announced it will no longer display advertisements that promote inaccurate claims about climate change. In a statement, they announced “a new monetization policy for Google advertisers, publishers and YouTube creators that will prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change." The policy also applies to content that contains climate misinformation, "referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, claims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change." This is incredibly good news in the fight against climate misinformation. For years, the science behind the existence and threat of climate change has been clear — and it only got clearer with the recently released IPCC report. We're celebrating this move by Google to move us into a post-climate-change-denial internet.⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
Lawmakers in at least 8 states are spending millions more on mental health services.
Jeans are among the most popular clothing on the planet — and one of the most environmentally taxing. Each pair requires up to 2,000 gallons of water to manufacture. And to produce Indigo blue, the dye that gives jeans their color, almost all manufacturers use benzene (a rat poison), mercury, and other toxins. What’s worse, 80% of jeans sold nowadays are stretch denim, made with plastic — researchers have even found plastic microfibers from jeans in the Arctic. Italian denim manufacturer Candiani wants to change the toll denim takes on the planet — and created the world's most sustainable, fully biodegradable denim called Coreva. Coreva uses 75% less water, 65% fewer chemicals, takes 6 months to biodegrade (most jeans take hundreds of years) and "we collect and reuse 100 percent of our waste fibers for our recycled denim line,” Candiani's fourth-generation owner Alberto Candiani told Reasons to be Cheerful. (Via Good Good Good)
In response to survey results, Lego says it plans to remove all gender bias from its toys.
After conducting a global survey, Lego announced its plans to remove gender stereotypes and bias from its toys. Lego commissioned the survey, which found that 71% of boys were afraid they would be made fun of if they played with what they described as “girls’ toys” — and that fear was shared by their parents. “Parents are more worried that their sons will be teased than their daughters for playing with toys associated with the other gender,” said Madeline Di Nonno, the chief executive of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, who conducted the research. The survey also found that while parents still encouraged sons to do sports or Stem activities, daughters were 5x more likely than boys to be encouraged to participate dance and dressing up, and 3x more likely to be encouraged to participate in baking. Which is a problem, because all of these activities help nurture skills in everyone, regardless of gender — like spacial skills, critical thinking, nurturing, and creativity. As a result of these and other alarming statistics in the data, Lego started making some changes. Lego no longer labels any of its products “for girls” or “for boys”. On the company's website consumers search by themes (which they call "passion points"), not gender. They're also working to incorporate more female role models and designers. “Our job now is to encourage boys and girls who want to play with sets that may have traditionally been seen as ‘not for them’,” Goldin added. Since the beginning of 2021, the Geena Davis Institute has been auditing and consulting Lego to “address gender bias and harmful stereotypes." We hope to see more companies follow their lead! (Via Good Good Good)
Experts say the ozone layer will be completely healed by 2050.
In the mid-1980s, scientists observed a hole in the ozone layer and estimated that, without significant changes, it would be completely gone in a few decades. The world did implement significant changes — like consumer boycotts, political action, an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol, and investments in new technologies — to ban the chemical that caused the damage in the first place, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). By the 1990s and 2000s most CFCs had been completely phased out. Progress has been slow and steady (the most important kind of progress usually is!), but scientists have now determined that the ozone is on its way to recovery. Whereas the initial out look was that the ozone layer would be gone by 2050 — the reverse has happened and experts now say it will be completely healed and restored to how it was before the 1980s by that year. “We see this as potentially the first instance in which humanity recognized and addressed a global catastrophic risk,” the Future of Life Institute’s Georgiana Gilgallon told Vox. Reminder: The ozone layer is important because it protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation — especially UV-B wavelengths — from the sun. This type of radiation causes many types of cancer, and can be devastating for most plants and animals, too. Plus, protecting our warming planet from even *more* radiation is important in the fight against climate change.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is extremely good news — and *proof* that we can all work together to solve humanity's and our home's biggest threats. We did it for the ozone layer — now let's do it for climate change.⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
Solar-powered pumps are helping Kenyan farmers and their communities easily and safely collect and access water.
In the village of Mwithini, the nearest river only flows during the two rainy seasons of the year, so the community has built sand dams — barriers across the river that trap sand, which in turn captures and holds water — to store river water to use when they need it. The dams are a popular trick in Kenya's parched regions, but one with risks — walking along them is dangerous due to quicksand. But these days, farmers in Mwithini no longer have to worry while they fetch water, thanks to the installation of a new solar-powered system that pumps water from the dams to a safe collection point for the community to use. Additionally, as countries around the world suffer increasingly severe droughts and water shortages, farmers and water experts say finding cheap, convenient, and non-polluting ways to access year-round water are more important than ever. (Via Good Good Good)
YouTubers are raising $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash from the ocean.
YouTubers all across the digital realm are banding together for a good cause: saving our oceans. #TeamSeas — an initiative by the popular YouTube account @mrbeast asks content creators to use their influence to raise awareness about the current state of our oceans. Their ambitious goal is to raise $30 million dollars by the end of the year to take 30 million pounds of trash out of the waters and partnering with popular YouTubers to spread the word. According to their research, even $1 will take out 1 pound of trash in the ocean. To reach their 30 million pound goal, they're partnering with with the @oceanconservatory to organize beach and in-ocean cleanups, and with @theoceancleanup, to focus on the rivers that contribute the 80% of trash that reach the oceans. (Via Good Good Good)
Transplant surgeons successfully tested a pig kidney in human.
Surgeons in New York successfully attached a kidney from a genetically altered pig to a brain-dead woman and the kidney worked with no signs of rejection. "It was better than I think we even expected," Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the team at NYU Langone Health, told The New York Times. "It just looked like any transplant I've ever done from a living donor. A lot of kidneys from deceased people don't work right away, and take days or weeks to start. This worked immediately." Experts in the field described the experiment as a scientific breakthrough that could lead to a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients. "It's a big, big deal," said Dr. Dorry Segev, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor of transplant surgery who was not involved in the research. Still, more work needs to be done. "We need to know more about the longevity of the organ," Segev said.
(Vai NY Times)
The largest Dutch pension fund announced it will no longer invest in fossil fuel companies.
Ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, the largest pension fund in The Netherlands announced it would top investing in fossil fuel companies. The Dutch ABP fund said the move was a longtime request from their members, and was prompted by recent climate reports. According to reporting from the Associated Press, ABP manages the pension savings of more than 3 million Dutch government and education workers. Nearly 3% of its assets, or $17.4 billion is currently invested in fossil fuels. The head of climate and energy at the Dutch branch of Greenpeace, Faiza Oulahsen, said it was “fantastic news in the fight against the climate crisis." “This step by ABP is extremely important and makes clear once again that the time of coal, oil and gas is passing,” Oulahsen said. “Quitting fossils is the only logical answer to scientists’ warnings. We also expect this step from other financiers, major polluters and governments.” “We want to contribute to minimizing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Large groups of pension participants and employers indicate how important this is to them,” ABP Chairman of the Board Corien Wortmann said in a statement. “The ABP Board sees the need and urgency for a change of course,” she added. “We part with our investments in fossil fuel producers because we see insufficient opportunity for us as a shareholder to push for the necessary, significant acceleration of the energy transition at these companies.” We expect to see more of this kind of good news in the near future — and are celebrating this milestone of progress as we work toward building a world without fossil fuels! (Via Good Good Good)
ON THE PANDEMIC FRONT…
The FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. — The Food and Drug Administration has backed emergency-use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. children ages 5 to 11. The decision, which was expected after FDA advisers endorsed the shots, marked one of the final steps toward making the two-shot regimen available to the roughly 28 million American children in this age group. Public health experts have called the move a major milestone in the fight against the pandemic. "Vaccinating younger children against COVID-19 will bring us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy," FDA acting commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement, adding that a review of test data showed the vaccine is safe and effective. (Via Washington Post)
The Supreme Court declined to block Maine's vaccine mandate for health care workers. — The Supreme Court declined to block Maine's coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers. The majority gave no reasons for the emergency ruling. The court's three most conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., and Neil Gorsuch — issued a dissent, saying the fact that the state's policy includes no religious exemption meant that "health care workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the last 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered. All for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs." Two other conservatives, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, filed a brief concurring opinion, siding with the majority and saying major decisions shouldn't be made "on a short fuse without benefit of full briefing and oral argument." (Via NY Times)
The NYC police union challenged its vaccine mandate in court. — New York City's largest police union filed a lawsuit asking a judge to let unvaccinated police officers keep working despite a vaccine mandate imposed by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. The Police Benevolent Association of New York said the city should give police officers the option of testing regularly, arguing that a "test-or-vax" rule would protect public safety. On the day the lawsuit was filed in Staten Island, where many officers live, a crowd that included fire, police, and sanitation workers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall, chanting, "We Will Not Comply." COVID-19 was the most common cause of officer duty-related deaths in 2020 and 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. (Via NY Times)
India celebrated its billionth coronavirus vaccine dose. — India administered its billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose, a milestone that signaled a sign of hope in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people after a devastating coronavirus surge this year fueled by the fast-spreading Delta variant. About half of India's population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and around 20 percent are fully vaccinated. India stepped up the pace of its vaccinations in the second half of the year after a slow vaccine rollout due to vaccine shortages and distribution problems. India is using two-dose vaccines, so accelerating the distribution of second doses is "an important priority," said V.K. Paul, head of the country's COVID-19 task force. "Complete coverage is absolutely critical," Paul said. (Via AP)
The CDC approved Moderna, J&J boosters and mix-and-match vaccines. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus boosters which will help fully vaccinated Americans at risk of severe COVID-19 to get the shots. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also agreed with the expert advisers and the Food and Drug Administration to let people mix-and-match vaccines, so eligible people will be able to choose a booster made by a different company than the one that made their initial vaccine. Walensky said in a statement Thursday night that the vaccines had been shown to be safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, "as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given." (Via Washington Post)
Annie Wu Henry is a journalist, social media expert and politics + pop culture junkie. On the cusp of being a gen-z and millennial she understands the power and privilege that social media holds and chooses to use her platform to utilize these tools for good. Through sharing news in digestible, entertaining and easy to understand content, Annie seeks to promote the message that anyone can be an activist and make an impact. She believes people are important and thrives on building meaningful connections with others through sharing our stories and perspectives. As a proud adopted Asian-American, her work focuses on equality, mental health, intersectionality and education.
