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Valerie Davidson says Native hospitals don’t have to honor religious exemptions because aren’t covered by Civil Rights Act of 1964

Suzanne Downing
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86
Valerie Davidson says Native hospitals don’t have to honor religious exemptions because aren’t covered by Civil Rights Act of 1964

The president of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium told a worker that the Native medical system in Alaska will not be honoring religious exemptions from having to take a Covid-19 vaccine because the system is tribally sovereign and is not covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In a letter to an employee who asked for the exemption, Davidson wrote that “Federal courts have found that mandating the COVID-19 vaccine is neither unconstitutional nor a violation of federal law and have dismissed lawsuits against employers who have mandated vaccination.”

Davidson wrote that “because ANTHC, as a tribal organization, is not subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the medical providers in the consortium may grant medical exemptions but not religious exemptions.

She also wrote that “Requiring COVID-19 vaccination does not violate the Nuremberg Code because the vaccines aren’t experimental. All the vaccines that are fully approved or approved for emergency use in the United States have already gone through clinical trials,” she said.

Davidson said that, so far as she knows, the Federal Employee Health benefit program that employees are signed up for will cover workers who suffer negative effects from the Covid-19 vaccinations. She said employees who suffer adverse reactions could apply to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program at https://www.hrsa.gov/cicp/about.

ANTHC co-manages the Alaska Native Medical Center with Southcentral Foundation. ANMC is a 150-bed facility with a staff of 250 physicians and 700 nurses, according to Wikipedia. It is also a level II trauma center. Davidson became president of the consortium this year. She previously was the commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services under Bill Walker, and became lieutenant governor briefly after Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott suddenly resigned. She is an Alaska Native from Bethel.

Mayor Bronson calls for calm, compassion on both sides of Covid debate

Suzanne Downing
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25
Mayor Bronson calls for calm, compassion on both sides of Covid debate

Anchorage Mayor David Bronson called for calm and compassion in Anchorage today, just prior to an expected Anchorage Assembly meeting, where the leftist members of the Assembly appear poised to enact a citywide mandatory mask law.

He also asked that people show respect and compassion to healthcare providers, and that hospitals reaffirm their commitment to treat all patients with dignity, compassion and respect, regardless of creed or personal belief.

“Good healthcare begins with trust between a patient and their physician.People should not be afraid that their doctors, hospitals, or healthcare providers might treat them differently because of their politics or personal choices, in particular their COVID vaccination status. On the other hand, health care providers – who have been on the front line of this pandemic since it began – deserve our respect and need our support. Patients should not be afraid of their doctors, and health care workers should feel they are appreciated by those they help. We agree that vaccination is the best way to reduce COVID infections, serious illness, and death and strongly encourage everyone  – in consultation with their health care provider – to get vaccinated. We also ask that each of our health care institutions reaffirm their commitment, in these tense times, to treat every patient with dignity, compassion, and respect regardless of creed or personal belief. We stand together, with you, to see our city through this. We are strongest united,” Bronson said.

While some members of the medical community have complained about patients acting out when they learn they have Covid-19, other medical workers say that doctors and nurses have shown extreme bias against unvaccinated patients. The Must Read Alaska series “Jab or no job” has told the stories of some of these workers, who choose to remain unvaccinated and who have witnessed extreme discrimination against themselves and patients.

Bronson will not be at the Anchorage Assembly meeting on Tuesday because he is quarantining for a week following exposure to Covid-19 last Thursday. Also absent from the meeting will be City Manager Amy Demboski and Municipal Attorney Patrick Bergt.

Read the “Jab or no job” series here:

Read: Part 1: Nurse losing job, after her medical exemption refused

Read: Part II: Pharmacist losing job

Part III: Southcentral Foundation employee losing job Oct. 15 over shot refusal

Part IV: Dozens of Alaskans come forward to tell their stories of being fired for not getting the shot

Part V: Military man getting discharged in Alaska for not taking jab

Part VI: Nurse says she sees too many blood clotting cases associated with jab, so she’s not taking it

Part VII: Bethel police investigator gets put on leave, won’t be returning to the force

Part VIII: Alaska Native man says unvaccinated patients are getting the shaft

Part IX: Sophies choice, between Moderna vaccine or childbearing?

Part X: Respiratory therapist describes growing underground of workers

Part XI: Supervisor says employees facing few options

Part XII: Founder of medical underground speaks about workers

Read: ICU Nurse: Let’s stop demeaning the unvaccinated

Read: Doctor says hospitals are not in crisis, not rationing care

Read: My doctor fired me because I won’t take the vaccine

Alaska’s official Covid-positive count falls to 464

Suzanne Downing
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10
Alaska’s official Covid-positive count falls to 464

The State of Alaska Covid dashboard reports only 464 positive diagnoses of Covid-19 yesterday, and the weekly drop is 9 percent over the previous week. There have been 4,239 positives tests in the past seven days, but some of those are repeat tests.

A week ago, 857 people were identified with new Covid infections, and that was a 28 percent drop from the week prior.

The count reported for Friday was 792.

Read: Case count is 792

186 Alaskans are hospitalized with Covid, with 26 on ventilators. Seven days ago, 194 were hospitalized with Covid and 38 were on ventilators.

Read: Oct. 5: 194 hospitalized and other data

There are 26 ICU beds available across the state and 309 non-ICU beds available.

Since Oct. 1, 59 Alaskans have been hospitalized with Covid and there have been 28 deaths attributed to the serious vascular and respiratory illness.

Jab or no job XII: The growing unvaccinated worker underground’s founder speaks

Suzanne Downing
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18
Jab or no job XII: The growing unvaccinated worker underground’s founder speaks

This is the 12th in a series of stories of people being fired from their jobs because they have declined to take the required Covid-19 vaccination. The identities of these workers are being kept confidential because they fear reprisal. More stories will be included in future editions of this series as it continues. Previous interviews in this series are listed and linked at the bottom of this story. Send your story to [email protected].

Jill is one of those medical workers in Anchorage who is preparing to lose her job. She has an autoimmune disorder and has had terrible reactions to vaccines in the past, reactions that included top-of-head to sole-of-feet hives.

But she’s doubtful the Anchorage hospital that employs her will give her a medical exemption, and so she’s ready to be fired. She just wants to see that termination in writing.

Jill is the young woman who started a support network of others like her in Anchorage. The group doesn’t have a name. It began with a group of 40 people who met at her home, but has grown by word of mouth to over 180. More request to join every day; they get her phone number from a friend and send her a text message, asking to be put on her email list. It’s informal, and it’s all about information sharing, especially scientific information.

There’s not much Jill can do for them. Their stories are a lot like hers, but each person has a unique situation, and each has to make their own decision about what to do in an era when they are being coerced, under threat of job loss, to take a medical treatment.

Jill has a note from her doctor, but that’s not likely to be honored, she said. There is some unknown board that will review her case. She had to fight to get that note, because her doctor was toeing the party line on Covid vaccinations and did a 180-degree switch on what he had recommended to her just months ago, when he told her not to get the vaccine. He all of a sudden had fallen in line with the group think about Covid-19.

She goes to work every day, keeps her mouth shut as she hears others being bullied about getting the Covid-19 vaccination, listens as healthcare workers insult those who aren’t vaccinated, and waits to find out if her medical exemption request will be honored. At night, she studies the studies, and those she finds valuable, she passes along to members of the group.

There are a lot of things that don’t make sense to Jill:

  • Why patients who are in car accidents and come in with broken legs are placed in a Covid bed just because they tested positive for Covid upon admittance.
  • Why every patient is tested, and yet for months on end none of the employees have been tested, and they are exposed to patients all day long every day.
  • Why the medical exemption form has only two reasons a person can be exempted: They’ve had a previous dose of the vaccine and had an adverse reaction, or they are known to have an anaphylactic allergy to a component in the vaccine. With a vaccine like this, who knows?

For Jill, she actually carries an epi-pen with her at all times, because her allergies are sudden and significant.

“There are a lot of people in the same boat. They have a medical reason, an auto-immune condition, they’re pregnant, or it’s simply their choice — they don’t want it,” she said.

Jill wants people to know that the vaccines being used are actually not completely approved. Only one version of the Pfizer vaccine for Covid is approved, and it’s not the version most people are getting.

The FDA says that the Pfizer vaccine Comirnaty has the same formulation as the Emergency Use Authorization Pfizer vaccine being used and is interchangeable. The FDA also says: “Providers can use doses distributed under EUA to administer the vaccination series as if the doses were the licensed vaccine. For purposes of administration, doses distributed under the EUA are interchangeable with the licensed dose.”

That is not good enough for Jill. She wants more studies and more time.

“I want to see who is funding the studies, and not studies that go back to Bill and Melinda Gates,” she said.

And so, Jill has become the go-to ear for the more than 180 medical professionals in Anchorage — and a few pilots and business owners — who want people to know there is a dissenting voice in medicine.

“We are not the only people struggling. There’a a good 40 percent of the population that is in our boat,” she said. “They are standing up for what they want done to their bodies.”

They primarily communicate by email. They don’t have a Facebook group, purposefully. The group isn’t some kind of insurrection or union, but more about support.

“They feel so isolated. They want a community. I, too, felt isolated, because I’m in the one percent of the population that has had serious adverse reactions to vaccines. This group started when a few of us went out for coffee and I discovered that I was not alone,” Jill said.

She disputes that doctors are being spit on by angry Covid-denier patients, a story that has circulated in the mainstream media.

“We are actually the ones being bullied,” she said. “People need to hear both sides of this.”

Read: Part 1: Nurse losing job, after her medical exemption refused

Read: Part II: Pharmacist losing job

Part III: Southcentral Foundation employee losing job Oct. 15 over shot refusal

Part IV: Dozens of Alaskans come forward to tell their stories of being fired for not getting the shot

Part V: Military man getting discharged in Alaska for not taking jab

Part VI: Nurse says she sees too many blood clotting cases associated with jab, so she’s not taking it

Part VII: Bethel police investigator gets put on leave, won’t be returning to the force

Part VIII: Alaska Native man says unvaccinated patients are getting the shaft

Part IX: Sophies choice, between Moderna vaccine or childbearing?

Part X: Respiratory therapist describes growing underground of workers

Part XI: Supervisor says employees facing few options

Part XII: Founder of medical underground speaks about workers

Read: ICU Nurse: Let’s stop demeaning the unvaccinated

Read: Doctor says hospitals are not in crisis, not rationing care

Read: My doctor fired me because I won’t take the vaccine

Gaslighting operation: Are socialists setting trap for flag-waving conservatives?

Suzanne Downing
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71
Gaslighting operation: Are socialists setting trap for flag-waving conservatives?

At recent hearings on the mask ordinance, the conservative pro-freedom, anti-mask-ordinance crowd has been in control and Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance has lost control.

The public has hollered, testified, sang the National Anthem, and shouted “USA, USA!”

All that could change on Tuesday night, Oct. 12, with the arrival of organized allied socialist groups intent on protesting what they call “Hate.”

They support the mask ordinance and the leftist Assembly’s attempt to take power from the mayor.

The convergence of these two groups — the Old Glory flag wavers and the socialists — could be incendiary and may lead to an unruly and unsafe situation at the Loussac Library, where the Assembly meets at 5 pm.

The socialist alliance plans to arrive at 4:30 pm in advance of the meeting. Social media shows that Indivisible is working to coordinate the confrontation:

“The Party for Socialism and Liberation Anchorage, Alaska Poor People’s Campaign, S’Up Alaska, Alaska Coalition of BIPOC Educators, The Alaska Center, Black Lives Matter Alaska, CannaCo and Sol de Medianoche are coming together to protest for an improvement to our democratic process and against the increased presence of a racist, anti-semitic, homophobic, and reactionary mob at the Assembly meetings this Tuesday October 12th, from 4:30-7:30pm,” the Indivisible Anchorage group wrote. The national Indivisible group describes itself as, “a grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.”

Hundreds of conservatives who have attended night after night to protest AO 2021-91 may intend to also attend the meeting but find the chambers already filled to capacity with the socialist protesters who are labeling them as “hate.”

In reality, the hearing is not on the agenda for tonight, but the Assembly is considering taking action on AO 2021-91 under an “emergency” provision it has available to it in the municipal charter. The Assembly, without having notified the public, appears intent on passing this ordinance, and no amount of public participation will stop them, according to those close to the matter.

This morning, activists who oppose the mask ordinance began telling their fellow activists to “stand down” and not attend the Assembly meeting tonight. That’s because the socialist side has the support of the majority on the Assembly.

Neither the mayor nor city manager will be attending the meeting in person due to Covid exposure. Assemblywomen Jamie Allard and Crystal Kennedy are among those quarantining.

The pro-ordinance group has asked that its participants wear masks tonight to the meeting. Actually, they have not asked, but stated in their flyers that for their participants, “masks required.”

Vaccine breakthrough cases rise in Alaska

Suzanne Downing
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50
Vaccine breakthrough cases rise in Alaska

The State of Alaska reports that since vaccines became available in Alaska in 2021, so-called “breakthrough” cases have been on the rise.

“Through the end of August 2021, a total of 6,223 vaccine breakthrough COVID-19 cases were documented among Alaska residents,” the State’s white paper on the subject said. “An additional 1,867 cases occurred among Alaska residents who were partially vaccinated. The incidence of COVID-19 among vaccinated persons has remained consistently lower than among persons who were not unvaccinated.”

But as time has gone on, the vaccines appear to be wearing off or not working as planned. It’s important to note that not many people were vaccinated in March, and that the number of Alaskans vaccinated has grown through the months. Fifty-nine percent of eligible Alaskans are fully vaccinated. That’s 356,414 Alaskans over the age of 12. Some 64 percent have had one dose of the vaccine so far.

But in August, the last month reported, over one third of cases of known Covid in Alaska were breakthrough cases. This occurred when 53.4 percent of eligible Alaskans were vaccinated.

Last week, Anchorage Municipal Attorney Patrick Bergt was diagnosed with Covid, even though he had two vaccines and a booster shot. The city’s attorney also known to consistently wear a face mask in public settings, sometimes wearing two face masks.

Other interesting items to note from the State of Alaska update is that 19 percent of those hospitalized in July and August for Covid had been fully vaccinated for Covid. This was during a timeframe when over 50 percent of eligible Alaskans were vaccinated.

As of October 3, among cases with specimen collection dates during or prior to August, 37 Covid-19 deaths were documented among fully vaccinated persons.

Of these, 31 (84 percent) occurred in July or August. During that same period, 86 Covid-19 deaths occurred in unvaccinated persons and 3 Covid-19 deaths occurred in partially vaccinated persons.

Accounting for age, calendar day, and region, unvaccinated persons died from Covid-19 at 9.8 times the rate of fully vaccinated persons. The state noted that the numbers may change as death certificates are completed and processed.

Reinfections are not insignificant. A total of 884 SARS-CoV-2 reinfections were documented among Alaska residents since the beginning of the pandemic. Six persons were reinfected twice (i.e., each were counted as a case 3 times).

Read the complete report:

COVID_monthly_updateDownload

Anchorage Assembly meeting Oct. 12

Suzanne Downing
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0

The regular Anchorage Assembly Meeting scheduled for Oct. 12 at 5 pm will proceed in person in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library, in spite of the Covid-19 outbreak on the dais last Thursday.

However, the three agenda items from Friday’s cancelled special assembly meeting will not be up for public hearing at this meeting.

The public hearing for AO 2021-91, the compulsory mask law, will be continued at a special meeting this Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 6 pm, with possible continuation to Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 pm.

The public hearing for AO 2021-92, the new rules for the mayor’s appointees, will move to the Regular Assembly Meeting of Oct. 27. This new ordinance that puts appointees on a fast track for their confirmations is intended to prevent the mayor from having appointees serving in acting positions for several weeks. Also, if his appointees are not presented for approval on the hastened schedule, the opponents of the mayor will have grounds for starting a recall.

The public hearing for AO 2021-90 will move to the Regular Assembly Meeting of Dec. 7. This is the ordinance that would give the Assembly control over all the space it occupies in city buildings, and give it the authority to remove members of the public is sees as undesirable to the process, as it did during the summer of 2020.

Chair LaFrance intends to take legal action against mayor, plans to hire law firm to sue over separation of powers issues

Chair LaFrance intends to take legal action against mayor, plans to hire law firm to sue over separation of powers issues

Suzanne Downing
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57
Chair LaFrance intends to take legal action against mayor, plans to hire law firm to sue over separation of powers issues

Anchorage Assembly Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance is proposing that the Assembly hire outside legal counsel to fight Mayor Dave Bronson on issues relating to separation of powers.

She will introduce a memorandum at the Oct. 12 meeting to spend $50,000 of taxpayer dollars to hire Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot to provide legal counsel to the Assembly regarding how “the new Mayor’s Administration organizes and implements operations, administrative and policy changes.”

LaFrance said in the memorandum the Assembly will vote on that “Members of the Administration have exacerbated some disputes over legislative and executive branch functions and authority.”

The contract with BHBC must be approved by the Assembly.

In recent weeks, the Assembly has attempted to subvert the authority of the mayor. It is considering an ordinance that would block the executive branch’s ability to oversee “overall municipal administrative policy, public safety, and operations” of the city, as provided by the Municipal charter.

In AO 2021-90, the Assembly majority seeks to take control of its own meeting space, which is currently governed by the Mayor’s Office. The Assembly majority wants to limit the members of the public that are allowed in the room, and force them to wear masks, but first must pass an ordinance giving itself that authority.

In another ordinance the majority is considering, AO 2021-92, the Assembly seeks to force the mayor to submit his appointees for confirmation immediately, so they may not remain in an acting position for several weeks before being confirmed or voted down.

At a recent meeting, a member of the Mayor’s staff removed the Plexiglas barricade that the Assembly has forced the public to stand behind when they speak to their representatives.

In previous meeting, Chairwoman LaFrance attempted to force Mayor Dave Bronson to sit in a seat not guarded by bulletproof lining, as the rest of the Assembly would continue to have, and she placed the nameplate of Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar in the mayor’s traditional spot. Dunbar lost to Bronson in the April election and May runoff.

Recent meetings have been filled with opposition to the Assembly majority and LaFrance has lost control of the meetings.

Tonight’s meeting may be hectic, as several groups associated with Black Lives Matter and other Anchorage socialist organizations have organized to attend and protest against what they see as “hate” among those who are objecting to the universal mask law, which the Assembly is likely to pass tonight on an emergency vote.

The emergence of the groups supporting the mask law have has shown up on social media, where they are organizing a confrontation and plan to be at the Loussac Library by 4:30 pm, as the meeting starts at 5 pm.

U.S. task force reverses itself: Low-dose aspirin can do more harm than good

Suzanne Downing
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54
U.S. task force reverses itself: Low-dose aspirin can do more harm than good

One of the most well-established and prescribed preventative medications for aging adults at risk of cardiovascular disease is likely to do more harm than good, according to an independent task force.

For decades, baby aspirin has been considered a safe and effective prophylactic for older adults. Such is the state of settled science and the finding is sure to be of interest in an era where a brand-new Covid vaccine is being forced on millions of Americans.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent organization of doctors, say doctors should stop prescribing a daily low-dose or baby aspirin to most people who are at risk for a first heart attack or stroke. They cite evidence that the side effects outweigh the benefits of this long-accepted preventive and over-the-counter medication, which is taken by millions of Americans to thwart blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

“People ages 40 to 59 who are at higher risk for CVD and do not have a history of CVD should decide with their clinician whether to start taking aspirin.This is a C grade. People age 60 or older should not start taking aspirin for heart disease and stroke prevention. This is a D grade,” the task force reported. D grade means it is not recommended, while C grade means it depends on the patient’s situation.

The draft guidelines were announced today. The group also will be reversing its own 2016 recommendations for use of low-dose aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer. The task force said new data that has come in shows the need for more research.

Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of mortality in the United States, accounting for about one in
three deaths.

“While daily aspirin use has been shown to lower the chance of having a first heart attack or stroke, it can also cause harm. The most serious potential harm is bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and brain. The chance of bleeding increases with age and can be life-threatening,” the group wrote in its summary of its findings.

“Based on new evidence since the 2016 Task Force recommendation, it is now recommended that once people turn 60 years old, they should not consider starting to take aspirin because the risk of bleeding cancels out the benefits of preventing heart disease. The latest information also shows a closer balance of benefits and harms than previously understood for people in their 50s and that starting aspirin use as young as 40 years old may have some benefit.”

Task Force member John Wong, M.D., was quoted by the group saying, “Daily aspirin use may help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people, but it can also cause potentially serious harms, such as internal bleeding. It’s important that people who are 40 to 59 years old and don’t have a history of heart disease have a conversation with their clinician to decide together if starting to take aspirin is right for them.”

The recommendation only applies to people who are at higher risk for CVD, have no history of CVD, and are not already taking daily aspirin. When deciding whether patients should start taking aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, clinicians should consider age, heart disease risk, and bleeding risk. It is also important to consider a patient’s values and preferences. If someone is already taking aspirin and has any questions, they should talk to their clinician about their individual circumstances, the task force said.

“The latest evidence is clear: starting a daily aspirin regimen in people who are 60 or older to prevent a first heart attack or stroke is not recommended,” says Task Force member Chien-Wen Tseng, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.E.E. “However, this Task Force recommendation is not for people already taking aspirin for a previous heart attack or stroke; they should continue to do so unless told otherwise by their clinician.”

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