Alex Jones is a far-right conspiracy theorist profiting off a huge fake news empire via his InfoWars website, talk shows, and consumer products, who personally "helped jumpstart" the January 6 insurrection. Which is why it's completely unacceptable that Amazon sells Jones' merchandise and dietary supplements, even going so far as to host his online storefront. Facebook, Apple, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Spotify, and PayPal have all banned Alex Jones for hate speech violations. Amazon forced Parler, a far-right social media platform, offline by suspending them from their AWS hosting platform after the January 6 insurrection, ultimately causing Parler to go into hibernation for months. And yet, Amazon is fine collecting their 15% off of Jones' Super Male Vitality Natural Stamina Liquid Drops and other unregulated so-called nutritional supplements. It's time for Amazon to pull the InfoWars Store and stop profiting off of hate speech peddler Alex Jones.

Ever since the launch of the Safe Travels program in October 2020, Maui County has been struggling with rising COVID 19 cases endangering the health, safety and economic recovery of the residents and businesses in Maui County. Since December 24, 2020, Maui County has been experiencing the highest per capita case counts in the State. The last few weeks Maui County has also had the highest testing positivity rates in the State. A Special Committee composed of public health experts including local DOH staff and other medical professionals, small business owners, County officials and nonprofit partners could help Maui bring its COVID numbers down, prioritize effective public health and safety expenditures, improve public information and enforcement of mask use and other safety protocols, streamline the vaccination process and accelerate the overall recovery process for the County. Unlike any private COVID task forces convened by the Mayor, a Special COVID19 Committee authorized by the County Council would be an open and transparent policy advisory body that is subject to public meeting and records laws.

The absences of long-term care coverage in Medicare is one of the biggest, and most tragic omissions in the care it pays for. Without this change in Medicare coverage, long-term care recipients and their immediate families are forced to liquidate everything they ever owned to pay for care, until they are so impoverished that they become eligible for Medicaid. Care facilities currently are notoriously fraught with nightmarish inadequacies, as Medicare's own review process, as well as state level reviews, demonstrates, and this is true throughout the US. Making them dependent upon Medicare for funding will impose accountability on them and result not only in more people who need it getting care but in all patients who need such care getting a high standard of care.

The following statements are from Service Industry Workers in Kent County: As a service industry worker I had to go back to work because my family relies on me and unemployment is a nightmare. Since being back to work everyday customers refuse to stay masked and cuss at us for following the Covid guidelines to keep the community safe. We endure name calling, harsh attitudes, terrible tipping and overall unsafe conditions no matter how hard we stick to the guidelines. The only way to work safely is to make sure those of us on the front line are vaccinated. We risk getting our loved ones sick by being exposed to people who have no respect for the general population. Our mental and physical health are being put at risk every time we are serving a new table. Vaccinate all people working with the general public or close these facilities until we can. We can't keep putting people at risk. - Kim, bartender I'm a server and a host at a breakfast restaurant downtown Grand Rapids, working during the pandemic has been really hard. Our waits are far longer due to being at 25%, now 50% capacity, and people are not understanding whatsoever. We also have had so much trouble about people wearing masks. We have full on arguments at the door because people don't want to wear them. These people don't realize my job is at stake, my money to pay my bills and keep me going is at stake. To them it's just a meal. - Anonymous, server/host I work for creative dining services at Aquinas and a few weeks ago there was an employee that got Covid and they were hush hush about it. Students are constantly coming in improperly wearing their masks and eating while standing and making my job more difficult. I work full time and i’m scared i’m gonna get Covid because of this recklessness. - Sonny, supervisor

There is a reason the Center for Disease Control made the guidance for Phase 1C of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out to include people aged 16 - 64 years with underlying medical conditions and disabilities, which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications and death from COVID-19. However and despite this guidance, in recent weeks thirty states de-prioritized these people in COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the name of efficiency and equity. It is common sense to prioritize vulnerable Americans. In the past twelve months, over half of a million people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. 94% of these were Americans with comorbidities. The guidance is not just that of the Center for Disease Control. An analysis by FAIR Health, in collaboration with the West Health Institute and Johns Hopkins' Marty Makary, found that COVID-19 patients with developmental disorders are the most at risk of dying, followed by those with lung cancer and intellectual disabilities, regardless of age. And now, recent studies from leading immunologists in Boston show mutations are incubated in autoimmune disease patients, creating strains that are sometimes undetectable to testing and impervious to current COVID-19 treatments. Studies from John Hopkins found that people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s can catch the virus. Some develop severe and lasting symptoms, particularly if they have comorbidities or underlying conditions (such as obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure (hypertension)). Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine, and 2.7% died. The majority of these patients had comorbidities. This in-hospital mortality rate is lower than that reported for older adults with COVID-19, but approximately double that of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. And the data is there in other parts of the world—the United Kingdom recently announced that sixty percent of their COVID-19 deaths were those with disabilities. In Australia, disabled people are five times more likely to die. Unlike the UK and AU, the United States does not collect data the same way it collects data on race or gender identity, meaning the 94% could be a low figure. Unfortunately, the majority of state vaccine rollout plans are based on state data. However, many states do not track numerous underlying conditions and disabilities within their health departments as they do other demographics such as race, age, and gender. But we know now that these are individuals at risk for bad outcomes and death from COVID-19; second to age is an underlying condition and disability such as developmental disabilities. To make matters worse, “disability activists, chronic illness advocates, and people with disabilities and underlying conditions have pointed to three main failures in inequitable vaccine rollouts: eligibility lists that do not include all those who are considered high risk; states that have not prioritized people with disabilities; and websites or vaccination sites that are not accessible, as author Cecilia Nowell wrote in her article "This women-made tool could help get more disabled people vaccinated" in The Lily. We implore the National Governors Association to re-prioritize those in thirty states who are vulnerable and have a disability. We demand vulnerable and disabled people are included in phase 1C of ALL states' vaccine rollouts, that vaccine sign-up and sites are accessible, and that states provide a choice of vaccines to those with conditions or disabilities who require choice due to their unique medical needs. Sign our petition to tell the National Governors Association to stop ignoring the vulnerable and disabled Americans and demand equity in COVID-19 state public health plans. Re-prioritize them for vaccination in the thirty states that have de-prioritized them by including them in Phase 1C. We will update you on our upcoming letter to the National Governors Association that will include this petition and other actions you can take as the campaign develops. Please stay tuned. Sincerely, Vulnerable Advocates Collective https://bit.ly/vacpact The Vulnerable Advocates Collective, or VAC Pact, is a group of activists dedicated to amplifying the voices of the vulnerable people and disabled people erased from the equity conversation. Full Plain Text Petition with Works Cited: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bma65ujyZAygUQcJ11ZEtHDi1Soh7Wc9_zKJtmT8J4M/edit?usp=sharing

With few interstate travel restrictions, a sick Texas means the pandemic continues unabated in the United States. 1. Only 1/5 of Texans have been vaccinated and the declaration that we have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) does not square with the reality that teachers, domestic workers and other essential personnel continue without material or policy protections. 2. It is gratuitous to acknowledge that we have “adopted the daily habits that reduce risk of covid-19 exposure and transmission” and then to remove statewide mask mandates. We need to support Texans to continue safe practices. 3. Abbott draws equivalence with active cases in November. Test positivity now is where it was in November - around 11-12%. By January, it had escalated to 20%. This same pattern was noted over the summer. And now we want to open everything up again right before spring break. 4. Regardless of covid-hospitalizations, county governments across 254 counties are being denied purview over reducing capacity of any entity below 50%. With what public health rationale?

1. Only 1/5 of Texans have been vaccinated and the declaration that we have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) does not square with the reality that teachers, domestic workers and other essential personnel continue without material or policy protections. 2. It is gratuitous to acknowledge that we have “adopted the daily habits that reduce risk of covid-19 exposure and transmission” and then to remove statewide mask mandates. We need to support Texans to continue safe practices. 3. Abbott draws equivalence with active cases in November. Test positivity now is where it was in November - around 11-12%. By January, it had escalated to 20%. This same pattern was noted over the summer. And now we want to open everything up again right before spring break. 4. Regardless of covid-hospitalizations, county governments across 254 counties are being denied purview over reducing capacity of any entity below 50%. With what public health rationale?

In the COVID-19 rollout plan for Massachusetts, teachers and academic instructors are included in Phase 3, effectively putting them in line with the general public. Teachers have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to provide a semblance of normalcy to a disrupted academic year to the students of Massachusetts and will continue to do so moving forward, and should be protected by the vaccine immediately. As districts throughout the state are returning more students to in-person, full-time instruction, this is a change that needs to take place as soon as possible.  To all the parents of school-aged children here in MA, if you truly want your children to be safely back in-person, please make yourselves heard! Please join me in telling Governor Baker and the Massachusetts Vaccine Advisory Group that teachers deserve better and should be included in Phase 2 distribution of the vaccine (and is consistent with where other states have prioritized this profession).

We have a right to clean air. In light of the recent fire at EMR, reports of air pollution, explosions and smells coming from the various industries in our community, hearing that GP Gypsum wants to increase their output extensively is extremely distressing and should be unconscionable considering we are designated as an Environmental Justice community. What does that designation mean if not that there is a dire need to reduce emissions and not allow them to increase? We love our community, and we need it to be healthy. Increasing emissions from any source in the neighborhood would be a huge step back and jeopardize public health in a City where childhood asthma rates are an alarming 33% (compared to 9% in NJ). We need the Department of Environmental Protection to protect our community from increased pollution and risk!

Representatives from ARC-SouthWest and South first were requested to stay at home until further notice. We were not offered to work from home, just like we have been doing since Covid started. This time, we were not offered any type of solution besides staying at home. On 2/22/21, we were ask to either use PTO or not get paid. There is a third option that upper management decided to ignore "reserved PTO" which is used for "emergencies". However, this option was never offered. This is hurtful, as an ARC employee I feel used. We have been working throughout Covid19 since March of 2020. We never complained about not getting hazardous pay or a raise. This is completely unfair and it should be illegal to steal PTO from employees. Upper management has been stepping all over us, as employee appreciation we got 1 canned water container from Rainwater... Why not using that money and give us at least a .5 raise? In the meantime we are opening 2 new clinics in Austin Texas. Please look into this, is not only ARC, other companies are following the steps of ARC. To top the cherry, most of our spouses are getting covered by "hazardous weather" and they get to keep their hard earned PTO. ARC needs to be brought to light and exposed their unfair treatment to their employees. I know we are not HEB but they should act better than this. Thank you for your time and consideration. Att: Really pissed off ARC employee

Democrats are in charge of the Senate -- and they’re vowing to use their majority to make cannabis legal.1 When Mitch McConnell was Senate Majority Leader any cannabis legalization bill was dead on arrival. But guess who’s not running the Senate anymore? Now we have a clear and urgent pathway to legalize cannabis and pass restorative justice reforms to address the millions of people harmed by the disastrous “War on Drugs.” Sign the petition: Tell Congress to repeal the cannabis ban and pass restorative justice reforms now! Back in November, along with electing President Joe Biden, every cannabis legalization or decriminalization initiative won at the ballot box.2 That’s a clear mandate. Of course, legalization is only part of the process. Right now, even though cannabis is legal in 15 states and DC, an estimated 40,000 people are still in jail for cannabis offenses.3 Democrats in Congress have been introducing bills to legalize cannabis and restore justice for low-level drug offenders for years. But Senator Mitch McConnell blocked cannabis legalization in the Senate. But McConnell no longer runs the Senate, and Democrats control Congress and the White House -- for now. If we want to see an end to the “War on Drugs,” then Democrats need to act now. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to repeal the cannabis ban and pass restorative justice reforms now! Sources: 1. CNBC, “Democratic senators will push to pass pot reform bill this year,” February 1, 2021. 2. Ibid. 3. Forbes, “With 40,000 Americans Incarcerated For Marijuana Offenses, The Cannabis Industry Needs To Step Up, Activists Said This Week,” June 26, 2020.

A nonprofit organization, COVAX, will help with distribution of more than 800,000 of the Astra Zeneca Covid vaccines to the Guatemalan government. These 800,000 vaccines will give priority to vaccinating healthcare workers. However, these 800,000 doses will only be enough to vaccinate approximately 2% of the Guatemalan population, given that two doses are required. Moreover, the efficacy of this vaccine after the 2nd dose is only 70%, which is a much lower efficacy than those vaccines being given in the U.S. Most of the population of Guatemala cannot expect to receive vaccines until at least the end of 2022.