ICWA Weekly News 1-10-24
Safeway risks company's reputation by promoting deadly shots; Call to Action - please raise your voice in Olympia; Be Brave Washington meets again; mask mandates return; radio show links; a meme or 2
ICWA Weekly News 1-10-24
In this issue:
Safeway Risks Corporate Reputation with Two-Shots-in-One-Visit Promotion
2024 Legislative Session opens in Olympia – Call to Action
Be Brave Washington Meets to “Make Change for a Better Way”
Mask Mandates Return to Some Washington Healthcare Facilities
Jan. 5 Radio Show Links
Safeway Risks Corporate Reputation with Two-Shots-in-One-Visit Promotion
The Safeway grocery chain started off the New Year last week apparently aiming to increase pharmacy department business. A fresh e-mail campaign encouraged families to get a COVID-19 shot along with a flu shot to receive a coercive ten-percent discount on their next grocery purchase*.
The asterisk * shows that the offer comes with complicated conditions and is capped at twenty dollars off a purchase – but no booze, smokes or fluid dairy (we guess that means milk)!
*Offer valid until 12/31/24 for receiving a qualifying immunization. Qualifying items do not include immunizations received in AR, immunizations received by customers under 60 years old in NJ and immunizations other than COVID-19 vaccines in NY. 10% off on a single grocery purchase of qualifying items up to $200 (up to $20 total value). $40 minimum purchase required. Must provide HIPAA Marketing Consent to confirm eligibility and receive pharmacy rewards. Must have a loyalty account. Offer discount provided as a digital coupon loaded to your loyalty account and automatically applied for your next grocery purchase in-store or online. Limit 1 coupon per transaction. Offer discount (and any qualifying grocery purchase where discount is applied) excludes prescription items, prescription co-payments, alcohol, tobacco, fuel, fluid dairy (including dairy substitutes), bus/commuter passes, fishing/hunting licenses and tags, stamps, money orders/transfers, ski/amusement park/event/lottery tickets, phone/gift cards, regulatory fees (e.g. bottle deposits, bag fees), and taxes. No monetary value. Cannot be transferred, sold, or exchanged. We reserve the right to modify/cancel the offer or correct errors. Void where prohibited by law. In the event of a return, coupon savings may be deducted from refund. Not valid toward previous purchase.
Safeway (part of Albertsons grocery company) has promised its shareholders they’ll work to increase pharmacy business, as confirmed in their just-released third quarter 2023 financial report:
“We delivered another solid quarter amidst a challenging economic backdrop," said Vivek Sankaran, CEO. "We want to thank all our teams for their commitment to serving our customers and communities. As we look ahead, our ambition is to create Customers for Life, in part through our focus on operational excellence in our stores, driving growth in our digital and pharmacy operations, and deepening our relationships with our customers.”
Time and again, the Washington Department of Health has made unsubstantiated claims that co-administration of the shots is effective while also failing to address any safety concerns. Businesses in the state take full advantage of this cavalier stance and promote co-administered shots to compete for sales as we’ve covered in a series of ICWA Weekly News articles. In the Nov. 21 issue of Weekly News, we traced through the claims looking for study data that supported effectiveness (or safety) of co-administration, ultimately to find this September 2023 paper titled Immunogenicity and Reactogenicity of Coadministration of COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccines. Here is the strongest conclusion the authors could claim:
Although this may not be generalizable to other COVID-19 vaccines, and further studies on vaccine efficacy could likely shed more light on the repercussions of this practice, we believe that our results suggest that the co-administration of this COVID-19 vaccine along with SIV is a feasible and harmless tactic to increase vaccine uptake.
Our Weekly News coverage of the unsubstantiated claims of co-administration safety and efficacy has laid bare the irresponsibility of organizations such as the Washington State Department of Health, county departments of health (e.g., King County), health maintenance organizations (e.g., Kaiser Permanente) and businesses like Safeway that have pharmacies. The overriding theme of our coverage was that more research needs to be done to make the claim that co-administration of these shots is effective. Perhaps more concerning, we didn’t find any cited studies to support the safety of co-administration.
So does Safeway provide a safe way to combat COVID-19?
The family of Victor Simoes doesn’t think so. We looked at back issues of the Defender to find Megan Radshaw’s article from 2021 about a 34-year old Seattleite who died soon after a COVID-19 shot.
Victor Castillo Simoes died May 5, 2021, from an acute aortic dissection — an uncommon medical emergency in which the inner layer of the large blood vessel branching off the heart’s aorta tears. The condition mostly affects men in their 60s and 70s.
In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Simoes’ mother, Henrietta Simoes, said her son’s only symptom was the chest pain he experienced shortly before he died.
Simoes, a senior manager at Amazon, received his first Pfizer shot on April 20, 2021, at a Seattle, Washington Safeway.
The VAERS number is 1690161.
Informed Choice Washington is saddened for Victor Simoes and his family. Since his survivors cannot sue Safeway, we only hope they’ve been able to find some solace by filing a claim with the COVID-19 Pandemic Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program. The solace would come from the act of filing, not from any compensation or acknowledgement of their suffering from the federal government. As of December 1, 2023, there have been 12,700 claims filed with 10 cases compensated. Amounts ranged from $1,171 to $8,961 for cases of myocarditis. The single compensated case of anaphylaxis was awarded $2,020.
What will happen to Safeway’s namesake reputation when the rest of the world finally wakes up and realizes the shots have horrible efficacy, that you can still catch and transmit the targeted disease? That each additional shot received actually increases risk of infection? And the legacy of harm may be passed down to future generations? So while Albertson’s/Safeway can’t be sued, their corporate officers should be open and honest with shareholders about the real possibility of reputational damage from tying their business so closely to dangerous pharmaceuticals built on the mRNA platform that was not—and is not—ready for the marketplace.
Call to Action in Olympia
ICWA’s first Call to Action of 2024 was sent to the mailboxes of the ICWA Action Team. Please look for that and follow through. If you’re reading this Weekly News on Substack, you are most likely signed up on our Action Team contact list. If you didn’t receive it, please check your spam folder. And if it’s not there either, please Join the Team to ensure you receive our separate emails to coordinate actions and to raise our voices together on critical issues in Olympia and elsewhere.
In summary, the following bills have been scheduled in a committee and the public is able to comment now:
We OPPOSE HB 1045, titled 'Creating the evergreen basic income pilot program'
We OPPOSE HB 2157 AND ITS IDENTICAL COMPANION BILL, SB 5982 ‘Updating the definition of "vaccine" in RCW 70.290.010 to include all federal food and drug administration-approved immunizations recommended by the centers for disease control and prevention’
Directions for how to submit comment in multiple ways (pro/con, written, verbal) are provided in the full Call to Action.
Be Brave Washington Meets to “Make Change for a Better Way”
Be Brave Washington kicked off 2024 with its first monthly meeting of the year last Wednesday. The advocacy group meets the first Wednesday of every month from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the VFW Building, 7011 Hannegan Road in Lynden.
After the seventeen attendees recited the “Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States,” Be Brave leader Misty Flowers announced that she had been elected vice-chair of the Republican Party in Whatcom County.
“I am proud to be vice-chair,” Misty said. “This shows that people are willing to listen to what Be Brave has been up to.”
Although Be Brave has been very active in the Whatcom County Council meetings, Misty went on to list ways that members could become further involved in the county.
Attending the city council meetings with the aim of establishing a consistent “council watch.”
Writing to local newspapers to help educate the public on important matters.
Calling in to Joe Teehan’s talk show on KGMI, broadcast from Bellingham Monday through Friday, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
One of the main topics of the meeting was on educating the public about vaccines. Misty discussed the need for Whatcom County to have its own vaccination adverse reaction tracking site to “increase accountability in our county.” In fact, one of the tables in the back of the meeting room had a “3 Reasons to Support a Local Vaccine Reaction Tracking System” flyer that dug into those reasons:
The CDC VAERS Tracking system has Failed
A Harvard Vaccine Injury Study conducted from 2007 to 2010 reveals on page 6, fewer than 1% of vaccine reactions and deaths are reported to VAERS. Doctors aren’t trained to identify or report vaccine injuries and deaths. Medical Examiners aren’t trained to identify or investigate vaccine deaths.Without a Local Tracking System, Local Vaccine Issues are Overlooked
The CDC VAERS System is capturing vaccine injury on a National Level at less than 1%. There is no opportunity to see a safety signal in local batches of vaccines without a transparent, fully functioning tracking system for uptake and injuries/deaths.Lack of Liability Encouraged Lack of Safety Oversight
1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and the PREP Act protect Vaccine Manufacturers and Distributors. There are few studies examining the effects of multiple vaccines given at one time. Vaccines aren’t tested for carcinogenic potential or for the potential to mutate cells, stated on every Vaccine Insert.
The study referenced in point number one was performed on data at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care system.
Point number three refers to the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. A detailed insider’s look at this act of injustice aired the day after the Be Brave meeting on Episode 353 of The Highwire titled “1986: The Untold Story.”
Also during her talk, Misty helpfully mentioned the Washington Department of Health vaccination Certificate of Exemption form for school entry. The Department of Health also publishes a Certificate of Exemption guide to help parents fill it out.
She went on to say that even though all the school districts in the county give out “get up-to-date” vaccination notices to parents, none of them mention exemption rights. According to Misty, the lone exception nowadays is the Ferndale School System. This change happened after six-year-old Daniel Ramirez died on October 30, 2016 after receiving multiple vaccinations to meet his school enrollment requirements.
Be Brave leader Natalie Chavez’s letter to the Whatcom County Council sums up this tragedy best:
Daniel Ramirez was a six-year-old boy in Whatcom County who died on October 30, 2016. There is an article online about him in the Bellingham Herald (October 2016) and The Washington Post (November 2016) about his "mysterious polio-like virus." There was actually nothing mysterious about Daniel's illness; his death was vaccine-related pure and simple. The vaccines (and neurotoxins) crossed his blood-brain barrier. His parents have already applied to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
As disheartening as the death of Daniel Ramirez was, it was just one of the many dire topics covered during the meeting that need to be addressed. Misty Flowers offered hope in her concluding remarks with “The New Year marks a time for us to make change for a better way.”
Learn more about Be Brave Washington and get involved with this fantastic regional group protecting health freedom and holding public officials accountable.
Mask Mandates Return to Some Washington Healthcare Facilities
The December 28, 2023 issue of the Epoch Times carried a story with the following subheading: “Masks are back in some locations in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington state.
Midway through the story, the article mentioned Washington:
In Washington state, Kaiser Permanente confirmed to local media that staffers who work in person with patients have to wear masks. Kaiser spokeswoman Linnae Riesen told The Spokesman-Review that masks are required for its workers but that patients and visitors aren’t required to wear them.
“Masks are not required but are strongly recommended for patients and visitors who do not have respiratory symptoms and are visiting low-risk areas of our medical facilities,” Kaiser Permanente’s guidance reads, according to the media outlet.
The end of the December 26, 2023 article in The Spokesman Review mentioned that the masking was not due to COVID-19:
Rather than COVID-19, the primary culprit for the return to masking is RSV, another respiratory virus.
According to data collected through Dec. 16, RSV makes up 0.8% of hospitalizations statewide. According to MultiCare guidelines, that metric needs to be below 0.3% of hospital admissions in a given area to lift the mask mandate.
The two aforementioned articles did not mention the masking mandates put into effect during a COVID-19 outbreak, or any recent outbreak mandates like one that occurred last week at the Washington Veteran’s Home in Port Orchard. In the one unit where the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, a surgical mask or N95 mask was required for any staff member or visitor inside the unit or passing through the halls that ran alongside the unit. A wastebasket at the building’s main entrance/exit was filled with used surgical masks.
P.S. Masks do not prevent infection or transmission of RSV, either. Read mask package labels.
January 5 Episode of Informed Life Radio – Notes and Links
Health Hour Guest: Sarah Kotlerman
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Chiropractic’? Perhaps you associate this type of care with back pain or sore joints. But this type of alternative medicine is more than just a simple ‘pop’ and ‘crack’ felt in the bones. At its core, the goal of chiropractic is to remove nervous system interference and allow for the body to do its ‘natural healing.’ Sarah Kotlerman, DC breaks down the details.
Dr. Kotlerman works with the Averio Health Institute
Five Most Important Chiropractic Studies for the Average Person
Effects of Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation on EEG in Stroke Patients (mdpi.com)
Liberty Hour Guests: Brad Miller, Rob Green
In their ‘Declaration of Military Accountability,’ authors allege ‘avaricious corruption’ within U.S. institutions, pertaining to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, including denial of informed consent, ‘unwilling medical experimentation,’ suppression of religious freedoms and more. The document calls for specific measures to be taken in order to ensure accountability is executed and future ‘leadership failures’ are circumvented. Discover the details with former Army lieutenant colonel Brad Miller and naval commander Rob Green.
Declaration of Military Accountability announcement on X.com
Sign the Petition: Military Accountability site
Meme of the week on memory of Daniel Ramirez (6) and Victor Simoes (34):
And if you needed a mask efficacy reminder:
Danny Ramirez is remembered here: https://www.facebook.com/prayingfordanielramirezporter/. Pray for him, his family and others who unwittingly learn the risk. The national press covered his story as caused by Acute Flaccid Myelitis, which is polio by any other definition.
Other coverage: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/6-year-old-dies-of-rare-polio-like-mystery-illness/
https://abc7chicago.com/mystery-illness-polio-daniel-ramirez-boy-dies/1585286/