Childrens Healt Defense

CHD Responds to New York State’s Decision to End COVID Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Rochester, NY  — On Wednesday morning, an appellate court was scheduled to hear oral arguments on New York State's (NYS) appeal of a Children's Health Defense (CHD) sponsored lawsuit regarding the Jan. 13 decision by New York Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri who struck down New York's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers as unconstitutional and therefore null, void and unenforceable. Instead of the expected argument on the merits of the case, attorneys for the State announced they intend to drop that mandate, asking the court to withdraw their appeal but still overturn the lower court's decision — without looking at the merits on the grounds that it is now moot.

Attorneys for the Plaintiffs opposed this offer from the state because it opens the possibility that this constitutional violation could happen again and ruin many more lives.

"This is a clear sign of the strength of the lower court victory where the mandate was rescinded and ruled unconstitutional," said Sujata Gibson, lead attorney for the Plaintiffs. "The law does not allow an agency to voluntarily stop an illegal activity and then claim they shouldn't be held legally accountable."

"Accountability is critical here. The lives of over 30,000 healthcare workers were devastated by this mandate," said CHD Acting General Counsel Kim Mack Rosenberg. "Judge Neri's well-reasoned decision was a significant victory for those workers that New York State would like to sweep under the rug. That is not acceptable."

According to Gibson:

"NY State misrepresented itself in court on Wednesday by not clarifying the lengthy process required to rescind the mandate. A public comment period and hearings need to take place for the mandate to be rescinded.

"Moreover, there has been no official announcement. The attorney for the state has asked the court to take them at their word that they will eventually rescind the mandate."

###

Children's Health Defense® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. For more information or to donate to CHD and our ongoing lawsuits, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post CHD Responds to New York State's Decision to End COVID Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers appeared first on Children's Health Defense.

CHD Responds to First Payouts From the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program to 3 Individuals Injured by COVID Vaccines

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. – According to Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), as of April 1, three out of the 8,133 individuals who filed claims after suffering "injuries/death from COVID-19 vaccines" were compensated through the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).

The payments consisted of the following:

• $2,019.55 for anaphylaxis;
• $1,582.65 for myocarditis;
• $1,032.69 for myocarditis.

Prior to these payouts, none of the 287,651 serious injuries or 35,048 deaths reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) as of March 31 had been compensated under the CICP — the only program available for U.S. citizens injured by a COVID-19 vaccine or countermeasure under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.

"These long-awaited payments were overdue, highly anticipated and speculated upon. What is remarkable is that less than $5,000 was paid – total," said Children's Health Defense (CHD) Acting General Counsel Kim Mack Rosenberg. "This is a tragedy and highlights the severe limitations of the program."

Under CICP, individuals have one year to file a claim from the date of vaccination. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eligible individuals may be compensated for medical expenses and lost income, as well as death benefits to survivors of individuals who died as a direct result of injury caused by a covered countermeasure.

The [CICP] is a Federal program that provides benefits for

serious injuries that occur as a result of the administration or use of a covered countermeasure. Countermeasures are vaccines, antivirals, drugs, biologics, or medical devices used to diagnose, prevent, or treat, a declared pandemic, epidemic, or security threat.

This Program was established by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 (PREP Act),

42 U.S.C. § 247d-6e. The PREP Act also confers broad liability protections covering the manufacture, testing, development, distribution, or use of the designated covered countermeasure.

"A payout of roughly $1,000 for myocarditis when the mortality rate increases to 50% within five years of diagnosis is absolutely insulting," said CHD Acting President Laura Bono. "Like the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program that compensates all other vaccine injuries, the CICP is a pathetic, government-run program that gives complete liability protection to the very industries profiting from the COVID vaccine or product. While victims linger with their injuries, paying out-of-pocket for expenses, or at worst die, the industries run to the bank."

###

Children's Health Defense® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. For more information or to donate to CHD and our ongoing lawsuits, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post CHD Responds to First Payouts From the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program to 3 Individuals Injured by COVID Vaccines appeared first on Children's Health Defense.

RFK, Jr. Calls on DOT Secretary Buttigieg to Investigate Spike in Airline Near-Misses Caused by Pilot Health Emergencies

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today called on U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to investigate the spike in near-misses and narrowly averted airline accidents resulting from pilots incapacitated by health emergencies since 2021, coinciding with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the U.S.

In a letter to Buttigieg, Kennedy wrote:

"Secretary Buttigieg, the safety of pilots, cabin crew, airline passengers, and the general public is not and never has been a partisan issue. Everything contained within this letter pertains to fundamental issues of public health and safety, which you, the DOT, the FAA, and the Biden Administration profess to uphold and to protect.

The changes to FAA guidelines and the lack of publicly available evidence on which these changes rest, along with the increasing number of incidents involving the incapacitation or vaccine-related injury of pilots, are highly concerning."

A Children's Health Defense (CHD) analysis of raw data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined there was a marked increase, on a per-flight basis, in medical emergency-related flight diversions in both 2021 and 2022, compared to 2019 and prior years, Kennedy said.

Similarly, there was a marked increase in medical emergency diversions on a per-passenger basis in 2021 compared to 2019 and prior years, while the 2022 figure is higher than those for 2018 and 2019, indicating an increase in medical emergencies occurring in the air, when adjusted for the reduced number of flights and passengers in the 2021 and 2022 calendar years compared to the pre-2020 period.

Kennedy said the FAA violated its own guidelines by recommending COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use for pilots, contrary to the agency's policy of prohibiting pilots from taking any medical product that has been on the market for less than 12 months.

Kennedy's 13-page letter citing 69 sources detailed evidence the FAA loosened medical restrictions for conditions such as myocarditis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, both documented adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines.

The letter outlines 12 questions Kennedy said Buttigieg and the FAA need to answer for the American public and demands a thorough investigation into whether COVID-19 vaccines may be endangering pilots, flight crews and the public.

# # #

Children's Health Defense is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. For more information or if you'd like to donate to CHD and our ongoing lawsuits, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post RFK, Jr. Calls on DOT Secretary Buttigieg to Investigate Spike in Airline Near-Misses Caused by Pilot Health Emergencies appeared first on Children's Health Defense.

Class Action Lawsuit Against Biden Admin et al. Alleging Collusion to Suppress Free Speech

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Monroe, LA — On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Children's Health Defense (CHD) et al., filed a class action lawsuit against President Joe Biden and numerous other federal agents and agencies in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division. The complaint alleges that the defendants have colluded with, encouraged and pressured social media companies to suppress speech that the government does not want the public to hear and to silence specific speakers who are critical of federal policy.

This class action, brought on behalf of all Americans who access the news from social media platforms, seeks nationwide injunctive relief on behalf of those Americans. Instead of seeking monetary damages, the claim asks the court to declare that the Defendants' conduct violates the First Amendment and to prohibit them from engaging in any form of social media censorship in the future.

The complaint calls the government's campaign to censor online speech one of "the gravest threats to free speech this country has ever faced."

"Because of the historically unprecedented power wielded by a handful of behemoth social-media companies over the content of American public discourse, the federal government's systematic campaign to induce these companies to censor speech is among the gravest threats to free speech this country has ever faced. …

Since 2020, an army of federal officers, at every level of the government—from the White House itself to the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, the CDC, the Office of the Surgeon General, and numerous less-well-known federal entities—has been engaged in the effort to induce those companies to censor constitutionally protected speech."

"U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said, 'Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.' It also violates the constitution," CHD Chairman and Chief Litigation Counsel Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said. "The collaboration between the White House and health and intelligence agency bureaucrats to silence criticism of presidential policies is an assault on the most fundamental foundation stone of American Democracy."

"The most serious threat to free speech of our time—and probably one of the most serious in the nation's history—is the federal government's massive, concerted and extraordinarily successful effort to get social media companies to censor ideas and information the government doesn't want people to see, say or hear," said Jed Rubenfeld, co-counsel for Plaintiffs. "This lawsuit challenges that censorship campaign, and we hope to bring it to an end. The real victim is the public, which is why we've brought this suit as a class action on behalf of everyone who accesses news from social media."

CHD President and General Counsel Mary Holland said, "If Government can censor its critics, there is no atrocity it cannot commit. The public has been deprived of truthful, life-and-death information over the last three years; this lawsuit aims to have government censorship end, as it must, because it is unlawful under our constitution."

Representing the Plaintiffs in addition to Mr. Rubenfeld is Louisiana Attorney G. Shelly Maturin, II.

# # #

About Children's Health Defense:

Children's Health Defense® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. For more information or to donate to CHD and our ongoing lawsuits, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post Class Action Lawsuit Against Biden Admin et al. Alleging Collusion to Suppress Free Speech appeared first on Children's Health Defense.

CHD Responds to Significant Increase in Autism Prevalence: 1 in 36 Children

Press Statement

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, reporting 1 in 36 (2.8%) 8-year-old children — 4% of boys and 1% of girls — have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), based on an analysis of data from 2020. Since the CDC began collecting data, prevalence estimates have skyrocketed from 1 in 150 in 2000 to today's estimate of 1 in 36 children.

In response to the CDC's announcement, Children's Health Defense (CHD) Chairman and Chief Litigation Counsel Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said:

It's clear why CDC steadfastly refuses to investigate the cause of the exploding Autism epidemic, a national cataclysm that dwarfs the devastating impacts from COVID-19: The principal culprits are regulatory capture and poorly tested vaccines.

President and General Counsel Mary Holland said:

These new data — that 4% of boys and 1% of girls at age 8 — have an autism spectrum disorder — are a profound indictment of the CDC. It is willful blindness to knowingly and intentionally look away from the true causes of autism for over twenty years — during which time the rates have risen above 300% — is nothing short of criminal. The country and the world desperately need new leadership to defend children's health.

Brian Hooker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for CHD said:

The CDC gives no rationale for the shocking increase in the incidence of autism in children in the U.S. except for better diagnosing and better access to services. We know that this is ludicrous, especially given the higher incidences of autism seen in underserved minority children and the alarming rate of autism with intellectual disability in Black children. It's time for real answers as to what is driving this ever-increasing epidemic.

# # #

Children's Health Defense® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. For more information or to donate to CHD, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post CHD Responds to Significant Increase in Autism Prevalence: 1 in 36 Children appeared first on Children's Health Defense.

CHD and California Community Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Los Angeles County Over New Wireless Antenna Ordinances

Press Release

For Immediate Release

The lawsuit alleges that the ordinances passed on Jan. 10 flout environmental laws, violate due process rights, and ignore safety concerns

Los Angeles, CA — Children's Health Defense (CHD) and a coalition of community and environmental groups advocating for safe technology filed a lawsuit on Monday against Los Angeles (L.A.) County in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The suit contends that the recently adopted amendments to Title 16 and Title 22 (the ordinances) of the L.A. County Code — which allow for the fast-tracked proliferation of wireless infrastructure — violate the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by exempting projects under the ordinances from CEQA review. The lawsuit also asserts that the ordinances raise constitutional due process concerns in relation to wireless projects that directly impact local residents, who will suffer significant losses of personal and real property rights without the ability to contest. The plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction and petitions the court for a temporary stay and restraining order and preliminary injunction, pending resolution of the lawsuit.

The complaint points to multiple examples of what plaintiffs state violates  CEQA, the California Constitution and the board's own rule.

"The Ordinance creates the framework for permitting thousands of wireless facilities throughout … the County. The Board of Supervisors purposefully and unlawfully blinded themselves to the significant and adverse consequences to its local communities and the environment that will occur as a direct result of this Project.

"A wireless project can often so sicken local residents that it constructively evicts whole families who can no longer tolerate continuous exposure to non-ionizing radiation emitted from small cell and macro cell towers. This situation is especially tragic for poor and minority families who are holding on desperately to affordable housing and lack any financial means of escape. Basic justice demands that these families … be given adequate prior notice and a fair hearing before their voices are silenced, their property is taken or devalued, or their lives are put at risk.

"The wireless facilities will endanger the air, water, flora, fauna, and objects of historic or aesthetic significance. The wireless facilities are not designed to withstand earthquakes or floods and will create new risks of fire."

The coalition bringing the lawsuit includes Fiber First LA, Mothers of East LA, Boyle Heights Community Partners, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and Union Binacional de Organizaciones de Trabajadores Mexicanos Ex Braceros 1942-1964, amongst other groups.

"The right of citizens to have a voice in important decisions about their health, their safety and their future is fundamental to American democracy," said Brenda Martinez, founding member of Fiber First LA. "The L.A. Board of Supervisors has clearly put the interests of giant telecoms ahead of the interests of the people they're supposed to represent. There's no other reason to take away the right of people in our community to be heard."

"The ordinance is purposefully designed to create a back-room, tower permit rubber-stamp process that excludes the public and even nearby residents that will be directly affected and aggrieved," said W. Scott McCollough, attorney for the plaintiffs. "The ordinance does—and individual permit decisions will—entirely ignore the environmental and other effects on people. It will exacerbate, not solve, the digital divide."

# # #

Children's Health Defense® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. For more information or to donate to CHD, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.

The post CHD and California Community Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Los Angeles County Over New Wireless Antenna Ordinances appeared first on Children's Health Defense.