Beyond free speech: Anti-vaccine protesters temporarily shut down vaccine site in Los Angeles

From The Washington Post, “Anti-vaccine protesters temporarily shut down major coronavirus vaccine site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles” by Meryl Kornfield, 1/30/21:

“One of the largest vaccination sites in the country briefly shut down Saturday afternoon because maskless, anti-vaccine protesters blocked the entrance, officials said.

“For nearly an hour, thousands of motorists in line to get a coronavirus vaccine shot at Dodger Stadium were stalled as about 50 people demonstrating against immunization efforts caused officials to temporarily close the site’s gates, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz told The Washington Post. The protest had no impact on the number of shots given Saturday at the site, which can vaccinate 8,000 people a day, Ortiz said.”

The temporary shutdown complicated the already stressful process of getting vaccinated with vaccines in limited supply and in high demand.

According to The L.A. Times, “Confirmed coronavirus cases in California have surpassed 3.2 million. More than 40,000 people — one in every 1,000 Californians — have died from complications of COVID-19. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s official death toll stands at 16,647 after 316 fatalities were confirmed Saturday [emphasis added], along with more than 6,900 new cases.” Variants of the coronavirus that make the virus more transmissible continue to spread in L.A. County.

The protests were organized on social media and "...advised participants to 'please refrain from wearing Trump/MAGA attire as we want our statement to resonate with the sheeple. No flags but informational signs only.'"  The protest, however, was not only about the COVID vaccine, but had the purposeful effect of spreading disinformation about a wide-range of conspiracies - “This is a sharing information protest and march against everything COVID, Vaccine, PCR Tests, Lockdowns, Masks, Fauci, Gates, Newsom, China, digital tracking, etc.”

Meanwhile, “Following demonstrations by anti-mask groups at shopping malls, grocery stores and homeless encampments, the Los Angeles City Council earlier this month bolstered restrictions and subjected some violators to financial penalties.”

I trust the will of the "sheeple", more than I trust the politically motivated exploitation of people with unfounded fear and disinformation.

If you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t wear one, but then don’t go into places such as private businesses that require masks to protect their customers and employees. If you don’t want a vaccine, don’t get one, but don’t get in the way of people who want to get vaccinated to prevent themselves from getting sick or worse from COVID and to prevent the spread of the virus that has caused the worst pandemic in 100 years.  

The Barker boys, Danny and Ian, live in a group home with four other severely and profoundly disabled residents, all of whom are medically vulnerable to the worst effects of this virus. They all received their second Pfizer vaccine last week without adverse side effects. It is troubling, however, that many of the staff chose not to get vaccinated because of fears that it might hurt them in some way more than the virus. The demand for vaccines is generally high and eventually I expect that many of the staff will change their minds.

A new CDC study estimates the prevalence of Intellectual Disability (ID) among children

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) provides an estimate of the prevalence of Intellectual Disability (ID) in a new study involving 215,000 8-year-old children in nine states.

According to an article in Disability Scoop, “CDC Study Pinpoints Prevalence Of Intellectual Disability” by Michelle Diament, January 21, 2021, the prevalence of intellectual disability among children is consistent with past estimates, but prior studies lacked details on subpopulations.

The study looked at children’s records and identified them as intellectually disabled if they had “an IQ score of 70 or less or if there was a written statement from a qualified professional indicating that the child’s intellectual functioning fell within that range.” 

There are legitimate criticisms of using IQ scores as an indicator of intellectual disability (also called cognitive disability or, formerly, mental retardation), but combined with a consideration of the actual functioning abilities of the child, the label of ID can be useful in confirming eligibility for services and other supports for both the child and the family. When IQ scores are used to disqualify children from the supports or programs they need or to discriminate against them in other ways, then they lose their usefulness and validity. This kind of information, however, is especially useful for state and local agencies responsible for providing educational, vocational, and long term care services for now and in the future.

The study found that 1.2% of the total number of children had IQ scores of 70 or below qualifying them for an intellectual disability diagnosis. The vast majority of children identified — 78% — had mild intellectual disability while 12% were classified in the moderate category and 1% were considered severe or profound. 

My two sons have profound ID and function in the 0-12 month range in abilities. IQ tests for them are profoundly useless. If you want to know what makes them tick and what to do to provide them with meaningful activities and a good quality of life, you have to ask the people who know them well and have worked with them. 

If you assume the figures here apply roughly to the adult population, it is worthwhile noting that people with severe to profound ID represent only 1% of the 1.2% of the general population of people with ID. That is a small minority of a minority. It should not be surprising that they are not easily compared to people with disabilities with far higher functioning abilities and that their needs will be met in far different ways. 

Other findings of the study:

• “Intellectual disability was about twice as likely in boys compared to girls and in Black children compared to white kids. Prevalence also varied dramatically by location with Arkansas at the high end seeing double the cases of Minnesota and Tennessee, which reported the lowest rates. 
• “Of the children with intellectual disability, the study found that 39% also had autism. 
• “Even though most cases of intellectual disability can be reliably diagnosed before age 5, the researchers noted that almost a quarter of the children studied did not undergo an IQ test until after age 6.”
  

Furthermore, “The study authors indicated that given the ‘substantial disparities’ seen across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, the ‘results could be used to help inform strategies to enhance early access to intervention services to improve quality of life for children with ID.’”

The findings from the study were published in the Disability and Health Journal, available online 15 November 2020, as "Prevalence of intellectual disability among eight-year-old children from selected communities in the United States, 2014".

U.S. Representative from Grand Rapids, Michigan, speaks out on the attack on the U.S. Capitol

Statement from Republican U.S. Representative Peter Meijer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the attack on the US Capitol, 1/6/2021.

League of Women Voters statement on the Electoral College vote certification

1/4/2021

WASHINGTON – Today the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) CEO Virginia Kase issued the following statement ahead of this week’s joint session of Congress to count and certify the Electoral College votes:

“This week, Congress will count the Electoral College votes as required by the Constitution and affirm Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. Any objection to this process is simply political theater which directly mocks and defies our Constitution. Still, these actions will not change the legally proven result of the 2020 election.

“In November, the American people turned out in record numbers to elect the next president of the United States, and the Electoral College confirmed the people's will last month. The electors from each state have certified their results, and the role of Congress this week is to confirm that the votes sent are the ones the electors certified. Congress has no legal ability to change those results. 

“While the League believes the Electoral College should be abolished, it is our current system for electing the next president. All elected officials must respect our democracy, accept the outcome of the election, and affirm the will of the people.”

Amen