Coronavirus

After Rapper Launches Anti-Mask, Anti-Vaccine Rant, Black Doctors Speak Out

In a culture that worships celebrities and amplifies their words and actions, the coronavirus pandemic has presented an opportunity for some to apply and others to confuse.

Published

3 years ago

September 2, 2021

Christy Price

Busta Rhymes/Courtesy of Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

In a culture that worships celebrities and amplifies their words and actions, the coronavirus pandemic has presented an opportunity for some to apply and others to confuse.

Even after over 635,000 have died in the U.S. as a result of the coronavirus, some celebrities have continued to loudly protest against the advice of doctors and other medical professionals.

Over 4.5 million around the world have died as a result of the pandemic.

This week, anti-mask and anti-vaxxer celebrity Eric Clapton wrote a song entitled “This Has Got to Stop” to express his dissatisfaction regarding government mandates on masks. “I’m used to being free,” Clapton sings in his new track.

A week before Clapton’s song dropped, rapper Busta Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, had something to say on COVID on Aug. 24.

“It’s called the God-given right of freedom, right? No human being is supposed to tell you that you can’t even breathe freely. F*** your mask… some of y’all might feel differently, but f*** your mask,” he said.

His comments went viral and so did the reaction against them. On Roland Martin Unfiltered, the daily digital broadcast hosted by Martin, three Black doctors were featured to comment on what the rapper said and anti-vaxxer efforts in general.

“A throat doctor later discovered that there were polyps in his throat, restricting 90% of his breathing and he had to have emergency surgery.”

You’d think Busta Rhymes would be more concerned about a virus that attacks your respiratory system given his history. Dumb ass,” wrote Reecie Colbert from her popular Twitter account @BlackWomenViews.

“Confirmed: Busta Rhymes is better when he’s rapping too fast for us to really understand what he’s saying,” wrote Brandon Kyle Scott on Twitter. Then came the medical professionals.

“It angers me, and it vexes my soul when I hear entertainers and other people who have mass followings say ignorant things such as Busta Rhymes. I was telling my students today about wearing a mask and getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Kristy McDowell on Roland Martin Unfiltered on August 24.

“If you don’t get the vaccine, you are gambling with your life,” she added.

Dr. Joseph Graves, Jr. said, “It’s one thing to do stupid things that put your own life at risk… It’s an entirely other thing when you take a public platform, and you use your celebrity to get up there to tell other people that it’s OK in the middle of the deadliest pandemic since 1918. Those people who die because they listened to a video.”

Kellen Squire, a Virginia emergency room nurse, wrote on Aug. 29, “It’s not any easier watching unvaccinated people die. I see people sardonically joke, play stupid games, etc. But they almost all understand the magnitude of their f***up… albeit way too late. The look in their eyes. There’s no peace — it’s just panic until the end.”

Despite misinformation, political discord and political policy changes, 51 percent of the American population is vaccinated.

Christy Price

Posts by Christy Price

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California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

5 months ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

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BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

1 year ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

COVID-19 Response Grant Program

The City of Union City will be issuing another round of its COVID-19 Response Grant Program. The program has distributed approximately $620,000 in grant funds and forgivable loans to the community to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and will distribute another $322,000 through this latest round of funding. The City will utilize federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CARES Act funds.

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

Oakland Post

The City will be holding two informational/technical assistance meetings to support residents and businesses with their applications and respond to any questions. These meetings will be streamed via Zoom. See below for meeting information and Zoom meeting links.

Grants are available through the City’s Road to Recovery Small Business Assistance Program and the Residential Rental Assistance Program. The City began accepting applications on March 6, 2023, at 9 a.m. and will begin reviewing applications (up to 50 applications for each grant opportunity) submitted on or before March 30, 2023, at 5 p.m. The program information and the online application are available on the City’s website:

https://www.unioncity.org/548/COVID-19-Response-Grant-Program

Tuesday, March 14, 2023: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

https://unioncity-org.zoom.us/j/89061570160

Wednesday, March 15, 2023: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

https://unioncity-org.zoom.us/j/81868680531