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© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.For 4th week, protesters in France decry virus pass rules
By SYLVIE CORBET PARIS©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
32 Comments
oldman_13
We stand with you France!
Vive la France!!!
Oliver Doodle
The 4th Wave will largely be a pandemic of the UN-VACCINATED; sad that these folks will have to learn the hard way by losing their lives or someone close to them...
FizzBit
I see your doom porn and raise
Jsapc
Quote without a link + the infamous Robert Malone = Nope.
Jsapc
Massive burden on the health care system, raising the chances of creating a new stronger variant, prolonging the pandemic for no other reason than "owning the libs".
Jsapc
?????
Why wouldn't anyone sensible give "a squat" about the strain on the healthcare system? Every bed that's occupied by a covid patient is a bed that can't be occupied by anyone else. Less avaialble beds in hospitals means more complications and even deaths for everyone. The thought of being in an ambulance that can't go anywhere because hospitals are full isn't terrifying to you?
But "i don't care about other people" is a sufficient reason to let a virus invade your body, I guess? Is that it?
mmwkdw
You MUST succumb to the Authority of the day.
You must have whatever they say you must have.
You must die when they say die.
mmwkdw
There is no Liberty - other than through death, and then ... you can't comment thereafter as there is no afterlife....
Peoples are so easily manipulated by Religion & Politics... it's a human need for belonging ... family... purpose in life.... yet sadly those in Power are often "milking the system" for their own benefits - nowhere blatantly obvious other than in China these days, but the UK has been doing it for yonks... and BJ and his cronies are clearly exemplary of such. (Oddly I would be considered a "Conservative" supporter)
Religion has no place in Politics
Politics and Personal gain has no place in Politics
How to ensure both the above are guaranteed in statue ?
Politicians should be reminded that they are "employed" by the "Democratic Society" to perform a job. If they can not perform such a job, then they should be replaced - this is why we hold "Elections".
Sadly our own workplaces are not as Democratic as that - ass kissing is rife - politics and religion is rife as too color and where you come from. Subtle enough to avoid blatant breaches of "Legal" rules of the land, but never-the-less the same as what goes on to mirror the Political landscapes.
The U.S. is not a true Democracy any more.
It has lost that bearing torch though the farcical Legal disputes within its own ranks.
Wheeling in dubious persons to provide accusations of a criminal activity is essentially the weapon of choice these days - a weapon which means you're guilty until proven innocent, and then its too late - your Political Career is already over... so whose Political foot did you step on, in order to warrant such ?
Concerned Citizen
Good for them. Discrimination and segregation of all forms cannot be tolerated. Next step....take the fight to the European Court of Human Rights.
Jimizo
A massive burden on the healthcare system is now called a ‘cliche’?
One of the weakest attempts to get around a gaping hole in an argument I’ve ever come across. At least give us a crackpot conspiracy theory telling us these numbers are fudged . Give us something. Anything.
bass4funk
Definitely! Love to see this
Haaa Nemui
Awesome. Boycott them. Do exactly what they want you to do and stay away if you don’t have a pass. Keep everyone happy.
Jsapc
Did you just actually really post a heavily edited and dubbed video from an entertainment platform thinking that it had a semblance of relevance for any serious debate? That's almost impressive.
ulysses
Your freedom to be irresponsible conflicts with others’ freedom to stay alive.
So protest all you want, nothing will come out of it.
Jimizo
Perhaps the unvaccinated could also boycott hospitals if they need expensive, time-consuming, resource-draining treatment for Covid.
My elderly mother in the UK needs to visit hospitals quite regularly ( sometimes needs short stays ), but the quality of care she receives ( and deserves after spending almost all of her adult life paying into the system ) has been affected by Covid.
I’m not at the stage yet where I think hospitals should refuse to treat those unvaccinated by choice as I think it’s too cruel ( some just have low IQs and are prone to hysterics and conspiracy theories ), but I must admit to seeing the logic in this.
I’d be interested to know what those against vaccinations think of this as they tend to lean more libertarian than me.
The Avenger
Next step: the FAA should mandate proof of vaccination in airports.
Encourage vaccinations and stop the spread across the country via air travel.
Jalapeno
Some of you commenters need to re-read the article. It's a protest against these "health passes" or vaccine passport or whatever you want to call them. These people still have the right to not get vaccinated. And the government and businesses have the right to refuse services to them. So everyone has their rights, right? If you want to drive a car, get driver's license. Quite simple.
151E
I don't know why I waste my time posting on these forums when everyone is already an expert and everyone's mind is already made up.
Still, for what it's worth, I would encourage those who reflexively dismiss the possibility that the vaccines themselves can act as an evolutionary selective force in favour of new more easily transmissible and virulent variants - such as the delta and lambda variants - to consider the following two papers.
Van Egeren et al. (2021) 'Risk of rapid evolutionary escape from biomedical interventions targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein'. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0250780. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250780
Read et al. (2015) 'Imperfect Vaccination Can Enhance the Transmission of Highly Virulent Pathogens'. PLoS Biol 13(7): e1002198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002198
Sound familiar?
While different viruses have different mutation rates, it is conspicuous that all the variants display changes to the spike protein that allow them to better evade the vaccine induced antibodies. My only hope is that we don't inadvertently created a much more lethal strain in our rush to get everyone vaccinated in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.
Best wishes to all regardless of your stance on the current vaccination programs.
ArtistAtLarge
How many times has this been explained, and ignored? This time, I think we should let nature do the talking.
virusrex
There is nothing strange about it, it is relatively simple to understand that the main neutralizing antigenic epitopes are in the spike protein, which at the same time is the one mediating the infection. antibodies directed to other proteins are not neutralizing, so the virus never has the need to adapt to escape them.
The problem is assuming that changes can endlessly improve the spike mediated infectivity and that the reduced time of infection produced by the immunity from the vaccines somehow would be enough to select the improvements, in the real world situation variants have appeared in unvaccinated populations and more specifically in relation with immunity problems. The Marek example is specially inadequate because it requires extrapolation from veterinarian vaccines (that have much lower efficacy and safety standards compared with human vaccines) and that contradicts the evidence from previous human vaccines that are not sterilizing either.
The thing that needs to be proved is not that the possibility of variants exist even with vaccines, but that the risk is higher than in non-vaccinated people, because if this is not the case that still means vaccination should be done as widely as possible to avoid them.
Concerned Citizen
It's a tough decision because we are a global community and our actions affect others.
If we allow freedom to choose vaccinations then there will be more spread of Covid. If we force vaccinations some will die of side effects.
The only solution that preserves the rights of all is to guarantee the right to choose free of penalty. Then we are all equal.
ReynardFox
If you need a good Covid-related chuckle in these dark times, Google “H. Scott Apley”. You won’t be disappointed.
ReynardFox
But here’s the thing. New variants, including the Delta variant we’re dealing with now, originated in unvaccinated hosts. The vaccines hinder viral mutation by denying them the hosts necessary to rapidly reproduce and spread. If the virus’s ability to reproduce is reduced, the speed and breadth of its evolution is reduced. Given that Covid has shown an ability to mutate, you all better get ready for an annual Covid shot, just like you get for the flu.
Zaphod
The French protesters are right. Like the recent OCLA open letter in Canda say: It is entirely reasonable and legitimate to say ‘no’ to insufficiently tested vaccines for which there is no reliable science. You have a right to assert guardianship of your body and to refuse medical treatments if you see fit. You are right to say ‘no’ to a violation of your dignity, your integrity and your bodily autonomy. It is your body, and you have the right to choose. You are right to fight for your children against their mass vaccination in school.
( https://ocla.ca/a-letter-to-the-unvaccinated/ )
ulysses
Totally wrong, the vaccines prevent infections. However no vaccine is 100% effective, so the chances of catching infections, especially from the unvaccinated are always there.
Read above.
These are theories of people with no control over their minds.