Day: June 22, 2021

WASHINGTON – The United States will miss President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of U.S. adults partially or fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, but the White House says it expects to hit that mark “in a few extra weeks.”

In a new assessment Tuesday of the country’s vaccination effort, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said the federal government expects that 70% of those 27 and older will have gotten at least one vaccination shot by the July 4 holiday, which he described as “a remarkable achievement.”

“The virus is in retreat,” Zients said, with the country regaining a sense of normalcy. “We are entering a summer of joy, a summer of freedom.”

Now, he said, a renewed effort is being made to inoculate more younger adults in the 18-to-26 age group. Many of the younger adults, for various reasons, have shown little interest in getting vaccinated, especially since the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths has fallen sharply in the country in recent weeks and many businesses have reopened without facemask and social distancing restrictions that had been in place for more than a year.

“Our effort does not end on July 4,” Zients said. “It’s more important than ever that they get the shot,” along with others who have yet to be inoculated. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “We are seeing a dramatic decline in deaths and hospitalizations.”

She said that with the proven success of available vaccines, including against variants of the original coronavirus, “At this point, every death is entirely preventable.”

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert and Biden’s chief medical adviser, warned there is a “real danger” for the U.S. if there is “a persistent reluctance” to get vaccinated.

Overall, since the pandemic first spread widely in the U.S. in March 2020, the nation has recorded more than 602,000 deaths and 33.5 million infections, more than in any other country, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

Biden, who set the 70% vaccination goal for the July 4 holiday, has not publicly acknowledged it is unlikely to be met.

Like on many divisive political issues in the U.S., a sharp split has developed on getting vaccinated, with numerous Democratic states that voted for Biden in last November’s election showing higher vaccination rates than Republican states that voted for his predecessor, President Donald Trump.

Some of the lowest vaccination rates have been recorded in southern states that Trump won handily and where skepticism is widespread about the need to be vaccinated. Four states – Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama in the South, and Wyoming in the West – all have yet to reach a 50% vaccination level. A total of 16 states and the national capital city of Washington have topped 70% with at least one shot administered.

Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, who both contracted the virus, were privately vaccinated before he left office in January, but Trump often downplayed the spread of the infection in the U.S. Both Biden and first lady Jill Biden were vaccinated on live television before he took office. They have made numerous appeals to Americans to get the shot.

Zients said 70% of Americans 30 and older already have received at least one shot. But the pace of inoculations has fallen markedly in recent weeks, even though plenty of shots are available at 81,000 vaccination sites across the country.

The White House is planning a large July 4 celebration on the South Lawn with about 1,000 guests expected to attend a picnic and watch a fireworks display celebrating the country’s 1776 independence from Britain.

Even as Biden likely misses the 70% vaccination rate for adults, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week, “We’ve made tremendous progress in our vaccination efforts to date, and the ultimate goal has been to get America back to normal … and we’re looking forward to doing that even here at the White House.”

Source: Voice of America

PARIS – A landmark cyberbullying trial in Paris, involving thousands of threats against a teenager who savaged Islam in online posts, is blazing a trail in efforts to punish and prevent online abuse.

It has also raised uncomfortable questions about freedom of expression, freedom to criticize a religion, and respect for France’s millions of Muslims. But most of all, it’s been a trial about the power of the online word, and prosecutors hope it serves as a wake-up call to those who treat it lightly.

Thirteen young people of various backgrounds and religions from across France face potential prison time for charges including online harassment, online death threats and online rape threats in the two-day trial wrapping up Tuesday. It’s the first of its kind since France created a new court in January to prosecute online crimes, including harassment and discrimination.

Tweet or post without thinking

One of the defendants wants to become a police officer. Another says he just wanted to rack up more followers by making people laugh. Some denied wrongdoing, others apologized. Most said they tweeted or posted without thinking.

The teen at the center of the trial, who has been identified publicly only by her first name, Mila, told the court she feels as if she’s been “condemned to death.”

“I do not see my future,” she said.

Mila, who describes herself as atheist, was 16 when she started posting videos on Instagram and later TikTok harshly criticizing Islam and the Quran. Now 18, she testified that “I don’t like any religion, not just Islam.”

Her lawyer Richard Malka said Mila has received some 100,000 threatening messages, including death threats, rape threats, misogynist messages and hateful messages about her homosexuality.

Quit high school twice

Mila had to quit her high school, then another. She is now monitored daily by the police for her safety.

“It’s been a cataclysm, it feels like the sky is falling on our heads … a confrontation with pure hatred,” her mother told the court.

Mila’s online enemies don’t fit a single profile. Among the thousands of threats, authorities tracked down 13 suspects who are on trial this week. All are being identified publicly only by their first names, according to French practice.

TikTok video

The trial focused on comments in response to a TikTok video by Mila in November criticizing Islam. A defendant named Manfred threatened to turn her into another Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded outside Paris in October after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class.

Manfred told the court he was “pretending to be a stalker to make people laugh.”

“I knew she was controversial because she criticized Islam. I wanted to have fun and get new subscribers,” he testified.

Defendant Enzo, 22, apologized in court for tweeting “you deserve to have your throat slit,” followed by a sexist epithet.

Others argued their posts didn’t constitute a crime.

“At the time, I was not aware that it was harassment. When I posted the tweet, I wasn’t thinking,” testified Lauren, a 21-year-old university student who tweeted about Mila: “Have her skull crushed, please.”

Stands by criticism

Alyssa, 20, one of the few Muslim defendants, says she reacted “like everyone else on Twitter” and stood by her criticism of Mila’s posts.

While the defense lawyer argued that it’s not the same thing to insult a god or a religion and a human being, Alyssa disagreed.

“For me, it is of the same nature. Mila used freedom of expression; I thought that (tweeting an angry response) was also freedom of expression,” she said.

Freedom of expression is considered a fundamental right and blasphemy is not a crime in France. After Mila’s initial video in January 2020, a legal complaint was filed against her for incitement to racial hatred. That investigation was dropped for lack of evidence.

Some French Muslims feel that their country, and President Emmanuel Macron’s government, unfairly stigmatize their religious practices.

French society divided

Mila’s online videos rekindled those concerns and divided French society. While the threats against her were broadly condemned, former Socialist President Francois Hollande was among those who argued that while she has the right to criticize religion, “she should not engage in hate speech about those who practice their religion.”

Nawfel, 19, didn’t see the harm when he tweeted that Mila deserved the death penalty and insulted her sexuality. He has passed tests to become a gendarme and hopes not to be sentenced, to keep a clean record. The trial has given him new perspective on online activity.

“Without social media, everyone would have a normal life,” he said. “Now there are many people who will think before they write.”

Prison time, fines

The defendants face up to two years in prison and 30,000 euros in fines (about $37,000) if convicted of online harassment. Some are also accused of online death threats, an offense that carries a maximum prison sentence of three years and a fine of up to 45,000 euros ($55,000).

The prosecutor, however, requested suspended sentences. A verdict is expected July 9.

“You have the power to stop this digital lynching,” defense lawyer Malka told the judges. “Fear of the law is the only thing that remains.”

Mila remains active on social networks.

“I have this need to show that I will not change who I am and what I think,” she said. “I see it as like a woman who has been raped in the street and who is asked not to go out, so that it doesn’t happen again.”

Source: Voice of America