Although President Biden said only months ago that he would not mandate vaccines or masks at a national level, he has now ordered that federal workers must be vaccinated or submit to frequent testing. Postal workers are exempt from the order, which may be due to union opposition to mandatory vaccination. Many smaller power brokers are doing the same, with a new edict from Governor Newsom imposing similar conditions on Californian healthcare workers and state employees. The Department of Veteran Affairs will also mandate vaccination for its medical staff, as will NYC for its workers, while Broadway will require vaccinations and masks for audiences and crew.

President Biden recently suggested that people who are unvaccinated are “not as smart as he thought they were,” but his assertion that the only “pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated” may be challenged. Although the amount of “breakthrough” cases (where a vaccinated person contracts COVID) is small, vaccinated people can still spread the virus or even die in rare circumstances. Complicating the picture further is the fact that many agencies, including the CDC stopped tracking breakthrough cases except in cases of hospitalization or death, Bloomberg reports.

Liberal publication, Slate, has printed a dispassionate review of the “noble lies” told by public health officials. It is interesting to see a Left-leaning site acknowledge that a) lies were told and b) the lying did not produce the required behavior. Whether anyone will learn a lesson though, is another thing…

In the UK, recently leaked government figures show that almost half of the patients recorded as being admitted to hospital due to COVID, only tested positive on arrival. The new data suggests that the rate of hospitalization because of COVID is overstated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to have changed tack after chasing a “Zero COVID” agenda through the last year. The British PM lifted most restrictions from July 19, drawing the ire of liberal media. Cases are currently dropping in Britain, and no doubt the world will be watching.

Crazy scenes from Italy’s parliament went viral this week. After one MP was chased out of the House for protesting vaccine mandates, a number of politicians hit the floor to stand with him.

Also wild – according to reports, half of the deer in Michigan have been exposed to the coronavirus.