At the beginning of last December, the government announced it would start administering vaccines to stop the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccine Bulletin, Dec.9,2020 https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=50009 Manitobans would receive one of three expedited vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, Astrazeneca) that had been given provisional approval on an interim basis, two of which worked best for some age groups and not others. Vaccines were the answer, we were told. If enough people got vaccinated, the lockdowns, face masks, social distancing, and travel restrictions could be eliminated and society could get back to normal. The goal to reach herd immunity was as low as 40 percent of the population vaccinated by some estimates, but more often cited as 70 percent. "Trust the science," they said. ***************** "Screw the science," was the message delivered in early March , three months later, by National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) and here by Ma...
The origin of the Usher of the Black Rod goes back to early fourteenth century England . Today, with no royal duties to perform, the Usher knocks on the doors of the House of Commons with the Black Rod at the start of Parliament to summon the members. The rod is a symbol for the authority of debate in the upper house. We of The Black Rod adopted the symbol to knock some sense and the right questions into the heads of Legislators, pundits, and other opinion makers.