A coalition of 14 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania’s governor jointly filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal childhood immunization schedule. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, names Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and acting Centers [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday that interprovincial mobility is a constitutional right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court held that Section 6 of the Charter protects the right to move freely within Canada. It follows that when the government imposes an interprovincial travel restriction, it must justify that [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Monday said reports that citizen journalist and former lawyer Zhang Zhan has been handed a second four-year prison term on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” are “deeply disturbing,” calling for her immediate and unconditional release. “This is the second time [...]

Several medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other government officials on Monday, alleging that a new department directive is unlawful and harms the physician-patient relationship, among other claims. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and other health organizations brought the suit in [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that the new World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty is a landmark effort, but is flawed and inadequate in its implementation mechanisms and effectiveness to combat inequalities between countries. In its statement, HRW noted that the treaty presents a unique opportunity for countries to cooperate in times of [...]

The recent decision by Italy’s Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) in case number 27115/2024 has sparked numerous reactions due to its consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential extenuating circumstance in a femicide case. This crime, which garnered significant media attention in Italian society, involved a perpetrator who was initially sentenced to life [...]

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, post-secondary education institutions rapidly shifted to virtual learning environments: They quickly adopted virtual technology platforms and, as the pandemic oscillated in intensity, established functional, effective and integrated bimodal learning platforms (i.e., in-person lectures with an option to participate remotely). University faculties prided themselves on these rapid transitions, which allowed them [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on many aspects of our modern lives. Mandatory face masks, local and national lockdowns, and compulsory social distancing in public places have become a part of everyday routines all around the world. The pandemic has also tested the regulatory and administrative capacity of both states and international organizations to [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on December 17 in a bipartisan, 2-1 decision upheld OSHA’s vaccine-or-test requirements for the American workplace and lifted a stay previously put in place by the Fifth Circuit. Judge Jane Stranch, an Obama appointee, joined by Judge Julia Gibbons, appointed by George W. Bush, wrote that [...]

On November 16 the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati  was randomly selected by the Multi-district Litigation Panel in Washington, DC to decide whether the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for American workers, promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is legal. OSHA’s rules, which are planned to take full effect on [...]