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Judge tosses anti-vax BU student's lawsuit against Covid-19 testing

A federal judge today tossed a former BU theology grad student's attempt to permanently ban the school from ever making her take a nasal Covid-19 test should she return to classes and should the school resume Covid-19 testing.

US District Court Judge Denise Casper agreed with BU that Caitlin Corrigan's suit, filed on March 23, was now moot because the school has ended its testing requirements.

Casper rejected attempts by Corrigan - who loves ivermectin as much as she hates Covid-19 vaccines - to keep the suit alive because BU could reimpose the testing requirements in the future. Casper wrote that federal lawsuits generally require proof of current or imminent harm:

Mere speculation that a defendant will repeat challenged conduct cannot rescue an otherwise moot claim.

Also, Casper rejected Corrigan's argument that BU withdrew its testing regime only because of her suit. Although BU announced the impending end of its required testing on March 24, the day after Corrigan filed her suit, that came after the university had already made clear it was winding down its more active measures against Covid-19, Casper wrote. For example:

On March 1, 2022 - three weeks before Corrigan initiated this action - BU issued a communication to the entire BU community, ending the mandatory testing requirement for faculty and staff and the mask requirement in most areas on campus. ... This suggests that the termination of BU’s mandatory testing program for students was "an event that was scheduled before the initiation of the litigation, and [was] not brought about or hastened by any action of the defendant."

And the March 24 announcement - the one posted the day after Corrigan's suit - discussed further progress in the battle against Covid-19 transmission on campus, the judge continued:

After almost two years in place, BU retired the program not in response to Corrigan’s lawsuit, but rather because of more favorable trends in regard to COVID-related illnesses and hospitalizations.

Corrigan entered BU's two-year theology graduate program in the fall of 2021 with a side gig of advising people how to file for religious exemptions to vaccination requirements.

Corrigan formally did not raise religion in objecting to BU's testing requirements, but instead to the alleged physical harm she said the use of nasal swabs would cause her - violating her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She requested that she be allowed to use an alternative saliva-based test, but BU rejected that and, in October, suspended her and barred her from the campus for at least two months. She appealed her suspension, but BU twice rejected her appeal.

She then moved back to Long Island and briefly ran for a Congressional seat as a 2020-denying Trump-supporting Republican, but elections officials removed her name from the Republican primary.

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Comments

Ooh, do keep us updated on her activities, the way you do with Dr. Shiva and others. It is fascinating to keep up with all the Boston crazies.

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Wow Caitlin it REALLY sucks to BU.

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Very wise. Soon we all be testing for the BU deadly strain.

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There is no "deadly BU strain." That was a misrepresentation by the Daily Mail which unfortunately traveled at least halfway around the world while the truth was lacing up its sneakers.

BU researchers actually created a less deadly variation of COVID, one that killed 80% of lab mice, compared to the original 2019 strain which kills 100% of lab mice. (Apparently lab mice don't stand much of a chance against COVID.)

Apparently the Daily Fail's reporters saw "80% kill rate," missed the "in [unvaccinated] mice" part, and proceeded to breathlessly spread panic and misinformation.

Details: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/18/business/bu-calls-report-that-it-...

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Why would a virus endemic in bats kill 100% of lab mice. Are you sure about the claims you offer?

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n/t

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Maybe because it's possible for diseases to be transmitted between different animal populations?

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Covid doesn't kill most mice, either wild mice or typical lab mice.

This research was done in in-bred mutant mice, selected for this research because they are killed by the original Wuhan strain.

When these specific mice are exposed to large doses of the original Wuhan strain, they all die. When they're exposed to Omicron BA1, they all survive.

The researchers are trying to figure out what makes the difference, in these mice and then, hopefully, in humans.

For the record, part of why they're doing this research with mice is that it would be unethical to do it with humans, even if you could get volunteers, and lab mice are cheaper than ferrets.

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4 lines, 4 kinds of stupid. Nothing wasted. Commendable.

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Christ, Caitlin, your head is in the sand

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I'm impressed with the number of times the complaint cites that she has a documented disability that precludes her from having a nasal swab test.....and the zero number of times they say what this "documented" disability is.

Anyone know what could possibly be cited as a "life-threatening" condition brought on by sticking things up your nose for 10 seconds?

Geez.

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Sometimes, they’re not as easy to stop as one might think. I’m just guessing here but some people have deficient clotting mechanisms.

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It seems that she may be bumbaclot.

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by your diagnostic acumen. You are an Internet physician of the first order.

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I knew about the "Douchebag" definition but the other definition surprised me.

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Glad you admitted the surprise at the origin of the term. I've been in the same boat.

When I was in late junior high or early high school it was very common (in an immature way) to refer to a girl as a "hosebag" and we all knew what it meant but never thought much about the etymology...until my mom picked the term up from us and used it.

When she said it I had an immediate mental image of the two parts, one "hose" and the other "bag" and its origin hit me like a ton of bricks. It just seemed so much more dirty coming from my oblivious mom's mouth that I had a hard time with the term from then on.

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Caitlin really is one hell of a piece of work. She deserved to have her case thrown out by the judge, and to get suspended, due to her having knowingly endangered health and overall wellbeing of tons of other people. No sympathy for her.

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