LGBTQ+ rights advocate warns Republicans against focusing on transgender restrictionsBY MELISSA GOLDIN Social media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling , claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. The ruling addressed a lawsuit filed by Dario and Shujen Politella against Windham Southeast School District and state officials over the mistaken vaccination of their child against COVID-19 in 2021, when he was 6 years old. A lower court had dismissed the original complaint, as well as an amended version. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed on Nov. 19. But the ruling by Vermont’s high court is not as far-reaching as some online have claimed. In reality, it concluded that anyone protected under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or PREP, Act is immune to state lawsuits. Here’s a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that schools can vaccinate children against their parents’ wishes. THE FACTS: The claim stems from a July 26 ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court, which found that anyone protected by the PREP Act is immune to state lawsuits, including the officials named in the Politella’s suit. The ruling does not authorize schools to vaccinate children at their discretion. According to the lawsuit, the Politella’s son — referred to as L.P. — was given one dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held at Academy School in Brattleboro even though his father, Dario, told the school’s assistant principal a few days before that his son was not to receive a vaccination. In what officials described as a mistake, L.P. was removed from class and had a “handwritten label” put on his shirt with the name and date of birth of another student, L.K., who had already been vaccinated that day. L.P. was then vaccinated. Ultimately, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that officials involved in the case could not be sued. “We conclude that the PREP Act immunizes every defendant in this case and this fact alone is enough to dismiss the case,” the Vermont Supreme Court’s ruling reads. “We conclude that when the federal PREP Act immunizes a defendant, the PREP Act bars all state-law claims against that defendant as a matter of law.” The PREP Act , enacted by Congress in 2005, authorizes the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a declaration in the event of a public health emergency providing immunity from liability for activities related to medical countermeasures, such as the administration of a vaccine, except in cases of “willful misconduct” that result in “death or serious physical injury.” A declaration against COVID-19 was issued on March 17, 2020. It is set to expire on Dec. 31. Federals suits claiming willful misconduct are filed in Washington. Social media users described the Vermont Supreme Court’s ruling as having consequences beyond what it actually says. “The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that schools can force-vaccinate children for Covid against the wishes of their parents,” reads one X post that had been liked and shared approximately 16,600 times as of Tuesday. “The high court ruled on a case involving a 6-year-old boy who was forced to take a Covid mRNA injection by his school. However, his family had explicitly stated that they didn’t want their child to receive the ‘vaccines.’” Other users alleged that the ruling gives schools permission to give students any vaccine without parental consent, not just ones for COVID-19. Rod Smolla, president of the Vermont Law and Graduate School and an expert on constitutional law, told The Associated Press that the ruling “merely holds that the federal statute at issue, the PREP Act, preempts state lawsuits in cases in which officials mistakenly administer a vaccination without consent.” “Nothing in the Vermont Supreme Court opinion states that school officials can vaccinate a child against the instructions of the parent,” he wrote in an email. Related Articles National News | Judge weighs whether to order Fani Willis to comply with lawmakers’ subpoenas over Trump case National News | Are you a former SmileDirectClub customer? You might be eligible for a refund National News | Justice Department announces sweeping reforms to curb suicides in federal prisons and jails National News | Defense makes closing argument in murder trial of Cash App founder Bob Lee National News | A judge has once again rejected Musk’s multi-billion-dollar Tesla pay package. Now what? Asked whether the claims spreading online have any merit, Ronald Ferrara, an attorney representing the Politellas, told the AP that although the ruling doesn’t say schools can vaccinate students regardless of parental consent, officials could interpret it to mean that they could get away with doing so under the PREP Act, at least when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. He explained that the U.S. Supreme Court appeal seeks to clarify whether the Vermont Supreme Court interpreted the PREP Act beyond what Congress intended. “The Politella’s fundamental liberty interest to decide whether their son should receive elective medical treatment was denied by agents of the State and School,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “The Vermont Court misconstrues the scope of PREP Act immunity (which is conditioned upon informed consent for medical treatments unapproved by FDA), to cover this denial of rights and its underlying battery.” Ferrara added that he was not aware of the claims spreading online, but that he “can understand how lay people may conflate the court’s mistaken grant of immunity for misconduct as tantamount to blessing such misconduct.”
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An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look onATLANTA (AP) — Georgia quarterback Carson Beck will not return after he was hit on his throwing hand on the final play of an ugly first half Saturday in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Texas. Beck was hit by outside linebacker Trey Moore, forcing a fumble recovered by Anthony Hill Jr., who then lost the ball on an errant attempt to extend the play with a lateral as time expired. Beck was one of the last players to return to the field following halftime. He was holding his helmet but did not warm up remained on the sideline as backup Gunner Stockton led the offense to its first touchdown on the Bulldogs' first drive of the second half. Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ESPN Beck would not return to the game and said he had no details on the hand injury. Beck had the right arm wrapped in ice on the Georgia bench. No. 2 Texas outgained No. 5 Georgia 260-54 but led only 6-3 at halftime. The Bulldogs netted minus-2 yards rushing and Beck completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballIndiana high school girls basketball scores | Saturday, Nov. 23
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Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of i3 Verticals ( NASDAQ:IIIV – Free Report ) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $33.00 price target on the stock. Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of i3 Verticals from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of i3 Verticals in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of i3 Verticals from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of i3 Verticals from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of i3 Verticals in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.14. View Our Latest Analysis on i3 Verticals i3 Verticals Price Performance Institutional Investors Weigh In On i3 Verticals A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IIIV. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in i3 Verticals by 46.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in i3 Verticals in the third quarter worth $109,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in i3 Verticals in the second quarter worth $116,000. Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in i3 Verticals in the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in i3 Verticals in the second quarter worth $292,000. 84.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About i3 Verticals ( Get Free Report ) i3 Verticals, Inc provides integrated payment and software solutions primarily to the public sector and healthcare markets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Software and Services, and Merchant Services. The company offers payment processing services that enables upper and lower court case management, collections, finance and accounting, motor vehicle and carrier registration, e-filing and taxation, license plate inventory, property tax management, utility billing, professional licensing, document workflow, and law enforcement software; assists public schools in completing payment processing functions, including accepting payments for online or at school lunches, and school activities. Read More Receive News & Ratings for i3 Verticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for i3 Verticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Astrana Health, Inc. ( NASDAQ:ASTH – Free Report ) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000. Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Astrana Health in the third quarter worth about $39,398,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrana Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,704,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrana Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,383,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astrana Health during the third quarter worth approximately $11,738,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Astrana Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.77% of the company’s stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades ASTH has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Astrana Health from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astrana Health from $67.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Astrana Health in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on Astrana Health in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Astrana Health from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrana Health currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.17. Astrana Health Stock Performance NASDAQ:ASTH opened at $42.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.77. Astrana Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.32 and a fifty-two week high of $63.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Astrana Health ( NASDAQ:ASTH – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Astrana Health had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $478.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrana Health, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Astrana Health Company Profile ( Free Report ) Astrana Health, Inc, Inc, a physician-centric technology-powered healthcare management company, provides medical care services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Care Partners, Care Delivery, and Care Enablement. The company is leveraging its proprietary population health management and healthcare delivery platform, operates an integrated, value-based healthcare model which empowers the providers in its network to deliver care to its patients. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASTH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Astrana Health, Inc. ( NASDAQ:ASTH – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Astrana Health Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Astrana Health and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
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