Marvelous Marvin Hagler, 1980s middleweight boxing champion, dies unexpectedly, hours after receiving Covid vaccine at age 66

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-9359529/Undisputed-middleweight-champion-Marvelous-Marvin-Hagler-passes-away-unexpectedly-aged-66.html

"Undisputed middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler dies at age 66 after one of his biggest rivals Tommy Hearns said he was 'in an ICU fighting the effects of the vaccine'

• Marvelous Marvin Hagler passed away in his New Hampshire home aged 66 
• Hagler held boxing's middleweight championship title between 1980 and 1987
• He was the 1980s Fighter of the Decade and was inducted into the Hall of Fame 
• His wife Kay announced his death on Saturday, claiming it was 'unexpected'
• Earlier on Saturday, former professional boxer Thomas Hearns said Hagler was in 'ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine'
• Members of the boxing community have paid tribute to Hagler's life and career

By MALCOLM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE and SAM BLITZ FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 19:04 EDT, 13 March 2021 | UPDATED: 10:08 EDT, 14 March 2021

 
 
 
 
 
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Boxing was in mourning on Saturday night after the shock death of one its all-time greats, Marvin Hagler, at just 66, after he reportedly suffered side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The American boxer - born in Newark, New Jersey - dominated the sport's middleweight scene, which he was champion of between 1980 and 1987.  

He was also named as the Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s by Boxing Illustrated magazine and won the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year award twice. 

The man who was floored officially only once in his incredible brutal career ­- and that was actually a slip - finally took the count. 

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Undisputed boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler has passed away at the age of 66

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Thomas Hearns (right) who was knocked out by Hagler in one of the most entertaining fights of all time in 1985, called him former opponent 'a real true warrior'

Earlier on Saturday, former professional boxer Thomas Hearns - who was knocked out by Hagler during their famous bout in 1985 - wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of his old opponent: 'A real true warrior Pray for the king and his family.. he’s in ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine! He’ll be just fine but we could use the positive energy and Prayer for his Full Recovery!'

Following his death, Hearns shared: 'Allow us to have our peace. Our love and respect to Marvin and his family, this is not an anti vaccine campaign... it's outrageous to have that in mind during the passing of a King, Legend, Father, Husband and so much more.'

Rapper R.A. the Rugged Man tweeted before Hagler's death: 'One of the greatest athletes of my lifetime Marvelous Marvin Hagler is in ICU fighting the after effects of taking the Vaccine. Tommy Hitman Hearns just posted about it. I hope this great champion recovers. One of our GOATS #boxing.' 

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Hagler's wife, Kay (left), announced her husband's passing on social media on Saturday

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Earlier on Saturday, his friend, former professional boxer Thomas Hearns wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of Hagler: 'A real true warrior Pray for the king and his family.. he’s in ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine! He’ll be just fine but we could use the positive energy and Prayer for his Full Recovery!'

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Following his death, Hearns shared: 'Allow us to have our peace. Our love and respect to Marvin and his family, this is not an anti vaccine campaign... it's outrageous to have that in mind during the passing of a King, Legend, Father, Husband and so much more.'

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Rapper R.A. the Rugged Man tweeted before Hagler's death: 'One of the greatest athletes of my lifetime Marvelous Marvin Hagler is in ICU fighting the after effects of taking the Vaccine. Tommy Hitman Hearns just posted about it. I hope this great champion recovers. One of our GOATS #boxing'

His son James told TMZ his father was rushed to hospital with chest pains and was experiencing trouble breathing before dying about four hours later.

A statement on Hagler's website read: 'We are very sad to report that Marvelous Marvin Hagler died on March 13 of natural causes near his home in New Hampshire. He was a champion until the end. His family asks for privacy at this time of sorrow.' 

The unfashionable Hagler, who turned pro in 1973 out of Brockton, Massachusetts, took seven years to earn his first middleweight title crack after almost beating everyone in his path.

He had to settle for a controversial draw against Vito Antuofermo in that first crack but essentially ruined Antuofermo who lost his title in his next defence to Alan Minter.

Hagler then challenged Minter and on a night of pure hate at Wembley Arena cut up the Crawley southpaw in three rounds before having to run for his life to the dressing room while a racist crowd rained bottles on him. It summed up Hagler's career. He had to do everything the hard way.

But now that he had finally won the title, there was no way he was going to lose it without a fight. Hagler duly destroyed a whole new generation of challengers in the 1980s, including Britain's Tony Sibson. He simply cleaned up the division.

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Hagler was the middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987 - he defended his title 12 times

If it was a bit brash that he officially changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1982, who could begrudge him after all he had been through.

Joe Frazier told him in Philadelphia in the 1970s that he had three strikes against him… he was good, he was a southpaw, and he was black.

In 1985 came Hagler's finest hour when slugged it out with Hearns in one of the greatest fights of all time. He walked right through Hearns in three savage rounds.

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Hearns v Hagler will go down as one of the all time greatest fights as Hagler knocked his rival out in three rounds in Las Vegas

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Hagler (right) lost his middleweight crown in 1987 to Sugar Ray Leonard (left) in Nevada

He finally lost his crown in 1987 when Sugar Ray Leonard outsmarted a faded Hagler over 12 rounds.

His wife Kay Hagler wrote on social media on Saturday: 'I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. 

'Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.'

The great man has earned his rest.

Former WBA and lineal featherweight world champion Barry McGuigan said on Twitter: 'Shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the incredible Marvellous Marvin Hagler.

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Members of the boxing community paid tribute to Hagler after his death was announced

'I'm honoured to have spent some amazing times with him. My heartfelt sympathies to his wife Kay and his family. Rest in Peace Champ.'

Promoter Frank Warren said boxing lost 'an all-time great' while Eddie Hearn announced that ring announcer Michael Buffer will lead a 10-bell tribute at the rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez II on Saturday. 

Buffer himself tweeted: 'I am crushed at the news that MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER has passed away! He was-in his prime-POUND4POUND-the best, going 11yrs in 38 fights w/o defeat! He dominated the MW division 4 a decade! 62 wins/52KOs-3 losses R.I.P. 4EVER CHAMPION-4EVER REMEMBERED'. 

World champion boxing trainer Dave Coldwell added: 'Gutted to hear of the passing of Marvellous Marvin Hagler.

'One of the toughest, and best fighters in one of the greatest eras in boxing history. Hagler along with Leonard, Hearns & Duran - the Real Four Kings.'

Meanwhile, former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen also paid tribute, saying Hagler came from an era of boxing that was 'mind blowing'.

'That generation of Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Leonard was mind blowing. Arguably the greatest generation of boxers in a single weight division of all time. #RIPMarvelousMarvinHagler.'"

The BMJ asked Pfizer, Moderna, and CureVac, as well as several regulators, what percentage mRNA integrity they consider acceptable for vaccines against covid-19. None offered any specifics.

Update March 18:  According to an editor of the BMJ, the article linked below is the first BMJ article to receive a Facebook warning.  That tells you something!

I had earlier read about the theft of documents from the European Medicines Agencies, and what they revealed about the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine's mRNA manufacturing issues.

This article from the BMJ provides a bit of context, as well as explaining some of what we ought to know about these vaccines, but don't.

I am flummoxed by the lack of interest shown by a public that wants its vaccines but doesn't want to know anything about what is being injected into them and what the long-term effects will be?

Why aren't citizens saying that of course they want to gain immunity, but demanding to know a lot more about these products before they are irretrievably vaccinated?  

Fifteen Countries have halted Astra-Zeneca Covid Vaccinations

Thailand for some reason changed its mind and is now allowing the A-Z vaccine to be used.  But two additional European countries (13 total) and Indonesia and Iran have now said "No thanks."   

The Astra-Zeneca/ Oxford vaccine (remember, the one that was supposed to be given to the world without profit, until supposedly the BMGF convinced its developers to sell to the highest bidder), the one that uses a chimpanzee adenovirus as the vector for Spike DNA, and was associated with some severe neurologic injuries in subjects in its clinical trial, has now been "halted" in ten countries.

Kaiser Health News described the original promise not to profit:

The idea was to provide medicines preventing or treating COVID-19 at a low cost or free of charge, the British university said. That made sense to people seeking change. The coronavirus was raging. Many agreed that traditional vaccine development, characterized by long lead times, manufacturing monopolies and weak investment, was broken.

“We actually thought they were going to do that,” James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, a nonprofit that works to expand access to medical technology, said of Oxford’s pledge. “Why wouldn’t people agree to let everyone have access to the best vaccines possible?”

A few weeks later, Oxford—urged on by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—reversed course. It signed an exclusive vaccine deal with AstraZeneca that gave the pharmaceutical giant sole rights and no guarantee of low prices—with the less-publicized potential for Oxford to eventually make millions from the deal and win plenty of prestige.

Doctors Fight Back--only a small sample

America's Frontline Doctors Bill of Rights

https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.com/vaccine-bill-of-rights/

New Zealand doctors statement against Covid fears

https://www.bravetruth.org/nz-doctors

Canadian doctors speak up

https://www.bitchute.com/video/nQgq0BxXfZ4f/

At least 9 European countries halt the Astra-Zeneca Oxford vaccine

BMJ March 10, 2021--at least 9 European countries have suspended some or all of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine

Denmark, Norway, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have halted some or all of their AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations over fears of blood clots, France24 reports.

Denmark became at least the sixth European country to scale back the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after some people who received it developed blood clots. 

Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death

ZURICH (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday...

One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary embolism and is recovering, it said. A pulmonary embolism is an acute lung disease caused by a dislodged blood clot.

Italy bans AstraZeneca batch following two deaths in Sicily: source March 11 Reuters

‘Held to ransom’: Pfizer plays hardball in Covid-19 vaccine negotiations with Latin American countries/ Stat News

By Madlen Davies, Ivan Ruiz, Jill Langlois, and Rosa Furneaux — The Bureau of Investigative Journalism Feb. 23, 2021 

Republished by Stat, this report includes many of the details missed in the video published earlier.

COURTESY ADRIAN JOHNSON

Pfizer has been accused of “bullying” Latin American governments during negotiations to acquire its Covid-19 vaccine, and the company has asked some countries to put up sovereign assets, such as embassy buildings and military bases, as a guarantee against the cost of any future legal cases, according to an investigation by the U.K.-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

In the case of one Latin American country, demands made by the pharmaceutical giant led to a three-month delay in a vaccine deal being reached. For Argentina and Brazil, no national deals were agreed to at all with Pfizer. Any hold-up in countries receiving vaccines can lead to more people contracting Covid-19 and potentially dying.

Officials from Argentina and the other Latin American country, which cannot be named as it has signed a confidentiality agreement with Pfizer, said the company’s negotiators demanded more than the usual indemnity against civil claims filed by citizens who suffer serious adverse events after being inoculated. They said Pfizer also insisted the governments cover the potential costs of civil cases brought as a result of Pfizer’s own acts of negligence, fraud, or malice. In Argentina and Brazil, Pfizer asked for sovereign assets to be put up as collateral for any future legal costs.

One government health official who was present in the unnamed country’s negotiations described Pfizer’s demands as “high-level bullying” and said the government felt like it was being “held to ransom” in order to access lifesaving vaccines.

Campaigners are already warning of a “vaccine apartheid” in which rich Western countries may be inoculated years before lower-income regions. Now, legal experts have raised concerns that Pfizer’s demands amount to an abuse of power.

“Pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t be using their power to limit lifesaving vaccines in low- and middle-income countries,” said Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “[This] seems to be exactly what they’re doing.

Protection against liability shouldn’t be used as “the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of desperate countries with a desperate population,” he added.

Pfizer, which partnered with BioNTech, a German biotech, to make the vaccine, has been in talks with more than 100 countries and international bodies, and has supply agreements with nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. The terms of those deals are unknown.

Pfizer declined to comment on the allegations about its demands in negotiations, citing “ongoing negotiations which are private and confidential.”

The company told the Bureau in a statement: “Pfizer and BioNTech are firmly committed to working with governments and other relevant stakeholders to ensure equitable and affordable access to our COVID-19 vaccine for people around the world.” The company said that in addition to the nine Latin American countries with which it has struck supply agreements, it has “allocated doses to low- and lower-middle-income countries at a not-for-profit price, including an advance purchase agreement with COVAX to provide up to 40 million doses in 2021.” COVAX is a global initiative to pool purchasing power and ensure vaccine access for low-income countries. “We are committed to supporting efforts aimed at providing developing countries with the same access to vaccines as the rest of the world,” Pfizer said.

Most governments are offering indemnity — exemption from legal liability — to the vaccine manufacturers they are buying from. This means that a citizen who suffers an adverse event after being vaccinated can file a claim against the manufacturer and, if successful, the government would pay the compensation. In some countries people can also apply for compensation through specific structures without going to court. 

This is fairly typical for vaccines administered in a pandemic. In many cases, adverse events are so rare that they do not show up in clinical trials and only become apparent once hundreds of thousands of people have received the vaccine (a 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine, for example, was eventually linked to narcolepsy). Because manufacturers have developed vaccines quickly and because they protect everyone in society, governments often agree to cover the cost of compensation.

However, the government officials from Argentina and the unnamed country who spoke to the Bureau said Pfizer’s demands went beyond those of other vaccine companies, and beyond those of COVAX, which is also requiring its member countries to indemnify manufacturers. This presents an additional burden for some countries because it means having to hire specialist lawyers, and sometimes pass complex new legislation, so manufacturers’ liabilities can be waived.

‘An extreme demand’

Pfizer asked for an additional indemnity from civil cases, meaning that the company would not be held liable for rare adverse effects or for its own acts of negligence, fraud or malice. This includes those linked to company practices — say, if Pfizer sent the wrong vaccine or made errors during manufacturing.

“Some liability protection is warranted, but certainly not for fraud, gross negligence, mismanagement, failure to follow good manufacturing practices,” said Gostin. “Companies have no right to ask for indemnity for these things.”

Mark Eccleston-Turner, a lecturer in global health law at Keele University in England, said Pfizer and other manufacturers have received government funding to research and develop the vaccines and are now pushing the potential costs of adverse effects back on to governments, including those in low- and middle-income countries. (Pfizer’s partner, BioNTech, was given $445 million by the German government to develop a vaccine and the U.S. government agreed in July to preorder 100 million doses for nearly $2 billion, before the vaccine had even entered Phase 3 trials. Pfizer expects to make sales of $15 billion worth of vaccines in 2021.)

In Eccleston-Turner’s opinion, it looks like Pfizer “is trying to eke out as much profit and minimize its risk at every juncture with this vaccine development then this vaccine rollout. Now, the vaccine development has been heavily subsidized already. So there’s very minimal risk for the manufacturer involved there.”

The Bureau spoke to officials from two countries, who all described how meetings with Pfizer began promisingly but quickly turned sour, and reviewed a report by the Brazilian Ministry of Health.

The Argentinian Ministry of Health began negotiating with the company in June and President Alberto Fernández held a meeting with the company’s general manager for Argentina the following month. During subsequent meetings Pfizer asked to be indemnified against the cost of any future civil claims, said an official from the president’s office. Although this had never been done before, the country’s Congress passed a new law in October allowing for it. However, Pfizer was not happy with the phrasing of the legislation, according to the official, who declined to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. The government believed Pfizer should be liable for any acts of negligence or malice. Pfizer, said the official, disagreed.

The government did offer to amend the existing law to make it clear “negligence” meant problems in the distribution and delivery of the vaccines. But Pfizer was still not satisfied. It asked the government to amend the legislation through a new decree; Fernández refused.

“Argentina could compensate for the vaccine’s adverse effects, but not if Pfizer makes a mistake,” said the official, who has detailed knowledge of the negotiations. “For example, what would happen if Pfizer unintentionally interrupted the vaccine’s cold chain [of -70 Celsius during transport and storage] … and a citizen wants to sue them? It would not be fair for Argentina to pay for a Pfizer error.”

The official said talks soon became tense and complicated: “Instead of giving in on some points, Pfizer demanded more and more.” In addition to the changes sought in the new law, it asked Argentina to take out international insurance to pay for potential future cases against the company (countries were also asked by vaccine makers and the WHO to do this during the H1N1 outbreak).

In late December, Pfizer made another unexpected request: that the government put up sovereign assets — which might include federal bank reserves, embassy buildings, or military bases — as collateral.

“We offered to pay millions of doses in advance, we accepted this international insurance, but the last request was unusual: Pfizer demanded that the sovereign assets of Argentina also be part of the legal support,” the official said. “It was an extreme demand that I had only heard when the foreign debt had to be negotiated, but both in that case and in this one, we rejected it immediately.”

The failed negotiations mean Argentinian citizens, unlike those in neighboring countries, do not have access to Pfizer’s vaccine, leaving them with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, AstraZeneca’s vaccine, and those delivered through COVAX. The government is also negotiating to acquire vaccines from Moderna, Sinopharm, and CanSino.

“Pfizer misbehaved with Argentina,” said Ginés González Garcia, Argentina’s former minister of health. “Its intolerance with us was tremendous.”

‘Good cop, bad cop’

The same demands were made of Brazil’s Ministry of Health, according to a ministry statement. Pfizer asked to be indemnified against all civil claims and asked the ministry to put up sovereign assets as collateral, as well as create a guarantee fund with money deposited in a foreign bank account. In January, the ministry refused these terms, describing the clauses as “abusive.”

An official from the Latin American country that cannot be named described talks unfolding similarly. This person said the government began negotiating with Pfizer in July, before the vaccine was approved. There was a perception that Pfizer’s negotiators had a “good cop, bad cop” routine, with the “bad cop” pressing the government to buy more doses.

“[At that time] there was not a single drug or vaccine in the world with this kind of technology that had been shown to be safe and effective. … You had this lady putting pressure saying: ‘Buy more, you’re going to kill people, people are going to die because of you,’” the official said.

Negotiations became fraught when the company asked for additional indemnity, for civil cases alleging Pfizer’s acts of negligence, fraud, or malice. The government had never awarded any kind of indemnity before and did not want to waive liability, but Pfizer said this was non-negotiable. Negotiations continued and eventually a deal was signed that included the additional indemnity provisions, but after a delay of three months.

As Pfizer has only 2 billion doses to sell across the world this year — apparently on a first-come, first-served basis — the official is angry about a delay that likely pushed the country further back in the queue.

One of the reasons the government wanted Pfizer’s vaccines was because the company said they could be delivered quickly. Yet in the contract, Pfizer wanted to reserve the right to modify the schedule. There was no room for negotiation. “It was take it or leave it,” said the official.

The official added: “Five years in the future when these confidentiality agreements are over, you will learn what really happened in these negotiations.”

Based in the U.K., the Bureau of Investigative Journalism is an independent, not-for-profit organization. This story was produced by its Global Health desk.