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Chicago Police Union Compares Vaccine Mandate to ‘Hunger Games,’ Tells Cops to ‘Stand Strong’
Chicago police union leader described a standoff over Mayor Lori Lightfoot‘s “tyrannical” COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees as The Hunger Games on Wednesday.
Chicago city workers were given until last Friday to comply with Lightfoot’s mandate by disclosing their vaccination status to the city. Thousands of workers did not meet the deadline. Mette urged the non-compliant officers to “stand strong.”
“Welcome to day three of ‘The Hunger Games,’ where we find out who the city is going to offer up as tribute,” Mette said.
Maine Healthcare Workers Appeal to Supreme Court After Federal Court Upholds State’s Vaccine Mandate
A group of unvaccinated Maine healthcare workers asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to step in and block enforcement of the state’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
The mandate is set to go into force on Oct. 29 and the workers argue that the mandate violates their sincerely held religious beliefs and offers no religious exemptions.
Late Tuesday, a federal appeals court denied a request to block the mandate.
Federal Judge Denies Effort to Block Oregon’s Vaccine Mandate by 7 Workers Who Had COVID
The Oregonian/Oregon Live reported:
A second federal judge in Oregon has denied an emergency motion to block the state’s vaccine mandate or carve out an exception for state workers who have already contracted COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled the U.S. Constitution offers no fundamental right to refuse a vaccination and that the required shots are in the state’s interest to slow the spread of the disease and protect Oregon’s citizens.
Aiken further saw no need to exempt unvaccinated workers from the vaccine mandate if they already had the virus, citing a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and sworn testimony submitted by an Oregon Health Authority doctor.
Italy Sees Protests Against Mandatory Health Passports for Workplaces
A demonstration in Trieste, Italy, against the mandate for health passports in the workplace turned into a riot on 18 October, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. Protests against the use of COVID passports have been spreading throughout the country, with protestors claiming they are discriminatory.
This autumn the Italian government approved 1 some of the strictest anti-COVID-19 measures in the world, including making it mandatory for all workers to have a so-called green pass before returning to workplaces.
Murphy Shies From Strict Vaccine Mandate for NJ Teachers and Public Workers, Unlike NYC
Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that he has no immediate plans to issue a vaccine mandate to teachers and other public workers without the option of weekly testing — a different approach from New York City’s, where most unvaccinated city workers will soon be placed on unpaid leave.
But Murphy has been reluctant to impose a blanket vaccine mandate even to healthcare workers, who can opt-out if they agree to regular COVID testing, unless their employer requires vaccination unconditionally. New York requires all public and private healthcare workers to be vaccinated with no test option, or face termination.
Apple Still Won’t Mandate Vaccines But Will Require Employees to Regularly Take COVID Tests
Apple is tightening its COVID-19 policies, requiring that unvaccinated employees (or employees who refuse to disclose their vaccination status) get daily COVID-19 tests to enter its offices, although the company still has yet to require workers to get vaccinated. Vaccinated employees will also have to do regular tests, but only once a week, Bloomberg reports.
Apple is one of the largest major tech companies that hasn’t instituted a mandate yet, with Google, Facebook, and Microsoft all requiring that in-person employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter their offices.
Despite Low Vaccination Rates, Correction Officers Get Extended Timeline to Meet Vaccine Mandate
Not all city workers will have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by next month. The Department of Correction (DOC) is getting an extended deadline as the city continues to struggle to get officers back to work and a crisis of staffing continues to complicate conditions on Rikers Island.
All city workers will be required to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by November 1, with the exception of Department of Correction officers.
“There is a small group of uniformed correction officers who will have a different deadline. And, in that case, it will be for December 1,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday during a press conference at City Hall.
Under Vaccine Mandates, Why Isn’t Proof of Natural Immunity Accepted?
With mandatory vaccination deadlines looming for many workers, why isn’t proof of natural immunity accepted?
There are some legal challenges to this across the nation where employees argue since they have had COVID and have natural antibodies they therefore should not have to get the vaccine to keep their job.
Is In-N-Out’s Battle the Opening Skirmish in a Conflict Over Vaccine Mandates?
For a short time earlier this month, an In-N-Out at San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf refused to add a new item to its iconic menu. The city had ordered the burger spot, and all other local restaurants, to screen patrons’ COVID-19 vaccination status before allowing them to dine indoors.
When inspectors found In-N-Out wasn’t doing that, they temporarily closed the location. The fast-food chain publicly decried the action but took steps to reopen just a few days later.
But as more communities across California require proof of vaccination for many retailers and other public venues, the battle over enforcement of the new rules is just beginning to heat up.
Nearly 200 State Healthcare Workers Withdraw COVID Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits
Nearly 200 Minnesota healthcare workers voluntarily withdrew their federal lawsuits over COVID-19 vaccine mandates, according to court documents filed Tuesday, Oct. 19.
The 187 healthcare workers listed as plaintiffs included people with religious objections to the vaccines and those who say their previous COVID-19 infections make them immune. The lawsuit contended that the lack of alternatives to vaccines infringe upon the rights of these employees.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a request to block the mandate but didn’t dismiss the case outright.
Facebook Kept Its Own Oversight Board in the Dark on Program for VIP Users
Facebook failed to provide crucial details about its “Cross-Check” program that reportedly shielded millions of VIP users from the social media platform’s normal content moderation rules, according to the company’s oversight board.
The tech giant “has not been fully forthcoming on Cross-Check,” the oversight board said in a report published on Thursday. “On some occasions, Facebook failed to provide relevant information to the Board, while in other instances, the information it did provide was incomplete,” it added.
