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A Hospital Says It Won’t Deliver Babies After Staffers Resigned Over Coronavirus Vaccine Mandate
An Upstate New York hospital announced that it will stop delivering babies this month after several staffers in the maternity department resigned over the hospital system’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
At least six unvaccinated maternity staffers at Lewis County General Hospital have resigned in recent days, and seven others remain undecided on whether to get vaccinated, Gerald Cayer, chief executive officer of the Lewis County Health System, said at a Friday news conference. The staff shortage will result in the hospital being “unable to safely staff” the maternity department beginning Sept. 25, he said.
Surgeon General: U.S. to ‘Monitor’ Whether Vaccine Exemptions Being Used Properly
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has advised that the Biden administration will “monitor” to ensure no one abuses COVID-19 vaccine exemptions.
President Biden last week announced a mandate that required any company with at least 100 employees to mandate its workforce. The only way to avoid the mandate is to claim an exemption on either religious or medical grounds.
Some critics argue that the exemptions allow for simple abuse, but Murthy insists the administration will ensure that does not happen.
It May Take ‘Many, Many’ More Vaccine Mandates to End the COVID-19 Pandemic, Fauci Says
Millions of Americans still need to get vaccinated to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 and getting the pandemic under control could take “many, many” more vaccine mandates, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said if more people aren’t persuaded to get vaccinated by messaging from health officials and “trusted political messengers,” additional mandates from schools and businesses may be necessary.
“I believe that’s going to turn this around because I don’t think people are going to want to not go to work or not go to college … They’re going to do it,” Fauci told CNN’s Jen Christensen during an interview at the NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ Journalists, convention Sunday. “You’d like to have them do it on a totally voluntary basis, but if that doesn’t work, you’ve got to go to the alternatives.”
Spectrum Health Workers Can Use Natural Immunity as Vaccine Mandate Exemption
Spectrum Health will grant temporary exemptions from its employee vaccine mandate to individuals who can prove they have naturally acquired immunity to COVID-19.
The west Michigan hospital system, which is in the process of merging with Southfield-based Beaumont Health, will grant an exemption to those who have a positive PCR or antigen test for COVID-19 plus a positive antibody test from within the past three months, the health system said in a statement Thursday.
The exemption, the first for a major health system in Michigan, was developed “as new research has emerged” on natural immunity.
“While we still recommend vaccination for people with prior COVID-19 infection, according to this new research, there is increasing evidence that natural infection affords protection from COVID-19 reinfection and severe symptoms for a period of time,” the statement said. “Current studies are not clear on how long natural immunity protects from reinfection.”
Fauci Says He Would Support Vaccine Requirements for Air Travel
Anthony Fauci said in a new interview that he would support vaccine requirements for air travel.
“I would support that, if you want to get on a plane and travel with other people that you should be vaccinated,” Fauci said during an interview with the Skimm’s “Skimm This” podcast, which was taped Friday and is set to be released Thursday.
Fauci’s backing of a travel vaccine mandate comes after Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) introduced a bill on Thursday that calls for all airline and train passengers in the U.S. to show proof of vaccination or a present negative COVID-19 test in order to travel.
Why Is Congress Exempt From the Biden COVID Vaccine Mandate?
President Joe Biden says all federal employees will have to be vaccinated and weekly tests are not an option to get out of taking the shot. But one big group of people who get paid out of the federal treasury won’t have to get vaccinated: Congress.
The thing to remember is that the president controls the executive branch of government but can’t tell the legislative branch what to do, so Congress can make its own rules about vaccine requirements.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said back in April there would not be a vaccine requirement for members of Congress and their staff.
What to Know About Religious Exemptions for the COVID-19 Vaccine
As more and more workplaces and colleges require employees and students to be vaccinated, some Hoosiers are responding with an increasingly familiar refrain: It’s against my religion.
Ivy Tech Community College, for example, has received roughly 230 requests for religious exemptions since mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for certain students.
Employers in the area, such as Indiana University Health, Marion County Health Department, and Eli Lilly and Co. have also enforced vaccine mandates effective as soon as mid-September and as late as mid-November. For some of these businesses, religious and medical exemptions will be granted on an individual basis.
ESPN Reporter Steps Down Over Vaccine Requirements
ESPN reporter Allison Williams said she will be stepping down for the college football season after she decided to not receive the coronavirus vaccine.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday, Williams said she decided to not get the COVID-19 vaccine while she and her husband are trying to conceive a second child.
“This was a deeply difficult decision to make and it’s not something I take lightly,” Williams said. “I understand vaccines have been essential in the effort to end this pandemic; however, taking the vaccine at this time is not in my best interest.”
Henry Ford Health System Workers Drop COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit
History and the law are on President Joe Biden’s side when it comes to coronavirus vaccine mandates, a medical historian and legal experts told the Free Press.
Although legal challenges are likely, “the mandates are legal and will ultimately be upheld,” said Peter Jacobson, professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Michigan, of the sweeping plan Biden announced Thursday to combat the pandemic.
The plan includes an emergency order through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will require as many as 100 million U.S. workers get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing.
Amid Cries of Tyranny, Britain Cancels Any Plan to Require Vaccine Passports
After months of cries of tyranny and discrimination raised by speculation that Britain would require vaccine passports for entry into crowded venues like stores and nightclubs, the authorities said on Sunday any such plans had been scrapped, at least for the moment.
Sajid Javid, Britain’s health secretary, said the passports — essentially, documentation proving vaccination against COVID-19 — were still “a potential option” for the future. “It should be looked at in combination with other measures,” he told the BBC on Sunday.
Medicare App Flaw Means Vaccine Certificates Can Be Faked in Less Than 10 Minutes
A flaw has been discovered in the Express Plus Medicare app that allows people to fake their COVID vaccination certificates in under 10 minutes.
Once Australians get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, they are able to show a certificate on the app that includes their name, date of birth, and which vaccine they received.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, last month described it as “a credible and effective and easily usable digital vaccination certificate which can be provided to Australians.”
The certificate has a digital animation behind it, which is designed to prevent people presenting fake versions, but Sydney software engineer Richard Nelson discovered he was able to exploit a security flaw in the app and provide it with fake vaccine information that looked identical to the real thing.
