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Mass. Hospital Worker Fired for Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccine Wins Appeal
A former UMass Memorial Health employee who was terminated in 2021 for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine has won the right to revive her lawsuit. A Massachusetts appeals court ruled that the hospital failed to prove that accommodating the employee’s religious beliefs would cause undue hardship. The woman had requested a religious exemption, arguing that her body is a “temple of God” and that the vaccine mandate violated her right to religious freedom.
UMass Memorial Health fired nearly 200 unvaccinated employees in December 2021.
UMass Memorial provided the following statement: “UMass Memorial does not comment on specific, pending litigation. Our organization, however, is proud of the heroic efforts by our caregivers who worked tirelessly through the COVID-19 pandemic under the most trying and uncertain of times. In accordance with federal law and to provide a safe environment for all members of our community — including the immuno-compromised — UMass Memorial implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees.
UMass Memorial reviewed and approved when appropriate requests for religious accommodation from the mandate. UMass Memorial is confident in the fairness with which it treated such requests and remains committed to being a welcoming and inclusive workplace for all members of our community.”
Texas AG Paxton Slams Medical Association Over New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the Texas Medical Association (TMA) for rejecting new federal guidelines that expand parental choice regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for children.
Paxton accused the organization of “undermining science-backed recommendations” from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which recently shifted federal vaccine policy toward shared clinical decision-making between parents and physicians.
“It’s outrageous TMA is undermining ACIP’s new federal guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines that expand personal freedom and mitigate the medical tyranny of the Biden Administration,” Paxton said in a statement. “TMA has chosen to ignore overwhelming evidence and science-backed recommendations that ensure Texas children are not subjected to a one-size-fits-all COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ACIP updated their COVID-19 vaccination guidance last month, moving away from universal recommendations for all children. Instead, the new policy emphasizes parental consultation and informed consent, allowing families to decide vaccination on a case-by-case basis.
Top Doctor Says He Was ‘Silenced’ and Demands US Apologizes for Covid Vaccine Mandates… ‘Safety Was Ignored’
A former adviser for the Make America Healthy Again movement who is now working to replicate the initiative in Europe has said the public deserves an apology for COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In a commentary published in Science, Public Health Policy and the Law, cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra and co-author psychologist Dr. Andrea Nazarenko argue that informed consent, the ‘fundamental’ principle of healthcare, was abandoned in the COVID-19 pandemic, eroding trust in public health institutions.
They claim that by enforcing mandates and downplaying potential side effects of the new vaccines, such as myocarditis, authorities ‘silenced truth seekers’ and damaged confidence in healthcare systems. ‘Until the most urgent questions are answered,’ they wrote, ‘nothing less than a global moratorium on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, coupled with formal, unequivocal apologies from governments and medical bodies for mandates and for silencing truth seekers, will suffice.’
‘Restoring legitimacy requires three concrete commitments: Full transparency of data, independent evaluation of evidence, and accountability through both policy change and public acknowledgement of harm.’ At the federal level, America enacted several Covid vaccine mandates that were not removed until May 2023, including a requirement that all employees be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.
Mask Mandates Return in Wealthy Blue State County, Leaders Cite ‘Risk of COVID’ and up Vaccine Recommendations
A county in California wine country is beefing up its vaccine recommendations and instituting a mask mandate, citing “greater risk” of contracting COVID-19 amid the start of the annual flu season. The Sonoma County Department of Public Health’s Interim Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith issued an order Monday requiring anyone entering certain healthcare facilities in the county to wear a mask.
Facilities subject to the order include skilled nursing facilities, portions of long-term care facilities where nursing care is provided, acute and non-acute rehabilitation facilities, infusion centers, and dialysis centers, according to the order.
“The rationale behind this order is to protect the most vulnerable populations (such as the elderly and cancer patients) and to try to prevent medical staff from getting sick and creating staffing problems for facilities,” a spokesperson for the Sonoma County Department of Health told Fox News Digital.
Pentagon Orders ‘White Glove’ Treatment for Those Returning to Military Service After COVID Vaccine Refusal
Former troops kicked out of military service for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine will receive “special category VIP or ‘white glove’ treatment” if they rejoin, the Pentagon said Thursday in conjunction with the release of a memo to military service leaders. The changes follow criticism from some social media influencers about how returning troops have been treated at military intake facilities.
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement the changes would accompany a review of the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine policy that would examine “what occurred, why, and what the Department will do to ensure that it never happens again.”
The memo, signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata, told military service leaders to make changes at Military Entrance Processing Stations, or MEPS, sites where recruits undergo medical screenings, aptitude tests and other final checks before being brought into military service.
“As these efforts continue, the Military Departments are directed to prioritize special-category VIP treatment for affected former service members,” Tata wrote.
The reinstatement of troops kicked out over the vaccine mandate has been a priority for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, though only a fraction of those who were separated have put back on a military uniform.
Appeals Court Dismisses Case Against Pilots’ Union Over COVID Shot Mandate
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined to reinstate a lawsuit against a union representing United Airlines pilots who were fired over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and alleged that their representatives breached a duty.
In affirming an earlier dismissal by a federal district court, the appeals court wrote in Kevin Wickstrom v. Air Line Pilots Association, International that the plaintiffs fail to allege bad faith and that their complaint “repeatedly asserts” that the association and United “colluded” to implement the vaccine mandate, “but we need not accept as true such a conclusory label, and no well-pleaded factual allegations support it.”
The plaintiffs also alleged that the association switched positions on the permissibility of a vaccine mandate, of which the record failed to prove, according to the ruling.
