Login
Will the Supreme Court Reenter the Vaccine Wars?
It’s been more than five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but legal disputes from the pandemic continue to arise. And the Supreme Court may not be done weighing in. At least three petitions related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates are currently awaiting the justices’ review for the 2025-26 term, including two focused on access to religious exemptions.
Does 1-2 v. Hochul centers on a New York state mandate issued in 2021 – but since repealed – that required employees at hospitals and nursing homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they could expose patients, residents, or other employees to the virus if infected.
The case was brought by a group of unnamed workers who, for religious reasons, refused to comply with the mandate and were then terminated. According to them, their former employers’ implementation of the mandate violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to make religious accommodations unless doing so would create “undue hardship” on the business.
WV Charter Schools Will Accept Religious Exemptions to Vaccines, Siding With Morrisey
West Virginia’s public charter school system will advise its schools to accept religious exemptions to the state’s mandatory vaccination policies if the student’s request is approved by state health officials.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the state’s public school system are at odds over the issue. The Republican governor issued an executive order in January requiring the state to allow religious exemptions to its school vaccination laws. He based the order on the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act.
The state’s school immunization law hasn’t changed, and the state school board said earlier this summer that they wouldn’t comply with Morrisey’s executive order. They instructed county boards of education to require all vaccines and allow only medical exemptions.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump Admin Puts Nail in Coffin of Biden-Era Vaccine Discrimination
The Trump administration is putting the final nail in the coffin of a Biden-era policy, directing federal agencies to scrub employees’ records of their COVID-19 vaccine status, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is expected to send a memo Friday instructing agencies to wipe federal worker’s files of their COVID-vaccine status, including their non-compliance with previous vaccine mandates, or any exemption requests, the Caller first learned. The agency is also officially instructing federal branches to stop considering employees’ COVID-19 vaccine status in the hiring process, the memo states.
“Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished, or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision. That should never have happened,” OPM Director Scott Kupor told the Caller in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we’re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.”
Philadelphia Students Can Get Free School Supplies, Vaccines, and More at These Back-to-School Events
It’s back-to-school season in Philadelphia and the school district and community organizations across the city are hosting free school supply giveaways and medical clinics to help students prepare to return to classrooms.
This year, advocates say access to free resources is vital for Philly families because of the federal government’s deep cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, coupled with delays in Pennsylvania’s state budget process.
“It’s really important this year because with the state of the government right now, a lot of people will be losing their health insurance,” said Portia Ackridge, who runs DentMed Inc., a nonprofit that’s partnering with Remote Area Medical to bring a free medical clinic to the School of the Future. The clinic will offer free dental care, eyeglasses made onsite, school vaccines, physicals and other services for children and adults.
