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Ex-Washington State Coach Nick Rolovich Back in College Football After Firing Over Vaccine Mandate
Former Washington State head football coach Nick Rolovich is returning to major college football for the first time in three years after being fired for refusing to comply with the Washington state vaccine mandate in 2021.
California announced his hiring Friday, saying he is being added to the staff as a senior offensive assistant. Cal also has COVID-19 policy requirements for faculty, staff and students, but they can opt out of vaccination and submit a declination statement despite the university’s recommendation that they stay up to date on vaccination.
Rolovich, 45, sought a religious exemption from the mandate at Washington State but was terminated after the athletics department determined it couldn’t accommodate his unvaccinated status.
Former Nursing Home Worker Has COVID-19 Vaccination Lawsuit Reinstated
A Denver court has ruled that a nursing home employee can resume action against an Aurora, CO, facility, three years after she was terminated via what she considers religious discrimination and more than a year after the court dismissed her original motion.
According to court documents, Cherry Creek Nursing Center fired Diann R. Bolonchuk, an 18-year employee and evangelical Christian, in Oct 2021, after she requested religious accommodation on the grounds that ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine — fetal cells — went against her beliefs. On Nov. 26, a 3-0 decision by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court reversed part of her motion that was dismissed in April 2023.
“We affirm the dismissal of the First Amendment claim but reverse the dismissal of the Title VII claim and remand for further proceedings,” circuit judge Joel M. Carson III wrote. Legal experts say that the ruling doesn’t foreshadow any particular outcome. It should, however, provide clarity to certain operators that are unsure about how or if such matters could potentially affect them.
Massachusetts Pols Advancing Bill Eliminating Religious Vaccination Exemption for School Kids
Beacon Hill lawmakers were in the process of advancing legislation Dec. 13 that would eliminate religious vaccination exemptions for children entering public, private or charter K-12 schools.
The measure was among six bills the Legislature’s Public Health Committee was in line to stamp its approval on and ship to the House for consideration during a stretch of time when legislators typically do not take up controversial legislation, according to an email sent to committee members that was obtained by the Herald.
The two Democratic chairs of the committee, Sen. Julian Cyr of Provincetown and Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge, recommended lawmakers on the panel give the measure a favorable report, the email said.
The bill would still need to clear both the House and Senate and earn the signature of Gov. Maura Healey to become law. The two-year session covering 2023 and 2024 ends later this month.
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FDA Revokes EUAs of Four COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibodies
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec.13 revoked the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of four monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19.
The four drugs — bebtelovimab, sotrovimab, casirivimab/imdevimab (REGN-COV2) and tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld) — had been authorized for COVID-19 as treatments or as pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis for individuals at high risk of severe outcomes.
Casirivimab/imdevimab had famously been used in 2020 to treat Donald Trump during his bout with COVID-19, while bebtelovimab‘s claim to fame may have been the degree of difficulty in pronouncing it.
“The four mAb [monoclonal antibody] products have not been authorized for administration to patients for more than a year due to the high frequency of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants that are not susceptible to each particular mAb product,” the agency said.
FDA Expands Use of J&J’s Impella Heart Pumps to Pediatric Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has opened up the use of Johnson & Johnson’s miniaturized heart pumps to certain pediatric patients, including those suffering from acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock.
The agency expanded its previous premarket approvals for the catheter-based Impella 5.5 and CP pumps developed by Abiomed, for children weighing at least 30 kilograms and 52 kilograms for each model, respectively.
They cover the temporary support of a damaged heart’s left ventricle in the days after patients have undergone open surgery or have had a myocardial infarction, or in specific cases of an enlarged or inflamed cardiac muscle, known as cardiomyopathy and myocarditis.
Employees’ LinkedIn Likes Land AstraZeneca and GSK in Hot Water
LinkedIn likes have landed drugmakers in trouble once again. AstraZeneca — a repeat offender — and GSK were the subjects of the investigations under the U.K. marketing code, which found the companies broke the rules on promoting prescription medicines to the public.
Earlier this week, Fierce Pharma reported on three Prescription Medicines Code Of Practice Authority (PMCPA) cases that looked at the use of LinkedIn by senior AstraZeneca employees in the U.K. In two of the cases, the watchdog ruled the company brought discredit on the industry, in part because of “the impression created by very senior staff acting contrary to the company’s global social media policy” by liking LinkedIn posts.
Another recent investigation looked at a different LinkedIn post that three AstraZeneca employees liked. The post referred to AstraZeneca’s cancer drug Tagrisso. Like other PMCPA cases, the probe stemmed from a complaint by a purported AstraZeneca employee who took issue with its practices.
Pakistan Begins Last Anti-Polio Vaccination Campaign of the Year After a Surge in Cases
Pakistan on Monday began its last nationwide vaccination campaign for the year to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases hampered efforts to stop the disease, officials said.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus hasn’t been stopped, Pakistan has reported 63 confirmed cases since January.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s adviser for the polio eradication program, said the anti-polio drive will continue until Dec. 22.
“As a mother, I am appealing to you to open your doors for health workers,” she said.
Pakistan regularly launches such campaigns despite violence affecting medical personnel who oversee the vaccinations and security forces escorting them. Militants falsely claim that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
