Vaccine Mandates Face More Pushback

AP: Medical Groups Argue Against Indiana Vaccine Mandate Limits
Numerous Indiana medical and business groups argued Tuesday against a Republican proposal aimed at ending the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency and forcing broad exemptions from workplace vaccination requirements. The proposed changes to state law faced criticism during a legislative committee hearing that it wrongly sends a message that the coronavirus pandemic is over at a time when Indiana’s infections and hospitalizations are rising again. Republican House Majority Leader Matt Lehman presented the proposal as a step toward protecting individual rights by allowing workers to claim medical or religious exemptions if their employers required COVID-19 vaccinations. (Davies, 11/23)

Chicago Tribune: Chicago First Responders Fight Vaccine Mandate — Even At Risk Of Job Loss 
During the height of the first coronavirus wave, Chicago police Officer James Murray found himself standing guard on the front porches of sick residents, trying to reassure anxious relatives desperate to see their loved ones while paramedics tended to them. He lost a friend in the Police Department to COVID-19 around the same time. Later on, he said, he also contracted the virus. But a year later and with the advent of three coronavirus vaccines in the U.S., Murray has refused to get the shot, which health officials say overwhelmingly saves lives in a pandemic that has killed more than 700,000 Americans. He is also one of more than 70 Chicago Police Department employees who’ve been sent home without pay for disobeying the city’s reporting requirement. (Yin, 11/23)

CNBC: Google Employees Sign Manifesto Against Widened Covid Vaccine Mandate
Several hundred Google employees have signed and circulated a manifesto opposing the company’s Covid vaccine mandate, posing the latest challenge for leadership as it approaches key deadlines for returning workers to offices in person. The Biden administration has ordered U.S. companies with 100 or more workers to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19 by Jan. 4. In response, Google asked its more than 150,000 employees to upload their vaccination status to its internal systems by Dec. 3, whether they plan to come into the office or not, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. (Elias, 11/23)

The Hill: US Automakers, Union Agree To Not Require Coronavirus Vaccines For Workers
Detroit's three big automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis — announced on Tuesday that they are not yet mandating vaccines for thousands of workers. The United Auto Workers (UAW) issued a joint statement with the companies saying they would require masking at work sites despite not mandating vaccines. The unionized workers will, however, be asked to report their vaccination status on a voluntary basis. The statement said the groups would continue "to urge all members, coworkers, and their families to get vaccinated and get booster vaccinations against COVID-19, while understanding that there are personal reasons that may prevent some members from being vaccinated, such as health issues or religious beliefs." (Beals, 11/23)

On legal matters over mandates —

AP: Settlement Appears Over In Med Students' Vaccine Lawsuit
The settlement may be off in a lawsuit filed by three medical students who sought an exemption from a north Louisiana medical college’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements on religious grounds. The students’ attorneys filed papers in federal court in Monroe on Tuesday, seeking permission to submit an amended complaint in the lawsuit against the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Monroe. Last month, a judge signed a settlement in the lawsuit, stating the college formally agreed to exempt the students from its vaccination requirement. The judge had issued a temporary order in favor of the three students in August. (McGill, 11/24)

Health News Florida: State Senate Committee Eyes Extending COVID Legal Protections For Health Providers 
The state Senate Judiciary Committee next week will consider a proposal that would extend COVID-19 legal protections for health care providers. The committee is scheduled to take up the measure (SPB 7014) during a Nov. 30 meeting. Lawmakers during the 2021 legislative session passed a bill (SB 72) that provided protections to health care providers and other businesses from lawsuits related to issues such as transmission of COVID-19 and treatment of people with COVID-19. (11/23)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Judge Says County Health Orders Illegal And Must Be Lifted 
A Missouri judge has stripped local health departments of their ability to issue orders designed to keep people safe during a pandemic. In a case involving a St. Louis County restaurant owner, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green said all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. (Erickson, 11/23)

Also —

The Hill: 'General Hospital' Actor Says He Was Fired From Show For Failing To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
“General Hospital” actor Steve Burton said in an Instagram video on Tuesday he was fired from the show for failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “I wanted you to hear it from me personally," Burton said. “Unfortunately, ‘General Hospital’ has let me go because of the vaccine mandate." The actor said he was denied medical and religious exemptions he applied for so he would not have to get vaccinated. (Lonas, 11/23)

Fox News: School Staff Shortages Nationwide Could Lead To Changes In Vaccine Mandates
Thanksgiving break has been extended for hundreds of thousands of public school students across the country, as the number of educators in schools dips below critical mass. The situation has become so dire that some districts are considering walking back previous COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff. In Western Michigan, 20 schools canceled classes for the entirety of the week. (Hoff, 11/23)

CNBC: Are Covid Vaccine Mandates Ethical? Here’s What Medical Experts Think
As the latest wave of Covid-19 sweeps across Europe, governments across the region are once again tightening restrictions, with some specifically cracking down on their unvaccinated populations. In Austria, which has the second-lowest Covid vaccination rate in western Europe, immunizations against the virus are set to become mandatory from Feb. 1. Austria is the first country in Europe to introduce a vaccine mandate for its entire population, but it isn’t the first nation in the world to do so. (Taylor, 11/24)

In news on mask mandates —

The New York Times: With Cases Surging, Officials In The Buffalo Area Are The First In New York To Bring Back A Mask Mandate
With daily coronavirus case rates reaching record numbers and area hospitals more than 90 percent full, local officials in the Buffalo area reinstituted a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces that went into effect on Tuesday. “We really need to keep the hospitals from being inundated,” Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said on Monday in a news conference announcing the new policy. “These numbers are not good.” The mask mandate applies to all staff and patrons at stores, restaurants, bars, salons, and other public indoor spaces in the county, regardless of their vaccination status. It is the first phase of what Mr. Poloncarz warned would be increasing restrictions if virus numbers do not begin to stabilize. (Otterman, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Denver Renews Mask Mandate as Covid-19 Cases Mount
Denver is renewing a Covid-19 mask mandate, requiring face coverings for businesses and other indoor public spaces until Jan. 3 unless venues check vaccine cards at the door, Mayor Michael Hancock said Tuesday. The order takes effect Wednesday. Neighboring counties have taken similar steps. A recent surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations across Colorado puts the health care system at risk, Hancock said at a news conference. (Del Giudice, 11/23)