U.S. Military Largely Complies With Vaccine Mandate
Among news about vaccinations, vaccination mandates and vaccination refusals, 27,000 active-duty military personnel have refused orders to get covid shots. But that translates to over 95% compliance. Businesses in New York City react to the mayor's proposal that all employers in the city force their employees to vaccinate.
NBC News:
Thousands Of Service Members Miss Covid Vaccination Deadlines
Thousands of active-duty service members have failed to comply with the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, raising the prospect that they will be forced to leave their positions or the military altogether. The vaccination deadline for active-duty members of the armed services has passed for the Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps. The Army's deadline is Dec. 15. (McCausland, 12/7)
In updates on other vaccine and mask mandates —
The New York Times:
N.Y.C. Business Owners And Workers React To Vaccine Mandate
The day after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a vaccine mandate for on-site employees at all private businesses — the most far-reaching local measure in the country — workers across the city were figuring out what it would mean for them. Some business leaders raised concerns about the difficulty of enforcing the measure, whether the city had the power to enact the mandate and whether it could lead to worker shortages. (Fitzsimmons and Fadulu, 12/7)
AP:
Phoenix Pauses COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For City Workers
Phoenix paused implementation Tuesday of a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the 14,000 workers in the nation’s fifth largest city, just hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a mandate for those employed by federal contractors. The pause was announced shortly before a planned afternoon hearing to discuss the city’s plan to get all city employees inoculated against the virus by Jan. 18. It was the latest standoff around the country over federal guidelines for the vaccines that have been challenged by more than a dozen lawsuits nationwide. (Snow, 12/8)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Louisiana Supreme Court Hears Arguments From Ochsner, Employees Over Vaccine Mandate
The Louisiana Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday from lawyers representing Ochsner Health and employees challenging the hospital operator's vaccine mandate and is set to make a decision on whether the mandate is enforceable. (Woodruff, 12/7)
AP:
S. Carolina Lawmakers Advance COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Ban
A panel of South Carolina lawmakers advanced a proposal Tuesday to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates for state and local government employees, contractors and public school students. The bill considered by a House Ways and Means subcommittee would effectively make such vaccine mandates illegal for public state or local employees, contractors and first responders. Under the proposal, school districts would not be able to require students to get the shots either. (12/8)
AP:
Student Denied Emergency Relief In Nevada Vaccination Suit
A college student who argues he’s immune from COVID-19 because he was previously infected has lost his bid for an emergency court order that would have allowed him to register for classes while his presses his federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the University of Nevada, Reno’s mandatory vaccination policy. A U.S district judge from California who was reassigned to the case last week said in denying the temporary restraining order sought by 18-year-old Jacob Gold that he’s failed to establish a fundamental constitutional right to refuse vaccination. (Sonner, 12/8)
Los Angeles Times:
34,000 L.A. Students Don't Comply With COVID Vaccine Mandate
About 34,000 students have not yet complied with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the Los Angeles Unified School District — and there’s no longer enough time for students who have not gotten their first shot to be fully vaccinated by the Jan. 10 start of the second semester, portending significant disruption to their education as they will be barred from campus. The high number of students who will not be able to meet the full inoculation deadline is likely to force difficult decisions on leaders of second-largest U.S. school system, which has enacted among the strictest vaccine mandates in the nation. Students who are not fully vaccinated — or exempt — will be forced into the district’s independent study program or will have to leave the Los Angeles public school system. (Blume, 12/7)
Anchorage Daily News:
Anchorage Assembly Votes To End Mask Mandate
Anchorage’s emergency mask ordinance requiring people to wear masks in indoor public spaces is expiring early. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Assembly passed a resolution declaring that the ordinance would expire at midnight. (Goodykoontz, 12/7)
