Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Big Military Vaccination Rate Gaps Remain As Deadlines Approach
The Washington Post: Hundreds Of Thousands Of U.S. Troops Have Not Complied As Pentagon Deadlines Near
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members remain unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Pentagon’s first compliance deadlines near, with lopsided rates across the individual services and a spike in deaths among military reservists illustrating how political division over the shots has seeped into a nonpartisan force with unambiguous orders. Overall, the military’s vaccination rate has climbed since August, when Defense Department leaders, acting on a directive from President Biden, informed the nation’s 2.1 million troops that immunization would become mandatory, exemptions would be rare and those who refuse would be punished. Yet troops’ response has been scattershot, according to data assessed by The Washington Post. (Horton, 10/10)
Businesses and hospitals struggle with President Biden's vaccine mandate —
NBC News: As Biden's Vaccinate-Or-Test Mandate Approaches, Questions Arise Over Enforcement
President Joe Biden says his sweeping Covid-19 vaccination and testing mandate will boost the economy and save lives, but as businesses prepare for the new requirement, they’re wondering not only what will be in the regulation, but how it will be enforced. The mandate, which will apply to organizations with at least 100 employees and cover an estimated 80 million workers, has already drawn threats of lawsuits from two dozen Republican attorneys general and prompted some people to vow to quit their jobs. But a greater challenge for the administration could lie within the agency tasked with ensuring compliance. (Przybyla and Strickler, 10/11)
AP: Small Businesses Navigate Ever-Changing COVID-19 Reality
For a brief moment this summer, it seemed like small businesses might be getting a break from the relentless onslaught of the pandemic. More Americans, many of them vaccinated, flocked to restaurants and stores without needing to mask up or socially distance. But then came a surge in cases due to the delta variant, a push for vaccine mandates and a reluctant return to more COVID-19 precautions. Now, small business owners are left trying to strike a balance between staying safe and getting back to being fully open. (Anderson, 10/10)
Stateline: Red States Have Limited Options For Fighting Biden's Vaccine Rules
As Montana intensive care units fill with critically ill, mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, hospital leaders there are caught between two laws that dictate whether they can require their employees to get immunized against the coronavirus. A state law that Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed in May prohibits Montana employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated. But President Joe Biden plans to require health care employers to mandate worker vaccinations at facilities that treat patients with public health insurance. Facilities that don’t comply risk losing federal reimbursement. “It has put, particularly hospitals, in a very difficult position of having a state law that says, ‘You can’t vaccinate,’ and a federal rule that says, ‘If you want to be paid [by the federal government], you have to vaccinate,’” said Rich Rasmussen, president and CEO of the Montana Hospital Association, a Helena-based trade group. (Quinton, 10/8)
In other news about covid mandates —
The CT Mirror: Lamont Terminates Probationary Workers Over COVID-19 Noncompliance
A dozen state employees in their six-month probationary period were fired Friday for refusing to comply with Gov. Ned Lamont’s order to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or begin weekly testing for the disease. While other non-compliant employees face being placed on unpaid leave for 45 days before losing their jobs, those still in the probationary period required of every new hire can be immediately dismissed, state officials said. “We reached out to them more than once, said, ‘You get vaccinated or you get tested. And if you say no, you can’t work here. It’s unsafe,’” Lamont said. (Pazniokas, 10/8)
The Hill: Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Says COVID-19 Hospitalization Made Him 'More Dedicated To Fighting Against Vaccine Mandates'
Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West, who is currently recovering from a case of COVID-19, said his hospitalization with the virus has made him “more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates.” West, who announced Saturday night that he has coronavirus-related pneumonia, advocated for monoclonal antibody infusion therapy as a way to combat COVID-19 instead of vaccines. “I can attest that, after this experience, I am even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates. Instead of enriching the pockets of Big Pharma and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, we should be advocating the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy,” Allen said on Twitter from the hospital Sunday morning. (Schnell, 10/10)
Fox 5 Atlanta: Fired Piedmont ER Doc Explains Why He Refused Vaccine Mandate
The only Georgia physician known to be fired for defying a COVID vaccine mandate insisted he’s not an anti-vaxxer. Dr. William "Tommy" Redwood, 63, was terminated last week from his job as an emergency room doctor at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. Redwood is well known in the Atlanta medical community. He spent 16 years as medical director of emergency services for Wellstar Kennestone in Marietta. He worked for four years as an emergency room physician at Piedmont. (Travis, 10/8)
