Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Businesses, Services Eye Possible Disruptions As Vaccine Mandates Hit
Newsweek: Thousands Of United Workers To Be Fired, Furloughed Over COVID Vaccine Mandates
Today marks the deadline for employees of United Airlines to prove they've received their first COVID-19 shot or lose their job. ... As of last week, the company said that more than 97 percent of its U.S. employees had taken the shot. However, this figure leaves some 2,000 plus people as holdouts—and it appears these individuals will be putting up a fight. (Rouhandeh, 9/27)
AP: Novant Health Fires More Than 175 For Not Getting Vaccinated
A North Carolina-based hospital system announced Monday that more than 175 of its workers have been fired for failing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccination requirement. Last week, Novant Health announced 375 employees had been suspended and given five days to comply with the mandate. The deadline was Friday. (9/27)
Health News Florida: Orange County Won't Fire Employees Who Aren't Fully Vaccinated By The End Of October
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has announced a cap on disciplinary actions that can be taken against county employees who aren’t fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 31. Demings put a policy in place requiring county employees to get a first dose of a COVID shot by Sept. 30 and to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31. Demings says 94 percent of nonunion employees and 69 percent of union employees are in compliance, so far. (Prieur, 9/27)
AP: Federal Judge Requires Vaccines For California Prison Staff
A federal judge on Monday ordered that all employees entering California prisons be vaccinated or have a religious or medical exemption, as he tries to head off another coronavirus outbreak like the one that killed 28 inmates and a correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison last year. Inmates who want in-person visits or who work outside prisons, including inmate firefighters, must also be fully vaccinated or have a religious or medical exemption. The prison guard’s union said it may appeal the mandate. (Thompson, 9/27)
NPR: Religious Exemptions To Vaccines: Who Wants Them And What's Legal
Some city and state workers around the country have already begun to resist workplace vaccination rules on religious grounds. Soon those rules will be the norm in the private sector too, with the Biden administration's announcement this month that businesses with 100 or more employees must require those employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. NPR correspondents Andrea Hsu and Shannon Bond explain what the law says about religious exemptions to vaccine rules in the workplace. (9/27)
