Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Washington and North Carolina, Health Worker Vax Rates Reach 90%
AP: Nearly All State Health Workers Vaccinated In North Carolina
North Carolina officials announced Monday that nearly all of the 10,000 employees working in 14 state-operated health care facilities are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, 6% of workers got an approved medical or religious exemption or a special accommodation, while the remaining 94% are fully vaccinated. (Anderson, 10/11)
AP: Most State Workers, WA Hospital Staff Vaccinated For COVID
Nearly 90% of Washington’s hospital staff statewide are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a recent survey released a week before a deadline for workers to either be vaccinated or receive an exemption in order to keep their jobs. Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association, said Monday that with 94% of the state’s hospitals reporting, an overall rate of 88% fully vaccinated was reported as of last week’s cutoff date for vaccination in order to make the deadline. Under the mandate issued by Gov. Jay Inslee in August, full vaccination is considered two weeks after a final dose, meaning workers needed to receive a final dose of either Pfizer or Moderna, or the one-shot dose of Johnson & Johnson by Oct. 4. (La Corte, 10/11)
Some states are facing delays with their mandates —
Crain's Detroit Business: Michigan Medicine To Negotiate With Nurses Union Over Vaccine Mandate
As the Nov. 1 deadline for vaccination against COVID-19 nears for all Michigan Medicine staff, the university health system still hasn't figured out how to mandate the policy for its 6,150 nurses. Last December, the system ratified a one-year collective bargaining extension with the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council Independent Union that exempted nurses from a vaccine mandate and instead required the system to negotiate with the union for required vaccination.The agreement states: " ... the Employer will provide the COVID-19 vaccination at no cost to the employees and on a voluntary basis." (Walsh, 10/11)
Los Angeles Times: Facing Disruption, LAUSD Extends Staff COVID Vaccine Deadline
The Los Angeles school district — confronted with widespread campus disruption and the firing of potentially thousands of unvaccinated teachers and other staff — has extended the looming deadline for all workers to be fully immunized for COVID-19. The prior deadline of Oct. 15 — this Friday — has been moved to Nov. 15, when employees must have received the second of two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to a brief district statement. The district did not clearly state a timetable for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Blume, 10/11)
CNN: A Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Won't Force Staff At This Rural Missouri Hospital To Get The Shot, CEO Says. It Will Make Them Quit
Dr. Randy Tobler, CEO of Scotland County Hospital in Memphis, Missouri, has struggled to retain staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, losing 10 of his 57 nurses in the main hospital and three rural health clinics. So Tobler can't afford to alienate any more health care workers, but he believes a Covid-19 vaccine mandate could do just that. Such a requirement won't make his unvaccinated staff get the shot, he says. It will make them quit. (Reeve, Guff, Russell and Andone, 10/12)
AP: Thousands Protest Vaccine Mandates At Mississippi Rallies
Thousands recently rallied against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at protests held on Mississippi’s coast and in its capital. Upwards of 1,500 workers and their family members waved homemade signs and flags along U.S. 90 near the entrance to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula on Friday, the Sun Herald reported. The company, which builds 70% of the U.S. Navy’s warships, is one of the largest federal contractors and state employers. (10/11)
In other news about covid mandates —
San Francisco Chronicle: Southwest Pilots Insist Disruptions Are Not Part Of Sickout
As Southwest Airlines canceled several hundred more flights Monday following a weekend of major disruptions that it blamed on bad weather and air traffic control issues, the company and the pilots union said the cancellations were not in response to a vaccination mandate, according to the Associated Press. The widespread disruptions began shortly after the union for Southwest’s 9,000 pilots asked a federal court on Friday to block the airline’s order that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. The union said it doesn’t oppose vaccination, but it argued in its filing that Southwest must negotiate before taking such a step. Pilots are not conducting a sickout or slowdown to protest the vaccine mandate, according to the union, which said it “has not authorized, and will not condone, any job action.” (Vaziri, Buchmann, Fracassa and Beamish, 10/11)
The Hill: NBA Superstar Won't Play Home Games All Season Because He Refuses To Be Vaccinated
Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving’s decision to not take a COVID-19 vaccine could lead to the superstar missing his team’s home games throughout the season. New York City vaccine mandates will require any person in attendance at games at the Barclays Center --home of the Nets -- and New York Knicks facility at Madison Square Garden to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet Irving will be able to practice with the team at the HSS Training Center, which is a private business. (Barnes, 10/11)
AP: New Mexico Professor Against Vax, Mask Mandates Fired
A New Mexico State University professor who publicly opposed campus vaccine and mask mandates will no longer be teaching there. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports David Clements, a business college professor, posted on his social media account on the Telegram platform that he had been “terminated.” The university confirmed Monday that Clements was “no longer employed by NMSU.” (10/11)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Marathon 2021 Runners Must Have COVID Vaccine
The Philadelphia Marathon, which is scheduled for Nov. 20, is requiring runners to be vaccinated for COVID-19 two weeks prior to race day, organizers said Monday. Also, the number of registered in-person participants will be limited compared to pre-pandemic times, when the whole event would draw around 30,000 runners. There will be a preliminary cap of 10,000 in-person runners for the full 26.2-mile marathon, a 10,000 cap on the half-marathon, and around 3,500 for the 8K race, for a total of about 24,000 in-person participants. (Moran, 10/11)
