Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NYC Mandates City Health Workers Get Vaccinated Or Be Tested Weekly
The New York Times: New York To Require Vaccination Or Weekly Testing For City Health Workers
For months, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been reluctant to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for anyone, hoping that encouragement, convenience and persuasion would be enough. But with two million adult New Yorkers still unvaccinated — including a high percentage of employees in the public hospital system — and the Delta variant threatening the city with a third wave of cases, City Hall is trying out a new tactic: requiring workers in city-run hospitals and health clinics to get vaccinated or else get tested on a weekly basis, the mayor’s spokesman said Tuesday. (Goldstein, 7/20)
ABC News: New Jersey Hospital Network Fires 6 Supervisors For Not Getting Vaccinated Against COVID-19
A New Jersey hospital network has fired a half-dozen high-ranking employees who refused to comply with a new policy requiring them to get vaccinated against COVID-19. RWJBarnabas Health, one of the largest health care systems in the Garden State and in the nation, announced in May that it was mandating COVID-19 vaccination for all staff at the supervisory level and above, effective immediately. Those employees were required to have completed their course of vaccinations no later than June 30. (Winsor, 7/20)
Georgia Health News: Another COVID Risk: Home Health Care Workers Who Are Not Vaccinated
“It’s not just hospital workers,’’ the email said. A GHN reader was responding to stories about hospital workers who are unvaccinated, which we co-published with WebMD and Medscape. The emailer told me that he was having trouble finding a home health care company with workers who had been vaccinated against COVID-19. (Miller, 7/20)
The Boston Globe: 33 People Test Positive For COVID-19 At West Yarmouth Nursing Home, Health Officials Confirm
The spread of COVID-19 on Cape Cod grew more alarming Tuesday with news that 33 cases of the virus have been reported in a nursing home in West Yarmouth, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed. Twenty-four residents and 9 staff members at Maplewood at Mayflower Place in West Yarmouth have tested positive for the virus since July 10, a DPH spokesperson confirmed in an email to the Globe on Tuesday. (Chaidez, 7/20)
In other news on the vaccine rollout —
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Ranks Last For Vaccinating Nursing Home Residents
Nevada has plummeted to the bottom of a federal list for the percentage of vaccinations for the most vulnerable population — nursing home residents. New data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows Nevada stands as the worst U.S. state for protecting seniors living in care facilities. The shocking 61 percent vaccination rate of seniors in Nevada nursing homes, compared to 95 percent for Vermont, prompted the state’s U.S. senators to urge Health Secretary Xavier Becerra to target elderly in the state for federal funds and efforts. Another analysis this week by AARP found similar results and prompted that nonprofit senior advocacy group to sound the alarm in Nevada. (Martin, 7/20)
Newsweek: Florida, A Haven For Retirees, Has Second-Lowest U.S. Vaccination Rate For Nursing Home Staff
Nursing home staff in Florida are the second-least vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state faces a surge of new infections driven by the virulent Delta variant. Just 41.8 percent of Florida nursing home staff have been fully vaccinated against the virus, not far from Louisiana's national low of 41.1 percent, according to data released Tuesday by AARP. Almost 84 percent of staff were vaccinated in top-ranked Hawaii, while the national average vaccination rate for nursing home staff is 56 percent. (Slisco, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Group Representing 500 Bars Considers New Initiative Requiring Vaccine Proof For Entry
San Francisco bar-goers may soon need to show up with vaccine cards at more bars. The San Francisco Bar Owner Alliance, which represents 500 bars, announced Tuesday that it’s considering a new program that asks patrons to show proof of vaccination before entry. With COVID-19 cases back on the rise in the Bay Area and beyond due to the delta variant, the group’s founder and chair Ben Bleiman said the topic is under discussion with its members. SF Gate first reported on the development; Bleiman confirmed the news to The Chronicle. (Warerkar, 7/20)
