Students File Lawsuit Challenging Indiana University’s Covid Vaccine Requirement
Indiana's attorney general had already issued an opinion that the school's mandate goes against a new state law. Now eight students are fighting it in court. Meanwhile, financial giant Morgan Stanley bars unvaccinated employees from working in its New York-based offices.
CNN:
Students Sue Indiana University Over Vaccine Mandate
A potential showdown is looming between eight students who want to come to the Indiana University campus in August but think the school's Covid-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional. The mandate requires students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated or get an exemption for religious or medical reasons before starting the fall term. (Riess and Almasy, 6/22)
CNBC:
Morgan Stanley To Bar Workers Without Covid Vaccinations From Offices
Morgan Stanley on Tuesday told its staff that workers and clients who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 will be barred from returning to New York City and Westchester County offices with a large employee presence beginning July 12, CNBC has confirmed. All Morgan Stanley staff in the New York metropolitan area are also now required to attest to their coronavirus vaccination status by July 1. Employees who are not fully vaccinated will have to continue working remotely, the company told workers Tuesday. (Mangan, 6/22)
In other news about the vaccine rollout —
The Hill:
Americans Living Abroad Plead For COVID-19 Vaccine
Americans living abroad are pleading with the U.S. government to provide them with COVID-19 vaccine doses, particularly as demand is waning domestically with a majority of adults getting their shots. Expats living in places like Germany, India and Thailand are finding they have to choose between waiting until a vaccine is available in their country of residency or risk a trip to the U.S. or elsewhere to get vaccinated, potentially contracting the coronavirus en route. (Coleman, 6/23)
AP:
4 People Win $250K Apiece In New Mexico Vaccine Sweepstakes
State health officials announced Tuesday that four people have each won $250,000 prizes as part of the New Mexico vaccine sweepstakes. They were the first four winners of Vax 2 the Max Sweepstakes. The $10 million cash sweepstakes is funded by federal stimulus and intended to incentivize COVID-19 vaccinations. (6/22)
USA Today:
Walgreens COVID Vaccine Giveaway: $25, Gift Cards For New Vaccinations
Walgreens, one of the nation's two largest drugstore chains, plans to give $25 in store credit to anyone who gets a COVID-19 vaccination there in the next several days. The move comes amid a flurry of COVID-19 vaccine incentives nationwide, including giveaways at Walgreens archrival CVS, million-dollar sweepstakes in states like Ohio and free food or drinks from restaurants like Krispy Kreme. Walgreens said it will provide its incentive in one of two forms: $25 in store credit loaded onto the customer's myWalgreens account or if they don't have one, a $25 Walgreens gift card. (Bomey, 6/22)
The New York Times:
With Mass Vaccination Sites Winding Down, It’s All About The ‘Ground Game’
There were only six tiny vials of coronavirus vaccine in the refrigerator, one Air Force nurse on duty and a trickle of patients on Saturday morning at a federally run mass vaccination site here. A day before its doors shut for good, this once-frenetic operation was oddly quiet. The post-vaccination waiting room, with 165 socially distanced chairs, was mostly empty. The nurse, Maj. Margaret Dodd, who ordinarily cares for premature babies at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, had already booked her flight home. So had the pharmacist, Heather Struempf, who was headed back to nursing school in Wyoming. (Stolberg, 6/22)
In vaccine-development news —
Modern Healthcare:
ASCO: Cancer Patients Should Be Included In Vaccine Trials
Cancer patients have largely been excluded from COVID-19 vaccine trials, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology is asking drug manufacturers to change that in an effort to deduce whether the safety and effectiveness extends to these often-immunocompromised patients. The request, issued in a joint policy statement with the Friends of Cancer Research, also asked government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration to create incentives for drug companies to do so. (Gillespie, 6/22)
AP:
Moderna's President Talks COVID-19 And Vaccine Technology
Moderna is now testing its vaccine in younger people as well as potential boosters that may be needed in the future — along with vaccines and treatments for other diseases — all using similar technology based on genetic code called messenger RNA. The Associated Press spoke with company president Dr. Stephen Hoge, who oversees Moderna’s research. (Johnson, 6/23)
