Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Weekly Tests For Unvaxxed Federal Workers Start Feb. 15: White House
The Washington Post: Federal Agencies Must Test Unvaccinated Workers Weekly Starting In February, Biden Administration Says
Federal agencies must start testing unvaccinated employees at least weekly for the coronavirus by Feb. 15, the Biden administration said in new guidance issued Tuesday. The testing, which mainly affects those exempted from President Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal workers, would be required during any week in which those employees “work onsite or interact in person with members of the public as part of their job duties,” the guidance says. (Yoder, 1/11)
In other news about covid mandates —
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate Ahead Of Carnival
New Orleans officials will again require masks in stores, offices, restaurants and other indoor spaces, a move aimed at combating a record surge in COVID-19 cases as city officials prepare for the height of Carnival season next month. The mandate begins at 6 a.m. Wednesday. It requires face coverings in all indoor public spaces, and is likely to remain in place until Mardi Gras, according to New Orleans Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno, who announced the return to a widespread masking rule at a news conference Tuesday. (Myers, 1/11)
Crain's New York Business: New York To Stop Active Contact Tracing, Leaves Option To County Health Departments
New York will step back from active outreach for contact tracing, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in a Tuesday briefing. Individuals in counties that use state contact tracing will no longer receive a call for tracing purposes after testing positive, and will be encouraged to self-manage their symptoms instead. Given the winter surge of people testing positive and the shorter incubation period of the omicron variant, there had been a short window for intervention to disrupt transmission, which is the purpose for contact tracing, said Dr. Mary Bassett, acting state Health Commissioner. The state reported nearly 55,000 new cases on Sunday, or about 19% positivity rate. (Sim, 1/11)
CBS News: JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon Says Bank Won't Pay Its Unvaccinated Workers
JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon, who has been a staunch advocate for in-person work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this week threatened to dismiss New York-based employees who are not vaccinated. Dimon on Monday told CNBC that under the company's vaccine mandate for its New York City headquarters, unvaccinated workers cannot enter its offices — and don't have the option to remain unvaccinated and work from home. (Cerullo, 1/11)
Axios: United: Employee Deaths Dropped To Zero After COVID Vaccine Mandate
Since United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate went into effect last summer, no employee has died, CEO Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees. Kirby said that prior to the vaccine mandate, "tragically, more than one United employee on average *per week* was dying from COVID,” but "we’ve now gone eight straight weeks with zero COVID-related deaths among our vaccinated employees." He said in the letter that there are approximately 3,000 employees who have tested positive for the virus but added that no vaccinated employee is hospitalized. (Gonzalez, 1/11)
CNBC: Delta Air Lines Battles With Nation's Largest Flight Attendant Union Over Shortened Covid Sick Leave
Delta Air Lines sent the country’s largest flight attendant union a cease-and-desist letter after its president criticized the company’s shortened sick leave policy for staff with Covid-19. Last Thursday, Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, tweeted that the union was getting “multiple reports” that Delta “is telling workers across work groups that they should come to work w/ symptoms even if someone in the household tested positive.” She also said that positive workers were told to “come to work after 5 days if the fever is below 100.9, even if still testing positive.” (Josephs, 1/11)
