Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) hinted Tuesday she may follow President Joe Biden’s lead and support a coronavirus vaccine mandate in the state.
Whitmer was asked about the federal mandate for federal government employees and employers with 100 or more workers, and the Democrat incumbent did not indicate any concern. In fact, she said she would follow Biden’s lead.
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In a last-ditch effort to delay the Friday deadline for unvaccinated New York City teachers to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, some teachers filed a petition for an emergency injunction, the New York Post reported.
Four plaintiffs appealed to Justice Sonia Sotomayor to stop the city from removing unvaccinated teachers from their posts by the deadline, according to the New York Post.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he would require all private and public school students between seventh and 12th grade to get vaccinated against COVID-19, once the vaccines are approved for ages 12 and over.
According to The Associated Press, the governor’s executive order will take effect once a vaccine receives full federal approval for ages 12 and over.
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The Supreme Court on Friday declined to block New York City’s vaccine mandate for public schools following a petition brought by a group of teachers.
According to The Hill, the group of New York City teachers asked for an emergency injunction on Thursday, following a lower court’s ruling that permitted the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate to take effect this coming Monday.
The group argued that many teachers would lose their jobs if the Supreme Court didn’t intervene.
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The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) has responded to the reminder letters sent this week by Leon County Government informing employees that without proof of a COVID vaccination they would be terminated on October 4, 2021.
In response to Leon County’s communication, the letter from FDOH Division Director David Woodlief to County Administrator Vince Long seeks information about those impacted by Leon County’s vaccine mandate policy.
Specifically, FDOH is seeking the names of employees that received the letters and the names of employees who submitted documentation as proof of vaccination.
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Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) announced on Thursday that the school district will require all students and staff who participate in sports or certain extracurricular activities to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
All individuals involved in the programs must submit proof of vaccination by November 1 or commit to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
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More than 180 Minnesota health care workers spanning statewide hospital systems filed a federal lawsuit over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, seeking an injunction to block the upcoming rule.
The lawsuit follows weeks after President Joe Biden announced a vaccine mandate for employers with more than 100 employees and facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare. Defendants named include St. Mary’s Duluth, University Of Minnesota Physicians; Mayo Clinic; North Memorial Health Care; Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital; St. Luke’s Hospital Of Duluth; and Minneapolis Radiation Oncology.
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Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson unveiled new legislation Wednesday that would block federal vaccine mandates by utilizing the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Johnson was joined by some of his colleagues from the House and Senate who wish to co-sponsor the bill.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) refused to say if she would agree to President Joe Biden’s (D) demand to impose a statewide coronavirus vaccine mandate.
Whitmer, facing slumping polls showing her reelection prospects threatened by multiple Republican opponents, including James Craig and Tudor Dixon, sidestepped a question by Fox 2 about if Biden would “like that to be the case in Michigan”:
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Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is threatening reprimands for unvaccinated workers. Demings said he has not wanted to fire anyone over vaccination status saying the county is a “caring” employer.
“It was never my intention to terminate anyone from our employment,” Demings said. “We’re a compassionate and caring employer, but we also must balance that with protecting our employees and the public.”
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Judge Monica Brasington of the 8th Judicial Circuit Court has issued a temporary injunction against the City of Gainesville’s COVID vaccine mandate. The decision indicates a slight, early victory for employees who are seeking to not receive the vaccine.
Brasington said in her ruling that the city did not provide ample evidence showing a vaccine mandate serves “a compelling interest through the least restrictive means.” She also said the city bears the burden of proof to determine that the mandate is in the best interest of the public.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost called President Joe Biden’s requirement that private sector employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 unlawful and divisive, and he warned of legal action if it moves forward.
Yost joined a group of attorneys general from around the country in a letter that warned of a lawsuit over the mandate, which has yet to be put in place but Biden said would be carried out through the Occupational Safety Health Act emergency temporary standard.
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“Construing the Commerce Clause to permit Congress to regulate individuals precisely because they are doing nothing would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority.”
That was Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion ruling in 2012 that the individual mandate to purchase health insurance in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was unconstitutional under Congress’ Article I, Section 8 power to regulate interstate commerce.
And yet, the mandate was rescued in the very same decision by Roberts, ruling that penalty under the individual mandate was a valid exercise of Congress’ Article I, Section 8 power to collect taxes.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has offered her support for the plaintiffs suing the City of Gainesville over its vaccine mandate policy.
Moody filed an amicus brief in the 8th Circuit Court saying the vaccine mandate does not hold constitutional muster as well as acting as a deterrent for recruiting new members to Florida’s law enforcement agencies.
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After filing the first lawsuit in the country against President Joe Biden over his sweeping business COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich next signed onto a letter with 23 other attorneys general to Biden listing their objections, including non-legal ones. The attorneys general stress that the mandate will drive healthcare workers out of hospitals where they are desperately needed. If Biden does not reverse course, the 24 threaten to sue the administration.
“President Biden’s vaccine mandate lacks both legal authority and integrity,” Brnovich said in a statement. “I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues to push back on this assault on state sovereignty and the liberties of Americans.”
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Tennessee’s Attorney General this week sent a letter to the Biden Administration challenging the legality of the the forty-sixth President’s recent COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“I would encourage everyone eligible, in consultation with a doctor, to get a COVID vaccination,” Attorney General Herbert Slatery III said in a statement. “It is one effective way out of this pandemic. However, this vaccine-or-test mandate appears to be an unprecedented expansion of federal power and fails to consider the steps individuals, employers, and our state have already made.”
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New polling shows that the majority of Americans do not approve of President Joe Biden’s new vaccine mandate.
Biden announced the mandate last week, which includes requirements that any business with more than 100 employees ensure they are vaccinated or be tested weekly. Biden’s announcement included a range of other federal rules that are estimated to affect 100 million Americans.
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A new federal policy, which would require many private businesses to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates or weekly testing, has come under criticism from Virginia manufacturers.
President Joe Biden announced a new rule Thursday, which will require private businesses that employ 100 or more people to require every worker be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive weekly tests. The rule, which will be promulgated through OSHA, is expected to face legal challenges from Republican states. It will affect about 100 million people nationwide.
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On Thursday, Joe Biden announced a sweeping plan to demand a huge swath of our nation step up and take the Covid-19 shot whether they like it or not – federal employees, workers in companies with more than 100 workers, federally-funded pre-school teachers.
It was the biggest step toward big government control over our personal lives and individual health that we have seen since the founding of our nation.
Healthcare decisions have been – and always will be – between an individual and their physician. At least that has been what Democrats have argued since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.
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Arizona’s state police force is in the Pacific Northwest in an attempt to bolster its ranks. The push comes on the heels of news that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee isn’t allowing exceptions to his vaccine mandate.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety announced that they would be in Washington from Sept. 7 through Sept. 19 to recruit potential new officers.
Their counterpart, the Washington State Patrol, shared Arizona’s announcement on Twitter.
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“Get vaccinated,” whispered the doddering, white-haired failure of a president before beating a hasty retreat from the podium. Reporters barked questions at him which neither he nor his handlers had interest in answering, because they have no answers.
Joe Biden has no answers for COVID-19. What Joe Biden has is blame and Otherization for Americans not invested in the tired narratives of his handlers and the managerial elite he represents so badly.
That’s clear. It’s the only true takeaway from the disgraceful, alarming speech Biden gave Thursday.
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More than a dozen Republican governors across the country slammed President Joe Biden on Thursday for issuing vaccine mandates to workers in both the public and private sector.
Biden announced on Thursday that his administration and the Department of Labor plan to require all businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing, potentially affecting approximately 100 million Americans.
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As Joe Biden launches via executive order a sweeping vaccine mandate for all federal government workers, and now a brand-new initiative for private-sector mandates, the issue has once again risen to the forefront of the national dialogue.
United Airlines, for example, recently became the first U.S. airline to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all its employees. United Airlines’ mandate takes effect on September 27, and it might augur a broader trend: A poll conducted last month by insurance and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson, for example, suggests that 52 percent of private-sector employers surveyed expect to have a workplace vaccine mandate by the end of 2021. As Biden’s brand-new announcement of a Department of Labor rule for private sector vaccination requirements now makes clear, that poll was prescient.
Against this backdrop, several Republican-leaning states have advanced laws or executive orders that prohibit private sector vaccine mandates for employees, customers, or in some other respect. That tally is now at least eight states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Texas, South Carolina, and South Dakota. The legal mechanics and specifics differ from state to state. But the highest-profile and most mechanically straightforward Republican-led assault on vaccine mandates is the one in my new home state, Florida.
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Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance, running to replace Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), issued a strong recommendation to the business community in response to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate:
“I have a simple message for America’s business community: DO NOT COMPLY,” Vance instructed of businesses with more than 100 employees.
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The Los Angeles public schools opened last month with some of the strictest coronavirus control measures in the country. Students and staff are required to wear masks inside and outside, participate in weekly virus testing, and obey social distancing protocols. District staff are also required to get the COVID-19 shot, and now all Los Angeles public school students ages 12 and over are forced to get the vaccine.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles school board voted to pass the student vaccine mandate, with one board member stating: “So I do not see this as your choice or my choice or about my great nieces and nephews and grandchildren or your children. I see this as a community necessity to protect the children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated.”
Los Angeles public school students have until the end of the calendar year to get fully vaccinated, unless they participate in extracurricular activities which requires full vaccination by October 31st. If they don’t comply, students will be pushed into a district-run online learning program. In 2015, California eliminated its religious vaccine exemption and now only recognizes medical exemptions for schoolchildren.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is leading the charge among Republican officials to litigate against President Joe Biden’s order that all employers with 100 or more staffers ensure that their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or that they show a negative test weekly.
“Just ended a call with my fellow Republican governors,” Kemp tweeted Friday. “We are fighting back against @POTUS’ outrageous overreach and attack on individual freedom.”
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Friday called President Joe Biden’s decision to issue a broad vaccine mandate a “mistake.”
The tweet from DeWine follows Biden’s announcement on Thursday that his administration will require all businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing, potentially affecting approximately 100 million Americans.
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Ohio GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Renacci on Friday took aim at President Joe Biden’s newly-imposed vaccine mandate.
“The pandemic and shutdown have already killed so many jobs and businesses, now Joe Biden and his new proposed COVID mandate wants to finish off the rest,” Renacci said in a statement.
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Thursday slammed President Joe Biden’s announcement of a broad-reaching vaccine mandate.
Biden announced on Thursday that his administration and the Department of Labor plan to require all businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing, potentially affecting approximately 100 million Americans.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a legal opinion on Tuesday stating that the City of Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees violates S.B. 1824 (soon to be A.R.S. 36-681) and Gov. Doug Ducey’s Executive Order 2021-18 prohibiting local and state governments from implementing them. Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) submitted a SB 1487 request for the investigation.
“Tucson’s vaccine mandate is illegal, and the city could be held liable for attempting to force employees to take it against their beliefs,” Brnovich said. “COVID-19 vaccinations should be a choice, not a government mandate.” His spokeswoman, Katie Conner, told reporters during a phone call, “Adhering to the rule of law in Arizona is not optional.”
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A new category of professional has joined the legal challenges to university vaccine mandates: doctors.
University of California Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine psychiatrist and medical ethicist Aaron Kheriaty is suing the university system to recognize his natural immunity from COVID-19 recovery, and he’s getting help from fellow UC medical professors.
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The City of Tucson is joining two lawsuits against the Arizona Legislature with amicus curiae briefs. The first is a lawsuit filed on August 12 by the Arizona School Boards Association, the Arizona Education Association and other education organizations and activists over HB 2898, SB 1824, and SB 1825, which prohibit mask and vaccine mandates, ban Critical Race Theory, and establish a legislative committee to review the findings of the state Senate review of the November 2020 election results in Maricopa County.
The second is a lawsuit filed by the City of Phoenix over HB 2893, which sets the qualifications for members of civilian review boards including requiring training. It also allows a legislator to submit a request to the Arizona Attorney General for an investigation of “any written policy, written rule or written regulation adopted by any agency, department or other entity of the county, city or town.”
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State Senators Kim LaSata (R-MI-Coloma) and Jim Runestad (R-MI-White Lake) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would allow students in Michigan’s colleges and universities the right to opt out of vaccine mandates imposed by those institutions.
The bill would create a range of medical and non-medical exceptions to requirements for students at any higher-education institution in Michigan to get any kind of vaccine.
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Ohio University is the latest school to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine among students, faculty, and staff, according to a letter from school President Hugh Sherman.
“Public health experts are tracking an increase in cases in Ohio and on our campuses due to the extremely contagious Delta variant, and we need to do everything we can to continue to show our care and respect for one another and do our part to help keep the entire community safe and healthy,” the letter says.
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U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) on Friday introduced legislation aimed at limiting the ability of companies to require their employees to receive a coronavirus vaccine.
The new bill would prohibit businesses that received federal COVID-19 relief funds from mandating vaccination of their employees.
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The chairman of the Pima County Republican Party is calling for the arrest of local officials who mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or masks. In that lower part of the state, the City of Tucson requires vaccinations and the Marana School District requires masks.
Shelley Kais told the Arizona Daily Independent, “On September 29, any school board member, city councilman, or supervisor who requires masks or vaccines mandates and passports should be arrested ” She went on, “The power grab by our elected officials to play this ‘game of chicken’ is nothing more than political and follows neither science nor good public policy. We will continue to fight for our first responders, our teachers, and the children in Pima County.”
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In response to various business and governmental entities mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for employees, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb told people in a video posted to Twitter that he would not be imposing a mandate for his workers. Gov. Doug Ducey issued an order on August 16 prohibiting local governments from issuing vaccine mandates. It is punishable by a class 3 misdemeanor or other legal action.
Lamb said, “As long as I am your sheriff, we will never mandate the vaccine. We believe that your health choices are yours and yours alone. Whether you get the vaccine, or don’t get the vaccine, that’s your private information. Here, we believe in America and freedom and we’re going to continue on with that. God bless.”
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President Joe Biden’s plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for nursing home employees could damage further an industry struggling in Ohio, the executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association said.
Pete Van Runkle said the group is pro-vaccine but a federal mandate negatively could affect services to some of the most needy people in the state and be damaging to skilled nursing facilities.
“We believe the Biden Administration’s plan, at least articulated in the press conference, would be devastating to Ohio SNFs and to their staff and residents,” Van Runkle said. “While we support vaccination and recognize that it is the most effective defense against COVID-19, the proposed mandate does not account for staffing that is already stretched beyond the breaking point.”
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A famous Tennessee music festival is set to require its patrons to be vaccinated, or submit to compulsory testing.
“The safety of our patrons and staff is our number one priority. As such a full COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test will be required to attend Bonnaroo 2021,” Bonnaroo said on Twitter. “Bonnaroo strongly encourages vaccination. The last day to receive the second shot of Moderna or Pfizer, or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson is Thursday, August 19th.”
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U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) led other members of Congress and sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin to oppose a reported COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members.
The group of lawmakers argued the move by the Biden administration is illegal, largely due to the fact that the coronavirus vaccine has not received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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A George Mason University law professor with naturally acquired immunity from COVID is fighting against his employer’s strict COVID vaccine mandate.
Antonin Scalia Law School Professor Todd Zywicki, who recovered from a bout with COVID and has blood tests showing antibodies to the virus, said he will not agree to the university’s policy that employees get the vaccine or face numerous sanctions.
“George Mason is forcing me to choose between serving my students on one hand and undergoing an unnecessary and potentially risky medical procedure on the other,” Zywicki said in a statement.
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Vanderbilt University announced on Wednesday that it awarded a total of $25,000 to staff and postdoctoral scholars in a giveaway for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Each winner received $1,000. The university held a giveaway handing out thousands of dollars as an incentive to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, despite requiring all students and staff in May to be vaccinated against COVID for the upcoming school year. The deadline to submit vaccination records is this Saturday.
Even if staff are working remotely, the university requires vaccination. Additionally, those who already contracted the virus are still required to be vaccinated.
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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will require employees without an exemption to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 24, or else they will be fired. The hospital offers employees to receive their vaccination without penalty until September 9. If an employee isn’t fully vaccinated by then, they will be placed on unpaid administrative leave until they either start or finish their vaccination process. Medical or religious exemptions are offered.
Dr. James Downing, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital President and CEO, issued the email. He stated that hundreds of millions of people around the world have received the COVID-19 vaccine safely.
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Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis announced on Monday that students or employees who opt to not receive the coronavirus vaccine will not be allowed on campus.
The school’s announcement detailed that students and employees must submit documentation of vaccination by August 2. However, some exemptions will be allowed for medical reasons or “sincerely-held” religious beliefs.
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At least 117 nurses are suing their employer, Houston Methodist Hospital, in Texas’ largest city, over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for workers, claiming they are being forced to be “human guinea pigs,” Fox News reported.
Jennifer Bridges, one of the nurses included in the suit, told “Fox News Primetime” on Wednesday that they are fighting for basic rights of workers. Her attorney Jared Woodfill V said they would otherwise be unemployed and could “face bankruptcy court” if unable to earn a living.
“This is very important. We’re basically fighting for everybody’s rights right now just to make our own decisions. Nobody should be forced to put something in their body if they are not comfortable with it — and lose their jobs over it,” said Bridges.
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A Chattanooga boys preparatory school emailed students that they could skip a final exam and go maskless if they got the COVID-19 vaccine. Parents reportedly didn’t receive the email about the vaccination incentive, which also required that 500 students receive the vaccine. This information also didn’t make it to the school’s press release concerning the vaccine.
Publicly, McCallie School shared that it would be mandating the COVID-19 vaccine come fall. In their official announcement, McCallie School shared that they would mandate the COVID-19 vaccine. Nowhere did they mention that vaccinated students would receive a special exemption from the final exam of their choice and school mask mandates.
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Come fall, Vanderbilt University and Maryville College are requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 – even if the vaccine isn’t fully approved by the FDA. Maryville College was the first to announce a mandate of that nature in this state, issuing their press release late last month. Vanderbilt University issued their announcement on Monday.
Maryville College is the more lenient of the two Tennessee colleges in their mandate: they will allow exceptions for personal preference in addition to medical or religious reasons. The news release didn’t mention an accommodations request deadline. Vanderbilt University made no mention of personal preference-based exceptions – only medical and religious exemptions will be accepted. Their deadline for an accommodations request is June 15.
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The Tennessee Senate reamended a bill to strike an amendment allowing higher education to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine. Under the latest amended version of the bill, institutions of higher education may only mandate the vaccine for health care students. These public colleges or universities may enforce those mandates so long as they don’t own or control the health care facility.
Essentially, the higher education mandate would only be necessary for certain students involved in a private health care facility that requires the COVID-19 vaccine. The amendment would apply to students in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or any other health care profession.
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The House passed a bill prohibiting government-mandated vaccines for COVID-19 or any of its variants. As amended, the bill would also exempt PreK-12 students from having to receive the vaccine in order to attend any schools or child care facilities. It would also strike the law that makes it a Class C misdemeanor for anyone who refuses to be vaccinated or refuses to vaccinate someone under their care.
Furthermore, this bill would prohibit state government and agencies from mandating a person undergo medical treatment if they object based on religious grounds or their right of conscience. However, the bill wouldn’t protect college or university students enrolled in programs or fields of study involving healthcare professions such as medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy.
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One Republican aims to ban “vaccine passports” in a package expected to be introduced Wednesday.
The governors of Florida, Texas, Utah, and Idaho have passed legislation or executive orders prohibiting the use of vaccine passports, while a Minnesota bill aims to do the same.
Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, announced a plan to prohibit a possible vaccine passport plan that would provide proof whether someone is vaccinated for COVID-19.
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