Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff

Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby liminalOyster » Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:42 pm

Reversals and bigger loopholes for those who choose not receive COVID vax actually appear to be becoming more common. Coupled with the fact that CMS has literally been instructed NOT to investigate claimed religious exemptions, a very different picture seems to emerge, at least as pertains to the current moment, rather than Fall 2021.

As per schools, see: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... ts-mandate

List of Coronavirus-Related Restrictions in Every State
Most states have dropped COVID-related restrictions; several put limits on vaccine mandates
by Jenny Rough and Andy Markowitz, AARP, Updated August 8, 2022

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, governors and health departments across the country have issued orders and recommendations on the status of schools, businesses and public services.

With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, the closures, capacity limits and large-scale mask orders that marked earlier phases of the pandemic gave way to vaccine and testing mandates and more targeted face-covering rules, which many states extended or reinstated as the delta and omicron variants spread. As those waves receded, pandemic restrictions largely subsided as well, despite rising case counts in some areas due to the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant.

Some states are requiring government and health care workers to get vaccinated or routinely tested. Others have resisted restrictions, barring or limiting mask and vaccine mandates and other requirements through legislation or executive action.

At the national level, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that requires health care workers and federal executive branch employees to get the vaccine. The order remains in effect for staff at health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, but the portion covering federal workers has been blocked by an appeals court pending a scheduled September heairng on a legal challenge to the rule.

Another federal order that mandated masks on public modes of transportation, including commercial flights, and in transit hubs such as airports and bus and train stations was struck down by a federal judge April 18. The Department of Justice has appealed the ruling.

There are no longer any states with general mask orders, but several still require face-covering in certain high-risk settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Private businesses and venues may require masking or proof of vaccination as a condition for entry.

Here’s a look at each state’s vaccine, testing and mask requirements.

Alabama
Vaccine and testing regulations: State law bars local governments, schools and businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for admission or to receive goods or services and grants workers broad rights to get religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates.

Gov. Kay Ivey (R) issued an order prohibiting any state executive branch agency from penalizing a business or individual for not complying with President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate.

More information: Check the state public health department’s COVID-19 page.

Alaska
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) issued an order in April 2021 banning all executive branch departments from requiring anyone to provide proof of vaccination to travel to or around the state.

Mask regulations: Masks are required for all employees, contractors and visitors indoors in state government buildings and other state-owned facilities.


Arizona
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed legislation in April that prohibits state and local government entities from requiring Arizonans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, enshrining in law executive orders Ducey issued in 2021. Government-owned or -operated health care institutions are exempt. State officials also are barred from requiring COVID-19 vaccines at schools, per legislation Ducey signed in May.

Mask regulations: Ducey also signed a measure in April banning mask mandates for minors. School districts and local governments are barred from requiring anyone under age 18 to wear a mask without parental consent. In May, he signed legislation barring mask mandates in buildings run by state or local government.

Arkansas
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a bill that prohibits state and local agencies from requiring proof of vaccination to travel, participate in education or receive services.

Mask regulations: Hutchinson signed a bill that bans state and local mask mandates, but it was overturned by a state judge in December.


California
Vaccine and testing regulations: As of April 1, vaccination verification or a negative COVID-19 test is no longer required to attend indoor events with more than 1,000 people. The state Department of Public Health recommends that venues check vaccination or test status for such “mega events.”

State employees and health care workers must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or submit to regular testing (once a week). Employees who work in high-risk congregate settings, such as jails and long-term care facilities, were required to get a booster dose by March 1. School staff must be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.

On May 3, Oakland stopped requiring proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, gyms and large indoor events. Proof of vaccination still is mandated at assisted living facilities and senior centers.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required statewide for people age 2 and older in health care and long-term care facilities, emergency and homeless shelters, and jails and prisons.
In Los Angeles County, masks are mandatory on public transit and in transportation hubs such as airports and bus and train stations. The San Francisco Bay Area's BART rail system reinstated a mask requirement for riders July 28; the order is in effect through at least Oct. 1. A mask mandate for San Jose city workers has been extended to Aug. 26.


Colorado
Vaccine and testing regulations: The state Board of Public Health ended a vaccine requirement for health care workers July 14, but the change only applies to staff at facilities that do not participate in Medicare and Medicaid. State employees who interact with vulnerable populations, such as corrections and health department staff, must be vaccinated. Other state workers and contractors must be either fully vaccinated or receive COVID-19 tests twice per week.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required in long-term care facilities and group homes; in health care settings, homeless shelters and correctional facilities in areas rated by the CDC as having medium or high community COVID-19 levels; and by health care workers who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, regardless of local transmission levels.


Connecticut
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Ned Lamont (D) mandated COVID-19 vaccines for state employees and staff at schools and childcare facilities. Certain employees may be eligible to forgo the vaccine and opt for weekly testing. In some circumstances, individuals with a medical condition or sincerely held religious beliefs may be exempt. A similar mandate applies to long-term care employees.

On Jan. 6, Lamont signed an order that requires state hospital employees and workers at long-term care facilities to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required for people age 2 and older in health care facilities, long-term care facilities and shelters.





Delaware
Vaccine and testing regulations: State government workers and staff at health care and long-term care facilities must be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The same restrictions apply for employees and volunteers in K-12 schools.

Mask regulations: A mask mandate for K-12 schools and childcare facilities ended March 31. Face-covering is still required in hospitals, long-term care facilities and state government buildings.


District of Columbia
Vaccine and testing regulations: District government employees, contractors and interns must be fully vaccinated and get a booster shot when eligible. Health care workers and employees and volunteers in K-12 schools also must meet vaccination requirements. Individuals may be exempted from the vaccine mandates because of religious beliefs or medical conditions.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required in health care facilities; group residential settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, shelters and prisons; and in D.C. government buildings where employees interact directly with the public.



Florida
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order in April 2021 barring businesses from requiring “vaccine passports” for entry. The prohibition has been codified into state law.

Another set of state laws adopted in November bars vaccine mandates for state government workers and requires private companies that mandate staff vaccination to allow a wide range of exemptions for unvaccinated workers.

Mask regulations: DeSantis signed orders in May 2021 prohibiting local governments and school districts from mandating masks. State law vests parents with authority to choose whether their children wear a mask in schools.


Georgia
Vaccine and testing requirements: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed an order in August 2021 that prohibits local governments from mandating COVID-19 restrictions such as vaccination requirements for private businesses. A state law in effect through at least June 30, 2023, bars government entities from requiring vaccination as a condition for employment or receiving public services.
Mask requirements: Kemp's August 2021 order also allows bars local governments from enforcing mask mandates on private businesses without the business's consent. He signed legislation March 29 that allows parents to decide whether their children wear a mask in school, even if the local district implements a mandate.

An indoor mask mandate is in effect in Athens and Clarke County through at least Sept. 7. It is only enforced if county's community COVID-19 level is rated high by the CDC, which was not the case as of Aug. 7. Local businesses can opt out of the mandate under the governor's order.

M

Hawaii
Vaccine and testing regulations: Democratic Gov. David Ige’s order that state employees show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing was lifted March 25, as were all vaccine, testing and quarantine requirements for travel to Hawaii.

Mask regulations: Hawaii’s statewide mask mandate, the last in the country, expired March 25.
.

Idaho
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Brad Little (R) signed an order banning state entities from requiring people to show a vaccine passport to receive services or to enter buildings, but he vetoed legislation that would have barred most private businesses from imposing vaccine mandates on employees for one year, calling it “government overreach.”


Illinois
Vaccine and testing regulations: Employees at K-12 schools, day care centers and state-run congregate facilities such as veterans homes and detention centers must be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing.

The same applies to workers at health care facilities that are not certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and thus fall outside the federal vaccine mandate. Unvaccinated staff at CMS-certified facilities must get tested weekly only if they work in an area of high community spread, under an executive order amended by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) July 13.

Staff at long-term care facilities that house the most vulnerable residents, such as nursing homes, must get tested weekly if the facility is in an area of moderate community spread and twice weekly if local transmission is rated high, unless they are up to date with their vaccinations.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required for people over age 2 in health care facilities, long-term care facilities and congregate settings such as prisons and homeless shelters.


Indiana
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill banning state and local governments from requiring vaccine passports.


Iowa
Vaccine and testing regulations: A state law enacted last year expands employees’ rights to claim religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation in June barring public and private schools, colleges and universities, and childcare centers from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for attendance.
Mask regulations: State law prohibits local governments from ordering businesses to impose mask rules. On May 16, 2022, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Iowa school districts cannot issue mask mandates unless they’re needed to comply with other federal or state laws.



Kansas
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed a bill requiring employers that mandate vaccines to allow for a medical or religious exemption.

Kentucky
Vaccine and testing regulations: Workers in state health care facilities who were not fully vaccinated by Oct. 1, 2021, must be regularly tested for COVID-19.

Mask regulations: Masks are required in some health care and childcare settings.


Louisiana
No current regulations: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) ended the state’s emergency public health order March 14. There are no state vaccine or mask mandates in force, nor any prohibitions of mandates.


Maine
Vaccine and testing regulations: Health care workers had to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 29, 2021.




Maryland
Vaccine and testing regulations: Employees at state-operated residential health care, correctional and juvenile facilities must be fully vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. A similar mandate applies to nursing home and hospital employees.


Massachusetts
Vaccine and testing regulations: Long-term care providers and home care workers are among those who had to be vaccinated by Oct. 31, 2021. Exemptions are available to those with certain medical conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) issued a similar order for executive branch employees.

Mask regulations: Masks are mandatory in long-term care facilities, medical facilities, prisons and shelters. Baker lifted a statewide mask mandate for K-12 public schools on Feb. 28.



Michigan
Vaccine and testing regulations: A state budget law enacted in September 2021 prohibits publicly funded agencies from requiring employees or customers to be vaccinated.



Minnesota
Vaccine and testing regulations: State employees must get vaccinated or submit to regular testing.


Mississippi
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation in April that bars state agencies and local governments from imposing COVID-19 vaccine requirements on employees or people seeking services.


Missouri
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mike Parson (R) issued an order that prohibits state agencies from compelling an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or penalizing a business for noncompliance with federal vaccine mandates. State law prohibits local governments from requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to access public services.


Montana
Vaccine and testing regulations: In April 2021, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed an executive order prohibiting vaccine passports in Montana. Employers, including private companies, are barred by state law from discriminating based on vaccination status.

Mask regulations: State law restricts local jurisdictions’ authority to impose mask orders, and Gianforte announced an emergency rule in August 2021 directing schools to allow parents and students to opt out of face-covering mandates.

Nebraska
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) signed legislation on Feb. 28 requiring employers to allow for exemptions from workplace vaccine mandates for medical or religious reasons.

Nevada
Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that state employees who aren’t fully vaccinated submit to weekly testing was lifted on March 25.


New Hampshire
Vaccine and testing regulations: Most state and local government agencies are barred from imposing workplace vaccine requirements. The prohibition does not apply to government-run medical facilities, including nursing homes, but those facilities must grant employee requests for exemptions on medical or religious grounds under legislation signed June 24 by Gov. Chris Sununu.


New Jersey
Vaccine and testing regulations: Employees at health care facilities and congregate living facilities such as nursing homes, group homes and prisons must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Workers and contractors at schools, childcare centers and state government agencies must be fully vaccinated or get tested regularly.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required in health care settings, prisons and homeless shelters.



New Mexico
Vaccine and testing regulations: A vaccine mandate is in place for employees who work in high-risk settings, such as hospitals and congregate care facilities. Those with a qualifying medical or religious exemption must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. School workers who are not fully vaccinated also must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test weekly. On Dec. 2, the health department added a booster shot requirement to the vaccine mandates.

Mask regulations: Masks are required in hospitals, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings.



New York
Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that unvaccinated state employees submit to regular COVID-19 testing ended June 7. Patient-facing state health care employees are required to be vaccinated, without a test-out option.

In New York City, most workers in both the public and private sectors must show proof of vaccination if they work in person (at a workplace, rather than at home) or interact with the public in the course of business.

Mask regulations: Statewide, masks are required in “high-density settings” such as hospitals, nursing homes, shelters and detention facilities. New York City mandates face-covering on public transit, including subways, buses, taxis and rideshares.



North Carolina
Vaccine and testing regulations: Employees of state government cabinet agencies who aren’t vaccinated must wear a mask and submit to weekly testing.



North Dakota
Vaccine and testing regulations: State and local governments are barred from requiring employees to be vaccinated. Private employers with vaccine mandates must allow exemptions on the basis of an employee’s medical condition; a recent COVID-19 infection; religious, philosophical or moral objections to vaccination; or agreement to submit to periodic testing. Businesses are prohibited from requiring documentation of a customer’s vaccination status.



Ohio
Mask regulations: As of Aug. 1, face-covering is required inside county government buildings in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland. City employees in Dayton are required to wear masks when working indoors.



Oklahoma
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed an order that prohibits state agencies from requiring a visitor to show proof of vaccination to enter public buildings. The order exempts agencies that conduct medical activities requiring patient interaction.

Oregon
Vaccine and testing regulations: Health care workers and school staff must be fully vaccinated. A vaccine mandate for state government employees was lifted April 1.

Mask regulations: A statewide indoor mask mandate expired March 12. Masks are still required in congregate settings, like health care and correctional facilities.


Pennsylvania
Vaccine and testing regulations: State health care employees and workers in high-risk congregate-care facilities were required to be vaccinated by Sept. 7, 2021, or undergo regular testing. Those hired after that date had to be fully vaccinated.

Mask regulations: Philadelphia ended a citywide indoor mask mandate April 22, four days after it was imposed. City health officials said COVID-19 case counts had plateaued after a sharp rise triggered the short-lived order.



Puerto Rico
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Pedro Pierluisi (D) issued an executive order in March lifting workplace vaccine and booster mandates except for those necessary to comply with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services vaccination rules.

Mask regulations: Pierluisi ended the territory’s general indoor mask order in March. Face-covering remains mandatory in schools and childcare centers, medical and long-term care facilities, prisons and group facilities serving people with intellectual disabilities.



Rhode Island
Vaccine and testing regulations: Health care workers were required to be vaccinated by Oct. 1, 2021, unless they were medically exempt.

Mask regulations: Face-covering is required for workers in health care settings where COVID-19 patients are treated.



South Carolina
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed legislation April 25 that bars the state, local governments and school districts from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for employment or attendance and prohibits places of public accommodation such as hospitals, restaurants, theaters and stores from denying service based on vaccination status. The measure took effect immediately and will remain in force through at least the end of 2023.

Mask regulations: There is no statewide requirement, and McMaster issued an executive order in May 2021 invalidating local mask orders in effect at the time. A local mandate covering indoor public spaces in in unincorporated parts of Richland County expired May 1.


South Dakota
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Kristi Noem (R) issued an executive order in April 2021 barring state and local governments from issuing or requiring the use of vaccine passports.


Tennessee
Vaccine and testing regulations: State law prohibits private employers from compelling workers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and from taking “adverse action” or discriminating against those to object to getting vaccinated.

Mask regulations: Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed legislation in November restricting local governments’ authority to institute face-covering orders.

Texas
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued executive orders barring government entities from compelling anyone to get vaccinated or requiring proof of vaccination as a condition for receiving services. Private business may require vaccination for employees or customers but must allow exemptions on grounds of religious belief, personal conscience or medical condition, including prior recovery from COVID-19.

Mask regulations: Abbott signed an order in May 2021 prohibiting local governments and school districts from instituting mask requirements.


Utah
Vaccine or testing regulations: State agencies and public universities are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination. Private employers with workplace vaccine requirements must allow exemptions for medical reasons, prior COVID-19 infection, or religious or personal beliefs.

Vermont
Vaccine or testing regulations: State employees are required to get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.

Virginia
Vaccine or testing regulations: Upon taking office in January, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) rescinded his predecessor’s executive order mandating vaccination for state employees.

Mask regulations: State legislation adopted in February effectively bars school mask mandates by allowing parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks in public schools and early childhood programs.

Washington
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued an order that mandates vaccines for state employees, including teachers, health care providers and contractors. The order allows an exemption for those with a disability or sincerely held religious beliefs.

Mask regulations: An indoor mask mandate was lifted March 12. Masks are still required in congregate settings, like health care and correctional facilities.


West Virginia
Vaccine and testing regulations: State law prohibits government entities from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition for entering their premises or utilizing services. Employers with workplace vaccine mandates are required to except employees with valid medical or religious exemptions.

Wisconsin
Vaccine and testing regulations: Executive branch employees who are unvaccinated must submit to weekly testing.

Wyoming
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mark Gordon (R) issued a directive in May 2021 that prohibits state bodies from requiring proof of vaccination to access facilities and services and encouraging, but not requiring, local governments and private business to do the same.

https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/g ... tions.html



While this is now 6 months out of date, it paints quite a different picture than the Law Firm's "tracker" posted earlier.



Vaccine Mandates by State: Who is, Who isn't, and How?
WORKFORCE | JANUARY 19, 2022 | BY DEE PEKRUHN, ERAM ABBASI

LeadingAge has started to track the vaccine mandate trends in each state; as of today’s date, we find that 25 states have vaccine mandates; 13 states (so far) have vaccine mandate bans. Seven states now have mandates for boosters and/or “up to date” vaccine statuses. Sixteen of the states with mandates have language specific to healthcare settings or long term care. Some states’ mandates are strictly ‘vaccinate or terminate;’ others have a ‘vaccinate or weekly testing’ dichotomy. This article will be subject to change and updated as there are new developments.

This article will be subject to change and updated as there are new developments.

*Updated: Wednesday, February 9 2022


So far, there are 25 states that require vaccination for employees of various categories; seven are now requiring boosters or “up to date” status of vaccines. Of those, twenty-one specify requirements for healthcare workers, and the majority of those states require vaccination or regular testing of unvaccinated employees. Six states have taken a “vaccinate or terminate” approach, only permitting healthcare workers to be unvaccinated if they have a valid religion or medical exemption as defined for by the EEOC. Thirteen states have passed laws that ban employers from mandating vaccines for workers; three more states are expected to enact such bans in the near future.

Three states (Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina) are rumored to be working on vaccine mandates for state workers, but these mandates have not yet materialized.

Below, we break down, by type and by requirement specification, which states have put forth mandates or bans and under what circumstances. Also, we highlight some interesting caveats that states have put forth within their mandate or ban. Hyperlinks are included for reference and further reading. As this is subject to rapid change, information written below is valid as of today’s posting date: February 9, 2022.

Worker Specification Key:

*Denotes that the mandate applies to state health care employees or facilities ONLY.

^Denotes that the mandate applies to long term care/ nursing homes ONLY.

#Denotes that the mandate applies to ALL high risk and/or congregate living settings

+Denotes that the mandate applies to ALL healthcare settings.

States that mandate boosters or “up to date vaccine status” for healthcare workers:

· California - Boosters

· Connecticut - Boosters

· Illinois - Boosters

· Massachusetts - Boosters

· New Jersey – “Up to Date” Status

· New Mexico - Boosters

· New York – Boosters* Pending Approval

States that mandate for health care workers, “vaccination or termination” [editorial note: 6 states]

· Colorado+#: By October 31 2021

· Maine+: By October 1 2021

· New York+: By September 27 2021

· Oregon*: By October 18

· Rhode Island+: By October 1 2021

· Washington^: By October 4 2021

States that mandate for health care workers, “vaccination or testing”

· California+#: By September 30 2021

· District of Columbia+: September 30 2021

· Delaware+: By September 30 2021

· Kentucky*: By October 1 2021

· Massachusetts^: By October 10 2021

· Mississippi^: By September 30 2021

· Nevada*: By August 15 2021

· New Jersey#: By September 7 2021

· New Mexico+: By August 2 2021

· North Carolina*: By September 30 2021

· Pennsylvania+#: By September 7 2021

· Vermont*: By TBD.

· Wisconsin*: By TBD

States that mandate for health care workers, “vaccination or testing and masking”

· Connecticut^: By September 7 2021

· Illinois*: By October 4 2021

· Maryland*: By September 1 2021

Thirteen States that ban vaccine mandates for employees:

· Arizona: Ban applies to all employers except healthcare. Healthcare institutions are permitted – but not mandated – to require vaccinations. However, they must provide “reasonable accommodation” for any who are unvaccinated.

· Arkansas*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Florida: Ban scope includes ALL private and public employers, and employers who violate the ban face a $10,000 per employee violation fine.

· Georgia*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Idaho: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Indiana*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Kansas: Ban scope includes ALL private and public employers.

· Montana: Ban applies to all employers except healthcare. Healthcare institutions are permitted to ask employees to voluntarily share their status, and may assume that anyone who does not share their status is unvaccinated. However, they must provide “reasonable accommodation” for any who are unvaccinated.

· New Hampshire*: Generally bans the mandate of vaccines as condition of employment unless a “direct threat” exists (see link for definition) that cannot be addressed by other means or reasonable accommodation

· North Dakota*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Tennessee*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

· Texas: Ban scope includes ALL private and public employers.

· Utah*: Ban scope is only state entities; does not address private sector employers.

Interesting Caveats:

· Arizona: Requires “reasonable accommodation” for unvaccinated staff in all settings, and bans vaccine passports.

· Connecticut: Employer may not hire unvaccinated staff or volunteers.

· Kentucky: Suggestion, not really a mandate; twice a week testing.

· Montana: General ban, except that healthcare employers are permitted to ask employees to voluntarily share their vaccination status for the purposes of reasonable accommodation only. Also bans vaccine passports.

· New York: Only requires ONE dose by deadline for healthcare workers.

· Oregon: Stipulates that vaccination is by deadline OR six weeks following full FDA approval, whichever date is LATER.

· Pennsylvania: All new hires must be vaccinated prior to starting to work.

https://leadingage.org/workforce/vaccin ... nt-and-how
"It's not rocket surgery." - Elvis
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:43 pm

.
How is the above a "different picture" than the lawsuit tracker? I shared 2 sites that track covid-related complaints and lawsuits. They aren't "made up" complaints/litigation. You also seem to be overlooking discriminatory practices committed against those with exemptions, which I touch on further down.

Everything provided above only makes clear egregiously harmful and unethical mandate policies remain in place.

Mandates seem to be waning, but they lasted far longer than warranted, and they remain in place in too many regions/instances -- and continue to be enforced. Mandates, as I've said many times, are unethical and counter to fundamental human rights. ALL Mandates, including loathsome mask mandates.

IS this still in dispute here?

How many hospitals have re-hired those that were fired or quit due to mandates? How many other employers have done so?

I'll also repeat what I typed a page or two back: my employer, a publicly traded company that touts "diversity, inclusion and belonging", will no longer grant or extend exemptions (medical or religious); all those with exemptions will need to have at least 1 injection by end of Sept or be terminated, barring a reversal.

NYC continues to have a vaccine mandate in place, among a few other "Blue" hold-outs.

Many employers continue to require vaccination as part of the onboarding process.

Moreover, many employers (and schools, etc.) continue to blatantly discriminate against those with exemptions, a key point completely left out of all the content you shared above. Those with exemptions are often subject to weekly testing, or otherwise prevented from attending team/employee events or visit their employer's office(s) at any time, etc. BLATANT DISCRIMINATION, SEGREGATION AND OTHERING.

[All of the above without consideration of prior infection as a form of protection]

Where's the outcry from those that typically clamor about human rights violations?

Mandates and lockdowns are crimes against humanity. It's grotesque that mandates still exist. They should have NEVER been implemented.

Again: how many have gotten inoculated under duress, or against their will, to maintain employment, or to travel, or to go to school, or to visit a relative or friend at a hospital, when said hospitals refused the unvaccinated entry? There is currently no assessment/tally of this.

THE Damage Has Been Done. And yet: even with clear acknowledgement by the CDC that these shots do NOT curb transmission, many colleges and employers CONTINUE to ENFORCE MANDATES. No redress in sight, other than mounting complaints/litigation, which hopefully will pick up steam, soon (there remains a possibility of a scapegoat scenario that may develop in the months/year+ ahead that could upend all this sooner, but right now that's wishful thinking).

There should be heavy penalties, minimally, for all employers/colleges/universities that forced/coerced individuals to inoculate against their will. All those negatively impacted should be compensated, though they'll never get back the time wasted in stress/anxiety as their livelihoods were taken from them.

Government officials and bureaucrats should rightly by JAILED for these crimes against humanity, which continue and have yet to be broadly/publicly admonished, both by dominant media and by those that otherwise like to believe they stand for human rights.

The harms and damage will take years to undo -- and that assumes such regressive policies all end now. There's a chance things will get WORSE -- ESPECIALLY in "Blue" regions -- before they get better.


ERdoc
@erdocAA

Can I be honest? I once thought shots would work and mass vaccination, along with natural immunity, would end the pandemic. I realized how wrong I was when we were still wearing masks and vaxxed people were still getting Covid. We shouldn’t be hard on each other. We were fooled.

9:55 PM · Aug 9, 2022·

LawyerLady
@LawyerLady4
·
Replying to @erdocAA

I was forced to get a vaccine I did not want to keep my job. I am still angry about it. I doubt I’ll ever get another vaccine & have little trust in doctors now. There was a very real cost to the mandates and there needs to be an acknowledgment of the harm done.
...
And the harm continues. They are forcing kids to be vaxxed to go to school in DC, New Orleans. And the poor college kids being forced to take endless boosters.

https://twitter.com/erdocAA/status/1557 ... KGQLAdK3dw
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby stickdog99 » Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:49 am

I am still not allowed to teach my students in person. Meanwhile, all of my students have been long required to have gotten booster shots for no reason whatsoever.

Please tell me how that's OK.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby liminalOyster » Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:53 pm

Belligerent Savant » Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:43 pm wrote:.
How is the above a "different picture" than the lawsuit tracker?


Because you know as well as I do that ambulance chasing is a thing.


They aren't "made up" complaints/litigation.


Great. I didn't say they were and have made zero commentary suggesting so.

You also seem to be overlooking discriminatory practices committed against those with exemptions, which I touch on further down.


Really, friend? By posting a summary of current policies (aka neutral data) with the most minimal of commentary - that mandates are receding, I am now guilty of "overlooking discriminatory practices?" I am thus guilty of overlooking good jam recipes, bad jam bands, and google results for "what to do when I'm in a jam" search results, because I didn't mention those either in a mostly rote collection of data about US state COVID Mandate and employment rules.

Everything provided above only makes clear egregiously harmful and unethical mandate policies remain in place.


That's a top-level comment that erases the nuanced patchwork of what actually exists and especially what appears to be true: at this time and in most places unethical *mandates* [bracketing aside the question of whether routine testing is constitutional for now] do NOT exist.

Mandates, as I've said many times, are unethical and counter to fundamental human rights. ALL Mandates, including loathsome mask mandates.


Yes, you certainly have said that countless times. I largely agree with you at a core level actually but that always gets lost because you're on a crusade here. The problem, for me, is that you seem to ignore or bracket off something far too big to appropriately do - that there are like 350 years of political debate and discourse about autonomy and the rights of others and society etc in the Western canon alone. And it's safe to say most such writers would agree these are nuanced and complicated questions.


I'll also repeat what I typed a page or two back: my employer, a publicly traded company that touts "diversity, inclusion and belonging", will no longer grant or extend exemptions (medical or religious); all those with exemptions will need to have at least 1 injection by end of Sept or be terminated, barring a reversal.


That sincerely sucks eggs. And I'm far more sorry for you as an RI friend than anything else. It's shit practice to refuse accomodation for religious or philosophical views. And I hope you find a job that respects your views and hopefully makes you happier and pays better.


Moreover, many employers (and schools, etc.) continue to blatantly discriminate against those with exemptions, a key point completely left out of all the content you shared above. Those with exemptions are often subject to weekly testing, or otherwise prevented from attending team/employee events or visit their employer's office(s) at any time, etc. BLATANT DISCRIMINATION, SEGREGATION AND OTHERING.


The content I shared was from a neutral site trying to outline (in an economy of space) roughly what current state law is. I mean, I know you will probably just yell at me but its just not going to work to equate non-compliance with a public health measure with racism etc.

[All of the above without consideration of prior infection as a form of protection]


Knowing that you don't generally believe much if anything from mainstream medical journals, it would be foolhardy to point out that is at least in part based on evidence (I know, I'm sure its bullshit to you) that the currently globally dominant variant doesn't provide immunity.

Where's the outcry from those that typically clamor about human rights violations?


Focusing on things that affect substantially more and more vulnerable people. E.G. abortion, immigration, water quality, etc. Noticing that the very good and very important rigorously smart and skeptical of COVID crowd is couple with a much bigger mass of people who don't have a fucking clue what they're talking about, probably.

Mandates and lockdowns are crimes against humanity. It's grotesque that mandates still exist. They should have NEVER been implemented.


Was there ever once a single "lockdown" in the US, BS? Was there ever a time when one could not leave their house, in any state? Was there ever a time when anyone had to wear a tracking bracelet due to their COVID status? Were people forcibly quarantined by military or LEO? Literally even once? Are the mandates and lockdowns that were used successfully in, say Zaire or Congo to stop the spread of Ebola crimes against humanity too? Or did they save lives with a minimum of harm, in a situation (unsanitary conditions, lack of medical facilities, etc) created by colonialism?



And yet: even with clear acknowledgement by the CDC that these shots do NOT curb transmission, many colleges and employers CONTINUE to ENFORCE MANDATES.


There's also a current trend to drop those mandates, including the Uni I work at.

----

In response to what you posted on the SCOTUS/ROE thread, before Jack graciously moved it over here:




That's flat wrong. I'd say I'm surprised at this response. But I'm not.

Is that kind of jab really necessary, friend? I also said clearly that I'm passionately opposed to mandates.

Your "tracker" is from a law firm in which no one other than William Wehrum, decimator of the EPA, was previously a partner. Come now, is this board not, at core, about media and full-spectrum thought manipulation, to some degree? You have literally posted in this thread that you'd single-issue vote for a pro [god, guns, police, Creator, etc] candidate for her COVID policy. In all your theorizing over the great Plandemic, did it not occur to you that it's also producing you as a new political subject? Appealing to your demographic algorithmically, based on cries of tyranny, doublethink, etc? Surely it did.

I think about this all the time because the bodily autonomy stuff similar to what you post really does work well on me (and I'm quite sure I'm just one tiny data point in a giant algorithmic calculation that pol firms have access to) too and likely by design to manipulate the basic partisan playing field.

But then one philosophy paper doesn't really do justice to the fact that, like it or not, bodily autonomy always has that basic problem of Others and their respective autonomy. To solve it the coarse way, as a means to opposing mandates etc, demands a certain set of ideas that just so happen to be the same core arguments you have been making here (and rather liberally so) every day for two years. The question of negotiating two parties bodily autonomy goes away in a puff of smoke the second COVID is ONLY a scam, harmless, unable to be stopped by masks, when vax don't work etc.

It's a neat party trick but demands an impassioned level of denial to sustain, as well. Chapel perilous type stuff even.

One of my friends is a former cop and he would have adored your material: no masks, mandates are tyranny, COVID has always been equivalent to a prolonged October surprise etc. Then he got COVID and a 104 temp and a trip to the hospital and a week of hallucinations he was being eaten alive by an iguana. He's still nuanced in his view but would be appalled at the ignorance here.

I mean whatever. This thread is just your sandbox at this point anyways. You've chosen that and I'm not complaining. It just means it's not much of an interesting or productive conversation, mostly an echo chamber of hardliners who assume their friend are there enemies. So I don't bother and I won't again and don't know quite why I did today But for fuck's sake. There's more nuanced and synthetic discourse about all this on like Reddit these days than RI and that's just sad and wrong.

----------

Truly ..... please don't take any of this personally, BS. I like you and always have and that isn't about to change. I really hope the job shit works out because what you report is legitimately fucking wrong, whatever our differences may be. Peace, love and health to you and yours.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:21 pm

.

Liminal, I have no interest in sparring here. But to keep it as simple as possible, you clearly appear to be taking a 'meh'/neutral approach to this topic (and also a few subtle condescending jabs at my direction, but that's ok. I forgive you, for you know not what you do). And for me, it IS A HILL WORTH DYING ON. As it should be for anyone that values essential human rights.

That any mandates exist currently, and have existed at all, is the crime against humanity here. That they are no longer as pervasive does NOT excuse or diminish the gravity of the grievous harms committed by mandates and lockdowns.

And guess what? It seems the tide's turning, friend. And YES: Natural IMMUNITY SHOULD BE A CONSIDERATION.

Perhaps you should begin to reflect on your current positions and presumptions, because future historians will not look kindly on those that took a "neutral" approach to current covid hysteria.

Fucking NPR, along with the CDC, are now capitulating.

Image

Direct from the FUCKING CDC:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7133e1.htm
Excerpt:
Nonpharmaceutical interventions. Implementation of multiple prevention strategies helps protect individual persons and communities from SARS-CoV-2 exposure and reduce risk for medically significant illness and death by reducing risk for infection (Table). Implementation of multiple nonpharmaceutical preventive interventions can complement use of vaccines and therapeutics, especially as COVID-19 Community Levels increase and among persons at high risk for severe illness. CDC’s COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur, though they are generally mild (16), and persons who have had COVID-19 but are not vaccinated have some degree of protection against severe illness from their previous infection (17). In addition to strategies recommended at all COVID-19 Community Levels, education and messaging to help individual persons understand their risk for medically significant illness complements recommendations for prevention strategies based on risk.


And even FUCKING Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cdc ... 022-08-11/

Excerpt:
"Both prior infection and vaccination confer some protection against severe illness, and so it really makes the most sense to not differentiate with our guidance or our recommendations based on vaccination status at this time," Dr. Massetti told reporters.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:11 pm

Also:

liminalOyster » Wed Aug 10, 2022 12:53 pm wrote:
[All of the above without consideration of prior infection as a form of protection]


Knowing that you don't generally believe much if anything from mainstream medical journals, it would be foolhardy to point out that is at least in part based on evidence (I know, I'm sure its bullshit to you) that the currently globally dominant variant doesn't provide immunity.


With respect to the above, in addition to the myriad studies cited here on the topic of prior infection/prior immunity, there is also this recent finding:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2118946

A study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine shared findings that supported natural immunity providing greater protection from COVID infection than multiple vaccinations.
...

The study said it found that COVID protection decreases over time, but the overall protection was higher in those who had COVID than those who received a second vaccine dose.

“Among persons who had been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 (regardless of whether they had received any dose of vaccine or whether they had received one dose before or after infection), protection against reinfection decreased as the time increased since the last immunity-conferring event. However, this protection was higher than that conferred after the same time had elapsed since receipt of the second dose of the vaccine among previously uninfected persons.”

Researchers said their analysis was based on more than 5.7 million people and the study was approved by the institutional review board at the Sheba Medical Center.

https://www.1011now.com/2022/06/22/natu ... udy-finds/

Additionally, see the most up-to-date commentary from the CDC in my prior posting.

I also participated in/was selected for a Johns Hopkins study earlier in the year, the findings of which were published in Feb, and indicated durable immunity among the unvaccinated, previously infected up to ~20 months, albeit during earlier variants:

@JAMA_current

In a study of unvaccinated US adults up to 20 months, antibodies were detected in 99% of people who reported a positive COVID-19 test result, in 55% who believed they had COVID-19 but were never tested, and in 11% who believed they had never had #COVID19.
https://ja.ma/3ukR7XG
6:00 PM · Feb 3, 2022

https://twitter.com/JAMA_current/status ... Ic_4VoncSQ

Unless you have specific data that indicates firmly otherwise, it's clear here that -- as has been the case historically with viruses -- prior infection indeed confers protection for a period of time, and, at least according to some recent studies, lasts longer than protection provided by the 'vaccines'.

There's no data currently that indicates this is any different with current variants. Unless I missed something?

All moot now, in any event.

Nicole Saphier, MD
@NBSaphierMD
·
A big update from @CDCgov today is the CDC recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status - acknowledging breakthrough infections are common, and taking natural immunity into consideration.

4:06 PM · Aug 11, 2022·

Nicole Saphier, MD
@NBSaphierMD
·
Not to mention the kids who were kicked out of school because of vaccine/booster mandates. History will reflect poorly on the US handling of the pandemic. Reparations must be made.

Eli Klein
@TheEliKlein
·
The CDC has finally said that unvaccinated and vaccinated people should have the same Covid guidance, because “..it really makes the most sense to not differentiate.”

So all forms of discrimination against unvaccinated people must end immediately.

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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby stickdog99 » Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:52 pm

Cardiovascular Effects of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescents

This study focuses on cardiovascular effects, particularly myocarditis and pericarditis events, after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine injection in Thai adolescents. This prospective cohort study enrolled students from two schools aged 13–18 years who received the second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Data including demographics, symptoms, vital signs, ECG, echocardiography and cardiac enzymes were collected at baseline, Day 3, Day 7, and Day 14 (optional) using case record forms.We enrolled 314 participants; of these, 13 participants were lost to follow up, leaving 301 participants for analysis. The most common cardiovascular effects were tachycardia (7.64%), shortness of breath (6.64%), palpitation (4.32%), chest pain (4.32%), and hypertension (3.99%). Seven participants (2.33%) exhibited at least one elevated cardiac biomarker or positive lab assessments. Cardiovascular effects were found in 29.24% of patients, ranging from tachycardia, palpitation, and myopericarditis. Myopericarditis was confirmed in one patient after vaccination. Two patients had suspected pericarditis and four patients had suspected subclinical myocarditis.

Conclusion: Cardiovascular effects in adolescents after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination included tachycardia, palpitation, and myocarditis. The clinical presentation of myopericarditis after vaccination was usually mild, with all cases fully recovering within 14 days. Hence, adolescents receiving mRNA vaccines should be monitored for side effects.


But it's so "meh" that a THIRD SHOT of this totally useless against omicron variants shit was already mandated on each and every one of my medical students for no justifiable scientific reason whatsoever. Right?
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:23 am

^^^^^^^

The mask/vaccine mandates imposed in schools over the last 2 years have been particularly grotesque and largely unique to the U.S., for a population of very low risk individuals.

Despicable.

The following is worth calling out, because apparently there are still individuals out there that -- at least prior to August 11 -- were discounting natural immunity.

@birb_k
·
CDC spokesperson & MMWR contributor Greta Massetti is on record multiple times Aug 11, explaining CDC relaxation of COVID restrictions, including clear reference to natural infection immunity. The CDC manipulated the public for >2 years.

https://twitter.com/birb_k/status/15580 ... 2rDeT-DXAw

@galexybrane
·
The CDC now says that due to breakthrough infections and natural immunity there is no reason to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated people differently. Twitter banned users who pointed this out last year. Never forget that people were censored for saying what the CDC is saying now.

https://twitter.com/galexybrane/status/ ... 2rDeT-DXAw

The next few weeks will be interesting to observe as far as walkbacks and revision of history.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby JackRiddler » Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:13 pm

.

The CDC's retreat from Covidianism is big. It is good. It has made me happy, for today.

It is not enough. Now is the moment to press for empowered investigation and disclosure to establish

    a) the origins of CoV-SARS2,

    b) the decision-making processes, on national and global scales, public and private, that set Covidian policies in 2020,

    c) the processes that suppressed, punished, systematically ridiculed and censored divergent views, especially among scientists and medical professionals, and

    d) everything about the business models and drug-testing practices of Pfizer, Moderna, et al.


Plus a full-timeline preservation of the historical record of official and semi-official public statements and propaganda waves.

But who can actually accomplish that?

(Now is not the moment to have more daily rounds of bashing dancing nurses or ridiculing people who are still terrified of infection or who may be over-imaginative in attributing their troubles to long Covid; but that's more likely, isn't it now? Team Sports Ueber Alles.)
We meet at the borders of our being, we dream something of each others reality. - Harvey of R.I.

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I am by virtue of its might divine,
The highest Wisdom and the first Love.

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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Fri Aug 12, 2022 2:39 pm

:thumbsup

Cheers -- well/neatly summarized.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:34 pm

.
It will be informative to observe how many of those that clung so tightly to the more divisive (and highly fascistic) mindsets adapt (or not) in the weeks/months ahead.

Sharing a couple examples of sentiment below, as a static 'snapshot' in time, and as a reminder of the very real experiences by those that were 'otherized' for much of the last ~2 years, and in a number of instances continue to be.

Re: More Thoughts On Reconciliation
Date: 2022-08-13 08:43 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)

...

The (very justified) anger and resentment is NOT directed at people like your family who may have bought into a lie but (and this is IMPORTANT!) always respected your right to choose for yourself and your family.

I think most everyone on this forum would agree that people like your family are NOT the enemy and are quite ready to accept apologies and/or help everyone move on. The comments make that quite clear.

...this s/show is far from over and the walking back of mandates and the COVID rules does NOT constitute an apology - far from it.

There is a very real argument to be made that most of the hard-core COVID cultists are anything but apologetic. They would re-impose mandates and send the non-believers to a concentration camp in a New York minute if the opportunity presented itself.

And that is the problem we face: what to do about these intractable people? They are true believers who won't be swayed by tea and sympathy. Yet we still have to live amongst them. They have much of the ruling classes along with the bureaucracy and the police on their side and they know it. They can still make life miserable 60 ways to Sunday.

The question that is being debated here is how do we shield ourselves from any future tyranny? If we are to avoid the use of violence and accepting that we cannot escape to another, better world then the only other viable tool is avoidance - be it through boycotts or severing communication - and trying to build alternative economies/societies. If anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears.

I wholeheartedly agree that it would be lovely if we could all just sit down and have a communal heart-to-heart. I'd love to live in a kinder, gentler, genteel world where this is possible. I'd love for everything to be sunshine and lollipops and to just be able to close the door on the past two and a half years of dystopia. But it has gone too far for that. We can see clearly now that there are people (even within our own families) who are all-in on this. For some, the real shocker is the realization and acceptance that this evil was living amongst us all along. This train to hell is nowhere near ready to slow down much less stop. You have to come to terms with this fact or you will be crushed.

I think Mark's idea of launching a new discussion to focus on our options for fixing this mess is a great idea. However, I would caution that it is unreasonable to expect that you can simply sweep this past two and a half years under the carpet.

Liam in Toronto

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/193981 ... mt33266877

politicallyhomelesstoo
@denHolisticmama

A [thread] regarding the news of the CDC’s new guidelines:

In no particular order…:


I was not allowed to volunteer at my kids’ schools for over a year because I wasn’t vaccinated.

A family refused to carpool with us because they said they were “uncomfortable” with their son sharing a car with us. We had been ratted out by a mutual friend who said to the other mom “well, you do know they aren’t vaccinated, right?”. (Trust, shattered)

We were uninvited by good friends to share a vacation house with them; a long standing tradition was ended over medical choice. They all got Covid anyway, of course.

My daughter couldn’t attend a theater production with her school’s theater company because @DenverCenter rules.

50% of the restaurants (and many businesses) in our neighborhood were off limits to us. I won’t forget which ones.

We had to eat ice cold lunches, out of a backpack huddled outside with frozen hands when we skied at a @vailmtn resort because we weren’t allowed inside the lodges. I could never get warm. I bailed on the rest of the season after just using 2 days of my pass- wasn’t worth it.

I wasn’t allowed to stay in a hotel or eat in any restaurant for a work trip to DC; I had to cancel it altogether as it made travel there impossible.

My husband, having trained already for 6 mo, was banned from participating in an Ironman event.

A group of his friends told him over text that he was endangering them and their families and they told him he couldn’t stay in the airbnb w/ them for a trip they had been planning. They no longer speak to him.

I was called a conspiracy theorist by dear friends and was left in the dust by them socially. I would have given one of my kidneys to these friends; they cut me off over a vax that didn’t stop transmission or infection.

My teens experienced unbelievable amounts of stress regarding “being found out” by their peers for not being vaxxed. They usually lied and said they were in order not be shunned or called the derogatory and bigoted term of “anti-vaxxer”. I didn’t blame them.

We didn’t book a trip to a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah in NY because we wouldn’t have been allowed inside the venue. By the time NYC dropped the mandate, it was too late to book travel. (I still wouldn’t be allowed to work there bc #Science).

I was disinvited to annual women’s fitness trip that I had been attending for years because of my personal medical choices and despite having already had Covid. I was told I could attend this next one “as long as the guidance doesn’t change”. How generous.

Oh and my husband was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 for not getting vaxxed despite the fact that he worked 100% from home and offered to test before any meetings or travel. (This rule only applied to US employees except for those in Texas, because #Science.)

So, yes, I am seething a bit right now having read the CDC’s new guidance knowing that this was what the guidance should have been all along (minus the ridiculous masking). I want apologies and I want assurances that this won’t happen again. I know that won’t come though.
Image

https://twitter.com/denHolisticmama/sta ... ss9AMAxxFQ

I can relate with a few of the scenarios depicted above.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby stickdog99 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:31 pm

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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Belligerent Savant » Mon Aug 15, 2022 12:48 pm

.

Image
(Clifton is himself an artist/actor. I shared a youtube clip of a speech he gave Re: covid restrictions, a few pages back in this thread)


Also of note: I've had numerous preliminary conversations with attorneys regarding legal action against my employer for blatant acts of discrimination, damages, etc. (To be clear, the majority of employment lawyers/civil rights attorneys I contacted informed me they had no interest in my case and/or that they will NOT be taking on these types of matters). In short, among the small handful of attorneys that were willing to speak to me, they all indicated that most 'at will' (non-govt) employers have the upper hand, and current court/judge sentiment will align with CDC guidance and have generally NOT favored plaintiffs.

This was all PRIOR TO the recent CDC Guidance update.

Things will likely/probably change now in the weeks/months ahead, and surely there will be firms/attorneys that will smell blood in the water and take advantage. But as of now, the courts are NOT on the side of the plaintiffs.

Additionally: it no longer surprises me that certain groups of people (including at least 1 RI forum member, recently) actually attempt to argue that the U.S. was "never really in a lockdown" due to however they choose to define a "lockdown". This is, frankly, shameful. Anyone expressing this position -- particularly, once again, those that otherwise clamor for human rights -- should be ashamed to even utter these words out loud or commit them to electronic medium. Those expressing such sentiment only expose themselves as apologists for blatantly fascist policies. Scores of restaurants and small businesses across the U.S. shut down due to lockdowns, and in turn, working class people and small-business owners lost their livelihoods, minimally, due to U.S. LOCKDOWNS. Just what type of privileged bubble world do these people -- the "lockdowns didn't really happen in the U.S." people -- live in?

Moving along to the piece I intended to include here regarding taking this battle to the courts. All of this remains pending/to be determined.

https://aaronkheriaty.substack.com/p/ch ... medium=web
The CDC finally comes around to acknowledge what I've been saying for a year about natural immunity. The University of California's unjust vaccine mandate no longer has any legal ground to stand on.

Aaron Kheriaty, MD

Some of you may remember that I launched this newsletter almost a year ago after filing a lawsuit against the University of California, my former employer, challenging the constitutionality of their vaccine mandate in federal court on behalf of Covid-recovered individuals. As I argued in that case, natural immunity following Covid infection is equal to (indeed, superior to) vaccine-mediated immunity. Thus, forcing those like me with natural immunity to be vaccinated introduces unnecessary risks without commensurate benefits—either to individuals or to the population as a whole—and violates their equal protection rights guaranteed under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The federal district court judge in my case did not allow the case to proceed to trial, which would have permitted an examination of the science on natural immunity through the usual fact finding legal process. Instead of applying an intermediate or strict level of judicial scrutiny to the case, the judge claimed that a constitutional right was not at stake (rejecting my equal-protection argument) and so applied what the court calls a “rational basis” review.

Under this low level of judicial scrutiny, it was virtually impossible for me to prevail. The University only had to show that it had a plausible reason — a “rational basis” — for its vaccine mandate policy. It did not have to present evidence or demonstrate that the policy would actually achieve its stated aim, nor did it have to show that the policy was narrowly tailored toward this end so as not to infringe unnecessarily on other rights at stake (e.g., bodily autonomy, privacy, etc.). The policy could be overly broad, capturing people with natural immunity that did not require vaccination, for example, and still pass muster legally.

The University’s rational basis argument to the court essentially boiled down to one simple fact: the CDC had not acknowledged natural immunity in its recommendations. Therefore, the University’s mandate did not need to recognize it either. The judge concurred that this was sufficient, end of story. The scientific evidence on either side was entirely beside the point and need not be considered in the courtroom.

And that’s where my case stood until this week, when the CDC published its new covid guidelines. These quietly published guidelines include, among others, the following changes:

Image

The document explains that second bullet point as follows:
CDC’s COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur, though they are generally mild, and persons who have had COVID-19 but are not vaccinated have some degree of protection against severe illness from their previous infection.


In short, the CDC now fully endorses my position rather than the University’s vaccine mandate policy. It took the agency a year to come around — many have speculated that the upcoming midterm elections may have nudged the agency to finally acknowledge what scientific evidence has shown clearly since mid-2021. It’s also possible that our legal pressure on the CDC, described in one of my previous posts, helped to move the needle here:

Legal Push: The CDC Must Objectively Examine the Science on Natural Immunity

A group of academic physicians and scientists has taken legal action to subject the CDC's opaque policymaking on this issue to scrutiny by the courts and the public


In any case, as the old saying goes, better late than never. You may also recall that, following the lawsuit, the University of California placed me on leave, followed by unpaid suspension, and then fired me for alleged noncompliance with the vaccine mandate that I was challenging in court. Now, their mandate’s only remaining crutch has collapsed. They haven’t yet called to offer me my old job back and I’m not holding my breath. These are not the kind of people that will ever admit they were wrong.

They will, however, be hearing from my lawyer soon. I’m looking forward to the next legal round. Honestly, I don’t need to win any victory in court, though I anticipate now that I will prevail this time. A clear conscience is enough. Thank you to all of you subscribers for standing by me and supporting me on this adventure for the past year.

What have I learned in the last twelve months? Do the right thing, even when it’s unpopular. Stand by your convictions, even when you appear foolish to many. When the other side retaliates, don’t flinch. Be patient. Bide your time. Eventually, the truth will out, so play the long game.



As of now, there's been NO publicly announced update from entities that currently enforce vaccine mandates. NYC, as of now, continues to enforce a vaccine mandate, for example.

ANYONE that values HUMAN RIGHTS SHOULD BE VOCAL about their opposition to these continued affronts.
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Re: Coronavirus Crisis: Main Thread

Postby Harvey » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:21 pm

Image
And while we spoke of many things, fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing
You'll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return"


Eden Ahbez
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