Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #101

[SouthAussie]

Our state of Victoria is now requiring at ton of professions/workers to be vaccinated.

(Check out the list at the blue 'authorised worker list' link in the text ... I am hard pressed to see any exclusions. It seems like if you have a job you have to be vaccinated.)


Unions have welcomed the Victorian government’s decision to expand vaccine mandates to more than 1 million workers.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, announced on Friday that all Victorian residents on the state’s authorised worker list must have a first Covid vaccine dose by 15 October in order to continue working on site.

The extensive list includes professional sportspeople, faith leaders and workers in frontline services, hospitality, media and the government. Under the rule, authorised workers must be fully vaccinated by 26 November.

The new deadlines will not apply to Victorian workers in aged care, healthcare, freight, construction and education, sectors that have existing mandatory vaccination timelines.

Victoria Covid vaccine mandate: unions welcome move as protesters clash with police in Melbourne

 

[musicaljoke]

California to require eligible students in public, private schools be vaccinated against COVID-19

Great idea. Wait...children can have "religious and medical exemptions". Yeah, I have seen those "exemptions". Pretty much, anyone could get one, because it was too much of a hassle to deny it, religious freedom, 1st amendment issues...so...this is pretty meaningless in real life.

Apparently the exemptions haven't been written yet. I will be interested in what they will be.

So far, there are only medical exemptions: anaphylaxis to one of the ingredients (extremely rare), or myocarditis after the first booster, a condition which is concerning, but treatable.

What mainstream religious groups do we know have an antivaxx doctrine? I don't think that there are any mainstream groups, although there may be extreme right or left wing pockets of independent religious groups.

Any student who refuses to take the vaccine would be forced to complete an independent study course at home, which is understandable, but unfortunately isn't likely to be a place where they will learn the science behind vaccinations.

Immunizations and Religion | Vanderbilt Faculty & Staff Health and Wellness

 

[musicaljoke]

Our state of Victoria is now requiring at ton of professions/workers to be vaccinated.

(Check out the list at the blue 'authorised worker list' link in the text ... I am hard pressed to see any exclusions. It seems like if you have a job you have to be vaccinated.)


Unions have welcomed the Victorian government’s decision to expand vaccine mandates to more than 1 million workers.

The premier, Daniel Andrews,

announced on Friday that all Victorian residents on the state’s authorised worker list must have a first Covid vaccine dose by 15 October in order to continue working on site.

The extensive list includes professional sportspeople, faith leaders and workers in frontline services, hospitality, media and the government. Under the rule, authorised workers must be fully vaccinated by 26 November.

The new deadlines will not apply to Victorian workers in aged care, healthcare, freight, construction and education, sectors that have existing mandatory vaccination timelines.

Victoria Covid vaccine mandate: unions welcome move as protesters clash with police in Melbourne

This is an exhaustive list of workers with a deadline of just two weeks away. Is it doable?
https://www.vumc.org/health-wellness/news-resource-articles/immunizations-and-religion

 

[ilovewings]

U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Level Off as Delta Variant Surge Drops

 

[ilovewings]

Changing Minds: What Moves the Needle for the Unvaccinated?

Interesting article about how some professionals, and others attempt to convince vaccine hesitant people to get the vaccine. There is one comment in there that made me laugh out loud: one lady was told by someone that a flu shot made her walk backwards!!! Isn't that a hoot?

 

[ZoriahNZ]

I was curious about aspiration, since I have never seen the practice used during vaccination here in NZ.

CDC: ACIP Vaccine Administration Guidelines for Immunization | CDC

Aspiration before injection of vaccines or toxoids (i.e., pulling back on the syringe plunger after needle insertion but before injection) is not necessary because no large blood vessels are present at the recommended injection sites, and a process that includes aspiration might be more painful for infants.

Immunize.org:

Ask the Experts: Administering Vaccines

Do you need to aspirate before giving a vaccination?
No. ACIP does not recommend aspiration when administering vaccines because no data exist to justify the need for this practice. There are data that show that aspiration is more painful for the vaccine recipient. IM injections are not given in areas where large vessels are present. Given the size of the needle and the angle at which you inject the vaccine, it is difficult to cannulate a vessel without rupturing it and even more difficult to actually deliver the vaccine intravenously. We are aware of no reports of a vaccine being administered intravenously and causing harm in the absence of aspiration.

 

[SouthAussie]

This is an exhaustive list of workers with a deadline of just two weeks away. Is it doable?

It very well could be. Victoria's vaccination rate is at 81.5% with at least one dose, 51.5% fully vaccinated.

The first dose target is 15th October, with the fully vaccinated target being 26th November.

Hopefully, their Premier Dan Andrews has set a realistic target ... he is a bit of a plain talking country lad, so I imagine he has.
I imagine this will act as an incentive for those one dose people to get their second dose promptly.

NSW takes over ACT to have highest number fully vaccinated

 

[ilovewings]

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 700,000 Despite Wide Availability of Vaccines

I believe this is behind a pay wall. This article basically describes the hundreds of thousands of deaths that have occurred SINCE VACCINES BECAME AVAILABLE in the United States- a shocking statistic that was preventable. The article describes
that people who died in the past three months were mostly concentrated in the South, a low vaccinated area and they were younger. In August every age group under 55 had
the highest death toll of the pandemic- Physicians and other health care personnel expressed their frustration with these statistics because these deaths were so preventable. Out of 100,000 of these deaths 2900 were of vaccinated people. The rest were not vaccinated.

A physician described the Delta wave as ripping through the unvaccinated.

A Funeral Director stated that the Delta variant is tremendously worse- he stated "it would be hard for me to define just how much worse it is'

He should know.

 

[ilovewings]

Heart inflammation rates higher after Moderna COVID-19 vaccine - Canada data

I think the reason would be that Moderna is a little over three times the dose of Pfizer (100 micrograms v 30 micrograms per dose)----

 

[ilovewings]

My husband was watching the football game between Michigan and Wisconsin- the game is in Wisconsin- The crowd is a sea of red- young men and women very close together,- how many, probably at least 50,000 probably more, screaming and yelling: I am so appalled--- I cannot see how cases won't come out of that setting.

 

[Cool Cats]

~ For the Health Insurance Plan to be more accurate ~

Largest Louisiana health system fines employees with unvaccinated spouses

Sat, October 2, 2021, 1:08pm

The largest health system in Louisiana will start fining employees hundreds of dollars a month if they are married to an unvaccinated person.

"The reality is the cost of treating COVID-19, particularly for patients requiring intensive inpatient care, is expensive, and we spent more than $9 million on COVID care for those who are covered on our health plans over the last year," CEO of Ochsner Health, Warner Thomas, told NOLA.

Ochsner Health will start charging employees $200 per month, or $100 per pay period, if their spouse or partner is unvaccinated. The "spousal COVID vaccine fee" will begin in 2022, and Thomas said it is not a mandate, saying non-employed spouses and domestic partners can select a health plan outside the Ochsner’s offerings.

"This is not a mandate as non-employed spouses and domestic partners can choose to select a health plan outside of Ochsner Health offerings," he told NOLA.

The fee only applies to domestic partners or spouses, not other dependents such as children, who are covered by the employee’s health insurance.

The announcement was met with condemnation by some on social media, including the Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student activism organization.

"This is a taste of what's coming. There is no end to the madness. Brace," YAL’s official Twitter account posted Friday.

 

[mickey2942]

Sources: NBA players won't have to get vaccine

Just wondering why these players, who have so much social power, couldn't just get together and encourage the public to get vaccinated. Many of them, get vaccinated, and hide the information as if it is a shameful item, rather than proudly proclaim their "vaccinated" status.

LeBron James said he was vaccinated, after previously evading the question.

 

[Cool Cats]

Fired For Not Getting The Covid Vaccine? You May Not Get Unemployment – Forbes Advisor

Can You Collect Unemployment If You’re Fired For Not Getting The Covid Vaccine?

In short, probably not. If an employer terminates you because you don’t follow its policies, it has “cause” to fire you. And if you’re fired “for cause,” you may be ineligible to claim unemployment benefits.

“Every state defines ‘for cause’ differently,” Mariel Smith, partner at law firm Hall Booth Smith, PC. “Most states have similar statutes that indicate if an employee is terminated for breaking company policy, the employee would be denied unemployment benefits.”

“In Texas, for example, you can be denied unemployment if you voluntarily resigned or are terminated for associated misconduct,” says Carrie Hoffman, partner at law firm Foley & Lardner, LLP. “Employers could argue that the refusal of the vaccine was a voluntary resignation or an involuntary termination for misconduct.”

When it comes down to it, vaccine mandates are just another workplace policy.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance for Covid-19 vaccination states that an employer can require its employees to get vaccinated. But it must also accommodate those who seek exemptions for a medical condition or religious practice.

“If you’re terminated and you have a medical or religious exemption, then that’s an issue,” says Mariel Smith, partner at law firm Hall Booth Smith PC. “You could possibly have a wrongful termination suit, and you can pursue unemployment.”

“I would caution employees against the notion that if they don’t quit, but stay and get fired, they can get unemployment. It’s very risky,” Smith explains.

Oregon is one example of a state that has mandated health care, education, and government workers to get vaccinated. The head of the state Employment Department has said eligibility will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but those terminated by public or private employers for refusing to get vaccinated probably won’t be eligible.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Australians vaccinated against COVID-19 being given the chance to win $1 million

Australians vaccinated against COVID-19 are being given the chance to win $1 million thanks to a new campaign dedicated to accelerating the country's vaccination rates.

The Million Dollar Vax campaign will give away a total of $4.1 million worth of prizes to people vaccinated against the virus in the next four and a half weeks.

It will award $1000 gift cards to entrants daily on top of the ultimate $1 million prize, which will be given away on 5 No

 

[weepingangel]

Rhode Island to find new assignments for unvaccinated health care workers
more at link
Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said Friday that the administration would try to find new assignments for health care workers employed by the state who are refusing a coronavirus vaccination.


The state’s health care worker vaccine mandate took effect Friday, the day after a federal judge tossed a constitutional challenge to the requirement filed by four people who work in the health care field. Workers who don’t comply are at risk of losing their state licenses and jobs.


McKee said during an appearance on WPRO radio that there are a “small amount” of holdouts, but he doesn’t want to put people out of work.



“We might be able to put them in another department,” he said. “We don’t want people to be without pay or without health care coverage and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”



He said he would also encourage hospitals and other health care organizations to take the same approach.

 

[SouthAussie]

Australians vaccinated against COVID-19 being given the chance to win $1 million

Australians vaccinated against COVID-19 are being given the chance to win $1 million thanks to a new campaign dedicated to accelerating the country's vaccination rates.

The Million Dollar Vax campaign will give away a total of $4.1 million worth of prizes to people vaccinated against the virus in the next four and a half weeks.

It will award $1000 gift cards to entrants daily on top of the ultimate $1 million prize, which will be given away on 5 No

If you are looking for the link where to enter, it is in one of the comments under this 9News tweet, Tootsie.

We are all eligible to enter, as long as we are fully vaxxed.

https://twitter.com/covid19nsw/status/1444517118213451783

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Thanks South!

 

[mickey2942]

My husband was watching the football game between Michigan and Wisconsin- the game is in Wisconsin- The crowd is a sea of red- young men and women very close together,- how many, probably at least 50,000 probably more, screaming and yelling: I am so appalled--- I cannot see how cases won't come out of that setting.

I think many people have "Covid-19 Fatigue". They may have had the vaccine, or had Covid-19, and are ready to move forward with their lives.
Do You Have COVID-19 Caution Fatigue?

 

[HongKongPhooey]

I think many people have "Covid-19 Fatigue". They may have had the vaccine, or had Covid-19, and are ready to move forward with their lives.
Do You Have COVID-19 Caution Fatigue?

I think you're right Mickey. I was really pleased to know my double jabbed son and his mates met up in London last night for dinner and beers. He sent me a video message which made me smile, all laughing and definitely a few beers down by the look of them. Completely ok as per our rules.

Adding to this tho, it's a cruel twist that older people such as my parents are in the more vulnerable bracket. They said they dont want to spend what could be their last years locked away, so are calculating risks. A couple of weeks ago they had a holiday down to the coast, meeting up with her siblings for the first time since the pandemic struck. All double jabbed, but remained v cautious. They had a great time and came home safe, used a private driver they know well too. I could not be happier that they had this adventure.

But I think it's no wonder that my poor mum is suffering anxiety. It's a huge dilemma, and constant. They are financially comfortable, this should be their time now. I know a lot of friends here can relate .

 

[ilovewings]

I think many people have "Covid-19 Fatigue". They may have had the vaccine, or had Covid-19, and are ready to move forward with their lives.
Do You Have COVID-19 Caution Fatigue?

I hear ya and to a point I understand Covid fatigue? I do maintain caution--- I have not dined in a restaurant since the pandemic began and I continue to mask up at the grocery store. I do not socialize or go anywhere where there are crowds and I am vaccinated.
I don't suggest everyone live that way, but going to a football game with 100,000 screaming fans with the highly transmissible Delta virus seems really irresponsible to me. 700,000 Americans are dead from this virus (and counting) probably 100,00 of those have died since Vaccines became available---I should add that we are elderly and I feel we still need to be more cautious because of that.