Veterans Affairs Mandates Vaccine for Employees, NY Leaving it Up to Cities

Talk of vaccine mandates has returned. The focus has shifted away from blanket mandates to specific sectors and industries.

Summary

There is a sudden push to mandate vaccines for certain industries and workplaces, with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announcing it will require its employees be vaccinated.

• In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is leaving it up to municipalities whether government employees will be required to be vaccinated.
• California will require all state employees to either “show proof of vaccination or get tested regularly.”
• While not a mandate per se, the NFL is imposing serious restrictions and penalties, including game forfeitures, if outbreaks leading to the cancellation of a regular season game occurs, and creating incentives for players to get vaccinated.
• As talk of vaccine mandates heat up, a new study shows China’s Sinovac vaccine loses a good deal of its effectiveness after 6 months, requiring a booster shot while data on the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines produced “exponentially higher antibody levels” if given after a previous COVID-19 infection.

• Slate reported on a “conservative radio host in Tennessee” who has come down with a COVID-19 infection, leading to hospitalization, and urged listeners to get vaccinated after “months” of skepticism of the vaccine.
• USA Today reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs vaccine mandate coincided with a new report that the number of COVID-19 infections among patients and staff of the department doubled from last month.
• The New York Times framed the news of the VA vaccine mandate as a development over “concern” of the delta variant, and emphasized that the Biden administration has been reluctant to “embrace mandates.”

• The Daily Caller reported on the coverage the death of an anti-vaccine skeptic and member of Christian church Hillsong, saying “several outlets made a point of printing Harmon’s comments about the vaccine.” In their reporting of his death.
• President Biden’s snap at a reporter filled Fox News’ coverage, when the President was in a White House meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister. Biden called NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell “a pint in the neck” when she asked Biden about the VA vaccine mandate.
• RedState characterized California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s remark that unvaccinated Californians are largely to blame for the latest coronavirus surge as demonizing them, while highlighting a stupid analogy comparing unvaccinated Californians to drunk drivers.

Author’s Take

Vaccine mandates for federal workers shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Whether that will help federal agencies to work more efficiently, that’s another story. Even with the vaccine widely available for anyone over the age of 18 for a couple of months now, important services like passports and veteran records requests are seeing weeks and months long backlogs.

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© Dallas Gerber, 2021