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Who Can Opt Out of School COVID Vaccine Mandate? California Lawmakers Eye Crackdown
Los Angeles Times via Yahoo!News reported:
When Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that California would require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a critical caveat was tucked within the nation-leading announcement: Parents can opt their children out of inoculation based on personal beliefs.
Newsom did not define the criteria for obtaining those exemptions, leaving the task to state public health officials. Now, lawmakers are expressing concerns that allowing broad exemptions in the mandate will undermine the state’s effort to protect schools if too many families decide against vaccination.
Exclusive: Government Secretly Orders Google to Identify Anyone Who Searched a Sexual Assault Victim’s Name, Address and Telephone Number
The U.S. government is secretly ordering Google to provide data on anyone typing in certain search terms, an accidentally unsealed court document shows. There are fears such “keyword warrants” threaten to implicate innocent Web users in serious crimes and are more common than previously thought.
“Trawling through Google’s search history database enables police to identify people merely based on what they might have been thinking about, for whatever reason, at some point in the past. This is a virtual dragnet through the public’s interests, beliefs, opinions, values and friendships, akin to mind reading powered by the Google time machine,” said Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Man Behind COVID Licking Hoax Sentenced to Federal Prison
A San Antonio man on Monday was sentenced to more than a year in prison for claiming on social media that he paid someone with COVID-19 to go to area grocery stores and lick products.
A federal jury found 40-year-old Christopher Charles Perez guilty on two counts criminalizing false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Perez said the two messages he posted on Facebook were meant to deter people from shopping as he believed there were too many people at grocery stores. An FBI investigation determined that the threats were a hoax.
Coronavirus Update NY: Vaccine Mandate Looms for More Healthcare Workers
The Visiting Nurses Association on Manhattan’s East Side is just one home healthcare agency bracing for possible staffing shortages today, as another vaccine mandate takes effect.
Workers in adult care facilities, home health agencies, long-term home healthcare programs and hospice care across the state of New York have until Thursday night to get their first COVID shot.
There are about 250,000 home health aides statewide. It is estimated about 1 in 5 are not vaccinated.
Mayor de Blasio Indicates COVID Vaccine Mandate for Civil Service Employees Could Be Next
Now that New York City courts have confirmed again and again that the city can mandate COVID-19 vaccines from its employees, Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated that firefighters, corrections officers and police officers could be next.
Currently, civil service employees must either be vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test every seven days. Even without the mandate, Commissioner Shea says 68% of the NYPD workforce is vaccinated.
Fired for Refusing a COVID Vaccine? You Likely Can’t Get Unemployment Benefits
As businesses and lawmakers increasingly require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine, thousands of holdouts are losing their jobs — and they likely can’t collect unemployment benefits.
However, there may be exceptions, depending on a worker’s situation, according to employment experts. Some state legislatures are trying to change their rules altogether.
VERIFY: No, the Federal Government Can’t Mandate Vaccines to the General Public. Here’s Why.
Can the federal government mandate vaccinations for the general public?
The federal government can’t mandate vaccinations for the general public. However, vaccine mandates may be applied to specific groups under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
This is why President Biden’s administration tasked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — or OSHA — with creating and implementing a vaccine mandate for America’s workforce and not the general public.
Maskless and Unvaccinated, Millions of Pupils Have Returned to English Schools
As the debate on masking in classrooms rages in the U.S, England, as with its risky move to fully reopen society in July, is chartering its own course. Despite competing scientific advice, in September millions of mostly unvaccinated children returned to school — with new government guidance. Masks, in the English classroom, are no longer recommended.
The risk of death in unvaccinated children, according to the U.K. government’s vaccine surveillance reports, remains very low. In one study published in July by researchers from University College London, and the Universities of Liverpool, Bristol and York during the first 12 months of the pandemic, 25 under 18-year-olds died from COVID in England, which amounts to a mortality risk of 2 in a million.
Canada Issues COVID Vaccine Mandate for Travelers 12 or Older on Trains and Planes
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for rail and air travelers as well as staff. “Today we are fulfilling two of our main commitments — mandatory vaccination for federal employees and mandatory vaccination for travel,” Trudeau said.
Canada will also have a vaccine mandate for federally regulated workers in place by the end of the month, according to Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Trudeau said that by the end of October all travelers 12 or older on a plane or train within Canada must be fully vaccinated. Trudeau said there will be a short grace period where unvaccinated travelers or staff “can provide a negative COVID-19 test.”
‘Facebook Can’t Keep Its Head in the Sand’: Five Experts Debate the Company’s Future
The congressional testimony of Frances Haugen is being described as a potential watershed moment after the former Facebook employee turned whistleblower warned lawmakers must “act now” to rein in the social media company.
The Guardian spoke to several experts across the tech industry about what could and should lie ahead for Facebook. The interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
