Disney World pauses mandatory vaccination policy: Today’s COVID news

Walt Disney World suspended its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a series of restrictive laws last week penalizing companies that don’t allow workers to opt out of vaccine requirements.

Disney said that more than 90% of Disney World’s “cast members” were vaccinated.

“We believe our approach to mandatory vaccines has been the right one as we continue to focus on the safety and wellbeing of our performers and guests,” Disney said in an email. “We will approach the legal developments accordingly.”

The DeSantis office welcomed the decision, adding in a statement: “We believe all Florida companies will obey the law too.”

Failure to do so could be costly, with fines of up to $ 50,000 per violation for large companies and $ 10,000 for smaller companies if an employee is laid off. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney World employed more than 70,000 people.

Also on the news:

►Mississippi’s emergency order related to the coronavirus expired as the Republican government cited Tate Reeves’ increased vaccine numbers and declining hospital stays.

►Almost 6,100 people a day now test positive for COVID-19 in New York State, 22% more than earlier this month.

►A federal judge in Rhode Island could decide this week, at the request of some health care workers, to block the state requirement that people in medical professions be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

►Vaccination protection starts to fade after about six months, data shows. The good news is that COVID-19 booster vaccinations are now available to all adults in the United States. Here’s what you should know about boosters.

📈Today’s numbers: The US has recorded more than 47.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 771,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Global Total: More than 257 million cases and 5.1 million deaths. More than 195.9 million Americans – 59% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

📘What we read: Governments that are adopting a testing option rather than mandatory vaccination believe that this creates a safe work environment and leads reluctant employees to choose not to have the vaccine. But it is expensive.

Keep this page updated for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates straight to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Buttigieg: TSA employees won’t cut mandate during Thanksgiving travel rush

About 4 million federal employees will need to be vaccinated by Monday under presidential decree to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This includes the Transportation Security Administration staff manning airports across the country for the Thanksgiving travel rush. But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NBC’s Meet the Press that this won’t be a problem; Almost 99% of employees are either fully vaccinated, are there or have applied for an exception. People who don’t qualify won’t be removed from their posts immediately, Buttigieg added.

“From a federal point of view, you know, tomorrow’s deadline is not a cliff,” said Buttiegied. “It’s part of a process to make sure everyone in the federal workforce is safe.”

New infections rise before Thanksgiving

As Americans prepare for their second Thanksgiving coronavirus pandemic, the virus is inviting itself to more tables. The number of cases appears to be increasing week by week in 38 states, according to a US TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. That number can be a little blurry as Veterans Day suspends testing. However, hospitals in 36 states are reporting more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the last week, and 29 states have more patients in ICU beds. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 2,364 counties, or about three-quarters of them, have high levels of transmission in the community. Only 92 counties have low scores.

A brighter sign: last year, the United States reported about 1.2 million cases for the week of November 20. This year there are around 650,000.

– Mike Stucka

Tennessee’s new COVID bill is back on trial

Tennessee continues to assume that masks will not work, and protecting children in schools from COVID-19 is an individual, not a collective, task according to legal arguments by the federal court. Judge Waverly Crenshaw is deciding whether to issue an injunction to prevent the enforcement of a provision of new state law that prohibits schools from performing masking duties except in the extremely rare event. It follows three other cases across the state – one in Crenshaw’s court – over the state’s approach to masking in schools.

The state argues that with the advent of vaccines, the increasing availability of home tests, and some promising treatment options, parents have the ability to send their children to school – or not – without harming others. Parents of eight children with disabilities, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, argue that going to school is not the same as deciding whether to stay home from a birthday party. Continue reading.

– Mariah Timms, The Nashville Tennessean

Department of Defense sends nurses to overwhelmed northern Colorado

The COVID-related labor shortage in Colorado is so severe at UCHealth that starting this week a medical response team of approximately 20 nurses, providers, respiratory therapists and Department of Defense administrators will be deployed to Poudre Valley Hospital. According to a press release, the team will stay for about a month, assisting hospital staff and patients, and alleviating capacity and staffing challenges. On Thursday, UCHealth had hospitalized 373 COVID-19 patients across the state; 99 were in UCHealth hospitals in northern Colorado, according to the health system.

“We are so grateful that this team will help us deliver exceptional care in northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, chief executive officer of UCHealth in northern Colorado, in the press release. “We anticipate that this extra support and other plans that we already have in the pipeline will help make a significant difference.”

– Pat Ferrier, Fort Collins Coloradoan

Contribution: The Associated Press

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/11/21/disney-world-pauses-mandatory-vaccination-policy-covid-news/8702038002/