Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) 11-year-old Wyatt became one of the first Kentuckians in his age group to get vaccinated. He and his siblings each got their first dose at Commonwealth Pediatrics Wednesday morning.

They are among the 28 million kids in America who are now eligible for Pfizer's two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, marking a major milestone in the fight against COVID-19.

"It didn't even hurt!," said Wyatt after receiving his first dose.

LEX 18

The pediatric shots are different from the ones adults and older kids get. They're one third of the dose, and the vials are orange instead of purple, to help prevent any confusion.

What's inside the vial is perhaps the most important.

Doctor Beth Hawse says these vaccines mean more protection for kids, and eventually, a return to normal.

"It's fun to watch the kids come in, I've never seen kids want a vaccine. And I hope I never do again, I hope we never go through this again. But it's interesting how much they understand, and they want to get back to normal. So it's a really good day," said Dr. Hawse.

Elizabeth Hatton feels the same way. She's seen the impacts of COVID-19 firsthand as a physician assistant at Georgetown Community Hospital.

"I'm also a mom. I have a 7 and 10-year-old who've had their lives pretty significantly impacted over the last year and a half or so," said Hatton. "It's just such a gift to be protected and I don't have to worry about that as a mom."

She says her sons will hopefully get their first shot within the next week and join other vaccinated kids like Wyatt and his siblings.

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Kentucky kids become some of the first in their age group to receive COVID-19 vaccine - LEX18 Lexington KY News

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico Beginning Nov. 8, PGA Tour players and caddies who are not U.S. nationals will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to enter the United States.

The tour alerted its membership of the CDC's new policy in the informational "Green Sheet" it sends to players and caddies each week, a copy of which was viewed by Golf Digest. The updated regulations also require non-U.S. nationals to receive a negative COVID-19 test within three days of traveling to the U.S.

Unvaccinated Americans will still be able to enter the country but must provide a negative COVID-19 test within three days of travel.

Vaccinations became an issue at last week's Bermuda Championship, which was not able to fill its 132-man field in part because of the island nation's vaccine requirement. Had this week's World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba taken place one week later, every non-U.S. national player and caddie in the field would be required to be vaccinated in order to return to the United States and resume playing the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour stopped testing fully vaccinated players in April and ceased its on-site testing program entirely in July. According to Golf Channel, 83 percent of the PGA Tour's players, caddies and essential staff are fully vaccinated.

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International PGA Tour players, caddies will need COVID-19 vaccine to enter U.S. - GolfDigest.com

CENTRAL NEW YORK, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) On Tuesday, a CDC advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend the Pfizer vaccine to children ages 5 to 11. The FDA already cleared the shots, which deliver about one-third of the vaccine given to adults.

The CDC recommendation went to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky who gave her approval. In New York State, the health department still has to sign off.

NewsChannel 9s Nicole Sommavilla has been reaching out to local doctors and pharmacies to find out where parents might be able to get their kids vaccinated.

Here are the responses from the pediatricians she spoke with:

Heres how pharmacies are shaking out:

Part of the statement from Kinney Drugs reads:

Kinney Drugs is proactively working on protocols to ensure a vaccination experience that is as safe, comfortable, and convenient as possible for these young patients and their families. When Kinney Drugs protocols are complete and when appointments are opened, Kinney Drugs will alert the public as quickly and clearly as possible.

Before the vaccine can be administered to children in New York, the state department of health must also provide official program guidance.

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Where in CNY can you get the COVID-19 vaccine for your 5-11 year old? - WSYR

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. The Port of Palm Beach is hosting a pop-up vaccination clinic Tuesday.

The partnership with American Scientific Laboratories will offer drive-thru COVID-19 testing and Moderna vaccines to port employees, tenants, and the public.

This event brings vaccines directly to Port of Palm Beach employees, which could be considered a big step forward when complying with the federal vaccine mandate.

The mandate is part of President Joe Bidens vaccination plan, which includes a requirement for companies with more than 100 employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.

Approximately 3,000 peopleare employed directly because of the port, which contributes more than $339 million in business revenue and $12 million in state and federal taxes.

More than 6,000 additional jobs are associated with the importers and exporters that use the port to ship cargo.

This includes workers who are transporting locally harvested raw sugar and molasses from the Western communities in Palm Beach County.

The vaccination clinic will be a first for the Port of Palm Beach, however, it appears there will be another event scheduled at some point.

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Port of Palm Beach said, we are discussing this with American Scientific Laboratories in hopes of offering the booster shots soon.

Tuesdays vaccination clinic at the Port of Palm Beach will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the cruise terminal.

It is located at One East 11th Street Riviera Beach, FL.

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Port of Palm Beach hosting pop-up COVID-19 vaccine and testing clinic - WPTV.com

We checked with local hospital systems to find out how many employees are complying with vaccine mandates at their hospitals.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. So if you go to the hospital, will the worker helping you be vaccinated for COVID-19? A majority of Mid-South hospital systems say yes.

We checked with Memphis-area hospitals to find out how many employees are complying with vaccine mandates at their workplace.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare said it has just under 13,000 employees total. They tell us as of Tuesday, 97% of the workforce has been vaccinated. (An exact number was not released). The hospital said staff who dont comply with its vaccine mandate and do not have an exemption face disciplinary action up to termination, if they fail to get vaccinated.

We are incredibly proud of the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Associates and providers who fulfilled their duty to deliver the safest possible care for the patients we are privileged to serve. Safety has been and will always be our first priority, said Methodist officials in a statement. We had hoped everyone would answer the call to get the vaccine. However, we respect their right to make a different decision. Like most hospital systems across the country, staffing shortages were a challenge in specific areas at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare before the pandemic. This historic pandemic exacerbated those challenges for us and as well as other industries. We are proud that 97% of our staff members are fully vaccinated. Several health systems around the country and in TN now require the COVID-19 vaccine for their healthcare workers. It is our sacred duty to protect our patients, and receiving the vaccine is an important step in honoring that duty.

Regional One Health

Regional One Health said as of its October 31, 2021 deadline, 98.99% of its employees are complaint with the hospitals vaccination policy. Officials said 28 employees were non-compliant and placed on leave and that number includes 20 clinical and eight non-clinical workers. We have experienced no staffing issues associated with the COVID vaccination policy, said Regional One officials.

Baptist Memorial Healthcare

We have reached out to Baptist Memorial Healthcare and are awaiting a response.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital said they will not release exact numbers, but said the overwhelming majority of our employees are fully vaccinated.

This is the full statement: St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and ALSAC have a shared, sole mission: To advance treatment for children with catastrophic diseases. Care for our patients many of whom have compromised immune systems their families and each other is at the center of every decision we make.

On July 14, we announced all employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Thursday, September 9, 2021. We join other hospitals and institutions nationwide that are requiring vaccination to effectively fight COVID-19. ALSAC and St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital share a campus and are jointly implementing this policy for the safety and well-being of our patient families and staff.

The overwhelming majority of our employees are fully vaccinated and there will be no impact to the care we provide our patients and families, our life-saving research or our fundraising efforts.

St. Jude does not disclose information about employee terminations.

St. Francis Hospital

St. Francis Hospital has not reported a vaccine mandate for its employees.

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Some Memphis-area hospital workers didn't get vaccinated by their deadline | Here's how many chose not to get vaccinated at each hospital - WATN -...

In the next few days the White House is expected to issue a rule that could change the path of the pandemic and change the future of the workforce.

The Biden administration is proposing vaccine mandates for companies with 100 or more employees. That's about two-thirds of the national private-sector workforce.

The rules would require employers to enforce a mandatory vaccination policy or create a plan for regular Covid-19 testing.

So what would that mean for Connecticut? According to the most recent data from 2018, there were 4,158 companies in the state with 100 or more employees. All together those firms employ more than one million people. It's worth noting that a lot of those are health care facilities or universities which already have vaccine requirements in place.

The head of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association says it's smaller companies that are really waiting for the federal rules to come down.

"They're quite honestly concerned, they've already got, based on some surveys that we've done of the membership community, 70 to 80% of their employees vaccinated so they can potentially lose 20 or 30% of their workforce when they're already dealing with labor shortages. That in addition to them being put in the middle on how to enforce the mandate whenever the ruling comes out. Do they have to get rid of their employees otherwise they get fine? How's the whole disciplinary process work has them quite honestly, very concerned," CBIA President Chris DiPentima said.

The state estimates that there are 70,000 to 80,000 job openings right now. Companies are worried that requiring vaccines could cause them to lose even more employees.

"It could be a huge strain on something that's already the number one issue, at least here in Connecticut with we're not as far along in our job recovery as some other states in the Northeast, and certainly, as well as the country has been doing. We're still kind of lagging in our unemployment percentage. We still haven't recovered 90,000 of the jobs that we lost during Covid. We got about 70,000, 80,000 job openings right now. We still have 50,000 people on unemployment. So we haven't seen the job growth that we were hoping to see being a leader and the country and addressing the pandemic and so you add the vaccine mandate on top of already our top issues it's like really rubbing salt into the wounds and that's a major concern of the business community," DiPentima explained.

Dan Schwartz, an attorney at Shipman & Goodwin and also the publisher of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, answered some of the legal questions that are coming out of this mandate.

Schwartz explained that if an employee tries to take legal action, it would be the federal government, not the employers, answering a lawsuit.

"I would expect if the employers are just following the rules that have been articulated by the Department of Labor, I think an employee is gonna have a tough time establishing any type of violation by the employer. But it's going to be important for the employers to make sure they understand what's in the rule, what testing is going to be allowed, and really work with employees to make sure that you're in compliance."

On the flip side, if an employer chooses not to enforce the mandate, they are opening themselves up to a potential claim by an employee.

"Every employer has an obligation to provide a safe workplace. Even if an employer disagrees with the rule. It's important for the employer to comply and for the employees to speak up if they don't think that their employer is abiding by the rule," Schwartz said.

He pointed out that while there may be challenges, the vast majority of employees have been complying with vaccine mandates.

"The vast majority of employers have been complying. And so sometimes you should ignore some of the headlines or some of the outliers and really look to the mainstream and overall these mandates been widely accepted by employees women have been implemented."

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How Will a Federal Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Affect CT Employers and Employees? - NBC Connecticut

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UNLV to require proof of COVID-19 vaccine for basketball games at Thomas & Mack - FOX5 Las Vegas

(JTA) When Rabbi Lisa Gelber heard that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5-11, she couldnt wait for the moment that her daughter would get the shot.

But she also knew her daughter was scared of needles. So she sat down with her daughter, 11-year-old Zahara, and together they composed a kavanah, Hebrew for intention, to reflect the gravity and gratitude with which they viewed this milestone and process the feelings her daughter had about the shot.

Holy One of life and love, wrap me in a warm embrace as I prepare to receive my COVID-19 vaccine, the prayer begins. I give thanks to the doctors and scientists who are creators like you, for the wise people who approved the vaccine, and for everyone who made sure this was available to kids.

Gelber, the spiritual leader of Congregation Habonim in New York City, shared the full prayer on Facebook, where her friends and colleagues have been circulating it in anticipation of the vaccines likely availability for children as soon as the end of this week.

This feels like a miraculous moment in time. What a gift that this next expansive cohort will have access to a vaccine, Gelber told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

When COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States began in December 2020, there was much discussion of which blessing or Jewish prayer to recite when receiving the shot. Several new prayers were even written specifically for that occasion, with many offering thanks to the scientists who created the vaccines.

Now, children ages 5-11 are set to become eligible to receive the COVID vaccine in the United States in the next few weeks, potentially bringing to an end a period when parents have worried about the risks of activities as basic as sending a child to school or going to the playground. And the moment is being marked by a new set of Jewish prayers, with at least one, as in the case of Gelber and her daughter, even written by a child.

Gelber said her daughter wanted to thank the people who created the vaccine while noting her fear of needles. Most moving for me was her gratitude for the opportunity to say a blessing which would make me stronger and take her mind off of pain, she said.

Rabbi Karen Reiss Medwed, an assistant dean at the Graduate School of Education at Northeastern University, was first inspired to write a kavanah for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine several months ago when a nurse in her community spoke at their synagogue about the experience of being vaccinated. More recently, Medwed was inspired by her rabbis sermon to write a new kavanah specifically for parents to recite before their children receive the vaccine.

He spoke not only as a rabbi, but as a father, expressing the long awaited relief, as well as the deep religious sense of obligation this next phase of vaccination would bring, Medwed told JTA in an email, referring to Rabbi Joel Levenson of the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York. There was no question I had to compose something to recite, just as parents recite a short kavannah upon having the zchut [merit] to arrive with their child to their bnai mitzvah.

Medweds prayer expresses gratitude to God and to those who developed the vaccines and, echoing the shehecheyanu prayer recited over a new experience, expresses the relief many parents feel at the opportunity to finally vaccinate their children.

With this vaccination I let out the long held pause and breath I have been anxiously keeping inside for these long months, and passionately affirm, Blessed are you, Adonai, Ruler of this Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and brought us to this moment, and let us all say, Amen, the prayer reads.

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COVID-19 vaccines for kids are coming. These rabbis (and their kids) are ready with new prayers. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Members of the fire and police departments and other city workers had until 5 p.m. Friday to show proof they have received at least one vaccine dose or request an exemption; otherwise, they would be placed on unpaid leave. The same mandate was already in effect for city health care and education workers.

About 92% of the city's employees have received at least one dose, including about 2,000 in the past 24 hours, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday morning.

The number of city employees on leave appears to be less than 3% of the municipal workforce. About 12,000 other employees, meanwhile, have applied for a religious or medical exemption, and can continue to work at least until their case is decided, de Blasio has said.

As for city police, about 85% of the department has had at least one shot as of Monday night, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told NY1 on Tuesday morning. That is up from 70% when the citywide vaccine mandate was announced October 20, de Blasio said.

When the number of employees who have requested exemptions is factored in, the percentage of the department eligible to continue working is about 96% or 97%, Shea told NY1.

While the number of uniformed officers on unpaid leave rose from 34 on Monday to 89 on Tuesday, this will not have an impact on public safety, Shea said.

Those numbers are expected to fluctuate, because some people waited until the last minute to get vaccinated, and it takes time to update records, Shea told NY1.

Mayor vows consequences for firefighters if they skipped work to protest vaccine mandate

About 2,300 city firefighters have called in sick since the vaccine mandate went into effect, fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at a news conference Monday.

Nigro said he believed many people calling in sick were protesting the vaccine mandate.

"If you're sick, you're sick, it's a dangerous job. I get it. If you're not sick, I want to see you back at work," Nigro said.

Normally, 800-1,000 fire department employees call in sick on any given day, FDNY spokesperson Jim Long told CNN.

FDNY union leaders oppose the mandate but also have suggested firefighters could be taking sick leave due to reactions to receiving the vaccine over the weekend.

"As (the city is) touting that our vaccination rates have increased, also those (medical) leave days increase ... as a result," FDNY-Fire Officers Association President Jim McCarthy told CNN on Tuesday.

McCarthy said an increase in fires at this time of year also can result in an increase in injuries and sick leave.

Edward Kelly, general president of the International Association of Firefighters, said he rejected the idea that firefighters are faking illness to protest the vaccine mandate.

"This assertion that 2,000 New York City firefighters are somehow skirting the system is wrong. It's flat out wrong and it's an insult," Kelly said at a news conference Tuesday.

De Blasio on Tuesday said the rise in sick calls "seems awfully convenient."

"You see so many more people calling in sick than normal," he told CNN's "New Day."

Any firefighters feigning illness to protest the vaccine mandate are "doing an immense disservice" to the city, de Blasio said a day earlier.

"The folks who are out sick and really aren't sick -- the folks who are faking it -- are doing an immense disservice to the people of this city and to their fellow members of service," de Blasio said during an interview on Spectrum NY1, adding, "We will make sure there are consequences for that."

The mayor said the city was looking into whether the firefighters' unions had coordinated any "sick-out."

"If the union coordinates -- in any way -- a job action, that is a violation of the Taylor Law," de Blasio said, referencing a New York state law that prohibits public employees from striking.

The mayor said the city was willing to "go to court immediately" over any alleged Taylor Law violation.

Despite the large number of firefighters calling in sick, de Blasio said New Yorkers remained safe.

"There's a lot of members of the fire department -- there's a lot of redundancy," he said, adding that scheduled training and maintenance was canceled Monday in order to maximize the number of on-duty firefighters.

Nigro, the FDNY commissioner, said at a news conference Monday that 18 fire units were out of service out of 350, though no firehouses had closed.

"If you're sick, you're sick, it's a dangerous job. I get it. If you're not sick, I want to see you back at work," Nigro said.

Union is 'not anti-vaccine,' leader says

According to city figures Monday morning, 77% of FDNY firefighters had received a vaccine, up from 58% when the vaccine mandate was announced on October 20. Emergency medical services employees within the FDNY have an 88% vaccination rate, up from 61%.

FDNY-Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said Monday morning that he didn't know how many firefighters would not be permitted to work due to still being unvaccinated, stating the FDNY does not share those numbers with them.

"I don't have access to numbers of who's gone sick, but I do know that hundreds of firefighters have received their Covid vaccination in the last several days. No one should be expected to work less than 100%. Everyone knows the vaccine causes mild flu-like symptoms regularly, so these members are not coming to work feeling those symptoms," Ansbro said.

He said the vaccine mandate is "causing an exodus" of firefighters from the department and the remaining firefighters are "going to have to work to the breaking point" to make up for the staffing shortages. Ansbro maintained the union is "not anti-vaccine, we are anti-mandate."

FDNY-Fire Officers Association President Jim McCarthy said Monday morning "all we are asking for is extra time" regarding the city mandate, so their members can have more time to make decisions on whether to get the vaccine, to file any religious or medical exemptions, or potentially decide to retire.

McCarthy said the department's previous policy of testing unvaccinated FDNY members for Covid-19 was working.

CNN's Taylor Romine, Evan Simko-Bednarski, Laura Ly, Christina Maxouris and Ralph Ellis contributed to this report.

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9,000 NYC workers on unpaid leave for not complying with vaccine requirement. 92% did get at least one dose - CNN

COLUMBUS, Ohio (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST)Ohio State University has seen a sharp increase in its COVID-19 vaccination rate in the two-plus months that have passed since the university announced it would require students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated against the virus.

On Aug. 24, when the requirement was announced, the university-wide vaccination rate was 73%.

As of Oct. 28, 91% of students, faculty, and staff are partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing approximately 95,000 people, according to spokesman Ben Johnson.

The communitys response to Ohio States vaccine requirement has been overwhelmingly positive, Johnson told us. We continue to encourage all members of the Ohio State community to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The deadline for OSU students, faculty, and staff to get their first dose of the vaccine was Oct. 15. For those getting a Pfizer or Moderna shot, the second dose is due by Nov. 15.

However, the university has also approved thousands of exemptions to its vaccine mandate.

OSU announced there would be a limited set of exemptions allowed, due to medical, personal or religious reasons.

Roughly 5,750 people across OSU have received vaccine exemptions from the mandate. There have been roughly 6,000 exemption requests.

Johnson said, about 240 requests have been denied largely because of missing documentation or incomplete forms.

Those individuals have been notified that they can resubmit their requests with proper documentation, Johnson.

For those who choose not to get a vaccine or go through the exemption process, OSU has alerted individuals that they may be subject to disciplinary action.

For students, that includes being ineligible to participate in on-campus experiences including in-person classes.

Faculty and staff will be reminded of compliance requirements. Consequences could include the removal of electronic resources, including computer or email access, or further progressive discipline, according to OSUs website.

For more business headlines, go to ColumbusBusinessFirst.com.

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Heres how Ohio States COVID-19 vaccination push is going - NBC4 WCMH-TV