Disney World Pauses Mandatory Vaccination Policy: Today’s COVID News

Walt Disney World has suspended its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of restrictive laws last week that penalize companies that do not allow workers to opt out of vaccine requirements.

Disney said more than 90% of Disney World’s cast members have been vaccinated.

“We believe our approach to mandatory vaccines has been the right one as we continue to focus on the safety and well-being of our participating members and guests,” Disney said in an email. “We will address legal developments as needed.”

DeSantis’ office applauded the decision, adding in a statement “we believe all companies in Florida will abide by the law as well.”

Not doing so can be expensive: Fines are possible up to $ 50,000 per. violation for large companies and $ 10,000 for smaller companies if an employee is fired. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney World employed more than 70,000 workers.

Also in the news:

►Mississippi’s state of emergency related to coronavirus expired when Republican Gov. Tate Reeves cited increased vaccine numbers and declining hospitalizations.

►Almost 6,100 people a day are now testing positive for COVID-19 in the state of New York, an increase of 22% from earlier in the month.

►A federal judge in Rhode Island could this week rule on a request from some health care workers to block the state’s requirement that people working in the medical profession be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

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

Tal Today’s numbers: The United States has recorded more than 47.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 771,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: 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 embrace a testing option instead of mandatory vaccination believe it creates a safe working environment and allows reluctant employees to opt out of the vaccine. But it’s expensive.

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Buttigieg: The mandate will not cut TSA staff during the Thanksgiving travel rush

About 4 million federal workers must be vaccinated by Monday, according to the presidential decree, with the aim of stopping the spread of coronavirus. It includes Transportation Security Administration employees manning airports across the country for the Thanksgiving travel rush. But Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that it will not be a problem; close to 99% of workers are either fully vaccinated, in the process of doing so, or have applied for a waiver. People who have not met the requirement will not be immediately removed from their posts, Buttigieg added.

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

New infections on the rise ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday

As Americans prepare for their second coronavirus pandemic Thanksgiving, the virus invites itself to more tables. Cases appear to be rising in 38 states week-over-week, a U.S. TODAY analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows. That number may be somewhat blurred due to Veterans Day interfering with testing. But hospitals in 36 states report more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients over the past week, and 29 states have more patients in ICU beds. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 2,364 counties, or about three-quarters of them, show high levels of community transmission. Only 92 counties have low levels.

A brighter sign: Last year, the United States reported about 1.2 million cases in the week ending November 20th. This year it is around 650,000.

– Mike Stucka

Tennessee’s new COVID law is back in court

Tennessee continues to insinuate that masks do not work, and the task of keeping children safe from COVID-19 in schools is an individual, not community, task, according to legal arguments in federal court. Judge Waverly Crenshaw decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction to block the enforcement of a new state law provision prohibiting schools from implementing mask mandates except in extremely rare circumstances. It comes on the heels of three other cases across the state – one in Crenshaw’s court – about the state’s approach to masking in schools.

The state argues that with the advent of vaccines, the increased availability of home tests and some promising treatment options, parents have the opportunity to find a way to send their children to school – or not – without influencing others. Parents of eight children with disabilities, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, argue that the school is not up to deciding whether to stay home from a birthday party. Read more.

– Mariah Timms, The Nashville Tennessean

The Department of Defense is sending nurses to the overwhelmed northern Colorado

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

“We are so grateful that this team will help us provide exceptional care in Northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, CEO of UCHealth in Northern Colorado, in the announcement. “We expect that this extra support and other plans we already have in the works will help make a significant difference.”

– Pat Ferrier, Fort Collins Colorado

Starring: Associated Press