Your Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccine

Morgan Stanley's New York office bans unvaccinated staff and clients
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/investing/morgan-stanley-unvaccinated-employees-office/index.html

Morgan Stanley plans to ban workers from its New York headquarters if they have not received a Covid-19 vaccine. The rule will apply to non-vaccinated guests and clients as well.

According to a source close to the company, Morgan Stanley said in a memo to its employees in the New York metropolitan area that all staff working in buildings with a "large employee presence" are required to confirm their vaccination status by July 1.

The source added that "vaccine attestation is on an honorary basis for employees, contingent workforce, clients and visitors." The Financial Times was the first to report the news.

The company plans to expand the vaccination mandate to employees and guests in other Morgan Stanley locations in New York City and nearby Westchester starting July 12.

"Operating within a fully vaccinated environment allows us to lift restrictions like the use of face coverings and the need to maintain physical distancing, returning to more normal office conditions," the source added.

Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO James Gorman has previously taken a hard line on employees returning to the office: Gorman commented at an investing conference earlier this month that it was time for the bank's New York workers to head back to the headquarters in the Big Apple's Times Square.

"If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office. And we want you in the office," Gorman said. He also warned he would be "very disappointed" if workers aren't back by Labor Day. And if they're not, then "we'll have a different kind of conversation," he said.

Gorman added at the time that more than 90% of its workers have said they have already received the vaccine and that he expects this number to eventually hit 98% to 99%.

He did note some employees may choose to not get vaccinated for health or religious reasons, adding that the company will deal with these situations on a case-by-case basis.

Even more than other industries, Wall Street is in a rush to turn the page on the pandemic era of remote work.
Goldman Sachs (GS) asked its employees to be back at the office last week, and it ordered staffers to divulge whether they've been vaccinated. Goldman is expecting 5,400 newly hired interns, analysts and associates in the office in addition to its returning employees.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) opened all of its US offices to employees with a 50% occupancy cap. Executives at the bank informed staff that it expects all US-based employees back in the office by early July on a consistent rotational schedule, subject to the same 50% cap.
 
How is China being punished?

Why didn't Trump punish China over COVID-19?


15 times Trump praised China as coronavirus was spreading across the globe
The president has lambasted the WHO for accepting Beijing’s assurances about the outbreak, but he repeated them, as well.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/trump-china-coronavirus-188736

“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
 
As committed, Houston Methodist Hospital tossed their anti-vaxxer staff members out. Added bonus, no sane medical practice will ever employ them in the future. Amusement - One anti-vaxxer clown whines about how many patients they had during the pandemic.

178 health care workers suspended from Houston Methodist hospital system for refusing COVID-19 vaccination
https://news.yahoo.com/178-health-care-workers-suspended-143430831.html

Scores of workers at a Houston hospital system have been suspended and face being fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination, a controversial company mandate that has drawn protests and an outcry from those facing termination.

Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom said the 178 workers represent less than 1% of almost 25,000 employees.

"We are nearly 100% compliant with our COVID-19 vaccine mandate," Boom said in an email to staff Tuesday. "Houston Methodist is officially the first hospital system in the country to achieve this goal for the benefit of its patients."

Boom said that 27 of the 178 suspended workers have received one dose of vaccine and that he is hopeful they will get the second dose. All are suspended for two weeks and are set to be fired if they fail to be fully vaccinated.

"I wish the number could be zero, but unfortunately, a small number of individuals have decided not to put their patients first," Boom said.

An additional 285 employees received a medical or religious exemption, and 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy and other reasons, Boom said.

"I feel betrayed a little bit," Amanda Rivera told KHOU-TV as she left the building Monday. "I worked in the ER. It was crazy during the pandemic. We were short-staffed. The hospital was over capacity with patients. It was just a lot. Now for them to come and do this is like a slap in the face."

Hospital workers across the nation risked their lives during the pandemic, and many died of the virus. Yet a recent USA TODAY survey of some of the largest hospital networks and public hospitals in the country reveal staff vaccination rates vary widely, from 51% to 91%.

Last week, Indiana University Health announced that it would require its 36,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September, calling the mandate a "safe and effective way to protect patients" and protect the community.

"Requiring vaccinations for health care employees is not new or unprecedented," IU Health said in a statement.

Hundreds of colleges and universities are requiring vaccinations for the coming school year. Many nursing homes, hot spots early in the pandemic, also are requiring inoculation from the coronavirus.

The Houston Methodist controversy "foreshadows the coming months," said Ogbonnaya Omenka, an associate professor and public health specialist at Butler University in Indianapolis. Mandates that may seem like the obvious choice to many people must be "implemented within a human context," he told USA TODAY.

"As businesses and schools return to full operations, they have to decide what to do about their vaccination policy," he said. "It is not going to be an easy process."

Mandatory vaccination is not popular with lawmakers in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law Monday denying state contracts to businesses that require customers to be vaccinated. Vaccine "passports" also are prohibited.

“Texas is open 100%, and we want to make sure you have the freedom to go where you want without limits,” Abbott said.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance saying employers have the right to require COVID-19 vaccination, citing a "direct threat" to others in the workplace.

Still, more than 100 Houston Methodist employees filed suit against the hospital system last month, saying that the vaccines are "experimental" and that the mandatory vaccination policy is unfair. The suit notes that the vaccines have emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration but have not yet won full approval.

"I cried the whole way out," Jennifer Bridges, a nurse involved in the lawsuit, told KHOU-TV as she left the hospital Monday.

Boom said the science, along with data from 300 million doses already distributed in the U.S. alone, proves the vaccines are safe and necessary "if we are going to turn the corner against COVID-19." The number of positive cases and hospitalizations continue to drop across the nation continue to decline, he said, proving the vaccines’ effectiveness.

Boom said the mandate has been challenged by the media and some outspoken employees. But he said several other major health care centers have followed Houston Methodist's lead.

"As the first hospital system to mandate COVID-19 vaccines we were prepared for this," he said. "The criticism is sometimes the price we pay for leading medicine."

Follow-up:

Houston hospital: 153 employees who refused vaccine have either quit or been fired
https://www.foxnews.com/us/houston-...efused-vaccine-have-either-quit-or-been-fired

A total of 153 employees at Houston Methodist who have refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19 have either resigned or been fired, according to a report.

Fox 26 Houston reported that a spokesperson from the hospital said these employees were out of the 178 who were suspended after the June deadline. The hospital told the station that employees who became compliant during the suspension period "returned to work the next day after they became compliant."

The hospital did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News.

Marc Boom, the CEO of the hospital, said at the time that 99% of its more than 25,000 workers had been vaccinated by the deadline.

"It is unfortunate that today’s milestone of Houston Methodist becoming the safest hospital system in the country is being overshadowed by a few disgruntled employees," Boom said in a statement at the time, according to KHOU-TV in Houston.

The Fox 26 report said there is a protest scheduled for Saturday and a lawsuit that will be filed in the 5th circuit court of appeals after a failed attempt in a federal court.
 
Physicians didn't take the shot. Interesting.

"A lot of people resigned weeks ago some people resigned to just a couple of days before the deadline," she said. "We had a lot of physicians resign ahead of time and are stuck in the same boat too because they didn’t want to take the shot."
 
Physicians didn't take the shot. Interesting.

"A lot of people resigned weeks ago some people resigned to just a couple of days before the deadline," she said. "We had a lot of physicians resign ahead of time and are stuck in the same boat too because they didn’t want to take the shot."

This is a claim of a nurse who rejected getting the shot and was fired. The hospital states it is categorically false that physicians resigned ahead of time due to not wanting to take the shot. Over 99% of their staff have taken the COVID vaccine.
 
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