Students Protest Mandatory COVID Vaccinations at Colleges
Across the country, a growing number of colleges and universities have said vaccinations will be mandatory for the fall of 2021.
Now, hundreds of thousands of students will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, whether they want to or not.
For the most part, students will get vaccinated if it means campus life can return to a pre-pandemic “normal” by September. But not everyone feels that way.
EU Agrees to Allow Entry to Vaccinated Travelers
Almost a year after closing its borders, the European Union has agreed to allow entry to vaccinated travelers from countries with low infection rates, raising the possibility of summer getaways to the continent.
The highly anticipated move was confirmed on Wednesday as the EU published its recommendations for lifting travel restrictions into the bloc.
An approved list of “safe” destinations is due to be signed off this week, although there’s still no confirmation as to when these changes will be implemented.
Technocrat Vaccine Passports Will Inflict Economic, Social Carnage
Vaccine passports have been implemented, or are being developed, in a number of countries around the world. In February 2021, Israel introduced its “Green Pass,” which becomes “effective the week after receiving the second dose” of the vaccine and expires after six months.
It was followed by China, which launched its digital “International Travel Health Certificate” in March. Subsequently, in April, Denmark implemented its “Coronpass” and Estonia introduced its “VaccineGuard.”
Although the United States government recently dismissed the idea of a national vaccine passport, the state of New York has already launched its own “Excelsior Pass,” and several other states are developing similar programs, whereas South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Florida, Texas and Arizona have banned the use of COVID-19 immunity passports within their borders.
DOJ Won’t Ask About Employees’ Vaccine Status as Federal Government Goes Maskless
The Department of Justice (DOJ) won’t ask about employees’ vaccination status even as vaccinated employees have been given the green light to go maskless in the agency’s buildings.
The Friday memo obtained by The Hill warns managers not to ask whether employees have been vaccinated. The new policy, however, is a departure from DOJ guidance in February that said employers have the right to ask employees about their status.
“Supervisors and managers should not ask about an employee’s vaccination status or use information about an employee’s vaccination status to make decisions about how and when employees will report to a workplace instead of teleworking,” DOJ told employees in a Friday email from the office of DOJ’s assistant attorney general for administration.
FRIDAY: Medical Freedom Advocates to Hold Rally at Rutgers, as Students Push Back Against Vaccine Mandates
Rutgers was the first university to announce it will require the COVID vaccine for all students returning in the fall.
Since then, hundreds of universities — including the University of Notre Dame, Brown, Cornell, Northeastern University, New York’s State University (SUNY) and City University (CUNY) systems, and many other colleges and universities throughout the country — have said they will require COVID vaccines for the upcoming fall semester.
The Rutgers announcement prompted Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) chairman and chief legal counsel, to send a letter to Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway to remind him that mandating Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) products violates federal law.
Yes, the Fully Vaccinated Can Start Going Maskless Outside, but Oregon Still Working on Updating Its Official Guidance
The Oregon Health Authority has a long list of exceptions for its mask requirements, especially for the fully vaccinated, ranging from “most outdoor settings” to being in “an uncrowded private or public space.”
It also includes exceptions to the exceptions, such as: “These exceptions to the mask, face covering, or face shield requirement ARE NOT applicable to workplaces.”
Confused? If so, you’re definitely not the only one.
Santa Clara County Mandating Workplaces to Track Employees’ Vaccination Status
Santa Clara County will require employers to determine the vaccination status of their employees starting Wednesday as the state moves away from remote office work, aiming to get ahead of a wider June 15th reopening and potential revisions to workplace rules.
The mandate appears to advance beyond what the state has so far required of employers, though California already allows businesses to use vaccination status to determine whether people may attend certain larger gatherings like sports games, weddings, conferences, concerts or theater shows.
County Counsel James Williams told reporters Tuesday that the requirement is part of the county’s latest reopening order as it progresses into the yellow reopening tier. Workplaces will no longer be required to maximize remote work, but they must begin determining whether employees have been vaccinated. The order also requires workplaces and schools to continue reporting COVID-19 cases.
Amazon Extends Ban on Facial-Recognition Tech for Law Enforcement Indefinitely
Amazon has extended its ban on providing facial-recognition technology to law enforcement indefinitely.
The company declined to elaborate on the decision, but it comes about a week after civil liberties groups called on Amazon to “permanently ban law enforcement from using Amazon’s facial recognition software, Rekognition.” As Forbes reports, it’s also a week before a May 26 shareholder meeting, where a “shareholder proposal is calling for an independent third-party audit on the risks linked with government use of Rekognition.”
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