27 July 2021
State governments, private businesses and even part of the federal government are suddenly embracing mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for their employees.
Why it matters: Vaccine mandates have been relatively uncommon in the U.S. But with vaccination rates stagnating and the Delta variant driving yet another wave of cases, there's been a new groundswell of support for such requirements.
Driving the news: Monday was a turning point.
- The VA became the first federal agency to require its employees to be vaccinated.
- More than 50 medical groups — including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association — called for mandatory vaccinations of all health care workers, WaPo first reported.
- California announced that state employees and health care workers must show proof of vaccination or get tested regularly.
- New York City brought all municipal workers — including teachers and police officers — under a vaccine requirement that had previously only applied to health workers.
- Even the SF Bar Owner Alliance hopped onboard, announcing that the 500 San Francisco bars it represents will require indoor customers to show proof of vaccination or a negative test.
The big picture: Vaccine requirements are also gaining steam internationally.
- French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month required health workers to get vaccinated. Members of the public must also have a vaccinate or a negative test to enter most indoor venues.
- Although the measure has sparked protests, it's also encouraged millions of people to get vaccinated, per the NYT.
- Italy has followed France's lead.
Yes, but: Many Republican-led states have preemptively prohibited vaccine requirements, at least in some settings.
- White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to say whether President Biden supports restrictions on unvaccinated people, per CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
What they're saying: "Talk about hitting a tipping point," tweeted Bob Wachter, chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine.
- "As each organization and industry finds the courage to mandate or strongly incentivize vaccination, it makes it that much easier for the next one to do so. Until all the pressure is on leaders who have NOT done it."
The bottom line: Vaccine mandates have been unpopular in part because they'll inevitably create a backlash.
- But the vaccination effort seems to have run out of carrots to incentivize more people to get a shot, and with rates remaining as low as they are in light of a worsening domestic situation, resorting to sticks has clearly become a more attractive option.
Go deeper: Nursing homes have startlingly low COVID vaccination rates
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.
