Disney World pauses mandatory vaccination policy: Today’s COVID news
Walt Disney World has paused its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of restrictive laws last week punishing companies that don’t let workers opt out of vaccine requirements.
Disney said more than 90% of Disney World “cast members” have been vaccinated.
“We believe that our approach to mandatory vaccines has been the right one as we’ve continued to focus on the safety and well-being of our cast members and guests,” Disney said in an email. “We will address legal developments as appropriate.”
DeSantis’ office cheered the decision, adding in a statement “we believe that all companies in Florida will likewise follow the law.”
Not doing so could be costly: Fines are possible up to $50,000 per violation for large companies and $10,000 for smaller businesses if an employee is fired. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney World employed more than 70,000 workers.
Also in the news:
►Mississippi’s state of emergency order related to the coronavirus expired as Republican Gov. Tate Reeves cited increased vaccine numbers and declining hospitalizations.
►Nearly 6,100 people a day are now testing positive for COVID-19 in New York state, up 22% from earlier this month.
►A federal judge in Rhode Island could rule this week 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 the coronavirus.
►Vaccine protections starts to fade at around six months, data shows. The good news is that COVID-19 booster shots are now available to all adults in the U.S. Here is what you should know about boosters.
📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 47.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 771,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 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’re reading: Governments that embrace a testing option instead of mandatory vaccination believe it creates a safe work environment and gives reluctant employees to opt out of the vaccine. But it’s costly.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch free newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Buttigieg: Mandate won’t slash TSA staff during Thanksgiving travel rush
About 4 million federal workers must be vaccinated by Monday under the president’s executive order aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. That includes Transportation Security Administration employees staffing airports across the nation for the Thanksgiving travel rush. But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that won’t be a problem; close to 99% of the workers are either fully vaccinated, in the process of doing so, or have applied for an exemption. People who have not fulfilled the requirement aren’t immediately being pulled off their posts, Buttigieg added.
“From a federal perspective, you know, the deadline tomorrow, that’s not a cliff,”…
Read More: Disney World pauses mandatory vaccination policy: Today’s COVID news