VERIFY: Yes, employers and schools can soon require COVID vaccines
But it’s unclear if they can do it before those vaccines are fully licensed. Here s a look at what the experts say. Author: Gabe Cohen Updated: 6:44 PM EST January 15, 2021
WASHINGTON There’s a shot it ends the COVID-19 pandemic.
The vaccine rollout is underway, and now some wonder if these first-of-their-kind drugs may soon be required in some settings.
QUESTION:
SOURCES:
Dr. Arthur Caplan, Director of NYU Langone’s Division of Medical Ethics
Peter Meyers, Law Professor at George Washington University Law School
Dorit Reiss, Law Professor at UC Hastings College of the Law
Syringe with the Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center in Boston on Dec. 24, 2020.
(Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
The more people get vaccinated, the quicker the coronavirus pandemic can be tamped down and life can return to normal that’s how vaccines work.
Some airlines are already starting to require flyers to show proof they’ve tested negative. And soon, airlines, sports arenas and entertainment venues may ask for proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
International travelers to certain countries have likely had to show proof of the required vaccines. Children have to obtain certain shots at most schools.
Sununu’s announcement offers relief for worried citizens
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Republican Sununu talked about why he thinks Congress should pass COVID-19 aid immediately. He shared that the pandemic is currently driving various costs, like vaccine development and distribution, and that Congress hasn’t done anything to help Americans amid the eight-month-long lockdowns.
Sununu urged Congress to roll out relief efforts as the country continues to struggle during the coronavirus pandemic. He highlighted the importance of “focused relief efforts” that are flexible for states instead of the “megalomaniac attitude that comes from Washington” that tries to control all aspects of pandemic response.
How U.S. Government Will Handle COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Claims Is Largely a Secret
Lost in the U.S. launch of the coronavirus vaccine is a fact most don’t know when they roll up their sleeves: In rare cases of serious illness from the shots, the injured are blocked from suing and steered instead to an obscure federal bureaucracy with a record of seldom paying claims.
Housed in a nondescript building in a Washington, D.C., suburb, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program has just four employees and few hallmarks of an ordinary court. Decisions are made in secret by government officials, claimants can’t appeal to a judge and payments in most death cases are capped at $370,376.