Jan 27, 2022
Judge Pauses COVID Vaccine Mandate For Certain Boston Workers
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BOSTON (AP) — Boston’s vaccination mandate won’t go into effect on Monday for some city workers, following a judge’s order Thursday.
A Massachusetts Appeals Court judge issued a temporary stay on the mandate for unionized firefighters and certain unionized police officers challenging it. The judge ruled the vaccine mandate will be paused pending a review of a lower court order.
READ MORE: Massachusetts Reports 8,616 New COVID Cases, 7-Day Positivity Rate Drops Below 10%Earlier this week, the city firefighters union and two police officers’ unions appealed a state Superior Court ruling denying a request to temporarily halt the measure while the court weighed the unions’ broader challenge.
The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, one of the union involved in the suit, called on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to also hold off applying the mandate to unionized teachers and patrol officers.
The union said the order means the city will not be able to enforce the mandate against firefighters, police supervisors or detectives until the unions’ appeal has been decided.
“Over the past few months, Mayor Wu has undermined collective bargaining and the labor rights of so many city workers,” the union said in a statement. “This has never been an anti-vaccine issue. Mayor Wu ignored written agreements and refused to meet with unions in good faith.”
Wu responded that 95% of city workers have already been vaccinated against the virus.
READ MORE: Nor'easter To Bring Up To 2 Feet Of Snow And Possibly Blizzard Conditions Saturday“Vaccination is our most powerful tool in this ongoing public health emergency, and we look forward to filing our response with the court,” she said in an emailed statement.
Labor unions have clashed in public and in the courts with Wu on the mandate, even as most city workers have already met its requirement to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sunday, or face being placed on unpaid leave.
The firefighters union wants the city to provide an option to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing instead of being vaccinated. The city’s largest police union has also opposed the mandate, and the city teachers’ union has voiced concerns the mandate will disproportionately hurt educators of color.
Wu initially set the deadline for Jan. 15, but pushed it back to Sunday in the face of union opposition.
The mayor said Monday that more than 94% of the city’s workforce — or nearly 18,3000 employees — have met the mandate. That includes 94% of public school workers, 95% of police department staff, 95% of library workers, 97% of parks and recreation workers and 91% of fire department staff.
Wu has said her administration is also sifting through more than 600 requests for an exemption based on medical or religious reasons.
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Tujunga doctor accused of issuing fake COVID vaccine cards, injecting patients with blood plasma
TUJUNGA, Calif. (KABC) -- An osteopathic doctor in Tujunga is accused of issuing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and injecting some of his patients with blood plasma from donors who contracted the virus.
According to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, 68-year-old Donald Plance was charged with 10 felony counts of making a forged government seal and 10 misdemeanor counts of making a false medical record.
He's also facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly making a drug without a license and having a contaminated medical device.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the district attorney's office said between August and November last year, Plance allegedly made his own vaccination cards and gave them to his patients.
The cards appeared to be legitimate, according to authorities, and included government seals.
"It is disturbing that people, especially medical professionals, continue to use the pandemic as an opportunity to deceive the public," said L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón. "Fake COVID vaccination cards are illegal and endanger our collective health and well-being."
Plance also allegedly injected his patients with blood plasma from donors who previously had COVID, claiming that the procedure "would protect his patients from contracting the virus," the district attorney's office said.
"Blood plasma injections are not a federally approved vaccination," the DA's office said. "It is recommended that patients seek guidance from a licensed medical provider."
The case is now being investigated by the California Department of Consumer Affairs Division of Investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General.
Plance's arraignment will be scheduled for a later date.