Hollywood’s Covid-19 Protocols To Remain In Place As Negotiations Continue
The vaccination mandates, which allows producers to require vaccinations as a condition of employment on a production-by-production basis, have proven to be the most controversial aspect of the protocols.
Earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher expressed the opinion that it’s now safe to lift the mandates, althoughProponents of the mandates argued during the board meeting that the mandates should remain in place because vaccines continue to provide a measure of protection against transmission and infection – a view supported by SAG-AFTRA’s own expert, David Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health who served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA during the Obama administration. Earlier this week, the guild’s safety committee met and recommended continuing the existing policy. Recent data shows that this year in Los Angeles County, Covid deaths have surpassed the number of deaths attributed to the flu, car crashes and drug overdoses combined. Opponents of the mandates, including Drescher’s own expert – Dr. Harvey Risch, who is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine – maintain that the vaccine is not effective against the spread of the latest subvariants of the virus. Opponents also say that many employers have not been abiding by the provisions of the Return-To-Work agreement that allow for mandate exceptions based on medical reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs. They also argue that members who refuse to be vaccinated are being discriminated against in employment., Drescher expressed “concern that giving employers the discretionary rights to decide which of us can or can’t work based on our medical history is a dangerous slippery slope. If an employer can decide you can’t work unless Covid vaccinated, what’s next, we can’t work without a monkeypox vaccine?” “I fully understand and appreciate the importance the vaccine has played in the saving of lives during the early years of the pandemic,” she wrote. “I myself am vaccinated. And when it was added to the Return-to-Work Agreement last year, it certainly seemed like the right thing to do.” She added, however, that “with thousands of unvaccinated members still unable to work, all new information begs review and consideration before deciding our position on the next RTWA. All I ask is we educate ourselves with the newest science and make an informed decision because members’ livelihoods hang in the balance.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
State health department ends COVID data summaries, will track COVID and flu side by sideThe Alaska Department of Health and Social Services sent out its last COVID-19 data summary this week. It marks a shift from focusing on case counts to tracking broader trends across the state.
Read more »
Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19 - Nature MedicineIndividuals with COVID19 are at an increased risk for an array of NeurologicDisorders at 12 months, even in those who were not hospitalized during the acute phase of the infection.
Read more »
Perry Farrell Says Dave Navarro Pulled Out of Jane's Addiction Tour Over Long COVIDIt’s been almost four decades since Jane’s Addiction played their first show in Dallas, at the legendary Theater Gallery in Deep Ellum.
Read more »
State health department ends standalone COVID data summariesThe Alaska Department of Health and Social Services sent out its last COVID-19 data summary on Wednesday. The department will continue sending its combined COVID-and-flu updates on Fridays.
Read more »
Two-thirds of U.S. adults do not plan on getting COVID boostersAbout two-thirds of adults in the United States do not plan to get updated COVID-19 booster shots soon, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Read more »