UCLA Doctor ‘Willing to Lose Everything’ Escorted From Work for Refusing COVID Vaccine + More
UCLA Doctor ‘Willing to Lose Everything’ Escorted From Work for Refusing COVID Vaccine
An anesthesiologist at UCLA Health in California who has not shied away from airing his suspicions about COVID-19 vaccines was escorted out of his workplace this week for refusing to get vaccinated in defiance of a statewide and employer mandate, according to local reports and a video posted on Twitter.
“This is what happens when you stand up for freedom and when you show up to work, willing to work, despite being unvaccinated, and this is the price you have to pay sometimes,” Rake is heard saying in the video posted Tuesday by The Beverly Hills Courier staff writer Samuel Braslow. “But what they don’t realize is that I’m willing to go lose everything — job, paycheck, freedom, even my life for this cause.”
Biden Calls on More U.S. Businesses to Require COVID Vaccinations
President Joe Biden on Thursday said more U.S. businesses should obligate workers to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, calling the move vital to ending the pandemic and sustaining the economy.
“Today I’m calling on more employers to act,” Biden said.
Are We Losing Our Humanity to Big Tech?
When Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went offline earlier this week, proving just how reliant on social media we’ve become, it set an ironic stage for the release of Dave Eggers’s new dystopian novel, The Every.
A follow-up to 2013’s The Circle, the new book takes place approximately 10 years in the future, when the world’s largest search engine and social media company merges with the leading e-commerce site (Amazon) to form the Every, the wealthiest, most powerful, and, subsequently, most dangerous monopoly of all time.
A contemporary answer to George Orwell’s 1984, it’s a prescient — and hilarious — meditation on the rise of tech giants and how our blind trust in them could ultimately be our demise.
UC Irvine Director of Medical Ethics Placed on ‘Investigatory Leave’ Over Challenge to Vaccine Mandate
The University of California, Irvine has placed their Director of Medical Ethics, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, on ‘investigatory leave’ after he challenged the constitutionality of the UC’s vaccine mandate in regards to individuals who have recovered from COVID and have naturally acquired immunity.
Last month Kheriaty, also a Professor of Psychiatry at UCI School of Medicine, filed a suit in Federal court over the mandate.
“Natural immunity following COVID infection is equal to (indeed, superior to) vaccine-mediated immunity. Thus, forcing those with natural immunity to be vaccinated introduces unnecessary risks without commensurate benefits — either to individuals or to the population as a whole — and violates their equal protection rights guaranteed under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment,” Kheriaty wrote in a Sep. 21 blog post.
Florida Board of Education Votes to Withhold Funds From School Districts That Enforce COVID Mask Mandates
The Florida Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to financially sanction eight school districts that enforced mask mandates in their schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These district mask policies, which adhere to federal guidance, go against state rules that require parents to have the “sole discretion” in whether their children wear masks to school.
The decision was made at Thursday’s meeting after board members weighed comments from the public, superintendents and board officials about whether districts for Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange and Palm Beach counties were in compliance with the state’s rules.
Americans Need a Bill of Rights for an AI-Powered World
In the past decade, data-driven technologies have transformed the world around us. We’ve seen what’s possible by gathering large amounts of data and training artificial intelligence to interpret it: computers that learn to translate languages, facial recognition systems that unlock our smartphones, algorithms that identify cancers in patients. The possibilities are endless.
But these new tools have also led to serious problems. What machines learn depends on many things — including the data used to train them.
Should Your Vaccination Status Be On Your Resume? Here’s What Experts Say
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about where and how we work, but one question has become more pressing for job seekers in recent months: do they need to include their COVID-19 vaccination status on their resume?
ResumeBuilder.com interviewed 1,250 hiring managers in August and found that 33% would automatically eliminate resumes that don’t include a COVID-19 vaccination status. On top of that, 69% of hiring managers said they are more likely to hire someone who has already been vaccinated against COVID-19, and 63% said they prefer to see a job candidate’s vaccination status on their resume.
Delta Partners With TSA on Face Biometrics, Emirates and Sita Discuss Aviation Trends
Delta has recently partnered with the U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA) to deploy face biometrics to streamline check-in and security in Atlanta, while Emirates suggested airline passengers will have to wear masks for at least two more years. Also, SITA argues for health credential checks to be integrated into travel ecosystems all around the globe.
Thanks to the new partnership, passengers will be able to go through security checks at airports in Atlanta without a paper boarding pass or a physical government ID credential.
Instead, after registering via the TSA app and confirming their identity, customers will be able to have their faces scanned via facial verification cameras at the airport.
Why Lawsuits Against COVID Vaccine Mandates Will Likely Fail: Experts
From teachers to airlines workers, some employees who have faced termination for not complying with their company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates have gone to court to fight the decisions.
Some of the plaintiffs, such as New York City Department of Education employees, a handful of Los Angeles county public employees and United Airlines workers, have argued that the mandates should be removed, questioning the rules’ constitutionality and some contending their religious rights weren’t observed.
So far, these arguments have not swayed judges who have almost all ruled in favor of the employer, or not issued long injunctions while they hear the case. And legal experts tell ABC News they don’t expect different outcomes in courtrooms anytime soon.
American Airlines Sets Deadline for U.S.-Based Employees to Submit Proof of COVID Vaccination
A deadline is now in place for all U.S.-based team members of American Airlines to submit proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to a letter acquired by WCNC Charlotte, the deadline to submit proof of full vaccination is no later than Wednesday, Nov. 24. American, being classified as a government contractor, is required to follow the federal vaccine mandate that was put in place by President Joe Biden in September.
“To be clear, if you fail to comply with the requirement, the result will be termination from the company,” read a portion of the letter.
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