Tag: US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

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The Country Faces a Mass Exodus of Healthcare Workers Due to COVID Burnout

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, as the world enters its third year of response to the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout in the global healthcare workforce continues to grow. In the US, a rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases due to the media hyped Omicron variant of concern (VOC) has led to a record surge of individuals requiring medical attention across healthcare settings. In California, hospitals have canceled operations and other elective procedures and ambulances have experienced backlogs for patient delivery. Healthcare professionals warn that the continued high intensity of care, a limited amount of life-saving countermeasures, and a large number of staff out sick are creating a continuously stressful work environment.

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US Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Federal SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Mandates

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, the US Supreme Court on January 7 heard nearly 4 hours of oral arguments in 2 sets of cases involving federal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine requirements. At issue are 2 federal regulations: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that requires all workers at firms with 100 or more employees either get vaccinated or be tested weekly and wear a mask to work (National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, No. 21A244) and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requiring vaccination for nearly all workers at hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities that receive federal funds through Medicare and Medicaid (Biden v. Missouri, No. 21A240). Both cases came to the court last month on an emergency basis, and the justices elected to fast-track the cases for oral arguments to determine whether the Biden administration can continue enforcement of the rules while litigation continues.

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Biden Administration Mandates Vaccination for Employers with 100 or more Employees

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington D.C., the administration of US President Joe Biden today announced the details of 2 policies covering more than 100 million workers in an effort to get more people in the US vaccinated against COVID-19. The first rule, issued by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), applies to employers with 100 or more employees and requires them to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for SARS-CoV-2, for which employers are not required to pay. The rule also requires employers to provide paid-time off for employees to get vaccinated and compel unvaccinated workers to wear a face mask while at work. Employers who willfully do not comply with the mandate could face fines of up to $14,000 per violation, with the possibility of multiple citations per business. The second rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), requires all healthcare workers employed at facilities that participate in Medicaid and Medicare—approximately 76,000 facilities nationwide—be fully vaccinated, with no option for testing but allowances for medical and religious exemptions.

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