A large Florida hospital has suspended its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
On Thursday, AdventHealth — headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and treating patients in eight other states — will no longer force its 83,000 employees to be immunized, although it still encouraged vaccination.
“Based on scientific evidence and what we see in our hospitals every day, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at reducing both the risk of becoming infected and the level of harm in the case of a breakthrough infection,” AdventHealth said in a statement. “As part of our commitment to protecting the health and well-being of our team members, patients and communities, we strongly encourage all of our team members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The move comes after multiple federal courts issued preliminary injunctions against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ enforcement of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. It also follows legislation from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) that bars private businesses from thrusting vaccine mandates upon their employees.
“We welcome AdventHealth’s decision to comply with state law to protect Floridians’ jobs and to ensure our state’s healthcare system can continue functioning smoothly,” said DeSantis’ office in a statement, as reported by Fox 35 Orlando.
Indeed, DeSantis recently trolled President Biden by signing multiple laws against vaccine mandates in Brandon, Florida.
“We’re really excited to be here, especially because when I sign this legislation today, we hear so much about all these things: mandates, restrictions, tearing people down,” said DeSantis. “Today, we lift people up. We provide protections for people: no nurse, no firefighter, no police officer, no trucker, no anybody should lose their job because of these COVID jabs.”
“This is the strongest piece of legislation that’s been enacted anywhere in the country in this regard. … We are respecting people’s individual freedom in this state,” he declared.
“And so the question is: do we even have a Constitution that constrains people like Biden, or is it just when he loses patience he can do whatever the hell he wants to? No. I’ll take the Constitution, thank you very much.”
On November 4, The Daily Wire sued against the federal government over Biden’s vaccine mandate — and launched a petition for signees to express support for the lawsuit.
“The Daily Wire will not comply with President Biden’s tyrannical vaccine mandate, and we are suing the Biden Administration to put a stop to their gross overreach,” Daily Wire co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said in a statement. “President Biden, the federal government, social media, and the establishment media have conspired to rob Americans of their freedoms in the name of public health. They have broken faith with the American people through conflicting messaging, false information, and by suppressing data and perspectives with which they disagree.”
The United States Senate is currently considering a resolution to reverse the vaccine mandate — which will likely pass due to the support of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the new Omicron variant emerges, I will not vote to shut down the government for purely political reasons. There is too much at stake for the American people,” Manchin said in a statement. “But let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses. That’s why I have cosponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses.”