My organization is requiring everyone to show proof of COVID vaccination or get a weekly COVID test. Without an FDA approved vaccine, is this legal? Should I speak with an attorney?
Robert
5 Likes
Welcome to the community.
The vaccines are “FDA-approved” - actually authorized is the correct term (see this page for more information). According to my research (I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice), your employer can require proof of vaccination or regular COVID tests as a condition of returning to the office. Feel free to pay an attorney for advice.
[edited to correct terminology]
5 Likes
This was always going to be the battle. Just wait for Lambda…
4 Likes
Thank you for posting that link, @OldGnome. There’s a very important distinction to note. The vaccines are authorized, not approved.
5 Likes
Thanks. You are correct. The FDA does not approve but authorizes.
4 Likes
Welcome @Robert1200!
Sounds like they are providing you an option at this time and are not making vaccination a requirement.
You should probably consult an attorney if you feel strongly about not doing either one, but I think it would be difficult to get out of doing one or the other and stay employed at that company.
2 Likes
Hang on a sec. With regard to “approval,” I’m not sure if you’re speaking specifically or generally here.
The FDA does both, approves and authorizes drugs. In the specific case of covid vaccines, they do not have approved status; they are only authorized for emergency distribution.
The distinction between those two terms is vitally important, and I believe there are people out there who deliberately use “authorized” in a way to make others think it means “approved.” They are not the same; “authorized” requires a lower standard than “approved.”
8 Likes
I was actually speaking from a lack of good knowledge. Thank you for correcting me.
4 Likes
@Robert1200 It seems they can require proof of vaccination or test. Here is a link to a recent lawsuit over it: A Judge Has Thrown Out A Lawsuit Brought By Hospital Workers Over A Vaccine Mandate : NPR
Just a related article, I am no lawyer…
Kinda odd to me, since there are a good bit of breakthrough cases with Delta, just having the vaccine is not perfect…
The “good” news is the test does not require a Q-tip crammed up into your brain anymore, just a half inch in your nose… So weekly testing would not be too bad to me.
Welcome to the forum!
1 Like
The vaccine currently has “emergency approval.” Meaning, the manufacturer has no liability at this time if you become ill from the vaccine. If your employer requires it, and you become ill from it, it is a work comp claim. Once it receives full FDA approval, it becomes a manufacturer liability issue. Outside of a medical exemption, or a religious belief conflict, yes, your employer can require you to get the vaccine as a condition of your continued employment.
Now, I know several nurses, who are prepared to be walked out of the local hospitals if that’s what it comes to. We will see if a hospital, in the current “pandemic” is prepared to cut their own throats staffing wise.
7 Likes
Don’t worry.
“Aauthorized” and “approved” in @Robert1200’s case means the same…
2 Likes
Thanks for the warm welcome and all the input. Most appreciated.
3 Likes
Either way, there are arguments to consider on both sides of the equation. Not being vaccinated runs the risk of contracting the original strain of C-19 and possibly risking your life. Conversely, getting the vaccine runs the risk of developing a vaccine-resistant variant. Seems like a roll the dice situation to me. I still wonder why no one seems to be dying from the flu since covid reared it’s ugly head, though.
4 Likes
Currently there are about 167 million people in the US vaccinated. No zombies. Statistically, low side effects/adverse reactions.
Here would be my solution to our current environment.
Wear a mask if you want. Don’t if you don’t want to. Take the vaccine, don’t take the vaccine–I don’t care. If you choose not to be vaccinated, how about signing off on your insurance company not having to pay for any COVID related hospitalization or illness? Actions (or lack thereof) need consequences.
And God forbid you get sick–the bill can get big.
1 Like
Then, since I was deemed an “essential worker” they owe me months of back pay as “hazard pay.” I also need a bonus, since I had Covid, and so did my whole household, and we all came through it without ANY medical assistance. Furthermore, they owe me 90 days for being required to wear a mask, even though the “science” said I was immune, and non-contagious.
This line of thought falls in line with charging a 50 dollar “surcharge” for not getting vaccinated. Do what I say or pay?! I’m no Al Capone, but, that sounds like a strong armed extortion to me.
6 Likes
According to your employment contract?
You should have seen the (now deleted) comment in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper yesterday: No vaccine? No pay, no home.
1 Like
Each affected business seems to be just doing a copy-and-paste of the same memo to their respective employees.
I feel like inside The Truman Show. Wake me up, please!
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell—or travel, unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
5 Likes
My first thought the moment I heard “vaccine passport.”
2 Likes