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The Supreme Court is the nation's highest tribunal, but its decision last week allowing vaccine mandates in hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding has created a legal quagmire for Florida hospitals. Some, like Tampa General Hospital, Sarasota Memorial and HCA hospitals, say they plan to comply with the Biden administration’s order to vaccinate all staff members, with some religious and medical exemptions allowed. Many other hospitals are still working out how to proceed, because state law in Florida bans vaccine mandates, and allows for hefty fines to be placed on facilities that enforce them. (Sheridan, 1/20)

The requirements come as hospitals across the country are being pushed to their limits by a steep rise in cases and staff shortages. Many health care workers are falling ill with the virus and others who quit under the pressure of the pandemic have not been replaced. Local and regional hospitals, as well as multistate hospital chains, have wrestled with resistance to vaccination among some nurses and other staff. Many of the larger groups, including the Cleveland Clinic and HCA Healthcare, suspended their own vaccination mandates last month while they awaited the Supreme Court’s decision. (Jiménez, 1/21)

Chicago’s vaccination requirement for indoor dining and other public areas will be removed once the city’s COVID-19 spread declines substantially, the city’s top health official said Thursday. The city’s proof-of-vaccination mandate for those 5 and older has been in place since Jan. 3 at restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues and more amid the surge of the highly contagious omicron variant. During a question-and-answer session Thursday, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the requirement will be lifted in accordance with a decrease in COVID-19 risk. (Yin and Petrella, 1/20)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday doubled down on his opposition to vaccine mandates even as he encouraged Virginians to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. In his covid-19 action plan, Youngkin (R) expanded a limited state of emergency and other measures put in place by his physician predecessor, Democrat Ralph Northam, but rejected actions that public policy experts say curb the spread of the virus. (Portnoy, Schneider and Vozzella, 1/20)

Hundreds of Oregon residents claimed government overreach on Thursday, as officials at the state’s health authority consider indefinitely extending the current indoor mask requirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oregon Health Authority held a public hearing about the proposed “permanent” mask rule for public indoor spaces, regardless of people’s vaccination status. Although the word “permanent” is used, officials say the rule can be rescinded when it is deemed “no longer necessary” by health authority officials. (Cline, 1/21)

A Kentucky congressman who has been critical of pandemic mask and vaccine mandates said he has tested positive for COVID-19. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from northern Kentucky, tweeted Thursday that he is not vaccinated but his symptoms have been mild and he believes he is “over it.” (1/20)

On the day before the start of the spring semester, community college faculty from around the state called for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities governing board to implement stricter COVID safety standards as they return to campuses in person. During the Thursday press conference, faculty asked for the CSCU administration to distribute more N95 masks to students and employees at the colleges, ensure social distancing is enforced, improve telework accommodations, allow faculty to move classes fully online for the first two weeks of the semester and require proof of vaccination for all students and faculty. (Watson, 1/20)

The Omicron surge is depleting California teachers and keeping students home in unprecedented numbers, but political leaders aren't yet willing to broach the most obvious alternative: distance learning. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders who allowed school shutdowns early in the pandemic are holding firm on keeping classrooms open. They've had support from the California Teachers Association despite some educators on the ground saying that working conditions are untenable due to staff shortages. And school districts are going to extreme lengths to keep students in classrooms, pulling retired teachers off the sidelines and recruiting office staff — at times even superintendents — to teach lessons. (Nieves, 1/20)