Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
President Joe Biden has announced sweeping new pandemic requirements aimed at boosting vaccination rates for millions of federal workers and contractors as he lamented the "American tragedy" of rising-yet-preventable deaths among the unvaccinated.
Federal workers will be required to sign forms attesting they've been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else comply with new rules on mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and more. The strict new guidelines are aimed at increasing sluggish vaccination rates among the huge number of Americans who draw federal paycheques -- and to set an example for private employers around the country.
"Right now, too many people are dying or watching someone they love die and say, `If I'd just got the vaccine,"' Biden said in a somber address Thursday from the East Room of the White House. "This is an American tragedy. People are dying who don't have to die."
However, pushback to Biden's action is certain. It puts him squarely in the centre of a fierce political debate surrounding the government's ability to compel Americans to follow public health guidelines.
The federal government directly employs about 4 million people, but Biden's action could affect many more when federal contractors are factored in. New York University professor of public service Paul Light estimates there are nearly 7 million more employees who could potentially be included, combining those who work for companies that contract with the government and those working under federal grants.
Biden, seemingly fed up with persistent vaccine resistance among many Americans, delivered a sharp rebuke to those who have yet to get shots, saying "they get sick and fill up our hospitals," taking beds away from others who need them.
"If in fact you are unvaccinated, you present a problem to yourself, to your family and those with whom you work," he said bluntly."
At the same time, he expressed sympathy for people who have received their shots and are "frustrated with the consequences of the minority that fail to get vaccinated." And he again emphasized that the fight against the virus is far from over, girding Americans to remain strong in the face of setbacks in the pandemic.
"I know this is hard to hear. I know it's frustrating. I know it's exhausting to think we're still in this fight. I know we hoped this would be a simple straightforward line, without problems or new challenges. But that isn't real life," he said.
His comments came as some 60 per cent of American adults have been fully vaccinated. He had set a July 4 goal to get at least one shot in 70 per cent of adults and is still not quite there. The latest figure is 69.3 per cent. And there remains significant resistance from many Republicans and some unions to vaccine mandates for employers.
Reflecting an awareness of the political landmines surrounding mandates, administration officials emphasize that their plan does not require workers to receive the vaccine but aims to make life more difficult for those who are unvaccinated to encourage them to comply. Biden directed his team to take steps to apply similar requirements to all federal contractors.
He also directed the Defense Department to look into adding the COVID-19 shot to its list of required vaccinations for members of the military. Service members already are required to get as many as 17 vaccines, depending on where they are based around the world.
Over and over, the president repeated that the vast majority of those falling ill and dying in the new wave of the Delta virus are unvaccinated, putting others at risk and endangering the nation's fragile economic recovery and return to normalcy.
"It's an American blessing that we have vaccines for each and every American. It's such a shame to squander that blessing," said Biden.
He praised the recent increase in Republican lawmakers urging those who are not vaccinated -- many of whom, polling suggests, identify as conservatives -- to get their shots. And seeking to push back against skepticism among some Republicans over the safety of the vaccine, he gave a nod to predecessor Donald Trump, noting that it was "developed and authorized under a Republican administration."
"This is not about red states and blue states," he said. "It's literally about life and death, life and death."
Biden renewed his calls for schools to fully open this fall, although children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine. And he said that public health officials do not yet believe Americans need a booster vaccine despite the highly contagious Delta variant fuelling the surge.
The new pressure on workers to get vaccinated could work because evidence shows people would rather get the vaccine than deal with burdens they consider onerous at work, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University Law School.
"People would much rather roll up their sleeves and get a jab, than undergo weekly testing and universal masking," he said. "In many ways, this is really not a mandate, it's giving workers a choice."
Thursday's move is not just about federal workers.
The administration hopes it will nudge private companies push their workers harder to get vaccines that, while widely recognized as safe and effective, have yet to receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
"I think we've reached this tipping point, and Biden's announcement will provide a lot of air cover for companies and boards of directors who have difficult decisions facing them," said Jeff Hyman, a Chicago-based business author and recruiter for start-up companies.
Some of the nation's biggest corporations have moved to require vaccinations for their workers. Tech giants Facebook and Google announced this week their employees would have to show proof they've been fully vaccinated before returning to work.
Delta and United airlines are requiring new employees to show proof of vaccination. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are requiring workers to disclose their vaccination status though not requiring them to be vaccinated.
But fewer than 10 per cent of employers have said they intend to require all employees to be vaccinated, based on periodic surveys by the research firm Gartner.
Still, there is opposition.
State lawmakers across the U.S. have introduced more than 100 bills aiming to prohibit employers from requiring vaccination as a condition of employment, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. At least six states have approved such bills.
The Justice Department and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have both said no federal laws prevent businesses from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment and the federal policy would take precedent. But the "medical freedom" bills underscore the resistance such guidance may encounter at the state level.
Government actions in New York City and California have faced resistance from local unions. And prior to Biden's announcement, some national unions were speaking out against it.
Larry Cosme, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents 30,000 federal officers and agents, said in a statement while the organization supports the vaccine it opposes compelling it.
"Forcing people to undertake a medical procedure is not the American way and is a clear civil rights violation no matter how proponents may seek to justify it," he said.
--------
Lemire reported from New York.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.