California and New York City to require workers to get vaccine or weekly tests

New York, July 28 (RHC)-- In the U.S., the state of California and New York City have announced plans to require government workers to get vaccinated or face weekly COVID-19 tests.  These new initiatives come as the number of new COVID cases has quadrupled in the United States over the past month and are expected to keep rising for months as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates. 

On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency to require its frontline healthcare workers to get vaccinated.  The American Medical Association and American Nurses Association have also joined with other medical groups calling for mandatory vaccination of all healthcare workers.  In a statement, the groups said: “The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.”

According to the CDC, every county in Florida and Arkansas now has high levels of community transmission.  Florida accounts for nearly one in five of all new COVID cases in the country.  The virus is also spreading rapidly across Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

And in related news, a new study out of UCLA finds the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths both increased dramatically after states lifted eviction moratoriums. The study estimates over 10,000 lives could have been saved if the moratoriums were left in place.