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NEW YORK – CVS Health Corp. joins the group of U.S. companies that require employees who come into contact with customers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Nurses and other employees who interact with patients, as well as all company staff, must be vaccinated by Oct. 31, the company said on Monday. He said pharmacists have until Nov. 30 to get vaccinated.
CVS, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, said other jobs could be added to the list requiring vaccination. The company says its workforce of some 300,000 includes more than 40,000 doctors, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners.
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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:
– Oregon, once a virus success story, struggles with overvoltage
– US regulators give full approval Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
– School mask, vaccination orders supported in the United States: AP-NORC survey
– New York obliges vaccinations for public school teachers, staff
– The lack of routine vaccines muddy start of school
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Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS:
HONOLULU – The governor of Hawaii urges residents and potential visitors to limit travel to the islands to essential business as the state works to control outbreaks of the delta variant of the coronavirus.
Governor David Ige wants to stop travel to Hawaii until the end of October. In his words, “It’s a risky time to travel right now.”
He says restaurant capacity has been restricted and access to rental cars is limited.
But Ige is breaking last year’s strict travel rules that required quarantine and essentially shut down Hawaii’s tourism industry. He notes that the CDC says fully vaccinated people can travel within the country.
The seven-day average of daily new cases in Hawaii reached 671 on Monday, more than triple the level four weeks earlier.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – New Zealand has reported 41 new coronavirus infections, which is the country’s highest daily total since an outbreak of the delta variant last week prompted the government to put the nation in strict containment.
Health officials said on Tuesday they were confident the country remained on track to quell the outbreak.
Health chief executive Ashley Bloomfield said most of the new cases appeared to be linked and officials are not seeing an exponential increase in infections.
New Zealand is expected to remain on lockdown until at least Friday, while the city of Auckland where most of the cases have been found will remain on lockdown until at least the end of the month.
The outbreak is the first in New Zealand in six months.
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SAN RAMON, Calif .– Chevron Corp. demands that some of its employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus as the oil industry grapples with an increase in infections among its unvaccinated workers.
The oil giant is demanding that its workers who travel abroad, live abroad or work on its offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as some support personnel on land, be vaccinated.
A spokeswoman for the San Ramon-based oil and gas company said on Monday that vaccinations are the best protection against the virus, and the company will continue to carefully monitor medical data and advice from health authorities to protect its workforce.
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OLYMPIA, Washington – The Washington State Wildland Fire Response Chief is urging federal agencies to require coronavirus vaccinations for their forest firefighting forces.
State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz also called on Monday for the deployment of federal resources to make vaccines available at all fire camps on federal lands.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources is making vaccines available in its jurisdictions at fire camps amid the rapidly spreading delta variant. Franz on Monday ordered all employees of his agency, including firefighters, to be fully immunized by October 18.
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HONOLULU – The mayor of Honolulu has said he will restrict indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 25 in an effort to control the coronavirus as the highly contagious delta variant spreads through the community.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the rules would go into effect on Wednesday and cover weddings and other events.
The city’s emergency management director cites a mathematical modeling tool from the Georgia Institute of Technology to illustrate the risks the community faces during large gatherings.
Modeling indicates that there is a 20% chance that one person in a group of 10 will be infected, based on the number of cases in Oahu currently. He says that in a group of 100, there is a 90% chance that someone will catch the virus.
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VICTORIA, British Columbia – The Canadian Pacific Coast Province of British Columbia is bringing in a vaccine card so residents have access to restaurants, clubs, sporting events and other activities.
Premier John Horgan says the card will give people the confidence to attend events and businesses knowing that others are protected around them.
Provincial health worker Dr Bonnie Henry said that starting September 13, a new prescription will require proof of having received a single dose of the vaccine to access certain social and recreational activities, as well as to enterprises. After October 24, Henry says entering the same parameters will require those 12 and older to be fully vaccinated.
The French-speaking province of Quebec has already announced a similar measure while Ontario, the largest province in Canada, has refused to introduce a vaccination passport.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden celebrates full FDA approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and urges unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.
Biden addressed those awaiting full approval on Monday and said “it has now happened, the time you were waiting for is here.”
He also took the opportunity to call on private companies to force their employees to be vaccinated. The president made it clear, “it’s time to get yourself vaccinated” and warned that the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus was increasing COVID cases across the country.
The FDA previously approved three vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – under emergency use authorization. Pfizer is the first to receive full approval from the FDA, which Biden has dubbed “the gold standard”.
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JACKSON, Mississippi – Mississippi Poison Control officials say they are receiving an influx of calls from people trying to treat COVID-19 using pest control drugs bought from breeding stores.
At least 70% of recent calls to the Mississippi Poison Control Center have been linked to ingesting livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased from livestock supply centers, Mississippi Department of Health officials said.
Some of the symptoms associated with ivermectin toxicity include rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurological disorders, and potentially serious hepatitis requiring hospitalization.
No hospitalizations were reported. Most callers – 85% – experienced mild symptoms, according to the Department of Health. A person has been advised to see a doctor because of the high dose they are said to have taken.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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