I’ll try to keep this brief. Today it’s mostly feel good stories.
COVID-19: Thousands of National Guard members in Texas refuse vaccine
Biden administration requires all members of military to get coronavirus vaccines
Injection resisters sense blood in the water.
Texas officials indicated Tuesday that thousands of National Guard members are refusing COVID-19 vaccines in the latest challenge against a Biden administration order that requires all members of the military to get one.
A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton comes a week after a federal judge rejected a similar challenge brought by Oklahoma’s governor, amid growing Republican opposition to the vaccination mandate for Guard members.
Texas has more than 20,000 National Guard members, the largest contingent of any state. About 40% of its Army National Guard are currently refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination "for either religious accommodation needs or otherwise," according to the lawsuit filed in a federal court in East Texas.
Next, ask yourself: What do workers at the Mayo Clinic know?
Weeks after Minnesota nurses warn of staffing crisis, Mayo Clinic fires 700 unvaccinated workers
The fired employees account for 1% of the Mayo Clinic's workforce
To anyone who thinks 1% won’t make a difference, you’re wrong—as other industries are discovering. Just a few key, highly trained employees can make a huge difference. The relaxed rules we’re starting to see tell that story. And to anyone who thinks that hospital CEOs actually care about healthcare and people, you’re wrong there, too.
Just ahead of Christmas, nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association held a press conference to plead with various hospital CEOs in the state to address a staffing and retention crisis.
The response was to fire 700 nurses or related healthcare workers. Nice.
"To our patients, I want to say this: Nurses will be here when you need us," Mary C. Turner, union president and a COVID-19 intensive care unit nurse, said at the Dec. 20 press conference. "To our hospital CEOs and elected officials, please hear us: Nurses need more than words, we need action to address the crisis of staffing and retention in Minnesota hospitals."
The Mayo Clinic did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment if the medical center is also facing a staffing crisis and if the fired staff will be relocated to hospitals in need of workers.
Staffing issues have plagued hospitals across the country as the omicron variant of the virus spikes.
Staffing issues across the country? That’s heavily driven by the mandates, and it’s most likely what’s behind this story. The story comes via Wirepoints, which is commenter Mark Glennon’s home base:
And here’s an interesting comment that appeared at Wirepoints today. Purely anecdotal, of course:
I'm a therapeutic blood donor, meaning I have to do a monthly blood letting by prescription to keep my blood thinner, because I have thick blood. It's a totally drug free way to treat thick blood. The blood facility I go to quietly announced by text that they have a desperate need for unvaccinated blood. Confidence in the vaccine safety is quickly eroding in the real science community. Those who know that science is just a "way of thinking" as opposed to those who think science is a substitute for God to justify authoritarian control.
Few in my immediate family are vaccinated, but we have a helluva time trying to intentionally catch Omicron for the enhanced immunity, weird how this is going after the vaccinated like gangbusters.
GOVERNMENT REPORT: 95% OF OMICRON CASES ARE AMONG VACCINATED! (wnd.com)
Calling all purebloods! I know that I’ve received emails from a major donor facility assuring me that my blood is quite acceptable to them.
Mayo used to be considered the "gold standard" for healthcare in the Midwest, especially for diagnostics and for the treatment of uncommon conditions. Apparently they do not care about either their staff or throwing away their reputation along with the rest of the healthcare industry. And by the way for some time now they have been collecting DNA samples from people on the sly (that is, without their expressed approval) with the help of other healthcare systems with whom they are affiliated.
The hospitals are busy and the staffs are saying they are burnt out after two years. Their load is quite different now as many are flocking to ER for diagnosis and treatment - but they are apparently not so sick that they have to remain in hospital. Most are being sent home to isolate.
My own observation has been that the uninsureds regularly use the ER as a clinic, taking themselves and family members for every ache, pain and sniffle. The need for triaging is causing a lot of the hospitals to clog up….and the staffs to feel their burnout. They know what is going on.