Magnificent News: Coronavirus Updates: A backlash to mandatory vaccines at hospitals and schools

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Important developments in the pandemic.

By Ben Guarino
with Lindsey Bever

The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.

The latest

Health experts and federal officials are worried the rise in cases caused by the delta variant could further divide those who are vaccinated from those who are not, placing the unprotected at greater risk because this variant is more contagious. Delta "has come out of nowhere," University of Nevada at Reno geneticist Mark Pandori told The Post. "It seems to be a very successful variant and is closing in on the number one spot."

Before the fall semester begins, colleges across the country are trying to make sure as many students as possible get vaccinated. Those schools fall, broadly, into two camps. Some colleges and universities have made vaccines a condition to return to campus. Others have less strict policies, instead encouraging students to get immunized without a mandate.

The mandatory approach to vaccines for university students has already sparked resistance: Eight Indiana University students filed a lawsuit against the college on Monday. They argued the requirement to get vaccinated violated the law. A university spokesman said the school was "confident it will prevail in this case" and that the rule will enable a safe return to campus.

Houston Methodist became one of the first health-care systems in the United States to mandate its workers get vaccinated. Some employees refused. A nurse who would not get vaccinated sued the hospital, but a federal district court judge dismissed the lawsuit. Now, more than 150 people at the Texas hospital have resigned or have been fired because they did not get a coronavirus vaccine.

That old adage "you can't go home again" appears to be true for the post-pandemic economy. Although businesses and communities are reopening and recovering, the economic landscape is far from that of February 2020: Working from home is more commonplace, as is online ordering for groceries and other sundries. And the large number of unfilled job openings has given potential workers an unusual amount of leverage to seek greater pay or other opportunities.

Results from a new Pew Research Center survey show that 88 percent of people in the United States say the country is more divided than before the pandemic. Pollsters asked respondents in 17 advanced economies about post-covid division, and those in the U.S. reported the most division. Overall, people in Asia and the Pacific reported more unity, while people in European and North American countries reported more strife.

Other important news

Passengers have become so unruly that airlines have implored the Justice Department to crack down on bad behavior aboard planes.

The land border between the United States and Canada remains restricted for 16 months and counting, though residents in both nations are applying pressure on their leaders to permit nonessential travel.

These seven tips from American travelers who recently visited Europe can help navigate the complexities of post-vaccine Eurotrips.

A few vaccine campaigns involve lotteries with impressive cash prizes – but they're only the latest in a long history of offering people a chance to win in exchange for participation in public health measures.

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Guide to the pandemic

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Your questions, answered

"A recent statistic from Great Britain showed that 29 percent of those who were hospitalized and died from the delta variant had received a full course (two doses) of the vaccine. Why are American public health officials not more concerned? Everyone is saying very generally that the vaccinated are protected. Are we sure?" —Laura in Maryland

Even several weeks ago, the delta coronavirus variant, which has taken over as the dominant strain in the United Kingdom, accounted for a small number of cases of covid-19 in the United States. But as the variant — also known as B.1.617.2 — quickly gains ground here, U.S. health authorities are expressing growing concern.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has upgraded the delta variant to a "variant of concern," and CDC director Rochelle Walensky recently said the variant may soon become dominant in the United States.

"When these viruses mutate, they do so with some advantage to the virus. In this case, it is more transmissible," she said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America." "It's more transmissible than the alpha variant, or the U.K. variant, that we have here. We saw that quickly become the dominant strain in a period of one or two months, and I anticipate that is going to be what happens with the delta strain here."

Walensky said the CDC is concerned because as the variant mutates, it could start evading available vaccines. "That's really what we're actively trying to prevent, which is why we're really encouraging people to get vaccinated," she said.

As it stands, more than 150 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Research from Public Health England showed the vaccines, particularly Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca, were 33 percent effective against symptomatic infection from the delta variant after one dose. But after the second dose, Pfizer, an mRNA vaccine, was 88 percent effective and AstraZeneca, an adenovirus-vectored vaccine, was 60 percent effective. And the shots appear to be just as powerful at preventing hospitalizations from the delta variant as they are at preventing hospitalizations from other variants.

"I will say, as worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper-transmissibility, our vaccines work," Walensky said on "Good Morning America."

So to answer your question, yes the delta variant is more contagious, more likely to cause severe illness and shows moderate signs of resistance to post-infection and post-vaccination immunity.

But in the British study you referenced, the 42 deaths were among more than 33,000 people who contracted the delta variant, and only about 8 percent of that total number were fully vaccinated.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said that the vaccine does provide protection against the variant. It's just that when millions and millions of people are vaccinated — many of whom are older with preexisting health conditions — "you are bound to have breakthroughs and you will see a few hospitalizations and deaths," he said.

He said people should still "be careful" — by getting vaccinated and continuing to wear masks.