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More than 200 health-care workers and others gathered outside Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas on Saturday to protest the requirement by a growing number of hospital systems that employees get COVID-19 vaccination shots. Baylor Scott & White, Methodist Health System and Texas Health Resources all announced vaccine mandates for employees in late July. Children’s Health in Dallas and Cook Children’s in Fort Worth followed suit this week. (Marfin and Choi, 8/7)

One of the leaders of the state Senate is calling on health care workers opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates to take action against them, alarming some health care officials navigating a surge of new infections. Senate President Chris Kapenga on Friday said health care executives requiring employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 are "bowing to the woke culture being pushed by the left." (Beck, 8/6)

KHN: A California Bill Would Limit Protests At Vaccination Sites. Does It Violate The First Amendment? 

A proposal sailing through the California legislature that aims to stop people from getting harassed outside of vaccination sites is raising alarms among some First Amendment experts. If it becomes law, SB 742 would make it punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $1,000 to intimidate, threaten, harass or prevent people from getting a covid-19 — or any other — vaccine on their way to a vaccination site. (Bluth, 8/9)

Both Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recently cited a 1996 health law when refusing to answer reporters’ questions regarding whether they were vaccinated. “You see, with HIPAA rights, we don’t have to reveal our medical records, and that also includes our vaccine records,” Greene said on July 20. Both Greene and Prescott were referring to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton. And they were wrong. Nonetheless, their invocation of the law has been echoed by many on social media who contend their employers have no right to inquire about their vaccine status. (Rankin, 8/6)

Dr. Paul Malarik, a retired psychiatrist, now spends about 50 hours a month helping to administer Covid-19 vaccines at pop-up clinics near his home in San Luis Obispo, California. So he’s particularly troubled when he logs onto Doximity, a site used by doctors, and reads anti-vaccine comments. “You rarely get to the level of microchips in vaccines, but a lot of this stuff is pretty close to it,” said Malarik, who volunteers his time to mix vaccines, put shots in arms and educate the public. “They’re actively working against us.” (Levy, 8/6)

It is not a violation of the oft-cited HIPAA federal privacy law to ask your doctor or dentist or other health-care workers, as well as people who provide close-contact services, including hair stylists, aestheticians, massage therapists and physical trainers, if they are vaccinated. “It’s awkward, but it’s not illegal,” said Robert Gatter, a professor with the Center for Health Law Studies at St. Louis University School of Law. “If they share it with you, that’s their choice.” But, Gostin said, it’s important to remember that “you can’t force somebody to answer.” (Chiu, 8/6)

Los Angeles County officials on Tuesday will consider drafting a proposal that would require proof of vaccination to enter certain indoor public spaces. Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose 4th District includes several beach cities, created the proposal to be discussed at this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting that asks staff and attorneys to draft a report in two weeks about what the county’s policy could look like. (Cosgrove, 8/8)

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department will see a wave of resignations if the city enforces its policy requiring vaccinations for its employees, according to the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, the union representing sheriff’s deputies. Mandated vaccines “will result in law enforcement officers and firefighters retiring early and seeking employment elsewhere,” the union wrote on its Facebook page Thursday. (Cassidy, 8/6)

Maine-based employers quickly instituted COVID-19 vaccination mandates over the past week as the delta variant spreads and almost half of Maine counties fell under federal mask-wearing recommendations as of Friday. The law is on their side, but they need to move carefully, legal experts say. New requirements follow vaccination mandates for federal workers and contractors announced by President Joe Biden last week as he tries to get more Americans vaccinated. In Maine, the public university system, College of the Atlantic, MaineHealth, Northern Light Health and other colleges and hospitals are requiring that employees be vaccinated. (Valigra, 8/7)

Utah has a law, passed earlier this year, that blocks state and local governments from requiring vaccinations against COVID-19. The ban extends to state colleges and universities, which cannot require students, faculty or employees to get vaccinated. Public schools are also blocked from requiring vaccinations. But the prohibition soon may fall by the wayside. HB308, which passed almost unanimously during the 2021 session, blocks government from requiring that people receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a term of employment or even as a requirement for attendance or participation in an activity. But the bill applies only to vaccines that are authorized for emergency use. Right now, all three of the vaccines being administered in the U.S. — from manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — are under emergency authorization by the federal government. (Schott, 8/6)

As more employers, cities, and states move to mandate vaccines for their residents, employees, and patrons in an emerging patchwork of rules, officials governing the Philadelphia region haven’t begun setting mandates — but Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Bucks County officials are weighing possible vaccine requirements for public workers. While Democratic-controlled New Jersey implemented its first statewide vaccine requirements this week for certain health workers, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday his administration was “still deciding” whether to require coronavirus vaccination for some or all state employees. (McCarthy and McDaniel, 8/7)