Free Republic

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected an emergency request by health care workers seeking a religious exemption to the state of Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The court’s decision not to grant the immediate relief for the health care workers until it decides to review the case, means the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect while litigation continues in lower courts. The Supreme Court did not explain its action—typical in emergency appeals. But three conservative-leaning justices provided a dissenting opinion saying they would have granted the emergency request. Maine is not offering a religious exemption to its COVID-19 mandate...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers will likely create staff shortages around the United States, coming as some hospital CEOs have issued warnings. “We have seen that these vaccine mandates get more people vaccinated,” Walensky said during a “Good Morning America” appearance on Monday. “It absolutely creates a challenge. What I would say is [we need] to do some work … to understand where their hesitancy is so we can get them vaccinated and get them back to work,” she said.

Guinea Ebola Riots Wound Dozens Conakry - Clashes between protesters and security forces in a Guinean city at the epicentre of the west African Ebola outbreak have left at least 55 wounded, the local government said on Saturday. A curfew was imposed in N'Zerekore, Guinea's second-largest city, after two days of protests on Thursday and Friday by market stall holders against a team of health workers sent, without notice, to spray their market with disinfectant. Regional governor Lancei Conde said at least 27 law enforcement officers forces were among the wounded. "In N'zerekore and elsewhere, there are two camps -...

Billionaire Paul Allen says he'll contribute at least $100 million to the fight against Ebola. The Microsoft co-founder said Thursday that among the initiatives he's supporting is the development of two medevac containment units that the U.S. State Department can use to safely evacuate health workers who become infected. Allen, who is worth more than $15billion, said he's working with the World Health Organization to increase its capacity for handling the logistics of transporting international aid workers, and he's establishing a fund to help cover the costs of emergency transportation of the workers.

The attack lasted an hour and when rescuers approached the scene the gunmen also attacked them, according to Khan Faraz, an official in the Jamrud area of Khyber, a rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Around a dozen wounded were taken to hospital, but others died on the road waiting for help to arrive, he said. Another official, Assistant Political Agent Jehangir Azam, said all the casualties were members of the levies or Khasadar, both locally recruited government-backed militias. They were providing security for the health workers. Polio vaccination teams are frequently attacked, as are government security forces. A spokeswoman for...