Tag: supreme-court

As more employers require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, more workers are finding religion. Or rather, sincerely held religious beliefs that, they say, prevent them from getting the shots.

Hundreds of Los Angeles firefighters have sought exemptions from the citys vaccine mandate for religious or medical reasons, and thousands of Los Angeles Police Department employees are expected to do the same. And they may be the leading edge of the wave of workers seeking exemptions, as the federal government is preparing to require employers with 100 or more workers to order vaccinations or weekly coronavirus testing for all employees. Federal employees are already required to be vaccinated even if they work from home, with no testing alternative, and a similar requirement is being developed for federal contractors and subcontractors.

Nicholas De Blouw, an employment attorney and partner at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw in Los Angeles, said hes getting calls every single day from people facing a vaccine mandate including three in about 20 minutes on Wednesday morning.

But what are the rules surrounding religious exemptions? What constitutes a sincerely held belief? And how much leeway do employers have when faced with a torrent of exemption claims based on religion? The Times talked to experts in employment law and religious rights, and here are their answers to these and other questions.

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of vaccine mandates more than 100 years ago, but has made it clear that employers cant run roughshod over their workers religious beliefs. The protections for religious objectors are in California law, the U.S. Constitution and federal law, particularly Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires private companies to make reasonable accommodations for workers who have sincerely held religious beliefs that conflict with vaccination.

Employers hoping to stand on firm legal footing need to look at each employees request and go through an interactive process with the employee to seek a reasonable accommodation for sincerely held beliefs.

That process is really key, said Mark Phillips, a partner at the Reed Smith law firm in Los Angeles. Employers cant dismiss a request for a religious exemption out of hand, even if it may initially seem ridiculous, Phillips said. The employer has to engage with the worker not only to find out the nature of the request, but also to find out if accommodation is possible and reasonable.

Angel James Horacek, an attorney in Culver City, said Californias ban on religious creed discrimination applies not just to beliefs based on an organized religions teachings, but also to beliefs, observances, or practices, which an individual sincerely holds and which occupy in his or her life a place of importance parallel to that of traditionally recognized religions.

Theres still a limit to what constitutes a religion, Horacek said in an email. In a 2002 decision holding that veganism was not a religious belief, a California appeals court laid out three factors: a religion addresses fundamental and ultimate questions, consists of a belief-system as opposed to an isolated teaching, and often can be recognized by the presence of certain formal and external signs.

Employers can ask for the details of the religious conviction behind the request for an accommodation and explore whether the objection is based on politics, ideology or medical concerns. And if the employer denies the request and the worker sues, the burden will be on the worker to establish that he or she was motivated by a sincere religious belief.

Nevertheless, said Phillips, its not a good idea to question the sincerity of somebodys religious belief. Horacek agreed, saying theres very little an employer can do to test whether a workers claim is sincere.

Nor does it matter whether the person is following the teaching of his or her faith leaders of the vast majority of organized religions have endorsed at least some of the COVID-19 vaccines that are available. You dont go by what their organized religion believes, Phillips said. An individuals personal religious conviction can differ from their organized religion.

Added Douglas Laycock, Robert E. Scott distinguished professor of law at the University of Virginia, Courts are in no position to adjudicate the official teaching of the church anyway. There are lots of issues on which members of a church disagree, and lots of cases in which the objector takes the teaching further than the church does.

The issue here is what it would take to minimize the risk posed by an unvaccinated employee. Could the person work from home, or do the job in a private office, or otherwise maintain minimal contact with other workers and the public? Is there another, similar job that the person could do remotely?

For private employers, the accommodation isnt reasonable if it imposes an undue financial or operational burden on the company. Thats an ill-defined standard, so the answer will depend on such things as the nature of the accommodation and the size of the company.

Its important to bear in mind that if your employer mandates COVID-19 vaccinations, your religious objection, no matter how sincerely held, is no guarantee that you can keep your job. The employer is obligated to try to find a way to keep you at work unvaccinated, but whether thats possible depends on what you do.

For example, if you cant work from home, cant socially distance from co-workers or customers, and cant be tested frequently enough to assure the safety of those you come into contact with, your employer may have reason to replace you. If you cant perform the essential functions of the job even with accommodation, then theres no accommodation thats going to help you, Phillips said.

Two other factors are the extent to which workers interact with co-workers and the public and the nature of those interactions, he said. Another is the rate of coronavirus transmission among people in that workforce the higher the rate, the greater the argument against an exemption.

De Blouw noted that employers have a legal obligation to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. If they dont require vaccinations and an employee gets infected at work and dies, De Blouw said, they could be held liable.

Laycock, who described himself as one of the strongest academic defenders of religious exemptions in the country, nevertheless argues that Los Angeles officials would be on solid legal footing if they rejected all exemptions from the vaccine mandate except those needed for medical reasons.

It has a compelling government interest in requiring vaccination against a deadly infectious disease. The court cases are essentially unanimous about that, he wrote in an email. The unvaccinated are overwhelming our hospitals and depriving other folks of needed medical care, and because no vaccine is 100% effective, they are spreading the disease to folks who are vaccinated, causing minor problems for many of them and killing a few of them.

Other attorneys disagree, arguing that like any other employer, the city would have to meet individually with each of the hundreds of employees seeking exemptions to determine whether they could be reasonably accommodated.

In addition, the Biden administration has muddied the waters when it comes to what employers need to do to protect the public, mandating vaccinations for federal workers and contractors regardless of their size, but allowing a testing alternative for private employers with 100 or more workers, and requiring neither testing nor vaccinations for workers at other private companies.

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What is a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine? - Los Angeles Times

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A precedent-setting New York City mandate requiring all employees and patrons of more than 30 different types of businesses -- including restaurants, gyms and performance venues -- to show proof they received the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine that took effect last month will now be enforced starting Monday, Sept. 13.

That means only vaccinated people can eat indoors at a restaurant, be a guest inside a catering hall, workout inside a gym or attend a concert.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the vaccine mandate is necessary to help end the pandemic, especially after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the delta variant is as contagious as the chicken pox.

If youre unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things. Thats the point were trying to get across, de Blasio said last month when he initiated the mandate. Its time for people to see vaccination as literally necessary for living a good and full and healthy life.

The city has provided small businesses with posters and flyers to alert customers of the new mandates.

The flyers alert patrons to the mandate and that children under 12 are exempt from the requirement, which the mayors dubbed the Key to NYC. In addition, the flyers provide information about how to get a free coronavirus vaccine.

Patrons and staff will need to provide proof of at least one coronavirus vaccination shot before entering the affected businesses. Acceptable forms of proof are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine cards, the states Excelsior Pass phone app, and the citys COVID Safe app.

There is information available on the citys website that provides businesses with best practices about checking vaccines, dealing with complaints, and the process for recognizing and reporting fake vaccination cards.

INDOOR DINING

More than 30 types of businesses will be affected by the citys coronavirus vaccine mandates.

The indoor dining guidance pertains to restaurants, catering halls, event spaces, hotel banquet rooms, bars, nightclubs, cafeterias, grocery stores with indoor dining, coffee shops and fast food or quick service with indoor dining, according to the city.

INDOOR FITNESS

The indoor fitness venues include all gyms, fitness centers, fitness classes, pools, indoor studios and dance studios, according to the city.

INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT

Indoor entertainment venues include movie theaters, music and concert venues, museums, aquariums and zoos, professional sports arenas, indoor stadiums, convention centers, exhibition halls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, pool and billiard halls, recreational game centers, adult entertainment and indoor play areas.

LAWSUIT DISMISSED

There has been several lawsuits brought by business owners to fight the mandates, the latest of which was presented by a consortium of Staten Island and Brooklyn business owners to strike down the citys vaccination mandate for restaurants, gyms and indoor entertainment venues. However, state Supreme Court Justice Lizette Colon rejected the Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescues (I.R.O.A.R.) request for a permanent injunction to block the order on Friday.

KIDS SPORTS MANDATES

Also on Friday, just days before the start of the 2021-2022 school year, de Blasio announced that all students ages 12 and up will be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus if they want to participate in high-risk extracurricular activities.

New York City has already implemented a similar policy for high school athletes, requiring all students participating in high-risk Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) sports to be vaccinated in order to compete.

Weve already done this for high-risk sports, and this is consistent with CDC and state guidance for young people who are involved in extracurricular activities, such as chorus, musical theater, dance, band and marching band, cheerleading, were going to have a vaccination mandate for them, de Blasio said.

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Enforcement actions for NYC COVID mandates start Monday: Heres what you need to know - SILive.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio - U.S. Coronavirus deaths have surpassed 650,000 nationally and in Ohio, 21,020 state residents have died with the virus, with rates increasing likely due to the highly contagious delta variant.

On Tuesday, the federal government reported 73 additional Ohio residents had died with COVID-19, which pushed the state past 21,000.

Yet on Tuesday, June 8, there were just 41 new COVID-19 deaths in Ohio. On July 7, there 22 new deaths. On Aug. 10, there were 24 new deaths.

The delta variant became predominant by late July, and then the higher deaths began to follow. On Aug. 27, 70 new deaths were reported.

From Aug. 1 through Tuesday, the federal government, which provides Ohio the death data, has identified 354 coronavirus deaths of Ohio residents.

This is a preliminary number. Ohio gives coroners and physicians up to six months to identify a cause of death. And sometimes the federal government takes time identifying causes of death too, meaning more deaths from Aug. 1 through Tuesday will likely be identified.

The following Ohio counties have had the highest number of deaths from Aug. 1, based on county of residence.

1. Montgomery: 32 deaths

2. Butler: 23 deaths

3. Hamilton: 23 deaths

4. Cuyahoga: 19

5. Franklin: 16

6. Stark: 12

7. Scioto: 11

8. Richland: 10

9. Lucas: 10

10. Greene: 9

11. Warren: 9

Many of these counties have among the states highest number of residents.

Some of Ohios smaller-population counties rank high when looking at deaths per 100,000 residents. Some of these counties have the lowest vaccination rates in the state.

1. Ashland: 15.3 deaths per capita

2. Scioto: 14.9 deaths per capita

3. Adams: 14.6 deaths per capita

4. Jackson: 12.3 deaths per capita

5. Fulton: 11.7 deaths per capita

Read more:

From full ICUs to long wait times in the ER, coronavirus in children is surging in Ohio

See the 10 Ohio counties with the highest vaccination rates

Ohio Supreme Court to decide whether Cleveland must refund $4.1 million in traffic camera tickets

Ohio heads into holiday weekend with 6,179 new coronavirus cases, 81 more deaths. See hospitalizations by region.

35 Cuyahoga County schools, districts will have blended learning if needed for coronavirus exposure

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With Ohio coronavirus deaths surpassing 21,000, see which counties have had the highest deaths since August - cleveland.com

One frequently heard pushback against vaccine mandates is that there is a "constitutional right" to choose whether to be vaccinated or not for adults and a right to determine whether children can be vaccinated. That is a non-starter in the midst of a pandemic.

The Constitution is not a suicide pact guaranteeing a right to harm others. The government has latitude to protect citizens from deadly conditions, especially when the science supporting vaccination is so clear.

We agree, but also believe that the public needs to better understand that there is no constitutional right to avoid vaccine mandates against a deadly disease.

Those challenging the government mandates are likely to invoke their rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, which protect speech, religion, and a right not to "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Their view ends up as a snapshot of themselves; nonetheless, rights can be limited if a person is endangering another.

The government may prohibit otherwise constitutionally protected conduct to save the lives of others.

For example, it is well-settled that governments can ban yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater, because such speech can lead to death as attendees race to the exits. True, the First Amendment's Speech Clause protects the "freedom of speech," but there is no requirement that the government can't prevent scenarios likely leading to death.

The same reasoning applies to vaccine mandates. The Supreme Court explicitly upheld vaccine mandates against deadly diseases in Jacobson, where it explained: "the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand." We live in a country of ordered liberty, not individual autonomy that paves the way to the deaths of others. In short, it is not the right of every American citizen to catch and transmit a potentially fatal infection.

The depth of the science and the worldwide experience show plainly that vaccination is the best protection from this pandemic, and that the faster we reach herd immunity the more likely it will be that people won't die from this virus, hospitals won't be overburdened, and the economy will fully recover.

Children and adults have a constitutional right to "life" that can only be protected if there is mass vaccination. It's time for state and local governments to issue vaccine mandates and fines -- as New York and San Francisco have -- before this virus mutates into an even more elusive killer than it already is.

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You do not have the 'constitutional right' to refuse the Covid-19 vaccine - CNN

Aug 14 (Reuters) - The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States hit a record high of just over 1,900 on Saturday, as hospitals across the South were stretched to capacity fighting outbreaks caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

The Delta variant, which is rapidly spreading among mostly the unvaccinated portion of the U.S. population, has caused hospitalizations to spike in recent weeks, driving up the number of pediatric hospitalizations to 1,902 on Saturday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Children currently make up about 2.4% of the nation's COVID-19 hospitalizations. Kids under 12 are not eligible to receive the vaccine, leaving them more vulnerable to infection from the new, highly transmissible variant.

"This is not last year's COVID. This one is worse and our children are the ones that are going to be affected by it the most," Sally Goza, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told CNN on Saturday.

The numbers of newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients aged 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49 also hit record highs this week, according to data from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The spike in new cases has ramped up tension between conservative state leaders and local districts over whether school children should be required to wear masks as they head back to the classroom this month.

School districts in Florida, Texas and Arizona have mandated that masks be worn in schools, defying orders from their Republican state governors that ban districts from imposing such rules. The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to withhold funding from districts that impose mask requirements, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott is appealing to the state Supreme Court to overturn Dallas County's mask mandate, the Dallas Morning News reported on Friday.

A fifth of the nation's COVID-19 hospitalizations are in Florida, where the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients hit a record 16,100 on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. More than 90% of the state's intensive care beds are filled, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Alisson Argueta, 8, is given a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a back-to-school clinic in South Gate, Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Read More

INCREASED HOSPITALIZATIONS

The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, came out in support of mandatory vaccination for its members this week. NEA President Becky Pringle said on Saturday that schools should employ every mitigation strategy, from vaccines to masks, to ensure that students can come back to their classrooms safely this school year.

"Our students under 12 can't get vaccinated. It's our responsibility to keep them safe. Keeping them safe means that everyone who can be vaccinated should be vaccinated," Pringle told CNN.

The U.S. now has an average of about 129,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, a rate that has doubled in a little over two weeks, according to a Reuters tally. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is at a six-month high, and an average of 600 people are dying each day of COVID-19, double the death rate seen in late July.

Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oregon have reported record numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations this month, according to a Reuters tally, pushing healthcare systems to operate beyond their capacity.

"Our hospitals are working to maximize their available staff and beds, including the use of conference rooms and cafeterias, Florida Hospital Association President Mary Mayhew said in a statement on Friday.

In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown said on Friday that she was sending 500 National Guard members to assist overwhelmed hospitals, with 1,500 members in total available to help.

In Jackson, Mississippi, federal medical workers are assisting understaffed local teams at a 20-bed triage center in the parking garage of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) to accommodate the overflow of COVID-19 patients.

Fifteen children and 99 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19 at UMMC as of Saturday morning, the hospital said. More than 77% of those patients were unvaccinated.

Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Lisa Shumaker; editing by Diane Craft and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Excerpt from:

Children hospitalized with COVID-19 in U.S. hits record number - Reuters

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) The U.S. governments top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that he was hopeful the Food and Drug Administration will give full approval to the coronavirus vaccine by months end and predicted the potential move will spur a wave of vaccine mandates in the private sector as well as schools and universities.

The FDA has only granted emergency-use approval of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the agency is expected to soon give full approval to Pfizer.

The Biden administration has stated that the federal government will not mandate vaccinations beyond the federal workforce, but is increasingly urging state and local governments as well as businesses to consider such mandates. Fauci, who is President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, said mandates at the local level need to be done to help curb the spread of the virus.

I hope I dont predict I hope that it will be within the next few weeks. I hope its within the month of August, Fauci said of FDA approval of the vaccine. If thats the case, youre going to see the empowerment of local enterprises, giving mandates that could be colleges, universities, places of business, a whole variety and I strongly support that. The time has come. ... Weve got to go the extra step to get people vaccinated.

Faucis comments come as the Biden administration is weighing what levers it can push to encourage more unvaccinated Americans to get their shots as the delta variant continues to surge through much of the United States.

Biden recently approved rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates and travel restrictions. Biden is also awaiting a formal recommendation from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on potentially requiring U.S. troops to get vaccinated.

The administration has become more vocal in its support of vaccine mandates at a moment when high-profile companies have informed employees that coronavirus vaccination requirements are in the works, and some localities have adopted or are contemplating vaccine requirements to dine indoors.

United Airlines informed its employees that they will need to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 25 or five weeks after the FDA grants full approval to one of the vaccines whichever date comes first.

Disney and Walmart have announced vaccine mandates for white-collar workers, and Microsoft, Google and Facebook said they will require proof of vaccination for employees and visitors to their U.S. offices. Tyson Foods has also announced it will require all U.S. employees to get vaccinated by November.

Theres also been pushback.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week was asked to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Its the first time the high court has been asked to weigh in on a vaccine mandate and comes as some corporations, states and cities are also contemplating or have adopted vaccine requirements for workers or even to dine indoors.

Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers union, said on Sunday that she personally supports a vaccine mandate for educators.

As a matter of personal conscience, I think that we need to be working with our employers not opposing them on vaccine mandates, said Weingarten, who estimated about 90% of AFT members are already vaccinated.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, on Sunday all but endorsed vaccine mandates, saying, I celebrate when I see businesses deciding that theyre going to mandate that for their employees.

Yes, I think we ought to use every public health tool we can when people are dying, Collins said.

Fauci and Weingarten spoke on NBCs Meet the Press, and Collins appeared on ABCs This Week.

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Fauci hopeful COVID vaccines get full OK by FDA within weeks - Associated Press

Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.

More than three quarters of counties in the U.S. are experiencing substantial or high COVID-19 transmissions

The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 COVID-19 new cases per day

California first in nation to require health care workers to be vaccinated

What Japans COVID-19 emergency means

COVID-19 By The Numbers

12:38 p.m.: More than three quarters of counties in the U.S. are experiencing substantial or high COVID-19 transmissions

More than three quarters of U.S. counties are experiencing substantial or high COVID-19 transmissions as of early August.

The CDC classifies a community as having "substantial transmission" if there are 50 to 99 weekly cases per 100,000 residentsor if the positivity rate is between 8.0 and 9.9% in the last seven days.

People in a community that falls under that classification should wear masks indoors, whether or not they are vaccinated.

Read more here.

12:05 p.m.: The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 COVID-19 new cases per day

The U.S. has returned to a milestone seen last winteraveraging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections per day.

In late June, the U.S. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day. The number is now 107,143.

The seven-day average for daily new deaths also increased, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, rising over the past two weeks from about 270 deaths per day to nearly 500 a day as of Friday.Read more here.

10:25 a.m.: California first in nation to require health care workers to be vaccinated

California is mandating that all health workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September. State health officials say they're the first in the nation to require vaccination in these settings without an alternative.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that health care workers could either get their COVID-19 shots or face being tested weekly.

Health officials say they're taking more robust measures to protect the state's most vulnerable from the highly contagious delta variant.

"Because Californians should be confident that their health care providers are taking all steps to protect patient and overall community health," said California Secretary of Health and Human Services Director Mark Ghaly. "And in the face of surging COVID cases, steps like these are how California preserves one of our most precious gifts: health care workers who take care of us when we're sick."

Industry leaders are concerned the mandate will push people out of the health field.

Debora Pacyna is part of the California Association of Health Facilities trade group. They represent nursing homes and centers for people with disabilities and mental illness.

"Our workforce shortage is critical," Pacyna said. "A lot of people may decide they're just going to quit their jobs, and that will then trigger into a problem of access to services in skilled nursing."

The order applies to anyone in a health care setting, not just those who interact with patients that includes people in food service, facilities management, or billing. There are exceptions for people requesting to skip vaccination for medical or religious reasons.

9:34 a.m.: What Japans COVID-19 emergency means

Japan is host to the Tokyo Olympics, but the capital and other highly populated areas are in the middle of a government-declared state of emergency to curb surging COVID-19 infections.

According to the Associated Press, Tokyo has been in that state much of this year. People are getting resigned to it, no longer alarmed by a situation thats critically urgent, which is what the Japanese term translates into. Many are resigned and accepting it as the new normal.

The streets are bustling with people, commuter trains are jampacked, and restaurants and bars are open. However, theyve been asked to close early and cant serve alcohol. Restaurant owners say thats unfairly targeting eateries.

9:02 a.m.: Pacific Islanders in Sacramento have highest vaccination rate, but high COVID-19 cases

While Pacific Islanders make up about 2% of Sacramentos population, they also have some of the highest COVID-19 rates.

Despite being disproportionately impacted by the virus, Pacific Islanders have had one of the highest rates of vaccination in the country. The county classifies the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander category as people having origins in Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

So far, 66% of the people in those communities are at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. However, Jimina Afuloa with EPIC, a Pacific-Islander advocacy organization, says the countys numbers dont reflect what theyve been seeing.

Were still facing a lot of folks who are still vaccine-hesitant, anti-vaxxers, Afuola said. Weve still been dealing with a lot of the disparities within our own community and trying to work through that kind of barrier.

Afuolas organization continues to do outreach, but she worries the countys numbers could give people a false sense of safety.

9:31 a.m.: Sacramento Kings to require COVID-19 vaccine for employees

The Sacramento Kings recently released a statement from Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadiv stating that full-time and part-time employees will be required to be vaccinated by Nov. 1 to continue their employment.

But according to the Sacramento Bee, that won't include players, who are part of the National Basketball Players Association union.

Tragically, this pandemic is not over, and with the rising number of cases, we have made the decision to require all Sacramento Kings team members to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, Ranadiv said. Health and safety are our utmost priority, and vaccines are the best tool available to protect one another and eradicate this virus.

9:24 a.m.: Can I get long covid if I get infected after being vaccinated? Maybe, but more research is needed.

Researchers are studying the chances of long COVID developing in anyone who might get infected after vaccination, according to the Associated Press.

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness from the virus, but its still possible to get infected after the shots. Such breakthrough cases are more likely to come with mild or no symptoms.

However, researchers are looking at whether the cases could lead to long COVID-19, which is when people have symptoms a month or more after infection. Some long-term symptoms reflect damage to organs from severe infections. But, experts noted that long COVID-19 could also develop after infections with mild or no symptoms.

9:13 a.m.: Tokyo records over 5,000 COVID-19 cases during Olympic Games

Tokyo has reported 5,042 new coronavirus cases, its most since the pandemic began as infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics.

According to the Associated Press, Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since mid-July, and four other areas of the country have since been added.

But the measures, basically shorter opening hours and a ban on alcohol for restaurants and bars, are increasingly ignored by the public, which has become tired of restrictions. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has been criticized for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite the coronavirus surge, says theres no evidence linking the increase to the games.

10:31 a.m.: CDC extends eviction moratorium to Oct. 3

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until Oct. 3, according to the Associated Press.

The Biden administration is trying to quell intensifying criticism that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic. The new moratorium could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus delta variant has spread.

States have been slow to release federal rental aid previously. The new move would temporarily halt evictions in counties with substantial and high levels of virus transmission and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives. See a map of those areas here.

10:18 a.m.: SF to administer extra COVID-19 shots to some vaccinated residents

San Francisco is providing an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people who got the single-shot Johnson & Johnson variety, but public health officials arent calling it a booster.

According to the Associated Press, the Department of Public Health on Tuesday said people who request it can receive a supplemental dose at city-run clinics. The second shot will be a vaccine produced by either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

Authorities say theyve been getting a lot of requests for a second shot. The health agency says its offering a supplement, not a booster shot, that may be geared to a specific COVID-19 variant, such as the delta mutation thats blamed for a large uptick in infections.

10:08 a.m.: WHO leader wants booster shot moratorium

The head of the World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines as a way to help ensure that doses are available in countries where few people have even gotten any of their coronavirus shots.

According to the Associated Press, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed on Wednesday most to wealthier countries that have far outpaced the developing world in numbers of vaccinations. WHO officials say the science is unproven about whether giving booster shots to people who have already received two vaccine doses is effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

WHO has repeatedly called for rich countries to do more to help improve access to vaccines in the developing world.

5:50 p.m.: Run to Feed the Hungry returns after being held virtually last year

A Sacramento Thanksgiving tradition is set to return this year. Organizers say Run to Feed the Hungry is coming back after being held virtually last year because of COVID restrictions.

The race's return wasn't officially declared until today, but somehow word leaked out to eager runners.

"We actually launched registration at midnight and people are already registering before we even announced it this morning," said Melanie Flood with Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

The nonprofit puts the race on as a fundraiser generating nearly a million dollars. Thousands of people participate, running and walking in either a 5K or 10K through the streets of East Sacramento.

Flood says the decision to bring the run back aligns with CDC guidelines.

"In the worst case scenario, if we had to cancel the race and we weren't allowed to have an event such as this, we would still hold it virtually like we did last year, she said.

Registration will stay open through race day - November 25th.

10:15 a.m.: Fauci says not enough Americans vaccinated to 'crush the outbreak'

The nations top infectious disease expert is warning that more pain and suffering is ahead as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get inoculated, according to the Associated Press.

Dr. Anthony Fauci also said on ABCs This Week that he doesnt foresee additional U.S. lockdowns because he believes enough people are vaccinated to avoid a recurrence of last winter.

However, he said theres not nearly enough people who are inoculated to crush the outbreak. Currently, 58% of Americans 12 years and older are fully vaccinated.

The silver lining is that U.S. vaccinations are up 56% in the last two weeks, according to the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins said recently on CNN.

10:05 a.m.: What to know about the delta variant

The delta variant is more contagious than its predecessors, but research has shown that COVID-19 vaccines still provide strong protection against it.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited the variant's surge in advising that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in areas with high transmission.

The change is based on new research suggesting vaccinated people who get infected can spread it to others, even if the vaccinated don't get seriously ill. The more vaccinated people there are, the more it helps protect the unvaccinated, including children not yet eligible for the shots.

Some breakthrough cases were always expected, and a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found such cases remain rare.

9:35 a.m.: More than 110 million COVID-19 vaccines sent abroad to over 60 countries

The White House says the U.S. has donated and shipped more than 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 60 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia.

According to the Associated Press, Biden has promised the U.S. will be the arsenal of vaccines for the world. The 110 million doses given largely through a vaccine program known as COVAX represents a fraction of whats really needed globally.

The White House says the U.S. will begin shipping at the half a billion Pfizer doses its pledged to 100 low-income countries in August. President Joe Biden was expected later Tuesday to discuss the U.S. strategy for slowing the spread of coronavirus abroad.

5:11 p.m.: Bay Area health officials reinstate indoor mask mandate

Health officials in San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties have announced that they are reinstating a mask mandate for all indoor settings as COVID-19 infections surge. Monday's order applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status, and starts on Tuesday.

California last week recommended that people wear masks indoors, but stopped short of issuing a mandate, following guidance from the U.S Centers for Disease Control.

Three other California counties have already adopted mandates as COVID rates rise because of the highly contagious delta variant.

11:04 a.m.: While vaccinated people can contract delta COVID-19 variant, vaccines still best defense

The delta variant has changed Californias COVID-19 landscape in a big way. New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that even fully immunized people can contract the virus and even pass it to others.

Still, vaccines are seen as the best chance at reducing viral transmission. Getting immunized does protect you from getting very ill or dying from COVID-19. The vaccine also mostly prevents symptomatic cases from the original alpha variant, though, its slightly different with the delta variant.

There definitely can be transmission from symptomatic breakthroughs, said UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Monica Gandhi. She explains that the delta variant can do this because its much more contagious and can transmit higher quantities of the virus, even to fully vaccinated people.

The trick is we need to get transmission down, Gandhi said. We need to get more people vaccinated so that theres not even a virus around for all of us to see to get mild breakthroughs. And thats really what were doing right now with resuming masking inside, and also importantly, getting our vaccination rates as high as we can.

Several California counties are requiring everyone to wear a mask in indoor public settings, though state and federal officials say its only recommended, not required, for fully immunized people.

However, Gandhi says strong mask policies are needed to combat this variant. She also stresses that people should refrain from gathering indoors and unmasked with friends who arent vaccinated.

We are acting like vaccines arent working, and thats what people seem to be hearing. These vaccines are working, Gandhi said. They are profoundly effective at preventing severe disease and death.

While many counties are seeing increases in hospitalizations, its far from the surge that California saw during the winter. Gandhi said public health departments will have to work hard to explain that more vaccinated people means theres less virus in circulation, leading to fewer deaths among those who cant get their shots.

10:06 a.m.: Evictions expected to spike due to national eviction moratorium ending

Housing courts around the country are ramping up work following the end of the federal eviction moratorium, according to the Associated Press.

Housing advocates fear that the recent end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium will result in millions of people being evicted. Most expect the wave of evictions to build slowly over the coming weeks and months as the bureaucracy of removing people from their homes restarts Monday.

The Biden administration announced Thursday it would allow a nationwide ban to expire. It argued that its hands were tied after the Supreme Court signaled the measure needed to come to an end.

California has its own eviction moratorium that is in place through the end of September.

9:43 a.m.: US employers ramp up vaccination pressure on white-collar employees

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California Coronavirus Updates: More Than Three Quarters Of Counties in the U.S. Are Experiencing Substantial Or High COVID-19 Transmissions - Capital...

WASHINGTON, D.C. As some Catholics are seeking a religious exemption to the coronavirus vaccine mandates that are becoming more common in workplaces and even some public venues, priests in the Archdiocese of New York have been advised not to get involved in that process.

There is no basis for a priest to issue a religious exemption to the vaccine, said a memo sent to priests in the New York Archdiocese July 30. An image of the memo was published by a news correspondent on social media two days after it was issued.

An archdiocesan spokesman confirmed with Catholic News Service that this communication was accurate and was sent by Msgr. Joseph LaMorte, archdiocesan vicar general, and John Cahill, archdiocesan chancellor.

The memo not only advised priests not to be involved in issuing religious exemptions but stressed that if they did issue them they would be acting in contradiction to the directives of the pope and participating in an act that could have serious consequences to others.

The archdiocesan leaders wrote that they occasionally hear from Catholics who have a sincere moral objection to the COVID-19 vaccines due to their connection to abortion. This concern is particularly acute among people who are strongly pro-life and very loyal to the teaching of the faith. It is a serious issue for some people who often seek guidance and support from the church.

They said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan had suggested that clarity be provided to assist our priests in response to requests of this nature which they are receiving.

The memo distinguished individual vaccine decisions from getting backing by ones parish priest on this issue, stressing that any individual is free to exercise discretion on getting the vaccine based upon his or her own beliefs without seeking the inaccurate portrayal of church instructions.

Our priests should not be active participants to such actions, it said.

It also echoed what church leaders have said about the COVID-19 vaccine, noting: Pope Francis has made it very clear that it is morally acceptable to take any of the vaccines and said we have the moral responsibility to get vaccinated. Cardinal Dolan has said the same.

The direction for New Yorks archdiocesan priests comes just days before New Yorks Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would be the first U.S. city to require proof of at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine for most indoor events, effective Aug. 16.

If you want to participate in our society fully, youve got to get vaccinated. Its time, he said during an Aug. 3 news conference.

And the mayors announcement is on the heels of a July 29 message from President Joe Biden that said his administration will require all civilian federal workers to provide COVID-19 vaccination status or face strict testing measures, social distancing and masking requirements.

Similarly, around the country, particularly amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, workplaces have been modifying previous decisions on vaccine requirements going from strongly encouraging, but not requiring them, to saying employees must show proof of vaccination.

One Catholic organization supporting such a mandate for employers is the St. Louis-based Catholic Health Association, which represents more than 2,200 Catholic hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the U.S. The group issued a statement July 23 urging all health care workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Also in July, two Catholic organizations issued statements against imposing a coronavirus vaccine mandate without conscience, religious or medical exemptions.

The Catholic Medical Association said in a July 28 statement that it opposes mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment without conscience or religious exemptions, adding that an individual Catholics decision to be vaccinated should be informed by the clear and authoritative moral teaching of the church on vaccinations.

And the National Catholic Bioethics Center said in early July that it does not endorse mandated COVID-19 immunization with any of the three vaccines that have received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The center, based in Philadelphia, provides a vaccine religious exemption template on its website, http://www.ncbcenter.org, which states: The Catholic Church teaches that a person may be required to refuse a medical intervention, including a vaccination, if his or her informed conscience comes to this sure judgment.

The issue of not granting religious exemptions to vaccine mandates could make its way to the Supreme Court, just as restrictions on religious gatherings during the pandemic came before the court as an issue of religious discrimination.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that employers must provide a reasonable accommodation if an employees sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance prevents them from receiving the vaccination.

Such an accommodation though cannot pose an undue hardship under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, meaning it shouldnt decrease workplace efficiency or infringe on the rights of other employees.

The Society for Human Resource Management, based in Alexandria, Virginia, states on its website that employers who want to require employees to take the vaccine should be aware that federal law allows employees to ask to be exempted from the requirement for medical or religious reasons.

To be given a religious exemption, it says employees should be asked to provide an explanation of his or her sincerely held religious beliefs and, if necessary, appropriate documentation from his or her religious leader regarding the religious belief that conflicts with the employers vaccination requirement.

Such documentation, which the New York archdiocesan memo specifically referred to, also brings up another legal issue. The memo, for example, asked church leaders to imagine a student receiving a religious exemption, contracting the virus and spreading it throughout the campus. Clearly this would be an embarrassment to the archdiocese, it said, adding that some even argue that it might impose personal liability on a priest.

Colleges in particular, with a mixed bag of requiring proof of vaccination, also are looking at religious exemptions.

In July, The Pilot, newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese, published a story by The Associated Press that said some Boston College students and their parents were upset by the Jesuit-run schools refusal to grant religious exemptions to those who didnt want to get the vaccine.

The university is requiring all students, faculty and staff members to receive a COVID-19 vaccine before the fall semester, unless they are granted religious or medical exemptions.

A religious exemption may be granted if vaccination goes against the fundamental tenets of a faith, said Boston College spokesperson Ed Hayward in a statement.

He added that since Pope Francis, Boston Cardinal Sean P. OMalley and millions of Catholics worldwide have been vaccinated, it is difficult for Catholics to make an argument against a COVID-19 vaccination.

M.C. Sullivan, ethicist for the Archdiocese of Boston, told AP that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do not contain any immorally illicit material. She added that the pope and the archbishop of Boston have said the remoteness of the abortion act in the vaccines is so far removed to the current public health crisis.

Right now, theres a positive moral obligation to save lives by getting vaccinated, she said.

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N.Y. priests urged not to give religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines - Crux Now

In 1902, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, faced a smallpox outbreak. In response, the local health board ordered the citys residents over the age of 21 to be vaccinated against this disease. Violators faced a $5 fine.

After a local pastor was fined for violating this vaccine mandate, he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court told him to pound sand in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905).

The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote for the Court. He added that there are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good.

Under Jacobson, state and local governments though not necessarily the federal government may mandate vaccines for nearly all of their residents.

That decision has obvious relevance today. We now have multiple vaccines against Covid-19 that are both safe and shockingly effective, and they are available for free for all Americans. Yet the pandemic continues to rage in the United States because a large minority of Americans have yet to get a shot. While some people may face legitimate obstacles, others are just obstinate. Policymakers and other leaders, in other words, may need to take a page from Cambridges early 20th-century health board.

Some already are. Many of the first mandates are from employers: The state of New York, for example, recently announced that all of its employees will have to either get vaccinated or submit to weekly coronavirus testing, and President Joe Biden plans to impose similar requirements on federal employees.

Many private employers also require vaccines Google, for example, will insist that its employees be vaccinated in order to enter the companys offices. More than 600 colleges and universities require at least some of their students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated.

These sorts of mandates will undoubtedly trigger lawsuits from vaccine resisters. In some cases, individuals with religious objections to vaccines or people with disabilities that preclude them from being vaccinated will have strong legal claims much like schoolchildren who can already seek exemptions from schools vaccination requirements if they have religious objections.

But, assuming that the courts follow existing law and assuming that Republican state governments do not enact new laws prohibiting employers from disciplining workers who refuse to be vaccinated most challenges to employer-imposed vaccination requirements should fail.

Under Jacobson, moreover, states should be free to order everyone within their borders to be vaccinated against Covid-19, although its far from clear whether the federal government could do the same.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the Roberts Court, which is eager to impose limits on public health officials and not especially bothered about overruling precedents, will follow Jacobson if a state does enact a vaccine mandate. But there is good reason to believe that it will. Even Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of the most conservative members of the current Court, recently described Jacobson as a modest decision that didnt seek to depart from normal legal rules during a pandemic.

The bottom line, in other words, is that, under existing law, numerous institutions within the United States may require their employees and, in some cases, their citizens to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Employment relationships in the United States are typically at-will, meaning that an employee can be fired at any time and for any reason, even if that reason is completely arbitrary. If you have an at-will relationship with your employer, your boss can fire you because they dont like your haircut. Or because they dont like what you had for breakfast last Tuesday.

Or, for that matter, because you refuse to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

The general rule, in other words, is that your employer can fire you for any reason unless some outside legal force a federal or state law, or maybe an individual or collective bargaining contract between you and your employer intervenes to give you additional job security. And there is no federal law prohibiting employers from requiring nearly all of their employees to get vaccinated.

That said, some federal laws may allow a small number of workers to seek an exemption from their employers decision to mandate vaccination.

Neither of these laws prevents an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for Covid-19, according to the EEOCs guidance on Covid-19 in the workplace. But employees may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation if their religion or disability precludes them from getting vaccinated, so long as this accommodation does not pose an undue hardship on the operation of the employers business.

Some examples of reasonable accommodations that might be offered to certain employees include requiring these workers to wear a face mask, work at a social distance from coworkers or non-employees, work a modified shift, get periodic tests for COVID-19, be given the opportunity to telework, or finally, accept a reassignment. But not every employee will be entitled to each of these accommodations, even if they are protected by a law like the ADA or the Civil Rights Act.

The specific accommodation will depend on an individual employees job duties someone who does work that can only be done at a particular job site, for example, may not be allowed to telework. And employers are not required to employ people who cannot do their job even with reasonable accommodations.

It should be noted that some states may have existing laws that place additional restrictions on employers. And theres always a risk that Republican state lawmakers will pass new laws prohibiting employers from requiring their employees to be vaccinated. But the law should permit most employers to require nearly all of their workers to get vaccinated.

So long as Jacobson remains good law, state and local governments may require their residents to get vaccinated. Indeed, states currently require their residents to get a wide range of vaccines by mandating that children be vaccinated before entering school or certain forms of child care. The only reason why a Covid-19 vaccine mandate would need to apply to adults is that the virus recently emerged, so most Americans were well past school age when they needed a vaccine.

That said, the Supreme Court will likely permit some individuals to seek exemptions from a Covid-19 vaccine mandate. Ever since Justice Amy Coney Barrett gave conservatives a 6-3 majority on the Court last fall, the Court has been extraordinarily aggressive in granting religious exemptions to Covid-related public health orders.

Federal law also restricts state governments ability to regulate people with disabilities; the ADA prohibits state and local governments from discriminating against many people with disabilities. It is likely, in other words, that at least some people will be able to get an exemption from a statewide or citywide vaccine mandate if they have a medical condition that precludes them from being vaccinated.

Another question is whether a state could require non-residents who enter their borders to be vaccinated.

As a general rule, a resident of one state who visits another is subject to the laws of a state they are merely passing through. If a resident of Florida takes a trip to New York, they may be prosecuted by New York officials if they commit a crime in New York. That said, the Supreme Court recognizes a constitutional right of all Americans to travel among the states. So an unvaccinated resident of Florida might claim that this right to travel is violated if New York tells them that they must be vaccinated if they wish to visit.

But theres some recent evidence that even the Roberts Courts right flank is unlikely to smile upon such a claim. Justice Clarence Thomas recently denied relief to a man who claimed that requiring him to wear a mask while flying on a commercial airline violates his right to travel.

To be brief: Neither Congress nor President Biden can likely force citizens to be vaccinated, although the federal government can use financial carrots and sticks to encourage vaccination.

To be longer (and wonkier): In NFIB v. Sebelius (2012), the Courts first major Obamacare case, the Supreme Court imposed a novel new limit on Congresss power. Congress may not use its broad power to regulate the national economy in order to regulate inactivity. If someone does not want to take a particular action, the federal governments ability to require them to take that action is limited.

NFIBs holding on this point, in the words of one very conservative federal judge, had no support in either the text of the Constitution or Supreme Court precedent, but lower courts are required to follow the Supreme Courts decisions even if they are arbitrary or lawless. And NFIB has pretty clear implications for a federal vaccine mandate.

Indeed, this very issue came up during oral arguments in NFIB. Justice Stephen Breyer posed a hypothetical to Michael Carvin, one of two lawyers arguing that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, about what might happen if the Court adopted his proposed legal standard. If it turned out there was some terrible epidemic sweeping the United States, he said, would the federal government have the power to get people inoculated?

Carvins response: No, they couldnt do it.

Yet, even if the courts endorse Carvins reading of the federal governments authority to mandate vaccines, Congress could still use financial incentives to encourage vaccination.

The simplest way to do so would be to pay people to get vaccinated or to offer a tax break to everyone who gets the vaccine. The tax code gives all sorts of benefits to taxpayers who engage in activity that Congress deems desirable ranging from buying a home to having a child to driving an electric vehicle.

Another option is to require unvaccinated people to pay a much higher percentage of their income in federal taxes in order to incentivize them to become vaccinated. Such a policy might elicit some outrage, but its entirely constitutional even under NFIB.

But Congress also has fairly broad authority to attach conditions to federal benefits. It could require everyone who receives health coverage through a federal program such as Medicare, Medicaid, or the Affordable Care Act to become vaccinated if they want to keep those benefits.

One group the federal government could easily impose vaccines on: immigrants. Federal law already requires foreign nationals who apply for an immigration visa or who want to become lawful permanent residents to be vaccinated against certain diseases. The government could add a Covid-19 vaccine to this list.

Having laid out what the law says about vaccine mandates, there is a danger that a judiciary dominated by Republican appointees will ignore that law. As NFIB taught us, the mere fact that a legal argument has no basis in law or precedent is no guarantee that it wont win approval from five justices.

Theres also a risk that a conservative lower court judge well call this hypothetical conservative judge Reed OConnor could issue an injunction blocking any attempt to require people to become vaccinated. Even if this injunction is lawless, and even if it is ultimately vacated by a higher court, that process could take months or even years.

But existing law is clear that employers have broad latitude to require most of their workers to become vaccinated. It is equally clear that state governments may impose vaccination requirements. And, while the federal governments power is probably less broad, it is broad enough to give every American a powerful financial incentive to become vaccinated.

1905, the year Jacobson was handed down, is one of the most infamous years in the Supreme Courts history. It is the same year the Court handed down Lochner v. New York, a now-discredited decision stripping lawmakers of much of their authority to ensure that workers are not exploited. Lochner is now widely taught in law schools as an example of how judges should never, ever behave.

And yet, even most of the right-wing justices who joined the majority in Lochner recognized that striking down a state vaccine mandate would go too far. Even they realized that the government must have the power to protect the public health.

There is good reason to hope, in other words, that the current Supreme Court wouldnt be so reactionary as to strike down a vaccine mandate.

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Covid-19 vaccine: Can employers and the government legally require it? - Vox.com

WASHINGTONA federal moratorium on the eviction of tenants who fell behind on rent during the Covid-19 pandemic is set to expire as scheduled this weekend after U.S. lawmakers were unable to advance a last-minute extension.

The Biden administration had called on lawmakers Thursday to extend the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions moratorium further, saying the CDC couldnt extend the moratorium itself because of a recent Supreme Court ruling.

House lawmakers adjourned late Friday for their August recess without action on the measure after Democratic leadership tried and failed to secure votes. The CDC moratorium ends at a time of heightened vulnerability for tenants as the Delta variant of the virus continues to spread in many parts of the country, the Biden administration warned.

State and local governments have struggled to distribute $47 billion in federal money aimed at helping tenants who cant pay rent because of the pandemic-triggered downturn, leaving many people at risk of being forced out of their homes when the moratorium expires.

Just $3 billion of the aid authorized by Congress in December and March had been delivered to landlords and tenants as of June 30, the Treasury Department said in a report last week. About 8.2 million adults were behind on their rent or mortgage as of July 5 and have low confidence they can pay on time next month, a Census Bureau survey showed.

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House Adjourns Without Extending Covid-19 Eviction Moratorium - The Wall Street Journal