• Health authorities urge pregnant women to get Covid vaccine
• Houston to join schools rebelling against state bans on mask mandates
• California mandates Covid vaccines for all teachers

The US health department said yesterday that it will require all its public-facing healthcare workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus (Covid-19), amid a surge in hospitalisations driven by the Delta variant.
The policy will apply to around 25,000 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees who could come into contact with patients – just under a third of its total workforce.
“Our number one goal is the health and safety of the American public, including our federal workforce. And vaccines are the best tool we have to protect people from Covid-19, prevent the spread of the Delta variant, and save lives,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The HHS is the third federal department to introduce a vaccine mandate, following similar edicts from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon in recent weeks.
President Joe Biden announced in July that all federal employees must attest to being vaccinated or face tough restrictions such as regular testing.
The latest announcement also applies to healthcare and research staff at the Indian Health Service and National Institutes of Health who come into contact with patients, as well as contractors and volunteers.
Covid-19 vaccines are free and widely available in the United States, yet only half the population is fully vaccinated.
Propelled by the highly-contagious Delta variant, coronavirus infections have soared to a daily average of more than 100,000, a level not seen since the winter surge.
Average daily hospital admissions in the week to August 3 were 7,707 – a 40% jump in just one week, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“As President Biden has said, we have to do all we can to increase vaccinations to keep more people safe,” Becerra added. “Instructing our HHS healthcare workforce to get vaccinated will protect our federal workers and the patients and people they serve.”
The requirement is expected to go into effect by the end of September, US media outlets reported.
All teachers in California will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or submit to weekly virus tests, the state’s governor has announced, as authorities grapple with exploding infection rates.
“To give parents confidence that their children are safe as schools return to full, in-person learning, we are urging all school staff to get vaccinated,” Gavin Newsom said. “Vaccinations are how we will end this pandemic. As a father, I look forward to the start of the school year and seeing all California kids back in the classroom.”
The order announced on Wednesday – the first such state-wide mandate in the country – applies to public and private schools, and puts the onus on administrators to ensure either that staff are fully vaccinated, or that they undergo Covid-19 tests at least once a week.
In Houston, public schools were expected to defy a state ban on mask mandates, joining other districts in Texas and Florida requiring face coverings in classrooms to fight a surge of Covid-19 infections, despite threats from their governors.
The board of the Houston Independent school District was due to vote on a mask mandate today, flouting Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on such rules.
“The health and safety of our students and staff continues to be our guiding compass in all of our decisions,” wrote the district’s superintendent, Millard House II, in a statement.
The measure is likely to pass, with a majority of board members expressing support for the mandate, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The threat by Florida to withhold the salaries of school officials who require masks has escalated tension between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and the administration of US President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The White House is meanwhile considering reimbursing Florida school officials if DeSantis, who is widely seen as weighing a potential 2024 challenge for the presidency, follows through on his threat.
The worst of the Covid-19 outbreak is concentrated in the US South, including Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, where intensive care units have been stretched to capacity.
Meanwhile, health authorities urged pregnant women to get inoculated against Covid-19, arguing that the data demonstrates they do not increase the risk of miscarriage.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky said that the agency “encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from Covid-19”.
“The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly-transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from Covid-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people,” Walensky said.
According to a recent study, only one in four pregnant women has received at least a first dose of a Covid vaccine.
The CDC said that an analysis of current data had found there was not an increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 pregnant women who received an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine – the type of shots made by Pfizer and Moderna in the United States – before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“The benefits of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant people outweigh any known or potential risks,” the CDC added.