Executive order bans company vaccine mandates in Texas - October 12, 2021

Amazon announced its office employees can continue to work remotely if department leaders decide not to call workers back to the office. The decision is another adjustment to the company’s return-to-office plans amid a surge of delta variant cases. Amazon’s embrace of remote work comes as U.S.workers return to the office at a rate higher than any point during the pandemic. Anxious And Stressed Returning Office Workers Create Challenges For Companies - Forbes Remote work is causing anxiety levels to spike: Here’s what creative bosses are doing about it - Digiday Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday barring private companies from implementing vaccine mandates. The governor has asked state lawmakers to sign similar legislation into law, but urged Texans able and willing to get the vaccine to do so. Large companies with a presence in the state such as Facebook said they are reviewing the order and have not yet announced changes to their vaccine policy. As Biden's vaccinate-or-test mandate approaches, questions arise over enforcement - NBC News Nearly 90% of Washington state employees have complied with COVID-19 vaccination mandate - The Seattle Times Practical Strategies for Manufacturers Managing COVID-19 Testing, Vaccine Mandates - The National Law Review Drug manufacturer Merck applied for emergency use authorization of its antiviral COVID-19 pill Molnupiravir on Monday which, if approved, will be the first oral antiviral treatment for the disease. Observers have praised the medication and said it would be a “huge deal” if approved, although health experts warned that the drug is not a substitute for vaccination. The drug is expected to be available for U.S. residents later this year if approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Moderna has no plans to share its COVID-19 vaccine recipe - Associated Press AstraZeneca antibody cocktail study shows success treating COVID-19 - Reuters @DrLeanaWen: We need antiviral treatments because #covid19 is here for the foreseeable future. An oral,