(NEW YORK) — Kyle Rittenhouse took the witness stand on Wednesday to testify in his own defense and began to break down in sobs as he began to describe why he shot the first of three men during a 2020 protest.
Rittenhouse began testifying in a Kenosha County courtroom after telling a judge that he made the decision to testify after consulting with his lawyers.
Under questioning from his attorney Mark Richards, the 18-year-old Rittenhouse began by speaking about his background as a trained lifeguard, a police cadet and a student studying nursing at Arizona State University.
“Did you come to downtown Kenosha to look for trouble?” Richards asked.
Rittenhouse, wearing a blue suit and matching tie, answered, “No.”
Rittenhouse said he went to Kenosha with his sister and friends on Aug. 25, 2020, after seeing online pleas for people to come to the city to help protect it after looting and vandalism broke out after a police officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, leaving him paralyzed.
“I went down there to provide first aid,” Rittenhouse testified, adding that he brought along his medical supplies as well as his AR-style semiautomatic rifle.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He claimed he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, in self-defense.
Richards directed Rittenhouse to the event of the Aug. 25, 2020, shooting. He testified that he had witnessed a police officer being hit with a brick, another man getting his jaw broken and had been allegedly threatened by Rosenbaum.
He said he got separated from his friends who were guarding three car lots that had been vandalized. He said he was rushing to put out a fire at one of the car lots when he again encountered Rosenbaum and a man named identified by prosecutors as Joshua Ziminski.
“I hear somebody scream ‘Burn in hell,” said Rittenhouse of when he reached the car lot that was being vandalized. “I reply with ‘Friendly, friendly, friendly to let them know hey, I’m just here to help. I don’t want any problems. I just want to put out the fires if there are any.”
Rittenhouse testified that Ziminski pulled a gun and pointed it at him when he approached the car lot with a fire extinguisher.
“As I’m walking towards to put out the fire, I dropped the fire extinguisher and I take a step back (from Ziminski),” Rittenhouse said. “My plan was to get out of that situation.”
But he said before he could get away, Rosenbaum was allegedly bearing down on him and Ziminski and three other people were blocking his path.
“Once I take that step back, I look over my shoulder and Mr. Rosenbaum was now running from my right side, and I was cornered from in front of me with Mr. Ziminski,” Rittenhouse said.
The teenager then began to break down in sobs on the witness stand, prompting Judge Bruce Schroeder to call a recess.
Following the recess, Rittenhouse regained his composure and returned to the witness stand.
Rittenhouse picked his testimony back up at when he saw Rosenbaum charging toward him.
“Mr. Zimenski stepped towards me. I went to go run south,” Rittenhouse said.
He said Rosenbaum began to chase him he heard Zimenski allegedly tell Rosenbaum “to get him and kill him.”
“As I’m running in that southwest direction, Mr. Rosenbaum throws, at the time I know its a bag now,” Rittenhouse said, adding that he initially thought it was a heavy chain Rosenbaum had been seen carrying earlier in the evening.
“I turn around for about a second while continuing to run and I point my gun at Mr. Rosenbaum,” Rittenhouse said.
Richards asked, “Does that stop him from chasing you?”
Rittenhouse replied, “It does not.”
This is a developing story. Please check, back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 756,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 10, 8:55 am
Over 900,000 kids 5-11 will have 1st shot by end of day, White House estimates
The White House estimates that by the end of Wednesday over 900,000 children ages 5 to 11 will have received their first vaccine shot.
That’s 3% of the 28 million newly eligible kids in this category.
Another 700,000 kids in that age range have appointments booked at pharmacies to get their first jab, according to the White House.
Nov 09, 10:36 pm
Mask mandate ending in Florida’s largest school district
Masks will be optional for students in Miami-Dade County, Florida’s largest school district, beginning on Friday, the district announced Tuesday.
This change is “based on significantly improved COVID-19 conditions in the community and within our schools,” school officials said in a statement.
Fully vaccinated employees also have the choice to not wear a mask.
Nov 09, 4:41 pm
Boosters required for people 65+ to retain health pass in France
French residents over the age of 65 must get a booster in order to keep their health pass, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.
The health pass, which indicates a person is vaccinated, is mandatory for restaurants, theaters, museums and similar institutions throughout the country.
Nov 09, 3:41 pm
10 states see increase in hospital admissions
Ten states — Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Vermont — have seen an increase in hospital admissions in the last two weeks, according to federal data.
The daily case average in the U.S. has jumped by 12.6% over the last two weeks, according to federal data.
Twenty-one states have seen daily cases go up by at least 10% over the last two weeks: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
(EAST ORANGE, N.J.) — As the search for 14-year-old Jashyah Moore continues, investigators are offering an increased reward of $15,000 after an anonymous local business owner’s donation.
The Moore family planned to hold a search party at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the corner of Amherst Street and Central Avenue, East Orange, New Jersey, Mayor Ted Green said at a Tuesday press conference. There will also be an interfaith prayer vigil at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in front of City Hall.
“Jashyah is one of our own,” Green said. “We’re asking this community, as we have been asking from day one, to help us in locating this young lady.”
Jashyah has been missing since Oct. 14 and her family is pleading with the community to help bring her daughter home.
She was last seen around 10 a.m. at Poppie’s Deli Store in East Orange after her mother asked her to go to the store for groceries. According to police, surveillance footage shows Jashyah entering the store with an older male who paid for her items. However, the footage does not appear to show them leaving the store together, police say.
When she returned home to her mother, Moore said Jashyah had lost the card the family uses for groceries, and Moore told her daughter to retrace her steps to find it.
Moore said that was the last time she saw her daughter.
Jashyah is 5-foot 5-inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing khaki pants, a black jacket and black boots, according to an East Orange City Hall press release.
“I cannot imagine what she might be going through just being away from us this long, being away from her family who loves her very much,” her mother, Jamie Moore, said through tears at a press conference Friday morning. “If anybody knows anything, please, please come forward.”
East Orange Police, the FBI, and the New Jersey State Police are working in collaboration to help find Jashyah. They say if anyone sees her or knows of her whereabouts, to call the East Orange Police at 973-266-5041.
(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday against Kyle Rittenhouse by playing for the jury a new drone video of the teenager allegedly shooting the first of three men — two of whom died — during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The prosecution wrapped up its case after six days of presenting evidence that they contend proves Rittenhouse is guilty of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
“The state formally rests its case,” prosecutor Thomas Binger told the court Tuesday afternoon.
Prior to resting their case, prosecutors showed the jury a drone video, which they obtained on Friday, of Rittenhouse apparently shooting Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, multiple times, in a used car lot in downtown Kenosha the night of Aug. 25, 2020. Rosenbaum died from his wounds.
The defense began presenting its case that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense by calling its first witness, Nick Smith, 23, a former employee of Car Source, the car dealership Rittenhouse and other armed men said they were protecting the night Rittenhouse allegedly shot three people. Smith testified that the owner of Car Source called him and asked if he could put out fires in a car lot and to get a group together to protect his businesses, including two other car lots, during protests that had turned violent.
Smith testified that he spoke to Rittenhouse soon after the teenager allegedly shot the three men and that Rittenhouse repeatedly told him, “I just shot someone. I had to shoot someone.” Smith said Rittenhouse had earlier in the evening loaned him his body armor and helped protect the Car Source businesses.
After obtaining the drone video, the prosecution sent it the to the Wisconsin State Crime lab to be enhanced. The footage is the latest introduced in the case that shows Rosenbaum apparently chasing Rittenhouse into the car lot as the then-17-year-old carried an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and a fire extinguisher. The video showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and firing his weapon at Rosenbaum from close range.
In the drone video, Rittenhouse also is seen running from the car lot. Other video introduced during the trial by the prosecution showed people chasing Rittenhouse down a street after he allegedly shot Rosenbaum.
The shootings occurred during a protest over the police shooting in Kenosha of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was paralyzed from the waist down from his injuries, that had devolved into looting and destruction of businesses in the two days prior to the night of the deadly confrontations involving Rittenhouse.
After the first shooting, footage showed Rittenhouse falling to the ground, apparently being kicked in the face by an unidentified man and hit with a skateboard by Anthony Huber, 25, before he allegedly opened fire again, killing Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, who testified on Monday that he had a loaded handgun in his right hand when he was shot in the right bicep.
The last witness the prosecution called in its case was Deputy Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Dr. Douglas Kelley, who performed the autopsies on both Rosenbaum and Huber.
Kelley testified that Huber died of a single gunshot wound to the chest that created a lethal injury to his heart and lungs. Rosenbaum, Kelley testified, was shot multiple times in the hand, thigh and groin area, head and back — the shot that killed him was the one that entered his back as he fell forward.
As graphic autopsy photos were shown, pool reporters in court described Rittenhouse as appearing to intentionally look away from the monitors.
Defense attorneys have yet to announce whether Rittenhouse will testify in his own defense.
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 756,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-US surgeon general releases guide to combating COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
-Pfizer to request OK for boosters to all adults: Source
-US reopens borders to vaccinated travelers
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 09, 2:42 pm
Aaron Rodgers: ‘To anybody who felt misled … I take full responsibility’
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he takes full responsibility for anyone who felt mislead by his comments about his vaccination status.
“I do realize I am a role model,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday. “I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. And to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments.”
Rodgers, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week and is not vaccinated, said Friday that he wasn’t hiding his vaccination status, even though he told reporters in August, “I’ve been immunized.”
Rodgers also said Friday that he’s allergic to an ingredient in mRNA vaccines.
He added, “I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body.”
Dr. David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News in September that severe allergies to the vaccines are extremely uncommon and are experienced by less than one in 1 million people, according to health data.
The CDC said: “If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction — even if it was not severe — to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get either of the currently available mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. … If you aren’t able to get one type of COVID-19 vaccine because you are allergic to an ingredient in that vaccine, ask your doctor if you should get a different type of COVID-19 vaccine.”
Dr. Jeff Linder, chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told ABC News in September that research so far shows that severe allergic reactions are likely triggered by polyethylene glycol, or PEG, a component of the vaccines.
“An allergy to that is pretty rare,” Linder added. “It would have to be documented, as a moderate or severe allergy, before I would consider giving a medical exemption.”
Nov 09, 9:08 am
Unvaccinated Texans about 20 times more likely to die: Study
Unvaccinated Texans were about 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and 13 times more likely to test positive in September than those fully vaccinated, according to a study released by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The risk of death was 55 times higher for unvaccinated people in their 40s and 23 times higher for Texans in their 30s compared with vaccinated people in the same age groups, according to the Department of State Health Services.
Nov 09, 7:26 am
Singapore to begin charging COVID-19 patients who are ‘unvaccinated by choice’
Singapore announced Monday that, beginning next month, it will no longer pay for COVID-19 treatment for people who are “unvaccinated by choice,” as the island nation faces a surge in cases.
“The Government is currently footing the full COVID-19 medical bills of all Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and Long-Term Pass Holders … other than for those who tested positive soon after returning from overseas travel,” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in a statement. “For the majority who are vaccinated, this special approach for COVID-19 bills will continue until the COVID-19 situation is more stable.”
“Currently, unvaccinated persons make up a sizeable majority of those who require intensive inpatient care, and disproportionately contribute to the strain on our healthcare resources,” the ministry noted.
The new policy will apply to all unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who are admitted to Singaporean hospitals or COVID-19 treatment facilities on or after Dec. 8, according to the ministry.
Singapore has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world, with 85% of its 5.5 million people fully inoculated. But the country’s health care system is under strain as it grapples with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic.
Nov 09, 7:02 am
US surgeon general releases guide to combating COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
The U.S. government’s top doctor released a step-by-step toolkit on Tuesday morning to help people combat misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines in their own close circles.
“We need people in communities all across our country to have these conversations,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told ABC News. “This is not just the government that needs to be engaged in these conversations. If anything, it’s individuals who have people they trust in their lives who have great power when it comes to helping them move our vaccination rates in the right direction.”
The guide provides a road map for vaccinated people to talk to unvaccinated people who have bought into conspiracy theories or lies that spread on the internet about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Over the summer, the surgeon general issued an advisory that called misinformation an urgent public health threat.
The toolkit, which Murthy hopes will be used by health professionals, faith leaders, teachers or parents with children newly eligible for the shot, is the next step in addressing the ongoing problem. November polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that nearly eight in 10 adults have come across false statements about COVID-19 and have either believed them or been unsure if they were true.
“During the COVID 19 pandemic, misinformation has in fact cost people their lives. So we don’t have an option to give up,” Murthy said.
The information released Tuesday encourages people to talk in person instead of online. One section is even entitled “If you’re not sure, don’t share!”
It includes discussion questions and illustrations explaining why people share misinformation or what a hypothetical conversation around misinformation could look like. The recommended approach relies heavily on listening, providing empathy and avoiding shame.
“When talking with a friend or family members, emphasize the fact that you understand that there are often reasons why people find it difficult to trust certain sources of information,” the guide states.
(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — A “suspected serial killer” has been taken into custody with the semi-automatic pistol he allegedly used in multiple slayings within weeks in the St. Louis area and in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the FBI.
In September there were six shootings from the same handgun (according to the shell casings) in St. Louis County and in St. Louis City, in which four people were killed, Richard Quinn, special agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis Division, said at a news conference Monday.
The St. Louis city and county crimes were within two weeks, according to a probable cause affidavit.
On Sept. 12 a victim was waiting at a bus stop when he was shot from behind without warning, the affidavit said.
The next day, a victim was fatally shot in the head and arm, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 16, one victim was shot in the face and survived, while another victim was shot in the head and killed, the affidavit said.
The final deadly shootings were on Sept. 18 and Sept. 26, the affidavit said.
Witnesses and a victim provided a description highlighting “some unique physical characteristics” of the suspect, Quinn said, but then law enforcement ran up against “a little bit of a wall.”
Quinn credited police in Kansas City, Kansas, for sharing the identity of a suspect in two fatal shootings — 25-year-old Perez Reed — with St. Louis city police. The FBI was then able to compare the information and link the cases, Quinn said.
On Oct. 28, Reed, who lives in St. Louis, took an Amtrak train from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri, according to the affidavit. That night, surveillance video showed a victim holding an apartment building door open for Reed, and video showed the two going into the victim’s apartment together, according to the affidavit. That victim was found dead on Nov. 1, the affidavit said.
On Oct. 29, Reed was spotted on surveillance video entering the same apartment building, according to the affidavit. Reed also gave his driver’s license to security staff at the building, the affidavit said. A second victim was found dead in her apartment on Nov. 2, shot in the head and upper back, the affidavit said.
The FBI called Reed a “suspected serial killer.”
Reed was arrested on Friday while on a train from Kansas City, Missouri, to St. Louis. He was taken into custody without incident when he got off the train in Independence, Missouri, the FBI said.
Reed had a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with him when he was arrested, the FBI said, adding that the weapon matched the shell cases in St. Louis and St. Louis County. The handgun also matched casings at the scenes in Kansas City, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said.
The victims don’t appear to be connected, investigators said, calling the shootings “random acts.”
Reed was apprehended by an FBI task force and is being held in federal detention, Bell said. He was charged federally with interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Reed told investigators after his arrest that he found the gun in Jennings, Missouri, and took it to Kansas with him, the affidavit said. Reed admitted to knowing one of the victims but he denied hurting anyone, the affidavit said.
Reed made an initial court appearance on Monday. He waived a detention hearing and a preliminary exam has been set for Nov. 22.
Reed was charged in St. Louis County with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault and three counts of armed criminal action, Bell said, adding that he faces more charges in other jurisdictions.
Reed hasn’t entered a plea.
Reed’s attorney told ABC News via email Tuesday, “I am waiting on both the federal and state prosecutors to turn over all the evidence/police reports they have so that I can start preparing Mr. Reed’s legal defense.”
(NEW YORK) — The family of Robert Durst’s first wife, Kathleen, is thanking prosecutors for charging the real estate heir for her murder, but is questioning why it took nearly 40 years.
“It is important to ask why it took so long to get to this point,” Kathleen Durst’s brother, James McCormack, said at a news conference Tuesday. “My family and I have serious questions and we deserve answers.”
Kathleen Durst, 29, disappeared on Jan. 31, 1982 in South Salem, New York. Her body has never been found.
A grand jury indicted Robert Durst on a second-degree murder charge last week.
Westchester County prosecutors charged Robert Durst with his wife’s murder last month, shortly after he was sentenced to life in prison for the 2000 murder of his friend Susan Berman. Robert Durst allegedly killed Berman because he feared she would disclose details of Kathleen Durst’s death, according to investigators said.
McCormack questioned whether prosecutors protected the Durst family, whether police conducted a proper investigation and why Durst was allowed to stand trial in Los Angeles for Berman’s slaying before standing trial for Kathleen Durst’s murder.
Robert Abrams, attorney for Kathleen Durst’s family, took aim at the Durst family.
“All they cared about was money. They didn’t care about Kathie,” Abrams said, promising to present evidence next month against people the family believes participated in a “cover-up” of Kathleen Durst’s murder.
Abrams took particular aim at former Westchester District Attorney Judge Jeanine Pirro, who he claimed held a “clandestine, private meeting” with Robert Durst’s brother, Douglas Durst, after which she allegedly told her staff to stand down. Abrams called on prosecutors to investigate whether Douglas Durst’s $400,000 political donation to former New York Gov. George Pataki, whom Abrams described as Pirro’s mentor, was a quid pro quo.
“As much as we appreciate what [Westchester County] District Attorney [Miriam] Rocah has done by indicting Robert Durst for Kathie’s murder … what she did is what her job requires her to do,” Abrams said. “Kudos to her because that was not done for the past 40 years.”
(HOUSTON) — A 9-year-old is fighting for his life following the deadly chaos at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, which left eight people dead many more injured last Friday.
Now, his family is joining the wave of lawsuits being filed against the event organizers, venue management and performers at the concert.
Ezra Blount went to the concert at NRG Park in Houston with his father, and was on his father’s shoulders when the crowd surge began, Ezra’s grandparents told ABC Houston station KTRK-TV.
Ezra was separated from his father, and his grandparents said they found him alone at the hospital in a coma, suffering from major organ damage and severe brain swelling.
“He’s a small, innocent child,” Ezra’s grandfather Bernon Blount, told KTRK-TV. “He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve it at all. He’s just coming into town to see one of his favorite artists and to be trampled like that and really left the hospital with no one knowing where he was. That’s heartbreaking.”
According to Houston Police and witness accounts, tens of thousands of people dangerously rushed toward the stage when Scott — and later, rapper Drake — appeared. Concert attendees recall being pushed into one another from all sides, pushed down to the floor, and trampled or crushed by other concertgoers.
According to a GoFundMe, his father, Treston Blount, said he began to be crushed by others and could not breathe. He passed out and fell, and Ezra fell along with him, getting trampled by others in the crowd.
“How could this happen in the city of Houston? You know, when we go to concerts and different events we expect safety and security,” Ezra’s grandfather told KTRK-TV.
Now, family members are asking for answers about who is responsible for this tragedy as they await Ezra’s recovery.
“We’re praying that he makes a full recovery. And we have faith in the doctors that are treating him,” Treston Blount told the station. “We just wish something more would be done because no family deserves to be going through this.”
The family’s lawsuit, filed by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, alleges negligence regarding crowd control, medical attention and event staffing.
“This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets,” Crump said in a statement to ABC News. “This little boy is currently fighting for his life, and his parents will never know the same child they entered Astroworld with.”
In an online statement, Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner said he met with Travis Scott and security officials to address safety concerns prior to the concert. Finner said the criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing and urges the community to be “considerate of the grieving families.”
Following the concert, Scott released a statement on the tragedy on Twitter, saying, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld festival.”
Scott announced he will cover the funeral costs and further aid to individuals affected by the tragedy and will refund all of the Astroworld concertgoers and ticket holders. He has also said he is cooperating with investigators.
Neither Scott nor his attorneys have responded publicly to the lawsuits.
(NEW YORK) — Vaccine mandates have been yet another controversial move in the deeply divisive COVID-19 pandemic, sparking lawsuits, protests and warnings of reductions in service.
But data and experts suggest that they are working.
In fact, some organizations saw their employee vaccination rates jump from less than half to over 90%.
James Colgrove, a professor of public health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health told ABC News that he’s not surprised with this outcome and predicted that similar workplace orders will follow the same story.
“In general, vaccine mandates work,” he said.
While vaccine opponents may appear vocal, medical experts say most are not dead set against the vaccination and need that push brought up by a mandate.
Although Colgrove and other medical experts say the country is in “uncharted territory” when it comes to vaccine mandates for adults, since such orders are rare outside of the health care industry, the signs are pointing to the directives greatly moving the needle in the country’s vaccinations efforts.
Jumps in vaccinations after mandates issued
Colgrove said the country has seen the effectiveness of vaccine mandates in our schools, which for decades have mandated inoculations against measles, mumps and other ailments. Mandates for hospital workers have also been shown to prevent outbreaks and mass worker shortages from illness, he noted.
COVID-19’s persistence in the U.S. and the resulting worker shortages from sick and hospitalized employees virus has forced many organizations in the country to consider mandates, according to Colgrove.
When the delta variant caused a jump in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths among the unvaccinated in the summer, more mandates and mandate-like programs were announced.
Some private companies started to issue vaccine mandates in the summer for their in-person based employees including Google, Tyson Foods, United Airlines and the Walt Disney Company, which is the parent company of ABC News. All of the companies allow exemptions for religious reasons and give deadlines for the fall.
The results from some of those mandates were strong, according to data shared by some companies.
When Tyson announced its mandate on Aug. 3, it said that less than half of its nearly 140,000 employees were vaccinated. When the deadline for the mandate came at the end of October, the food processing company said over 60,000 of its members got their shots and 96% of its staff was vaccinated.
“Has this made a difference in the health and safety of our team members? Absolutely. We’ve seen a significant decline in the number of active cases companywide,” Tyson Food president and CEO Donnie King said in a statement.
United Airlines said 48 hours after it announced its mandate, the number of unvaccinated staffers fell from 593 to 320. As of Oct. 27, 99.7% of the airline’s 67,000 employees had complied with the mandate, according to United.
“Our vaccine policy continues to prove requirements work,” the company said in a statement.
Dr. Sarah Goff, an associate professor of health promotion and policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told ABC News that organizations are aiming to get their workplaces back in person and have been more willing to issue the mandates.
She also cited the 1905 Supreme Court case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, which ruled that states have the right to issue a public health mandate, and the ruling Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has strong factors behind the mandates.
“There is precedence for vaccines to be legally acceptable, but it’s up to the states and the companies,” Goff said.
In the public sector, a handful of states announced mandates for their state and local agencies in the summer and fall including Washington State.
Officials from Washington state’s health department told ABC News that the percentage of public employees who were vaccinated jumped from 49% on Sept. 6, a month after Gov. Jay Inslee announced the mandate, to 96% on Oct. 18, the mandate’s deadline.
New York City shows progress despite protests
New York City came under the spotlight for its vaccine mandate policies. At first, it allowed unvaccinated public employees who weren’t in health care or the Department of Education, but on Oct. 20 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the rest of the city workforce needed to get one dose by Oct. 29 or be placed on unpaid leave. The city allowed for religious exemptions city employees who recently received an mRNA vaccine must show proof of their second dose within 45 days of their first shot.
At the time of the announcement, 84% of the city’s workforce had one shot, but several agencies, including the FDNY, NYPD and Sanitation Department recorded less than 75% of their staff, vaccinated, according to data from the mayor’s office.
Unions representing the FDNY and NYPD tried to take the matter to court but were denied injunctions before the deadline. Still, the Uniformed Firefighters Association led rallies against the mayor and the mandate contending that vaccinations should be the personal choice of their members.
By the time the mandate deadline came on Oct. 29, vaccination rates among the lagging agencies greatly increased. As of Nov. 7, 86% of NYPD members, 91% of city EMS personnel and 82% of firefighters have had one shot, according to data from the mayor’s office.
The FDNY said that some firehouses were understaffed the Monday after the deadline, which Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said was from a higher number of firefighters calling out sick. Nigro chastised any firefighters who used their sick days to protest the mandate.
In the end, only 34 police officers were placed on unpaid leave on Nov. 2 and all of the FDNY firehouses were operational on Nov. 5, according to the mayor’s office.
Not willing to take the risk
Goff said at the end of the day most people hesitant about getting the vaccine, even those who make a lot of noise about it, would not jeopardize their careers or families.
“You lose your job and it impacts people’s livelihood and while there may be some who say they’re willing to risk that, they don’t,” she said.
Goff and other medical experts added that the mandates also reach a wider group of people who aren’t completely dead set against the vaccination.
Colgrove said the increases in worker vaccinations after a mandate tracks with the data on vaccine hesitancy in the country.
While he said there is certainly a group that is completely against getting the vaccine, there are more unvaccinated people who are simply on the fence and haven’t had either a strong motivation or good enough messaging to go forward with it.
A survey released on Oct. 28 by the Kaiser Family Foundation said 8% of all adult respondents revealed they would ask for an exemption if presented with such a mandate, and 1% of adult respondents lost a job because of a mandate.
A KFF survey released a month earlier found that two-thirds of unvaccinated workers would not get a shot if their job demanded it.
“When you look at vaccine resistance, the people who are the most opposed often make a very large amount of noise that is at odds with the actual numbers who are against vaccination,” Colgrove said.
A strong nudge and a change in messaging
Dr. Kevin Schulman, a professor of medicine and economics at Stanford University School of Medicine and Graduate School of Business, told ABC News, said the mandates positive effect on changing the messaging of vaccines.
Schulman, who has written articles in medical publications on the need for better marketing of the COVID-19 vaccine, said companies have been using their vaccine mandate orders to emphasize their effectiveness more directly with their employees.
For example, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart told their employees that they had a responsibility to their employees to remain safe and prevent flight cancellations.
“It ends up being a story about how do we protect ourselves and how do we get up and flying again,” Schulman said. “It sticks with the apathetic population.”
Schulman said that company incentives, such as one-time salary bonuses, also helped sway the holdouts.
“Seeing other people around them get the vaccine, and tolerating it and going about their lives will help those groups,” Schulman said.
More company mandates likely
Last week, President Joe Biden announced a vaccine employment requirement through a new regulation from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Companies that have 100 or more employees must require unvaccinated members to test weekly or face federal fines starting Jan. 4. Over 100 million employees are affected by this order.
Twenty-six states are suing the administration over the order and a judge in Louisiana issued an injunction on Saturday.
The health experts say the court battle over Biden’s plan won’t deter organizations from issuing their own mandates, including ones that go further than OSHA’s rules and place unvaccinated members on leave.
Colgrove said the need for a strong and healthy workplace and the increased examples of mandates working will compel those organizations to improve their vaccine rates one way or another.
“The more normalized it comes, the more people someone knows someone else who is vaccinated, the more people will comply,” Colgrove said. “With any vaccine the longer it’s been around the more people get with it.”
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 755,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.3% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-US sees slight uptick in pediatric cases after weeks of declines
-US reopens borders to vaccinated travelers
-Global COVID-19 cases top 250 million in under 2 years
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 08, 7:07 pm
Pfizer to request OK for boosters to all adults: Source
Pfizer is likely to seek authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus vaccine booster shot for people 18 and older as soon as this week, a government official with knowledge of the situation told ABC News.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the Pfizer booster shot for certain groups of patients six months after their second dose.
Those eligible patients include seniors, adults with certain medical conditions and adults who work in environments that put them at greater risk for exposure to COVID-19.
Despite a looming threat that thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers could be terminated over the federal government’s vaccine mandate, Thanksgiving flights won’t be affected, a person with knowledge of the agency’s plans told ABC News.
Federal workers have until Nov. 22 to get vaccinated or face termination. After the deadline, TSA employees who are not fully vaccinated will get called to have a discussion with supervisors and be counseled and educated on getting vaccinated, the source said.
If workers do not get vaccinated following the first meeting, they will receive a warning, according to the source. Following the warning, workers will be subject to termination, the source said.
Three weeks ago, the TSA said 40% of its workforce was unvaccinated. The agency hasn’t provided updated numbers.
ABC News’ Mina Kaji and Amanda Maile
Nov 08, 4:43 pm
Jill Biden visits children’s vaccination clinic
First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited a children’s vaccination clinic Monday at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, to promote pediatric vaccinations.
“The vaccine is the best way to protect your children against COVID-19,” Biden said. “It’s been thoroughly reviewed and rigorously tested, it’s safe, it’s free, and it’s available for every child in this country, 5 and up.”
Franklin Sherman Elementary was the first school to administer the polio vaccine in 1954.
Sixth-grader Everett Munson, who introduced Biden, said, “I’m excited to be vaccinated because now I’ll be able to visit my cousins and grandfather. … I’m looking forward to going places without worrying that I could get COVID and give it to my family, friends or teachers.”
Munson also pitched an idea inspired by the school’s history.
“Maybe we should even take an idea from the polio vaccine at Franklin Sherman: Everyone should get ice cream after their shots,” Munson said.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Nov 08, 4:17 pm
US sees slight uptick in pediatric cases after weeks of declines
The U.S. saw 107,000 pediatric cases last week, an uptick following eight consecutive weeks of declines, according to a weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
But this is still much lower than the pandemic peak — 252,000 child cases within one week – which was recorded in early September.
Last week, children accounted for 24% of the cases. Children make up 22.2% of the U.S. population.
Approximately 45.8% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated.
Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. However, AAP and CHA continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”
