FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— As Gov. Ron DeSantis fights COVID-19 vaccination passports and mandates — most recently by threatening the Special Olympics with a $27.5 million fine — there’s one mandate he can’t stop.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is enforcing a federal vaccine requirement for health care staff that offers only medical or religious exemptions. The rule, which the U.S. Supreme Court validated in January, contradicts a state law that requires employers to offer broad exemptions that are not allowed by CMS.
Though the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has vowed not to monitor or report whether Florida health care facilities are following the requirement, that isn’t stopping the federal government from checking. CMS required 100% of eligible Florida health care workers to be fully vaccinated or receive an exemption by Feb. 28.
