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Controversial 'Vaxxed' Film Shows Tonight In High Point

HIGH POINT — A controversial documentary about COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments will be screened in High Point tonight, and an area couple's story may be featured in the film.

"Vaxxed III: Authorized To Kill" will be shown at 7 p.M. At AMC High Point 8, 2705 N. Main St., Suite 117.

The documentary was produced by Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit activist organization known primarily for its anti-vaccine campaigns. The heavily criticized group has been accused of spreading disinformation about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

A website for the documentary states that the filmmakers spent nine months interviewing people all over the country about how they were negatively impacted by COVID treatments and/or vaccinations. Some patients suffered serious injury, while others died, according to the website.

"The consistency of these stories was alarming," the website states.

Among those interviewed for the documentary were John and April Taylor, of Kernersville.

John, now 48, was hospitalized in Winston-Salem on Nov. 31, 2021, having been diagnosed with COVID. Within a matter of days, he was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he was eventually placed on a ventilator.

"He wasn't getting any better," April says. "They told me he was going to die."

One reason for John's continued decline, the Taylors believe, was the drug Remdesivir, an antiviral medication commonly administered in the treatment of COVID. The Taylors say John was given the drug without informed consent and without any explanation of its potential side effects.

"John's kidneys almost shut down, and he had to be on continuous dialysis," April says. "For a lot of patients, their organs shut down and failed, and they died."

John slowly improved and eventually was able to return home, but only after being hospitalized for nearly a hundred days. He underwent rehabilitation to learn how to walk again, as well as respiratory therapy, April says. Even now, she adds, she and her husband still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of John's harrowing ordeal.

The Taylors say they were interviewed for "Vaxxed III" last October, but they don't know whether their story will be included in the documentary. Regardless, though, they say they plan to be at tonight's screening.

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Most District Teachers Are Vaxxed. Is That Enough For Parents?

Art teacher Tracey Atkinson listens to a question a remote student is asking during a hybrid learning class at Palo Alto High School on March 10, 2021. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

As summer winds down, local school districts are facing another academic year amid a pandemic. But this time, they have vaccines and an updated set of health protocols from the state that aim to make this year look a lot more normal.

Most K-12 students will be returning to campus with a bell schedule and a full day of classes. At Palo Alto Unified and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High school districts, students will still have to wear masks — but only indoors.

These come as welcome changes for district leaders and teachers following more than a year of remote classes. Part of the optimism comes from reports of high vaccination rates among employees: Palo Alto Unified, Mountain View-Los Altos Union High, Mountain View Whisman and Foothill-DeAnza Community College school districts all have reported a vaccination rate of more than 90% among staff and faculty.

"I'm super excited," said David Campbell, president of the Mountain View-Los Altos teachers' union, who also teaches Spanish at Mountain View High. "And every teacher I've spoken with is super excited."

Some parents are equally, if not more, eager to get their children back to class. But others, especially parents of elementary school students, are left with concerns about how their districts are preparing for their children's return given the surge of COVID-19 cases from the delta variant and the fact that children under 12 still don't have access to a vaccine.

Palo Alto father Mark Noronha, whose son is entering second grade and daughter is starting high school, said his biggest frustration lies with what he characterizes as lax protocols from the Palo Alto school district, which make no mention of daily health screeners or methods to track students in case of outbreaks. (Mountain View Whisman and Foothill-DeAnza have screeners and require mask indoors and outside, in contrast.)

"There is a rising fear in the back of parents' minds that an outbreak is inevitable," he said.

With a new school year fast approaching, parents will have to quickly decide: Should they send their child back to school or potentially put them through another year of distance learning?

"A lot of people are extremely concerned and feeling pressured, saying that we don't really have options," Noronha said.

Mostly vaccinated

Through a California Public Records Act request, the Weekly obtained results of internal surveys conducted at four Santa Clara County school districts that tracked the vaccination status of all employees. The surveys were done in response to a May 18 county health order that required employers to maintain a record of their personnel's vaccination progress. ( The order was rescinded on June 21.)

At Palo Alto Unified, 95% of district employees reported that they were fully vaccinated, as of July 7.

The remaining 5% of responses are from employees who received a second dose but hadn't reached the two-week mark at the time of the survey, had only received a first dose, were not vaccinated or declined to answer.

The results are based on 1,703 responses to a survey sent to 1,969 employees — an 86% response rate. Some employees may have chosen not to respond while others could have left the district since the survey was distributed, according to Amy Love, the district registration services supervisor.

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There were 34 employees or 1.9% who reported they were unvaccinated and 30 employees or 1.8% who said they "understand the county directive and I decline to answer." Around 1.1% said they received a second dose or received one dose at the time, which means the current vaccination rate could be 96% or higher.

Mountain View Whisman, a district that serves fewer than 5,000 elementary school students, reported a vaccination rate of 91% among faculty and staff, as of July 29.

Out of the 674 employees accounted for in the survey: 612 or 91% reported that they were vaccinated; 29 or 4.3% of respondents said they were unvaccinated; 2 or 0.3% declined to state their vaccination status; and 32 employees or 4.7% did not respond.

Mountain View Los Altos Union High, which has a student population of more than 4,000, reported that 97.7% of its employees were fully vaccinated.

However, the percentage was based on a response rate of "slightly over" 50% when the data was collected in the first week of July, according to Debbie Maher, executive assistant to the superintendent. The latest data results also did not provide figures for the unvaccinated or those who declined to state their status.

At Foothill-De Anza Community College, 91% of staff reported they were vaccinated based on a survey conducted between May 24 and May 26.

The rate is based on 1,239 responses to a survey that was sent to 2,811 people — a 44% response rate — who make up the college districts' three employee mailing lists, which constantly varies in number, according to Becky Bartindale, coordinator of communications and public affairs.

The district recently approved a vaccination mandate policy for its employees and students, which will take effect this fall, following the footsteps of the University of California and private institutions such as Stanford University.

The policy applies to anyone who accesses the campus or receives an in-person service from the district that may be off site, except in cases where a medical or religious exemption is approved.

No choice but to return Herbert Hoover Elementary School teacher Victoria Chavez asks her students to enter the classroom one-by-one after recess in Palo Alto on Oct. 12, 2020. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

Presidents of local district teachers' unions expressed confidence, and excitement, in coming back to class rather than juggling cohorts of students in person and at home for another year.

Sean Dechter, president of Mountain View Educators Association, which represents teachers of the Mountain View Whisman district, said he felt safe coming back to campus in part thanks to the district's vaccination rate.

"The district has made safety a number one priority," he said.

Similarly, Campbell, of the Mountain View-Los Altos district, lauded his district's efforts to prepare teachers and students for in-person learning. He pointed to precautionary measures such as masks and changes to the classroom, including overhead speakers, which make it easier for teachers to project their voice.

From a personal perspective, Campbell said he would prefer if everyone around him were fully vaccinated. As union president, however, he said he understands there are "exceptions to every rule."

"We do have, of course, some members who have medical exemptions and others who might not feel comfortable getting the vaccine, but I would say that those are few and far between," he said.

Teri Baldwin, president of the Palo Alto Educators' Association, wrote in an email that her district won't be able to reach a 100% vaccination rate since some teachers "medically cannot receive a vaccine." Still, she expressed "cautious optimism" that the district will have "somewhat of a 'normal' year.

"There will still be masks and some social distancing while eating, but it will be nice for everyone not to have to teach and learn through Zoom," she said.

'A lot of people are extremely concerned and feeling pressured, saying that we don't really have options.'

Mark Noronha, parent, Palo Alto

But even with the high vaccination rates at local districts, some believe it's not enough. On Tuesday, state Sen. Josh Becker and East Palo Alto City Council member Antonio Lopez called on local school districts to implement a vaccination mandate for employees.

"Even if 80% or 90% of teachers and staff are vaccinated, what if your kid is interacting with the other 10% to 20%?" Becker said. "Let's put our kids first."

And vaccination rates among staff don't assuage all parents' worries about their children's return to school. Some Palo Alto Unified parents of elementary school students are expressing alarm by what they felt was a significant rollback in COVID-19 protocols while their children remain ineligible to be vaccinated. The recent spike in delta variant cases also has added another layer of fear and uncertainty.

Current studies indicate that the variant is highly transmissible — as much as chickenpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but the extent of its impact remains unclear.

Leo Hochberg, a Palo Alto parent with a rising third grader and fifth grader, said he's less concerned about transmission from teachers or staff than transmissions between younger unvaccinated kids and the district's plan to mitigate the problem.

"Given that we've seen a rise with this delta variant … I was just disappointed to see that it seems like the district doesn't really acknowledge the existence of the delta variant," he said.

On Monday, Hochberg posted his concerns to the Nextdoor app, which resonated with some other parents, including Mark Noronha.

"There's a lot of parents who talked about the social and emotional impact of not being not in school. There's no parent that does not acknowledge that," Noronha said. "But there's the other issue, which is, what is the long term impact of COVID on kids?"

Noronha outlined his concerns on Wednesday in an online petition urging the district to enforce stronger health protocols. In it, he calls for making masks mandatory outdoors at all times, except when students are eating, and daily testing for the unvaccinated, among other changes. The petition has since received 112 signatures.

'We do have, of course, some members who have medical exemptions and others who might not feel comfortable getting the vaccine, but I would say that those are few and far between.'

David Campbell, president, Mountain View-Los Altos teachers' union

Kelly Ranger, a parent of a first grade student in the Palo Alto school district, echoed similar sentiments about the district's protocols this academic year. Before the delta variant cases, Ranger and her husband had no issues putting their son back to school. But now looking at the recent surge in cases, along with the district's expectations for the on-campus return

— physical distancing is no longer required, for example — Range feels she has to weigh between the risks of sending her child back to school or putting him in the independent study program that she and other parents have said is far different from the remote-learning option from the previous year.

"I was really surprised that they basically threw out a majority of the protocols that they did last year," she said.

Noronha also feels the Palo Alto district needs to be more transparent about the vaccination rates of its faculty. Recently, district Superintendent Don Austin briefly mentioned in a message to families that 97.5% district teachers and substitutes were fully vaccinated.

"One part of me was really happy," Noronha said. "The other part of me was like, 97.5? That's really high. Where's this data coming from? How do they know this?"

Last fall, Hochberg said he pulled his children out of PAUSD to temporarily homeschool them, buying all the materials and creating the curriculum without the guidance of the district. In less than a week, he and other parents still weighing their options will have to decide if they want their children to come back to school. While Austin said more than 95% of district families are opting to return, Hochberg said he hasn't made a final decision yet. Noronha is even thinking about putting his two kids in a private school where protocols are more rigorous.

"I would love nothing more than my kids to be back in school," Hochberg said. "I just want them to be safe, and I want their friends to be safe."

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If You Get Fired For Not Being Vaxxed, Can You Still Claim Unemployment Benefits?

As the Delta COVID variant spreads, an increasing number of employers are requiring employees to be vaccinated. As we've seen in some high-profile examples, non-compliance has led to employees either getting fired or quitting their jobs to avoid the jab. But does that mean they're still entitled to unemployment benefits? The short answer is no, as the law favors employers when it comes to vaccines. Here's what you need to know.

Refusing the vaccine is grounds for termination

According to USA Today, a recent U.S. Justice Department legal opinion confirms that private companies have a legal right to mandate COVID vaccines, provided that they don't violate existing state and federal laws, which you can check here. That means if your company's policy now requires a vaccination, and you don't get one, you can be fired and made ineligible to receive unemployment money. You also wouldn't qualify if you quit your job just because you didn't want to get vaccinated.

You need a good reason to collect unemployment

Typically, to collect unemployment benefits, you must be out of work through no fault of your own, like a round of layoffs at your company, for instance. You don't qualify for unemployment if you were fired for misconduct, and this can include violating your company's new vaccine policy. (It's worth mentioning here that in some states you can still collect unemployment if you were fired for less severe reasons, like simply not being good at your job.)

The only exception to this is something known as "good cause." This is where you basically reverse-fire your employer for valid reasons, like unsafe work conditions, lack of payment, or discrimination. In many states, "good cause" can include discrimination on the basis of religion or disability. In that case, a claim could proceed if your employer didn't provide reasonable accommodation before you quit or were fired (like working from home or other social distancing measures).

However, these accommodations can't cause an "undue hardship" on the employer, either. In that case, an employer could argue that refusing a vaccine prevents you from doing your job effectively, that you're a health risk to other employees. Plus, you would need to provide documentation to prove that you can't get a vaccine for a legitimate medical or religious reason, and that your employer has violated your rights. From a legal standpoint, it would be an uphill battle.

As employment attorney Joshua Van Kampen explains in a Yahoo! Interview, don't expect to find lawyers who would be willing to sue an employer for a vaccine requirement: "I have yet to come across a valid religious objection to taking a vaccine. I think people are becoming surprised to know they don't have a lot of legal options."

Bottom line

Don't expect unemployment benefits if you violate your company's mandatory vaccination policy, as that will be considered grounds for termination. Technically, you could qualify for medical or religious exemption, but that would be very difficult to prove. Since these policies are becoming the norm, your best bet is to simply get the vaccine.

 

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