State of Florida investigates violators of DeSantis' vaccine passport law - Wink News
The State of Florida has vowed to investigate a Southwest Florida health care system as a result of its vaccine mandate.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a COVID-19 vaccine law that bans vaccine passports. The state is investigating potential violators of that law and two of those are in Southwest Florida. One being NCH health care systems and the other being Big Arts on Sanibel.
Starbucks, Harry Styles’ tour stop in Orlando, Naples Community Hospital and Big Arts on Sanibel are all under investigation by the Florida Department of Health, according to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. The two SWFL companies are among the 120 Florida businesses and governments that are currently under investigation by FDOH.
Lee Ellen Harder is the Executive Director for Big Arts. “I just was wondering why we’re on the list. Since we are not requiring vaccination,” Harder said.
Harder says vaccines are required for staff but not for patrons. So, when she found out Big Arts was on the list, she was shocked.
But, there is something that Harder said was important to clear up. “We’re not in that business of deciding you know, who should do what. We just want our patrons’ volunteers, staff, everybody to feel safe,” said Harder.
NCH is also on the list and it, too, mandates vaccines for staff. The hospital system recently let go of more than 100 staff members who refused to comply with the vaccine mandate.
Aubrey Jewett is a political scientist based out of the University of Central Florida. “We don’t know how this list was generated, like how do people and businesses end up on the list?” Jewett said.
The reason we don’t know is that the Department of Health will not say. Jewett says he’s closely followed the politics surrounding vaccines in Florida. It is vastly different from the politics of vaccines in Washington D.C.
“We’re definitely getting contradictory advice and rules from the federal government and from the state government,” Jewett said. “And so who gets caught in the middle are the businesses and people who live right here in Florida.”
If the state finds that a business or local government broke state law, it could impose a fine of $5,000 per violation.
For a small business such as Big Arts, that sort of punishment could really financially damage them.
NCH has not responded to specific questions from WINK News about the FDOH investigation. Instead, they sent us the statement below:
“NCH does not require proof of Covid-19 vaccine status for its patients or guests. NCH’s inclusion of Covid-19 vaccine as a condition of employment applies to NCH employees, contract staff and volunteers only, and complies fully with federal law.”
source: https://www.winknews.com/2021/10/11/state-of-florida-investigates-violators-of-desantis-vaccine-passport-law/
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