The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) issued updated testing guidance they say will maximize the benefits of COVID-19 testing in Florida, however the guidance contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations. The guidance recommends against testing people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 but have no symptoms.
“COVID-19 testing is unlikely to have any clinical benefits,” the FDOH said in a press release.
The statement does include that people with symptoms of COVID-19 who are at risk of severe illness should get tested, while people with symptoms and no risk factors should “consider getting testing for COVID-19 soon after symptom onset”.1
In addition, the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), that oversees hospitals and other healthcare facilities, also released an alert notifying healthcare providers of a new development related to the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule mandating COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers.
“On December 28, 2021, CMS reversed course, issuing an updated memorandum to begin enforcing the vaccine mandate in 25 states, including Florida, despite the fact that court-ordered injunctions are still in effect in the other 25 states and lawsuits are pending in the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts across the nation.
This memorandum adds significant regulatory requirements to the CMS vaccine mandate rule and creates a lack of uniformity among healthcare providers across the nation. Florida law prohibits private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates unless certain broad exemptions are made available.”
The statement says that Section 381.00317, Florida Statutes, prohibits a private employer from imposing “a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for any full-time, part-time, or contract employee without providing individual exemptions that allow an employee to opt out of such requirement on the basis of medical reasons, including, but not limited to, pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy; religious reasons; COVID-19 immunity; periodic testing; and the use of employer-provided personal protective equipment.”
The AHCA memorandum says this mandate adds significant regulatory requirements to the CMS vaccine rule and creates a lack of uniformity among healthcare providers across the nation. Florida law prohibits private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates unless certain broad exemptions are made available.
The Attorney General’s Office is authorized to impose administrative fines up to $10,000 per violation for an employer with fewer than 100 employees and up to $50,000 per violation for an employer with 100 or more employees. Employees seeking an exemption from a private employer vaccine mandate can obtain an exemption form here.
1. Florida Department of Health
