Pentagon requires COVID-19 vaccines for civilian employees by Nov. 22 All 700,000 Defense Department civilians are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 22, the Pentagon announced late Monday. Ellen Mitchell TheHill

No exceptions are given to personnel who have already contracted and recovered from COVID-19.

CDC's holiday party guidance: Window fans The agency's guidance on upcoming celebrations includes gathering outdoors and staying 6 feet apart. NBC News

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for the upcoming holiday season include the idea of using a window fan to keep air at an indoor party as fresh as possible. ...

Masks and Respirators for the 21st Century: Policy Changes Needed Masks and respirators have played an essential role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for both healthcare workers and the public. Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

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At a rural ICU, Covid-19’s summer surge put telehealth to the test A tele-ICU program run by the University of Alabama at Birmingham's health system has helped bolster critical care at a rural hospital. Katie Palmer STAT

On the surface, there’s little about Whitfield Regional Hospital that would make it a safety net for Alabama’s sickest Covid-19 patients. It has a small ICU with eight beds, and no critical care doctors on staff. The rural hospital has spent decades focused on caring for the community surrounding Demopolis, population 7,000, in the heart of the state’s Black Belt.

Court keeps South Carolina school mask mandate ban on hold South Carolina districts can continue to require face coverings to protect against the coronavirus in the state's schools under an appellate court's decision this week. On Tuesday, the 4th U.S. AP NEWS

... the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied state Attorney General Alan Wilson’s request that South Carolina’s law prohibiting school mask mandates be allowed to take effect while a lawsuit over the COVID-19 pandemic measure goes forward. ...

Garland taps FBI in response to ‘disturbing spike’ in threats against educators Recent school board meetings have been packed with protestors who denounce Covid-19 mask mandates, political interpretations of critical race theory and other highly-politicized issues. Juan Perez Jr. POLITICO

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday ordered federal law enforcement authorities to huddle with local leaders in the coming weeks to address what the nation’s top prosecutor called a recent “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against educators and school board members.

Arizona can't use COVID money for anti-mask grants, feds say The Biden administration on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to stop using the state’s federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates. AP NEWS

The Biden administration on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to stop using the state’s federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates.