The Firsthand Report ⌗8

In this issue: RIP Cat McGuire, FDNY says no reinstatements, workers back Weingarten investigation, NYS C19 vax mandate repeal, new federal health IT office, HIPAA privacy rule change coming soon

☞ RIP CAT MCGUIRE. New York anti-mandate protest organizer Cathleen McGuire passed away on June 19 after a battle with brain cancer. Cat was one of the leaders in the New York City protest movement against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. She organized protests with New York Freedom Rally (now New York Freedom Network), which published a remembrance of her on Instagram.

I saw her often at the demonstrations I covered in 2021 and 2022—usually at the front of a march demanding reinstatement for workers who had been fired or suspended for refusing to take a shot (like this one—Cat is in the blue shirt), or somewhere near the mic at a rally, making sure the event went as planned.

I will remember the energy and spirit she brought to those demonstrations, and the dedication she showed to supporting workers who were taking the brunt of the mandate policies. Here’s Cat (jump to about half an hour into the video) in her “I Will Not Comply” shirt, dancing at a rally in support of the Canadian trucker convoy in February 2022:

☞ The rule change required to reinstate NYC municipal workers fired under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate has once again not been considered by the New York State Civil Service Commission this month, and the next commission meeting is scheduled for September.

This week, FDNY firefighters and EMS workers who requested reinstatement by the December 5, 2025 deadline set by former mayor Eric Adams when he made the reinstatement offer received EMAILS FROM THE DEPARTMENT SAYING THAT FDNY COULD NOT REINSTATE THEM due to the lack of rule change.

This is an image of the email they received:

☞ Over 500 current and former New York City workers have sent a letter to the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee to commend them on their investigation into American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten’s alleged use of member dues to fund production of her 2025 book Why Fascists Fear Teachers.

THE LETTER CALLS OUT WEINGARTEN AND THE AFT for failing to use its funds to provide due process and proper representation to members suspended and fired under COVID-19 vaccine mandates, offering to support the Committee’s investigation: “[W]e stand ready to provide evidence in the form of oral testimonies, videos and written documents that may assist you in uncovering how union dues have been misused for projects unrelated to the members they have a duty to represent.”

The July 13 letter is the latest in a long-running open letter campaign by New York workers seeking reinstatement and redress for COVID-19 vaccine mandate firings. You can find all of them in this tracker. Jump to the bottom for the letter to the Committee.

☞ The COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE FOR NEW YORK STATE MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY STAFF IS BEING OFFICIALLY REPEALED. Yes, that’s right—it’s still on the books in 2026. However, it hasn’t been enforced since July 2023, when the Office of Mental Health officially stopped citing employees for failing to comply.

The repeal will go into effect later this year after a 60-day public comment period. The state Register rule change announcement notes that the Office of Mental Health “does not anticipate that any person will object.”

☞ The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which have been spearheading HHS’s acceleration of the health IT and AI rollout, have quietly OPENED A NEW OFFICE OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS (OHTP). The office was announced in June in the Federal Register and was picked up by healthcare industry trade press, but CMS and HHS did not issue press releases or make a public announcement.

You can get an extensive rundown of what OHTP will be doing in the Federal Register announcement. OHTP is being headed by Amy Gleason, who has had a leading role in CMS health IT efforts under the Trump administration.

☞ It looks like UPDATES TO THE HIPAA PRIVACY RULE will actually get off the ground in August. They’re on the federal government calendar of regulatory changes for that month, although no further details are available right now. A second update seems to be scheduled for November.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule lays out all the details about who can access your medical records and under what circumstances. In 2021, HHS issued proposed amendments to “Support, and Remove Barriers to, Coordinated Care and Individual Engagement,” and those are the ones that should be moving forward in August. According to the schedule, the November update will be proposed amendments to “Promote Individuals' Timely Access to their Protected Health Information.” I’ll be keeping an eye out for details.