Researchers have discovered that COVID-19 can negatively affect the organ that produces insulin, making some patients more susceptible to develop diabetes.

A study conducted by scientists at the University of Siena in Italy shows that the virus attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas by targeting an enzyme of the surface of those cells.

A separate study conducted at New York's Weill Cornell Medicine found that COVID-19 also attacks insulin-producing beta cells and makes them less able to produce insulin, the hormone that regulates the body's glucose levels.

In another development, the Vatican announced Tuesday that effective this Friday, October 1, all of its employees must show proof they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative for the virus.

Vatican employees who do not have a so-called "Green Pass," a digital certificate based on the European Union's COVID-19 vaccination certificate, or any other legitimate documentation, will not be allowed to enter the grounds of the Catholic city-state, will be considered "unduly absent" and not will receive a salary during their absence.

The Vatican is also not allowing any exemptions to its mandate.

In a related development, United Airlines says that 97 percent of its 67,000-strong U.S.-based workforce have complied with the company's mandate to receive at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday's deadline. The air carrier announced Tuesday that the 593 employees who refused to get the vaccine and did not apply for either a health or religious exemption -- less than one percent of its workforce -- are facing termination for noncompliance.

In a letter to United employees, Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said the rationale for requiring its U.S.-based employees "was simple -- to keep our people safe."

"The truth is this: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated, and vaccine requirements work," Kirby added.

New York state officials are also boasting of the success of its vaccine mandate for health care workers. Governor Kathy Hochul's office announced Tuesday that about 92 percent of the state's more than 650,000 hospital and nursing home employees had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before the state's own Monday deadline.

The state's mandatory vaccination orders for its health care workers does not allow for religious exemptions, making it one of the strictest in the United States. Hochul issued an executive order Monday that allowed her to call up medical personnel from the National Guard in anticipation of a shortage of essential employees at hospitals and nursing homes.

Meanwhile, a privately-run hospital system in the southeastern U.S. state of North Carolina fired about 175 employees across 15 hospitals and 800 clinics this week for failing to comply with its vaccine mandate, one of the largest cases of mass terminations over the issue. The 175 workers of Novant Health were among a total of 375 employees who were suspended last week for failing to get inoculated, but given five extra days to at least get one dose of a vaccine.

A spokeswoman for Novant Health says more than 99 percent of its roughly 35,000 employees have complied with the mandatory vaccination order.

And U.S. basketball superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers told reporters Tuesday that he has been vaccinated against COVID-19 after several months of skepticism about the vaccine. James's revelation comes as a growing number of his fellow National Basketball Association players have come under scrutiny for either refusing to get the vaccine or revealing their vaccination status, among them Kyrie Irving, James's former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate.

Although the NBA has not imposed a mandatory vaccination policy on its players, 90 percent of all players have been inoculated. But the league has warned that local guidelines set by New York City and San Francisco could prohibit players in those cities from competing in home games this season if they are not vaccinated or exempted.

Among those players are Irving, who now plays for the New York-based Brooklyn Nets, and Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors, who denied his request to be exempted on religious grounds.

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that any player who is not vaccinated should be cut from their teams.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.

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