A federal appeals court reversed a block on the federal government's Covid-19 vaccine mandate for Medicare- and Medicaid-funded healthcare facilities in 26 states, a victory for the Biden Administration as it struggles with legal battles over its vaccine mandate push.
On December 14, 2020 at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a nurse is inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine.
The pool is via a photo.
Several Republican-led states sued the federal government over the vaccine policy, and two district judges in Louisiana and Missouri barred the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from implementing it in all 50 states.
The Louisiana judge's ruling was blocked by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, leaving the decision in place for only 14 states that joined the lawsuit.
A panel of three appellate judges didn't endorse the vaccine mandate, but said the Louisiana district court judge shouldn't have applied his decision nationwide.
The vaccine mandate is still blocked in 10 other states after the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overturn a Missouri decision.
The case could go to the Supreme Court. In the last few months, the nation's highest court has left state-level healthcare vaccine mandates in place in Maine and New York, but hasn't ruled on the federal government's mandate.
The key background.
The healthcare workers were supposed to be fully vaccined by January 4. The rule is part of a larger push by the president to increase vaccinations. A judge blocked a vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide last week, and the 5th Circuit halted a plan to require all companies with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccines. The vaccine mandate for federal employees has not changed, and 92.5% of the workforce was at least partially vaccined last week.
64.8% of the time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a percentage of Americans ages 5 and older who have been fully vaccined against Covid-19.
The appeals court refused to put Biden's vaccine mandate back into effect.
