A federal court on Monday blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction on the mandate, which requires healthcare workers to be vaccinated by Jan. 4. The temporary ruling stems from the case Missouri v. Biden.
The preliminary injunction applies to medical facilities for “Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers within the States of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming,” according to court records.
The 10 states had sued the Biden administration, claiming the vaccine mandate was unconstitutional. If the injunction is appealed, it will head for the 8th Circuit, which has one active or senior status judge appointed by a Democratic president out of 14 total.
HEALTHCARE WORKERS MUST BE VACCINATED BY JAN. 4 UNDER BIDEN’S COVID-19 MANDATE
The Biden administration’s mandate was issued in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which required employers to consider religious and medical exemptions to the vaccine but still requires those with an exemption to be tested weekly for COVID-19 when the mandate goes into effect.
Matthew Schelp, a federal judge nominated by then-President Donald Trump, said his ruling would benefit the public “because it would ensure that federal agencies do not extend their power beyond the express delegation from Congress.”
Schelp added the mandate would impose a burdensome hurdle “on the ability of healthcare facilities to provide proper care, and thus, save lives.”
Biden has implemented several vaccine requirements at various levels of government and most recently has faced setbacks in the imposition of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency standard that requires workers at companies employing 100 or more employees either to be vaccinated or take weekly COVID-19 tests.
The agency requiring the healthcare mandate said the rule affects 17 million workers at around 76,000 medical facilities around the country.
Vaccine mandates have proven to be effective, with nearly 3.5 million federal government workers reaching “96.5% compliance” with the mandate, the administration cited on Nov. 23.
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At least 59% of all U.S. residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and nearly 70% have had at least one dose of a vaccine.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services but has not received a response.
