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Enforcement of President Joe Biden’s sweeping COVID-19 mandates has been quite a problem.
On Nov. 4 on Nov. 4, the Biden administration ordered federal contractors as well as certain health employees, and employees of businesses that employ 100 or more employees to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing on or before January 4, 2022.
The mandates received a strong backlash right away, which has increased in recent weeks.
A large part of the COVID-19 vaccine mandates were temporarily stopped as nationwide lawsuits challenging the mandates are continuing to be filed.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans and two moderate Democrats opposed the large-business vaccine and the testing requirements.
Many view the Senate’s actions as symbolic. According to Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, the president stated that he will veto any bill that would be anti-vaccine that is placed on his desk.
Read on for an update on where the vaccine mandates stand today.
Large Business
COVID-19 testing and vaccine requirements for businesses with more than 100 employees are suspended. This affects around 84 million US workers.
New York City is the city that is the only exception. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday, that employees at private companies must have received at least one shot prior to Dec. 27. The new mandate applies to around 184,000 businesses.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in November to temporarily stop the vaccine mandate that all large businesses must comply with as well as a number of petitions being examined.
The case is currently being transferred to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This court will merge lawsuits from different states into a single case to be considered for review. This will make it easier to resolve legal battles regarding employer mandates.
If the court decides to permanently ban the use of vaccines in large companies or not, the decision will be enforced across the country. The case is likely to go to the Supreme Court first, which would have the final say.
Federal Contractors
According to an earlier Georgia federal court order that mandated vaccinations were temporarily removed for “all covered contract in any state or territory of America” in a similar fashion to large-scale companies.
On Dec. 7 U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker sided with seven states -seven states – Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia — that filed a lawsuit challenging federal vaccine requirements for contractors. The petition was also signed by Associated Builders and Contractors (a trade association that represents the construction industry).
The judge ruled to extend the ban to federal contractors across the nation, stating that limiting vaccine mandates to only a handful of states will “only cause more confusion.”
After an Nov. 30th, Kentucky federal judge ruled that federal contractors couldn’t require vaccines, they were temporarily exempted from the requirement in Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Health Care Workers
Presently, most health professionals are exempt from the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for the moment, but petitions to stop the mandates are being reviewed.
U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty, Louisiana has temporarily halted the application to vaccine mandates for employees who receive Medicare or Medicaid payments. This is an accurate representation of the majority of health care facilities and more than 17 million employees.
Ten states had already paused vaccination requirements for health professionals following the Nov. 29 ruling by an federal judge in Missouri.
Federal Workers
The Biden administration ordered all federal employees to get fully immunized against COVID-19 by November. 22.
According to Reuters the White House confirmed that more than 90 percent of the 3.5 Million federal workers had received at least one shot prior to the deadline.
Military
In August, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin required all military members and Defense Department employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-September or within a few days of the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, whichever came first.
COVID-19 mandates for vaccines for military personnel and Defense Department employees have remained unblockable.
However, about 27,000 Navy, Space Force, Marine Corps, and Air Force personnel are unvaccinated and are at risk of losing their positions, NBC News reported. Around 19,000 Army members haven’t had their first shot.
Space Force and active duty Air Force members needed to be vaccinated by Nov 2.
Air Force National Guard and Air Force Reserve members had to be vaccinated by Dec. 2.
The Navy and Marines Corps had a vaccine deadline of November. 28 for active-duty personnel and Dec. 28 for Reserve members.
Active-duty Army members have until Dec. 15 to get their shots.
On Dec. 2, Army officials announced that 93% of the active-duty military personnel were fully vaccinated and 96% had at the very least started. Sixty percent of Army Reserve members had been vaccinated and 64% had received one shot.
Members of the Army Reserve and the U.S. National Guard must be immunized by June 30 2022.
Sources
City of New York.
The Washington Post: “Senate votes to repeal a key Biden administration policy on testing vaccines.”
The Hill: “White House: Biden will vote to veto GOP resolution that would repeal the vaccine mandate.”
The White House: “Fact sheet: Biden Administration Announces Details regarding Two Major Vaccination Policies.”
The National Law Review: Initial En Banc Petitions, Procedures Possibilities and the OSHA Vaccine Mandate.
Court order, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division.
Court order, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Central Division, Frankfort
The White House.
Reuters: “90% of U.S. federal employees have received at least one COVID-19 dose — White House.”
U.S. Department of Defense news release
NBC News: “Thousands miss Covid vaccination deadlines.”
CNN: “US military branches have set a date for members to get vaccinated against Covid-19.”
Military Health System: “Deadlines set for all military personnel for COVID vaccines.”
U.S. Army: “Department of the Army Announces Revised COVID-19 Vaccination Rates.”
Content Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964618?src=rss
