Federal judge blocks vaccination mandate for health workers

A federal judge issued an injunction Tuesday to stop President Biden's national vaccination mandate for healthcare workers from starting next week.

The injunction, written by Judge Terry A. Doughty, effectively expanded a separate order issued Monday by a federal court in Missouri. The earlier had only applied to 10 states that had joined a lawsuit against the president's decision to require all health workers in hospitals and nursing homes to receive at least their first vaccination by December 6th and complete by January 4th must be vaccinated.

"There is no question that a vaccine mandate for 10.3 million healthcare workers should be mandated by Congress, not a government agency," wrote Judge Doughty of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He added, "It is not clear that even a law of Congress mandating a vaccine would be constitutional."

The judge, who was nominated to the court by former President Trump, also wrote that plaintiffs have an "interest in protecting their citizens from vaccination" and preventing the loss of jobs and tax revenue that the off the mandate.

Several cities and states had already imposed their own vaccine mandates on health care workers to contain outbreaks that were often broadcast from communities to medical facilities such as nursing homes. The momentum for vaccine mandates gained momentum in the summer as the Delta variant swept through nursing homes, spiking employee and resident infections, and overwhelming hospitals in many states with another spike in Covid.

Some of the larger hospital chains and several large nursing home operators also requested vaccinations from staff before the president began calling for national compliance. Vaccinations among health care workers have increased since the summer, although thousands of cases are reported among residents and staff each week. Nationwide, the vaccination coverage for nursing home staff is over 74 percent, although there are significantly lower rates in some regions.

In filing a lawsuit in 14 states against the mandate, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the federal mandate would blow holes in state budgets and exacerbate shortages in health care facilities.

The Biden government tied compliance with the vaccine mandate to federal funding and called for immunizations from millions of workers in hospitals, nursing homes, or other health care facilities that rely heavily on the Medicare or Medicaid programs. However, many health care providers – especially nursing home and rural hospital operators – complained that employees who hesitated to be immune to vaccination would leave, exacerbating the staff shortage that plagued the industry long before the pandemic.

These complaints helped fuel the opposition in many states such as Texas and Florida, which have been vehemently opposed to dictating vaccines, wearing masks, and other federal guidelines at the center of public health advice during the pandemic.

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More than a dozen states and some employers banded together to combat a broader mandate that would require private employers with 100 or more employees to impose company-wide vaccinations. An appeals court has also temporarily blocked this mandate as opponents of the directive pursue their arguments that the occupational health and safety administration has exceeded its powers.

In response to recent court rulings, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid said in a statement, “While we cannot comment on the litigation, CMS remains committed to protecting the health and safety of beneficiaries and healthcare workers. The vaccination requirement for health care workers takes into account the risk of unvaccinated health care workers for patient safety and ensures stability and uniformity throughout the country's health system.

The injunction issued on Tuesday is a first step in the lawsuits against the vaccination mandate. The cases have yet to be heard by a judge and any decision by a lower court is likely to be appealed.