Dec. 10, 2021 — Enforcement of President Joe Biden’s sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates has been fairly the problem.
On Nov. 4, the Biden administration ordered federal contractors, sure well being care staff, and staff of companies with 100 staff or extra to indicate proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or get weekly COVID-19 testing, by Jan 4, 2022.
The mandates acquired robust pushback straight away, which has intensified in current weeks.
Giant parts of COVID-19 vaccine necessities have been briefly blocked, as lawsuits challenging the mandates proceed to be filed nationwide.
And simply Wednesday, Senate Republicans and two average Democrats voted to overturn the vaccine and testing necessities for giant companies.
However many view the Senate’s actions as principally symbolic, for the reason that president mentioned he’ll veto any “anti-vaccine” invoice that involves his desk, according to White Home press secretary Jen Psaki.
Learn on for a have a look at the place the vaccine mandates stand now.
Giant Companies
At present, COVID-19 vaccination and testing necessities for corporations with 100 staff or extra, which impacts round 84 million US staff, are paused.
The one exception is New York Metropolis. Mayor Invoice de Blasio announced Monday that staff of personal corporations might want to have gotten at the very least one shot by Dec. 27. The brand new mandate applies to round 184,000 companies.
In early November, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court docket of Appeals ruled to briefly ban the vaccine mandate for giant corporations, as numerous petitions surrounding the mandate have been being reviewed.
The matter has now moved to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court docket of Appeals, the place the court docket will mix lawsuits filed in several states into one official case for assessment, which simplifies the widespread authorized battles over employer vaccine mandates.
Whether or not the court docket decides to completely ban vaccine mandates for giant corporations or not, its ruling will likely be enforced nationwide. And the case will possible attain the Supreme Court docket first, which might have the ultimate say.
Federal Contractors
Much like giant companies, vaccine mandates have been briefly blocked for “all lined contracts in any state or territory of the US of America,” in keeping with a current order by a federal court docket in Georgia.
On Dec. 7, U.S. District Choose R. Stan Baker sided with seven states — Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia — that filed a lawsuit difficult federal contractor vaccine mandates. Related Builders and Contractors, a building trade commerce group, additionally joined the petition.
The choose determined to develop the ban to cowl federal contractors nationwide, saying that limiting vaccine mandates to a handful of states would “solely trigger extra confusion.”
Vaccine necessities for federal contractors have been already briefly banned in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, following a Nov. 30 ruling from a federal choose in Kentucky.
Well being Care Employees
Proper now, most well being care staff are briefly exempt from COVID-19 vaccine necessities, as petitions in opposition to the mandates are being reviewed.
On Nov. 30, U.S. District Choose Terry A. Doughty of Louisiana issued a short lived block on vaccine mandates for workers of well being care suppliers that obtain Medicare and Medicaid funds, which displays most well being care settings and greater than 17 million staff.
Ten states had already paused vaccine mandates for well being care staff after a Nov. 29 ruling by a federal choose in Missouri.
Federal Employees
The Biden administration ordered all federal staff to be absolutely vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 by Nov. 22.
The White Home confirmed that over 90% of the three.5 million federal staff had gotten at the very least one shot by the deadline, Reuters reported.
Navy
In August, Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin ordered all navy members and Protection Division staff to be absolutely vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 by mid-September, or instantly after the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, whichever got here first.
COVID-19 vaccine mandates for navy members and Protection Division staff have remained unblocked.
However round 27,000 Navy, House Drive, Marine Corps, and Air Drive service members are nonetheless unvaccinated and are susceptible to dropping their positions, NBC Information reported. Round 19,000 Military members haven’t acquired their first shot.
Energetic-duty Air Drive and House Drive members had a vaccine deadline of Nov 2.
Air Drive Nationwide Guard and Air Drive Reserve members needed to be vaccinated by Dec. 2.
The Navy and Marines Corps had a vaccine deadline of Nov. 28 for active-duty members and Dec. 28 for Reserve members.
Energetic-duty Military members have until Dec. 15 to get their photographs.
On Dec. 2, Military officers announced that 93% of the active-duty service members have been absolutely vaccinated, and 96% had at the very least began. Sixty p.c of the Military Reserve members had been vaccinated, and 64% had already gotten one shot.
Members of the Military Reserve and the U.S. Nationwide Guard must be vaccinated by June 30, 2022.
