A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction for health care workers across the country, just one day after the Biden administration's COVID vaccine mandate was halted in 10 states.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, Louisiana decided to temporarily block the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing its COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers while the court resolves legal challenges to it. The mandate was set to take effect next week.
"This matter will ultimately be decided by a higher court than this one," Judge Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, wrote in the 34-page ruling, as reported by the New York Post. The judge argued that the status quo must be preserved in this case and that the "liberty interests of the unvaccinated requires nothing less."
Judge Doughty explained that the 14 states that filed a lawsuit that sparked his ruling had raised the question as to whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services abused its power in issuing a vaccine requirement. He argued that mandating COVID vaccines on up to 10.3 million workers in the healthcare industry is the job of Congress, not a government agency.
He added that it was even "not clear" if an Act of Congress mandating the COVID vaccine would be constitutional. The judge concluded, Certainly, CMS does not have this authority by a general authorization statue."
Under the CMS guidance mandating vaccines, more than 17 million workers in about 76,000 health care facilities in America must have gotten at least one dose of the COVID vaccine by December 6. Another recent ruling also temporarily blocked the Biden administration from mandating vaccines for private businesses with at least 100 employees.
According to the Conservative Brief, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry expressed his approval of the court ruling, saying that he was "pleased the Court granted preliminary relief against the President's unconstitutional and immoral attack on not only our healthcare workers but also the access to healthcare services for our poor and elderly."
Landry pledged to "this case through to the end" and fight to "prevent the federal government from imposing medical tyranny on our citizens and turning last year's healthcare heroes into this year's unemployed."
Meanwhile, the Biden administration said it remained "confident" in its authority to promote vaccine requirements despite the numerous setbacks and lawsuits it has encountered in the last weeks. According to Fox News, a White House official explained the Biden administration's belief that COVID vaccine mandates work and how the federal government "has successfully implemented its requirement in a way that has boosted vaccinations and avoids any disruptions to operations."
The White House official added that the implementation of the COVID vaccine mandate across public and private sector "sends a clear message" that similar measures will "protect" workers, employers, businesses, contractors, and more. The official concluded that the White House remains "confident" that their "authority to promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting" with its COVID vaccine mandate and that the Biden administration's Department of Justice will "vigorously defend it in court."
