Courts Halt Two Biden Vaccine Mandates

December 2, 2021

In two separate rulings on Tuesday, federal judges temporarily halted the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers and federal contractors.

One ruling, in a Missouri federal district court, prohibits CMS from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

A second ruling, in a Kentucky federal district court, has blocked the administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

The rulings follow a Nov. 6 decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily halt implementation of the OHSA emergency temporary standard that requires businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing.

Ultimately these cases could go to the Supreme Court.