A federal court has already temporarily blocked the vaccine mandate for private employers, but a stricter one directed at healthcare workers that does not allow people to opt out of the vaccine via testing is still in place. It impacts more than 17 million nurses across 76,000 healthcare facilities and healthcare providers who receive funding from government health programs, among other healthcare workers.
The attorneys general of Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska filed the suit, with the states of Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Arkansas, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wyoming joining the coalition to fight the mandate.
In an official statement, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said: “Unfortunately, with this latest mandate from the Biden Administration, last year’s healthcare heroes are turning into this year’s unemployed.”
He called it “unconstitutional and unlawful” and said that it could lead to a healthcare collapse.
One reason the coalition maintains the mandate is unlawful is because the federal government is using it to take away a power that belongs to states. The 58-page filing states: “Vaccination requirements are matters that depend on local factors and conditions. Whatever might make sense in New York City, St Louis, or Omaha could be decidedly counterproductive and harmful in rural communities like Memphis, Missouri or McCook, Nebraska.”
It adds: “Federalism allows states to tailor such matters in the best interests of their communities. The heavy hand of CMS’s nationwide mandate does not. This court should thus set aside that rule as unlawful agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.”
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