December 1, 2021 |
Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on healthcare workers suffered another legal blow yesterday, and may soon be on life support. A federal court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction for healthcare workers in all 50 states.
The mandate would have forced the gene-altering mRNA drug on full and part-time employees, volunteers and contractors working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicaid or Medicare funding.
In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Terry Doughty wrote that the Supreme Court likely will make the ultimate decision but noted “it is important to preserve the status quo in this case. The liberty interests of the unvaccinated require nothing less.”
In the ruling, the judge notes that the CMS regulates 10.3 million health care workers in the U.S. Nearly 2.5 million are unvaccinated, according to the agency’s own assessment. The court ruled that the federal government does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to implement the CMS mandate on the unwilling.
The ruling comes just one day after a Missouri federal court issued a similar injunction affecting only 10 states, including Wyoming.
Monday’s ruling from the federal court in St. Louis granted a preliminary injunction blocking the ban for healthcare workers at Medicare-certified facilities in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wyoming.
Governor Mark Gordon, appearing on Bigfoot 99 Tuesday, said he expects the Biden Administration to appeal the court ruling blocking the mandate.
The governor said he opposes the Biden administration’s mandate on healthcare workers because it amounts to quid pro quo “coercion,” forcing health care facilities to require the shot or lose their chief funding mechanism, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Wyoming is also a co-plaintiff in another vax mandate lawsuit filed in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The 11-state coalition is asking for an injunction against the OSHA temporary rule mandating the mRNA drug for companies of 100 workers or more. The governor said he expects the court to rule on that case soon.
The governor added that Wyoming was able to finalize its cooperative agreement with the federal government on wild land firefighting without accepting Washington’s push to require the COVID shot for fire crews.
The Governor said he hopes firefighters aren’t needed next year, but if they are the state will be able to bring its full force against any incidents without regard to federal vax mandates.
The vax mandate is just one issue on a long list of lawsuits that Wyoming is preparing to bring against the Biden administration. Take your pick, but also the near the top is the grizzly bear.
The process of squaring off with the Biden administration over the grizzly bear moved forward yesterday. Governor Gordon gave his support for a Memorandum of Agreement approved by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The MOA now needs approval from Idaho and Montana. It outlines the responsibilities the three states will share for the management and allocation of discretionary mortality of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Finalizing the MOA is the first step in the process to address legal concerns to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
In a statement, the governor said the MOA expresses Wyoming’s commitment to long-term grizzly bear conservation. He said the plan underscores the fact that wildlife management is best placed in the hands of states, not the federal government.
Related: Gov. Gordon to petition to have grizzly bear delisted
Related: Judge blocks vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in Wyoming, nine other states
