Biden administration asks U.S. Supreme Court to lift lower courts hold on vaccine mandate

[December 17, 2021]    By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift rulings by two lower courts that put the president's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers on hold, saying the shots were crucial before an expected winter spike in cases.

A healthcare worker draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from a vial at a free drive-through coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine clinic for people 70 and older and their spouse or partner, run by the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Sequim, Washington, U.S. January 23, 2021. TREUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

Both rulings were issued as part of legal challenges to U.S. President Joe Biden's mandates for healthcare workers treating Medicare and Medicaid patients. The rule initially required more than 2 million unvaccinated healthcare workers to be vaccinated by Dec. 6.

"The exceptionally urgent need to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure for Medicare and Medicaid patients given the anticipated winter surge in infections tips the equities overwhelmingly in favor of a stay," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a 40-page motion to the Supreme Court.

The mandate has been blocked for now in 24 states - 14 involved in a case reviewed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and 10 where it was halted by a Nov. 29 ruling by a federal judge in St. Louis.

The 5th Circuit said the Biden administration had not made a strong showing that it was likely to prove during the litigation that it has the authority to impose the rule.

In November, the 5th Circuit blocked the administration's workplace vaccine-or-testing mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees.

That rule, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is being reviewed by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

On Wednesday, the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati sided with the Biden administration, agreeing to hear the case initially before a three-judge panel rather than all 16 active judges on the court.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Grant McCool)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.