Court halts enforcement of healthcare vaccine mandate

On November 30, a Louisiana District Court halted the enforcement of the Federal healthcare vaccine mandate nationwide, pending a trial on the merits of the case or until further order from the Court. The mandate requires workers in healthcare facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to have received at least a first dose of the vaccine prior to December 6 and a second dose by January 4, 2022.

On November 29, a Missouri District Court halted the enforcement of the federal healthcare vaccine mandate in ten states — Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire — which had earlier filed a complaint challenging the mandate.

In both cases, the plaintiffs sought to halt the mandate’s enforcement pending a full judicial review of its legality, arguing that Congress did not provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to enact the regulation.