The decision allows the vaccine mandate to take effect in healthcare settings, but not in large businesses under a separate federal rule.
January 13, 2022 - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the federal government can enforce mandatory final rules for vaccinating healthcare workers against COVID-19, while appeals are pending in cases challenging the mandate.
In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court agreed that the final rule mandating the vaccine for healthcare workers in facilities that participate in Medicare and/or Medicaid "fits neatly" into the authority Congress gave HHS to federal. given to impose conditions on the funds.
"Ultimately, ensuring that providers take steps to protect their patients from the dangerous virus is in line with the core tenet of the medical profession: First, do no harm," said an opinion issued with the decision. "This would be the exact opposite of efficient and effective administration for a facility that is well known to make people sick with COVID-19."
The final rule originally required healthcare workers to get their first shot by at least December 6, 2021, and to be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022, unless workers had a medical or religious reason to exempt. be. HHS estimated that the rule would affect about 10.3 million people working in hospitals and other health care settings.
Several states challenged the final rule and eventually won their cases, with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana advocating the implementation of vaccine mandates in the states involved. issued a preliminary injunction against case
HHS suspended enforcement of the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in light of the court's rulings, but later reinstated the mandate in all states not involved in the cases. Currently, the government is implementing mandates in nearly half of the states, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and New York. North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The federal department also updated the compliance deadline, which requires Medicare and Medicaid facilities to vaccinate their employees with the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 27, 2022. Staff should be up to date on COVID-19 vaccination by February 28. , 2022.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) said in a statement on Thursday that it would work with hospitals to adhere to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
"Now that the Supreme Court's decision has lifted the ban on the CMS vaccine mandate, the AHA will work with the hospital sector to find ways to strike that balance so that they have enough workforce to meet the needs of their patients." need to be retained, said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO.
“[W]e urge any [health care] providers who are not subject to the CMS requirement to continue their efforts to achieve higher levels of vaccination. Must continue to work together as a field to be used as tools."
AMA responds to Supreme Court decision
The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement on Thursday on the Supreme Court's decision. The statement says:
"While the American Medical Association (AMA) is pleased with today's opinion that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) interim rule requires COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers, we are deeply disappointed that Courts have blocked Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) emergency temporary standard COVID-19 vaccination and testing from moving forward to large businesses.
Workplace transmission has been a major factor in the spread of COVID-19. Now more than ever, workers in all settings across the country need evidence-based protection against COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death - especially those who are immunocompromised or not vaccinated because of a medical condition can. In fact, data recently released by United Airlines shows that, on average, more than one United employee was dying of the virus every week before their own vaccine requirement came into force; However, as of today, none of their vaccinated staff is currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with breakthrough infections and 3,000 current positive staff."
The AMA urges large employers to "play our part to protect our workforce and communities so that we can beat this COVID-19 pandemic together."