Northwest MO Info Northwest Mo Info Logo

States Challenge Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For Health Workers

November 11, 2021 10:48AM CST
Share
States Challenge Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For Health Workers
FILE – In this March 16, 2020, file photo, a patient receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. A coronavirus vaccine is still months or years away, but groups that peddle misinformation about immunizations are already taking aim — and potentially eroding — confidence in what could be humanity’s best chance to defeat the virus. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

(AP) — A coalition of 10 states sued the federal government on Wednesday to try to block a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers, marking a new front in the resistance by Republican-led states to the pandemic policies of President Joe Biden’s administration.

The lawsuit filed in a federal court in Missouri contends that the vaccine requirement threatens the jobs of millions of health care workers and could “exacerbate an alarming shortage” in health care fields, particularly in rural areas where some health workers have been hesitant to get the shots.

The suit follows similar ones by Republican-led states challenging new Biden administration rules that will require federal contractors to ensure their workers are vaccinated and that businesses with more than 100 employees require their workers to get vaccinated or wear masks and get tested weekly for the coronavirus. All of the mandates are scheduled to take effect Jan. 4.

Joining the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

All are Republicans except for Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller of Iowa, whose state is led by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.