A federal judge Tuesday blocked a national COVID-19 vaccine mandate that would have required private government contractors to get their shots, dealing yet another blow to the Biden administration’s jab push.
The mandate, set to take hold Jan. 4, was the latest White House coronavirus directive to face a temporary court injunction.
The court ruling and previous similar related decisions indicate that it is increasingly likely the debate over vaccine mandates could wind up in the US Supreme Court.
Judge R. Stan Baker wrote in the ruling that allowing the Biden order would “force Plaintiffs to comply with the mandate, requiring them to make decisions which would significantly alter their ability to perform federal contract which is critical to their operations,” NBC News reported.
Tuesday’s injunction follows two similar temporary decisions last week that blocked vaccine mandates for many private-sector health-care workers.
The first ruling instituted a temporary injunction that would have required thousands of health-care workers in 10 states to get their first dose of a vaccine by Dec. 6. A second federal judge expanded that temporary ban to include the remainder of states in the country.
In total, that policy would have affected more than 10.3 million workers. A previous ruling against the Biden administration barred a mandate for private businesses with more than 100 workers that said the employees had to get vaccinated or face weekly testing.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday a new mandate that would force all private businesses in the Big Apple to have their workers vaccinated against COVID effective Dec. 27.
The controversial move, coming mere weeks before the end of de Blasio’s term, was announced without guidance about how the policy would be enforced or paid for and is also likely to face a legal challenge in court.