The Supreme Court declined on Friday a request from a team of Maine healthcare workers to bar a state COVID-19 inoculation mandate that does not entail an exemption for religious objectors.
Three conservative justices disputed against the decision. According to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, the workers deserved such exemption from the mandate. However, the majority did not provide a reasoning for the refusal of the request.
Demonstrators protesting against novel coronavirus vaccine mandates. (Photo: AP)
The Court on the Side of New York Officials
On Friday, the federal appellate court took the side of New York officials. They removed a short-term ruling that used to permit healthcare workers to appeal for religious exemptions from the novel coronavirus vaccination directive. The same with the court’s common practice in rulings on emergency applications, the short directive did not provide reasoning
3 Most Conservative Court Members
However, the three most conservative members of the court — Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, and Gorsuch released a long dissent, indicating the majority had become unfavorably astray. According to Gorsuch, health care workers who have been frontliners during the pandemic for the previous 18 months are currently being sacked, reported The New York Times.
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Governor Kathy Hochul stated her stance on the ruling, remarking that she vowed as Governor to combat the outbreak and take assertive action in order to protect the health of New York citizens. Hochul said that she acknowledges the findings of the Second Circuit. They affirm that the vaccine mandate was implemented first in the United States. She added that she is devoted to sustaining the safety of New Yorkers.
First Announcement of the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The New York State Department of Health and former Governor Andrew Cuomo declared in August a requirement indicating that all state health care employees had to receive at least their first shot of the vaccines by September 27. The DOH had taken into consideration religious exemptions prior to merely permitting medical exemptions, reported New York Post.
Second Circuit Court Ruling
The Second Circuit Court directive vacates a September 30 command from the Eastern District of New York that bestowed upon a temporary allowance for religious exemptions. It also does so for an October 12 Northern District of New York directive on the issue from other plaintiffs, reported WGRZ.
