The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 25 states currently without an injunction against it is being challenged again in a federal appeals court.
The state of Florida filed an appeal to the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal court said the 25 states could not be summarily added to an injunctions granted in a case on behalf of other plaintiff states.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on this Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandate, as well as one from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, on Friday.
David Costello, a Florida-based assistant state solicitor general, last week filed a motion asking the court to hurry and make a decision on the December injunction request amid the Supreme Court hearing Friday, according to local media reports.
The appeal comes after a U.S. District Court judge in Florida declined to issue an injunction against the mandate for the state. However, other legal challenges have been successful throughout other states and the rule has been halted only for providers in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Operators in the remaining 25 states where the mandate applies have 30 days from the issuance of a Dec. 28 memo before enforcement of the rule begins.
In the latest challenge, Costello argued that a quick decision on the injunction is necessary given the timeline for compliance providers are facing.
“Facilities in unprotected states now have just 30 days to ensure that 100% of their staff have received at least one vaccine dose,” Costello wrote. “If the facilities refuse to comply, they will ultimately face enforcement action, ranging from financial penalties to funding freezes to outright termination of their Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements.”
The appeals court had yet to rule on the matter as of Tuesday.
