President Joe Biden’s order to require COVID-19 immunizations for enterprises with 100 or more employees was placed on hold by a US appeals court on Friday, despite his administration’s fight. The mandate was claimed as ” staggeringly overbroad,” according to the decision.
Circuit Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote for the panel, “The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers),”
Vaccine requirements are a contentious issue in the United States. Supporters claim that they are required to terminate the nearly two-year coronavirus outbreak, while opponents argue that they are unlawful and limit individual liberty. The judges of the Fifth Circuit were very much in favour of the opponents.
“The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions – even, or perhaps particularly when those decisions frustrate government officials,” Engelhardt wrote.
The rule was released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and it compels businesses with at least 100 employees to have their workers vaccinated or face weekly tests and face mask limitations. The decision was hailed as a win by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but White House officials had no immediate comment. Texas joined other states, as well as private enterprises and religious organizations, in launching legal objections to the mandate.
In September, Biden declared the mandate, telling Americans that “our patience is wearing thin” with individuals who refuse to be vaccinated.
