A federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday blocking President Joe Biden’s national COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, just one week before the mandate was to go into effect.
The injunction, issued by Judge Terry A. Doughty in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, comes after a federal court in Missouri issued a separate order on Monday temporarily blocking the administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers in 10 states. The mandate requires workers in hospitals and nursing homes to get at least one shot by Dec. 6 and to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration suspended the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, which would require those working for businesses employing 100 or more people to get fully vaccinated or tested each week by Jan. 4.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
