The US Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to New York state’s vaccine regulation for health care workers – a mandate that does not provide an exception for religious opposers. The vote is 6 to 3.
This is the second time the court has rejected the state’s ban on vaccinations for healthcare workers. As in the previous case in Maine, New York only offers one exemption from duty, and that is a narrow medical exemption for people who have had a severe allergic reaction following a previous dose of vaccine or a components of COVID-19 vaccines.
That’s the standard recommended by the CDC after it was found that the vaccine was safe for immunocompromised people, pregnant women, and people with underlying medical conditions.
The six justice majority includes the court’s three liberal justices and three of the court’s conservative justices – Judges Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts.
They did not write an opinion, simply denying an urgent request for the court to block the law.
New York, like Maine before it, argues that the whole purpose of the mission is to require a high level of compliance to protect patients from infection and prevent pandemics when new variants arise.
The effectiveness of broad assignments like this is perhaps best illustrated by a spreadsheet provided by New York City. It showed that before duty 60% of people working for the Fire Department were vaccinated. As of this week, the rate is 94%.
In its summary, the state noted that COVID-19 vaccination rules are the same as previously available vaccine requirements for measles and rubella that have been in effect for decades.
The state agrees that, where applicable, federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for those who oppose religion, but notes that it does not require employers to provide those who object to their preferred accommodation – namely, an inclusive religious exemption that allows them to continue working in their current location without vaccinations.
Disagreeing are Judges Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito. Gorsuch, writing to himself and Alito, asserts that religious opposers are not eligible for unemployment compensation, and that state authorization “raises suspicions against those with religious beliefs.” teachers are not famous.”
