US Supreme Court blocks COVID vaccine order for companies | Coronavirus pandemic News

The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Biden administration in its attempt to advance the rule for large employers.

United States Supreme Court Joe Biden’s efforts to block COVID-19 vaccination or to have weekly tests have been blocked by large companies, a measure the U.S. president has described as “common sense.”

At the same time, on Thursday, the federal government decided to carry out a vaccination order for most health workers in the country.

A Conservative-majority court ruled that the Biden administration had exceeded its mandate in trying to impose an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule on U.S. companies with at least 100 employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly.

More than 80 million people would be affected.

“OSHA has never imposed such a mandate. Neither has Congress. In fact, although Congress has enacted significant legislation to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has refused to implement measures similar to what OSHA has claimed here,” the court wrote in a statement.

“However, it is a significant attack on the lives and health of a large number of employees.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes as a coronavirus-related infection Omicron contagious variant They are rising in the US, where COVID-19 has already killed more than 845,000 people – the highest number in the world.

The cases highlight the divisions that have become the subject of compulsory vaccinations in the country, where many Republicans have criticized the orders imposed by governments and companies.

The White House said the two terms would save lives and strengthen the U.S. economy by increasing the number of vaccinated Americans by the millions, and opponents argued that federal agencies exceeded their authority by issuing orders without specific Congressional approval.

Speaking on Thursday, Biden said the Supreme Court’s ruling upheld the health vaccination order. “it will save lives: the lives of patients who need care in health facilities, as well as the lives of the doctors, nurses and others who work there ”.

The order requires vaccination An estimated 10.3 million employees About 76,000 health care facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes that serve the elderly, the disabled, and low-income Americans.

But Biden said, “is disappointed that the Supreme Court has decided to block the demands for the saving of sensible lives for big business employees based on science and the law ”.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 ruling that the majority of the six Conservative judges and three Liberal justices were opposed to blocking a broader workplace ruling. [Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP]

“This standard emergency allowed employers to apply for vaccinations or refuse to receive vaccinations from their employees as long as they were tested once a week and wearing masks at work: a very modest burden,” his statement read.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3, which was contradicted by a majority of six Conservative judges and three Liberal judges, to block a wider mandate in the workplace.

The vote was 5-4 to allow the rule of health care workers, and two Conservatives, Judges John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh, joined the Liberals in the majority.

More than 208 million Americans 62.7% of the population, are fully embedded, and more than a third of them have received booster shots, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).