A U.S. federal court was asked to reinstate the workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate that was put on hold last month.
With the aim of getting more people vaccinated, the Biden administration petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to overrule the 5th Circuit’s order to block the mandatory vaccine requirement in the workplace.
“Delaying this standard would endanger many thousands of people and would likely cost many lives per day,” government lawyers argued, according to The Hill. “With the reopening of workplaces and the emergence of the highly transmissible delta variant, the threat to workers is ongoing and overwhelming.”
Over 90% of federal workers have had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine as of the Nov. 22 deadline, according to the White House.
The New Orleans-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruling referred to the mandate as “fatally flawed” and instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) not to enforce the mandate until a judicial review had been done.
The Biden administration officials have said that the mandate is necessary to boost vaccination rates as the country heads into the colder months.
