United States President Joe Biden is facing lawsuits from 10 different states across the nation over the Democrat's vaccine mandates that affect healthcare workers that claim the requirement is a violation of the Constitution and federal law governing the agency rule-making process.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson are leading the coalition where states argue that the vaccine mandate will result in a massive labor shortage of healthcare workers. They said that it would particularly affect rural areas and threaten the jobs of millions of workers who are placing their lives at risk by being at the front lines.
Lawsuits Against Biden
The state argued in their complaint that the vaccine mandate shows why the police power over compulsory vaccination has always been the authority of states. They argued that vaccination requirements depend on local factors and conditions. State leaders said that various regions had different regulations that had varying levels of success.
"Federalism allows states to tailor such matters in the best interests of their communities. The heavy hand of [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'] nationwide mandate does not," said the complaint, CBS News reported.
The lawsuit added that the vaccine mandate ignored the facts on the ground and dismissed concerns about workforce shortages unreasonably. State leaders argued that the CMS vaccine requirement jeopardizes the healthcare interests of American citizens in rural areas.
Democratic President Biden revealed a series of steps in September that would be used to fight against the surge of coronavirus infections in the country. The U.S. president announced that 17 million healthcare employees working at hospitals and other establishments that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding would need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The CMS issued an interim final rule last week that required COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers for most settings. The list includes hospitals and health systems that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, NPR reported.
Coronavirus Booster Shots
The situation comes as U.S. senior health officials within the Biden administration are urging the use of coronavirus booster shots on American adults. The proposal was made after the surge of infections in Europe and the steady rise of cases in the United States. However, the support for the idea is not unanimous.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky cautioned about making booster shots broadly available. Her statements have caused tension among officials on how they should tackle the administration of booster shots among Americans.
The issue also comes at a critical time for the Biden administration whose top advisers are slowly growing fearful that the United States could shift back into a fifth coronavirus wave. The fears come as the winter season approaches and the country suffers from declining vaccination rates.
Several aides view booster shots as a means to slow the backward progress of the highly transmissible Delta variant from causing a surge of infections. Democratic allies also view the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as a means for supporting the party in next year's midterm elections, the Washington Post reported.
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