The apex court did allow a vaccination mandate for health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding to go into force…reports Asian Lite News
The United States administration has formally withdrew the Covid vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses that was struck down by the Supreme Court, media reported.
However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said it “strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by Covid-19 in the workplace” although it was withdrawing mandate.
US Supreme Court earlier this month blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses amid an increasingly heated nationwide debate on anti-pandemic regulations.
The apex court did allow a vaccination mandate for health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding to go into force.
In a 6-3 decision, the conservative-majority in the high court said the White House overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) rule requiring workers at US businesses with 100 or more employees to either get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid-19 test weekly.
The court’s decision came as Americans are becoming intensely divided over coronavirus-related measures, and some are fed up and frustrated by the strain the pandemic has put on daily life.
Earlier, thousands of Americans from across the country gathered in Washington D.C. for a march against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, as people were frustrated and fatigued by the recent surge in cases and the overall health crisis.
During the march on Sunday called “Defeat The Mandates: An American Homecoming”, protesters walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to decry Covid-19 mandates, reports Xinhua news agency.
The march was billed as a protest of vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, vaccines for children, and other pandemic requirements and restrictions.
Among those marching were firefighters, teachers, first responders, anti-vaccine activists and other groups.
At a press conference last week, President Joe Biden acknowledged that “there’s a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country” due to the pandemic.
“I know that after almost two years of physical, emotional, and psychological weight of this pandemic, the impact it’s had on everyone, for many of us, it’s been too much to bear,” Biden told reporters.
But Biden insisted that the US has made great progress in the fight against pandemic, and the administration will stick with vaccination efforts “because vaccinations work”.
Nearly a quarter of eligible Americans remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, according to data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he is confident that most states in the country will reach a peak of Omicron infection cases by mid-February.