Biden administration appeals blocking of COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers

A Louisiana federal judge's ruling blocking the Biden administration's nationwide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers has been appealed, but U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty denied a request to have his decision on the mandate delayed.

The case next goes to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which has already blocked a broader Biden administration mandate that businesses with 100 or more workers require employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4.

In denying the stay on his Monday ruling, Doughty wrote that he "believes that the likelihood of the government defendants' success on the merits (of the appeal) is low" and that waiting on an appeals court decision won't cause "irreparable harm."

The emergency regulation issued Nov. 4 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would have required staff at providers that participate in the programs to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.

It would have covered more than 17 million health care workers, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The government filed its appeal Tuesday.

COVID-19 pandemic: Louisiana judge blocks nationwide vaccine mandate for health care workers

Doughty ruled on the lawsuit led by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and joined by 13 other states, but Doughty added a nationwide injunction in his ruling.

Landry also led the lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration's vaccination mandate on businesses with 100 or more employees.

In his decision to block the vaccine requirement for health care workers, Doughty wrote the Biden Administration doesn't have the authority to bypass Congress in issuing such a mandate.

"If the executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the legislative branch to make laws, two of the three powers conferred by our Constitution would be in the same hands," he wrote. "If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency.

"During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties."

Doughty, who was nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Senate in 2018 on a 98-0 vote, acknowledged the case "will ultimately be decided by a higher court than this one."

"However, it is important to preserve the status quo in this case," he wrote. "The liberty interests of the unvaccinated requires nothing less."

The states that joined Louisiana in the vaccine mandate for health care workers lawsuit include Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

Louisiana's Western District Court includes a large geographic swath of the state with offices in Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Biden administration appeals judge's blocking of COVID vaccine mandate