The American Medical Association (AMA) asked the United States Court of Appeals to preserve the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) emergency Covid-19 vaccine mandate for employers, warning that failure to do so would “severely and irreparably harm the public interest.”
One week ago, OSHA officially announced the details of its long-awaited emergency temporary standard requiring employers with 100 or more employees to require that all employees get vaccinated against Covid-19 or elect to undergo regular Covid testing and wear a mask in the workplace, as well as provide paid-time for employees to receive their shots.
A mere two days later, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the new rules, based on an emergency request by petitioners from a number of businesses led by BST Holdings. Specifically, the petitioners in the case of BST Holdings v. OSHA claim that the new rules violate the “nondelegation doctrine,” a legal doctrine limiting the power of federal agencies.
Now, the AMA has filed an amicus brief arguing that the emergency rule should stay in place, as “Covid-19 poses a grave danger to public health.”
“The unprecedented and ongoing public health crisis caused by Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in communities across the country, taxed hospitals to the point of rationing care, upended the lives of countless families, and killed more than three-quarters of a million people in the U.S,” the AMA wrote in a statement. “To end the Covid-19 pandemic and prevent thousands more needless deaths, widespread vaccination is essential.”
While the AMA’s brief acknowledged that other Covid-19 mitigation measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, remain important tools for combating the virus, they do not measure up to the protection offered by the currently authorized Covid vaccines.
“Widespread vaccination reduces the likelihood of infections among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people,” the AMA wrote. “This is particularly important when the workers who cannot get vaccinated, due to a medical condition, share a workspace with others… Existing vaccine mandates have proven effective, and the medical community has led the way in promoting vaccinations for the health care workforce. However, leading by example is not enough to end the grave danger posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Effective policies that require widespread vaccination must be preserved. The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.”
John McKenna, Associate Editor, BreakingMED™
Cat ID: 31
Topic ID: 79,31,730,933,31,926,192,927,151,928,925,934
