Judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate in suit joined by SC
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday to block the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that health care workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after the new year.
“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,” wrote Doughty, a federal judge in the Western District of Louisiana. “If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency.
Hospitals and private employers can still require vaccinations.
South Carolina was one of the 14 states that signed onto a lawsuit to stop the mandate. A separate stay in early November by the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals stopped a federal requirement for large companies to get their employees vaccinated.
Latest COVID-19 data
South Carolina health officials reported 806 total cases of COVID-19 Dec. 1, with 488 confirmed. A total of 23 deaths were also reported, with 14 confirmed.
With 10,591 tests reported Monday, 7.4% were confirmed positive.
Percentage of S.C. residents age 12+ with at least one vaccine: 63%
Percentage of of S.C. residents age 12+ who have completed vaccination: 55%
Percentage of S.C. residents age 5-11 with at least one vaccine: 7.2%
Percentage of S.C. residents age 5-11 who have completed vaccination: 0.7%
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