Vaccine mandate news - Free rapid tests from Wednesday after Supreme Court blocks Biden Covid rule

Joe Biden gives an update on federal surge response to Omicron

The Supreme Court has tossed out a Biden administration vaccine mandate that would have required 80 million workers to either get vaccinated or submit to regular testing.

In a blow to the president’s push to get more Americans vaccinated, the ruling comes as health experts believe that the US may be approaching the peak of the latest wave of Covid-19 brought on by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

While the political right is praising the decision, there is an outcry from the medical community, and from the left. MSNBC host Joy Reid called the justices who chose to strike down the mandate “right-wing ideologues”.

Meanwhile, a number of Republican politicians have vowed that they will defy Washington, D.C.’s own proposed vaccination mandate for businesses.

The mandate, which was announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser in December, will force many establishments — from gyms and theatres to bars and restaurants — to require that patrons over the age of 12 show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering.

Key points

• Supreme Court blocks Biden vaccine mandate
• Has Omicron peaked in the US?
• Rand Paul: Fauci ‘ deserves everything he gets’
• Scientists and medical professionals rally around Fauci
• ‘Urgent need’ for super vaccine as other variants emerge

[15 January 2022 16:25 · Alex Woodward]

GOP attacks Biden for ‘failing’ to get Covid-19 ‘under control' then celebrates SCOTUS decision that would

Republicans cheered the Supreme Court’s decision to block the Biden administration’s vaccination requirements for large employers, despite public health experts arguing that the ruling could lead to more infections, hospitalisations and deaths.

GOP officials have repeatedly criticised Biden for what they characterise is his failure to get the pandemic “under control” while deliberately undermining recommended public health guidance that would, from masks and distancing to vaccines.

Among them: Republicans Steve Scalise and James Comer, who sent a letter to members of Congress demanding an investigation into the president’s response, accusing him of failing to meet a string of promises to combat the pandemic.

Following the Supreme Court decision, Comer said his “authoritarian mandates aren’t going to get us out of the pandemic.”

[15 January 2022 17:33 · Alex Woodward]

Citigroup to maintain vaccine requirements for its workers after SCOTUS rulng

Nearly all of Citigroup’s employees are vaccinated or in the process of getting their vaccines to protect against Covid-19, the bank’s head of human resources announced via LinkedIn on Thursday.

The company has reached 99 percent compliance with its mandate before Friday’s deadline, which will remain in place following a Supreme Court decision that struck down Biden’s policy requiring large businesses to mandate vaccinations for their workers.

Citigroup previously announced it would fire workers who resisted vaccinations.

[15 January 2022 19:07 · Alex Woodward]

Chicago students protest

At least 500 students in Chicago walked out of schools on Friday to protest inadequate safety measures and lack of resources to combat Covid-19, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The walkout led by the Chicago Public Schools Radical Youth Alliance demanded laptops for virtual learning, better social distancing requirements in schools, among other concerns.

The group’s list of their demands calls for better vaccine resources and additional staff support as teachers and staff struggle to balance the demands of reopening against a surge of infections and a lingering public health crisis.

[15 January 2022 19:14 · Alex Woodward]

We’re closing live coverage of the latest from the Biden administration on vaccine mandates and Covid-19 response. Stay tuned with The Independent.