Courts keep chipping away at Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandates

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal judges in Louisiana and Texas continue to chip away at Biden administration COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In a lawsuit filed by Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi, a Louisiana federal judge declined to block a requirement that all employees of federal contractors get vaccinated — noting that there is already a nationwide block on that mandate issued by a Georgia court. But the Louisiana judge did block the mandate in federal contracts or grant agreements between any of the three states and the federal government. Also, a Texas-based federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the mandate for health care workers in that state. The health worker mandate has now been blocked in half the states.