Nationwide Temporary Halt on CMS COVID-19 Vaccination Order

On November 30th, a preliminary injunction was issued by the Louisiana Federal District Court,  to temporarily halt CMS’ healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

Read order here

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit brought by the State of Louisiana and joined by the states of Utah, Indiana, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. However, the judge determined that healthcare workers in other states would also be affected by the mandate and applied the preliminary injunction nationwide, except in those 10 states that are already subject to the Missouri Federal District Court injunction which paused the mandate for them earlier this week. That injunction applies to Missouri, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

CMS is expected to appeal both rulings but the timing on further action is unclear, particularly with the original vaccine deadlines and the holidays pending. Though the nationwide CMS and OSHA mandates have been blocked, pending further action, Colorado vaccination orders are still in place.

Stay tuned for additional information.