Biden’s federal worker vaccine mandate upheld by appeals court

On Thursday, a federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s decision blocking the White House from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for federal workers.

According to the New York Times, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 2-1 that United States District Judge Jeffrey Brown, did not have the jurisdiction to block the mandate.

Judge Brown ruled in January that the president did not have the authority to require employees to "undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment."

Brown said that less invasive measures could protect public health without undergoing a medical procedure, like masking, social distancing and remote work.

President Biden had announced in September that the majority of federal workers would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or face disciplinary actions.

The Texas preliminary injunction had halted this action, though the White House said that around 95 percent of federal workers were in compliance with the mandate by the time the injunction was filed.

The appeals court said in its Thursday filing that the lawsuit challenging the mandate, filed by the group Feds for Medical Freedom, should be dismissed.

January’s injunction came just days after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from requiring vaccinations or regular testing at large employers.