The United States Supreme Court blocked this Thursday (13) measure by the Biden administration that established mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus for workers at large companies. The strategy was considered central by the Democrat to increase the number of vaccinated and stop the advance of Covid.
The blockade was approved by 6 votes to 3. Another decision, however, was favorable to the government: the highest instance of the American judiciary approved, by 5 votes to 4, the mandatory immunization for health professionals in places that receive federal funds. .
The mandatory vaccine for workers at large companies had been formalized in November and applied to more than 84 million Americans. The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (Osha) estimated that the measure would lead to 22 million people getting vaccinated and avoid at least 250,000 hospitalizations.
If they were not immunized, employees of companies with more than 100 employees would be required to present weekly tests for Covid, something that would come into effect in the coming weeks. The measure, like others similar that were aired in the country, was criticized by republican administrations.
The mandatory immunization for health professionals who participate in two public programs, Medicare and Medicaid, maintained by the Supreme Court, is expected to affect 17 million workers, according to figures released by the government.
Joe Biden said he was disappointed after the Supreme Court’s decision. “They have decided that my government cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to demand this measure,” he said in a statement. “But that doesn’t stop me from using my voice as president to advocate that employers do the right thing to protect Americans’ health and economy.”
Regarding support for the mandatory vaccine for health workers, he said the decision will save the lives of patients seeking care at medical facilities, as well as doctors, nurses and other staff. “We’ll apply the measure.”
The decisions of the high instance come at a crucial moment in the fight against the health crisis in the US, which, like other nations affected by the arrival of the omicron variant, is witnessing a rise in the number of new cases of Covid and hospitalizations for the disease.
The records of patients admitted to hospitals with Covid hit consecutive records over the last few weeks. Until Tuesday (11), the sum of admissions in the previous seven days reached 147,895, according to data from Oxford University’s Our World in Data platform.
The increase in hospitalizations is compounded by the fact that these patients arrive at hospitals that have faced a shortage of doctors and nurses, since many professionals need to be on leave because they have become infected. The high number of hospitalized children also worries health authorities.
High figures are also observed in the number of new infections daily. The moving average of cases this Wednesday (12) was 786,000, five times more than had been recorded in early December, when the ômicron was not yet the dominant variant in the country.
Approximately 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated, and 37.5% have already received a booster dose of the immunizer, according to figures provided by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
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