Southwestern Medical Center officials announced Thursday the hospital would no longer require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after a federal judge issued an injunction against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, Louisiana, temporarily blocked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers until the court can resolve legal challenges. Biden issued the mandate in September to increase the U.S. vaccination rate beyond its current 71% as a way of fighting the pandemic.
However, several states filed lawsuits against the federal government alleging Biden does not have the authority to force the vaccine on healthcare workers.
“Southwestern Medical Center is aware the implementation of the federal COVID-19 vaccine requirement has been temporarily halted. Given this, our providers and employees are no longer required to be vaccinated or request a medical or religious accommodation by the deadlines previously set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),” hospital spokeswoman Mary Towe said in a prepared statement.
Towe added that Southwestern Medical Center remains committed to fulfilling all its regulatory and compliance obligations and will take the appropriate action depending on the outcome of the legal proceedings.
“Importantly, we are continuing our efforts to strongly encourage all of our team members to receive a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of how the courts may rule, as we trust the science and know it is our best defense against the virus,” she said.
According to the state health department, 2,485,988 Oklahomans have received at least dose of the vaccine. The department also shows 2,039,094 are fully vaccinated.
In Comanche County, with a population of 122,561, state health department figures show 82,114 (67%) residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 67,728 (55.2%) people are fully vaccinated.