Top members of the Biden administration on Sunday defended the president’s mandate directing private-sector workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as it was blocked by a federal appeals court.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Sunday said he was “quite confident” that the mandate would be upheld in courts, while U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said the mandate is “good for people’s health” and the economy.
WATCH: As courts freeze President Biden's vaccine mandate, White House Chief of Staff @RonaldKlain says he's "confident" mandates will be upheld.
"Every single court before this one ruled they were valid." pic.twitter.com/Zl2pN8resy
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 7, 2021
Klain told NBC News’ Meet the Press, that it was “common sense” that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration required vaccination for workers at companies with more than 100 employees or require unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly testing and wear face masks on the job by Jan. 5 would withstand the legal challenge.
“If OSHA can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful around chemicals, it can put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe,” he said.
At least 26 states have filed legal challenges against the mandate and a three-judge panel for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay against the order on Saturday, stating that the legal challenge gave “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues” with the mandate.
Murthy on Sunday also defended the legality of the mandate in an appearance on ABC News’ This Week, noting that the United States has a history of using vaccine requirements to protect the population.
“The president and the administration wouldn’t have put these requirements in place if they didn’t think that they were appropriate and necessary and the administration is certainly prepared to defend them,” he said.
The surgeon general added that it is important that the administration “take every measure possible to make our workplaces safer” amid the pandemic.
“It’s good for people’s health, it’s good for the economy and that’s why these requirements make so much sense,” Murthy said.
He also said that the administration would not rule out the possibility of extending the mandate to businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
“What we’ve seen in a report issued recently was that, on average, businesses that put these requirements in place see a 20% increase in vaccination rates, often boosting them into the 90s,” Murthy said. “If we realize, as we have over the past year, that vaccination is one of our key pathways out of this pandemic, these requirements will do a lot to get us over the finish line.”
Responding to concerns that the mandate could cost employees their jobs and otherwise negatively impact the economy, Murthy said that business leaders and workers have told him “time and time again” that the virus is “what’s really hurting the economy.”
“There are times where we recognize that our decisions have a broader effect on people around us,” he said. “COVID has reminded us of that, and that’s why having these types of requirements in workplaces will be not only helpful, it’s a necessary step to accelerate our pathway out of the pandemic.”
The mandate was unveiled amid a broad decrease in COVID-19 cases while 193,627,929 people have been fully vaccinated including 68.2% of people aged 12 and older and 223,245,121 people have received at least one dose at 78.6% of the population aged 12 and older.
In addition, 23,175,194 people, or 12% of those fully vaccinated, have received a booster shot, while vaccinations are expected to be widely available for children aged 5-11 by Monday.
Murthy cited the developments as a “tremendous amount of progress” against the virus and said that while he is “cautiously optimistic” measures to prevent the spread remain important.
“If COVID has shown us anything is that we can’t get to take our foot off the accelerator until we’re at the finish line,” he said. “And that means we’ve got to continue on our work to get people vaccinated in this country and take precautions until that job is done.”
Responding to reports that an anti-viral pill developed by Pfizer to treat COVID-19 is nearly 90% effective, Murthy said that vaccines remain the best way to prevent contracting COVID-19.
“There is a 100% effective strategy to avoid hospitalization and death,” said Murthy. “Getting vaccinated still must be at the heart of our strategy as a therapeutic pill is not a substitute for getting vaccinated.”
Original story is below…
Appeals court temporarily blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate
A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily stayed the Biden administration’s mandate directing private-sector workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The three-judge panel in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the new federal mandate for companies with more than 100 employees to require their workers to get vaccinated, or submit to weekly tests and masking. Those that defy the rules face fines as high as $14,000 per violation.
On Thursday, the Biden administration rolled out the mandate as its latest effort to goad tens of millions of unvaccinated workers to get the jab. The requirement was scheduled to take effect Jan. 4 and would affect about 84 million workers.
Over a dozen businesses and individuals, as well as the states of Texas, Louisiana, Utah and South Carolina swiftly brought a challenge arguing the mandate was constitutionally out of bounds.
The mandate is on hold pending further review by the court. The order said the legal challenge gave “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues” with the mandate.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Twitter that an emergency hearing would take place soon.
“We will have our day in court to strike down Biden’s unconstitutional abuse of authority,” he said.
Over the summer, President Joe Biden enacted requirements that federal employees get the jab. Earlier in the week, Biden said the new requirement was needed to increase vaccinations and end the pandemic.
“The virus will not go away by itself, or because we wish it away. We have to act,” he said in a statement.
Multiple Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas, have banned employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated.
Copyright 2021 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
we have a dictator in america not a president.
And a large population of people who call themselves “patriots” but do nothing at the continuously escalating abuses by an authoritarian government built by the American Communist Party (i.e. the DNC).
AND court after court, LETS HIM GET AWAY with his tyrannical rulings…
And those who rule AGAINST HIM, seem powerless to do jack squat, to STOP Biden doing it anyway.
Dictator,,,,Another Brandon name for Mr. Potatoehead who happens to be one.
Companies with 100 or employees first to get VAC mandated, followed by small businesses and small children, but incoming groups of millions of illegal aliens not only get a free ride, but $450K in the bank. as a reward for their woke civil disobedience. In a normal world the people making these decisions would end up in jail or the looney bin. Not in Biden’s America, or Brandon’s world. People are too late understanding how his “Social Canary in the coal Mine” son Hunter ended up so pathological and crooked, because THE PEOPLE are now so getting bent out of shape themselves by Biden, now known as Bought Biden,,, about 10 million stolen votes too late.
Yes there was a crooked man, who wore a crooked smile, he got a crooked six pence and raked in a Chinese pile, he joined a declawed cat, who ran a crooked race, only fools were surprised when it ended in disgrace Ah-Oh, Oh-No,,don’t let the rain come down. Joe’s head has a hole in it and we’ll all drown; Joe’s head has a hole in it while we now frown.
Constitutionally, All powers not mentioned in the Constitution belong to the States. Enter illegal mandated Vaccinations.
All businesses will win this argument by refusing to comply or pay any fines until the final court rules they must. This won’t happen because OSHA cannot prove THAT VACCINATED WORKERS DON’T GET AND SHED mutated Covid virus just like vaccinated may–or that if you had covid, that you are not 20X safer to others than the vaccinated. JUST DO NOT GIVE IN — THAT IS HOW THEY EXPECT TO WIN. FEAR NOT. STAND YOUR GROUND WITH MILLIONS LIKE YOU DOING THE SAME.
I was watching an older episode of “YOu are here” with Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson, and he read an OFFICIAL report showing “who is free from the mandates’.
IN ADDITION TO THE USPS, all those in the CDC AND FDA ARE ALSO not required to comply.
SO IF THOSE MANDATING IT FOR everyone else, are not also required to comply, WHY THE HELL SHOULD ANYONE else comply!??
That’s what I say… even if they do comply… business should not comply and just lie like the government does. Company heads swear on a stack of bibles that all the unvaccinated are not working and they are on paid leave until the a vaccine is not needed… then just make them work anyway… at home.. or a smaller facility.. or what ever. Or change their work profile to sub contractor and compensate them for the benefits.
OR just pay them cash under the table, SO NO TAXES or federal forms get filled out.
IF ITS OK FOr that to be done for illegal invaders.. THEN IT DAMN WELL should be ok to pay folks that way, when they are AMERICAN CITIZENS!!
If it is upheld, then the Judicial Branch is in bed with the Executive Branch and it would shine a light on the fact that all three branches of government are out to destroy the Constitution and deny American citizens their God-given rights.
AND, I’ll just have to pay the fine or go to jail!!!! OR BOTH!!!!!
AND, I’ll just have to pay the fine or go to jail!!!! OR BOTH!!!!!
COMMENTTHE doj REPORTS TO THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. So we have to do this in favorable District Courts like is already happening. It will take 2 years to get to SCOTUS and the 2022 elections will have ousted the Demorats before then.
So far, it already SEEMS the entire judicial branch, is beholden to the biden regime..
Turning private business into brown shirts with this mandate for Herr Biden.
Besides the Biden youth with CRT.
Just substitute Hitler for Biden and vice versa and there we have it folks.
Now say your ten Hail Fauci’s and wear your two masks, and shut up…
“The White House” thought Brandon was going to be a good choice too.
“There is a 100% effective strategy to avoid hospitalization and death,” said Murthy. “Getting vaccinated still must be at the heart of our strategy as a therapeutic pill is not a substitute for getting vaccinated.”
Ask Colin Powel if this strategy is 100% effective against death related to COVID-19
OR tell it to the THOUSANDS OF others who got the shot, and died.. MOST FROM the shot, but some because they STILL CAME DOWN with Covid and died.