In the wake of an injunction against a federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, AdventHealth has rescinded its own employee mandate.
A previous deadline of December 6 to receive the first shot and January 4 for the second shot has been rendered moot. While a statement from the hospital noted that vaccines were "safe and effective" and reduced risk of infections, the hospital is following the course of recent decisions in federal court.
“Due to recent decisions by the federal courts to block the CMS vaccine mandate, we are suspending the vaccination requirements prescribed by this mandate. We will continue to monitor the ongoing litigation regarding the federal law,” AdventHealth representative Jeff Grainger shared in a statement to WKMG.
Surprisingly, a Florida judge opted not to grant the state an injunction in their own request to block a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. State attorneys argued that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services overstepped their authority in issuing the rule for healthcare workers. Judge M. Casey Rodgers disagreed, finding that the argument being offered by the agency held water.
“In this instance, the safety of Medicare and Medicaid patients and staff administering the program throughout this pandemic, which has left hundreds of thousands of people dead, and the need to slow the spread of the virus, are greatly enhanced by virtue of the COVID-19 vaccine, according (to) the medical and public health science,” Rodgers wrote. “This public safety interest is especially compelling within the context of health care facilities, which are charged with protecting vulnerable patients participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and thus weighs heavily on the side of denying injunctive relief.”
–
Stay on top of Central Florida news and views with our weekly newsletters, and consider supporting this free publication. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you Central Florida news, and every little bit helps.
