The Department of Justice has issued an opinion confirming that federal law does not prohibit public or private employers from requiring workers to get COVD-19 vaccines that are under emergency use authorization.
The recent opinion upholds recent moves by New York City, California, and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to require some or all employees to get vaccinated.
It also paves the way for more private businesses and public agencies to issue their own vaccine mandates, as more have sought to do with the Delta variant raging and the vaccination rollout slumping in the face of hardened resistance.
The DOJ opinion dated earlier this month found that the law concerning emergency use authorizations 'does not prohibit entities from imposing vaccination requirements.'
The DOJ has issued an opinion confirming that public or private employers can require workers to get COVD-19 vaccines. Attorney General Merrick Garland is seen above
On Monday, California and New York City announced that they would require all government employees to get the coronavirus vaccine or face weekly COVID-19 testing, and the VA became the first major federal agency to require health care workers to receive the shot.
Meanwhile, in a possible sign that increasingly dire health warnings are raising awareness, vaccination rates began to creep up again, offering hope that the nation could yet break free of the coronavirus if people who have been reluctant to receive the shot are finally inoculated.
As of Tuesday 49.2 percent of the total US population was fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Nearly 400,000 doses had been administered in the prior day.
The moves in California and New York are the 'opening of the floodgates' as more government entities and companies impose vaccine mandates after nationwide vaccination efforts 'hit a wall,' said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University´s School of Public Health.
'Some people find mask mandates annoying, but the reality is they´re temporary. We can´t do them forever,' he said. 'Vaccine mandates have to be one of the major paths moving forward because they get us closer to the finish line. Mask mandates just buy you a little more time.'
