{"id":966713,"date":"2021-11-04T09:29:37","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T13:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=966713"},"modified":"2021-11-04T09:43:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T13:43:27","slug":"biden-administration-urges-court-not-to-block-covid-19-vaccine-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-urges-court-not-to-block-covid-19-vaccine-mandates\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Administration Urges Court Not to Block COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-administration-urges-court-not-to-block-covid-19-vaccine-mandates%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=966713&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Government lawyers on Wednesday urged a federal judge not to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates that have been imposed on federal employees, federal contractors, and military members, arguing that the court lacks the power to do so and that enjoining the orders would go against the public interest.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden in August issued executive orders requiring vaccination against the virus that causes COVID-19 for federal workers and contractors and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a similar order later that month for U.S. troops.<\/p>\n<p>Two dozen plaintiffs, including members of each military branch, in October,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/pentagon-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-vaccine-mandates-on-military-federal-employees-and-contractors_4052993.html\">sued the Biden administration<\/a>, arguing all three orders are unconstitutional in part because of an apparent lack of religious accommodations.<\/p>\n<p>They are seeking a preliminary injunction, which would block the mandates until the case is decided.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/21098292-dod-response-in-navy-seal-case\">a 41-page response<\/a> filed Wednesday, lawyers for the administration say entering an injunction \u201cwould harm the public interest in slowing the spread of COVID-19 among millions of federal employees, contractors, service members, and the members of the public with whom they interact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They cited recent court rulings in similar matters, including one that found the government has a \u201ccompelling interest\u201d in \u201cstemming the spread of COVID-19, a disease\u00a0caused by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/giving-the-right-name-to-the-virus-causing-a-worldwide-pandemic-2_3277200.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Further, blocking the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-pentagon\">Pentagon<\/a> mandate would adversely affect America\u2019s national security, the filing asserted, as military leaders have found COVID-19 impacts military readiness.<\/p>\n<p>Capt. Timothy Buchanan, a Coast Guard official, testified in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/21098294-timothy-buchanan-exhibit\">a declaration<\/a> that 39 different units in a single Coast Guard district have been crippled at least once due to COVID-19, with one vessel taken out of service for a total of 33 days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court must \u2018give great deference\u2019 to the \u2018professional military judgment\u2019 of these leaders when it comes to what is needed to ensure military readiness,\u201d the lawyers argued, citing another court ruling.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4064532\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Austin-at-NATO-1200x800-1.jpeg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4064532\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Austin-at-NATO-1200x800-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin conducts a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 22, 2021. (Chad J. McNeeley\/Department of Defense)<\/figure>\n<p>Plaintiffs said they filed for religious exemptions to the mandates but most had not seen their requests processed, and two were denied.\u00a0The still pending requests \u201chave been effectively denied\u201d as plaintiffs were threatened with punishment including dishonorable discharge, the request for an injunction stated. Some plaintiffs said superiors told them that no religious exemptions would be granted.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force, the military branch that set the earliest mandate deadline, announced Wednesday that it had approved zero religious accommodations.<\/p>\n<p>Defendants said in the new filing each of the mandates \u201cexplicitly allows for a religious accommodation\u201d and that each branch is following processes to consider religious exemption requests. They also argued the claim about the superiors was unreliable because it came from anonymous persons citing unspecified others. Additionally, they said the court lacks jurisdiction over any claim the military incorrectly decided a religious exemption request.<\/p>\n<p>Defendants were previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/pentagon-ordered-to-specify-how-it-treats-religious-exemption-requests-to-vaccine-mandate_4080020.html\">ordered<\/a> to provide information about how they handle accommodation requests. That information is due by Nov. 12.<\/p>\n<p>In their filing, plaintiffs said the fact that Comirnaty, the approved version of Pfizer\u2019s COVID-19, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/approved-version-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine-still-not-available-in-us_4046513.html\">is not available<\/a> in the United States undercuts the mandates. Austin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/defense-secretary-orders-us-troops-to-quickly-get-vaccinated-against-covid-19_3964787.html\">order<\/a>, for instance, says that mandatory vaccination \u201cwill only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the Food and Drug Administration.\u201d Pfizer\u2019s shot is the only one that qualifies.<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs said the lack of supply of the approved product means that federal law outlining emergency use authorization (EUA) still applies. That statute \u201cmandates that all individuals to whom the EUA product may be administered be given the option to accept or refuse administration of the product,\u201d they wrote in their initial filing.<\/p>\n<p>Defendants disagreed, asserting that because regulators ruled the approved and authorized versions of Pfizer\u2019s vaccine can be used interchangeably, the statute does not apply any longer. Even if it did, the statute only requires people be informed by providers that they have a choice to receive or not receive the vaccine, they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs numerous courts have held, this informed-consent requirement does not prevent any entity (including the government) from imposing workplace discipline, up to and including termination, for those who choose not to receive an EUA vaccine,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/WEB_ZacharyStieber-1.jpg\" alt=\"Zachary Stieber\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"names\">\n<p>Zachary Stieber<\/p>\n<p>Reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Zachary Stieber covers U.S. news, including politics and court cases. He started at The Epoch Times as a New York City metro reporter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"more_posts\">\n<p>More articles from this author<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bottom_topics\">\n<div class=\"title_bar\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/biden-administration-urges-court-not-to-block-covid-19-vaccine-mandates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/epochtv_bar.png\" alt=\"EPOCH TV\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Government lawyers on Wednesday urged a federal judge not to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates that have been imposed on federal employees, federal contractors, and military members, arguing that the court &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-966713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=966713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=966713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=966713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=966713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}