Biden shot-or-test rule to take effect

The Biden administration's emergency Covid-19 shot-or-test rule for large employers can go into effect now that a federal appeals court in Cincinnati lifted another tribunal's order that had blocked the measure.

A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the administration's request Friday to dissolve the Fifth Circuit's November 6 stay on the regulation. The harm caused by keeping the emergency temporary standard frozen outweighs any damage that would stem from letting it go into effect, the court said.

"Fundamentally, the ETS is an important step in curtailing the transmission of a deadly virus that has killed over 800,000 people in the United States, brought our healthcare system to its knees, forced businesses to shut down for months on end, and cost hundreds of thousands of workers their jobs," the court said.


The Sixth Circuit's ruling drew an immediate appeal to the US Supreme Court filed by a conservative advocacy organisation and a group of businesses. The high court's conservative majority could decide whether this key Biden initiative to boost workplace vaccination rates takes effect before it expires in May.