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Newsom Defeated by Federal Courts Blocking State Vaccine Mandates
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom was defeated in federal courts as the vaccine requirement for state prison employees has been halted.
According to the AP, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel granted a stay request of a lower court order back in September that was pending an appeal. This also made the hearing process faster as it set a Dec. 13 deadline for opening briefs.
The AP also noted that the vaccine mandate was supposed to take effect by Jan. 12 but the stay granted by the appellate court blocked this until sometime in March, when an appeal hearing is set.
The judge who issued the vaccine requirement followed a court-appointed receiver’s recommendation. The receiver was chosen to handle health care in the state prison system following the findings of a federal judge in 200 that California failed to provide enough medical care to prisoners.
“The mandate was opposed by the state’s prison agency and Gov. Gavin Newsom, even though his administration previously had ordered vaccinations or testing for all state employees, including correctional employees,” the Associated Press also added.
Earlier this month, Newsom’s spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times, “Since early in this pandemic, CDCR has implemented rigorous COVID safety measures, including mandatory masking, twice weekly testing for staff and the early rollout of vaccines for incarcerated people and staff.”
Meanwhile, the Insider noted that the governor decided to back the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which claimed that this mandate may result in shortages in prison employees. It also claimed that the mandates would create a “cisis” within the state prison system.
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