The Biden administration is ready to defend a Department of Labor COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for private businesses after an appeals court temporarily blocked it, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an interview on Nov. 7.
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit panel ruled on Nov. 6 that there is “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate,” and stayed it pending further action from the court. The ruling came in a case brought by several businesses, individuals, and organizations, as well as Texas, Mississippi, Utah, and other states.