Oct 15, 2021 - Health

Appeals court declines to block Maine vaccine mandate

Kierra Frazier

A health worker prepares a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination. Photo: Camilo Freedman/APhotografia/Getty Images

A federal appeals court on Friday denied an emergency request to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate from going into effect in Maine, the Associated Press reports.

Driving the news: The mandate, which Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced in August, requires health care workers in Maine to get vaccinated by Oct. 29 or face losing their jobs.

Health care staff who lose their jobs because they refuse the vaccine will not be eligible for unemployment benefits.

The big picture: A three-judge panel on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision follows a lower court's ruling earlier this week that eight health care workers and one health care facility did not meet the legal standard to stop the order, the Boston Globe reports.

Go deeper: Maine health care staff won't get unemployment benefits if they refuse vaccine.

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Appeals court declines to block Maine vaccine mandate

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