Dec 21, 2021 - Health

Supreme Court denies challenge to New Mexico's vaccine mandate

Shawna Chen

Photo of a person getting the COVID vaccine in their right arm — A health care worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the University of New Mexico's Gallup campus on March 23. Photo: Cate Dingley/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected, without comment, a bid to challenge New Mexico's vaccine mandate for workers in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, among other settings.

Why it matters: The court has repeatedly denied bids to block states' vaccine mandates, including in New York and Maine.

Details: The New Mexico requirement, which includes medical and religious exemptions, took effect in August.

Two women, including a former nurse who was fired after refusing to get the vaccine, argued in their petition that the mandate violates their "constitutional rights to bodily integrity and to engage in one’s chosen profession."
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who handles appeals to the Supreme Court from New Mexico, denied the application to block the order.

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Supreme Court denies challenge to New Mexico's vaccine mandate

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