Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a request for a stay of New York’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement from a police detective Monday, bringing an end to the latest legal challenge to a government vaccine mandate.
New York City Detective Anthony Marciano filed a suit in state court in December arguing that the government cannot force him to take an “experimental, illegal” vaccine he “does not need” without “informed consent,” according to Reuters. Sotomayor is the justice tasked with acting on certain cases originating in New York and some other states.
New: Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor rejects bid by NYC police detective to block city’s requirement that employees get Covid vaccine. She denies request with no explanation and without asking city to respond.https://t.co/Yyf9E74w0k
— Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) August 29, 2022
Municipal workers in the city are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to maintain their employment. 1,430 workers were fired in February for refusing vaccination, according to Reuters. Marciano filed for an exemption to the mandate but was denied, and he remains on active duty while his appeal of that denial plays out.
Marciano’s lawsuit was moved from state court to federal court in Manhattan and was dismissed by Judge Jed Rakoff in March. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Marciano’s request for a stay on Aug. 2, according to Reuters. (RELATED: CDC To De-Emphasize Science, Prioritize Communications In Complete Post-COVID Overhaul)
The Supreme Court has taken differing stances on vaccine requirements depending on the circumstances surrounding them. The court blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccine or testing mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees earlier this year, but allowed a mandate for healthcare workers to stay in place.
The COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States have been recommended to all adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they remain effective at limiting serious illness and death. However, they have not consistently stopped transmission from vaccinated people to others, which was the primary argument for implementing vaccine mandates earlier in the pandemic.