Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Tuesday asked President Joe Biden if the Staten Island Supreme Court’s decision to drop New York City’s long-standing vaccine mandate was a “mistake.”
The court ruled Tuesday that New York City cannot fire its employees who are unvaccinated against COVID-19. The court ordered the city to reinstate and grant backpay to those fired employees who did not receive the COVID vaccine. The decision cited that the vaccine does not protect an individual from getting infected with or spreading the virus, and therefore a vaccine mandate would not benefit the community.
The court said the health commissioner “acted beyond his authority” in delivering an indefinite vaccine mandate over a short-term one.
“Was it a mistake for New York to drop the vaccine mandate?” Doocy asked.
“No, I don’t think so…that’s a local judgement,” the president answered.
The president received his fifth COVID-19 booster shot and urged Americans to get the shot annually to protect against the virus.
“It’s time to step up with much-need COVID funding. Help us stay ahead of the virus, and keep our communities going strong with free vaccines, free tests, and widely-available treatments,” Biden said. “None of this is about politics. It’s about your health.” (RELATED: Biden Says 97% To 98% Of Americans Need To Be Vaccinated Before Returning To Normal)
The Biden administration in late 2021 implemented a vaccine mandate issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which ordered all businesses with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated or submit weekly negative tests. The rule also included a vaccine mandate for health care workers in facilities that received Medicaid and Medicare funding, exempting those with religious or medical dispensations. The mandates led to several legal challenges in the lower courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in January blocked the rule pertaining to businesses with 100+ workers, but upheld the mandate for healthcare workers at publicly funded facilities.