Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, earlier this week, announced a multi-state effort to challenge the federal government’s Covid-19 vaccination requirement for healthcare workers, citing the added burden and worker shortage as the impetus for the challenge, according to a recent press release.
Brnovich filed the challenge in federal court—in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana—requesting an injunction to prevent enforcement of the Biden administration’s policy which would require facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds to vaccinate all employees.
“It’s our turn to protect their individual liberties and ensure that all Americans can continue to make their own choices regarding Covid-19 vaccines,” said the attorney general on Arizona’s battle against vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.
The lawsuit challenges the illegal mandate which violates the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – the reservation of rights by states to make decisions concerning powers not expressly granted to the federal government.
Some 25 percent of elderly and long-term care facilities are suffering from staff shortages, which will be aggravated by the Biden administration’s mandate, argues Brnovich. 32 percent of Arizonan healthcare workers have chosen not to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, according to the AARP’s Nursing Home Covid-19 Dashboard.
The Arizona lawsuit is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia.
