A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday revived in 26 states a Biden administration Covid-19 vaccine mandate requiring millions of U.S. healthcare workers to get vaccinated if they work in federally funded facilities.
In a rare win for President Joe Biden's pandemic strategy, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a lower court only had the authority to block the mandate in the 14 states that had sued. The appeals court ruled that the lower court was wrong to impose a nationwide injunction.
Biden's mandate requires that healthcare facilities get staff vaccinated against the coronavirus or lose federal funding.
The mandate remains temporarily blocked in 24 states -- the 14 states involved in the case reviewed by the New Orleans appeals court and 10 states where the mandate was blocked by a separate Nov. 29 ruling.
Most U.S. healthcare workers have been vaccinated by choice.