Vaccine Mandate

A federal appeals court has declined to lift a three-state ban on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.

Several Ohio hospital systems have suspended their COVID vaccine mandates, even as COVID positive cases are packing their rooms and intensive care units.

Ohio’s Attorney General has rejected the petition summary that was submitted by people who want to require state lawmakers, or possibly voters, to end vaccine mandates.

The health care provider said its decision is based on recent regulatory and legislative issues.

The Ohio Senate leader is considering a House bill that bans certain vaccine mandates and grants broad exemptions. The bill would be enforced on businesses and schools in both the private and public sectors.

This first week back to work at the Ohio Statehouse after Thanksgiving includes only a few committee hearings, but some high-profile bills including COVID vaccine mandate exemptions will be discussed.

The White House says no disruptions to government operations are expected from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which President Biden issued in September. Federal contractors have a January deadline.

The Ohio House voted mostly along party lines to approve a Republican bill on vaccine mandates, vaccine exemptions and vaccine passports, after previous votes on a similar bill stalled. And how the bill got to the floor and its future beyond it are raising questions.

The Ohio House is set to take up the Republican-drawn Congressional map this afternoon, which some experts say will result in 12 districts for the GOP and 3 for Democrats. There were apparently some members of the majority who wanted to attach another controversial proposal to the map plan- banning mandates for COVID vaccines and other inoculations.

In a process resembling a Powerball drawing, ping pong balls with the names of a dozen federal appeals courts were placed into a wooden raffle drum on Tuesday before a winner was drawn.