Today, January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled on the challenges to President Biden’s Executive Orders related to vaccination mandates for healthcare workers. For a review of the important data that led to this, refer to the prior PCS article.
Twenty-four states challenged both aspects of the Presidential Order. A higher court rules to uphold the state challenge, making the Executive Order invalid IN THOSE STATES. Today, the Supreme Court ruled on both aspects of the Order.
- They ruled that the vaccination requirement for all employees working for businesses with more than 100 employees overstepped the regulatory authority of OSHA, invalidating the order.
- They ruled the higher court’s stay on the State challenge to the CMS healthcare vaccination requirement was not valid, implementing that part of the Order in all 50 states.
What does that mean for optometrists?
The original order had little impact on vaccination requirements for most optometrists. By invalidating the 100 employee mandate, the Supreme Court action lessened that impact even more. As private practice physicians, most all optometrists were already exempt from the CMS requirement.
So who has to be vaccinated?
Optometrists and their employees will need to comply with vaccination requirements in the following situations.
- They work for the Federal government.
- They practice in a hospital, ASC, or other clinic defined as a facility under CMS. This would be VERY few optometrists.
- They practice in a state that has its own vaccination requirement for healthcare workers.
