Federal court halts vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states

A federal court on Monday blocked President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction on the mandate, which requires healthcare workers to be vaccinated by Jan. 4. The temporary ruling stems from the case Missouri v. Biden .

The preliminary injunction applies to medical facilities for "Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers within the States of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming," according to court records.

The 10 states had sued the Biden administration, claiming the vaccine mandate was unconstitutional. If the injunction is appealed, it will head for the 8th Circuit, which has one active or senior status judge appointed by a Democratic president out of 14 total.