CMS Vaccine Mandate Protest Held in Sidney

A group of Sidney Health Center employees and members of the community held a protest against the vaccine mandate that the Biden Administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks to impose on healthcare workers. Attendees for the event were appreciative of the support from the community and urged the public to contact their legislators to voice their concerns regarding the Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

The mandate is to go in to effect Jan. 4, 2022. The Montana Hospital Association has advised all member facilities to comply with the mandate or they may lose the ability to provide services to patients receiving Medicare or Medicaid assistance. The Montana Attorney General has joined a lawsuit challenging the mandate and seeking a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for Western District of Louisiana. The judge is yet to make a ruling.

In a separate lawsuit a federal judge blocked the rule from going into effect on Nov. 29. This lawsuit flied in the Eastern District of Missouri involves ten states, including North Dakota.