On Nov. 30 a Louisiana district court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction on the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate for nearly all healthcare workers employed at facilities receiving funding from Medicare and Medicaid. This ruling was preceded by a preliminary injunction granted by a district court judge in Missouri involving ten states, including North Dakota. The court battles ensued after the Nov. 5 CMS Interim Final Rule (IFR) was issued setting a vaccine deadline of Dec. 6 for the first dose. Medical and religious exemptions could also be granted following a review.
In recent weeks a growing opposition to the mandate has been picking up steam across Montana, North Dakota and the country at large. On Nov. 28 protesters gathered in towns across the state of Montana, including Sidney. On Nov. 29 a group of Sidney Health Center employees and supporters held a Zoom meeting at Fellowship Baptist Church. Presenters during the meeting were MT Attorney General Austin Knudsen, State Rep. Jennifer Carlson, R-Manhattan and State Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Stevensville. The presenters discussed the constitutional arguments against the mandate as well as how Montana’s HB 702 law applies to this situation. The attendees asked to remain anonymous and Sidney Health Center declined to comment regarding issues involving employees.
Sidney Health Center released the following statement regarding the ruling:
November 30, a federal district court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction temporarily freezing of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services vaccine mandate set forth in the November 5, 2021 Interim Final Rule (IFR).
“Upon receiving this news, we announced to our staff that we will not be enforcing the CMS COVID-19 vaccination mandate as previously communicated,” stated Jen Doty, Sidney Health Center Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to watch the state and federal updates very closely and be transparent as changes in the regulations take place. We remain committed to our mission and providing medical care to residents living in our community and the surrounding area.”
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