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US Supreme Court justice rejects challenge to Maine Covid-19 vaccine mandate
A nurse prepares a syringe with the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine for a worker of the New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (FDNY EMS) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York December 23, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Reuters picn

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 ― US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer yesterday turned away a religious challenge to a requirement that healthcare workers in Maine be vaccinated against Covid-19, the latest such bid rejected by the nation's top judicial body.

In a brief order, Breyer wrote that the challengers ― unnamed plaintiffs who said they are healthcare workers and object to taking the vaccine on religious grounds ― could make another request for a mandate exemption at a later date.

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The Maine mandate required that all healthcare workers be fully vaccinated by the beginning of October, but the state said it would not enforce it until October 29. Maine removed religious exemptions from mandated vaccines in 2019 and voters overwhelming rejected a referendum challenging the law last year.

Breyer handled the case for the Supreme Court because he is the justice assigned to deal with emergency requests arising from cases in states in a region that includes Maine.

A federal judge rejected the bid for an exemption. The case will continue at the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Breyer's order is the third time the Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to challenge a Covid-19 vaccine mandate. Justice Sonia Sotomayor this month refused to block New York City's requirement that public school teachers and employees be vaccinated. Justice Amy Coney Barrett in August denied a bid by Indiana University students to block that school's vaccination mandate. ― Reuters

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