22 States File Petition for CMS to Repeal Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

HELENA – A coalition of 22 states, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, today formally called on the Biden administration to withdraw its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and all related guidance. Even though vaccines have proven largely impotent in preventing COVID transmission, studies have shown increased health risks associated with the vaccines, and the justification for the rushed mandate has disappeared, it remains in force.

The coalition of attorneys general filed a petition today under the Administrative Procedures Act requesting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services take immediate action to repeal its Interim Final Rule (IFR) and State Surveyor Guidance, which require participating healthcare facilities to “develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that all staff are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.” The mandate has violated the rights of healthcare workers and worsened staffing shortages in that sector, especially in rural and frontier states like Montana.