A California lawsuit suing the state over a COVID-era vaccine mandate received new life Friday after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit targeted Los Angeles schools that imposed a requirement to vaccinate their workers. Lawyers for the schools had argued that the lawsuit was moot given the mandate ends in 2023. The Ninth Circuit disagreed, ruling 2-1 that the workers could move forward with the case.
“The Los Angeles Unified School District’s pattern of withdrawing and then reinstating its vaccination policies was sufficient to keep this case alive,” the court wrote. “The record supported a strong inference that LAUSD waited to see how oral argument proceeded in this court before determining whether to maintain the Policy or move forward with a pre-prepared repeal option.”
“LAUSD expressly reserved the option to again consider imposing a vaccination mandate. Accordingly, LAUSD has not shouldered the heavy burden of demonstrating that there is no reasonable possibility that it would again impose a similar policy,” the ruling continued.
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A California lawsuit suing the state over a COVID-era vaccine mandate was given new life Friday thanks to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
Crucially, the court recognized that the plaintiffs “plausibly alleged” that the COVID-19 vaccine “does not ‘prevent the spread'” of the disease, but simply mitigates the symptoms of those who contract it. Therefore, the court said, it can be argued that there is no legal basis for forcing workers to take the vaccine against their will.
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The ruling comes about a year after California reversed course on its vaccine mandate for students. That move came as part of a broader rollback of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping COVID-19 restrictions.
The ruling comes about a year after California reversed course on a vaccination mandate for students, part of a broader rollback of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 restrictions. (KeynoteUSA Photo/Damián Dovarganes)
California was the first state to issue a statewide stay-at-home order during the pandemic.
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Several California parents also sued last year over a state law that eliminated religious exemptions for mandatory school vaccinations. The federal lawsuit filed by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to protecting religious freedom, challenged SB 277 and argues that legislation restricting religious exemptions violates parents’ constitutional rights to make decisions. medical care for their children.
California was the first state to issue a statewide stay-at-home order during the pandemic. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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“California cannot demonstrate that religiously exempt students pose a greater risk than secularly exempt students,” the complaint says. “Unvaccinated children exempt under SB 277 are still free to sweat together in weekend sports leagues, participate in public extracurricular activities, and attend hours of services at churches and synagogues.”
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter for KeynoteUSA Digital covering national politics and major breaking news. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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