Medical organizations file amicus briefs to urge vaccination for federal contractors

The American Medical Association (AMA) joined forces with several other medical organizations to file a pair of amicus briefs with the United States Court of Appeals in defense of Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal contractors.

In the amicus briefs, Kentucky v. Biden and Georgia v. Biden—which were filed with the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, respectively, in response to lower court orders denying enforcement of the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force’s Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors—the AMA and other organizations argued that halting enforcement of the guidance requiring federal contractor vaccinations would “severely and irreparably harm workers and undermine the public interest.”

“Backed by a body of well-regarded scientific evidence from rigorous clinical trials, vaccines provide a safe and effective way to protect against transmission of Covid-19 in the workplace and across the nation,” the AMA wrote in a press release. “No other measure has been shown to reduce the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death from Covid-19 to the degree that vaccination does, which is why policies to encourage widespread vaccination are essential.”

In addition to the AMA, the amicus briefs included the American College of Physicians; the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; the American College of Chest Physicians; the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics; the American Geriatrics Society; the American Medical Women’s Association; the American Psychiatric Association; the American Society for Clinical Pathology; the American Society of Hematology; the American Thoracic Society; the Society of Interventional Radiology; and the American Lung Association.

These are just the latest in a host of briefs filed by the AMA in support of Covid vaccination requirements—back in November, the AMA filed a brief in support of preserving the temporary standard for Covid-19 vaccination and testing issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which required employers with 100 or more employees to require that their staff get vaccinated or submit to regular Covid-19 testing and wear masks in the workplace. The AMA also sent a letter backing the OSHA standard earlier this month.

John McKenna, Associate Editor, BreakingMED™

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