PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A federal judge declined Wednesday to intervene to stop Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 by month’s end.
U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy said none of the nine plaintiffs met the legal threshold for an injunction to halt the requirement to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 29 or lose their jobs.
In his ruling, Levy said the record indicates regular testing alone is not sufficient to stop the spread of the delta variant.
“The speed of the delta variant’s transmission outpaces test-result availability,” he wrote. Daily testing, he wrote, would require use of rapid tests that are both less accurate and in short supply.
The judge concluded the plaintiffs were unable to show that an injunction was in the public interest, or that they had a strong likelihood of prevailing if the lawsuit moves forward.
The Liberty Counsel, which filed the lawsuit in August, vowed to appeal. It claimed to be representing more than 2,000 health care workers who don’t want to be forced to be vaccinated.
The vaccine mandate’s effect already is being felt with dozens of health care workers opting to quit.
Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston already curtailed some admissions because of an “acute shortage” of nurses.
