Federal lawmakers and local healthcare officials are continuing to comment on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The Supreme Court upheld the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding to have their employees fully vaccinated against COVID-19. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley believes the Supreme Court should’ve re-implemented the stay on requiring healthcare employees to be fully vaccinated while litigation is pending.

“I did not think the President (Joe Biden) had the mandate authority in the first place. And in between the President issuing a regulation and the courts striking it down, I had a chance to vote in favor of a resolution disapproving of his actions. It passed the Senate 52-48. All Republicans and two Democrats voted for it.”

Greene County Public Health Director Becky Wolf applauds the decision by the Supreme Court as she believes having this kind of mandate should be a patient expectation that a healthcare facility takes the necessary steps in ensuring everyone’s safety.

“If I come into a facility as a patient I want to be assured that I’m going to receive care in a safe environment, right? And that also includes not being exposed to people that are sick with infection or that they’re protecting me. And that really is part of the Patient Bill of Rights that all care facilities, they are held to a higher standard just like your healthcare workers are.”

The Supreme Court decision goes to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals who originally lifted the stay on the mandate.