Concerns over personal freedom are not totally at the center of the lawsuit against the federal COVID vaccine mandate in which Wyoming is participating. Governor Mark Gordon the action follows on other legal challenges over the past two weeks. Wyoming and a coalition of 10 states filed suit against the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule, which seeks to impose a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers throughout the nation.
“Wyoming continues to face a significant shortage of healthcare workers and this federal mandate will only exacerbate our healthcare staffing issues,” Governor Gordon said. “This administration needs to understand that overreaching policies that force employees to choose between vaccination and termination negatively impact Wyoming communities, rural healthcare, and residents of skilled nursing facilities.”
The Governor says the lawsuit incorporates nine counts both procedural and substantive in nature. Chief among them are principles the State of Wyoming always seeks to guard against – violations of the Tenth Amendment and federalism. The coalition filing the lawsuit is led by Missouri and Nebraska and includes Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.
