A federal judge has dismissed a complaint from a group of health care workers who said they were unfairly discriminated against by Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The plaintiffs sued Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and other Maine officials along with a group of health care organizations in the state. The workers argued that the vaccine mandate violated their right to free exercise of religion because it did not provide an exemption for religious beliefs. Jon Levy, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, wrote Thursday that the vaccine mandate was “rationally based” and that “no further analysis is required.” “Reducing the number of unvaccinated healthcare workers at designated healthcare facilities in Maine is rationally related to the government’s interests in limiting the spread of COVID-19, safeguarding Maine’s healthcare capacity, and protecting the lives and health of Maine people,” Levy wrote. Read: UNICEF finds Bangladesh as Covid-19 vaccine success story The workers had remained anonymous since filing the suit until July, when a federal appeals court in Boston said they must reveal their identities. The workers also argued it was their religious right to decline the vaccine over the belief that fetal stem cells from abortions are used to develop them. Liberty Counsel, a law firm representing the health care workers, said in a statement on Friday that it would appeal the dismissal. The firm said in a statement that Levy’s dismissal was “critically flawed” and “contrary to recent Supreme Court precedent involving COVID restrictions on places of worship and many other Supreme Court decisions.” The vaccine mandate went into effect in October. The plaintiffs hoped to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court declined to hear arguments in the suit earlier this year. The high court did not explain its decision at the time. The lawsuit named some of the largest health care networks in the state as defendants. One of those networks, Northern Light Health, said in a statement on Friday that it had been validated by the court’s ruling. “Our health care organization continues to strive always to act in the best interests of our patients and our staff in these challenging times, and we’re gratified that the court completely validated our conduct in this matter,” the statement said.

Several thousand New York City public workers could lose their jobs Friday if they don’t show they’ve complied with the city’s mandate requiring they receive at least two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. Though they represent about 1% of the 370,000-person city workforce, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, the mass firings will mark a new line in the sand for the nation’s largest city, which has imposed some of the most sweeping vaccine mandates in the country. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, speaking about the looming firings at a news conference last week, noted that city workers largely complied with the mandate. “Living in a city as complex like this, there must be rules. We must follow them. The rule is to get vaccinated if you’re a city employee. You have to follow that,” the Democrat said. The mandate imposed last year under the former Mayor Bill de Blasio required most city workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of October or be placed on unpaid leave. New workers who started their jobs after Aug. 2 were likewise required to comply and show that they’ve received their shots. There were up to 4,000 workers who had failed to comply by of the end of January, according to City Hall, but that number has dropped as more workers have started to comply or produce their vaccine cards since they were notified last week that they would be fired. City officials said they won’t know exactly how many workers are fired until after the deadline passes. For most workers, that’s the end of their workday on Friday. A coalition of unions representing different parts of the city workforce sued to block the mass firings. But a judge late Thursday afternoon ruled in favor of the city. A group of city Department of Education employees had a request for their appeal to be considered by the Supreme Court dismissed on Friday. Some unions separately struck deals with the city to allow some workers to choose to remain on unpaid leave until this summer or fall. But not all union members took advantage of those deals. The United Federation of Teachers, which represents New York City public school teachers, had negotiated with the city school district to allow members to choose to stay on unpaid leave until September 5. READ: US donates another 10mn doses of Pfizer to Bangladesh But the union said 700 of its members who have been on unpaid leave for months opted not to extend their leave or provide proof of vaccine and had been notified they’d be fired. The union joined others in fighting the mass firings, contending that workers deserved due process that involved a hearing before being dismissed. Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, said less than 50 of its members had received notices they faced termination. Across the entire city workforce, up to 3,000 employees failed to meet an end of October deadline and have been on unpaid leave for months, according to the city. There are additionally up to 1,000 new employees, who started work after Aug. 2, who face termination because they have not shown proof of having received two shots.

Protesters against a vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the US-Canada border have brought Canada's capital city to a standstill for a second day. Thousands of demonstrators joined the so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, reports BBC. Police have started investigations after several incidents, including the appearance of swastika flags and footage of a woman dancing on the tomb of the unknown soldier. Read:Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates, many rebuked Defence Minister Anita Anand said the incidents were "beyond reprehensible". Ottawa police said in a Twitter post that "several" investigations were now under way into the "desecration" of a number monuments in the capital city, as well as "threatening/illegal/intimidating behaviour to police/city workers and other individuals and damage to a city vehicle". Elsewhere across the city, truckers blocked the streets around Canada's parliament building and Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson said some protesters had harassed staff at a soup kitchen, demanding free meals after they were turned away by restaurants for their refusal to comply with indoor mask mandates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family also left their home in Ottawa over safety concerns on Saturday. Around 90% of Canada's 120,000 cross-border truckers are now vaccinated, in line with the country's adult population. The demonstration has grown beyond a call to end the cross-border mandate to a push to an end to all vaccine mandates nationwide, and some demonstrators have pledged to continue their protests they are removed. Mr Trudeau called the protesters "a small fringe minority" during a press conference earlier this week. Read:Canada finds 4th body after British Columbia mudslide Conservative leader Erin O'Toole has met some of the protesters and has spoken in favour of the right to peaceful demonstration, but criticised "individuals desecrating" memorials in Ottawa. Mr Trudeau's Liberal government brought in the vaccine mandate on 15 January that would require unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations' border to quarantine once they return home. The US has also recently said that foreign truck drivers must show proof of vaccination to enter the country.

A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the action stops President Joe Biden “from moving forward with his unlawful overreach.” “The president will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by the constitution,” said a statement from Landry, a Republican. Read: Pfizer's request to OK shots for kids a relief for parents The U.S. Labor Department’s top legal adviser, Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda, said the department is “confident in its legal authority to issue the emergency temporary standard on vaccination and testing.” OSHA has the authority “to act quickly in an emergency where the agency finds that workers are subjected to a grave danger and a new standard is necessary to protect them,” she said. A spokesman for the Justice Department, Anthony Coley, said in a statement: “The OSHA emergency temporary standard is a critical tool to keep America’s workplaces safe as we fight our way out of this pandemic. The Justice Department will vigorously defend this rule in court.” Such circuit decisions normally apply to states within a district — Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, in this case — but Landry said the language employed by the judges gave the decision a national scope. Read: World could return to normal within a year: Pfizer CEO “This is a great victory for the American people out there. Never before has the federal government tried in a such a forceful way to get between the choices of an American citizen and their doctor. To me that’s the heart of the entire issue,” he said. At least 27 states filed lawsuits challenging the rule in several circuits, some of which were made more conservative by the judicial appointments of President Donald Trump. The Biden administration has been encouraging widespread vaccinations as the quickest way to end the pandemic that has claimed more than 750,000 lives in the United States. The administration says it is confident that the requirement, which includes penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation, will withstand legal challenges in part because its safety rules preempt state laws. The 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans, said it was delaying the federal vaccine requirement because of potential “grave statutory and constitutional issues” raised by the plaintiffs. The government must provide an expedited reply to the motion for a permanent injunction Monday, followed by petitioners’ reply on Tuesday. Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and director of the World Health Organization’s center on global health law, said it was troubling that a federal appeals court would stop or delay safety rules in a health crisis, saying no one has a right to go into a workplace “unmasked, unvaxxed and untested.” “Unelected judges that have no scientific experience shouldn’t be second-guessing health and safety professionals at OSHA,” he said.