'Courts are not politically accountable,' said liberal Justice Elena Kagan. 'Courts have no epidemiological expertise. Why in the world would courts decide this question?'
Gostin and his colleagues,"Lower-court rulings that blocked the rules from taking effect were fundamentally flawed... They disregarded the broad scientific consensus that Covid-19 poses a major public health threat requiring a strong emergency response; indeed, the public health emergency has only become more acute in recent weeks."A threshold issue is whether Covid-19 is a public health emergency that warrants bypassing the usual cumbersome regulatory process.
A core argument made by plaintiffs in these cases is that OSHA and CMS didn't receive congressional authorization to protect workers, but Gostin and his two co-authors explained why"that's incorrect": Likewise, when Congress established the Medicare and Medicaid programs, it granted the secretary of health and human services authority to require facilities to meet requirements deemed"necessary in the interest of the health and safety." There are ample reasons to support the conclusion that vaccinations are necessary for the safe operation of participating facilities: the vulnerability of residents, the need for a healthy workforce, and the unique effectiveness of vaccines.
"If the high court were to curb federal public health powers now, it could prove ruinous when the next crisis strikes."