COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined a federal lawsuit to stop a mandate for healthcare workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Yost signed onto the lawsuit filed in Louisiana on Tuesday, seeking to invalidate the federal mandate which would require healthcare workers at Medicare or Medicaid participating facilities to get fully vaccinated.
“We have seen the challenges nursing homes and other facilities have had in retaining and recruiting staff. This mandate, and the walkouts that will likely follow, will only make those challenges worse– leaving vulnerable Ohioans without adequate care," Yost said in a release.
This is the third federal lawsuit Yost has either joined or filed to stop the Biden administration's push for vaccine mandates.
On Nov. 4, Yost filed to block the administration's mandate for employees of federal contractors. That mandate, which impacts about 3.5 million workers, went into effect Monday.
One day later, Yost joined six other states in another lawsuit to stop the administration's mandate for companies with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or get tested weekly for COVID-19.
Last week, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration suspended the enforcement of this mandate. The mandate was later suspended and remains in limbo pending further legal action.
In all three cases, Yost argues that a vaccine mandate is an unlawful use of executive power.
If Yost's latest lawsuit has no impact, healthcare workers at Medicare or Medicaid facilities must be fully vaccinated by Jan 4.
