Supreme Court declines to halt New York vaccine mandate for health care workers

Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place New York's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, turning away a challenge by a group of medical providers who sued because it does not include a religious exemption.

Over the dissents of Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, the high court rejected the request from the 17 anonymous doctors and nurses, nearly all of whom are Catholic, to block enforcement of the vaccine requirement while proceedings continued. 

Gorsuch, joined by Alito, penned a 14-page dissent in which he bemoaned that the Supreme Court failed not only the medical providers seeking relief, but said the justices "fail ourselves."