Last week a federal judge temporarily blocked a vaccine mandate that would require all health care workers in Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities to be vaccinated by Jan. 4. Governor Mark Gordon who has supported the decision believes this is a win for the state of Wyoming.
“I lean towards thinking that this is a poor decision,” Family Medical major at UW Casper Sarah Theojack said. “I think there is more room for less vaccine mandates in other sectors, but the medical sector is about health and safety and allowing for an undermining of that safety.”
“I personally agree,” Economics major Tatrum Signh said. “Whether or not you like it, there are people who will not take the vaccine, and firing them will most likely hurt rural medicine sectors like those in Wyoming.”
“I understand that the supposed stakeholders are medical workers in rural areas and under the [CMS] system,” Political Sciences major Lizbeth Zhou said. “But I think it’s important to argue that the real reason behind this is fighting vaccinations which isn’t a precedent we should be setting.”
This federal interference, led by Judge Matthew Schelp, coincides with the ten-state lawsuit filed against the U.S. government first announced in late October.
Schlep was appointed by former President Donald J. Trump in 2019 and currently serves within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Throughout the injunction regarding Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Schlep maintains that the enforcement of a mass vaccination requirement would ultimately cause more harm than good.
“Besides the harm to physical health that Plaintiffs have shown will likely occur absent a preliminary injunction, the mandate also would have a negative effect on the economies in Plaintiff states, especially, once again, in rural areas,” Schlep said.
“You can’t legally force people to get vaccines. You can only ask them to or suffer consequences like losing employment,” Signh said. “That’s where the problem comes in. If we boot all those medical workers, we’re in a bad spot.”
“It sucks that we have to choose between having fully vaccination rates or having medical personnel,” Theojack said. “If those are the options, I think having more staff and therefore more effective hospitals is what will bring the best results.”
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon backed the court order, maintaining that federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact a vaccine mandate.
“This is welcome news for Wyoming’s rural healthcare facilities, which are already facing staffing challenges without additional unconstitutional burdens being placed on their employees by the federal government,” Gordon said in a statement to the press published on Nov. 29.
After cementing his support for the block, Gordon goes on to restate Wyoming’s “three-pronged” approach to fighting federal vaccine mandates.
Gordon’s plan includes actions taken last month like joining a lawsuit against the Biden administration and funneling funds into legal action designed to block further vaccine mandates.
“We can have debates about what best supports the economy, but I think there are better options,” Zhou said. “Vaccines are essential, especially in the face of the Omicron Variant. That’ll do more damage to the economy and rural areas long-term than a vaccine mandate.”
“The new variant is scary and if it hits Wyoming, I don’t know if this choice will help or hurt us,” Theojack said.
“We solved the short-term harm to some degree and now we can focus on the long-term issue,” Signh said. “It’s a balancing act.”
It is unclear how the proposed three-pronged plan could affect the University of Wyoming at this time.
New Omicron variant cases have been reported in Utah and Colorado as well as 13 other states. While no cases of the variant have been reported in Wyoming, COVID-19 cases are still being reported at approximately 128 new daily cases.
