Governor Janet T. Mills, Named as One of Numerous Defendants in a Lawsuit by Maine Health Care Workers..

Nine unidentified Maine health care workers filed a lawsuit against Governor Mills and numerous  other defendants claiming that their religious freedoms have been violated by the requirement they get vaccinated or face dismissal from their jobs, by October 1.  The class action lawsuit,  filed in US District Court in Bangor, was brought by Liberty Counsel – a conservative Florida based group yesterday.

Attorney General Aaron M. Frey issued the following statement yesterday:

“The requirement in Maine that health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 is based on a determination by public health experts that it is necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19 in health care facilities and to protect Maine’s health care system.  We will vigorously defend the requirement against this lawsuit and we are confident that it will be upheld.

For many years the state has required health care workers to be vaccinated against various communicable diseases and to our knowledge, that requirement has never been challenged.  The state has now simply added an additional disease  – COVID-19 to the list of ones for which health care workers must be vaccinated.  Federal courts, including the US Supreme Court, have consistently upheld mandatory vaccination requirements.  Most recently, Justice Amy Coney Barrett refused to enjoin Indiana University’s requirement that students be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Lower federal courts had previously upheld the constitutionality of the requirement,” said Attorney General Aaron M. Frey in a written statement.

“More than 80% of eligible Mainers have received their first dose of vaccine, but we can do better to protect the lives and livelihoods of Mainers.  The vast majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations are among unvaccinated individuals and as of Tuesday afternoon, the Maine CDC has noted that there are only 39 available ICU beds in Maine, own from 52   The FDA has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine.  If you have not done so already, please get vaccinated. It is a simple and commonsense thing you can do to protect not only yourself, but also your loved ones, c-workers and the community.”