Governor Janet T. Mills (D), the First Woman Governor of Maine, at a Portland Press Conference on the New Insurance Marketplace That Wet Into Earlier This Month.
A Bandaid on the Arm of This Blogger Placed Following a Booster Shot at WalMart, Falmouth, Almost Two Weeks Ago.
The news that the Supreme Court will not block Maine’s vaccine mandate for health care workers made it into the national spotlight as well as state news. That significant news made today’s NEW YORK TIMES in a comprehensive article by reporter Adam Liptak.
The emphasis in the Times first section article was “that health care workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus notwithstanding their religious objections.” MSNBC also mentioned briefly the Supreme Court’s decision in todays news.
The lawsuit was brought by Liberty Counsel, a religious and national organization, that has pledged to persist in its legal challenge to Maine’s vaccine mandate for health care workers.
The Supreme Court decision announced yesterday, October 29, was not unanimous. As the Times article detailed, the “three most conservative” Supreme Court justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch dissented with the majority’s decision. Justice Gorsuch wrote: “There, health care workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the past 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered. All for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs.”
The Times article pointed out that “Maine has required health care workers to be vaccinated against various contagious diseases since 1998 and eliminated exemptions on religious or philosophical grounds under a state law enacted in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began.” This law was a referendum with about 73% of the state’s voters approving it according to the same Times article today.
“….health care workers perform a critical role in keeping Maine people healthy and it is imperative that hospitals and other settings take every precaution to protect their workers and patients against this deadly virus, especially in view of the more infectious Delta variant. Anyone who is placed in the care of these facilities has the right to expect – as do their families – that they will receive high-quality, safe care from a fully vaccinated staff,” wrote Governor Janet T. Mills (D), in a statement following the Supreme Court’s ruling. “This rule protects health care workers, their patients, and the stability of our health care system in the face of this dangerous virus. Just as vaccinations defeated small pox and vaccinations defeated polio, vaccinations are the way to defeat COVID-19.”
Yesterday Governor Mills announced that 80% of Maine residents who are eligible for a vaccine are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Maine is the fourth state in the nation to achieve that milestone according to a press release issued by her office.
“I applaud those who have rolled up their sleeves to do what’s right for themselves, their neighbors and their communities,” said the Governor. Call the Vaccination Line at 1 – 885-445-4111 for vaccination information.