The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has imposed a temporary injunction on the vaccine mandate from the Biden administration that requires businesses to vaccinate and test its workers. The mandate is called the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Vaccination and Testing, and it was published Saturday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The mandate was only filed into the Office of the Federal Register on the 4th of November. It has been blocked after only four days.

The mandate has listed several policy templates to assist businesses in vaccinating and testing their workforce. It also lists employers and workplaces that are covered or excluded by the ETS. Companies with more than 100 employees must require staff to be vaccinated before the 4th of January. Unvaccinated employees must submit weekly negative Covid-19 tests, or they will be proscribed from entering the workplace. Unvaccinated workers will be required to wear masks in workplaces as well.

The petition to challenge the mandate was submitted by the Republican Attorney Generals from Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. The challengers cited statutory and constitutional issues of the mandate.

Judge Stuart Duncan, Kurt Englehardt, and Edith Jones issued the order, and all three were appointed by former Republican Presidents Reagan and Trump.

Seema Nanda, the solicitor for the Labour Department, has stated that the Biden administration is “fully prepared to defend the (ETS) in court.” The Biden administration must respond to the injunction imposed before 5 p.m. on the 8th of November.

Director of the World Health Organization’s center Lawrence Gostin has stated this delay in safety rules will be detrimental in a health crisis. Professor Gostin is also a Professor at Georgetown University Law Centre. He tweeted that “unelected judges that have no scientific experience shouldn’t be second-guessing health and safety professionals at OSHA.”