WINONA, Minn. – A Winona hospital and clinic requirement for employees to be vaccinated against Corvid or be dismissed has been put in abeyance. Rachelle Schultz, chief executive at Winona Health, told staff in a memo that a federal judge in Louisiana had issued a temporary injunction against vaccination mandates. The order, she said, applies nationwide. “This is now in the hands of the court system and will likely take time given the legal and appeals processes,” Schultz said. In the meantime, she said, Winona Health still requires a Covid vaccinations or an approved exception for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. It seems, though, that the requirement, will not be enforced for the time being through unpaid leave or dismissal.

Court order

At the urging of the Louisiana attorney general, Jeff Landry, a Republican, U.S. Judge Terry Doughty on Tuesday blocked the Biden Administration mandate for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against Covid. The federal government is expected to challenge  the order quickly in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The government already had challenged a similar temporary injunction by a judge in Missouri. The Biden mandate covered 76,000 U.S. healthcare providers and 17 million workers. An estimated 90%-plus have chosen inoculation.

Verbatim

Schultz to Winona health staff: : “I want to thank all of you for your understanding during these times of uncertainty – and changing rules. We have never experienced the turmoil with a disease, treatment, vaccination, etc… as we have with Covid.”