Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a bid to halt New York City’s enforcement of its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on municipal workers.
Sotomayor, who is assigned to emergency matters in New York, made no comment as she denied a request for an emergency injunction by New York Police Department Detective Anthony Marciano on Monday, according to Bloomberg. Marciano sought the pause as he battles for an exemption from the vaccine mandate in the federal court of appeals. Marciano claims he should be exempted from the vaccine requirement because of a natural immunity to the virus and should not be fired as a result after the city denied his request for a religious exemption.
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Marciano, who is still on active duty, argued in court filings last week that due to his natural immunity to COVID-19, the “experimental” vaccine has side effects that outweigh any benefit the vaccine would provide, claiming it was something he “does not need.” Health officials have disputed the claim that the vaccines are experimental, stating they are largely safe for the public. Despite the assurances, thousands have still refused to get the vaccines, and 1,400 municipal workers were fired in February by New York City for not getting vaccinated.
“Each day more and more municipal workers are being fired for refusing the EUA Covid 19 mandate in a city riddled with crime, and rapidly decaying, in need of more, not less, skilled municipal workers,” Marciano’s lawyer, Patricia Finn, wrote when asking the Supreme Court for emergency relief.
New York City established its requirement in October 2021. Marciano first filed suit on the state level in December, and it was dismissed in March after the case was moved to Manhattan federal court, according to Reuters.
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The Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for large businesses in January but allowed a separate federal vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities. The high court has generally declined to interfere with state and local governments adopting their own vaccine requirements.
