The Supreme Court of the United States ruled against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate in late last week. The vaccine mandate required private business with 100 or more employees to require vaccines or get tested weekly.

   When an effective COVID-19 vaccine was developed, many began to ask whether it should be a requirement or not. No mandates were made and vaccines remained optional and the decisions were left up to businesses to decide whether they would be necessary or not.

   This remained the status quo until President Biden vocalized his support for vaccine mandates. Shortly after taking office Biden began passing executive orders making vaccines or scheduled testing mandatory.

   It did not take long for disgruntled employees and employers to express their frustration about the mandate. Those who opposed the requirement argued that the vaccine should be a choice. The arguments began to look similar to those about the controversial mask mandates.

   The federal government refused to get involved with masks, instead leaving that decision for the states to decide. Many were frustrated with their states decision however. Mask mandates were more evident in states that were ran by Democrats while mask mandates were wildly unpopular in states that were ran by Republicans.

   The vaccine mandate argument follows party lines just like masks did. The mandate was mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The mandate received the most criticism because of it making the decision for private businesses.

   Soon after OSHA was in control, it was taken to court about the legality of the mandate. The argument made it way up through the court system until it eventually found itself in the Supreme Court. The case ended up sitting for months like many other cases that the Supreme Court oversees. The Justices sat down and listened to the oral arguments in early January. It would only be a week after oral arguments had closed that the final verdict would be decided.

   The justices voted 5-4 saying that the mandate was unconstitutional and could not be enforced on private businesses. The decision leaves businesses in the confusing mess of state rules on vaccines and testing.

   While private businesses were fighting the vaccine mandate for themselves, the state of Missouri was suing the Biden administration for another vaccine mandate. Missouri had a problem with the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ vaccine requirements. The requirements only affected medical workers who work in facilities that participate with Medicare and Medicaid.

   Supreme Court Justices heard oral arguments on Jan. 7 and made a decision by Jan. 13. The decision another close 5-4 vote in favor of Missouri, preventing the Secretary’s requirement from going into effect.