Covid Vaccines’ Emergency Status Doesn’t Bar Mandates: DOJ (1)

The Covid-19 vaccines’ status as an emergency product—which has fueled lawsuits against vaccination mandates—doesn’t prohibit employers, universities, or other entities from requiring inoculations, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The language in federal drug approval law cited by legal challengers only says that certain information should be provided to potential vaccine recipients, the department’s Office of Legal Counsel said in a memo seen by Bloomberg Law Monday.

Although the OLC memo isn’t binding authority and thus doesn’t guarantee court approval of a vaccine mandate, it provides a boost to employers and others that either have imposed such a requirement or are ...