Why the Supreme Court Hasn't Ruled on Vaccine Mandates

Starting this month, New York City is requiring workers in private businesses and teachers at private and religious schools to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to keep their jobs. The new directives are the latest in a spate of similar measures that the state and local governments -- as well as the Biden administration -- have enacted since the summer to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Some, like the federal mandate and the two new NYC directives, expressly allow for religious exemptions. But not all. For example, both Maine and New York State have required that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, without the possibility of religious exemptions.