Upstate hospitals react after federal judge blocks vaccine mandate for health care workers

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WYFF) - Upstate hospital systems are reacting after a federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction halting President Joe Biden’s mandate requiring that certain health care workers be vaccinated.

We have reached out to Prisma Health, Spartanburg Regional, and AnMed Health for a response.

Here is what we have learned. We will continue to add to this story.

PRISMA HEALTH STATEMENT:

At Prisma Health, nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our patients and the members of our team. Throughout the pandemic, we have encouraged COVID-19 vaccination for everyone who is eligible, and we continue to do so. We have provided more than 462,000 vaccinations to our communities to help fight this pandemic.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had issued an emergency regulation that required all employees working in healthcare facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19. If facilities did not comply with the regulation, they would be terminated from Medicare and Medicaid programs, which would impact many of our patients.
Yesterday, a U.S. District Judge in Monroe, Louisiana, issued a preliminary injunction, affecting S.C. and other states, blocking CMS from implementing its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers until the court can resolve legal challenges.
Because of this preliminary injunction, we are suspending our COVID-19 team member vaccine requirement. We will continue to monitor this situation. Prisma Health is committed to complying with all federal requirements.

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