CMSS and Member Societies Urge SCOTUS to Preserve Vaccine Requirements for Healthcare Workers

Chicago, IL (December 21, 2021) —

The Council of Medical Specialty Societies and 12 member specialty societies today signed two amicus briefs that urge the Supreme Court of the United States to preserve vaccine requirements for healthcare workers.

On our behalf, Democracy Forward filed two amicus briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States urging the court to support a stay pending appeal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s injunction against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule requiring healthcare worker vaccinations.

“The Council of Medical Specialty Societies is pleased to join twelve of our member societies in urging courts’ support for the CMS interim final rule requiring healthcare worker vaccination,” said Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP, Chief Executive Officer, CMSS. “It is the logical fulfillment of the ethical obligation of all healthcare workers to put patients first and ensure their health and well-being.”

As of December 20, 2021, there have been more than fifty million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. The brief explains that COVID-19 not only poses a grave danger to the health of medical facility patients and staff, but that failing to implement CMS’ vaccine requirements would “severely and irreparably harm patients and undermine the public interest.”

In response to today’s filings, Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman issued the following statement:

“As the holiday season approaches and our nation faces skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, it is imperative that when the highest court evaluates the effect of an injunction on the public interest its decision is informed by the experience of medical and patient professionals. Today, they’ve once again made their voices clear: immediate, widespread vaccination against COVID-19 is the surest way to end this costly pandemic. We’re proud to represent these more than 1.3 million medical and patient professionals in making the case for evidence-based policies that protect the health and safety of healthcare workers, their patients and communities across the nation.”

The brief was signed by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies and 12 of our member societies:

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
American College of Physicians
American Geriatrics Society
American Psychiatric Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society of Hematology
American Thoracic Society
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society of Interventional Radiology

 

Additional signers:

American Medical Association
American College of Chest Physicians
American Lung Association

 

Read the Democracy Forward press release. 

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The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) is a coalition of specialty societies representing more than 800,000 physicians across the house of medicine. CMSS works to catalyze improvement across specialties through convening, collaborating, and collective action. For more information, visit www.cmss.org.  

Democracy Forward is a nonprofit legal organization founded in 2017 that litigates cases involving government action on behalf of organizations, individuals, and municipalities. The organization has taken 650 legal actions and achieved victories supporting democracy and improving the lives and wellbeing of people and communities. Follow our work to protect the health of our nation during the pandemic here.

 

Press Contacts

Julia Peterson
Operations Manager, CMSS
jpeterson@cmss.org

Emily Singer
Democracy Forward
(973) 865-0063|
esinger@democracyforward.org