Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – In the latest fight over vaccines, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Friday the appeals of healthcare workers who sought a religious exemption for Maine’s COVID-19 mandate.

Nine unnamed plaintiffs, who claimed to be healthcare workers, objected to the shot because of religious reasons, were denied by the court. It has a conservative majority of 6-3. Even though religious objections were not involved in those cases, the court has previously dismissed challenges to New York’s vaccine mandates.

Three conservative justices said they would grant the request, but there was a split in the justices.

Maine conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that health care workers “who have been on the frontline of a pandemic over the past 18 months” are being fired. Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito joined Gorsuch.

Maine Governor Janet Mills’ administration had required that all healthcare workers in the state be fully vaccinated https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/mills-administration-requires-health-care-workers-be-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-19-october by the beginning of October, but the state said it would not enforce it until Friday.

According to the governor, such workers play a crucial role in Maine’s health and all precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This is especially true in the light of the high-transmissible Delta variant.