House Committee Holds Hearing on Biden Vaccine Mandate

The Missouri House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held its first meeting to discuss vaccine mandates, including the recent executive order from President Biden directing regulators to develop rules mandating COVID-19 vaccines or regular testing for all employers with more than 100 employees. The testimony was for informational purposes only, as there is no legislation pending, although lawmakers discussed the possibility of taking legislative action to attempt to block the final federal rule. 

Lobbyists for nursing homes and assisted living centers testified that a vaccine mandate would make it difficult for their facilities to recruit and retain staff during an already challenging labor shortage. The nursing home representatives stated that even allowing employees to receive regular COVID testing in lieu of taking a vaccine would cause their facilities to lose employees. Missouri currently has one of the lowest rates of vaccination among nursing home employees in the country.

Though no action was taken at the hearing, the committee is expected to hold further meetings as the federal mandate regulations are developed.