Since the COVID-19 vaccination was made available to the public in late 2020, the topic of vaccination has been widely discussed across the country including in the daily news, by governments and agencies, in the courts, in communities, and in the workplace. From the very beginning, federal, state, and local governments/agencies have engaged in campaigns to encourage vaccination; passed laws mandating vaccination in the workplace, public places, government buildings, and elsewhere; and incentivized vaccination. Indeed, President Biden’s Administration made COVID-19 vaccination a predominant part of its national strategy to combat the pandemic.
All of the efforts undertaken to increase vaccination rates have resulted in a vaccination rate among eligible individuals of approximately sixty-five percent in the U.S. That said, the laws, guidance, and rules have not come without legal challenges, court decisions and rulings, opposition, publicity, and the implementation of various state laws prohibiting or restricting businesses’ and employers’ ability to mandate vaccination. As we head into 2022, there is a resulting patchwork of laws, guidance, and rules regarding vaccination and companies continue to face the challenge of implementing and updating policies that are legally-compliant and practical.