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Youngkin, Miyares will challenge Biden COVID vaccine mandate, as cases break records

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Glenn Youngkin and Jason Miyares, the incoming governor and attorney general, said Friday that they will challenge President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate, amid a week of unprecedented COVID spread in the Commonwealth.

“Instead of supporting state and local governments’ efforts to protect the lives and livelihoods of their citizens, the Biden administration has resorted to unlawful vaccine mandates that force hardworking Virginians to walk away from their paychecks,” Youngkin and Miyares said in a joint statement that was released to the media on Friday.

“President Biden’s CMS mandate, ignores the hospital systems’ long-established policies designed to keep staff and patients safe and threatens the tenure of essential medical personnel at a time when staffing shortages threaten the health and safety of Virginians.

“While we believe that the vaccine is a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19, we strongly believe that the Federal government cannot impose its will and restrict the freedoms of Americans and that Virginia is at its best when her people are allowed to make the best decisions for their families or businesses.”

The duo pledged that the Commonwealth “will quickly move to protect Virginians’ freedoms and challenge President Biden’s unlawful CMS, OSHA, and Head Start vaccine mandates” after their Jan. 15 inaugurations.

The seven-day average of new COVID cases as of this morning is 14,645 per day, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is reporting that there are 3,329 people in Virginia hospitals today being treated for COVID, a record dating back to the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

The VDH COVID dashboard reports that 67.9 percent of Virginians are fully vaccinated against COVID, and 25.1 percent of Virginians have received a COVID booster.

Story by Chris Graham

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