Judge rejects vaccine choice law in health care settings

By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge says a person’s choice to decline vaccinations does not outweigh public health and safety requirements in medical settings. US. District Court Judge Donald Molloy on Friday permanently blocked a section of a law that said it was discriminatory for most employers to require workers to be vaccinated against communicable diseases. Montana’s legislature passed the first-in-the-nation law in 2021. It was challenged by state medical organizations, clinics and patients. The law included an exception to allow long-term care facilities to comply with a federal mandate that their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Molloy said it didn’t make sense to have different rules for employees at different health care facilities.