The Supreme Court refused to block Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate Monday, which requires students receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett turned down students’ request for emergency relief without comment, according to the New York Times. Barrett oversees the federal appeals court involved in the case and acted alone without referring to the full court.
This was the first legal test of a COVID vaccine mandate to come before the Supreme Court, according to NBC News.
In June, eight students filed a federal lawsuit against IU over its vaccine mandate. The lawsuit argued that students were being coerced into receiving the vaccine under threat of expulsion, violating their Fourteenth Amendment right to bodily autonomy and the right to reject medical treatment.
This followed a decision from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld IU’s vaccine requirement.
The COVID-19 vaccine is required for students, staff and faculty, who must be vaccinated by Aug. 23, IU announced in May. There are religious, medical and ethical exemptions.
All students, staff, faculty and visitors must continue to wear masks on campus, and unvaccinated individuals will be subject to mitigation testing twice a week.
