US row over compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations goes to court

President Biden wants all government workers to receive the vaccination

Hundreds of people march across the Brooklyn Bridge during a protest against the Covid-19 vaccination mandates for municipal employees in New York. EPA

Eleven US states with Republican governors have sued the Biden administration seeking to block a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors, arguing it is unconstitutional and violates federal procurement law.

Saying vaccinations were necessary to fight Covid-19, President Joe Biden issued a pair of executive orders on September 9 requiring all executive branch federal employees and federal contractors to be vaccinated.

A joint lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by 10 states, Arkansas, Alaska, Missouri, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Texas filed a separate suit on the same issue, and Florida filed one on Thursday.

The lawsuits described the mandate as "sweeping in its scope" and "unconstitutional and unlawful," citing a constitutional amendment on state powers and federal laws on government procurement.

The mandate "is an abuse of power and we won't stand for it," Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a video on Twitter.

"It will only worsen the workforce shortage and supply chain issues that hinder our economic recovery and it furthers the unprecedented government intrusion into our lives," Ms Reynolds said.

The White House set a December 8 deadline for employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated. However, it has signalled contractors have flexibility in enforcing that deadline.

US courts have largely upheld vaccination requirements imposed by employers, universities, states and cities.

About 58 per cent of the US population is fully vaccinated and more than 66 per cent have received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.