Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday sent a letter to the Biden administration expressing her opposition to the implementation of the government-imposed private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
President Joe Biden, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on November 5 issued the edict, officially titled the COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring private companies that employ over 100 individuals to force vaccination upon their workers or subject them to weekly virus testing.
The State of Alabama, led by Attorney General Steve Marshall, last month filed a petition for review in an effort to block the administration from enforcing the decree.
In her letter to OSHA assistant secretary Doug Palmer, Ivey outlined her vehement objection to Biden’s mandate and asserted that the rule was “misguided.” In asking the administration to halt its plans to officially adopt the rule, Ivey made mention of her October executive order which took aim at the president’s edicts.
“An executive order I signed on October 25, 2021, which is enclosed with this letter, said the best way to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama is through education, transparency, communication, and persuasion–not government coercion,” wrote Ivey. “My administration encourages COVID-19 vaccinations as safe and effective but opposes overreaching COVID-19 vaccination mandates imposed by government.”
This morning, I’ve submitted a letter to @OSHA_DOL opposing the @POTUS vaccine mandate for companies with 100+ employees. Alabama is standing strong in our fight against the overreaching, un-American Biden vaccine mandates. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/BE7eVK9ecQ
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) December 3, 2021
The letter continued, “My executive order also said several COVID-19 policies announced by President Biden, including mandates imposed by the ETS, threaten to increase vaccine skepticism in Alabama and to severely disrupt the State’s economy. I still believe that.”
Following the letter, Ivey issued a public statement declaring that Alabama would continue its efforts to oppose the federal government’s vaccine mandates.
“Alabama is standing strong in our fight against the overreaching, un-American Biden vaccine mandates,” the governor proclaimed. “President Trump said it well in an interview yesterday morning. The Biden Administration is driving distrust and anxieties about this vaccine. As I have stated countless times, Alabamians and Americans alike should never have to choose between getting this shot and putting food on the tables for their families. We are fighting these mandates every step of the way, any way we know how.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
