High court justices have gotten booster shots
Vaccine challenges on docket this week
The Supreme Court says all nine justices have received COVID-19 booster shots. The court’s confirmation came Tuesday as the omicron variant surges and in-person arguments over vaccines are scheduled at the court Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late November broadened its recommendation and said that all adults should receive COVID-19 booster shots. And leaders in both parties have made public over the past several months that they have received booster shots.
That includes President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well as former President Donald Trump. Republican Senate leader Mitch Mcconnell got a booster shot the same day as Biden in September.
On Friday, the court will hold a special session to weigh challenges to two Biden administration policies covering vaccine requirements for millions of workers.
The first requires workers at larger companies to be vaccinated or wear face masks and get tested weekly. The other policy applies to a wide range of health care providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding.
At least two justices have also had the virus. Justice Amy Coney Barrett had COVID-19 before she became a justice in October 2020. And Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for the virus before the first day of the new term in October.
Kavanaugh’s positive test kept him off the bench and participating remotely as his colleagues returned to the courtroom for the first time in more than a year and a half during which they heard arguments by telephone.
The justices have continued through the fall to hear in-person arguments with no public allowed. In addition to the two cases the court will hear Friday, the justices are scheduled to hear another eight cases beginning Monday.
A number of other federal courts that had gone back to in-person arguments have announced a return to virtual arguments during the omicron surge.