Supreme Court denies New York City teachers’ request to block vaccine mandate

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from a group of New York City public school teachers to block the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.

The teachers, who refused to receive a COVID-19 inoculation, filed their request Thursday to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency matters arising from New York, after losing in the lower courts. 

Sotomayor denied their request unilaterally and without comment. 

An attorney for the teachers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The mandatory vaccine policy for employees at New York City public schools, the country’s largest school system, was set to take effect at 5 p.m. on Friday under an order first announced by city officials in August. 

The court’s denial of the New York-based request is at least the second challenge to a school vaccine mandate to be turned away by the Supreme Court.  

A request by a group of Indiana University students in August to block their school’s requirement was denied by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who handles emergency matters from Indiana.