Sangamon Sun

Republican state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer took to Facebook to cheer on a federal judge who placed an injunction against a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate that would have forced participants in Medicaid or Medicare to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.

“Individual freedom must prevail over these mandates,” Davidsmeyer wrote on Facebook.

The policy would have required staff members to have the first dose of the vaccine by Dec. 6. However, Judge Terry Doughty granted a preliminary injunction to stop the mandate on Nov. 30.

“During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties,” he said to ABC 20. “Because the Plaintiff States have satisfied all four elements required for a preliminary injunction to issue, this Court has determined that a preliminary injunction should be issued against the Government Defendants.”

Doughty said the government should support those who do or don’t want the vaccine.

“This Court believes the balance of equities and the public interest favors the issuance of a preliminary injunction,” Doughty wrote in a Memorandum Ruling. “The public interest is served by maintaining the constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals who do not want to take the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Doughty continued that “the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with their  directors, employees, administrators and secretaries are hereby enjoined and restrained from implementing the CMS Mandate set forth in 86 Fed. Reg. 61555-01 (November 5, 2021) as to all healthcare providers,  suppliers, owners, employees, and all others covered by said CMS mandate.

"This preliminary injunction shall remain in effect pending the final resolution of this case, or until further orders from this Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, or the U.S. Supreme Court,” he wrote.