U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the determination was "disappointing" amid further attempts by the Biden Administration to combat COVID-19 during an increase in the number of cases.
"Well, the news about the workplace requirement being blocked was very disappointing," Murthy told ABC's Martha Raddatz on Sunday. "It was a setback for public health. Because what these requirements ultimately are helpful for is not just protecting the community at large, but making our workplaces safer for workers as well as for customers."
That shouldn't stop businesses from thinking of executing their own vaccine mandates, Murthy claimed. "There is nothing that stops workplaces from voluntarily putting reasonable requirements in place. In fact, many have done so already; a third of the Fortune 100 companies have put these in place, and many more outside have, so we are certainly encouraging companies to put these requirements in place voluntarily."
WATCH TRUMP: EUROPE HAS OPENED IT'S DOORS TO JIHAD
Murthy's comments come after the Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Thursday to hinder a vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses, although the court voted 5-4 to keep the healthcare worker mandate.
This ruling has not prevented the Biden Administration from taking additional measures toward giving support. The White House announced that Americans would be able to order free rapid at-home COVID-19 tests starting on Jan. 19. The White House also plans to seek additional COVID-19 treatment and test funding.
WATCH DUKE PROFESSOR: STUDENTS VIEWING THE WORLD AS OPPRESSOR VS. OPPRESSED
The rulings came three days after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency measure for businesses started to take effect.
KEVIN SPACEY'S DARK SECRETS EXPOSED IN NEW DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated or submit a negative COVID test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work.
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. “Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category,” the court wrote.
IDIOT ALERT: CEO PRAISES RADICAL PROTESTERS, FACES IMMEDIATE BACKLASH
Liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan disagreed, writing that the majority has seized the power of Congress, the president, and OSHA without legal basis.
“In the face of a still-raging pandemic, this Court tells the agency charged with protecting worker safety that it may not do so in all the workplaces needed,” they said in their dissent.
BIDEN AND MARK HAMILL'S "STAR WARS DAY" VIDEO: A GALACTIC SUCCESS OR EPIC FAIL?
“As disease and death continue to mount, this Court tells the agency that it cannot respond in the most effective way possible. Without legal basis, the Court usurps a decision that rightfully belongs to others. It undercuts the capacity of the responsible federal officials, acting well within the scope of their authority, to protect American workers from grave danger,” they wrote.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
