Late Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the temporary injunction that had allowed for a religious exemption from COVID-19 vaccination under New York’s health care personnel vaccination requirement, and remanded the cases back to the lower courts for further proceedings. This ruling lifts the prior court orders of two cases (We The Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul and Dr. A. v. Hochul) that barred the Department of Health from enforcing 10 NYCRR § 2.61 (“Prevention of COVID-19 Transmission by Covered Entities”) in connection with covered entities granting employees religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination. In a statement on the ruling, Governor Kathy Hochul stated: “On Day One, I pledged as Governor to battle this pandemic and take bold action to protect the health of all New Yorkers. I commend the Second Circuit’s findings affirming our first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.” Manatt will continue to monitor developments related to the implementation and enforcement of this regulation.