January 10, 2022: On Friday, the Supreme Court is poised to hear oral arguments in two cases challenging the Biden administration’s Covid vaccination and the requirements of tests for private businesses and healthcare workers.

The debate, which centers on whether the federal government has the authority to enforce the sweeping public health requirements, arrives at the high court as the worldwide pandemic enters its third year.

The rules’ challengers include business associations, Republican-led states, and religious groups.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rule, requiring workers to get vaccinated or be tested for Covid every week, applies to companies with 100 or more employees. The power from the Department of Health and Human Services would require vaccination for healthcare workers in facilities that treat Medicare and Medicaid patients.

According to the White House, the two mandates cover roughly two-thirds of all U.S. workers, about 100 million Americans.

In November, President Joe Biden issued the mandates, weeks before the first detection of the transmissible omicron variant drove infection rates to staggering new highs near the country.

Days later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit blocked the mandate for businesses from taking effect, with a three-judge panel ruling that its requirements were “staggeringly overbroad.”

But one more federal appeals court reinstated the rule in December, ruling that OSHA has historically had wide latitude to enact safety measures, which highlights the danger to workers posed by the pandemic.

The data suggest omicron infections tend to be less severe than prior iterations of the coronavirus. However, vaccination remains an effective defense against hospitalization and death from Covid, health experts say.

All the justices of the Supreme Court have been vaccinated against Covid, and all have received even booster shots. The court has heard arguments remotely for much of the pandemic, live streaming audio of the proceedings for the first time in its history. Last October, they returned to in-person discussions while keeping the building closed to the public and implementing other pandemic-related safety measures.