Supreme Court urged to clarify Covid vaccine mandate precedent in Boysen case
A petition by Oregon health workers asks the Supreme Court to review lower-court rulings on Covid vaccine mandates, arguing they misapply the 1905 Jacobson decision.
Oregon health-care workers who refused Covid vaccinations sued PeaceHealth and state officials, alleging breaches of their constitutional rights and federal statutes. After a district judge dismissed the suit in August 2024, the 9th Circuit upheld that ruling in December 2025, following a similar rejection of a Washington-state case. The plaintiffs have now asked the Supreme Court to take the matter, contending that lower courts misinterpreted the 1905 Jacobson v. Massachusetts decision by applying a low-level rational-basis review to modern vaccine mandates.
John Vecchione of the New Civil Liberties Alliance says Jacobson was based on a sterilizing smallpox vaccine that prevented transmission, unlike Covid shots. He urges the Court to clarify that mandates must meet a stricter constitutional analysis. The Court has extended the deadline for PeaceHealth’s response to September 8, but has not indicated when it will decide to grant or deny review.
Why it matters
The case could reshape how courts evaluate government vaccine mandates and individual medical-freedom claims.
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