Judge rules against blocking U. vaccine mandate temporarily during pending lawsuit
A New Jersey federal judge ruled Monday against a request to temporarily block the University’s vaccine mandate, according to an article from NJ Advance Media.
The request for a restraining order against the mandate came from several Rutgers students and the nonprofit organization Children’s Health Defense, who previously filed a lawsuit in August alleging the mandate is illegal and unconstitutional, according to the article.
Adriana Pinto, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, requested the restraining order as the lawsuit is being considered, saying she takes classes fully online and does not put other students on campus at risk, according to an article from New Jersey 101.5.
But District Court Judge Zahid N. Quraishi ruled that granting the restraining order would not be in the public interest, according to NJ Advance Media.
”Specifically, it would place the health and safety of others inside and out of Rutgers’ community at risk,” he wrote. “The public interest of preventing COVID-19, a virus that has taken the lives of many New Jersey residents, will not be served if this court were to bar Rutgers from enforcing the policy.”
Quraishi also did not grant the request due to Pinto’s class not officially being remote and her promise to stay off-campus being considered insufficient, according to New Jersey 101.5.
The plaintiffs previously attempted to get Quraishi removed from the case due to his teaching experience at Rutgers, but he said his connection to the University did not influence his judgment, according to NJ Advance Media.
Similar lawsuits have been filed by students and organizations across the country, with students from The College of New Jersey and students and an employee from the University of Maryland joining them recently.
No lawsuits against colleges or universities mandating the vaccine have reportedly gone through at this time, though a federal appeals court judge granted on Friday a temporary restraining order against New York City’s implementation of a vaccine mandate for public school employees.
